Chicago Weekend Fun!

I am sure that most Chicagoans are exhausted now that the holidays have passed, but they are very excited about  Barack Obama’s Inauguration in Washington DC. (Oprah is going to attend)  A lot of Chicagoans are planning on going out to DC for the 44th President’s Inauguration on January 20, 2009 to see it in person because they are so excited. (wow that is one elaborate setup they had at the last inauguration pictured at left)

Others of us have to work at a day job and will be here in Chicago’s frigid snowy cold watching TV on that day, but I will still be thrilled to witness history. If you are considering going to Barack Obama’s Inauguration in Washington DC you might have a hard time finding tickets. I heard they are all spoken for (sold out so to speak). All 240,000 of the Inauguration Tickets were available for free but by request from your local representative or senator. So, all the requests were early and now people are turning around and selling some for very very high prices. Probably not what Barack intended.

And since a lot of the hotels are booked too, the next best choice is following along at home and having an Inauguration party of your own. (why not? the kids would love it)

If you would like to get email updates from the Barack Obama Team about new Inauguration events and details you can sign up here on their site. pic2009.org/page/s/firsttoknow  (of course they land you on a contribution page after you sign up and would very much like you to donate to the Official Presidential Inaugural Committee. Someone has to foot the bill for all those events. I wonder what would happen if all websites landed you on a “please donate” page as the thank you page for submissions?) The web address for the site is: my.barackobama.com/inaugural if the link above does not work. 

Update: 12/16/08 I see there is an Inauguration Schedule, Inauguration Blog, and a lot of information already online 35 days before the event from the PIC (presidential inauguration committee). I am glad Barack’s teams are so organized and on top of things, this seems like such a change for the better in the communication department. The web teams that built all these sites for the campaigns and now after the elections have done a great job with it.

The outline of the Inaugural Schedule so far lists:

1. Barack Obama will travel by train to Washington DC on January 17, 2009 for the Inauguration. Kind of an old fashioned twist.

2. On Sunday, January 18th – The Official Inaugural Activities begin with a welcome event on Sunday in the afternoon that is available for the public to attend. (that is nice)

3. On Monday, January 19th – (it is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a National Holiday) President Elect Obama and Vice-President Elect Biden will commemorate this holiday with community involvement activities in the Washington DC area.

4. Tuesday, January 20th is the official Inauguration Day - Barack Obama and Joe Biden will participate in the Inauguration Swearing in Ceremony and events on the US Capitol steps and the 56th Inaugural Parade in addition to the Inaugural Balls in the evening.

5. On Wednesday, January 21st (after not much sleep) The President Obama and Vice President Biden will participate in a prayer service.  

More information is supposed to be coming in the next few weeks, so as I hear about it, I will update this page with new info. The inaugural website is also pic2009.org. Thanks for stopping by, bookmark or link to this page for updates.

If you live in Chicago and want to celebrate there are 2 events being held here to celebrate the Inauguration:

The South Loop Hotel in the Bronzeville Chicago neighborhood has a 2 day package (family friendly) including a hotel room to stay in and all the live broadcasts of the inauguration events in the ballrooms and a party all for $400 per person. See their website at for more details and to buy tickets for the event. chicagosouthloophotel.com

McCormick Place in Chicago also has a black tie event planned for Tuesday evening at $275 a ticket. This is a more upscale get a babysitter for the kids event. Both events would be great for social networking among the democratic supporters of Chicago. I am sure Chicago will be partying and celebrating up a storm on January 20th. It may be an unofficial holiday the day after Martin Luther King Day. Check out mccormickplace.com for the Obama Inaugural Event details and directions.

Update: HBO will have the exclusive broadcast rights to the opening events of the inauguration. Coverage will startJanuary 18th, 2 days before the ceremony itself and will give viewers a taste of to as many events as possible.  The event will be free to all cable and satellite subscribers whether they have HBO regularly or not. (That is very nice of them)

All the major networks will cover the main inauguration event on Television on Tuesday January 20 starting at 9am and going until either 3 or 4 pm depending on the network. In Chicago this includes CBS Channel 2, NBC Channel 5, ABC Channel 7  on the free TV channels. (Why not WGN Channel 9, WTTW Channel 11 and FOX Channel 32?) Check your local listings for cable and dish channels and times.

Update 1/14/08: If you are traveling to Washington DC here is some very detailed information on documenting the inauguration for citizens. citmedialaw.org/legal-guide/documenting-2009-presidential-inauguration

Metromix also has a longer list of Inauguration Parties in Chicago so you can celebrate wherever you are in Chicagoland: chicago.metromix.com/events/roundup/inauguration-day-parties

And the Barack Obama team has just emailed a site that you can go to and watch a video from President Elect Obama and find out how to take part. He suggests that you text “open” to 56333 for mobile phone text message (SMS) updates on traffic, weather and events. The site is: pic2009.org/yourinauguration

President Elect Obama also suggests hosting your own neighborhood ball at home and celebrate that way. He also suggests going to USAService.org to donate your time to a public service project or charity type initiatives all over the country in honor of Martin Luther King Jr Day which is also National Service Day.