Barbara Blauhut
Photo: Tann Chesley/Bluehat Studios
Barbara Blauhut is the director of special events for the Washington Performing Arts Society, a nonprofit performing arts organization that hosts more than 60 performances a year at venues throughout Washington. Blauhut has worked at the society for five and a half years, and also teaches event planning classes through Arlington County Adult Education. She plans 50 to 60 events a year, ranging from dinners for 10 to galas for more than 800. Blauhut is currently working on the society’s annual gala and auction, to be held May 10.
Venue: “Our gala in May is at the Marriott Wardman Park, which has been super accommodating. We have a lot of committees and different groups all working at once, and the staff there has worked with everyone’s requests and provided every type of event space we could need. The [2006 and 2007] galas were at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, which is also great.”
Photography: “Daniel Cima has been with us for many years. He does a fantastic job. We always get the pictures back very quickly, and he is very flexible—which is great, considering that many of our events take place after 10 p.m. He has been in the D.C. area a long time, so he knows a lot of the supporters of the arts who are our attendees, which helps.” Flowers: “We use Jack Lucky Floral Design for many of our fund-raisers; they can handle anything. The flowers are always so luxurious and they really bring out the best in the event.”
Catering: “The majority of our performances are at the Kennedy Center and the Strathmore, which both have Restaurant Associates as their in-house caterer. We don’t have a choice with this, but we’ve been so lucky that they are fantastic to work with. They are always great at accommodating last-minute requests and changes in size, which of course we always have. When we are not at those venues, we always use Occasions Caterers. I know I can trust them. They have by far the best service.”
Graphic Design: “We’re lucky to have an in-house graphic designer, Olga Norwood, who is just great with our brochures and invites. She freelances with other companies and clients, too, so lucky for everyone else.”
Printing: "We use Master Print for our printing needs. We just had our gala invite done, and they delivered it directly to my home so we could get it on time. It’s taking that extra step that makes a difference.”
Venue: “Our gala in May is at the Marriott Wardman Park, which has been super accommodating. We have a lot of committees and different groups all working at once, and the staff there has worked with everyone’s requests and provided every type of event space we could need. The [2006 and 2007] galas were at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, which is also great.”
Photography: “Daniel Cima has been with us for many years. He does a fantastic job. We always get the pictures back very quickly, and he is very flexible—which is great, considering that many of our events take place after 10 p.m. He has been in the D.C. area a long time, so he knows a lot of the supporters of the arts who are our attendees, which helps.” Flowers: “We use Jack Lucky Floral Design for many of our fund-raisers; they can handle anything. The flowers are always so luxurious and they really bring out the best in the event.”
Catering: “The majority of our performances are at the Kennedy Center and the Strathmore, which both have Restaurant Associates as their in-house caterer. We don’t have a choice with this, but we’ve been so lucky that they are fantastic to work with. They are always great at accommodating last-minute requests and changes in size, which of course we always have. When we are not at those venues, we always use Occasions Caterers. I know I can trust them. They have by far the best service.”
Graphic Design: “We’re lucky to have an in-house graphic designer, Olga Norwood, who is just great with our brochures and invites. She freelances with other companies and clients, too, so lucky for everyone else.”
Printing: "We use Master Print for our printing needs. We just had our gala invite done, and they delivered it directly to my home so we could get it on time. It’s taking that extra step that makes a difference.”
