Results tagged “inauguralballs”

The AP is reporting a that a group of students have filed a class action lawsuit against Vienna, Va.-based Envision EMI, after they claim the company failed to deliver on promises of special access to President Obama's inauguration in January. The students each paid thousands of dollars for a trip to the inauguration, only to be disappointed: "...the lawsuit says once the students got to Washington, they had no tickets for the inauguration or parade. And the balls they attended were not official events connected to the inauguration." I have a lot sympathy for these kids believing they could buy their way in to a special inaugural experience, and it certainly sounds like this company got greedy and promised way more than they could deliver. But the complaint that the ball they went to wasn't "official" seems pretty naive. There were hundreds of inauguration-themed parties over the course of the four-day long celebration, and only ten of them were "official."

The however many million people visiting D.C. this week did not disappoint, filling a whole episode's worth of overheards.

       

The Art of Change was the sort of anti-ball to all the hoopla at the nearby Washington Convention Center. Trying to gain entry through the barriers, closed roads, volunteers and police was just as convoluted and difficult, but it had little else in common with the other balls. Barack Obama only made appearances in the artwork. Celebrity appearances were nil. And the dress code was the funkier the better... but preferably non-flammable.

            

Last night's first ever Neighborhood Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center ended up being billed by the Presidential Inaugural Committee as the hottest ticket of all of the ten official Inaugural Balls, and from a vantage point in the middle of the packed ballroom, it was easy to see why.

Things were clearly a bit disorganized by the time my friends and I got to the John A. Wilson Building for the D.C. Council-hosted 51st State Ball. We didn't run into the security mess City Desk reported, but there was no signage or schedule posted anywhere, so a lot of people were milling around—it was just not clear where things were happening inside city hall.

The Detroit Free Press kinda buries the lede in this posting about the announced entertainment line-up for the Youth Ball, one of the 10 official balls happening on Tuesday. In addition to Kid Rock and Fall Out Boy, Kanye West has been named a confirmed performer. Sources close to Kanye tell DCist that his decision to travel to D.C. and perform at the Youth Ball was made at the last minute. We had heard just a couple of days ago that the hip-hop star (who was rumored to have been being wooed by D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty to play his invite-only 9:30 Club benefit tonight, which will coincidentally also feature Fall Out Boy) had decided not to attend the inauguration due to logistical issues. But now West and a partial entourage are on their way to Washington, making the Youth Ball an even hotter ticket.

You have friends in town who came specifically to celebrate the Inauguration, and they want to go out and do something festive. You don't want to pay $375 to go to some stuffy dinner and dancing gala hosted by the senior citizens of the state of Florida or whatever, but you're willing to spend a little more than you usually do on a night out. Unfortunately, you don't seem to have the hook-up to score free tickets to anything. You were hoping you might snag some of the D.C. resident tickets to the official Neighborhood Ball, but weren't one of the lucky few who got tickets through a local non-profit. There are approximately 5,683 Inauguration-themed events and parties happening tonight through Wednesday, and your head is swimming.

That’s change we can believe in.

Mike DeBonis at City Desk received a note over the transom with details about the Mayor's on-again inaugural concert, and now it's confirmed. The Mayor is hosting an early party (doors at 7 p.m.) at the 9:30 Club on Sunday night featuring Fall Out Boy, T.I., and Young Jeezy.