Luminaries from Hollywood, Delhi, Washington and beyond will pack into a tent on the White House lawn tonight to honour Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh, at the first state dinner of President Barack Obama's administration.
White House state dinners are the marquee social event in the US capital, and tonight's guest list and menu will be closely scrutinised for signs of how the young Obama family compares to its predecessors. Keenly aware of the dinners' social and political significance, aides kept a tight lid on the guest list ahead of the event, but leaks in the US news media indicated the dinner would be well attended by Indian-American stars of politics, popular culture and journalism.
The White House east wing has brought in celebrated chef Marcus Samuelsson of New York's trendy Scandinavian restaurant Aquavit to help the White House kitchen staff plan the meal. At the top of the menu: potato and eggplant salad with arugula and onion seed vinaigrette and red lentil soup. For the main course, the White House will offer a choice between roasted potato dumplings with tomato chutney or green curry prawns. Dessert includes pumpkin pie tart and pear tatin.
Soul singer and Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson, jazz singer Kurt Elling and the National Symphony are scheduled to headline the evening's entertainment.
The Obamas are seen as the most stylish couple to occupy the White House in decades. The reclusive Bushes held only six state dinners, and the Clintons, who moved to Washington from Little Rock, Arkansas, held 25 but were teased by Washington social grandees as provincial southerners.
On the invite list along with Democratic party and White House officials were Hollywood director M Night Shyamalan, Harold and Kumar actor and current White House aide Kal Penn, Washington Post managing editor Raju Narisetti, and CNN's Dr Sanjay Gupta, who was Obama's first pick for surgeon general.
Other Hollywood big shots include talent agent Ari Emanuel, brother of White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, director Stephen Spielberg and record executive David Geffen. Republicans favoured with invites to Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, whose parents were born in India, and Indiana senator Richard Lugar.
Tonight marks Singh's second official dinner at the White House. In 2005, he was honoured at one of the few state dinners of George Bush's presidency. On the menu that evening was chilled asparagus soup and lemon creme, pan-roasted halibut and ginger-carrot butter, and basmati rice with pistachio nuts and currants.