Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Washington D.C.” Premiere Party Drama
Bravo’s Real Housewives of Washington, D.C. premiere on August 5 has already created drama in Washington — dueling premiere parties and after-parties, which pit the four unknown housewives against the famous Michaele Salahi.
The official “private premiere screening” is hosted by Half Yard Productions, a local production company which produced the Housewives series and sold it to Bravo.
All the cast “housewives” – Stacie Scott Turner, Mary Schmidt Amons, Catherine Ommanney, Lynda Erkiletian and Michaele Salahi — will attend the live premiere party, according to a Half Yards rep.
“The event is private and is a screening for the family and friends of the ladies in the show,” says a rep for Half Yard. The party of 250 is invitation-only at the Madison Hotel.
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Media coverage is tightly controlled, with only “select media” invited “as guests and to cover” the event. The Half Yard rep says “several network cameras” are coming to cover the “private” event.
Salahi, infamous for crashing the White House State Dinner with husband Tareq Salahi, is party hopping Thursday night. “We are going to both the Half Yards Party and also to 3 other parties around DC!” Salahi tells Human Events.
After hitting the official party, Salahi will cross town to a less staid venue for the “Real Housewives of DC Premier Party Hosted by Michaele Salahi.” The unfortunately misspelled “premier” party at EFN Lounge is open to the general public and the media.
The Salahi invitation states that the “independent organization sponsoring this event has NO CONNECTION with NBC Universal or the Bravo Network.” Echoing the dueling parties sentiment, a rep for Half Yard echoes the party divide, telling Human Events that the “Salahi party is their own and is not affiliated with Half Yard or Bravo.”
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| Photo – DCMostFabulous.com |
Although the invitation is for a party “hosted by Michaele Salahi,” she seems to be distancing herself from the party. Event planner Howard Cromwell clarifies to Human Events that “our publication is the Official Host of the event” and “Michaele & Tareq are honored guests.” Cromwell’s “publication” is called “DC’s MOST FABULOUS Magazine” and seems to cover only Salahi related events in Washington.
Tickets for the Salahi party are sold online and cost $25 for general admission, $80 for VIP and $150 for “Housewives Circle.” According to Cromwell, 80% of the profits from the party will go to two charities (Dab the AIDS Bear Project and Honor & Remember.)
Not only is the title for the Salahi party misspelled, Cromwell has changed the title four times in six days on the event’s Facebook page. The event’s titles have been:
“Real Housewives of DC LIVE Premier Party” (July 24)
“Pre Pay tickets are required for: Real Housewives of DC LIVE Premier Party” (July 25)
“Real Housewives of DC LIVE Premier Party – Pre Pay Tickets Only” (July 27)
“Real Housewives of DC LIVE Premier Party – 6 Days AWAY-Get Tickets NOW.” (July 31)
After the live premiere of the series from 9-10pm, there are dueling after-parties which again divide Michael Salahi from the other four housewives.
Four of the housewives — Amons, Erkiletian, Ommanney and Turner — are hosting an after-party with Washington Life Magazine, which D.C. insiders consider the most respected of the social magazines.
“The housewives wanted to celebrate after the screening with a fun party,” Washington Life’s Executive Editor Michael Clements tells Human Events. The “VIP after-party celebration” is an exclusive, “guest list only” party at the Buddha Bar from 10:30-12:30pm. The party is free for those on the guest list.
Meanwhile, Cromwell’s “DC’s MOST FABULOUS Magazine” is hosting the so-called “official after party” from 10pm-2am at Josephine Lounge. The party is for those who bought tickets to the earlier Salahi “premier” party.
