My friend and I arrived just in time to see Ellen and k.d. Lang walk through the foyer with their entourage. Not knowing where the event was taking place, we followed along and were led through a hall around the back to the smoker's porch. A man yelled to Ellen from outside, asking for an autograph, and she smiled and apologized that she didn't have time to give him one. When the group proceeded through a small door my friend and I stopped and waited on the porch for them to come out. We saw a lot of camera flashes and heard laughs coming from the small room. After about 15 minutes Ellen and her mother came out and dashed to their table in the front near the stage. (Maybe she was hungry???) Next, k.d. and her girlfriend came out and everyone started looking for Ellen. When the security guards told them that Ellen was already at her table the rest of the entourage also went inside.

We proceeded through the door and entered the silent auction area, where many items were being displayed on beautifully decorated tables. Although we didn't have time to look closely at the auction items we did see a scrapbook containing Bette Midler pictures and autographs, and that the autographed Ellen script was going for $350. We noticed that all of the women at the event were dressed very elegantly--many had on long dresses, and several women were wearing tuxedos. The popular color seemed to be black, although Ellen wore a white slacks suit. The Beverly Hilton, where the event took place, is very luxurious. The dinner was excellent--a delicious salad, chicken with vegetables, wine, and a chocolate dessert.

During dinner, the president of the Gay and Lesbian Center spoke, a video of Kathy Najimy was shown (she wasn't able to attend), and a video about Dr. Susan Love was also shown. Ellen introduced k.d. Lang and started by saying they had been friends for about 6 years. She mentioned that when she was asked to present k.d. with the award she had asked how much she would get paid and they said "nothing". She joked that she first saw k.d. on a corner selling pudding and said "Excuse me, sir." Apparently k.d. was humming that Bay City Rollers song "S-A-T-U-R-DAY--night" and couldn't remember how to spell 'Saturday'. Ellen thought she had a great voice and encouraged her to become a singer. k.d. came up with a song called "Constantly Craving Pudding" but Ellen advised her to leave the word pudding out.... Ellen also joked that she just recently found out that k.d. was a lesbian....

When k.d. came on stage to receive her award, she gave Ellen a big kiss on the lips and the audience cheered. Then k.d. sang two songs and she and Ellen left through a back door. The rest of the women danced and talked for a while longer. We were the last ones to leave. All of the guests received a bag full of gifts including k.d. Lang CDs, a gay and lesbian atlas, a copy of the Lesbian News with k.d. on the cover, and other smaller items. Also, information on 'The Pride Fund', a mutual fund that invests in non-homophobic companies was included. (For more info call 1-800-410-3337).

All in all the evening was very pleasant and we were happy to have attended.

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