Annual Garden Brunch celebrates 30 years

The annual White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch returned to the Beall-Washington House on Saturday, with dignitaries from the political and media worlds out in full force ahead of Saturday night’s dinner. 

Dozens of journalists, politicians, government officials, celebrities, and other notable figures waltzed into the sprawling estate, the former home of Katharine Graham, to honor the press and celebrate what event organizers called “the pillars of democracy.”

The champagne flowed as leading media figures and public officials mingled, snacked on candied bacon and avocado toast while they exchanged stories from parties the night before, plans for the annual dinner at the Washington Hilton hours later and stories from correspondents’ weekends past. 

Representatives from Blue Star Families, an organization committed to strengthening military families were recognized for their work on the front lines of Ukraine and elsewhere around the world. Guests were invited to write notes to active-duty military serving overseas and pin them to Blue Star Families’ “Honor Wall.” 

Spotted at this year’s Garden Brunch was: Dr. Anthony Fauci, Actor Leib Shriver, California Gov. Gavin Newsom,  journalist Kara Swisher, former White House Press Aide Hogan Gidley, MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle, Semafor founder and editor Ben Smith, CBS anchor Gayle King, CNN anchor Dana Bash, Sen. Chris Coons,United States Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, The View co-hosts Ana Navarro and Alyssa Farah Griffin, CNN CEO Chris Licht, NBCU president Caeser Conde, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and many more.