Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys 2021 Annual Dinner
Client: Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys
Venue: Washington National Cathedral
Date: February 23, 2021
Event Challenge: Reimagining the 2021 Annual Dinner to excel in the virtual setting all while keeping traditional showpieces included in the program. By incorporating the Washington National Cathedral and familiar faces into the live broadcast, we were able to invent a virtual Annual Dinner that aligned with previous years but inspired new show elements as well.
Watch Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys 2021 Annual Dinner here!
The Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys (BWS) is a tuition-free Episcopal school for children from traditionally underserved communities. Working in close partnership with students and families, the school focuses on creating an environment where each boy is challenged to reach his full academic potential and receives the structured support necessary to develop his unique gifts. The Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys strives to alter the educational and social trajectory of children from traditionally underserved communities and prepare them for leadership and service in their communities and well beyond.
Each year, BWS hosts their annual tuition fundraising event at the Washington National Cathedral. In past years, around 800 guests gathered in the Cathedral annually to raise their paddles for the BWS scholarship fund. This year, BWS hosted a virtual fundraising event live from the same location. The virtual platform allowed for new, unique content to be included in the show and allowed a larger audience to view the event.
We worked alongside the development team at BWS to establish what new features we wanted to include, as well as what traditional elements of the Annual Dinner we wanted to keep in the program. By bringing the live talent in from the Cathedral not only provided a stunning backdrop for the stream, but brought the audience back together in that same space as previous Annual Dinners. Working alongside lighting partner, Atmosphere Lighting, the team was able to create beautiful and vibrant visuals that set the scene for the broadcast. Bringing the talent in live from the Cathedral was a show-stopper during the in-person dinner and also on the virtual platform.
The Program Host, Shane Hedges, typically spends one night out of the year encouraging the BWS community to raise their paddles and support BWS. This year, he returned to the event via broadcast to interact with the audience from a distance. His interaction with the audience was natural and familiar to the BWS community and proved to be successful in their fundraising efforts. Head of School Mike Molina also spoke live from the Cathedral the night of the event welcoming the community to the reformed Annual Dinner.
The virtual platform allowed for a larger audience reach and new opportunities to add fresh content to be added to the show. The show included performances from Yo-Yo Ma and former member of Sweet Honey in the Rock, Dr. Ysaye Barnwell. Also featured was an engaging interview with The Most Rev. Bishop Michael Curry and NBC4 news broadcaster Leon Harris. The engaging, new content kept audience members engaged and interested throughout the broadcast event.
The virtual space allowed for a wider audience, which is predicted to be hundreds of more viewers than past events. Those who typically do not attend the event in person were able to attend in the virtual platform. Keeping staple show elements consistent from previous years allowed for creativity in the virtual world to reimagine the Annual Dinner.
