I have been hearing about a lot of inauguration-related activities going on this weekend and through Tuesday. I'd rather not have them clog up the calendar, but I thought it would be helpful to list them all in one place. Here's what I know about so far, please post additional events and let us know how you're observing this landmark event.
Sunday:
- Barack Obama Inaugural Party and Martin Luther King day celebration
Orange County Inaugural celebration and community gathering featuring live music, slam poetry, MLK tributes, dance party, local restaurant specials. Talent includes renowned fiddler Joe Thompson, hip hop band "The Beast", slam poetry team "Sacrificial Poets," acoustic roots musicians "Mebanesville." More acts and activities confirming daily! Event organized by Orange County Campaign for Change.
Century Center - 5-10 p.m. (Free!)
Southern Rail Dance Party - 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. ($10 cover)
Donation of cans for "Yes We Cans" Project in exchange for access to restaurant discounts and specials.
More information: Craig Perrin - 415-218-7806
Monday - Martin Luther King Day:
- MLK Day March
Hillsborough
Tuesday:
- InaugurOation
Starts at 8:00 at 204 West Main Street (Tim Peck's building next to AutoLogic) with free live music and some free beverages, although BYO is encouraged. Taco truck parked outside (not free)! - Inaugural Ball
The Siena Hotel & WCHL 1360 Present: The Inaugural Ball
Benefiting the Foundation for a Sustainable Community
January 20, 2009, 8pm - 11pm
On Tuesday, January 20, 2009, our country will make history with the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States. The Siena Hotel and WCHL are joining in on the celebration by hosting an Inaugural Ball.
The semi-formal gala at the Siena Hotel will include dining and dancing, with hors d’oeuvres provided by the award winning Il Palio Ristorante and music provided by Fantasy. Tickets are $75 per person, plus tax and gratuity, and include two drinks, hors d’oeuvres and live entertainment, including live broadcasts and interviews throughout the night by WCHL’s DG Martin and friends.
Il Palio will be featuring a festive 5-Course Inauguration Dinner prior to the ball. Executive Chef Adam Rose has designed a tasting menu for this special evening.
Dinner: $75 per person, plus tax and gratuity
Dinner and Ball: $100 per person, plus tax and gratuity
To reserve your space, please contact the Siena Hotel at 919.929.4000. - Orange County Social Club
come to OCSC next tuesday, jan 20th
we are opening at 11:30am and will have full tv coverage
of the swearing in, speeches, and parade!
stay into the night for our own inaugural ball!
ocsc style! - Sandwhich and Bliss Bakery
SANDWHICH opens early at 9:30am
breakfast sandwiches and coffee for sale from SANDWHICH
FREE samples from Bliss Boutique Bakery
10am - Inauguration ceremonies begin with music, call to order, invocation and a performance by Aretha Franklin, among many others.
During this portion, Joe Biden will be sworn in as Vice President. Hooray!
11am - Sandwhich full menu available
Noon (ish) - Barack Obama takes the oath of office (!!!) and then gives his Inaugural Address.
After that a parade, which should be exciting to watch, will be televised as well.
2:30 (ish) - TV goes off, unless there's something riveting on, like American Idol. :) - Neal's Deli
Will serve The Obama Dog - A Chicago dog with a splash of Hawaiian sunshine. Fondly called the O-Dog, we roast a Hofmann's German frank and top it with pineapple, tomato, pickles, mixed peppers, celery seed and yellow mustard, served on a brezel roll.
If you are an organizer, please feel free to add events to our calendar.
Issues:
Comments
I'm taking off work, I'll be at home
but at the vet clinic (where I work) they are hooking up rabbit ears to the little tv that usually play a video of the "furminator" brush, so they can try to all huddle around and watch. And I'm sure they'll have NPR's online stream playing through the computer speakers all around the clinic to be listening. From volunteering with so many campaigns, and being on so many listservs, it feels like I've gotten dozens of invites to events in the triangle area, but I'll be at home watching with my fiance & the 2 cats. I know lots of clients at Carrboro Plaza Vet Clinic are avoiding scheduling appointments that day saying "oh I can't do that day, the inauguration" or asking what day the inauguration is to make sure they don't miss it by scheduling then. I wonder if this will be one of those "where were you then" sort of events years down the road?
I don't usually post ads...
... but I got this in my mail at work today, and I thought the artwork was superbly clever. Plus, gotta love supporting a local business. Click to see the full-sized Joe Van Gogh's "Innauguration Blend" ad.
Great Coffee
We had this today at our shop. It rocks. It pays to be near the roastery!
downtown
My guess is that it'll be a rather electric afternoon and evening and that many of us will engage in some quintessential American behavior.At noon, this reporter will be at the Social Club, Neals Obama dog in hand, watching with friends and family.
Where O Where?
I think we'll toddle up to OCSC if weather permits. We could watch alone at home, but much better to see Barack take the oath in the company of like-minded friends on such a great day. Then down to Tim Peck's building for InaugurOation starting at 8:00. - c.
Another Tuesday event
There will be a MoveOn Inauguration party at the Senior Center on Homestead Road at 8pm on Tuesday. Details at: http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=90042&id=15398-53...
Snow forecast
The snow forecast has quite a few party hosts, myself included, hoping snow won't happen when I'm ordinarily thrilled at the prospect. But the national weather service leaves little doubt -- one to four inches. Yikes.
S'no biggie?
I'm another one who gets really excited at the thought of snow that actually accumulates, although I don't wish a headache on any host or hostess tomorrow. (Just realized we are down to less than 20 more hours of the Bush administration.... ya hoooo!!). But Cat, the weather people seem to think the snow will slide south and east of us, so don't panic just yet.
Panic? Moi???
Thanks, Pris, I'm not panicking although I did holler out loud just now when WUNC announced accumulations of 3 to 5 inches in the Piedmont tomorrow. Now they're saying 4 to 6 inches. Happy holiday!
Near the Lincoln Memorial is
Near the Lincoln Memorial is my plan.
That is where my daughter
That is where my daughter was last afternoon for the concert. The lines to get into the Ballston metro station in Arlington near where she lives were so long that her and her friend walked all the way.
We walked from Arlington
We walked from Arlington National Cemetery Metro stop (about half a mile) across Memorial Bridge over the Potomac. It was a truly beautiful (and cold) day. We got there about an hour early with no problems at all and I took my boys on a very thorough visit of the Lincoln Memorial (reading them the Gettysburg Address etc.) We could hear the proceedings up at the Capitol very clearly, but we could not see much. Still, standing at the foot of a giant statue of Abraham Lincoln felt like exactly the right place to be.
Well, we're at work, but
Well, we're at work, but planning to take a time out and watch the oath of office and Obama's speech. We have a TV and one computer tuned into the event.
What a moment!
My cynic's license has been revoked, or at least suspended for a while. What a moment! I'd forgotten what hope might actually look, sound, and feel like.It evoked two other inaugurations that are linked in my memory.In 1961, for JFK's inauguration, I was a teen in Massachusetts. It was just 3 months after my father died, and we were being buried by the same blizzard that was coating DC. I came in from shoveling neighbor's driveways with my brother to watch the speech. Kennedy looked cold, but I remember being struck by the "ask not" phrase and feeling pride that the nation's most recently elected "father" was so elegant and inspiring, and came from Massachusetts. In 1977, for Carter's inauguration, I was living in the DC area. I was excited that he'd been elected to end the Nixon-Ford era. Also I knew a few people working with him, and I even had tickets for the intimate little inaugural ball at Union Station with about 25,000 others. I remember how cold it was standing waiting for the parade to come down Pennsylvania Avenue and how shocked everyone was when the Carters opted to walk rather than ride. I thought at the time it might have been partly to keep warm as well as to be closer to we-the-people. Who knows what the future will bring; but purely for the significance of inauguration day itself, neither measures up to today. (PS: Sorry about the snow, Catherine. I guess you're entitled to panic a little now, after all. It's pretty, though.)
Party updates?
I'm wondering what's going on with the parties around town. I heard the WCHL Ball is postponed and the Senior Center is closed. Have you guys heard about other parties postponed due to weather?
Closings
WCHL has an updated list: http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=9171I also heard the ball at the Sienna has been postponed to Saturday, don't know about any other parties.
And the bands played on ...
The Carrboro celebration at 204 West Main went on as planned in spite of bitter cold that drove all but the hardiest folks away early. Great music, hot oysters, exuberant conversation. What a day! I've decided that a state of Belief on 1/21/09 feels even better than the state of Disbelief on 11/5/08. And I have almost but not quite got the feeling back in my fingers and toes after coming home numb all over.
Jim Kunstler's inimitable take
Thought-provoking analysis & predictions. One point he makes that I think is absolutely true is that the most important work we do will be local.http://jameshowardkunstler.typepad.com/clusterfuck_nation/
I had an unplanned day off
I had an unplanned day off with the snow and it was great to be able to play with my kids outside. Wish it had snowed more. Thanks dems for turning NC blue because mother nature blessed or punished us depending on your viewpoint this inauguration day 2009.