Last year, Fort Lauderdale’s Stonewall National Museum, Archives, & Library held its first Back to the Drive Celebration with a focus on inspiration. The event brought people together for an energizing and joyous evening, while raising funds for the Stonewall National Museum, Archives, & Library’s educational efforts. The Stonewall National Education Program (SNEP), starting its 12th year of serving students and educators across the nation and other programs that provide our community with information it needs to make informed decisions about their lives. We are changing things up this October, reminding the LGBTQ+ community just how powerful we are if we stick together!  

Back to the Drive Celebration 2 asks you to come as the real, or fictional, person who inspires you most. Attendees are encouraged to dress up as historical LGBTQIA+ icons or fictional characters that inspired them such as Freddie Mercury, Harvey Milk, Gertrude Stein, Billie Eilish, RuPaul, Andy Warhol, Billie Jean King, Marsha P. Johnson, Wanda Sykes or Elton John. Prizes will be awarded for the most creative, most authentic, and more. Guests will be able to enjoy food, open bar, music, and special guests (last year was the unforgettable Billy Porter).  

“Stonewall is about history and books, but we still know how to have fun. After all, the characters who move us, the historic figures who excite us, are all part of the history we collect and preserve. Now we have a chance to see them all come alive,” said Executive Director Robert Kesten. “This year’s celebration will be a night to embrace our LGBTQIA+ history and culture, which includes music, food, and our community’s creativity. We are eager to see the creative attire, and “who” will attend Back to the Drive Celebration 2. Will Liberace show up? Will Ricky Martin make an appearance? Are you coming as Silvia Rivera? All are welcome, even those without costumes! This event is essential to our being able to assist educators across the nation with information they need to do their work, to improve the lives of the students they serve and to make everyone understand that LGBTQ+ history is American History. We know our community thinks this is as important as we do.” 

The Back to the Drive Celebration 2 will be held on Thursday, October 17, 2024, at 6pm at the Venue in Wilton Manors. The address is 2345 Wilton Drive, and complimentary valet parking is available for all guests.  

For tickets and sponsorship information, or to learn more about the Stonewall National Museum, Archives, & Library, visit Stonewall-Museum.org.  

More About the Stonewall National Museum, Archives, and Library: 

The Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library, located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is one of the largest LGBTQIA+ libraries and archives in the world. Stonewall has continued to speak out against discriminatory policies against the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as aims to raise funds to protect and educate people across the nation. 

The Museum’s Executive Director is Robert Kesten, a passionate Human Rights Advocate.

Kesten’s human rights advocacy has taken many forms, working on the Ghanaian Constitution, coordinating and producing events leading to Ukrainian independence, producing events for the first AIDS day treatment center in the nation, pushing for the decriminalization of homosexuality in Ukraine (the first Soviet Republic to do so), challenging book banning, LGBTQIA+ inclusion in schools and navigating anti-LGBTQ sentiments.  

Kesten also worked on the West Bank during the Intifada and was brought into Egypt and Tunisia during the Arab Spring to try and establish human rights cities. 

Robert Kesten:  Philadelphia Inquirer, Miami Herald,  Washington Press, Sun-Sentinel, PBS,

Florida Atlantic University International Human Rights Symposium, Herald-Tribune, and more 

The Stonewall National Museum, Archives, & Library houses millions of pages of records and materials available to the media, drawing direct lines from our nation’s history to today.