The Phillips Collection’s annual gala grew in attendance for its 91st year, from 370 to more than 430 people, requiring a new layout for the seating in each of the galleries for the dinner portion of the evening. The museum’s director of special events, Keith Costas, credits the increase to the 10 additional sponsors, bringing the total to 45 this year.
A gallery with a more contemporary design had illuminated tables and all-white chairs with sparsely populated centerpieces of orange, white, and yellow flowers. Photo: Tony Brown/imijphoto.com
“There has been a lot of interest on the part of our supporters and corporate interest in buying tables as well as additional individual tickets,” said Costas, who added that the gala exceeded its fund-raising goal of $550,000.
With dinner taking place in each of the museum’s galleries, Costas changed the size and arrangement of the tables to accommodate the extra guests. Jack H. Lucky Floral Design Inc. and Occasions Caterers created a different look in each room inspired by the art on display—from contemporary designs with LED lighting and acrylic furnishings to more traditional rooms with a single table for 20 and chiavari chairs with cushions.
Jack Lucky incorporated many of the colors in the works of art in the galleries into the floral arrangements. Photo: Tony Brown/imijphoto.com
Following dinner, nearly 100 additional guests came to at the museum’s Anderson House across the street for the Havana Nights-theme after-party. Organizers chose the Havana theme in honor of the upcoming 11th Havana Arts Biennial later this month in Cuba and the museum’s patron trips to the country. Occasions set up buffets of Cuban savory and sweet items like plantain chips, ceviche, empanadas, cocktail arroz con leche, coffee parfaits, and more.
A cigar roller in the back lawn, large palm trees and fronts, and yellow and amber lighting from AMPA Events completed the Havana-nightclub ambiance. Latin band Sin Miedo performed salsa and meringue music until midnight.
The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner lured new marketers to Washington’s biggest annual party weekend, which wrapped Sunday. Google andThe Hollywood Reporter joined established hosts MSNBC, Bloomberg, and Vanity Fair in the race to lure guests from the worlds of politics, media, and entertainment to the related parties.
The centerpiece of the weekend, Saturday’s dinner for more than 2,600 inside the Washington Hilton, was the focus of national media attention. Jimmy Kimmel hosted and President Obama did a generally well-received comedy bit, with both men joking about Mitt Romney, attendee Kim Kardashian, and the Secret Service and General Services Administration scandals. (Obama: “I mean, look at this party. We’ve got men in tuxes, women in gowns, fine wine, first-class entertainment. I was just relieved to learn this was not a G.S.A. conference.”)
But it was the pre- and post-parties that got people in Washington talking. Google drew considerable attention by hosting a crowded party with The Hollywood Reporter Friday night at the W hotel. The tech giant seemed to provide the buzz (and installations from New York-based MKG embedded with video screens), and the magazine reached out to celebrity attendees like Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet of Modern Family.
“People call this the Oscars of D.C.,” said Alexandra More, The Hollywood Reporter’s L.A.-based director of integrated marketing and events, “so it seemed like a place we should be.”
On the same night, The New Yorker held its third annual party in the hotel’s rooftop bar, with a raw bar stocked with oysters, giant shrimp, and lobster tails, and a slider bar serving mini burgers, lobster rolls, and Reuben sandwiches.
Google’s food was limited to lighter fare friendly to congressional ethics guidelines that forbid plated meals. Mariam Karim, the W’s director of catering and conference services, said, “This year is definitely more exciting because it’s an election year.”
Among the other new entries on Friday were a party hosted by National Public Radio at the Gibson Guitar Showroom and a party and panel discussion hosted by Voto Latino at the Hay-Adams. Timeand People returned to the St. Regis for their party the same night.
“The interest in the dinner is stronger this year than any year since I’ve been going,” said Elizabeth Baker Keffer, president of Atlantic Live, the event division of Atlantic Media. She noticed more C.E.O.s on guest lists. “People have realized this is the signature social event of Washington.”
The company’s titles hosted a slate of programming: trivia night on Thursday, dinner at owner David Bradley’s home Friday, the First Amendment party later that night (co-hosted with Funny or Die and Impact Arts & Film Fund), and one of the more decked-out receptions at the Hilton Saturday night before the dinner.
“We want to have a big footprint for our own visibility and branding,” Keffer said on Friday, standing next to a Cadillac parked in front of Bradley’s house. Those activities incorporated eight sponsors, up from two or three in past years.
This was the second year as a sponsor for Siemens Corporation. Chief marketing officer Thomas Haas said the company spent about the same amount of money, but brought twice as many people—17, including spouses—this go-round. “It’s a good way for us to make connections in government, business, and media,” Haas said.
Standing out in a weekend with so many parties is largely about inviting big-name guests. But the hosts also put an increased focus on food and decor. “Everyone wants to be the best party,” said Eric Michael, owner and creative director of Occasions Caterers, which has worked on MSNBC’s post-dinner bash for three years.
Produced by Dufour and Company Productions and generally considered the most fun after-party, MSNBC’s bash at the Italian Embassy had the vibe of a big family wedding reception, with a dance floor peopled by politicos and TV hosts, and a bar staffed by Rachel Maddow. (Watching Valerie Jarrett wave her hand in the air to a Justin Timberlake song is not unlike watching a happy mother of the bride.)
Occasions served a procession of nontraditional bites, based on “the notion of a steakhouse as passed hors d’oeuvres,” Michael said, including creamed spinach made over as a fritter. As the dancing to DJ Funkmaster Flex went past 3 a.m., breakfast bites came out, including Egg McMuffin-style sandwiches and pieces of bacon hanging from mini hooks.
“Each event has to be very different,” said Bill Homan, owner of Design Cuisine, who also worked on the Vanity Fair/Bloomberg party at the French ambassador’s residence Saturday night, which had the most famous faces and the tightest list of the weekend. “People can’t walk in and see the same thing.”
“I think the future of any institution is to cultivate a younger generation to support it,” de Gorter said. “The students [at the College of Art and Design] want to support the Corcoran and the Club Corcoran concept give them that opportunity.”
Club Corcoran started at 10 p.m. in a lounge space created in one of the upstairs galleries of the venue and attracted 82 guests this year, compared with just 20 last year. Eric Michael of Occasions Caterersand Jack Lucky of Jack H. Lucky Floral Designs designed the space to look like an old-fashioned living room with gray sofas and club c
hairs, dark wood tables, and centerpieces of purple and pink roses to add color. The Radio King Orchestra served as the house band for the night playing up-tempo music for late-night dancing, while the Phil McCusker Orchestra performed on the main floor of the museum.
Michael and Lucky designed the gala this year for the 12th and 16th time, respectively, focusing on color and diversity among the galleries. “The honorary chair is the French ambassador, so we started out with a vague notion of ‘new France’ for two to three galleries,” Michael said. “Beyond that we try to make sure that each gallery has a pretty stark contrast to the room next to it.” Much of the inspiration for the decor came from the artwork in the respective galleries.
The ball brought in more than $300,000 in corporate sponsorships this year, exceeding its $250,000 fund-raising goal. Top sponsors included Altria Group, Oshkosh Corporation, and PNC.
Last week TEDMed moved its annual health- and medicine-focused conference to Washington for the first time, drawing more than 1,500 leaders from the health and science communities to a four-day “grand gathering” at the Kennedy Center, with evening receptions at venues including the Library of Congress, the National Portrait Gallery, and the National Building Museum. Previously held in San Diego, the meeting’s relocation to D.C. was based on getting closer policymakers, not politicians, organizers said.
In a surprise flash-mob-style performance at Wednesday's dinner, the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington (wearing TEDMed T-shirts under sport jackets) assembled on the Jefferson Building's staircase to sing a three-song medley that began with "Let It Be." Photo: Kaveh Sardari
“The hope is to not be tucked away in one part of the country, but to be at the forefront of policy,” said Gloria Hernandez, TEDMed’s director of operations and client services. The speakers for the event—which is organized independently from the Technology, Entertainment, and Design conference in Long Beach, California—didn’t include any politicians or anyone affiliated with political groups, and instead focused on creating a neutral space with independent speakers from a variety of fields to inspire discussion on medicine’s greatest challenges. The move seemed to work: TEDMed will return to the Kennedy Center next year.
More than 1,200 guests attended April 11 dinner hosted at the Library of Congress’s Jefferson Building, which was dressed up with red lighting and a 24-foot bar from A Vista Events that used black and red letters to spell out “TEDMed.” The venue was a natural choice given that TEDMed chairman Jay Walker is such a bibliophile that he owns his own library, the Walker Library of the History of Human Imagination in Connecticut.
Other after-hours activities included a low-key opening dinner reception for 1,000 at the National Portrait Gallery on April 10 and a 1,500-guest reception at the National Building Museum April 12.
Entertainment at the April 11 and 12 events helped bridge the gap between participants and create conversation starters, with a flash-mob-style performance from the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington at the Library of Congress and two 15-minute acrobatic performances by the New York show Traces at the National Building Museum. “We want to focus on creating an atmosphere so people really connect,” said planner and producer Nicole Bumpus Finn of C to C Events.
Using two tall poles on the stage, acrobats from show Traces climbed and jumped from pole to pole, then slid down and caught themselves right before they hit the stage. Photo: Alison Fisher
Finn and Hernandez worked with Occasions Caterers to create a gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian-centric menu for the April 11 dinner, spotlighting creative healthy options like vegan ceviche. The menu the following day was a little more indulgent, with 12 dessert buffets designed to underscore TEDMed sponsors. Guests sampled made-to-order nitrogen ice cream, desserts inspired by molecular gastronomy, and 12 specialty cocktails as they mingled amid the contemporary decor that included furniture in sculptural and organic shapes, fabric panels suspended from the ceiling, and scientific animations displayed on flat screens throughout the venue.
Two conveyer belts at sponsor G.E.'s dessert station rotated plates of treats including a semifreddo of chocolate ganache, fruit sushi bento, and chocolate cherry terrine. Photo: Kaveh Sardari
Check us out on the cover of the 2012 Winter+Spring issue of Washingtonian Bride & Groom. Our very own Eric Michael worked with Evoke on this Dr. Zhivago tribute.
Organizers were still counting the receipts this morning, several days after 20 homes in the Washington area hosted intimate fundraising dinners for Martha’s Table and D.C. Central Kitchen. The early numbers looked good.
Joan Nathan — who co-hosts the annual Sunday Night Suppers and Saturday Night Sips with Jose Andres and Alice Waters — says that to date the Jan. 21-22 events have grossed about $235,000, with more checks still rolling in. About $15,000 to $20,000 of the total raised will go toward expenses, she says, leaving more than $210,000 to split between the two charities.
“Last year it was $150,000, so everybody’s thrilled,” Nathan says about executives at Martha’s Table and D.C. Central Kitchen. “I think what they’re really happy with is what it does for both of these organizations.”
And what the events do, Nathan says, is provide an informal setting to discuss the organizations and their work fighting homelessness and poverty.
After the jump, get an inside look at the dinner hosted by Eric Michael, owner of Occasions Caterers, and former chef Craig Kruger. Their dinner was prepared by Cork Wine Bar chef Rob Weland and Jan Buhrman of Kitchen Porch in Martha’s Vineyard; it was attended by Nathan, Waters and some Very Important People Who Cannot Be Named Under Threat of IRS Audit.
The butter was freshly churned at the party — literally. A guy was churning it on the porch.
Eric Michael, owner of Occasions Caterers and dinner co-host, shares a moment with Marian Burros, a former Washington Post Food editor and New York Times food columnist. (Danielle Benson/Danielle Sara Photography)
The menu boasted four courses — and numerous ingredients sourced locally. (Danielle Benson/Danielle Sara Photography)
The entree was braised rabbit from Pecan Meadow Farm in Newburg, Pa. (Danielle Benson/Danielle Sara Photography)
The Martha’s Vineyard bay scallops, cooked to a mouth-melting texture, were served with a sunchoke puree. (Danielle Benson/Danielle Sara Photography)
Guest Ron Ginsburg samples one of the East Coast oysters freshly shucked in his own kitchen. (Danielle Benson/Danielle Sara Photography)
Alice Waters’ initial dinner in 2009 was largely political. This one was largely social. (Tim Carman/The Washington Post)
Yahoo News D.C. celebrated the one-year countdown to the 2012 presidential election and the outlet’s year of upcoming coverage with a reception on November 9 for 300 public relations executives, press secretaries, and policy makers on the roof of the 101 Constitution building.
“In D.C., a lot of people still see Yahoo as a news aggregator, so the main goal was to open folks’ eyes that we are a legitimate reporting outlet,” said Amber Allman, director of global public affairs at Yahoo News. “We’ve been making a lot of effort to reignite the brand in D.C., and it’s especially timely because we were announcing a lot of our editorial efforts that will build up to the 2012 election.”
Dufour & Company Productions worked with Atmosphere Lighting, Occasions Caterers, and A Vista Events to transform the open-air venue with red and blue lighting and decor—representing both political parties—as well as the two colors that make Yahoo’s purple logo. Star gobos and glowing hightops, buffet tables, and bars illuminated the event space overlooking the Capitol. Occasions served a specialty cocktail, the Yahoo-tini, in the brand’s signature purple. The festivities also celebrated the announcement of David Chalian as Yahoo News D.C. bureau chief.
The Initiative for Russian Culture, an organization at American University that promotes greater relations between Russia and the United States, kicked off its new Russian film series on Friday with a 1920s-era Russian-meets-American movie screening. The night brought more than 500 Washington-area college students, deans, and Russian ambassadors and dignitaries to the Library of Congress for intercultural mingling.
“There is a need to reach out to the younger generation to promote a better understanding of Russian-Americans in future generations,” said initiative chair Susan Lehrman. “We want to give them a better understanding of Russian culture [and allow them] to understand a better view of their culture using audiovisual aspects of film, which provides a familiarity that resonates with young people today.”
Lehrman worked with Sandi R. Hoffman Special Events to create the ambience for the night, beginning with an hour-long cocktail reception where Occasions Caterers served Russian dishes like beef stroganoff, smoked salmon, and cocktail chicken Kiev. Movie ushers dressed in vintage clothing from the time period greeted guests as they entered the Coolidge Theater for a showing ofJazzmen, a Russian movie about a jazz pianist’s expulsion from school for his musical passion during the 1920s. Occasions served a mix of Russian and American movie snacks like candies and popcorn.
After the screening, the party moved to the main atrium for Russian desserts and coffee. Russian pianist Igor Bril and bassist Eugene Orenschenko performed towards the end of the night.
Architecture and engineering firm McKissack & McKissack celebrated its 20th anniversary on Thursday night with a rooftop dinner at the Potomac View Terrace atop the American Pharmaceutical Association building for 200 of its clients, employees, partners, and local political figures. The company worked with Events by André Wells to find the unique venue and design the evening.
“I wanted something overlooking the city and preferably the monuments, since we’ve worked on them,” said Deryl McKissack, president and C.E.O. of the firm, who noted its participation in the restoration of the Lincoln Memorial and creation of the Martin Luther King Memorial. “We can see several projects from the rooftop [of the A.P.A. building], and that’s something a lot a people haven’t been able to experience.”
Though rain forced the cocktail reception to move from the patio to inside the building lobby, the rooftop had been tented to ensure the dinner could be set as planned, no matter the weather. With inspiration from McKissack, André Wells took an unconventional approach to seating, arranging two long tables with 100 place settings. “I wanted something unconventional and different that would have an impact, and nothing is more impactful than a long table, so when [he] suggested that to me, I agreed,” said McKissack.
Stone gray linens covered the tables, which Amaryllis topped with clusters of three centerpieces combining green hydrangeas, dark pink, purple, and maroon roses, and large green leaves. Tall vases of floating votives and purple uplighting around the perimeter of the space added ambience after the sun set behind the Capitol, which could be seen from roof.
Throughout the two-course meal from Occasions Caterers, guests watched a 10-minute video of the company’s history and growth over the past 20 years, followed by a few remarks from McKissack. In a separate section of the rooftop, Wells created an after-hours lounge filled with purple velvet sofas and club chairs accented by silver pillows. Here, Occasions set up a dessert of mini peach and apple pies, passion-fruit and raspberry tartlets, pirouette cookies, and other small treats.
—D. Channing Muller
Washington Life’s sixth annual installment of its “Young and the Guest List” event, toasting 200 people from D.C.’s top under-40 set, drew more than 350 guests to the raw Long View Gallery and took over the adjoining historic Blagden Alley. Partygoers hung out in a Juicy Couture-branded tent and in the unfinished Rogue 24, a restaurant helmed by chef R.J. Cooper, set to open this spring.
According to Washington Life executive editor Michael M. Clements, since this year’s party highlighted innovators in creative fields—particularly in D.C.’s burgeoning restaurant scene, with Georgetown Cupcake founder Sophie LaMontagne, the Indian food truck Fojol Brothers of Merlindia co-founder Peter Korbel, and restaurateur/Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn making the cut—the list sparked the idea of a theme based around the creative arts.
“We wanted our party to be an homage to the continuing evolution of creativity here in Washington, particularly in fashion and art. We try to capture the zeitgeist of the city in that particular year,” Clements said. The event referenced art through the gallery venue, fashion (with Juicy Couture as the title sponsor), and food through the Cooper collaboration, marking the first time the event has teamed with a well-known chef for catering. “It’s not just on the list, we’re carrying the foodie theme all the way through to the event.”
This is the second time the party has had a modern theme; the last was in 2009, when it was held at an unfinished office building in NoMa. The party has previously taken over historical venues like the Washington Club (2010),Dumbarton House (2006), Meridian House (2007), and Halcyon House(2008). André Wells of Events by André Wells once again produced, incorporating four-foot-tall lavender and yellow rose floral arrangements byAmaryllis in the gallery, along with mannequins donning black crinoline ball skirts and Juicy Couture jackets in bright colors. The tent in Blagden Alley had stark white leather couches and a white DJ booth and bar, while the unfinished brick Rogue 24 space was draped in black velvet, with black couches and black pipe and drape sectioning off the restaurant. “In a raw space like this, I love the juxtaposition of rough and raw and elegant,” Wells said. “You don’t have to have to have pole covers when you are in an alley; you want it to be a little rough.”
Since the alley is public space, Wells couldn’t block off the area, instead relying on security posted around it and a red carpet to lead guests from the gallery to the event space at Rogue 24. “It’s really hard to clean up an alley,” he said, noting that the tent construction started that day at 8 a.m. “Doing an event in an alley you have all the elements of the city, businesses being here, traffic, neighbors, and incorporating our sponsors, but we made it all work.”
Cooper’s team provided Washingtonians with a first look at the type of dishes slated for his tasting menu-focused restaurant, setting up grill stations along with a raw bar and truffle bar. Inside the gallery, a band covered Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and other hits, but guests crowded outside under the tent to take advantage of the perfect spring weather. And at 11:30 p.m., hosts handed out overflowing Juicy Couture-emblazoned gift bags as guests moved to the after-party at the Mansion Presented by Grey Goose on Q Street.
