YouthAIDS is adding a new facet to this year's gala, to be held next Friday—a much-needed after-party. "Last year, we found all the celebrities ended up at the hotel bar after dinner," said YouthAIDS deputy director Marshall Stowell, who is overseeing the event. This year, guests can head downstairs at the Ritz Tysons Corner to a dancing- and cocktail-filled fete hosted by hotelier Vikram Chatwal, model Frederique van der Wal, and Miss India Puja Gupta.
This year's theme, "Hollywood meets Bollywood," is directly related to YouthAIDS's monthlong excursion to India in March that the organization's global ambassador Ashley Judd headed up. A 50-minute documentary titled India's Hidden Plague portrays the visit and is being screened the night before the gala at the National Geographic Society. "The screening will be the hard-hitting 'this is what we do in the field,' and the gala is more fun and celebratory," Stowell said.
Guests can expect the Bollywood theme to be pervasive throughout the evening. A 30-foot Moulin Rouge-inspired elephant is set to take over the Ritz's porte cochere driveway, while turbans and bindis will be doled out at the private V.I.P. reception for celebrities and $50,000-plus donors. (Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi is hosting with jewelry designer Roberto Coin.) A separate V.I.P. reception for the rest of the guests will feature belly dancers.The night will be entertainment-heavy, with performances by actress Emmy Rossum, Michael McDonald, comedian Russell Peters, and DJ Rekha. David Tutera is returning to handle the decor and flowers, working with a colorful palette of bright red, turquoise, royal blue, and gold. "If you've been to India, you know that it's chaotic and layered and colorful, and we wanted the event to reflect that sense of overwhelming beauty and total chaos," Stowell said.
The V.I.P. list is strong, with Judd hosting and Bono set to present the Outstanding Achievement Award to Nancy Pelosi.
This year's theme, "Hollywood meets Bollywood," is directly related to YouthAIDS's monthlong excursion to India in March that the organization's global ambassador Ashley Judd headed up. A 50-minute documentary titled India's Hidden Plague portrays the visit and is being screened the night before the gala at the National Geographic Society. "The screening will be the hard-hitting 'this is what we do in the field,' and the gala is more fun and celebratory," Stowell said.
Guests can expect the Bollywood theme to be pervasive throughout the evening. A 30-foot Moulin Rouge-inspired elephant is set to take over the Ritz's porte cochere driveway, while turbans and bindis will be doled out at the private V.I.P. reception for celebrities and $50,000-plus donors. (Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi is hosting with jewelry designer Roberto Coin.) A separate V.I.P. reception for the rest of the guests will feature belly dancers.The night will be entertainment-heavy, with performances by actress Emmy Rossum, Michael McDonald, comedian Russell Peters, and DJ Rekha. David Tutera is returning to handle the decor and flowers, working with a colorful palette of bright red, turquoise, royal blue, and gold. "If you've been to India, you know that it's chaotic and layered and colorful, and we wanted the event to reflect that sense of overwhelming beauty and total chaos," Stowell said.
The V.I.P. list is strong, with Judd hosting and Bono set to present the Outstanding Achievement Award to Nancy Pelosi.
