March 15, 2018: White House State Dinner for France Slated to Be a Conventional Affair, Record Number of Women Receive James Beard Award Nominations, Turner and CBS to Broadcast 21 March Madness Games in Virtual Reality

1. WHITE HOUSE STATE DINNER FOR FRANCE SLATED TO BE A CONVENTIONAL AFFAIR: The Trump administration’s first state dinner, honoring French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron, isn’t expected to be a spectacle. Washington Post: “And this one, reportedly slated for April 24, comes with a higher anticipation factor than usual—the Trumps are the first occupants since Calvin Coolidge to hold off so long in hosting a foreign leader for a state visit, according to the White House Historical Association. For clues of what to expect, look to the more formal events they’ve hosted, which so far has included the dinner at Mar-a-Lago in April for Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife or the two black-tie dinners for the nation’s governors at the White House. So far, the mood has been intimate and the tone classic, with traditional menus, music by military bands and safely elegant fashion choices by the first lady. One behind-the-scenes item to note is that Melania Trump will almost certainly not have the counsel of Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, her longtime friend and New York-based event planner who had been working on a contract basis as an unpaid senior adviser to the East Wing. … We hear that the dinner will likely be held in the State Dining Room, one of the smallest venues on White House grounds for such events. The size of the room dictates a guest list of fewer than 140. That’s a cozier space than the East Room, the largest entertaining space in the executive mansion (which can seat about 200) or a tent on the South Lawn, which can accommodate large-scale gatherings of more than 300 (382 VIPs attended the Obamas’ last such event, in honor of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his wife). Don’t expect anything too exotic from the Trumps (the president’s own palate is famously … uh, limited), and they haven’t shown any indication that they will have the White House chefs try to incorporate elements of the guest country’s cuisine. Like his politics, Trump seems to like his menus America-first—like the dinner for the Chinese president that, according to the pool report, included familiar dishes like Caesar salad, Dover sole or New York strips, herb-roasted or whipped potatoes and roasted root vegetables. And dessert? Chocolate cake.” http://wapo.st/2tPmzja

2. RECORD NUMBER OF WOMEN RECEIVE JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINATIONS: The nominees for the 2018 James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards were announced Wednesday, and the list featured a record number of women. Nation's Restaurant News: "The awards honor culinary and operational excellence in foodservice in national categories such as Outstanding Bar Program and Outstanding Restaurateur, as well as 10 regional categories for Best Chef. Once a restaurant, bar, chef or beverage professional win in a particular category they are ineligible in that category for a number of years, and all five nominees in the Best New Restaurant category are new. Nonetheless, 56 out of the 108 nominees also were nominated last year. Of those, 82 are people (the rest are restaurants or bars) and of those 82 people, 39 were women, including all the nominees for Outstanding Chef, who were all women last year, too, and three out of five nominees for Outstanding Restaurateur: JoAnn Clevenger of Upperline in New Orleans, Caroline Styne of The Lucques Group in Los Angeles, both of whom were also nominated last year, and Ellen Yin of High Street Hospitality Group in Philadelphia. Last year, 26 women were nominated. ... Nominees were selected from a list of semifinalists by more than 600 judges comprised of food and beverage writers and past winners. Those same judges will vote on these nominees and the winners will be announced at a gala celebration May 7 at Lyric Opera of Chicago." http://bit.ly/2FIPtms

3. TURNER AND CBS TO BROADCAST 21 MARCH MADNESS GAMES IN VIRTUAL REALITY: Turner and CBS are live streaming 21 N.C.A.A. March Madness games in virtual reality. Variety: “The March Madness Live VR app will carry live games beginning with the first and second rounds and continuing throughout the Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final Four and National Championship. NCAA March Madness Live VR is available to download for free starting today in Facebook’s Oculus Store and the Google Play store. The live VR service was developed by Turner Sports, in partnership with CBS Sports and the NCAA. CBS and Turner have multiplatform distribution rights to NCAA March Madness tournaments through 2032, under an $8.8 billion deal inked in 2016. Users can pay $2.99 per game for access to the March Madness Live VR live-stream, or $19.99 for the ‘VR Tournament Pass’ for access to all 21 games. In the app, viewers can select the camera they want to watch from or choose fully produced VR coverage incorporating multiple courtside cameras and audio from inside the arena. … NCAA March Madness Live VR also will include an interactive bracket that is updated throughout the tournament, as well as full-length game replays, highlights from all games in 2D and VR, and video-on-demand that includes behind-the-scene access, coach and player interviews and other content.” http://bit.ly/2p6nS8y

* LOCAL NEWS *

CHICAGO:  The 14th annual Good Food Expo will take place March 23-24 at the U.I.C. Forum. The event is produced by FamilyFarmed, a nonprofit whose goal is to expand the production, marketing, and distribution of locally grown food to benefit communities. 

DALLAS/FORT WORTH:  The Statler Dallas hotel is the 300th hotel to be inducted into Historic Hotels of America. The property also is the 16th hotel from Curio Collection by Hilton to be inducted.  

Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center will reopen May 1 after a $120 million expansion that will add 303 guest rooms and 86,000 square feet of meeting space. 

LOS ANGELES:  The Ready Player One Challenge—an immersive, choose-your-own-adventure-style maze produced by Experiential Supply Co. and inspired by the upcoming Steven Spielberg film—will be open to the public on the corner of Hollywood and Vine from March 18-April 1.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts, George Lucas’s $1 billion museum, has broken ground in Exposition Park. NBC Los Angeles: http://bit.ly/2FGjLGp

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

NEW YORK:  Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s 37th annual cherry blossom festival, Sakura Matsuri, will take place April 28-29. 

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA:  Make a Wish of Central and Northern Florida’s second annual “Fashion For Wishes” fashion and fund-raising event will take place April 7 at One80 Skytop Lounge. 

TORONTO:  Salsa Cubana, a Cuban-theme networking and fund-raising event hosted by the George Brown College Special Event Management program, will take place April 11 at Daniels Spectrum. The event supports the Regent Park Music Program, CARE in Cuba, and the George Brown Foundation. 

Nearly 12 shows—including ones part of Canadian Music Week—have relocated from music venue the Smiling Buddha after the owner was accused of sexual assault. Now Magazine: http://bit.ly/2GuKOpG

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With contributions from Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

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