Party Reboot: PRIDE Offers A Different Take On Weekend Festivities

by MELLISSA SEECHARAN · June 29, 2009

[Mauricio Padilha, Phillipe Blond, David Blond, Keith Edward. All photos by JONATHON ZIEGLER for PMc]

This weekend's gay pride celebrations came to an end last night with PRIDE, an exclusive invite-only party, at held at The Standard. Pegged as a "new take on pride festivities," PRIDE set itself apart from the "norm of raucous, semi-nude, spandex clad parties," attracting a crowd of LGBT heavyweights in fashion, art, politics, and culture. Hosts included staples in New York City's social scene and gay community such as Alan Cumming (who seemed to be at every party this weekend), Scott Buchheit, Patrick McMullan, Sophia Lamar, and others. While the event, presented by Mr. Patrick Duffy and I do. I Amsterdam, drew a very top-notch crowd, it wasn't just about partying; instead, guests turned out to support amfAR, the leading non-profit organization dedicated to ending the spread of HIV/AIDS through research and education. Party-goers had the chance to partake in a silent auction for works of art by Terence Koh, Nir Hod, Matthu Placek, Patrick McMullan, Liliana Porter, Marc Swanson, and a list of others. Amsterdam's Deputy Mayor, Carolien Gehrels, a married lesbian, was also in attendance.