Out of This World

The heavy rain on Thursday didn’t deter guests from joining the Carmen Group for "Party 110, Part 2," the lobbying firm's bash to celebrate the second session of the 110th Congress. Politicos and staffers of all sorts filled up the Carnegie Library building, now home to the Smithsonian-affiliated National Music Center, and took in the event’s outer-space motif.

“We celebrate great American accomplishments, so we went with the space theme,” said the evening’s planner, Carmen Group senior associate Melissa Phillips. “We were building off last year’s party, which featured space as the inspiration as well, but made it better.” Upon entering, guests had their boarding-pass-esque tickets scanned and were given sparkly green magnets to attach to their clothes (a modern spin on paper wristbands)—contributing to an overall green color scheme, fleshed out with green and orange lighting designs by Live Nation.A slide show of man’s journey into space played near the stage, and lone candles sparsely lit the tables in the front room. In addition to the main bar near the entrance, a glass-enclosed, green-hued Carmen Bar was off to one side, serving up all things green: mojitos, margaritas, Midori drinks, and (the newest kid in town) Lucid absinthe tumblers served with cherries. The bar, which featured the company logo, took a cue from the firm’s own lobby, Phillips said. And on the choice of absinthe, she said, “It got to D.C. on Wednesday, and since it’s green, we decided to be on the cutting edge.”

Adjacent to the main room was another bar and comfort-food offerings from Design Cuisine Caterers, including mini burgers, fried ginger calamari in small paper cones, and miniature Smithfield Ham biscuit sandwiches. Also on-site was a theater where guests could grab a box of popcorn from an old-fashioned machine before taking in bits of the BBC special Planet Earth, which was the company’s corporate gift to its friends and clients this year.

Halfway through the event, president and C.E.O. David Carmen addressed the crowd and welcomed the entertainment, Japanese Beatles cover band the Silver Beats. Carmen said that after seeing the band in New York, he knew he had to have them. The group came out in circa-1960 high-button suits and Beatles-appropriate haircuts and crooned away, inspiring at least some of the crowd to dance.

For dessert, guests headed upstairs to a lounge area to take in a starry light show. The space was filled with tables, benches, and yet another bar, and sweets-filled tables accented an exhibition that featured profiles and photographs from the nonprofit Project 312’s I Have a Dream Foundation. Guests learned about the “dreamers,” or children from a local classroom, that the Carmen Group has been helping get to college, while they mingled with coffee, honeydew popsicles, mini carrot cakes, and Rice Krispies-treat lollipops shaped like smiling snowmen.