Group to hold inaugural party in D.C.
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By DANIEL BARLOW Vermont Press Bureau - Published: January 8, 2009
MONTPELIER — Vermonters heading to Washington, D.C., this month to see President-elect Barack Obama be sworn into office are invited to a special inaugural reception hosted by a recently reborn organization.
The Vermont State Society, a collective of D.C.-area residents with ties to the Green Mountain State, will host the first presidential inaugural celebration for residents since President Bill Clinton began his second term in 1997.
The celebration scheduled for the Sunday night before Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration will be one of 48 others that week in Washington, one for each state that has a State Society operating in the nation's capital.
"This is the only inaugural event that Vermonters are specifically invited to," said Narric Rome, a 1994 University of Vermont graduate now living in Bethesda, Md., and working for a nonprofit arts organization.
The gala, held at an office building that overlooks the inaugural stage, is limited to 400 people, with tickets ranging in price from $100 to $500. The three-hour, evening celebration will feature an open cocktail bar, a live music performance by Burlington's Lowell Thompson and guest appearances by Vermont's congressional delegation and former Gov. Howard Dean.
Rome said the reserved space includes an atrium and access to the rooftop, which provides an impressive view of the stage where Obama will make history just days later. With temperatures for that evening expected to be about 30 degrees, Rome said the rooftop may be chilly for some, but Vermonters should be used to it.
"I wasn't lucky enough to score tickets to the inauguration," he said. "So, for people like me, this will be their opportunity to see the stage where Obama will be sworn in."
During an interview Tuesday morning, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said he would be attending and looks forward to seeing many Vermonters there.
"I'll have to get someone on my staff to teach me to dance first," Welch joked.
The Vermont State Society re-formed in January 2008 after the group was defunct for more than a decade. This is the third event the group has held since re-forming, including a 2008 D.C.-area concert by Vermont musician Grace Potter.
The event will be held at 101 Constitution Ave. NW from 8 to 11 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18.
Tickets can be purchased at www.vtss.org.
Contact Daniel Barlow at daniel. barlow@rutlandherald.com.
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