LAKE COUNTY – Bookend events in Lake County will commemorate president-elect Barack Hussein Obama”s inauguration ceremony and surrounding events today, as a nation witnesses the swearing-in of its first black president on the day after Martin Luther King Jr.”s birthday.
With the musical prelude and introductions to begin at 10 a.m. EST, which is 7 a.m. PST, the formal ceremony is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. EST, or 8:30 a.m. PST. The parade will begin at 2 p.m. EST, 11 a.m. PST, followed by an inaugural ball in the evening. Two celebrations in Lake County are planned for both ends of the day, and children in school won”t be missing out on the festivities, either.
“I think every body is really excited and wants to participate in these events, even if they”re not seeing them live, they still want to be with other people and celebrate together,” said Becky Curry, chair of the Lake County Democratic Central Committee.
The committee planned a cocktail party at the Saw Shop Gallery and Bistro in Kelseyville. Curry said she had room for 100 people, and the event quickly sold out at $20 per person. The event will begin with a recorded viewing of the swearing-in ceremony, followed by a live feed of the inaugural ball coverage.
Between 30 and 40 early risers will have the opportunity to have breakfast together and watch history being made live, thanks to one woman”s impromptu movement and the accommodating nature of the restaurant management at the Classic Rock Caf? at Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa.
“The day after the November election, I asked my boss for January 20 off as a vacation day. That”s how much I am looking forward to watching the inauguration live and celebrating the whole dang day,” Upper Lake resident Deb Baumann said.
Since Baumann and many of her friends didn”t own televisions, and she didn”t want to spend the day alone with her computer screen and a streaming video, she called around until she found a place with a big screen and the willingness to accommodate a group of friends to watch the ceremony.
“I was hoping for 10, but I”m not surprised. I”m sure we would have gotten more if we had time to get the word out. This is an event you want to share. It is history in the making,” Baumann said.
“I think the history of America will be an America before its first non-white, male president and America after. Prior to this president, there has not been a lot of diversity. This is an historic occasion,” Baumann said.
Konocti Unified School District Superintendent Bill MacDougall said the ceremony will likely be playing in classrooms throughout his district.
“It is a historic occasion and a really teachable moment. This is something different than we”ve seen in many, many years. It”s also a turning point in history ? when you look at FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and the crisis we have now, we have not been in this type of situation for quite some time,” MacDougall said.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
