Washington DC Event Report is a news archive for Event Planners on recent past Benefit Galas, Public Promos, Launch Parties, Movie Premieres, Fashion Shows and New Releases by BizBash

FROM NEW YORK Now in its second year, the Museum of Modern Art hosted its annual film benefit Tuesday night. The gala raised $800,000 for MoMA's department of film, honored director Tim Burton, and kicked off an exhibition of his work with decor inspired by more than two decades worth of movies.

A crowd of 240—including event co-chairs Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, as well as Danny DeVito, Brooke Shields, and Gabourey Sidibe—joined the director for cocktails, a short presentation, and dinner, before the museum lobby opened for a less exclusive after-party. MORE >>

Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit, Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter

11.18.09 8:00 AM

New Moon Premiere Beckons 10,000 People and 2 Live Wolves

The premiere for The Twilight Saga: New Moon in Westwood
Photo: Line 8 Photography

FROM LOS ANGELES Westwood, being a college town, is accustomed to groups of young people roaming about—but Monday night was no ordinary night in the village. The young people were out, for sure, but many weren't yet old enough to drive, and they were pressed behind barricades on closed streets for the premiere of Summit Entertainment's new installment of the Twilight series, New Moon.

Summit's Eric Kops oversaw the hotly anticipated event, tapping ELS for big-time tasks like crowd control and security, and Chad Hudson Events for roles including theater management and R.S.V.P.s, plus production of the after-party at the Hammer Museum. MORE >>

Summit Entertainment, Twilight, New Moon, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner

11.16.09 12:48 PM

MSNBC and Rodale Fete Jeff Corwin's New Book and Documentary at the Occidental

Jeff Corwin speaking at the launch party for 100 Heartbeats
Photo: Alison Klein for BizBash

MSNBC and Rodale co-hosted a cocktail party celebrating wildlife expert and Food Network host Jeff Corwin’s new documentary and book about the plight of endangered species. Held at the Occidental Restaurant Thursday night, the event drew in approximately 200 guests, including conservation activist Laura Turner Seydel, administration officials, and representatives from the Smithsonian, Discovery, and Planet Green.

Corwin’s documentary, Future Earth: 100 Heartbeats, will be screened in New York prior to its November 22 airdate as part of NBC Universal’s Green Week, but Corwin chose to hold the launch party for both the book, 100 Heartbeats, and the documentary in Washington, because of his friendship with Occidental assistant manager Lawrence von Weigel, and the city's central role the environmental movement. MORE >>

MSNBC, Rodale, Jeff Corwin, Food Network, NBC Universal, Discovery, Planet Green, World Wildlife Fund, Defenders of Wildlife, Kendall Jackson, Yealands Estates, Smithsonian Institute

11.10.09 5:07 PM

Dark and Moody Accents, Animal-Inspired Decor Appear on Tabletops at Diffa's Dining by Design

A table designed by Mario Pinto with Scott Heuvelhorst Interiors
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash

FROM CHICAGO "This looks like a serial killer's home. There should be conspiracy theories written on the wall," said one guest at Thursday night's Cocktails by Design event, which served as a kickoff for a three-day Dining by Design benefit hosted by Design Industries Foundations Fighting AIDS. The event filled the eighth floor of the Merchandise Mart with 42 dining environments decorated by design-industry professionals ranging from painters to architects to fashion designer Maria Pinto. With so many creative professionals behind the tables, the environments ranged from a wooden box tacked with newspaper clippings and bathed in an eerie blue light—which inspired the serial-killer comment—to a cozy gazebo setting filled with fairy lights and plush Ralph Lauren pillows.

Though there were tables that defied categorization, some dining environments illustrated popular design trends; one theme was "dark and sexy atmospheres, which we're seeing everywhere this year," said Diffa's director of special events, Peggy Bellar. At an installation from Interior Investments by Gensler, black moving blankets hung behind a table surrounded with dark leather chairs; a chandelier made of painted black cardboard crowned the scene. Hermes glasses in deep purple hues spruced up place settings at a table that Herman Miller by Richard Bliss and Solomon Cordwell Bunez designed; and lacy black napkins dotted the table that Maria Pinto decorated with Scott A. Heuvelhorst Interiors. Artist Francine Turk's design also created a dark, moody ambience with black chalkboard walls, charcoal sketches of crows, and framed paintings of gold Gothic crosses. MORE >>

Diffa, Diffa Dining by Design

11.10.09 2:50 PM

More Photos From Fight Night/Knock Out Abuse: Stogies, Laser Shows, and a VW Bus Bar

Hippie greeters at Knock Out Abuse's gala
Photo: Tony Brown/Imijination Photography for BizBash

Fight for Children celebrated the 20th anniversary of its marquee event, Fight Night, with a bevy of boys on Thursday, while across town, Knock Out Abuse held its female-friendly gala on the same night. Per tradition, the two groups met up for a late-night dance party, joining two of the most production-heavy annual benefits in town. As a follow-up to our story, here are a few more images from both events and the after-party. MORE >>

Fight for Children, Fight for Children Fight Night, Knock Out Abuse Against Women

11.09.09 2:52 PM

Fight Night/Knock Out Abuse: Joan Jett for Men, Shirtless Hippies for Women

Three boxing matches took place during Fight Night.
Photo: Tony Brown/Imijination Photography for BizBash

Fight for Children’s annual Fight Night has boys' night out down to a science: Guests expect cigars, professional boxing, hostesses in slinky dresses, and 16-ounce New York strip steaks. Thursday’s event at the Hilton Washington continued the tradition to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Fight Night, which raised $2.2 million for nonprofits that provide education and healthcare services to low-income children in D.C.

While a mostly male crowd of 1,500 smoked cigars in the Hilton’s International Ballroom, the girls had their own fun at the female-only Knock Out Abuse gala, held simultaneously at the Ritz-Carlton. The benefit for victims of domestic violence drew 650 guests for a ’60s-themed dinner produced by André Wells. The two galas unite each year for a late-night after-party, which earned them a joint No. 1 ranking on BizBash’s 2009 list of Washington’s top benefits. MORE >>

Fight for Children, Fight for Children Fight Night, Knock Out Abuse

10.30.09 12:42 PM

Microsoft Introduces Windows 7 With Cute Kid, Product Vignettes

TV commercial star Kylie introduced Microsoft C.E.O. Steve Ballmer at the Windows 7 launch.
Photo: Richard Koek

FROM NEW YORK Given Microsoft's enormous customer base—a January 2009 report put the technology giant's market share at 88 percent—when it launches a product, there's always a certain amount of buzz surrounding it. But rather than replicate the elaborate marketing stunt it produced for the debut of the Windows Vista operating system, Microsoft took a simpler approach to the press event introducing Windows 7. Inside Skylight Thursday, October 22, some 340 journalists, software testers, and executives from hardware manufacturing partners gathered for a six-hour launch that combined art gallery-style exhibits with live demonstrations and product vignettes.

"We wanted to create an event that represented the product and be mindful of the current state of the economy and the broad consumer mindset. So we set a tone that was simple, approachable, and authentic while demonstrating the excitement we all feel for Windows 7," said Windows group marketing manager Ed Chase, who led the planning of the project. To pull it off, Chase collaborated with Pinnacle Exhibits and a crew of other local and West Coast companies. MORE >>

Microsoft, Windows, Dell, Samsung

10.28.09 12:52 PM

Shriver's Women's Conference Adds Second Day of Programming—Plus a Step-and-Repeat—for 25,000 in Attendance

Helen Devore Waukazoo on the podium with Maria Shriver at the Minerva Awards
Photo: Gold/Wong

FROM LOS ANGELES It might be said that 2009 is a year that created a particular need for inspiration and community support—especially in a state like California, where budget shortfalls and the unemployment rate have become notorious. Either in spite of or because of that climate, California's first lady, Maria Shriver, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Women's Conference once again drew masses of women from all over the state to join a packed roster of about 70 high-level speakers and participants at the Long Beach Convention Center.

This year, the program ballooned from a single day to two full days—to accommodate the increasing number of would-be attendees. (Each year, full-day passes to the conference sell out in record time. Tickets this year sold out in less than two hours, beating last year's record of three.) The first day's program, a Day of Transformation, served as somewhat more informal programming, with two 1,500-attendee sessions and six 400-person breakout sessions. "We were getting so much feedback from people who wanted to participate and have access," said executive producer Alexandra Gleysteen. "It's a way to get more hands-on information—how to get a new job, start a nonprofit—all in a spiritual context and a serene environment. It's on a different scale, more intimate, than the main program." MORE >>

The Women's Conference, Maria Shriver, Arnold Schwarzenegger

10.27.09 2:12 PM

Fairies, Towering Trees, Roller Skaters Amp Up Harman Center Gala

The Harman Center's gala dinner
Photo: Tony Brown/Imijination Photography for BizBash

As guests entered the National Building Museum on Sunday night for the Harman Center for the Arts annual gala dinner, they walked into a dining room meant to evoke the enchanted forest of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But instead of traditional woodland fairies and sprites, the gala’s 400 guests found dancers in afro wigs, roller skates, bell bottoms, and platform shoes. The disco dancers hailed from Boston’s American Repertory Theatre, and before dinner they performed an excerpt from The Donkey Show, a disco-style adaptation of Shakespeare’s play set to ’70s anthems like “We Are Family” and “I Love the Nightlife.”

“Who knew there was a disco version [of A Midsummer Night’s Dream]?” said Joanne Coutts, associate director of special events for the Shakespeare Theatre Company. “When guests first walk through the door, it feels like the party is alive.” MORE >>

Harman Center for the Arts, Shakespeare Theatre Company

10.26.09 4:19 PM

Volkswagen Party Launches Car and Its iPhone App Counterpart

The 2010 GTI
Photo:John Minchillo for BizBash

FROM NEW YORK More than 100 members of the gaming and automotive press made their way to the mouth of the Holland Tunnel last Wednesday, where Volkswagen launched both a tangible and video game version of its latest GTI model at the Classic Car Club. To cater to the tech savvy crowd, Volkswagen brought in G4TV's Olivia Munn to host, built several gaming stations, and filled the room with suggestions to guests to post comments about the party to Twitter.

As of the morning after the party, the 2010 GTI became the first vehicle launch on Apple's app store—with a role in a free version of the popular Firemint Real Racing game—so the mobile application was woven into the fabric of the party almost as much as the car itself. MORE >>

Volkswagen, Apple, Twitter

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