Competition mounts among weekend’s chichi after parties

For some, the afterparties to this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner are the only parties to attend. And this weekend, revelers will have options as they don black-tie attire and attend some of the year’s most famous late-night parties.

One such party is the annual Bloomberg party, held at the Macedonian Embassy. Among the evening’s most famous guests expected to attend: Laurence Fishburne and wife Gina Torres, Jill Hennessy (“Crossing Jordan”), Anna Kournikova, Sela Ward (“House”), Isaiah Washington (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, William Baldwin and Naomi Judd.

Another afterparty is the Reuters party, which executives are hoping will steal some thunder from Bloomberg, since this year’s event is bigger and hopefully better than before. The Reuters party takes place at the Kstreet lounge from 10 p.m. until 3 a.m.

“Due to demand, we decided to create a house party off-site, which allows us to invite more guests,” said Reuters spokeswoman Samantha Topping,” adding, “We’re taking it to the next level.”

On competing with Bloomberg, she said, “When it comes to Washington, we don’t compete with Bloomberg, we own the space. I mean, really, when it comes to news and world news, we don’t compete with Bloomberg.” And, she added, “Unlike other people hosting events, we respect the privacy of our guests and don’t publish a guest list.” (Word on the street has it that Stephen Colbert of “The Colbert Report” – who is the entertainment at the correspondents’ dinner — will attend the Reuters party.)

Bloomberg fired back. “We don’t comment on competitors as a point of professional courtesy,” said spokeswoman Judith Czelusniak. “However, our party will reflect the high quality of Bloomberg News: Up to the minute, definitive, dazzling and full of the most important sources in Washington.”

To spruce up its party, Reuters created the Department of Homeland Sobriety, a bar book of party drinks that include the Tongue Twister, Bush’s pre-speech drink; McKinney’s Upper Cut, a fruit-punch concoction; and the Barack O’Bomber a Red Bull libation for the younger set.

A brand new afterparty on the scene this year is Capitol File magazine’s After Party, from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Georgetown’s Café Milano. Somehow, details on this party are hush-hush.

‘Fox News Sunday’ celebrates a decade at Café Milano
 Network, political bigwigs to attend

Does the thought of catching a glimpse of the 6-foot-5 Bill O’Reilly sound enticing?

If so, so will the party Fox News throws tonight at Café Milano to celebrate 10 years of “Fox News Sunday.”

In addition to the controversial O’Reilly, Sunday host Chris Wallace and his father, Mike Wallace, are set to be on hand, as is smooth-voiced star anchor Shepherd Smith and Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was scheduled to attend, but (go figure) he had to go to Iraq.

Capitol Hill attendees include Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), a frequent guest on “Fox News Sunday,” former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and wife Andrea Mitchell, chief foreign-affairs correspondent for NBC.

Dems to appear in new movie
Some taped pols don’t make the cut

Lawmakers’ trying to act in movies could be disastrous, but legislators who appear as themselves seems to be a safer bet.

A controversial new film related to the Iraq war will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Friday. The movie, titled, “When I Came Home,” includes cameos by members of Congress including Reps. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) and Lane Evans (D-Ill.) as well as Democratic staffers on the Veterans Affairs Committee. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) does not appear on camera, but she is heavily referred to in the film.

“When I Came Home” focuses on an Iraq war vet named Herold Noel who ended up living out of his car in Brooklyn because he had nowhere else to go after returning from the conflict in the Middle East. The film follows Noel as he transforms from an ordinary homeless vet to a leader of a new movement in which he travels to D.C. with an organization called Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, whose mission is to bring veterans’ issues to Washington.

Filmmakers also taped segments with Reps. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) and Ted Strickland (D-Ohio), but they didn’t make the final cut.

Getting a colon screening isn’t enticing, so the American Cancer Society is trying to spice things up to remind members of Congress about the importance of being screened.

The new ad campaign is a paddleball game with the slogan, “Spank Colon Cancer!”

The screening takes 15 minutes, but the prep isn’t pleasant. You must drink only liquids for 12 hours and ingest massive doses of laxatives.

“It’s fun, I’ve heard,” jokes Steve Weiss, senior director of communications for the American Cancer Society.

Sort of like a smorgasbord buffet, there are various screenings to choose from. One is a sigmoidoscopy, which is similar to a colonoscopy but doesn’t view the entire length of your colon. Another is a colonoscopy, which looks at the entire colon. The test can suffice for 10 years. The American Cancer Society recommends screenings every five years for people 50 and over.

“What they are looking for are growths or polyps on your colon,” says Weiss, who plans to have his first colonoscopy soon.

Wendy Selig, vice president of legislative affairs for the American Cancer Society, noted that the idea for the ad campaign is to target younger staffers. Past campaigns included Polypman, a funny guy in a red suit who appeared in inconvenient places acting obnoxious, and the TV commercial with a man whose wife is on his back, literally, until he gets tested.

Blumenauer on crutches

Three weeks ago, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) took a spill as he was running out the door of his Portland home.

His wife asked him to return to take out the recycling bin. He grabbed the container, took a bad step and fell. The congressman then boarded his flight for Washington, not realizing until he landed that he was hurt. He paid a visit to the attending physician at the Capitol and learned that he had broken a bone on the side of his foot.

Blumenauer, an avid biker and runner, will be on crutches for approximately six weeks.

“I think he’s going a little stir-crazy,” said Blumenauer spokesman Tim Daly, explaining that the injury is interrupting his boss’s morning jog and bike to work from his Capitol Hill row house.

Sen. Kennedy, Olympic skater to help kids with math

In an effort to increase middle school students’ enthusiasm for math, Raytheon is launching “Hippest Homework Happening” on Capitol Hill today. The event promotes a new program in which students get help with their math homework online with celebrities.

On the Hill today will be 100 middle school students, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno, who will rollerblade around the fountain at Upper Senate Park to illustrate the math problem to be presented to the students at the event. (ITK assumes Kennedy’s people will keep him off the Rollerblades.)

The problem: Apolo Ohno won a gold medal in the 500-meter speed-skating final. If the distance around the fountain in Upper Senate Park is 460 feet, approximately how many laps will Ohno have to skate around it to equal the distance of his gold-medal victory?

(A) Four laps
(B) Five laps
(C) Three laps
(D) Three and a half laps

“Raytheon hires 3,000 engineers every year,” said Weber Shandwick spokesman Adam Greelaw. “They are really trying to help young people interested in math and science.”

Announcements

Hill aide weds former Miss Utah

Matt Meagher, legislative director for Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.), married Holly Isaman, former Miss Utah International, on March 17 in Salt Lake City.

Meagher has worked on the Hill for the past nine years. Isaman held her Miss Utah title in 2005 and works for the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Meagher proposed to Isaman at the top of the Capitol Rotunda in February.

Bridesmaids included Megan Caldwell, an aide to Rep. William Jenkins (R-Tenn.), and one of the groomsmen was Damon Nelson, an aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.).

To view the couple’s wedding webpage and not-to-be-missed photo album, visit www.weddingchannel.com.

D.C. Yoga Week launches with peaceful offerings

Ten local-area yoga studios launch the inaugural D.C. Yoga Week this weekend.

Between Saturday, April 29, and Friday, May 5, these studios will offer a yoga class free or at greatly reduced rates. Daily $5 classes will be open to the public.

Participating studios include Bikram Yoga, Capitol Hill Yoga, Circle Yoga and Budding Yogis at Circle Yoga, Flow Yoga Center, Georgetown Yoga, Hot Yoga, SomaFit, Spiral Flight Yoga, Tranquil Space and Unity Woods.

For more information, visit dcyogaweek.com.

Tips, sightings and complaints: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or (202) 628-8516.
Announcements, which include births, engagements, retirements, deaths or any significant party or life event, can be sent to the above address or phone number.