From Lima to Athens and San Francisco to Atlanta, nearly 700 alumni gathered in 34 cities to celebrate George Washington’s 280th birthday on Feb. 22.
Events varied by city, with some festivities featuring Mexican cuisine, birthday cake, or a wine tasting. Alumni in Boston toasted George with signature drinks that included ‘The Martha’ and ‘Presidential Punch’, and alumni in Seattle and Hampton Roads (among others) played a GW trivia game, with questions ranging from the number of biological children George had to his shoe size.
“The trivia game was a lot of fun and even acted as an ice breaker as we broke people up in groups. It was nice to see alumni from all different class years get along so well,” notes Sarwat Digre, GWSB BBA ’06, who helped plan the Seattle event. “The team with a Colonial Cabinet member won the trivia challenge — surprise, surprise!”
Las Vegas Alumni Club co-chair Barry Duman, CCAS AA’62, GWSB BA ’64, says that although their event was a smaller gathering, it was great. “I think there was genuine enthusiasm and all are anxious to get together again soon.”
“We had a private bar area that allowed alums to mingle and meet one another or catch up with old friends,” adds Catherine Hibben Silvo, CCAS BA ’08, BS ’08, who is co-chair of the Boston Alumni Club and helped plan the Boston festivities. She notes that many attended the GWU vs. Harvard basketball game last month and were eager to learn more about future events, while others hadn’t been to alumni event before but seemed to enjoy the experience and wanted to know more about other events.
“GW’s birthday is a fun way to get people to come to an event, especially when you know your friends across the country – and the world – are doing the same thing on the same day,” says Silvo. “Since this is becoming an annual tradition, it is something all alumni can look forward to no matter what city they move to.”
See all photos from George’s Birthday Bash on GW Alumni’s Flickr photostream.
Visit our Regional Programs web page for more information on how to get involved, and check out upcoming events in your area on our Events Calendar.
