Securing Tickets for Barack Obama's Swearing-in Ceremony

Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on January 20, 2009 and I'm planning on being part of the historic event. I'm on a quest to secure the hottest ticket in town, one for the 56th Inaugural Swearing-in Ceremony. Whether I secure a ticket or not, I'm heading to Washington, D.C. to join thousands of others and taking part in as many presidential inaugural events as I can. The theme of the 2009 Presidential Inauguration is "A New Birth of Freedom."

Attending the presidential inaugural events will complete my journey of participating in a handful of political events this year. I attended a rally with the Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin (view images here), a community event with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson for Barack Obama (view article here) and participated in a rally with New York Senator Hillary Clinton (view article here) for the Obama-Biden ticket.

Securing Tickets for Barack Obama's Presidential Inaugural Swearing-in Ceremony

Google the term "Inauguration tickets" and several Web sites pop up claiming to sell tickets for the Presidential Inaugural Swearing-in Ceremony. Buyer beware! Tickets for Obama's presidential swearing-in ceremony are not sold. A limited number are available free of charge only through Congressional Representatives and Senators of the 111th Congress. Those interested in obtaining tickets for the ceremony need to contact their Congressman or Senator and be placed on a list.

My congressman's office told me demand is "very high" and tickets are limited. They will be distributed the week prior to the presidential inauguration from the local congressional offices for in-person pick up. If I am allocated a ticket, I should be notified in early January. I probably don't have a chance at securing tickets for Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony but thought I may as well try.

Locate your Congressman here and your Senator here.

Securing Tickets for Barack Obama's Swearing-in Ceremony: What if My Representative Wasn't Voted into the 111th Congress?

My congressman did not win his seat for the 111th Congress, however, I contacted his local office to find out the protocol for requesting tickets for Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony. I was told although he is not part of the 111th Congress, I needed to contact his Washington, D.C. office. Upon doing so, my congressman's Washington office told me they are accepting requests and will pass the list to the newly elected congressman voted into the 111th Congress. He will determine how the tickets will be allocated once he takes office in January.

Presidential Inauguration Travel: Hotels and Airfare

My airfare to attend the presidential inauguration weekend was cheap, less than $200. As for finding a budget hotel, the best nightly rate I found was about $200 for a two-star hotel 5 miles from a Metro stop. I began my search for a cheap hotel the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 5. I scoured the Web searching through sites of hotel chain I knew of, only to find hotels either sold out or exorbitantly expensive. Everything from Motel 6 to Comfort Inn and Days Inn to Super 8 are sold out. Hampton Inns, Fairfield Inns, and Sheratons are sold out, too along with Hostelling International Washington D.C. At the time of writing this article, there seem to be plenty of hotel rooms available at rates beginning at $499 per night plus taxes. At last look, there were a handful of hotels in Baltimore in the $200 to $300 range. Baltimore is about an hour's drive northeast of Washington, D.C. and accessible by train.

After speaking with a travel agent friend, I suspect many of the Washington, D.C. hotel rooms are tied up in room blocks by tour groups and travel agencies. If interested in traveling to the nation's Capital for the presidential inauguration, contact your local travel agency. Or, play the wait game and see if rooms are released from the blocks for sale to the general public. It may be worthwhile to check a hotel's inventory on a weekly basis.

A caveat when booking a hotel in Washington, D.C. for the presidential inauguration, thoroughly review the hotel's change and cancellation policies. Many charge a 100% cancellation fee, don't permit reservation changes and require full payment at the time of booking.

Will I Secure a Ticket for Barack Obama's Presidential Swearing-in Ceremony?

Stay tuned. My travel plans are set and I'm heading to D.C. I know there will be other opportunities to experience the presidential inauguration, like the Inauguration Parade. For now, I wait and hope for a January phone call from my congressman telling me he has a ticket for me.

Planning on attending the 56th Inaugural Swearing-In Ceremony? Stay up-to-date with the official Web site managed by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (inaugural.senate.gov).

Sources:

inaugural.senate.gov

http://www.washington.org/