Executive producer Robin Mazyck here with a guest blog for The Beltway Buzz.
More than 3,000 people gathered Saturday night for the annual White House Correspondents Dinner held at the Washington Hilton. The event is jokingly referred to as the “political prom” or “nerd prom,” but it’s definitely the place to be if you want to rub elbows with the Hollywood elite.
Thousands of journalists gather to eat, drink and honor other journalists for their hard work. Scholarships are also awarded to journalism college students from across the country. The President speaks and a guest comedian provides entertainment.
Various media outlets sponsor tables and invite special guests.
WHAT AN HONOR
Tickets are very hard to come by, so imagine my surprise when yours truly was given one – what an honor!
The Christian Broadcasting Network invited some A-list stars who are believers to sit at our table: Sherri Shepherd of The View; Dr. Michael Roizen of the Cleveland Clinic; Antwaan Randle El of the Washington Redskins; Joshua DuBois of the White House office of Faith Based Initiatives and Partnerships and Melody Barnes who is the Director of President Obama’s Domestic Policy Council.
I escorted Sherri Shepherd during her stay here.
I met her early Saturday morning at Reagan National Airport. She flew to DC from New York and was tired from a busy week that included a Friday night appearance on Larry King Live and tending to her sick son Jeffery who had an ear infection.
Sherri and I talked and talked and talked all the way to her hotel in downtown DC.
She was a true gem! We talked about her Christian walk and her adorable little boy. She also gave me the scoop on The View – what it’s like walking out on stage in front of all those people, how well the co-hosts get along, what really happened when Rosie O’Donnell left the show.
THE GLAMOROUS LIFE
At around 2:30pm Saturday afternoon the hair stylist and makeup artist arrived at the hotel. It was fun watching them get her all glammed up for the big event. I got in on the action too as the makeup artist worked her magic on me!!
I’ll never forget escorting Sherri down the red carpet -- albeit far behind our special star! I watched as she posed for the cameras and talked to reporters from Entertainment Tonight and Extra! She was so gracious! She took pictures with everyone adoring fan who asked! She turned no one down!!
She introduced me to tons of people including Barbara Walters and Kerry Washington. And I caught glimpses of Eva Longoria, Stevie Wonder, Ludacris, Sting, Kevin Bacon and more.
As for the event itself -- the food was delicious! We feasted on an Italian 'Salad' with Sopressato, Prosciutto Toscano, Oregano Brie, Spiced Olives, Breads; a Wild Watercress Salad; Petite Filet with Sundried Tomatoes; Seared Escolar with Olive Tapendade Asparaugus, Cippolini, Green and Yellow Squash with Porcini Mushroom demi-glace!
President Obama told a few jokes and so did Wanda Sykes (I’m not going to going into details about this because you’ve probably already read about all of it already).
After the event ended we headed to the Capitol File party held at the Coracao Gallery. Sherri and Dr. Roizen walked the red carpet again. We stayed awhile and left.
But the night didn’t end there. Sherri, her best friend Earlene and I changed clothes and walked around DC a bit. We ended up going to a pizza joint to sit and talk.
I had a blast! What an incredible evening!!!
What a blessing! So many people called and emailed me to say they saw me on the red carpet!! How funny! It was an event to remember – one I’m glad I got to experience!
So what’s next? The Radio Television Correspondents’ Association Dinner. It will be held in June. Be sure to check back for a full report on that event.