Another Night On The Town

By Keith Boykin, in pop culture
Thursday, November 17 2005, 12:11 AM

Another day, another night on the town. Last night I attended the Instinct Magazine party in New York. I was selected by the magazine as one of the 25 "leading men" in 2005, so I couldn't miss it. But Tuesday night was the real thrill of the week. It was one of those nights that reminds me why I love New York. First I attended the Callen-Lorde dinner at Capitale. The event benefited the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center that provides health services for New York's LGBT community.

This year's honorees included several of my heroes. New York City Councilman Phil Reed, an openly gay and openly HIV-positive African American, kicked off the night with an energetic acceptance speech. He was followed by another hero, Dr. Richard Isay, the author of Being Homosexual: Gay Men and Their Development. His book was the first book I read when I came out in 1991. I had never met him before Tuesday night, so I made sure to thank him after he spoke. Finally, tennis great Martina Navratilova closed the night when she accepted her award. But that was just the beginning.

After dinner, I convinced some friends to walk a few blocks up Bowery Street to the B Bar where Broadway diva Billy Porter was hosting an event for his boyfriend and recording artist Ari Gold. Where else but New York can you walk a few blocks from a wonderful benefit to a fabulous book launch party?

Ari has just released a new coffee table photo book, and the party was the official launch for the book. RuPaul stopped by, Kevin Aviance performed, photographer Duane Cramer was on hand, and Logo was there to interview the party guests.

I always have a great time when Billy Porter is around. The last time I had seen Ari and Billy was at the book launch party for Duane Thomas's coffee table book, More Body, More Soul the week before. I had heard then that Billy would be on The Oprah Winfrey Show soon. Tuesday night I learned the date. Billy will be on the show today along with several other guests who will be talking about when they knew they were gay. I love Billy, so I'll be watching. And next Monday, I will be featuring him on this site as my next selection in the "My Favorite Things" series.

For someone who likes to stay at home, I've been out a lot the past week. But you know what they say about all work and no play. Fortunately, every time I've gone out lately, I've come back home more inspired than ever to keep working.