2023 Washington Performing Arts Gala

Date: March 11, 2023

Venue: National Building Museum

Event Challenge: Integrating the theme throughout the entire program, including design, menu, and bar

Washington Performing Arts is a non-profit organization that celebrates and supports artists throughout the DC area. Every year, the organization's annual gala aims to raise funds to support their mission all while creating an elevated guest experience year over year. 

The 2023 Washington Performing Arts gala perfectly captured the theme “The World in Our City” by celebrating the diverse cultures and perspectives present in the DMV. We worked closely with Design Foundry to communicate the organization’s vision, resulting in creative and stunning decor featuring bright colors and dynamic shapes that represented the vibrant cultures in DC. The theme was also carried out through the menu with dishes from Ridgewells. The cuisine was inspired from numerous countries around the world, such as falafel, carnitas, and Korean short ribs.

Though Washington Performing Arts fills their gala with stunning performances and delicious meals annually, every year they choose a new theme, implement unique activations, and reimagine the guest experience to elevate the production year over year. 

At this year’s gala guests were greeted with cocktails and a silent auction, followed by performances from Christylez Bacon, Vision Duo, and Mars Arts D.C. The layout used at the Building Museum enabled guests to naturally progress through from the program to dinner to the dance floor for an after reception party. The design of the museum incorporated creativity and logistics to create a thrilling experience for all guests.

This was one of the first large scale events that the Stratus Team took on with new team members that joined us in the beginning of 2023. Each member of our production team was assigned a specific role, which enabled us to spread out responsibilities. This made it easy for each team member to know their role and who to reach out to should they or the client need anything. We were able to expertly handle all the needs of Washington Performing Arts which allowed the client  to enjoy the night and focus on their guests.