(Photo by Erin)

“Who wants to come with me to D.C. in January and stand at the White House gate and just clap for the President on his last day of work?” Bejidé Davis asked in a Facebook post. In a matter of weeks, tens of thousands of people signed on to gather at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW to cheer for Barack Obama.

But as Davis and co-organizer Amanda Washington Lockett waded into the logistics minefield of inauguration week, they realized that the White House would be off-limits, as would most of the iconic federal sites in the District, on January 19. They landed at a private venue, the Blind Whino SW Arts Club—about three miles away and decidedly more technicolor. It has a capacity of about 700 people.

In a note to the nearly 175,000 people who said they were either “interested” or “going” on Facebook, Lockett and Davis said they were shutting down a GoFundMe campaign that raised less than $4,000 of a $100,000 goal. The event will now be ticketed, at a cost of $10, and moved to later in the afternoon than originally planned.

“We have worked very hard to keep the ticket prices down, and we hope that you all can understand why we cannot make this a free event,” the organizers wrote. “We did try, but it simply did not pan out that way.”

In addition to art and music, there will be a performance by a Hawaiian dance troupe. The event will run from 3 to 8 p.m., with clapping scheduled for 7 p.m.

In response to some confused and disappointed attendees, Davis wrote: “This event will be a celebration of President Obama’s presidency and a chance for us to show him our appreciation and gratitude on his last day in office… the intention is the same—to thank the President of the United States for his grace and leadership.”

Tickets and additional information are available here.