Trust For The National Mall’s L'Enfant Society Fetes Launch Of 2011 ‘Ball On The Mall’ Season!

NORTHWEST -- For most visitors to the National Mall, the park serves as the scenic backdrop to countless parades, marches, marathons, and picnics each year, in addition to the country’s most jaw-dropping fireworks display on Independence Day.

Yet for a few hundred lucky Washingtonians, “America’s Front Yard” also happens to play host to one of the best formal parties of the year, in the form of the annual Ball on the Mall celebration.

And Wednesday evening, members and friends of the L’Enfant Society -- a support program of the Trust For The National Mall and the host organization behind the ball – gathered at the recently opened downtown hotspot Cities Restaurant & Lounge to celebrate the official launch of the Ball on the Mall season.

While sipping complimentary glasses of wine and chilled bottles of Heineken (all generously donated for the evening), D.C.’s young and beautiful toasted a $600 million blueprint to protect, restore, and transform the National Mall that emerged at the end of 2010 after years of discussions.

(L-R) L'Enfant Society Board Members Pamela Sorensen & Lindley Thornburg and Washington Examiner columnist Katy Adams.
The more than 30 million visitors that visit the park annually have long taken for granted the resources required to maintain the country’s 700 acres of “Democratic Stage”, to the tune of a now $400 million bill for deferred maintenance costs alone!

While the organization holds several gatherings throughout the year, the Ball on the Mall represents the pinnacle of the L’Enfant Society’s fundraising efforts during each donor cycle, with more than $350,000 expected to be raised during this year’s May 7th black tie affair.

DJ Neekola kept guests energized with a steady stream of club favorites and original songs.

**********
To join the Trust For The National Mall’s L’Enfant Society, please visit the organization’s website.