Taste of the South

Every "spring" (May/June) there is a gala in DC called Taste of the South. A dozen or so southern states get together to create a booth that represents their state. Each state has its own organization committee that raises money for the event, finds area sponsors for its booth, and chooses a state charity as a benefactor.

Each booth is stocked with "swag" such as pens/stickers/merchandise etc. from state schools and companies. As the name suggests, the big pull is southern food; now, to be fair the food isn't terrible, but it is by no means why one attends the event because it is pedestrian at best.

Dan couldn't resist a picture in front of the pirate ship...naturally! Mississippi (the state with the pirate ship in front) had a pretty good booth--decent seafood. I quite like this shot of Dan...very debonair.

He hasn't invested into a good tux as of yet (there really isn't a need--he only has occasion to wear one every once in a blue moon); so for this black tie affair he cheated and wore a black suit with a bow tie. We were a bit skeptical if he could pull off the look, but I think it worked out well.

Anyone who has been to the event knows what I'm talking about, but it is HOT inside the DC Armory--the event organizers don't pay to have the A/C on (it's like 10K to do so) in order to give more money to the individual state charities. However, it becomes mighty steamy inside (hence all of the shiny faces!) so typically the guests are fairly young, or generally those brave enough to stand the heat (the open bar helps in this matter).

Dan hijacked the camera as I was adjusting my shoe situation (see below for offending footwear); it didn't help that I had my canvas swag bag...TOTS went green this year...chock full of stuff on one shoulder whilst attempting to balance. I decided to go pack horse style at the party...swag on one side...camera on the other.

I clearly need to buy an external flash or an IS lens because it becomes glaringly apparent that I am a) lacking in photo skills and b) lacking the proper equipment to really pull off such low light shots; none of mine came out but I wanted to post something about the event for all of the peeps back home.

Above is a blurry picture of an old friend from HS Emmanuel and a new friend from work Chastine; this proves my long held view that I am just not photogenic (which is why I love being behind the camera so much...mom had something going here!)

As the end of the night all of the girls hobble out because after four hours in four inch heels...standing/dancing the whole time...you really don't care if you are walking barefoot on the streets of DC.