A Night to Remember: LA Gay & Lesbian Center Gala...(Part 1)

Jenifer Lewis got three standing ovations, Lorri Jean inspired everyone, Alec Mapa had more costume changes than Diana Ross, Shirley MacLaine was in a playful mood, and Linda Ronstadt performed a lovely version of "Time After Time" with the Gay Men's Chorus without telling the audience how sick she was.

It was the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Gala and Auction at the Century Plaza Hotel. It was my first time at this event and will be sharing interviews and photos in future posts and tell you who said and sung what. But for now, wanted to give you a quick rundown of the evening and write a little bit about the center. I've attended many center events over the years and even got a tour of the main headquarters by my friend, Jim Key, after we had lunch one day a few years back. But last night was the first time I really got it. I got how good this organization is, how important it is and how much it means to so many people.

Jim, the center's chief public affairs officer (and who I met three years ago in Rio during Carnaval), invited me to be one of his guests. I'm so glad I was able to share this night with him and other friends of his - some who I was meeting for the first time (that's part of our table pictured above. Jim is on my right). But before dinner, I flitted around a bit looking for Shirley MacLaine who I was told was wandering the auction. I never found her but I did find George Takai and we had a really good gab. He is the best storyteller and has lots of great stories to tell. Stay tuned. Gave Alec Mapa an air kiss and wished him luck and bumped into Luke MacFarlane (Scotty on "Brothers & Sisters") who really is as cute and nice as he seems on television.

I gotta get ready for another event so you'll get all the juicy details later. But I do want to encourage you to watch the video below. We were shown it at the dinner and it tells all about what this great center does and gives you an idea of how important its work is with homeless gay youth turned away by their families, HIV/AIDS patients, older LGBT people and so, so much more. It's easy to see why people are willing to shell out the big bucks for the center - several of whom were recognized last night for passing the $1 million mark in donations over the years.