I did the inauguration thing in 2009, and 2013 was a totally different experience. This was me on the National Mall in 2009 freezing to witness history.
I'm glad I did it, but I was beyond tired after it was all said and done. Consequently, I just wasn't feeling the idea of a complete do over. So, I opted for the couch version of witnessing history instead.
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| Capital Cause crowd |
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| Me and @SassyandSocial |
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| Lovely ladies kicking off Inauguration 2013 |
Now the evenings on the other hand, were a different story. This time around I decided to go out more as opposed to what I did for '09, which really focused on witnessing the swearing-in live and in person. I started my Inauguration II: Electric Boogaloo weekend on Saturday with the Yes We Can Mixer sponsored by Capital Cause and the National Urban League Young Professionals. The crowd was a little on the young side (or maybe I'm just a little on the old side), but it was good to hang out with friends and support two great organizations.
On Sunday, instead of attending one of the numerous balls that night, I opted for To Sir with Love: A DC Creatives Inauguration Salon, and I'm glad I did. This was a unique event that had a 60s mod glam theme in honor of the Sidney Poitier movie. The event featured live progressive soul music, food and DJs who tore up the script when it comes to your typical DJ playlist.
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| Glamour Girls |
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| I love music! |
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| @MsAliTee, one of event hosts |
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| Ne'a Posey |
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| Cinderella goes to the ball! |
Getting a ticket to an official Inaugural Balls was a goal for me, and the fact that I was able to do it was HUGE, at least in my mind. There were a million balls going on throughout the weekend, some of which were extremely star-studded, including the Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball, The BET Ball, etc. I could have bought tickets to one of these balls, but the President and the First Lady weren't going to be there, and those were the only people I really wanted to see. Hey, I'm just being honest.
I unsuccessfully tried to buy tickets during that big Ticketmaster fiasco, so for a few days my hopes of attending the Inaugural Ball were completely dashed. However, God must have really wanted me to go because I got a second opportunity to buy ticket a few days later through another source. With ticket in mind, I was off to the Ball!
Getting to the ball required standing out in the cold for extended periods of time, long lines, running (don't ask), losing and then finding my friend (thanks for coming with me M.A.!), and security checks. Gee, what does that sound like? Answer: Inauguration 2009. Oh the irony. Anywho, all this effort resulted in a spot right by the stage and an awesome time.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr. and Mrs. 44 :)
I still can't over the fact that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were right there IN MY FACE!!! Or, was I all up in their collective face? Whatever, if nothing else I accomplished my mission :)
Bonus! Here's some video I snatched from YouTube :)
Oh, and did I mention that Stevie Wonder performed at this little shindig?
Other performers included Alicia Keys, who performed an
interesting remix called "Obama's on Fire," (I'm not a Keys fan, but
I was in a good mood and sang along) the group Fun (who were surprisingly good,
at least in my opinion), a Latino rock group called Manah (sp?) and Country
singer Brad Paisley.
The Bidens also got their time to shine when they were serenaded by Jamie Foxx. I didn't get pictures because I had left my spot by the stage at that point (got sick for some reason and had to get away from the crowd...don't ask), but here's the adorable video courtesy of the Associated Press.
So, that was my Inauguration 2013 experience, and it was a good one. It was truly a blessing to witness and celebrate history, and have it all up in my face :)
Now when we get a Black female president, it's really going to be on :)
Stay random,
Jay
