Roll out the Yellow Carpet – National Geographic Hosts First-Ever Explorers festival

IMG_3646The first-ever National Geographic Explorers festival was held June 15th-June 18th here in Washington.  The celebration brought together storytellers, explorers, conservationists, scientists and many others together to share how their exploration and discoveries continue to change the world. The week was capped off with the Celebration of Exploration on Saturday June 17th.

The National Geographic yellow carpet was rolled out inviting guests to the George Washington University campus on University Yard.IMG_3663 Upon entering the tent, guests were able to experience cultural cuisines, music, and dancing from around the world. Throughout the night dancers from places across the globe took to the stage to perform cultural specific dances.  There were also craft cocktails and live music in every corner of the tent.

Of course the ultimate hit was the food.  National Geographic created a culinary IMG_3732expedition that featured some of DC’s best chefs including Amy Brandwein (Centrolina), Victor Albisu (Del Campo), Erik Bruner-Yang (Toki Underground), Todd Gray (Equinox) and Jose Andres’ ThinkFoodGroup team.

The evening concluded with an awards show in nearby Lisner Auditorium.  Mo Rocca, James Cameron and Jason Silva hosted the show.  Award winners included astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, photojournalist Brian Skerry, and clean-energy visionaries Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg.