BET Honors Dinner Kicks Off Celebratory Weekend; Aretha Franklin, Ice Cube, Berry Gordy & Kenneth Chenault Among '14 Honorees

The National Museum of Women in the Arts was bathed in soothing shades of purple and amber for the 2014 BET Honors Honoree Dinner (Daniel Swartz / REVAMP.com).

Be sure to check out all 57 of our photographs from this event HERE!

NORTHWEST -- Nothing dominated the Washington zeitgeist more over the weekend than buzz about the 2014 BET Honors celebration, which drew a who's who list of actors, musicians, politicians, executives, and artists to the city.

Photograph: Zach Woods / REVAMP.com
Photograph: Zach Woods / REVAMP.com
BET Chairman and CEO Debra Lee kicked off the festivities on Friday evening, with an intimate dinner for the year's honorees and close friends inside the marbled walls of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Photograph: Zach Woods / REVAMP.com
Photograph: Daniel Swartz / REVAMP.com
Legendary performer Aretha Franklin, Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, and American Express CEO Ken Chenault were joined by 2014 BET Honors host Wayne Brady, among many other VIPs, on the red carpet prior to the start of the night.

Photograph: Zach Woods / REVAMP.com
Photograph: Zach Woods / REVAMP.com
Once inside, they were joined by everyone from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray to CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, for a night of close conversation and good humored carousing.

Photograph: Zach Woods / REVAMP.com
Photograph: Daniel Swartz / REVAMP.com
Indeed, Friday's dinner is the proverbial 'calm before the storm', with the actual BET Honors show on Saturday serving as an overwhelming display of star power and glamour that saw nearby Warner Theatre packed to its rafters with guests.

Photograph: Zach Woods / REVAMP.com
Photograph: Zach Woods / REVAMP.com
In addition to the hundreds of household names in attendance at Saturday's show, a limited number of tickets were made available to the general public. Proceeds from such ticket sales were earmarked for Women Veterans Interactive, an organization that helps restore hope as well as provide housing options and support for needy veterans and their families.

Photograph: Zach Woods / REVAMP.com
Photograph: Daniel Swartz / REVAMP.com
Naturally, every great performance deserves an equally grand after party. And BET Honors was no different, with a steady stream of tuxedoed and ball gown-clad revelers flowing into The Howard Theatre until the wee hours of Sunday morning.

Photograph: Zach Woods / REVAMP.com
The 2014 BET Honors show will premiere during Black History Month on Monday, February 24th in the USA and around the world on BET’s international network on February 28, 2014 at 9:00pm GMT.

Be sure to check out all 57 of our photographs from this event HERE!