With the dinner being held tonight, we are re-upping our posts from this week previewing the festivities.
The host
"Saturday Night Live" comedian Cecily Strong will host. You might remember her as "Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party" and for her stint as a "Weekend Update" host.
Strong said she doesn't "want to be too mean where it really hurts somebody" with her jokes, and wants to make everyone laugh (bipartisanship!). In other words, don't expect another Stephen Colbert.
"I'd rather do things we can all laugh [about]," she told Capitol File. "I'd like to be able to make fun of myself as much as anyone else. I don't want to make fun of the way someone looks -- things like that. Children are off-limits. There are definitely people in that room who I respect and admire a lot."
She also said there were certain things she wanted to get into, without giving specifics.
"I know I definitely want some great, hard jokes," she told Variety. "There are definitely certain issues I'd love to hit and spend a little more time on. I think I'm kind of a silly person, so I hope it's a little more silly than truly biting, if that makes sense. Really, I just hope that some of it is funny to some people -- that would be the goal. I want to break even. That is what I keep saying because all I keep hearing is how tough a room it is, so it would really feel like a win if I break even."
The guests
You can check out a full list by our Helena Andrews that's being updated. It's chock-full of actors, actresses, members of Obama's cabinet, and members of Congress. Here's a few highlights of the guest list, along with what media outlet they're going with:
ABC - Kerry Washington, who plays Washington political crisis manager Olivia Pope in "Scandal"
Christian Broadcasting Network - Newt and Callista Gingrich
CBS News - Madeleine Albright, who was a secretary of state IRL, and Téa Leoni, who's not a secretary of state but plays one on TV on CBS's "Madam Secretary"
CNN - Jane Fonda, who happens to be the ex-wife of CNN founder Ted Turner
Cosmopolitan magazine - Comedian Billy Eichner, who appeared in a "Funny or Die" video with Michelle Obama in February
CSPAN - C-SPAN mom Joyce Woodhouse, who called into the channel when her two sons, Brad and Dallas, were on the air arguing about politics
Fox News - Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, and Brody Jenner
Huffington Post - Sean Parker, who co-founded Napster and was president of Facebook, and YouTube and Vine stars like Bethany Mota, Nash Grier, Marcus Johns, Jerome Jarre, and Tyler Oakley
The New Yorker - Larry Wilmore, the host of Comedy Central's "The Nightly Show"
USA Today - Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy, Naya Rivera of "Glee", and Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty
The parties
There are plenty of parties starting Thursday night going to Sunday morning. Here's a selection, along with some of the hosts, via The Hill (click for the full list here).
Rock The Vote Kickoff Party - Rock the Vote, Fusion, and Twitter
Thursday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Blind Whino
An Evening with John Legend - Politico
Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Longview Gallery
People/Time Cocktail Party - People and Time magazines
Friday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the St. Regis Hotel
Motion Picture Association of America/Microsoft/ABC News Creativity Conference
Friday at 8:30 a.m. at the Newseum
The Hill/Extra/Embassy of Canada party
Friday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Embassy of Canada
The New Yorker party
Friday from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the W Hotel
ABC News/Yahoo News Pre-Reception
Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the Washington Hilton Columbia Hall
Thomson Reuters Pre- and Post-Reception
Saturday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. at the Washington Hilton Georgetown Room
CBS/National Journal/Atlantic Media Pre-Reception
Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Washington Hilton Courtyard and Gardens
MSNBC After Party
Saturday at 11:30 p.m. at the United States Institute of Peace
Political Hangover brunch - CNN
Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.