PIC Unveils Interactive Web Tools To Bring Neighborhoods Together For The Neighborhood Inaugural Ball
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) announced interactive features using Internet and text technology to bring neighborhoods from across the country together in celebration during the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball, airing live exclusively on ABC on Tuesday, January 20, 8:00-10:00 PM EST.
The PIC is asking Americans to host neighborhood ball events in their communities to watch and follow along with the show on ABC and providing party planning toolkits, available HERE. There will also be live blogging from the Convention Center, so people can follow along online and get behind the scenes scoop. Finally, neighborhood parties across America will be able to participate in the main event via both text message and online video. People will be able to text in photos of their events and send video - both of which could appear in the television program.
"The Neighborhood Inaugural Ball will be the premier event of the evening for those attending here in Washington, D.C. and participating from home," said PIC Executive Director Emmett S. Beliveau. "This is an opportunity to really make this America's inaugural celebration allowing people to join us by watching the ABC special, planning their own inaugural events in their neighborhoods and living rooms, and sending us videos and pictures that may be shown during the event. We really look forward to Americans from all across the country joining us on this very special evening."
In an effort to make this inaugural celebration open and accessible to all Americans, President-elect Barack Obama will host the first-ever Neighborhood Inaugural Ball, the premier event of Inauguration Evening, on January 20th. To help bring this unique event to neighborhoods across the nation, ABC will broadcast "The Neighborhood Ball: An Inauguration Celebration." The event will air live from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C., TUESDAY, JANUARY 20 (8:00-10:00 PM EST).
The 56th Presidential Inauguration promises to be the most inclusive in history, and the PIC has planned a list of inaugural events that reflect that commitment:
- The President-elect, Vice President-elect and their families will journey to the nation's capital via train on Saturday, January 17, holding events that are free and open to the public along the way. They will be joined by a group of everyday Americans they met along their road to the White House.
- Sunday, January 18, an inaugural kick-off event at the Lincoln Memorial featuring the incoming First Family and special musical guests will be open to the public and broadcast live on HBO free of charge to all cable and satellite customers.
- On January 19, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President-elect Obama will call on all Americans to make an ongoing commitment to serve their communities and their country. A new website, USAservice.org, makes it easy for Americans to organize service events or find existing events. To date, more than 10,000 events have been organized across the country.
- Monday evening, January 19, Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, and their families will host a free "Kids' Inaugural" concert to honor military families, broadcast on the Disney Channel and Radio Disney.
- For the first time in history, the entire length of the National Mall will be open to the public on Inauguration Day, January 20, so that more Americans than ever before can come together to witness the swearing-in of the President from a vantage point near the Capitol.
- Local D.C. students have been given the chance to receive tickets for the Inaugural Parade for themselves and family members based on the best essays answering the question, "How can I contribute to my neighborhood through community service?"
- On the evening of Inauguration Day, the first ball President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attend will be the first-ever Neighborhood Inaugural Ball. The ball will be broadcast live on ABC and over the Internet, bringing together neighborhoods across the country in the spirit of unity and celebration.
The sum of these public events is an Inauguration that allows more Americans than ever before to come together as one nation and one people, united in our resolve to tackle our greatest common challenges and move this country forward together.
