Hollywood and Washington Unite for the Susan G. Komen "Honoring the Promise" Gala at the Kennedy Center

This past Friday, the 2nd Annual Honoring the Promise Gala took place at the Kennedy Center for a celebrity-filled evening of live entertainment, cocktails, food and dancing in honor of those who have dedicated their lives to advance the fight against breast cancer.

Ambassador Nancy Brinker, sister of Susan Komen, welcomed guests and honorees from across the District, country and world. Brinker founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure in 1982 in her sister's memory and has since built it to be the leading contributor in the fight towards a cure.

The hilarious Hoda Kotb, host of NBC's "Today", served as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening. A-List presenters included MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, CNN's Wolf Blitzer, actor Donald Faison, actress Jennifer Beals, wife of Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Sarah Brown, and Congressman Steny Hoyer.

Many of the who's who in DC were also in attendance, including Abby Paige Fenton, Allison Prescott, Ashley Taylor, Eun Yang, Jack Quinn, Matt Bronczek, Nikki Schwab, Rebecca Cooper Dupin, Susanna Quinn, Todd Flournoy, and Winston Bao Lord.

Performers included the lovely singer Natasha Bedingfield, award-winning violinist Miri Ben-Ari, opera powerhouse Denyce Graves-Montgomery, aerial artist Amanda Topaz and Howard University's premier vocal jazz ensemble Afro Blue, who brought down the house with their rendition of "Dancing in the Street".

Awards of distinction were presented to Charles M. Perou, Ph.D., head of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Lineberger Cancer Center; Ellen V. Sigal, Ph.D, chair and founder of the Friends of Cancer research organization; Sandra M. Swain, M.D., medical director of the Washington Cancer Institute; and Sarah Brown, wife of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, for her work for women and children. The lifetime achievement award was accepted by Susan Ford Bales on behalf of her late mother, cancer survivor Betty Ford.

Following the performances and presentation of awards was a beautiful reception. The crowd mingled over food and drinks while a DJ spun in the background.

The event helped raise $2 million more towards finding a cure. Whoever said pink was out of style was seriously mistaken!

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