Oh, What A Night.
How’s your hangover? Ours is still kicking and we’re confident it will see us through the rest of the week.
This past Saturday was the 2016 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, but the partying started well before the weekend and Sunday hangovers were nursed with more booze and brunch. It was the eighth and final dinner for Mr. Obama and if you didn’t know that before you heard his speech, you definitely did by the end.
His speech, as it is every year, is his chance to make fun of himself and everyone in the room (and not in the room i.e. the Donald) and this year there was no shortage of material. No Republican or Democrat was left unturned in a performance so good, Larry Wilmore even found it difficult to follow suit.
The dinner, however, was just one highlight nestled in between nightly celebrations. Thursday night was basically the opening ceremony for a weekend that was pretty much the Olympic games of partying with the rich and famous – oh, and Hollywood was present as well. Between FiscalNote’s Garden Party right by the White House, Independent Journal, Tinder & Rock The Vote at the W Hotel, the Daily Caller’s Delicious Gala, it’s safe to assume nearby residents had dreams of strobe lights and bass bumping in the background.
We’re just getting started – enter Friday. The Hill & Extra hosted at the Canadian Embassy, The White House Correspondents’ Jam II had the Hamilton bumpin’, and let’s not forget about United Talent Agency & Funny or Die at Fiola Mare produced by Kimball Stroud, Google, HBO, TIME & People, the New Yorker, and everything in between. Music, dancing, cocktails and guys and gals dressed to the nines were the theme for the night. Whoever missed happy hour on Friday because they were racing home to get ready for their night out on the town (girls, I’m looking at you), we don’t blame you.
Is it Saturday yet? It is if you’re brunching. With breakfasts and day parties hosted by Tammy Haddad, Buzzfeed & App Developers Alliance, and the Entertainment Software Association, Saturday night’s plans started about 12 hours ahead of schedule – which is the perfect preparation for walking the red carpet, or at least watching pros like Kendall Jenner do it.
We’re pretty sure that the Washington Hilton had more celebrities in one place Saturday night than BRAVO and E! did in its evening TV lineup – especially since both were missing Nene Leakes and Nikki Bella and her by beau, John Cena (you know, that one guy on Total Divas). The many pre-dinner receptions, hosted by the Washington Post, McClatchy, ABC & Yahoo, CBS & The Atlantic, NBC News, AP, and Reuters took the Hollywood Walk of Fame, brought it to life and then shoved it in our faces and it wouldn’t be DC if there wasn’t a chance to experience it all from afar at dinner watch parties hosted by POLITICO and Fusion & Tumblr. Thanks to Daniel Swartz for the photos that will give anyone who didn’t attend a good case of FOMO.
If you missed the 1259 celebs at the Hilton, the after-parties were a perfect place to stalk them… if you were on the list. The Onion threw a party for Joe Biden who wasn’t even there – maybe because he was at Vanity Fair. How rude. @thefatjewish was spotted at the Colombian Embassy being, well, as entertaining as he is on Instagram. Just ask Ben Droz – he was snapping pictures all night that will last longer than your snap story does.
Thanks to POLITICO, Reuters and CNN for providing more than enough hairs of the dog on Sunday and games of Connect Four and human sized Jenga for those that couldn’t hang.
Did you miss out on everything we mentioned? You should’ve just gone to the airport. Hollywood had to get out somehow.
Big high fives go to Kimball Stroud, Marissa Mitrovich, Brenna Williams, Ben Droz, Chrissy Terrell, Bob Brennan, Dan Beeson, Olivia McDonald, Lauren Hagen, Matt Haller, Rebecca Haller, Gindy, Andrew Kovalcin, Daniel Swartz, Matt Dornic, Mark Drapeau, Nika Nour, Taz Jones, Erik Huey, Gayle King, Bernie Sanders, Jason Stackhouse, Bret Baier, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Rob Melick and everyone else we partied with this weekend.
