Planners for People magazine’s White House Correspondents Association Dinner kick-off party on April 20 relied on restaurant-of-the-moment Indebleu’s chic interior for decor. “It’s a very unique space, with lots of red, orange, and gold tones,” said People special projects manager Marissa Leifer, who aided director of event marketing Kristine Durr in planning the low-key cocktail party. “Indeblue has a modern, futuristic feel that requires little extra decor.”
Effort instead was focused on the event’s semi-powerful guest list (let’s remember: this is Washington). Project Runway fashion guru Tim Gunn and Zac Efron from Disney’s hit High School Musical were among the 200 guests at the event, hosted by People managing editor Larry Hackett and the magazine’s Washington correspondent, Sandra Sobieraj Westfall. “We’re bringing a taste of Hollywood to D.C.,” Leifer said.
Partygoers munched on appetizers in Indebleu’s downstairs Tantra Lounge and sipped rosé Champagne and blackberry mojitos. (Efron, 19, had virgin versions.) The mood was casual, but talk still turned to politics—American Idol politics, that is. Rumor had it that recently ousted phenom Sanjaya Malakar might drop by the party, since he’d just scored an invite to the Correspondents Dinner as a guest of the magazine. But no such luck; Leifer confirmed that Malakar was flying into D.C. the next day. Guests got over his absence quickly once they discovered the overflowing gift bags, each stuffed with a copy of the magazine and additional beauty and fashion swag.
