Dinner at the White House

Not THAT White House! But... it is part of a complex that was designed by Thomas Jefferson! Last night, Friday, May 7, there was a black-tie Commonwealth Dinner on the hill here in Richmond. It was quite a gala for the Harryman and I. We were invited as representatives of the arts community (the Firehouse Theatre Project specifically) at a Gala Commonwealth Dinner at the Executive Mansion last night! This fete was quite unusual for us as well as for the Commonwealth. Under normal conditions Virginians don't take time to honor the contributions that artists make to the Commonwealth unless there is a beer truck close by... but Governor Mark Warner knows how to toast the arts!

As the first Democratic Governor Virginia has elected since Doug Wilder there are many thirsty artists around the state. Wilder was was not known for his support of the arts although his daughter is a very fine artist. The Republican Govenors weren't interested in the arts or if they were it was a secret to their constituents. Hence, there weren't many occasions for celebrating the Arts under their "reign." Mark Warner made up for lost time.

Diane Alexander and Tracey Welborn of the Virginia Opera performed under the glittering light of the mansion and the diamonds of the patrons at hand. Everyone was all smiles as they performed works from Verdi's "La Traviata, "Puccini's "La Boheme," Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" and Bernstein's "West Side Story."

I recognized many faces from across the state from my time participating on the Museum's Outreach Program of curator's who meet for statewide roundtable's several times a year. The "The Art Count Project" wouldn't have been possible without these hardworking curators and arts administrators. It was nice seeing them winded and dined. Working for a not-for-profit art institution is a labor of love but in the end everyone has to have the resources to pay their bills and send their kids to college. Running an art organization is like having a baby that always needs to be fed. It never really grows up in the sense that it will always need more. These women and men work very hard and make great contributions to the quality of life here.

Conversation's were broken by servings of a lovely pea and carrot puree, Virginia Rockfish wrapped in prosciutto, Summerfield Sirloin and an amazinf goatcheese cake with yogurt lime sorbet. It was heavenly. All of the wines were from Virginia wineries with the most distinctive being a 2001 New World Red from the Kluge Estate and Barboursville Vinyard's 2001 Malvaxia.

It was a lovely, lovely evening we ended by swinging on the long tree swing which hangs next to the Mansion. The Harryman looked pretty cute in his Tuxedo on the tree swing. Its hard to believe we pulled up the gate at the beginning of the evening in our ancient auto and the security guards asked us if we were with the band... um, I mean musicians in the orchestra!