Obamamania! The Inaugural Craze
Everyone wants a piece of the Barack Obama inaugural action. And since Montanans love to party, it's no surprise they're aiming to host the first big bash of inauguration week.
Big Sky Night, which held one of the better parties in Denver during the Democratic National Convention last summer, has scheduled its "Montana Party at the Inaugural" for Sunday night, Jan. 18, two nights before the official inaugural balls are held. Party organizers are hoping to woo the Drive-By Truckers, the absolutely awesome Lynyrd Skynyrd-inspired Southern rock band, to perform in Washington as the band did in Denver.
As an unofficial inaugural party not affiliated with the Obama transition, the Montana party is seeking fundraising support from -- gasp! -- lobbyists, and anyone who has the cash. The asking price to be a sponsor of the party is $15,000, which, in return, gets you two all-access passes to the general guest area and VIP lounge, plus 10 tickets to give to guests.
Location to be announced. Tickets will be free to the lucky chosen who score them - which is not the case with tickets to the black-tie balls.
As for the larger balls -- official and unofficial -- tickets, if there are any left, are going fast. The Hawaii ball? Sold out, as you can see on the state society's website.
As the birthplace of Obama, the Hawaii ball at the Mandarin Oriental hotel ballroom is one of the hottest tickets in town. As the Honolulu Advertiser first reported, the ball's chairman is having to turn away sponsorship offers of $10,000.
With tickets to the $200-per-ticket ball impossible to come by and hotel rooms around Washington sold out, even the "Obama Sweeties" -- a group of Obama's female classmates who worked for his Hawaii campaign -- have decided to stay back home and watch the festivities on TV, according to the Advertiser.
Another hot ticket, of course, is the Illinois State Society ball. Tickets to this one, in the grand foyer of the Renaissance Hotel, are going for $500 a piece. "Hot" may be understatement for this ticket, as this bash will most certainly be designated an official ball by the Presidential Inaugural Committee, meaning Obama will make an appearance. The Hawaii Sate Society is requesting official status as well. (Though the Obama transition effort hasn't yet formed its inaugural committee or named a chairperson.
The Obama Blockbuster, as the New York Post calls it, has inaugural officials worried about the possibility of ticket scalping. Tickets to the actual Jan. 20 swearing-in and parade are free to those who contact their congressional representatives and obtain them.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, plans to introduce a bill next week, during the lame-duck session of Congress, that would make scalping the tickets a misdemeanor.
By
Mary Ann Akers
|
November 12, 2008; 10:50 AM ET
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Posted by: tony_in_Durham_NC | November 12, 2008 12:26 PM | Report abuse
Dear US Democratic Leaders,
Please try to be more frugal at this tumultuous time of war and economic disaster.
Celebrate, but do it in a low-key and simple way. We The People are very tired of the elitists and celebrities.
Thank you for listening.
Posted by: MikeK3 | November 12, 2008 12:28 PM | Report abuse
As it is obvious to all that president Obama has a huge task waiting for him with our financial problems not only as a country but now as a whole it seems like we may be forgetting other issues this world has as well. Global hunger is getting worse and their may be a less difficult way of looking at the problem. The solution may be the Global Poverty Act. This act will be looked at in December. This act is something that Obama has before been an advocate to. The Borgen Project an organization that is working to get this act passed as well. To learn more go to www.borgenproject.org.
Posted by: veronica5 | November 12, 2008 4:01 PM | Report abuse
I shudder at the thought of all these expensive inaugural parties in these troubled times. I hope someone will ask them all to show restraint for the rest of the nation looking in. Gloating and hors d'oeuvres aren't fashionable this year.
Posted by: Rivery | November 12, 2008 4:06 PM | Report abuse
I say "Plurge". If only each one of us would get to be President of the US once. There's only one "short" life to live. Some people have lavished weddings and end up divorcing later, some much sooner than later. Plurge if you can. I won't be plurging. I never like to plurge. I can't but hey! what-the-heck! Plurge!
Posted by: margaret10 | November 13, 2008 11:05 AM | Report abuse
Please keep in mind that President-elect Obama is not raising money to pay for all of these inaugural celebrations. Sure there should be some sensitivity to the difficult economics facing Americans today, but just remember that many of these parties--and their degree of lavishness--are dictated by their own organizers, not the Obama Inaugural Committee.
Posted by: NothingButTheTruth | November 13, 2008 11:37 AM | Report abuse
As the new President and Vice President are choosing their cabinet(s), it is still important to keep in mind the other concerning manners happening not only with the United States but also around the world. The Global Poverty Act is an act that would help cut the global poverty/hunger in half by 2015 with the help of the Millennium Development Goal. The Borgen Project is helping to do their part by bringing attention to this fact. To find out more go to www.borgenproject.org!
Posted by: veronica5 | November 13, 2008 12:30 PM | Report abuse
The inaugural stuff...the hotels selling out and the stampede for the Hawaii ball is a little bit inspiring and a lot crazy, but maybe a good kind of crazy. It's amazing to see so many people in this country filled with this much hope and excitement for our political process--if even some stay engaged after it's all said and done, we'll be better off for it. I'm braced for the crazy traffic and bigger crowds than usual here in D.C., but I'm happy for it!
As for any out-of-towners lamenting that they can't get tickets to some of the bigger balls, there's a nice listing of all the unofficial balls at www.presidential-inauguration.com. I'm attending the Unity in Service one (I like that it's prices are actually reasonable and that the money goes to military families with unexpected needs and scholarship) it's at www.unityinservice.com, but there's options for everyone. Don't give up just because you've heard this ball or that party is sold out! There will be so many places to celebrate and share this historic event with others :-)
Posted by: bsquared31 | November 14, 2008 4:40 PM | Report abuse
I say turn Washington on it's head that night!!! I wept with joy on Election Day...and I'm a Canadian! This is a history-making, world-changing Inauguration...the entire world went NUTS on November 4th, 2008 so I say have a "pull-out-all-the-stops...raise the roof...dance 'till you drop" all-night PARTY!!! President-elect Obama and Vice-President elect Biden DESERVE it! Don't forget the HORROR ("wink, wink"...) that might have been, people! PARTY!!
Posted by: DGFMitchell | November 17, 2008 9:51 AM | Report abuse
Attention rich people! Do not listen to the other comments on this page. Tough times call for frugality for everyone but you. The other commenters seem to have forgotten that our economy, for better or worse, is built around people buying things they don't need. In tough times, with fewer people able to splurge, it is vital that those able to spend do so with abandon. So, go nuts. Have fun. Pump some money into the system. Show us ice sculptures we can believe in.
Posted by: jamesdg | November 17, 2008 4:14 PM | Report abuse
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Drive-By Truckers RULE!
Just sayin'!