Pink and green flowers and linens were a given for the National President’s dinner for Alpha Kappa Alpha—the nation’s largest and oldest African American-founded sorority—on Wednesday night at the Mandarin Oriental. After all, the group’s signature colors could been seen around D.C. all week, thanks to the sorority's 25,000 members in town for the Centennial Convention. But the 14-minute pink and green firework finale over the Washington Canal was a bit more unexpected.
“We tried to bring the wow factor since we’re celebrating the first 100 years of our organization,” said JoAnn Brown, chairman of the AKA conference planning committee. “It’s good to be coming home where we were founded 100 years ago,” she added, noting the group’s origination at Howard University in 1908. “We made history then, and we’re making history now.” (The convention's closing night dinner on Thursday was expected to break a record for the Walter E. Washington Convention Center with 17,600 seated guests.)To honor the organization’s president, Barbara McKinzie, Brown covered everything in pink and green, from the passed Tanqueray Rangpur martinis to the three-foot-tall orchid, hydrangea, and ivy floral arrangements. Even the menu's lobster and hearts of palm salad and green apple and campari-grapefruit sorbet incorporated the colors.
Although confusion with the seating arrangements pushed back the first course by an hour to 9 p.m., AKA staffers still managed to get the 338 guests out to the hotel’s garden at 10:08 p.m. for the fireworks. Then the crowd headed back to the ballroom for a champagne toast and flaming bananas Foster at the dessert stations.
“We tried to bring the wow factor since we’re celebrating the first 100 years of our organization,” said JoAnn Brown, chairman of the AKA conference planning committee. “It’s good to be coming home where we were founded 100 years ago,” she added, noting the group’s origination at Howard University in 1908. “We made history then, and we’re making history now.” (The convention's closing night dinner on Thursday was expected to break a record for the Walter E. Washington Convention Center with 17,600 seated guests.)To honor the organization’s president, Barbara McKinzie, Brown covered everything in pink and green, from the passed Tanqueray Rangpur martinis to the three-foot-tall orchid, hydrangea, and ivy floral arrangements. Even the menu's lobster and hearts of palm salad and green apple and campari-grapefruit sorbet incorporated the colors.
Although confusion with the seating arrangements pushed back the first course by an hour to 9 p.m., AKA staffers still managed to get the 338 guests out to the hotel’s garden at 10:08 p.m. for the fireworks. Then the crowd headed back to the ballroom for a champagne toast and flaming bananas Foster at the dessert stations.
The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority National President's dinner
Photo: BizBash
To add a feminine touch, pink satin sashes hung from the gold Chivari-style chairs, and wall sconces dressed the room in pink lighting.
Photo: BizBash
The evening's linens and settings all reflected the sorority's pink and green signature colors.
Photo: BizBash
The three-foot-tall arrangements from Grand Floral & Design filled clear glass vases with ferns, orchids, hydrangeas, pink roses, and ivy.
Photo: BizBash
Passed hors d'oeuvres from the Mandarin Oriental included shrimp salad on individual spoons.
Photo: BizBash
Tanqueray Rangpur martinis were the signature cocktail of the night.
Photo: BizBash
