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Welcoming Obama!
The official theme for the inauguration of Barack Obama is “Renewing America’s Promise
By: Mary Gostelow
As the world knows - and waits, excitedly - the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America is on January 20th, 2009.
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A week of festivities will include the Presidential Swearing in Ceremony, Inaugural Address, Inaugural Parade and numerous inaugural balls and galas honoring the new President. The official theme for the inauguration is “Renewing America’s Promise", a vision that underscores the President-elect and Vice President-elect’s commitment to restoring opportunity and possibility for all - and re-establishing America’s standing as a beacon of hope around the world. Find out details from www.washington.org/visiting/experience-dc/presidential-inauguration/ information.
Here is what will happen:
Saturday, January 17th, 2009 - Barack Obama, Vice President-elect Joe Biden and their families will travel by train to Washington, DC. They will host events along the way in Philadelphia, Wilmington DE, and Baltimore.
Sunday, January 18th, 2009 – An official welcome event will be held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC.
Monday, January 19th, 2009 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) - To honor Dr. King’s legacy, Obama, Biden and their families will participate in activities dedicated to serving others in communities across the Washington, DC area. There will be a free Inaugural Eve Concert for America's Children at the Verizon Center (tickets will be required).
Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 - The Inaugural Swearing-in Ceremony begins at noon. Following the oath of office, the President will give his inaugural address, setting out his vision for America and goals for the nation. After the Inauguration ceremonies, the President and the Vice-President will attend an inaugural luncheon in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall. Then, at 2.30pm, there will be the Presidential Inauguration Parade: viewing stands and bleachers will extend from 3rd to 17th Streets along Pennsylvania Avenue. The parade is coordinated by the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee: during the entire ten-day inaugural period from January 15 to January 24, 2009, armed forces personnel will provide ceremonial support with musical units, marching bands, color guards, salute batteries and honor cordons. Many inaugural balls, galas and other events will take place in the capital city of the USA between January 15 - 24, 2009. Some of these are, in order:
January 16th, 17th and 20th, 2009 - Themed cruises on The Spirit of Washington and Odyssey III boats.
January 16th, 2009 - A Historical Affair dinner at the United States Chamber of Congress, sponsored by the National Congress of Black Women.
January 17th, 2009 - A Celebration of Change Inaugural Ball at the Hyatt Regency, sponsored by The Babyboomer Professionals.
January 17th, 2009 - Green Inaugural Ball at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium.
January 17th, 2009 - H.O.P.E. (Honoring Our President-Elect) Inaugural Youth Ball at Trinity University.
January 18th, 2009 - California State Society Inaugural Fashion Show and Lunch at Ritz-Carlton Hotel Washington.
January 18th, 2009 - Calfornia Democratic Party Inaugural Ball at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
January 18th, 2009 - "Dreams from My Father" American Scholars Inaugural Ball at Four Seasons Hotel Washington.
January 18th, 2009 - Foreign Diplomats Inaugural Ball at The James Monroe Mansion, sponsored by Ethiopia and Ghana.
January 18th, 2009 - Junior State of America Inaugural Event at Hotel Monaco.
January 19th, 20th and 21st, 2009 - American Indian Inaugural Balls at Hyatt Regency Crystal City.
January 19th, 2009 - Arkansas State Society Ball at the National Press Club.
January 19th, 2009 - Georgia State Society of Washington, DC at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
January 19th, 2009 - New Mexico State Society Inaugural Ball at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
January 19th, 2009 - North Carolina State Society Ball at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.
January 19th, 2009 - South Carolina State Society Inaugural Gala at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
January 19th, 2009 - Texas State Society Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball at the Gaylord National Resort.
January 19th, 2009 - Virginia's Inaugural Black Tie and Blue Dominion Ball at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
January 20th, 2009 - All American Ball at the Westin Washington.
January 20th, 2009 - American Music Inaugural Balls at the Marriott Wardman Park.
January 20th, 2009 - State Society of Arizona Inaugural Gala at the Historical Society of Washington DC.
January 20th, 2009 - Be the Change Inaugural Ball at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center (live on MTV).
January 20th, 2009 - Change Has Come Inaugural Gala at the Hilton Washington Embassy Row.
January 20th, 2009 - Corcoran Gallery of Art Ball sponsored by LINK AMERICAS Foundation (LAF), The Alliance for Public Technology (APT),
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The Children's Partnership (TCP), Education Development Center (EDC) and the George Lucas Educational Foundation - Edutopia.
January 20th, 2009 - Creative Coalition Inaugural Ball at the Harman Center for the Arts.
January 20th, 2009 - Florida State Society Inaugural Celebration at the National Museum of the American Indian, to benefit American Red Cross Chapters throughout the State. Tickets: $200. January 20th, 2009 - George Washington University Inaugural Ball at the Omni Shoreham Hotel.
January 20th, 2009 - Hawaii State Society Inaugural Ball at the Mandarin Oriental Washington.
January 20th, 2009 - Inaugural Gala at The Ritz-Carlton, Tyson’s Corner.
January 20th, 2009 - Inaugural Peace Ball at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum (performers include Historian Howard Zinn, Comedian Dick Gregory, Mayor Adrian Fenty, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now, Katrina Vanden Heuvel of The Nation Magazine, Laura Flanders, Barbara Ehrenreich and Anthony Arnove).
January 20th, 2009 - New York State Society Pre-Inaugural Parade Brunch at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel.
January 20th, 2009 - Pennsylvania Society Inaugural Gala at The Ritz Carlton Washington.
January 20th, 2009 - The President's Ball at the Washington Times Building
January 20th, 2009 - We the People Inauguration Gala Ball at Hyatt Regency Washington.
Now, if you have not already got somewhere to stay, good luck. Well over a million people are expected to descend on the capital and the entire area only has 95,000 hotel rooms. The demand for hotels has stretch as far away as Pennsylvania and West Virginia; even campsites are filling up. Some people are renting residential vehicles, known as RVs or caravans. City residents have been posting advertisements on the Internet offering rooms in their homes for $500 a night. Others have even offered parking for a camping vehicle in their driveway for $80 a night, or tent space in their garden with access to toilet and shower facilities for $100 a night. www.inauguralhomes.com was set up by four men in their 30s with backgrounds in real estate and finance. (“It’s quiet on the mortgage front,” lamented one of the founders, Andre Butters, 30). One three-bedroom house in suburban Virginia is said to have gone for $57,000 and a week at a four-bedroom house in suburban Maryland has listed at $60,000, though that, like other offerings, may be wishful thinking.
Because Washington has been allotted only about $15 million in federal money to help pay for all major events in the city for the entire year, local officials say they are most concerned about the costs of handling the the largest crowd in inaugural history. The city spent about $17.3 million for President George W Bush’s second inauguration, in 2005, which attracted only 300,000 spectators. Most of the inauguration will therefore be financed by private donations and federal money, but the city takes on a range of responsibilities.
While the Secret Service will oversee security, including the sharpshooters, air patrols and monitoring of the city’s 5,000 or so surveillance cameras, most of the city’s 4,100 police officers will help direct traffic, operate metal detectors and escort dignitaries. An additional 4,000 officers from surrounding states have been called in to bolster the city’s force. The city will also be responsible for providing more than 1,200 first responders to handle medical emergencies and several hundred sanitation workers to clean up after the festivities.
Washington DC is one of our favorite cities in the world. Other than during inaugurations, you can find fabulous hotels and great restaurants - at our last visit, we dined at Il Mulino. This is extremely handy for the new Donovan House - A Thompson Hotel, which has, since our visit, opened its own integral restaurant, Cha by Todd English (another reason to return to Washington!). What with cherry blossom coming up, and such all-time specials as the Lincoln Memorial, the National Air and Space Museum and the National Gallery of Art to visit, who can stay away? Oh, and by the way we definitely recommend taking the train north to New York, any day. It is quick and efficient, gives comfortable seating with electric power sockets for your laptop, and goes, unlike air transport, from city center to city center. And Washington DC's Union Station is an architectural delight all by itself, www.amtrak.com.
Donovan House, Washington, United States
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