Inauguration 2009

The Inauguration of President-elect Obama will be Tuesday, January 20, 2009. The ceremony will take place on the steps of the US Capitol.Please remember that the Inauguration is not a Democratic Party event; it is a United States event. For official information go to http://inaugural.senate.gov/ . While President-elect Obama will control who is on the invitation list, it is a United States government event, much of what happens is nonpartisan.

The SC Democratic Party will not receive an allotment of hotel rooms or tickets.  We have not been asked by the Obama Inaugural Committee to submit a list of people to be invited to various events. If we are asked, we will send the names of our volunteers, activists, and donors.

Invitations/Tickets

Attendance to the inauguration is by invitation! If 2009 is like previous inaugurals, hundreds of thousands of people (or more) all around the country will receive invitations to come to Washington. Many of the events, though, require you to purchase a ticket.

In the case of the actual Inauguration ceremony, the Mall in front of the Capitol is an enormous place, and members of the public can stand there and watch although they might be a mile away. No one will be allowed to camp out on the Mall the night before. There will also be 240,000 tickets to the ceremony, allowing access to a closer area. Certain VIP tickets will also provide seating. Those tickets are free. They will primarily be distributed by members of the US House and Senate and by the Obama/Biden organization. The SC Democratic Party will not have Inaugural ceremony tickets to distribute.

Hotel Rooms

State Democratic Parties are not given an allotment of hotel rooms. At this time our recommendation is that you try to find a room of your own.

Most hotels are requiring a 4 night minimum, and prices at hotels that are close to the city are between 400 and 700 dollars a night.

Official Events

The Obama Inaugural Committee will send out invitations to buy tickets to one of the official balls on January 20.  Those tickets usually sell out so if you receive an invitation you should act quickly. The official balls are held at various locations around the city (if you buy tickets you will be assigned to a ball) and are very crowded.
Tickets are usually sold for seating at the parade. Anyone can attend the parade without buying a ticket, though, and it’s fun to see it even if you have to stand.

South Carolina Democratic Party Events

We will have three events in Washington. Invitations will go out, mostly by email, in December, and information will be on our website as we have it. Please put these events on your calendar! There will be a Champagne Breakfast the morning of the Inauguration. It will be at the Monocle Restaurant on Capitol Hill, close enough to the Mall for our guests to walk over to the ceremony. Tickets will be $100 per person. Tickets will be offered in the invitations we send out within a week. This is a small location, so if you want tickets you should buy them as soon as the go on sale.

The South Carolina Democratic Party and the New Hampshire Democratic Party will hold our Grits and Granite Inaugural Ball on the night of January 20. It will be from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. at the Fort Myer Officers' Club in Arlington, VA. Tickets are $150 per person and will be available soon. Tickets are expected to sell out quickly. The ball is black tie optional with a cash bar.

The states that held 2008's earliest primaries are planning an event that will be lots of fun for our Democrats! 

The SC and NH Democratic Party chairs will hold a VIP reception at the same location prior to the Ball, from 8 to 9 p.m. Special guests will be the statewide elected officials and members of Congress from South Carolina and New Hampshire. Tickets to the reception and ball are $250.

South Carolina Society Event

The South Carolina Society is a nonpartisan group of people from our state who live in Washington, DC. Every four years they raise money for their activities by holding a very nice ball for South Carolinians the night before the Inauguration. We understand that tickets to this event are sold out.

Keep Up With Inauguration News

Go to



http://voices.washingtonpost.com/inauguration-watch/?hpid=topnews for the latest news about the Inauguration.