Performances, forums, plenty of fun at the Global LGBT Summit

Most of the time when some national conference comes to town, it's ho-hum for the rest of us.

Not so with the LGBT community, which not only has strong allies among straight folks, but knows how to throw a party.

And we're all invited.

Our host is The Equality Forum with its 19th annual Global LGBT Summit, which began Monday with panel discussions on a range of meaty topics and continues through Sunday. In addition to panels and parties, the arts part of the Equality equation highlights dance, photography, performance, and film. In all, more than 25,000 people are expected to attend, and most events are free.

Here are some highlights:

Jamie Nabozny screens and discusses his documentary, Bullied: a Student, a School and a Case That Made History, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Levitt Auditorium in Gershman Hall, 401 S. Broad St. ($5)

Choreographer and dancer Zane Booker is honored at the Merriam Theater 7-9 p.m. Friday when dancers from the University of the Arts will perform his work ($10; $5 student).

Also Friday evening, you can see que(e)ry, a new theater piece directed by Peter Reynolds and written by Temple University students. The show will be 9-10:30 p.m. at Gershman Hall, 401 S. Broad St. ($5)

On the spiritual side, Congregation Beth Ahavah welcomes one and all to a Sabbath service, 8-10 p.m. Friday at Rodeph Shalom, 615 N. Broad St.

A free screening of the film For the Bible Tells Me So is set for 4 p.m. Saturday at the William Way Center, 13th and Spruce Streets (waygay.org).

And Dignity Philadelphia sponsors a Mass and Couples Blessing, 7 p.m. Sunday at The Church of St. Luke and the Epiphany, 330 S. 13th St. (dignityphila.org).

Saturday's panel discussions start at 12:30 p.m. and continue through 5 p.m., mostly at Temple University. The talks will spotlight politics, parenting, students and school safety, sex as a public health issue, bisexuality, and pathways to parenthood.

One timely panel is The Boy Scouts: Publicly Subsidized Discrimination, 3:30-4:45 p.m. Saturday at Temple University Center City, 1515 Market St. At issue, according to organizers, is a plan to sell a gorgeous city-owned building on the Parkway, now a Boy Scouts headquarters, for a fraction of its potential worth, without public bidding. The mayor has been invited but hasn't confirmed.

Events range from guts to glam. The tuxedoed set will gather at 7 p.m. Saturday at the National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St., for a $200-a-plate dinner. Among the honorees are Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and Iraq war veteran who actively campaigned against the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy; and Daniel Hernandez Jr., the University of Arizona student who helped save the life of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords when she was shot at a campaign stop in January.

Whew. Need a drink? A round of parties sponsored by Absolut (Vodka) start at 5 p.m. Friday at Stir, 1705 Chancellor St.; and 10 p.m. at Tavern on Camac, 243 S. Camac St. The parties resume Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at Sisters, 1320 Chancellor St.; and at 10 p.m. at the Q Lounge, 1234 Locust St.

The happening shifts to Northern Liberties from noon to 7 p.m. with SundayOUT!, a street fest packed with live and Jumbotron entertainment, plus more than 100 artisans, food vendors, and community organizations in the open-air Piazza, on North Second Street at Germantown Avenue. ($10; $5 for students; includes raffle prize ticket.) Don't drive. Free round-trip shuttles will run every 10 minutes from Uncles, 1220 Locust St.