Inauguration Insanity In Washington, DC
By Sebastien Tobler of Colliding Continents
Barack Obama & family
Inauguration insanity has slowly been closing in on the DC area over the past month and now it seems like its vice-like grip has taken full hold. Washington D.C. hotels within a 50 mile radius are all booked up (a great thing for hoteliers considering the economy). Bars have been given the green light to stay open until 5AM and for restaurants to serve food 24hrs a day from January 17th – 20th. Nothing says party town like 24hr food and late-late night beverages. For those of you headed in to DC and haven’t had a chance to taste the District life before, you may be missing out on a lot fun. Good thing I live in DC and am here to help you out.
U.S. Presidential Inauguration 2005
An Inauguration Ball… or Three
It is all about change this inaugural season so don’t fret if you didn’t get tickets to one of the ten official inauguration Balls, there are so many unofficial ones that are likely to be as fun, so change it up! Take The Art of Change Ball for example, held at the Warehouse Arts Complex, celebrating Barak Obama’s special day with performance art and DJs on 5 stages. Artomatic and Playa del Fuego come together to bring you this unique inauguration experience and the best thing is that it only costs $50.
If you are looking to be seen try and head over to the Be The Change Inaugural Ball hosted by MTV in celebration of the massive youth-voter turn out on election day. 24 million people between the ages of 18-29 voted in 2008, a fantastic reason to throw a ball at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
If you are looking for a completely different approach why not take the ball to the Potomac? The Spirit of Washington and Odyssey III will take you on a cruise on the Potomac before and during the inauguration! Enjoy great food and entertainment as Barak Obama takes the presidency.
Ben's Chili Bowl
DC Party Scene
Ok, so maybe you aren’t looking to go to such an organized party, maybe you are looking for something more…DC? You need to go to U St. otherwise known as Little Ethiopia. When Barak Obama was declared the next president of the United States U St. residents came rushing out to party on the streets forcing the local law enforcement to shut down the road completely. U St. provides rows upon rows of great restaurants and is also home to the very popular Ben’s Chili Bowl. Make sure to check out Marvin for great drinks, Café Saint Ex for their sweet potato fries and Bar Pillar for their killer tapas selection, and yes Saint Ex and Bar Pillar serve fantastic cocktails.
If you REALLY want to party and completely bypass the restaurant scene then Adam’s Morgan is for you. 18th St. is packed with rows upon rows of bars and clubs, given the extended “last call” combined with record numbers of visitors I highly recommend you to be careful!
Stay posted for more DC inauguration updates.
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7 Responses
How have I never been to Adams Morgan? Though if anyone wants late night bars and 24-hour food they could just go to New York.
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The inauguration will be such a historic event for our country, I wish I could be there! The crowds are going to be a mess, though. I think if I were in DC, I would try to just get on the outskirts of the mall for the inauguration (and get there by bike or walking…) and live it up for the party scenes afterwards… I wouldn’t even attempt to make my way back out of DC for at least 8 hours after the inauguration. For those of you lucky enough to be there, enjoy it for the rest of us. Go Obama!
Wish we could of been there. It’s like our home town of Pasadena. You can watch the Rose Parade even better often on television, though it just isn’t the same as camping on the streets the night before and being right in the mix of the festivities. Like wise I’m sure of getting a trip to the inauguration and mingling with all the other true Americans.
I am just wondering how does it feel to be part of this once in a life time historical event. How I wish I could be with this even in one picture to be part of the history. Maybe if I will be gone there, I’ll try the Marvins.