How does a person like me end up in the same room as the President, Bette Midler and Smokey Robinson?
As it turns out, it just takes a little bit of luck and a few well-timed emails.
Earlier this year, my friend Kim and I were talking about our bucket lists, things we wanted to do and experience in our lifetimes. The conversation turned to the Kennedy Center Honors, an annual black-tie, fancy pants event that “celebrates luminaries whose art and creativity have enriched us beyond measure”. (https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/honors/ [kennedy-center.org]) Past honorees have included Steve Martin, Elton John, Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Streisand and almost 200 more of the biggest names you can think of from the entertainment world. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Center_Honors [en.wikipedia.org]) The tributes to the honorees are always done by other incredible artists, and each year, the show seemed like one of those magical “lightning in a bottle” type of events.
“How do you even get on the list to attend something like that?” Kim mused.
Curious, I popped onto the Kennedy Center’s website to see what the process might be. To amuse myself, I dropped an inquiry email to an address I found to ask about getting tickets for the two of us, even though we had no idea who was going to be honored this year.
A couple of weeks passed and I had forgotten about even sending the email. Then, I got a response that explained that tickets generally went to donors, but if there were any left over, they opened them up to a lottery of people from the public. I immediately asked to be put in the lottery.
Fast forward to November, just a few weeks before the Honors were scheduled to take place. I received notice that we were being offered the opportunity to buy tickets to attend, but that we had to act quickly to secure our tickets. Immediately, I called Kim to see if she was serious about trying to go. After a few more calls/texts with no response, I decided to go for it, figuring that if she couldn’t go, I would find someone else that could! The price tag was stiff, but this seemed like a chance I couldn’t pass up. So, I held my breath, typed in my credit card information, and hoped we would be accepted.
Twenty-four hours later, the Kennedy Center emailed to confirm that we were in! I texted Kim and said we needed to make our arrangements ASAP - and in a whirlwind, we decided to fly up the night before, stay at the historic Watergate Hotel, and fly out the following morning.
Now, Kim and I have a history of the best laid plans going terribly awry. One example was for my bachelorette party, when we were traveling together to NYC on the same plane, but then, ended up with me, alone in Pittsburgh, Kim making a trip back to ATL, and our luggage going on to NYC without us. So, we were excited about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but we were apprehensive, to say the least. At each step of the trip, we held our breath, waiting to be told that this was the point at which our plans were going to fall apart.
This may come as a surprise, but I don’t attend many black-tie type events. Thank goodness for my very fashionable friend, Veronica, who came over a few nights before we left with six different options for me to borrow complete with the accessories. After a fashion show for Diana (complete with scoring and rating) and a few group texts with friends, I decided on an ensemble and packed for the trip.
To our delight, the whole thing went off without a hitch! The Watergate Hotel is right next to the Kennedy Center, so when the big night arrived, we dressed in our finest and walked over.
After stopping to take some photos outside the entrance, we filed in with a crowd that had just arrived by bus, and noticed a red carpet, complete with paparazzi and media interviewing celebrities. I snuck some photos of Kevin Nealon and Kelli O’Hara before someone realized that Kim and I were not supposed to be in that area and politely guided us to where we needed to go pick up our tickets. (https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photos-On-the-Red-Carpet-at-the-2021-Kennedy-Center-Honors-20211206 [broadwayworld.com])
Our seats were in the very last row of the Opera Hall, but we didn’t mind at all. We were in the “room where it happens”, and in that venue, there’s not a bad seat in the house. The couple seated next to us was kind enough to share their binoculars with us throughout the show so we could get close ups as new performers or announcers came to the stage.
The show itself was incredible - almost four hours of talented tributes to Joni Mitchell, Justino Diaz, Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler and Berry Gordy. During the intermission, we snuck down to see if we could get a view of the honorees and the politicians and saw President Biden chatting it up with Berry Gordy.
It seemed fated for us to be there that night to see those honorees, with three of them having special significance for us. Kim and I are both huge fans of Saturday Night Live, and loved seeing all of the cast members come together to pay homage to Lorne. One of my strongest memories from high school was singing “Wind Beneath Wings” dedicated to my mom in the one and only pageant I ever participated in, so when that song was sung, I had goosebumps head to toe. My dad was a huge Motown fan, and I danced along in my seat to each and every song remembering our car dance parties when I was young. When it got to the grand finale with Stevie Wonder, everyone was on their feet and grooving along.
We were on cloud 9 as we walked out, and geeked out when we saw Smokey Robinson walking into the VIP area to have dinner. Kim yelled his name and he turned and gave us his million dollar smile - the icing on the cake to a perfect night.
If you get the chance to watch the show, I highly recommend it - and if they show the crowd, look for us…in the very top row.
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