Signs of spring are everywhere, which means the White House Correspondents Garden Brunch is just around the corner
It’s a ritual of spring—like Punxsutawney Phil and the Capistrano swallows—the first weekend in May is the White House Correspondents Dinner. President Reagan dubbed it “Washington’s spring prom” and it has grown into a weekend of events with D.C., New York and even Hollywood’s stars.
One of those events is the annual WHCD Garden Brunch. In 2009, hundreds of guests gathered in the garden, but there was a twist. The brunch was given in honor of the Mother’s Day Every Day campaign and featured honorary brunch Chair Ann Curry of the Today Show, with special guest Susan Axelrod of CURE Epilepsy.
Mothers Day Every Day is a U.S. advocacy group for maternal health led by the White Ribbon Alliance and CARE. Their campaign for healthy moms and newborns aims to raise the political will and resources to reduce maternal mortality around the world to meet the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal number five.
There were some incredible moments as Captain Richard Phillips, who survived the Somali pirate attack, met Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano and relived his dramatic rescue for the first time. T. Boone Pickens and his wife Madeleine talked to reporters about their successful campaigns for the Pickens Plan and to save wild mustangs
And “Gossip Girl” star Chace Crawford taped a Mothers Day greeting surrounded by the star-stuck, pre-teen girls volunteering at the brunch. Arriving guests loved the adorable girls who greeted them with white ribbons, which were tied around their wrists in honor of mothers everywhere.
Since the garden brunch’s start 17 years ago, when Barbra Streisand made a surprise guest appearance, Hollywood stars in town for the dinner have made the Saturday morning event part of their itinerary. Last year’s star power included Kerry Washington, Ludacris (escorting his own lovely mother), Christian Slater, Val Kilmer, Matthew Modine, Tim Daly and Dana Delany.
Click HERE for last year’s garden brunch photos.
Washington’s own stars—Ben Bradlee, Sally Quinn, Andrea Mitchell, John King, David Gregory, Betsy Fischer, Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Luke Russert, Gordon Peterson and Norah O’Donnell—turned out in force to mingle with the year’s top newsmakers: Todd Palin, Alan Greenspan, and Rep. John Dingell. Last, but not least, there was a who’s who from the Obama administration in the crowd: Austan and Robyn Goolesbee, Mona Sutphen, Melody Barnes, Bill Burton and Katie McCormick Lelyveld.
Media and opinion leaders from around the country gathered including Newsweek’s Jon Meacham, Time’s Richard Stengel, Arianna Huffington, and Walter Issacson. And L.A. media mogul and agent provocateur Andrew Breitbart brought father-in-law Orson Bean, a crowd favorite. Politico’s Mike Allen posed with nephews and fans while reporters swarmed Val Kilmer to ask whether he would make a run for governor.
This year’s brunch will again honor the Mothers Day Every Day campaign, which is led by advisory committee co-chairs Donna Shalala and Ann Veneman, and co-founders Dr. Helene Gayle and Theresa Shaver. WHCInsider will supply live coverage on Saturday, May 1st, as the first guests arrive.
It’s sure to draw another stellar “cast” of characters who will enjoy a morning drink and conversation with expected—and unexpected—guests. The spring blossoms, the fun, and the gossip, are sure to get everyone in the mood for the White House Correspondents Dinner on that evening.
Obama media man Jim Margolis and White House Communications Director Anita Dunn spoke after the screening, reminding the crowd that Rice and Sims joined the campaign in 2006. And after an inspiring speech about the campaign, Margolis told how he meticulously prepared for commercial shoots at the critical campaign moment Rice and Sims were always present, whether it was around the campaign office or stepping in a the right moment to get the shot of the candidate who made history. Dunn said the film captured the special feeling of what it was like to work on the campaign and that “there will not be another campaign that was like the Obama 2008 campaign…people felt that they were a part of something much bigger than one individual.”
