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# Kennedy Center Names Five Honorees for First Offsite Ceremony
- URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/kennedy-center-names-five-honorees-for-first-offsite-ceremony/
- Published: 2026-11-03T08:18:36.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T08:18:36.000Z
- Description: Paul Anka, David Foster, Andy Garcia, David Mamet and Barbara Mandrell will receive the 2026 Kennedy Center Honors on Dec. 7 at Capital One Arena. A broadcaster for the first offsite ceremony has yet to be announced.
- Author: News Desk
- Tags: Entertainment

Paul Anka, David Foster, Andy Garcia, David Mamet and Barbara Mandrell will receive the 2026 Kennedy Center Honors, the center announced Monday, Nov. 2\. The five artists will be celebrated on Dec. 7 at Capital One Arena in Washington, the first time the annual ceremony will take place outside the performing arts center that gives the awards their name.

The [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/10d6391fe8430a5974e64fe14fce6fc9?ref=theamericanquorum.com) and the [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/11/02/paul-anka-andy-garcia-barbara-mandrell-will-get-kennedy-center-honors/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) reported that the center's main building is closed as plans for renovations and a dispute over its name continue. The move was announced in October. Monday's announcement settled who will be honored at the 49th ceremony, but did not name a host or a broadcaster.

## Five careers across stage, screen and music

Three recipients built careers in different parts of the music business. Anka became a recording star with “Diana” and wrote the English lyrics to “My Way,” a song closely associated with Frank Sinatra. Foster is known for his work behind the recording console as well as for his compositions. His credits include work with Chicago and Natalie Cole, and his 16 Grammy wins span a career spent helping other artists shape their sound.

Mandrell brought together singing, instrumental performance and television. The [museum’s profile](https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/barbara-mandrell?ref=theamericanquorum.com) of the 2009 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee traces her career from playing steel guitar as a child to joining the Grand Ole Opry in 1972\. Among her signature recordings were “Sleeping Single in a Double Bed” and “I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool.” Those records were part of a career that reached audiences through network television as well as country radio.

From 1980 to 1982, she and her sisters Louise and Irlene hosted a weekly NBC variety series that mixed music and comedy. The museum’s account describes a program that featured other country performers as well as the sisters. During that run Mandrell also won the Country Music Association’s entertainer of the year award twice in succession, in 1980 and 1981.

## From the theater to the movies

Mamet won the 1984 drama [Pulitzer Prize](https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/david-mamet?ref=theamericanquorum.com) for “Glengarry Glen Ross,” a play about real estate salesmen under pressure to close deals. He also wrote “American Buffalo” and moved between theater and film, with screenwriting credits that include “The Verdict” and “The Untouchables.” The latter connects two members of this year's class: Garcia appeared in the film.

Garcia received an Academy Award nomination for his supporting performance in “The Godfather Part III.” He also portrayed the Cuban jazz musician Arturo Sandoval in the television film “For Love or Country.” Together, his credits and Mamet's show how an award for lifetime contribution can recognize work that crosses from one medium to another, rather than a single performance or release from the past year.

## A larger room changes the live event

Capital One Arena, the home of Washington's NBA and NHL teams, has a maximum capacity of roughly 20,000, compared with 2,347 seats in the Kennedy Center Opera House. That comparison describes the buildings, not the expected audience. A gala with a stage, production equipment and sightline requirements may use a different seating layout from a basketball game or a concert. The announcement did not establish how many people would attend.

The move separates the ceremony from its longtime setting while keeping it in the capital. The center's board has cited the need for repairs, and President Donald Trump, who chairs the board, has sought to add his name to the building. That effort has drawn federal court challenges. The venue decision gives the event a place to proceed while those questions remain separate from the tributes themselves.

## The television audience is still an open question

[CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kennedy-center-honors-capital-one-arena/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) reported in October that CBS had carried the Honors every year from 1978 through 2025 and that its agreement ended after last year's broadcast. Monday's announcement did not say whether CBS would return or whether the event would go to another outlet. A confirmed date for the live show therefore does not yet tell viewers where or when they can watch it at home.

The selections came on the recommendation of an advisory committee that includes former recipients, artists and trustees, according to [Forbes](https://tollbit.forbes.com/sites/rickellis/2026/11/02/andy-garcia-david-mamet-join-2026-kennedy-center-honors-class/?ref=theamericanquorum.com), citing the center's announcement. That part of the process concerns whom the institution recognizes. A broadcast agreement answers a different question: how the institution brings those tributes to the public beyond the people in the room.

For the five artists, the announcement sets a date for a tribute to decades of work across recordings, film and theater. For the Kennedy Center, the next announcements will establish how its signature event will work in a new room and how audiences outside Washington will be able to see it. The arena answers the first logistical question of where the ceremony can take place. The lineup gives the show its substance; the presentation and distribution are still to be announced.