Michelle's Time to Shine
by Sandra McElwaine
A Warhol time capsule, locally sourced menus, a jazz trio—Michelle Obama’s been planning for months for the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, her first international meet-and-greet on home soil. Sandra McElwaine has all the details.
When the Group of 20 summit kicks off in Pittsburgh on Thursday, Michelle Obama will be front and center as hostess extraordinaire. It is her first major international meet-and-greet in the U.S. and her moment to shine. Preparations for the extravaganza have been whispered, written about, and rehearsed for months. The Bridge City was picked as the venue because the sooty steel mill town has totally reinvented itself—according to the president, it is a “world-class” town “that has transformed itself, after some very tough times, into a city that’s competing in the world economy.”
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Events, which have been carefully calibrated to showcase Michelle’s interest in the arts, environment, education, and architecture, start Thursday night, when the first couple welcomes leaders and their spouses to an elegant reception in the landmark Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, A gift to the city from steel magnate Henry Phipps in 1893, the glass-and-metal Victorian structure has been added to and expanded and is known as the “green heart of Pittsburgh.”
The president and his counterparts will stay on for a working dinner to deal with the global financial turmoil and promote economic stability, while Michelle launches the well-orchestrated two-day spousal program at Rosemont Farm, the pastoral home of Teresa Heinz, a leading environmentalist and philanthropist and the wife Senator John Kerry. A 25-minute drive from downtown in verdant Fox Chapel, Rosemont is a working farm with a old barn, flower and vegetable gardens, chickens and cows, and an occasional sheep grazing in nearby fields.
In the back of the house, with a view over the hills, a flower-filled tent with festive lights will seat the 18 wives of the G-20 heads of state. Two male spouses have declined to attend: Joachim Sauer, husband of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a quantum chemist who eschews publicity and stayed home; and Nestor Kirchner, former president of Argentina, who tagged along with his wife, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, but made dinner plans of his own.
The Pittsburgh Philharmonic Orchestra’s Jazz Trio will be on hand to provide music throughout the evening.
The meal, catered by super chef Bob Sendall of All in Good Taste, who is known for foolproof soufflés and jumbo lump crab cakes, is top secret. No one will spill the beans—literally—except some of Heinz’s fresh organic veggies or free-range chicken might make it to the table. Or maybe Michelle will opt for Sendall’s most sought-after item: Toffee Taboo—thin sheets of Belgian dark chocolate with toffee cashews and almonds, a salty sweet dessert he has been concocting for years. (Before the summit even started, one unidentified dignitary requested pancakes from Pamela’s Diner. During a campaign stop in 2008, the president made a pit stop at Pamela’s and called the pancakes “outstanding.” Because of the massive security, the restaurant hasn’t a clue about how it will manage to get the pancakes to the customer, but they’ll be ready for delivery, as requested, on Friday morning.)
While international leaders confer in the nearby David L. Lawrence Convention Center, musical stars will shine on Friday when Michelle stewards the wives to the city’s Creative and Performing Arts School for a concert, class, and interactive performance with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, country music’s Trisha Yearwood, and singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles. This stellar group will also drop in on other classes and watch some rehearsals. Then they and the spouse group will trek over to the museum named for native son Andy Warhol, which features seven floors of iconic Marilyn Monroe, Campbell’s soup cans, and Brillo boxes, along with other famous works of art, for lunch and the opportunity to silkscreen one of Warhol’s colorful flower images on a souvenir tote bag.
Apparently the famed pop artist squirreled away 600 sealed time capsules, each containing a variety of contemporary objects, to be opened at specific times. During the tour, the museum’s director plans to open one and reveal its contents for the visiting VIPs. It boggles the mind to contemplate how security, or protocol, or anyone else could possibly anticipate or prepare for the outcome of this unusual event.
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-09-23/michelles-moment-to-shine/full/
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