As the time for Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2009, draws near, more ticket and event details are being released. Here are a few updates:
-According to the Associated Press, several groups automatically get tickets for seats at the swearing-in ceremony: Congress members, former lawmakers, Supreme Court justices, Medal of Honor winners, the president-elect, vice president-elect, and their families. The remaining tickets are distributed to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. There are only 30,000 seats, and most people will have to stand through the ceremony.
-Bands who want to participate in the parade must apply to the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee by 5 p.m. EST on Friday, Nov. 14. Applicants can apply either by mail or via the Internet, and photographs and audio/video recordings are optional, but are strongly recommended. The application calls for a descriptive narrative, and online applications are preferred. The Presidential Inaugural Committee, the organization representing the president-elect, will make the selection on how many parade participants and who will participate.
-Tickets to at least one inaugural ball, the Hawaii State Society Inaugural Ball, which will be held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, are already sold out, according to the AP. The new president and the first lady stop by the nearly dozen balls planned in Washington, D.C., and Obama is particularly expected to stop by this one. Other balls are still being planned.
More information will be provided by BlackEnterprise.com as it comes. And for those who want to simply take a road trip and participate in all that will be the Inauguration Day hoopla in and around Washington, D.C., there will be information to come for you as well.
Just a reminder: Give a wide berth to any any Web site or broker claiming to sell tickets to the big event.
“Any Web site or ticket broker claiming that they have inaugural tickets is simply not telling the truth,” said Howard Gantman, staff director for the JCC. “”Tickets for the swearing-in of president-elect are all provided through members of Congress, and the president-elect and vice president-elect through the Presidential Inaugural Committee. We urge the public to view any offers of tickets for sale with great skepticism.â€