Tuesday, September 25, 2012

DXB to IAD: Dubai and Washington Upgrade Their Relationship

It was with typical Dubai-style fanfare that Emirates hosted a launch party to introduce their new route to North America last Thursday.  Matt and I were delighted to join the party after participating in the filming of the launch videos for Washington, DC in Dubai a few months back.  Boy, did they put on a party!  The event was hosted at the stunning National Building Museum in Washington, and there was plenty of flowing bubbly,  top-notch canapes, and VIP guests to add to the fanfare.

We were able to catch up with friends from the desert who had flown in for the event including our own US ambassador to the UAE, the President of Motivate Publishing, and the UAE embassy staff, who were able to keep us updated on the ongoing of our former home - even though we've only been gone a few weeks!

The biggest surprise of the night was almost the fact that the three course meal was incredibly delicious for such a large event (no rubber chickens here) but instead, as a surprise to all the guests, it was when the Master of Ceremonies invited Lionel Richie out on stage for a twelve song set!  A legend!

As he sat down and started crooning "Easy Like Sunday Morning", he invited all the attendees to join him at the stage.  While most people were hesitant, Matt encouraged us to make a move and I was glad we did - we ended up right next to the stage for a near private concert!  My heart skipped a beat when he sang "Say You, Say Me" and I was moving my feet to his great performance of "All Night Long".  The evening turned out to be a pretty special one, I never thought we'd be front and center in front of Mr. Richie!

Here are some of his best songs, in case your memory needs jogging on just how cool this guy really is!





Say You, Say Me.
 
Three Times a Lady.


Easy Like Sunday Morning.


                      All Night Long.

1 comment:

jimdad said...

Great fun - wished I'd been there, too!

'Seems like when the party is at the Building Museum, you can count on a great time.