Inside the Met Gala: A fairytale forest, woodland creatures, and some starstuck first-timers

By JOCELYN NOVECK
AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Many celebrities are Met Gala regulars, invited again and again. Then there are the first-timers, who often express a bit of starstruck awe and even a case of occasional nerves, like a kid arriving at a new school. The K-pop band Stray Kids said they were nervous, wondering what it would be like and who they’d meet. “The Bear” star Ayo Edebiri was another eager first-timer and pronounced herself “very, very excited.” On a night themed around the natural world and fairytales, there were woodland creatures dancing in the museum lobby and a 32-foot tall centerpiece – a tree with twisted branches and green flowers spurting from the undergrowth.