Destination Moon VIP Gala
#BlastOff: Friday night at Heinz History Center, Strip District.
#FlyMeToTheMoon: To commemorate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing mission, Heinz History Center is partnering with the Smithsonian Institution to launch “Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Misson.” More than 160 supporters attended a stellar celebration to mark the opening of this new exhibit. Partygoers sipped on Satellite Sours — a bourbonbased cocktail complete with full-moon ice cubes — and indulged in delicious spacethemed treats by Common Plea Catering while Three Rivers Productions provided an out-of-this-world lighting display. “As the model Smithsonian affiliate, the History Center is honored to bring such an important exhibition to Western Pennsylvania,” said Andy Masich, president and CEO of the History Center. “This is an historic opportunity to see an iconic national treasure — the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia — right here in Pittsburgh,” he added. The Smithsonian’s “Destination Moon” exhibit takes visitors on an in-depth exploration of the Apollo 11 mission, when astronaut Neil Armstrong took “one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind” before a worldwide television audience, becoming the first man to walk on the moon. The family-friendly exhibit also features an immersive “launchpad” entrance, the audio from NASA’s Mission Control and interactives like a lunar lander video game and a virtual 3D tour of Columbia’s interior — complete with astronaut “graffiti.” For more information: heinzhistorycenter.org.
#SEEN: Scott Lammie, Sylvia Fields, Hoddy and Mary Anne Hanna, Audrey and Don Heberle, Pat Gallagher, Alex Valentine, John Thornton, Maris Bondi, Red Fields, Roy Harvey, Jay Apt and Red Whittaker.