A Night Out: The Fabretto Foundation’s Casino Night and Masquerade Ball

What: The Canary Foundation’s—er, no, wait!—the Fabretto Foundation’s Casino Night and Masquerade Ball. (The charity beneficiary was changed at the last minute on Wednesday).

Where: Teatro Goldoni.

When: Saturday, September 27. The evening was divided into two events: a charity poker tournament from 5 to 10 followed by a black-tie masquerade ball from 10 to 1.

Who: The invitation announced a small crew of hosts, including Teatro Goldoni owners Michael Kosmides and Jose Garcia, but the focus of the evening was on Katherine Kennedy and her Blonde Charity Mafia costars Krista Johnson and Sophie Pyle—and their camera crew.

All photographs by Rachel Cothran

Scene: Perhaps more for the benefit of the cameras than for the charity, Saturday night’s event was filmed for inclusion in the upcoming reality series Blonde Charity Mafia. Lifetime’s cameras were carefully trained on the show’s stars, particularly Katherine Kennedy, whose every move and conversation were recorded. The crew ran a tight ship, having clearly limited what its stars could say about the show, even going so far as to shoo away those who asked too many questions. When asked what viewers could expect from her character on the show, Kennedy paused and simply said, “Reality.” When asked for further clarification, she replied with a line similar to the tone of the show’s press release: “It’s about the social scene and charity work in Washington, DC.”

It’s a shame, though, that neither Kennedy and her mafia aren’t involved with the Fabretto Foundation when they do help to raise money and awareness for several other causes in the city. When asked how long she had worked with Fabretto, Kennedy, clearly put on the spot, said, “Not very long.” Coupled with the fact that the nonprofit, which provides education assistance to low-income children in Nicaragua, was called in at the last minute, the charity element came across as a bit disingenuous. Fundraising totals for the evening were not available at press time, though the male poker players who attended seemed to be playing with very generous credit limits. Kennedy, wearing a black form-fitting dress by 2812 S. Miller (actress Sienna Miller’s line), did admit that she was “in love like you’ve never seen” with boyfriend and Seahawks player Billy Glading, but she also hinted that she has “several love interests” on the show. All guests were asked to sign release forms. (Note: Kennedy clarifies that the Canary Foundation was not able to be the charity recipient because "we had issues getting all of the 501c3 paperwork to the gaming commission in time" because the charity is located on the West coast. Kennedy has been actively involved with the Canary Foundation.)

Food: Trays of tasty hors d’oeuvres from Teatro Goldoni executive chef Enzo Fargione, including spinach foam and Norwegian smoked-salmon spoons with citrus dressing; roasted rock shrimp with chickpea wrappers; spicy tomato risotto arancini; and goat-cheese-and-black-olive “lollipops.”

Bar: Open! Pink vodka flowed freely.

Ratings (See our ratings explanations here):
Boldface names: 3 out of 5
Swankiness: 3 out of 5
Food and drink: 3 out of 5
Overall exclusivity: 3 out of 5

Total score: 12 out of 20

Related:
Washingtonian Favorites: Katharine Kennedy 

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Rachel Cothran