The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, commonly known as the Al Smith Dinner, is an annual white-tie event in New York City to raise funds for Catholic charities that support children of various needs in the Archdiocese of New York.
Held at the historic Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on the third Thursday of October, the dinner is organized by the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation in honor of Al Smith, who grew up in poverty and later became the governor of New York four times and was the first Catholic nominated for president by a major party as the Democratic nominee in the 1928 election.
Traditionally, in every presidential cycle, the Republican and Democratic candidates come together to give humorous speeches at the dinner. Exceptions were made in 1996, 2000, and 2004, when the foundation decided not to invite presidential candidates. The tradition began when John F….
