WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama brought some island flavor to Washington on Thursday.
The White House turned the annual picnic for members of Congress and their families into a Hawaiian luau, in celebration of the president’s home state. Tents were set up on the South Lawn, tiki torches lined the perimeter and potted palm trees were brought in.
“I hope everybody’s got their Hawaiian shirts and their mumus for our luau tonight,” Obama told lawmakers gathered at the White House on Thursday for a meeting on immigration.
On the menu were traditional luau foods such as kalua pig and lomi lomi salmon, prepared by famed Hawaiian chef Alan Wong.
Wong said the president was showing his guests great respect by throwing a luau.
“To do a luau in Hawaii is a special occasion,” Wong said. “You throw a luau for your child’s first birthday, or you throw a luau for a wedding.”
Several White House officials, including chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and press secretary Robert Gibbs, were set to take their turn in the dunk tank. “My only concern at this point is that the water gets a little warmer maybe before we start throwing,” Gibbs said.
Before the luau, the Obamas put some lawmakers to work in their effort to promote community service. Five representatives joined the Obamas at Fort McNair, where they assembled 15,000 backpacks for children of military families.
