Bloomberg, Capitol File, and Vanity Fair helmed the biggest Saturday-night parties, but a few other newbies and stalwarts made the weekend the schmooze fest it is. Here’s our wrap-up of the other events.
People Magazine's Cocktail Party
The weekend's festivities started on Friday night, with the third annual kick-off cocktail party from People magazine. The reception filled the window-wrapped third-floor event space at the Park at Fourteenth—which kept the first level open for happy hour and the second for a private function—with 175 guests, including Meghan McCain and actors Tim Daly and Richard Schiff. People special projects manager Marissa Leifer produced the low-on-decor event, which featured modern brown sofas ringing the room, standing tables wrapped in red-and-brown-striped linens, and arrangements of orange and yellow orchids in square glass vases.
The venue also provided small bites of comfort food, from barbecue salmon on risotto cakes to mini veggie samosas. Despite its catch-celebrities-when-they're-not-looking mantra, the mag asked working media to keep their cameras away, as the party was just for “networking and schmoozing,” a People rep told us. According to the release handed out, “To maintain the relaxed atmosphere of the party, observational reporting only is permitted inside.” The larger than usual gift bags attempted to make up for the restriction, however, offering 12 products, including Godiva chocolates and a Brooks Brothers gift certificate.
Viacom’s Scorsese Screening
Also on Friday was a screening of Martin Scorsese’s documentary Shine a Light, about the Rolling Stones, hosted by Politico, Viacom (parent company of the film’s studio, Paramount), and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. Held at N.C.T.A.’s Capitol Hill headquarters—complete with a theater with a high-definition screen and 105 white Italian leather seats—the screening drew D.C. heavyweights such as White House press secretary Dana Perino. According to Beth Wladyka, manager of government relations and special projects at Viacom, timing the event to the Correspondents Association dinner was a way to create more buzz for the film.
Prior to the screening, the 100 or so guests could show off their inner Mick Jagger by playing Viacom’s interactive music video game Rock Band during the reception. As for extras, Wladyka opted for simple standing tables with black linens and a menu of hummus, cheese, and crackers from Occasions Caterers.
Tammy Haddad’s Saturday Brunch
For the 11th year in a row, TV producer Tammy Haddad co-hosted a Saturday-morning brunch at her Georgetown home. The tented event drew some 550 big-name media types, including Chris Matthews, Tim Russert, and David Greggory, in addition to Alan Greenspan, Tracy Ullman, and the ubiquitous Tim Daly. Acting as co-hosts for Haddad, now a Newsweek producer and president of Haddad Media, were Alex Castellanos, Debbie Dingle, Kathryn Leyman, Hilary Rosen, Beth Viola, and BizBash C.E.O. David Adler.
The bar featured rosemary-infused lemonade and enormous cherry-branch arrangements, while the brunch buffet, provided by Classic Affairs Catering, included smoked-salmon platters, salads with ginger glazed pecans, blueberries, and cranberries, and passed onion and Gruyère tarts. The tent quickly filled up to max capacity (thus endangering some of Haddad's delicate flowerbeds), and the highlight of the afternoon was the not-so-official presidential poll that roughly 80 percent of the attendees participated in. The results? Barack Obama took the lead with 43 percent of the vote, John McCain came in second with 38 percent, and Hillary Clinton landed at the bottom with a meager 19 percent.
McLaughlin’s Morning-After Brunch
After a later-than-usual night out, Washingtonians woke up to enjoy the weekend's last event—John McLaughlin's fourth annual morning-after brunch on the rooftop of the historic Hay-Adams Hotel.
Choosing a venue with a bird's-eye view of White House was key for The McLaughlin Group managing producer Allison Butler, who produced the event, so guests could take in the setting and the view. "This time of year it is really pretty out, and it gives the brunch a garden-party feel," Butler said.
Despite the gray weather, the crowd rehashed the previous evening's happenings, threw back bellinis and bloody Marys, and dined on passed mini crab cakes and potato patties with caviar.
