Around Town Parties/Events People Personalities Press

Inside Bytes & Bylines, a WHCD Kick-Off

April 29, 2016 admin

On Thursday night, bold-faced names from the tech, political, business, media and entertainment worlds gathered at the private residence of His Excellency Ramón Gil-Casares, The Ambassador of Spain to the U.S., for the 2016 Bytes & Bylines party to kick off White House Correspondents’ Dinner Weekend.

bytes2 — Anne Anderson, Ambassador of Ireland to the U.S., left, and former Chief of Protocol of the U.S. Capricia Marshall.

His Excellency opened his Georgetown home along with co-hosts Susanna Quinn, Veluxe CEO and founder; Allen Gannett, TrackMaven CEO; Eric Kuhn, Layer3 TV CMO, and political strategist John McCarthy for the event, which was sponsored by D.C. real estate development firm Saul Urban.

bytes6 — Bytes & Bylines 2016 WHCD party held at the private residence of the Spanish Ambassador

The eclectic mix of tech, political and media powerhouses included notable attendees such as Congresswoman and DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Irish Ambassador Anne Anderson,Afghan Ambassador Hamdullah Mohib, South African Ambassador Mninwa Mahlangu, actor Spencer Garrett, Fox News Channel’s Shannon Bream, and lawyer Justin Mikita, among others.

bytes1 — Bytes & Bylines co-hosts Layer3 TV CMO Eric Kuhn, left, TrackMaven CEO Allen Gannett, Veluxe CEO and founder Susanna Quinn, Ambassador of Spain to the U.S. His Excellency Ramón Gil-Casares and John McCarthy

Guests sipped authentic Spanish cocktails crafted by renowned global chef, José Andrés, who even stopped by the party to mix a few drinks himself. Sangria and flavored gin & tonic concoctions made using local favorite Ivy City Gin were served in addition to hand-carved Iberico ham from Ferin Ham, while guests savored even more bites grilled on a special barbecue stationed on the ambassador’s patio.

bytes3 — WJLA/ABC7’s Jummy Olabanji, left, ESPN’s Kelley L. Carter, BuzzFeed’s Darren Sands, ESPN’s Kelley Evans and The Washington Post’s Veronica Toney

In keeping with the annual fete’s theme of gathering the nation’s leading innovators in the tech, media and political spheres, partygoers were whisked off to Spain from the comfort of the ambassador’s home via virtual reality goggles supplied by Navteca.