The Met Gala is elitist and obnoxious. Give it up for Brooklyn’s People’s Ball instead  

By Scott Lynch

The extremely rich-people-only Met Gala red carpet is going to dominate culture news and our social media feeds tonight, but last night in Brooklyn, at the Central Public Library in Grand Army Plaza, literally no one cared. They were all having way too much fun walking the catwalk and looking fly as hell at the annual People’s Ball, Brooklyn’s celebration of inclusivity and personal style.

“I need to be here,” said Crown Heights resident Ramona Allen. “The People’s Ball: this is us! I don’t know those people at the Met Gala. They don’t care about me and I don’t care about them.”

‘This is us!’ (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Now in its fourth year, the annual People’s Ball is a free celebration of fashion, personal style and inclusivity. Held on the same weekend as the celebrity love-fest that is the Met Gala as a cheeky bit of counter-programming, the People’s Ball is open to everyone.

Hundreds crowded in the Central Library’s soaring main lobby on Sunday evening and, while many were there just to gawk at all the amazing outfits, all were welcome to get up and strut down the makeshift runway. The emcees on the night were actress Delissa Reynolds, most recently on “Wu-Tang: An American Saga,” and celebrity stylist Robert Verdi, and they did a great job keeping the raucous festivities moving along.

Kevin Aviance on the catwalk (Photo by Scott Lynch)

The event was co-curated by “Harlem’s heart and soul” and creative impresario Souleo, who sported an “I ❤️ My Library” croptop, and there were special appearances and performances by the likes of drag icon Kevin Aviance and DJ Spinna. And, on what would have been street- and fashion-photographer legend Bill Cunningham’s 95th birthday, a group of his most famous muses hit the runway, including Lauren Ezersky, Jean Stone, Lana Turner and Amy Collins.

Remembering Bill (Photo by Scott Lynch)

But the real stars of the night were the dozens of amateur fashionistas who dressed up for the event and, with varying degrees of confidence and style, made their way up and down the catwalk to the cheers of the huge crowd. There are no trophies or prizes at the People’s Ball,  just a chance to get up there and show the world who you really are. The only bummer: once again, like last year, the rain ruined any possibility for the “Pose on the Plaza” pre-game the BPL had planned.

Photo by Scott Lynch

“It was raining today so I decided that I wasn’t really going to dress up,” said Raven Graves of Bed-Stuy. “But I am going to make sure I look like somebody loves me. You can express yourself with fashion in so many different ways, you don’t have to fit to any code. I’ve already told five people how wonderful they look, and very happy to give out compliments to all the people who really came prepared tonight.”

Here are some more scenes from the 2024 People’s Ball.

Photo by Scott Lynch

Photo by Scott Lynch

Photo by Scott Lynch

Photo by Scott Lynch

Photo by Scott Lynch

Photo by Scott Lynch

Photo by Scott Lynch

Photo by Scott Lynch