| EVENT REPORT 02.02.09 11:54 AM |
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Last Look at the Inauguration: More Photos From Google's Party
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 | Giant plastic igloos at Google's inaugural party
Photo: Courtesy of Google |
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FROM WASHINGTON
Our coverage of the inaugural festivities went online quickly after the events, but some new photos just came in from Google's bash at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, considered by some to be—style- and spectacle-wise, at least—one of the highlights of the week. Here's a look at the gleaming white Obama-influenced fete, overseen and designed by Google's group marketing manager of events, Lorin Pollack-Platto.
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RELATED TOPICS
Inauguration 2009, Google |
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| NEWS 01.28.09 1:06 PM |
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In the News: Somber Times Kill Davos Party, Guerrilla Marketers Help Inauguration-Goers Make Friends
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Here's are a few stories grabbing our attention this week:
Financial Forecast Calls for Subdued Davos: The World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, is taking an unsurprisingly somber tone this year. C.E.O.s of corporations like Citigroup and Sony have opted not to attend; the celebrity contingent is all but nonexistent; and the opulent parties of the past seem to be long gone. Goldman Sachs is among the biggest names ditching their perennially hot ticket parties, and although Brit bank Barclays is said to be going ahead with theirs, company president Bob Diamond just canceled his trip yesterday. [FT]
HuffPo and Meetup Help Obama Fans Network: By using street teams to hand out branded name tags in Washington, the Huffington Post and community organizing Web site Meetup attempted to introduce half a million strangers to each other at last week's inauguration. Creative agency Interference Inc. enlisted about 180 people to pass out the tags, and trucks had to deliver the 500,000 stickers two days in advance because of closed street traffic. [BrandFreak]
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RELATED TOPICS
Inauguration 2009, Davos, Huffington Post, Meetup, Condé Nast, Goldman Sachs, Barclays Capital, Citigroup |
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| TED KRUCKEL 01.21.09 4:08 PM |
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On Inauguration Night, Purple Ball Had Color But Lacked Authenticity, and American Music Balls Were a Bust
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FROM WASHINGTON
On Tuesday night, as my taxi inched down M street to the Georgetown inaugural ball, held in two venues alongside the Georgetown Shops Mall, one shop owner had posted a hastily made but hard-to-ignore suggestion: “Why not go home already: Take it all in on your TV!” I wish I had.
Let it be known that this mostly jaded reporter was down with the oneness, surprising everyone who knows me by hopping the metro yesterday at 11 a.m. and, with careful planning, arriving on the mall in time to hear Barack’s speech, call my sister, take a picture, etc. It was touching and all that.
But a night of overly commercialized, under-organized (or failed) party planning reminded me that even the noblest of causes or movements are not free from shameless exploiters and profiteers. It's been a long trip.
So as I rush to Union Station—I decided to forego my business class reservation and early return to the calm and cool oasis that is Manhattan—herein are my parting observations.
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Inauguration 2009, Purple Ball |
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| EVENT REPORT 01.21.09 2:39 PM |
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Generation Obama Replays President's Speech to Toast Inauguration
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 | The assembled crowd at Whiskey Blue
Photo: David Michel Lincoln |
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Generation Obama L.A. (whose goal is to engage young professionals in political campaigning) and the California Democratic Party hosted L.A.’s official inauguration celebration at the Whiskey Blue lounge at the W Hotel in Westwood last night. Generation Obama's Haroon "Boon" Saleem, Mitchell Schwartz of California for Obama, Robert Egan of RHEgan Productions, and Councilman Jack Weiss were among those who made brief live remarks. ("This is unofficially what we call our 'Farewell to W. at the W' party," Saleem quipped.) The party's main event was a replay of President Obama’s inaugural speech, which was shown in its entirety on flat-screen televisions in both of the lounge's rooms. Afterward, KCRW’s DJ Jason Bentley spun for guests beginning at about 9 p.m.
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Generation Obama L.A., Inauguration 2009, California Democratic Party |
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| EVENT REPORT 01.21.09 2:30 PM |
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Inauguration Balls Feature A-List Performers, High-Tech Touches, and High- and Low-End Decor
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 | The Obamas at the Neighborhood Ball
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images |
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FROM WASHINGTON
After a day of inaugural festivities held outside amid biting winds and clamoring crowds, last night the masses descended onto a slew of balls celebrating President Barack Obama's swearing in. The 10 Presidential Inauguration Committee-sanctioned parties—the official bashes graced with planned appearances by the new president and first lady—were the tickets to land, with most going to politicians, Hill staffers, and donors. Private functions also dotted the event landscape, with first-ever parties from BET at the Mandarin Oriental and Google at the Mellon Auditorium.
Obama's popularity among the Hollywood set was more evident than ever before, as an award show-worthy roster of performers entertained around town. On the slate at the televised Neighborhood Ball were Faith Hill, Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Alicia Keys. Other rosters included Sting and Elvis Costello at the Creative Coalition fete at the Harman Center, Wyclef Jean for BET, and Patti LaBelle at the Africa Ball at the Gaylord.
Street closures, freezing temperatures, and the ongoing taxi shortage made ball hopping a challenge, but as revelers showed throughout the weekend, little could dampen the spirits of those in town for the celebration.
Here are some highlights from the evening's biggest events.
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RELATED TOPICS
Inauguration 2009, Google, BET, Creative Coalition, Hawaii State Socity, Pennsylvania State Society, Congressional Youth Leadership Council |
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| NEWS 01.21.09 1:34 PM |
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Chicago's Inauguration-Night Balls Range From Canceled to High Tech
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 | The Bronzeville inaugural ball
Photo: BizBash |
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FROM CHICAGO
A line of news trucks stood outside McCormick Place last night, where the Chicago Inaugural Committee hosted its official ball. There were more lines inside, where two cash bars—each staffed with a single bartender—catered to a crowd of roughly 700 guests.
Last week, planners expected the evening to draw a crowd of about 600, but the sudden cancellation of an inaugural ball that was to take place at the Aragon Ballroom led to a last-minute spike in attendance at McCormick Place. According to Alan Cottrell, who headed up planning efforts for the Chicago Inaugural Ball, organizers of the Aragon Ballroom event didn't sell enough tickets to hold the space, so he and his fellow committee members agreed to honor tickets to the Aragon event at their own ball. (Those with tickets to the canceled event who didn't go to McCormick Place got refunds.)
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Chicago Inaugural Committee, Inauguration 2009 |
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| TED KRUCKEL 01.20.09 2:57 PM |
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Texas Black Tie & Boots Ball Had Winking Cowgirls, Giant Rooms
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FROM WASHINGTON
In Texas, you should know, they go big or they stay home ... where it is big.
So for the Texas State Society’s 11,000-person party on Monday night, organizers chose the Gaylord National Resort across the Potomac in Maryland. Yee-ha!
If you like greeters, and I do, the Black Tie and Boots Ball was your party. First, a dozen or so wannabe Dallas Cowgirls obeyed their matron, took the gum out of their mouths, passed it forward, then marched, two by two to the escalator, to get in position at one of the many entrances. Every third gal greeted me and every fifth winked.
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RELATED TOPICS
Inauguration 2009, Texas State Society Black Tie & Boots Ball |
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