Always fierce and fabulous, Billy Porter is coming to Wilton Drive for a night of fun and fundraising. He’s headlining Back To The Drive, a party benefiting Stonewall National Museum & Archives.
Porter is an award-winning, queer actor who cemented his legacy as a community icon as a star in the show, “Pose”. Advocacy seems to flow naturally from Porter, who speaks up for LGBTQ every chance he gets.
“Billy has a great understanding of what’s going on in this country, and especially Florida. He’s appalled. He’s using his celebrity status to get the word out and highlight what’s going on here, because nobody could believe what’s happening in Florida,” Stonewall’s Director of Development, Monique Force-Setlock, said. “We can expect a lot of fun, a lot of surprises.”
The event is 6 p.m. Sept. 21 at The Venue. The night will include food, open bar, dancing and more. The museum will also have big updates on its Stonewall National Education Program, SNEP. SNEP works to make sure marginalized students have a safe school environment and that LGBTQ history and culture are taught properly.
There will also be an announcement about their February gala, themed We Stand On the Shoulders of Heroes.
The biggest question is: what will Porter be wearing? Force-Setlock says she doesn’t know, but knows it will be fab.
“No tips yet, but I know it will be amazing. He will be the best dressed person in this country that night, so we can’t wait to see.”
Tickets to the event start at $200.
Back To Back Events
There’s no rest for Team Stonewall. On Friday, they are hosting another cultural touchstone, author Mark S. King will promote his new book, “My Fabulous Disease: Chronicles of a Gay Survivor.”
King was diagnosed as HIV+ in 1985. This book is an anthology of some of his favorite blog posts and other writings, that take the reader on a journey that runs the gamut of emotions from gut-wrenching to the peak of happiness.
The free event is 6 p.m. at the ArtServe building, 1350 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale.
Both events are part of Stonewall’s goal to better and more frequently connect with the community it serves.
“We’re expanding our programming exponentially,” Force-Setlock said. “All the programming we’ve been doing lately is much more than in the past few years. We’re really excited about that.”
