I’m behind the celeb sites on this one, but since it does have to do with some special real estate: The L’Enfant Society’s Ball on the Mall Saturday night brought in $350,000 Saturday night for the restoration of America’s front yard. Seven hundred party-goers paid up to $325 to attend the affair, which was also underwritten by brand names from Neiman Marcus to Bloomingdale’s. The grownups’ luncheon last week landed $1.5 million.
What is the L’Enfant Society, you ask? From their website:
The L’Enfant Society members are young leaders with positions of influence in the business, government and philanthropic sectors. They support the Trust for the National Mall in its mission to raise funds to restore the National Mall and build awareness for the current state of the country’s most visited national park.
Each year, the L’Enfant Society hosts several high-profile events culminating with the Ball on the Mall, held in the city’s most exclusive location – the National Mall. With the moonlight and the monuments as the backdrop to this incredible evening, the Ball is the most unique and exciting young professionals’ event in Washington. The L’Enfant Society is led by a Board and a Steering Committee.
Not sure when the “country’s most-visited national park” became “the city’s most exclusive location,” but hey, why quibble.
Good think we can count on Pamela Sorenson for a more comprehensive write-up.
The 1 year old Society has already raised $500,000 since its inception and continues to gain notoriety and traction in the young professional demographic as “the group to join”. Full disclosure: I’m on the Board, but seriously, I have heard that being said, especially after Saturday night’s main event. …
Oh, and did I mention that while I was getting my photo taken with the award winning “Silver Spoons”/”NYPD Blue”/film star, he actually serenaded me with the “Silver Spoons” theme song (unsolicited, mind you). Ricky’s voice wasn’t too bad. Not too bad at all. The other celebrity who was supposed to attend, Whitney Houston, ended up skipping town (the rumor mill has been churning all day with the recent announcement of her ex-Bobby Brown’s Friday night engagement). The word on the Mall is that she pulled up in her limo and for some reason, she wasn’t able to walk to the tent. Wind, scheduling, sordid ex-’s engagement, who knows, it’s all hearsay and we may never know why Whitney didn’t show.
Well, thankyou, young leaders with positions of influence, for your generosity. I’ll think of you when the grass grows back.
UPDATE, Tuesday, 3:15 p.m.: A L’Enfant Society spokeswoman just emailed to say that the word on the street, at least regarding Whitney Houston, was incorrect. “We had the National Park Service, our photographer, our videographer, and a publicist all outside waiting for Whitney Houston,” she wrote. “Her limo did not pull up.”
Photo from flickr user JSDesign.