Monuments Moonlight As Dance Floor At L’Enfant Society’s 2011 Ball On The Mall!

Alex GagnÃƒÂ©: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5, Alexi Drucker, Allison Prescott: 1 | 2 | 3, Amanda Polk, Angelique St Germain: 1 | 2, Anne Brady, Ashley Taylor: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5, Bob Madigan: 1 | 2 | 3, Brendan Kownacki, Brooks C.M. Weilbacher, Carlos Alvarez-Aranyos, Caroline Cunningham: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6, Cherie Short: 1 | 2 | 3, Chip Akridge: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7, Christina Sevilla: 1 | 2, Christopher S. Brown: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4, Congressman Aaron Schock: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6, Constance Christakos, Daniel Ahr, Daniel Swartz: 1 | 2 | 3, Daniela Kelley: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4, David Vennett: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6, Eric Neuhaus, Eric Teeters, George Rogers, Governor Dirk Kempthorne, Grant Allen: 1 | 2, Heather 'Hezz' Newman: 1 | 2 | 3, Iryna Mologoko: 1 | 2, Jason Mandel, Jessica James Golden, Jordan Pringle, Karen Adriana Sanjines, Katelynn Calonkey: 1 | 2 | 3, Katherine Kennedy: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6, Kaveh Abtahi, Kelly Collis: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5, Keri Ann Meslar: 1 | 2, Kristen Murdock: 1 | 2 | 3, Kristina D'Ambrosio: 1 | 2, Laura Chambers: 1 | 2, Laura Kennedy, Laure Metras: 1 | 2, Leah Dyrud, Liberty Jones: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4, Lindley Thornburg: 1 | 2, Lindsey Bucklew: 1 | 2, Mark Drapeau: 1 | 2, Mark Ein: 1 | 2 | 3, Mary Lane, Marybeth Coleman: 1 | 2, Matt Bronczek, Matt Kownacki: 1 | 2 | 3, Maureen Beach, Melanie Spring: 1 | 2, Michael Sapienza: 1 | 2, Missy Edwards, Morgan Leigh Topping, Natasha Barrett: 1 | 2, Nikki Schwab, Nina Snow, Pamela Lynne Sorensen: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5, Patrick Kennedy, Peter Jansen: 1 | 2, Reed Landry, Sally Stiebel: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5, Samy K: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4, Sery E. Kim, Shannon Marie Cusello: 1 | 2, Shauna B. Alexander: 1 | 2, Stacy Kessler-Dellaccio: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4, Stephanie Scheider Ahr, Svetlana Legetic: 1 | 2, T-Rex District, Tate Yost, Teresa Thomas, Tim Lundin: 1 | 2, Todd Flournoy: 1 | 2, Tommy McFly: 1 | 2, Will Howerton, Winston Bao Lord

THE NATIONAL MALL -- Absent from the L’Enfant Society’s annual ‘Ball on the Mall’ celebration benefiting the Trust for the National Mall on Saturday evening, were the celebrities that have become all too commonplace at fundraisers around the city. In their place, the picturesque backdrop of the National Mall itself served as the biggest attraction to this year’s sold-out bash. And attract supporters it did.

Hundreds of Washingtonians and their friends from around the country descended upon the intersection of Madison Drive and Thirteenth Street this weekend, for what has become one of the District’s most popular and unique annual black tie benefits.

There, a crisp white tent had been temporarily assembled in the shadow of the Washington Monument, elegantly outfitted with various Japanese accent decorations.

“Tonight we not only celebrate this awe-inspiring space that is The National Mall, but we also celebrate Japanese culture; a nod to the fact that our event marks the kickoff of a yearlong celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the cherry blossom trees,” said L’Enfant Society Chairman David Vennett.

Trust for the National Mall founder Chip Akridge and L’Enfant Society Chairman David Vennett.
Founded in 2008 as an auxiliary of the Trust, the L'Enfant Society seeks specifically to engage Washington's rapidly-growing community of young professionals to support its parent organization's mission to help restore and improve the National Mall. And the Ball on the Mall represents the group’s largest fundraising effort of the year, with more than 700 guests in attendance.

VIP ticketholders began arriving at Saturday’s soiree just past 6:00p.m. for an elegant champagne reception and formal seated dinner. Attendees included Governor Dirk Kempthorne (a former Secretary of the Interior), Trust President Caroline Cunningham, and Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL), who also served as the night’s Honorary Chairman.

“Whether it’s the natural beauty, whether it’s democracy in action, or whether it’s simply just for a morning jog, I think we owe it to not only all of us, but also for America the next generation that when people visit our nation’s capitol…that they see that we put our best foot forward with the condition that we put this Mall in for the next generation,” said Schock.

Congressman Aaron Schock acknowledges the efforts of Chip Akridge.
After the conclusion of a brief series of remarks, dinner guests were then free to join after party ticketholders for drinks, a dessert buffet, and dancing inside the main section of the tent. And while DJ Yellow Fever’s playlist for the evening bordered on the eclectic at times, everyone still left with a smile as the clock ticked closer to midnight.

As the founder of the Trust for the National Mall Chip Akridge likes to say: “It is the power of this place that inspires us all.”

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To learn more about the L’Enfant Society, please visit the organization's website.

Be sure to check out all 213 of our photographs from this event HERE!