Nerd Prom
U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) (left) greets actress Rosario Dawson (right) as they arrive at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington May 3, 2014. Reuters

The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, the Washington event where movie stars mingle with politicians and the president makes fun of both himself and his political opponents, kicks off on Saturday at 7 p.m. EDT. The Washington dinner also has a Hollywood feel, complete with a red carpet reminiscent of awards shows. CSPAN will be live streaming the event here and will also have live video of the arriving guests here starting at 6 p.m. EDT.

The dinner, also known as “Nerd Prom” for its mixture of celebrities, paparazzi, journalists, politicians and the president, is being hosted by Cecily Strong, a cast member of “Saturday Night Live” best known for co-hosting “Weekend Update” and for the “SNL” character The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party. Strong is the fourth woman to serve as host for the dinner, according to the WHCA. Strong said she was taken aback when offered the honor.

“I also love that it came in that weird way. It’s so bizarre,” she told Capitol File magazine. “I mean it took us a week to figure out it was real. [My publicist] Lauren’s husband was like, ‘No, this is a different dinner; I know they’re not asking you, truly.’ [laughs] And Lauren said, ‘Wow, it is the dinner,’ but she was going to say no.”

The star-studded affair has an eclectic guest list. Media organizations have tables at the dinner and invite guests from the entertainment world to the event. The scheduled guests for the 2015 dinner include ice skater Johnny Weir, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, actress Gabourey Sidibe, reality star Brody Jenner and actress Kerry Washington. Politicos on the guest list include U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Obama speechwriter Cody Keenan, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, according to the Washington Post, which has an updated extensive guest list here.

Only one potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate will be attending the dinner: Ohio Gov. John Kasich, according to Yahoo Politics. The event conflicts with the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition’s spring dinner, where Republican hopefuls will try to woo the state's primary voters. Republicans skipping the correspondents’ dinner took shots at the gala for being elitist because it brings Hollywood and the media together.

“We consider the ‘Nerd Prom’ a no-go zone for conservatives,” Curt Anderson, a political adviser to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican who is mulling a 2016 run, told the website. “There will be primary voters at the [correspondents’] dinner, just not Republican primary voters.”

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