Monday, January 5, 2009

Obama to host 'Neighborhood Ball'

Jon Ward

President-elect Barack Obama's main inaugural ball on Jan. 20 will be dubbed a "Neighborhood Ball" and will focus on ordinary Americans, giving some free tickets to D.C. residents and using technology to link communities around the country with the event.

"This is an Inauguration for all Americans," Mr. Obama said in a statement Monday morning.

"I wanted to make sure that we had an event that would be open to our new neighborhood here in Washington, D.C., and also neighborhoods across the country."

The Obama transition office said in a release that the "Neighborhood ball" would be "the premier event of inauguration evening," and will be held at the Washington Convention Center.

Tickets will be "free or at an affordable price," they said.

The transition release also boasted of a "robust interactive component, including webcasting and text messaging, to link neighborhoods across the country with the new President and this premier event."