About 15,000 people (though it felt like many more) got all dolled up Saturday night and headed to the Washington Convention Center for Mayor Adrian Fenty’s Inaugural ball, and DCist was there to capture the revelry. Once we got inside, that is. Along with thousands of other Ball attendees, we were packed in like so many sardines near the entrance to the exhibit hall for over 30 minutes before we finally squeezed through what turned out to be merely token metal detectors, and gained entry to the biggest Inaugural Ball a D.C. mayor has ever thrown. And boy, was it ever big. Sixty buffet tables big.

Of course, to throw a party of that scale as a young, incoming mayor, Fenty had to walk a careful line between celebratory and ostentatious. It’s a fine thing to make the party free and open to anyone and everyone — fits right in with his administration’s pledge of democratic openness. But how would the Mayor make sure no one felt like he was throwing money away on something like a party (even though it was paid for privately)? Why, by serving a limited selection of mediocre pasta dishes and hiring a catering company that charged $6 for Budweiser. We’ve heard there were limited amounts of great food from a number of local eateries, but either the room was too big for us to find it, or it was all gone by the time we finally got inside.

But no matter. We weren’t there to be wined and dined. We were there to celebrate with our city as we welcomed a new Mayor to office, and the mood in the ballroom certainly reflected optimism. Young and old were dressed to impress, and everywhere strangers smiled and nodded and raised meaningful eyebrows at each other. We’re starting fresh again, they seemed to be saying. This really is exciting after all.

Photos by Sommer Mathis