SPRING 2008 | Posh Happenings

1. NEW YORK
Night of a Thousand Gowns
March 29
ICNY.org
Join 1,000 opulently dressed guests at Times Square's glittering Marriott Marquis hotel for the Imperial Court of New York's 22nd annual coronation of its new emperor and empress. Combining dinner, a silent auction, and mile-high wigs, the drag organization's extravaganza -- which has attracted participation from Cyndi Lauper and gay playwright Charles Busch -- benefits the HIV/AIDS services of Bailey House and AIDS Community Research Initiative of America.

2. LOS ANGELES
A Little Night Conversation
March 13
UCLALive.org
Spend an evening with gay theater legend Stephen Sondheim ("Sweeney Todd," "Into the Woods") at historic Royce Hall, the 1929 Romanesque concert venue on the University of California, Los Angeles campus. In this rare appearance, the Broadway composer takes the stage for a career chat with longtime friend and New York Times columnist Frank Rich.

3. NEW ORLEANS
Gay Easter Parade
March 23
GayEasterParade.com
Trading beads for flashes of flesh is frowned on at the family-friendly Gay Easter Parade, where summer suits, tuxedos, and elaborate bonnets are de rigueur. The ninth annual holiday procession, a fund raiser for the HIV/AIDS services of New Orleans's Food for Friends, steps off from Armstrong Park and sashays past the gay bars of the French Quarter.

4. MINNEAPOLIS
Club Diva
March 8
DivaMN.org
Club hop from coast to coast in one night without experiencing jet lag at Diva MN's glitzy dinner and cocktail soiree to benefit Minnesota AIDS service organizations. The 16th annual fund-raising event transforms the downtown International Market Square design center into a showcase for fashion, entertainment, and cuisine inspired by legendary nightspots in L.A., New York, Las Vegas, and Miami.

5. DUBLIN
IDGTF Gala Concert and Awards
May 18
GayTheatre.ie
Salute the stage's newest stars at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival's closing night gala awards ceremony in the Button Factory, the trendy Temple Bar area's newly refurbished music center. Established in 2004 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Oscar Wilde's birth, the two-week fest showcases about 30 globe-spanning LGBT plays in 11 city-center venues.

6. SYDNEY
BGF Glamstand
March 1
BGF.org.au
Savvy attendees of Sydney's gay Mardi Gras Parade snap up tickets in the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation's Glamstand or adjacent Glamour Bar on Flinders Street for private food and drink service, hassle-free views, and a buzzing social scene. The organization, named in memory of the 1982 Gay Games swimming star from Down Under, assists New South Wales residents with HIV.