Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Chance For Life Charity Event and Taste Experience Raises $1.6 Million for Cancer Research


On Saturday, March 10th at the MGM National Harbor the D.C. charity event of the year helped in raising $1.6 million dollars to help fund pediatric cancer research at the Children's National Health System. Chance for Life, presented by Boeing, featured an all day 700-person poker tournament, an incredible line up of D.C. Chef's at their nighttime Taste Experience, multiple top-shelf open bars, one of the largest silent-auctions in the region, and an amazing cocktail party afterwards. All of the proceeds went to fighting against childhood cancer. 




The star-studded charity event started at 10AM with a delicious buffet, registration, and the beginning of the all-day Texas Hold'Em style poker tournament! The final poker table didn't end their game until well after 7pm, but the silent auction began at 3:30 and the Taste Experience opened their doors by 6PM. The party continued with live music and incredible performances and inspirational speakers until midnight. 


The Taste Experience brought together some of the top restaurants and chefs in D.C., with unique food stations throughout the entire party. Casey Patten, co-founder of Taylor Gourmet, helped in creating the line-up of outstanding culinary talents. 



Restaurants attending included the new Chloe restaurant by Haidar Karoum and the hip new asian-fusion spot ChiKO (ChiKo is up for Best New Restaurant of the Year). They also had the family owned and operated restaurant Mandu by chef Danny Lee, the infamous Red Hen by Michael Friedman, Del Campo by Victor Albisu, and so many other fantastic eateries and industry professionals were in attendance. 



The best bite of the night came from The Red Hen, which offered a delicious Gnochhi Alla Romana, made with truffled fonduta, proscuitto, pecorenotartufo, and pangrattato. I was going back for seconds and have already made reservations to try the rest of the Italian-American menu at their historic Bloomingdale location! There were also delicious oyster Yuzu Sake Bombs made by Kyle Bailey of the Salt Line, who is a nominee for Best Chef this year, incredible scallops made with a blowtorch by Daikaya, and juicy Korean BBQ from the new restaurant ChiKO.



The Taste Experience also offered world-renowned wines, local craft beers, and incredible cocktails made by D.C.'s top mixologists and sommeliers. Guests danced the night away to live performances, DJs, and surprise entertainers while raising almost two million dollars for childhood cancer research. This party for a purpose was one you didn't want to miss, but if you did, you can still donate today! 


Chance for Life was created in 2005 for Kennedy Snyder, a child who was diagnosed with a spinal cord tumor when she was only 2 years old. Eight years later, she is still fighting. The Chance for Life Charity is trying to help Kennedy in the fight against cancer. Every dollar raised by Chance for Life goes directly to cancer research. You can donate here, and find more information on Chance for Life on their website. 

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