EDGE San Francisco

A mother in New York state has clung for years to the hope that she might eventually find out what happened to her gay son, a young man who vanished after fleeing a sauna in Vienna four years ago.

Janet Jackson, former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Brooke Shields joined thousands of revelers in risque attire Saturday at the Life Ball, a flamboyant Austrian fundraiser for people with HIV and AIDS.

2011 marks the 19th year of the legendary Life Ball in Vienna, Austria, the annual fundraising event that gathers people from around the world in the name of AIDS awareness and research.

Thousands of AIDS activists rallied in downtown Vienna with singer Annie Lennox Tuesday to demand more rights for people with the disease.

In the Austria of today, the hills are alive with more than the Sound of Music. Austria is about exciting international destinations like Vienna, thrill-seeking activities like lake windsurfing, as well as sophisticated tastings in Austria’s renascent wine industry.