Ms. Perry's Free Press Page 9 .laniiarv 15-21. 2009 --------------------------------1 Inaugural Activities to Many to Name Ifyou're headed to the nation's Capital with the other two million anticipated citizens, dress warm, wear comfortable shoes, bring your wallets and be prepared for long lines 1 everywhere. Just about everyone who can is hosting an I activity/ball for the inaugural celebration. With over 300 I planned festivities, we have highlighted on just a few events during the celebration's main days. STuesday, January 20, 2009 The 5,000 available parade tickets sold out in 60 seconds on I I Ticketmaster. you can still view the parade along the route where there are many parade viewing parties. The Secret Service is requiring guests enter the security checkpoints at very early hours. At least a handful of parties have been cancelled due to the early morning deadlines to load in their guests. Inaugural Brunch for Change from 9a.m. 2 p.m. at the Monocle. Congressman Jim Pascrell is the Honorary Host of the event New York State Society Pre-Inaugural Parade Brunch at Willard Intercontinental Hotel ($175 ticket) Inaugural Galas and Balls Many inaugural balls and galas will take place at venues throughout I Washington, DC from January 15-24th, 2009. The official balls are planned by the Presidential Inaugural Committee and unofficial balls and parties are planned by the State Societies of Washington, DC and a vari- ety of other organizations. Official Presidential Inaugural Committee Balls All official balls require an invitation to purchase a ticket. The President- elect and the Vice President-elect will appear at each of the 10 inaugural balls. President-elect Barack Obama will host a Youth Inaugural Ball, five Regional Inaugural balls, and a ball for his Home States Illinois (Renaissance Washington Hotel) and Hawaii (Mandarin Hotel). Vice President-elect Joe Biden will host a ball for his Home States as I I well: Delaware and Pennsylvania (Ritz-Carlton). These balls round out I the list of official inaugural balls to be held on Tuesday, January 20, along with the previously announced Neighborhood Inaugural Ball and Commander in Chief's Ball. The Youth Ball, to be held at the Washington Hilton, is intended for young Americans aged 18-35 Tickets will be available at a reduced price of $75. Performances include Kanye West, Fall Out Boy and an A-list performer to be named shortly. Hosted by an A-list celebs with remote locations around the country. The Regional Inaugural Balls are an inaugural tradition that President- elect Obama will continue, inviting guests from the Midwest, the West, I I the East, the South, and the Mid-Atlantic regions to their own celebrations. Tickets will be available to invited guests for $150. Southern Inaugural Ball AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, and TX invited guests at the National Guard Armory Commander-in-Chief's Inaugural Ball Enlisted active duty and reserve military; National Building Museum Unofficial Inaugural Balls and Galas on January 20th: All America Ball 9p.m. la.m. at Westin Washington DC City Center Hotel ($175 ticket) American Music Inaugural Ball Two-ball event (3500 guests) event to be held at the'Marrion \ardmanii Park Hotel. (1) Legends Ball hosted by I Dionne Warwick (black tie) ($450 ticket)(2) Urban Ball hosted by I I Ludacris (dress to impress) ($350 ticket or $675 to attend both) American Indian Inaugural Ball 8:00pm at Hyatt Regency Crystal City at Reagan National Airport Ancestors Dream Inaugural Ball Gaylord National Resort from 8pm to 2am, hosted by the Prince George's County Presidential Committee BET Inaugural Ball Mandarin Oriental hotel from 9 p.m. to 2 p.m. with proceeds benefiting America's Promise Alliance. Bytes & Books Inaugural Ball 7:00pm at Folger Shakespeare Library at 201 East Capitol Street SE Brandywine Street Association Inaugural Ball Carnegie Institution of Science from 8 p.m. to 1a.m. I The Creative Coalition Inaugural Gala Ball Pre-ball VIP dinner, con- I cert and inaugural ball at Harman Center for the Arts. The event is expected to include a large number of celebrities including Spike Lee, Susan Sarandon, and Elvis Costello. DC's 51st Inaugural Ball John Wilson Building at 8p.m. Equality Ball Presented by the LBGT community (HRC, PFLAG, etc), at the Mayflower Hotel. Appearances by Cyndi Laufer, Melissa Etheridge, Rufus Wainwright and others. ($375 ticket. The George Washington University Inaugural Ball 8:00 p.m. at the Omni Shoreham Hotel at 2500 Calvert Street, NW Georgetown Harbour Inaugural Gala 8p.m. sponsored by: Tony & I Joe's Seafood Place in Georgetown's Washington Harbour Google Event The Google party will be at 9 p.m.-2a.m. on at the Mellon Auditorium (1301 Constitution). Event will be a "lounge", an I alternative to traditional balls, which means no black tie. I Heroes Red. White & Blue Inaugural Ball 9p.m. at the Warner Theater. Celebrate America's military heroes and to honor injured service mem- bers and families at Walter Reed and National Naval Medical Centers. The Hill Ball B Smith's Restaurant from 8:30 p.m.-ll:30p.m. Historic Inaugural Ball 8p.m. to la.m. at the Historic Society of Washington D.C., at 801 K St NW, Washington D.C. I Howard University Inaugural Champagne Brunch. Parade Viewing and I I Gala Howard's Armour J. Blackburn Center I I Land of Enchantment Inaugural Ball Smithsonian National Museum I I of the American Indian at 4th St. and Independence Ave. SW SOfficial Obama Inauguration Celebration Party Fur (33 Patterson I Street, NE) Inaugural Peace Ball 7 p.m. at Smithsonian Postal Museum. Hosted by Busboys and Poets, the Smithsonian Postal Museum and special guest host Harry Belafonte, the ball will be the largest gathering of peace activists in D.C. without a protest. ($165 ticket) Pearl Gala Hosted by Asian Americans for Obama from 7 PM-midnight at Mandarin Oriental. ($250 ticket) I I The President's Ball 9 p.m. 1 a.m. at The Washington Times Building I I ($250 ticket) I Will history continue? Six-way race for GOP chairman's job includes two black candidates As the nation prepares to make history with the inauguration of the first Black president, the national Republican party may be ready to fight fire with fire with it's first African-American Chairman. The contest for the GOP top seat comes as Republican leaders seek to redefine their message in a diverse society known as the arche- type for southern white men. The six candidates are four white men, including two from the South, and two black men: Michael Steele, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland, and J. Kenneth Blackwell, the former Ohio secre- tary of state. Because it is a six-way race in which ballots are cast anonymously, it is impossible to project who might win. But party leaders said Mr. Blackwell and Mr. Steele were viable candidates, particularly Mr. Blackwell, who has strong support from social conservatives. The leadership struggle follows a campaign in which Democrats, led by President-elect Barack Obama, made geographical and demograph- ic inroads, despite eight years in which President Bush and a previ- ous party chairman, Ken Mehlman, tried in their minds to expand the diversity of the party. The Republicans are grappling with sharp ideological and geo- graphical divides, and the question of the candidates' race has not been raised by the committee or the con- tenders remaining the elephant in the room. Nevertheless, racial strains have emerged in the contest. Katon Dawson, the South Carolina Republican chairman, quit his membership in an all-white country lvicnael Steei club soon before he joined the race. And another candidate, Chip Saltsman, the Tennessee party chairman, was roundly criticized for distributing a holiday CD to party members that included a par- ody song called "Barack the Magic Negro." Some Republicans argued that electing a black chairman could prove helpful as the party struggles to rebuild. "Race is not a consideration of why a person should become chair- man of the R.N.C., but if the nation can celebrate its first African- American president, I would cer- tainly think the Republican Party could celebrate its first African- American chairman," said Jim Greer, the Florida Republican chairman, who endorsed Mr. Steele last week to the New York Times. "There certainly is an advantage of a credible message of inclusion if you have a minority as chairman." If Mr. Blackwell or Mr. Steele wins the chairmanship, it will still be difficult for Republicans to com- J. Kenneth Blackwell pete against a Democratic Party that made its way into the history books in November. The new president will be sworn in just a week before the 168 members of the committee are to gather here to choose the chairman. "I don't get the sense that race is a driver in the context of this elec- tion," said Phil Musser, a Republican strategist who has been leading an effort to get the next party leader to invest resources and attention to improving the party's technological abilities. "If it is, it's a narrow minority. People are more interested in the plans for the com- mittee and the ideological perspec- tives of the candidates running for chairman than they are about eth- nicity." Beyond that, given Mr. Obama's election and the lopsided support that Democrats drew from African- American voters, several Republicans said it was unrealistic to expect the party to make serious gains among black voters, at least for now. Instead, they said, the party should seek to recover its standing, in particular among Hispanic voters, where Republicans lost ground this year. Mr. Steele has drawn criticism from conservatives because, while he opposes abortion, he supports an exemption in cases of incest or when the life of the woman is in danger. "Those who want to obsess on those issues will continue to lose the American public, which is focusing on the economy and edu- cation and national security," said Mr. Greer, the Florida chairman. "Values and principles are the foun- dation of our party. But if you are out of a job, or your 401(k) has halved in value, people are looking for leadership in those areas." Mr. Blackwell, who as Ohio's sec- retary of state was at the center of a controversy over voter disenfran- chisement, is running as a social conservative, drawing support from that solid segment of the party. Over the years, the party has had its share of criticism over race mat- ters in contests for public office. And the tensions it faces as it tries to deal with these issues were illus- trated by problems Mr. Dawson and Mr. Saltsman encountered. Mr. Saltsman declined to renounce or apologize for sending out the parody song, saying it was a harmless joke. (Mr. Blackwell and Mr. Steele said they found nothing offensive about it.) Nonetheless, he said, the episode had hurt him. "I don't think it helped," he said. "But I think we've gotten past it and people kind of see it for what it is, and what it was, and now my challenge is to talk about the future of the Republican Party." RIAA/Feeding America (formerly known as Second Harvest) Inaugural Ball Ibiza from 10pm 2am featuring Rihanna Sikh Inaugural Ball Benefitting the DC Boys & Girls Club, the event will be held at the Ascot-I the Indian Experience The Spirit of Hope Inaugural Ball The Washington Club at Patterson House Mansion at 15 DuPont Circle Unity in Service Inaugural Ball Trinity University, Main Hall Social Room at 125 Michigan Ave NE Vanity Fair/Estee Lauder Party at The Park from 10 to 4am (invite only) We the People Presidential Inaugural Gala & Ball Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill; Organized by campaign volunteers, the gala 1. recognizes the hard work and dedication of volunteers across the coun- try with a VIP celebration, featuring open bar, three-course dinner and live entertainment. Hill Harper and BeBe Winans plus event hosts including 1-------- --------------- --- - X-Y-AX, AVV-l