Hillary Clinton was in Provincetown this weekend, at a fundraiser featuring Cher. I can’t say for certain that it was New England’s LGBT event of the summer, but it certainly had to count as a highlight.

Hosted by activist Alix Ritchie and event planner Bryan Rafanelli, the event raised more than $1.5 million for the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee (DNC). Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey was one of several celebrities who spoke, along with Billie Jean King and (unrelated) comedian Kate Clinton. Senator Ed Markey also spoke. Former congressman Barney Frank and DNC chair Donna Brazile were in attendance.

Clinton also reportedly held a fundraiser on Nantucket, at the home of major Democratic fundraiser Elizabeth Bagley.

Oglers unable to attend could revel vicariously via social media, as attendees were allowed to snap and post. One poster-worthy pic of Cher and Clinton, hands clasped, wide-eyed, and grinning open-mouthed, appeared to have originated with Mark Walsh on Facebook. Harvard psychologist/author Steven Pinker posted a photo of the two stars on stage, in front of a large American flag backdrop, as Clinton spoke and Cher listened.

Cher herself Tweeted hours later:

These two events hardly marked the first fundraising Clinton has done in the area—Boston has been a major money spigot for her going back many years. In fact, Clinton came to Provincetown more than a year ago, for a big-money fundraiser—without Cher—thrown by Ritchie and Rafanelli.

The Boston metro area had contributed more than $10 million to Clinton’s campaign through the end of June, according to the Open Secrets web site from the Center for Responsive Politics. That makes it her sixth most generous region, behind New York, Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago, and San Francisco. Cambridge’s legendary 02138 ZIP code alone accounts for $2.6 million.

Those contributions are capped at $5,400 per individual. But a few locals have gone well above that figure via Clinton-allied political action committees (PACs).

Most notable, by far, among them is Barbara Lee, the Cambridge philanthropist whose foundation has worked for years toward electing a woman president.

Lee has contributed $1.4 million to Priorities USA Action, the biggest so-called Super PAC being run on her behalf. She has given another half-million to Correct The Record, and $189,000 to Ready PAC early last year.

The Boston metropolitan area has also been the source for $2.3 million of contributions to the DNC—again, sixth on the list.

LGBT $$$

Cher and Clinton came to Provincetown Sunday after bringing their LGBT fundraising tour through Miami Beach and Fire Island the previous two days. Another liberal gay-icon diva, Barbra Streisand, will perform at a fundraiser for Clinton in New York City, in early September. 

Streisand played a concert in Boston earlier in the week, and, having seen her show earlier in the tour, I can report that it includes considerable politicizing in favor of Hillary Clinton and against Donald Trump.

The show also includes an issues-themed photo montage, during which a picture of Melrose Congresswoman Katherine Clark flashes on the big screen. The picture shows Clark on the floor of the House of Representatives, during the sit-in for gun control legislation she helped organize in June.

The Clinton campaign’s decision to use Streisand and Cher for LGBTQ fundraisers reflects not only their legendary status among that community, but also the growing importance of LGBTQ donors in Democratic politics—a truism well understood in the Bay State.

African-Americans and Hispanics have more voting power for the party, but in recent years the LGBT community—particularly openly gay and lesbian professionals with significant disposable income—have become major donor bases for Democrats. 

That means they get the big guns: big events, featuring the candidate and/or high-profile surrogates, with VIP meet-and-greet and photo opportunities.

Those types of fundraising events often target big, gay-friendly cities, including Boston, along with New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

But, as with Sunday’s event, sometimes it’s easier to catch the community in the summer where they vacation. 

Joe Biden came to a Provincetown fundraiser during August of the Obama-Biden 2012 re-election campaign. Healey has done fundraising events there. That same month, Elizabeth Warren held a fundraiser there for her U.S. Senate campaign.