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January 19, 2009

Inauguration viewing, evening parties planned for WC and other communities


What are you doing Tuesday to watch the historic swearing in of Barack Obama as 44th president of the United States?


Staying home and going into work late? Keeping your kids home from school to watch it with you? I was tempted to do that, but I’ve heard that they’ll have the TV on in my son’s class and will be watching it there. I want to see if I can join them; I’d love to share this historic event with my son.


Or, are you going to ignore the whole thing? Maybe because you didn’t vote for Obama, or you don’t care about politics all that much?


If you want to join with other area residents to watch the inauguration and accompanying festivities, here are some local venues that are hosting special events.

--You can join 1,100 at the Lesher Center for the Arts in downtown Walnut Creek to watch the inauguration. The Mt. Diablo Peace and Justice Center, the city, Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Business Association and Broadway Plaza are co-sponsoring a celebration featuring two big screens at the Lesher Center. The center will be showing the event in two theaters at the event. That event starts at 7:30 a.m., with Obama scheduled to be sworn in at 9 a.m. Pacific time.


Unfortunately, all the free tickets to the Lesher have been reserved, but organizers say that you can still show up and see if there are any reserved tickets left unclaimed. By 8 a.m. any tickets left unclaimed will be released to people standing outside the center.
Other area venues hosting free, public viewing events:

--Soda Center Saint Mary's College — 7:30 a.m. Jan. 20. Watch the inauguration, get a free button and enjoy breakfast. 1928 Saint Marys Road, Moraga.


--Tri-Valley Democratic Club — 8 a.m. Jan. 20. Viewing on a big-screen TV. IBEW Hall, 6250 Dublin Parkway, Dublin. www.trivalleydems.com.

--The local party doesn’t end with the parade Tuesday morning. On Tuesday evening, the Mount Diablo Peace and Justice Center is hosting its first “Inaugural Ball” at the Shadelands Civic Arts Center, 111 Wiget Lane, Walnut Creek.


The party runs from 7 to 10 p.m. and features dancing with a live band, food,and no-host bar. Tickets are $35 per person and can be purchased trough the Lesher Center box office, (925) 943-SHOW (7469), or online at www.lesherartscenter.org.


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I totally cant wait for tomorrow when Bush is out and all his cronies and the disastrous record of his administration. I like Obama, but willsee if he's up to what he's got to deal with thanks to Bush and Cheney and Greenspan and the rest. Party on!

Anonymous said...

I totally cant wait for tomorrow when Bush is out and all his cronies and the disastrous record of his administration. I like Obama, but willsee if he's up to what he's got to deal with thanks to Bush and Cheney and Greenspan and the rest. Party on!

Anonymous said...

You left your comments twice btw (:
Tried to get into the Lesher, think I'll stay home with my kids and make them watch it, then send them off to school. It's probably better I won't be in public, Ill start sobbing for joy

Anonymous said...

Its easy to blame Bush for everything. The Dems allowed a lot the worst to happen too.

Anonymous said...

For all of you who claim to hate President Bush and blame him for all of our problems, you are missing the whole point of what President-elect Obama and Martin Luther King stand for.

It is not the time to hate or spread blame, it is a time for everyone to come together, roll up our sleeves and work to solve our problems and help build a better America. Hate is counter productive. Put it away and move on for God sake.

We are all guilty of pursuing and enjoying the over-excesses of the past decade. Each of us must closely examine our lives and lifestyles and be honest about how we have contributed to the problems of the world.

Anonymous said...

I agree that we're all guilty of sharing in the over-excesses of the past decade, and to some extent we need to move on. But we need some truth and reconciliation to be able to move on. And as Rep. Conyers of the House Judiciary Committee has asked, we need to look at the very criminal actions by the Bush administration with regard to dismantling the rights guaranteed under the Constitution that he swore to uphold and protect.

Anonymous said...

Do we ever really get the "truth and reconciliation" from any of our past administrations? Doubtful and probably not a wise idea for our country.

If we knew all of the facts (of course always subject to interpretation) about the actions of all of our former presidents we would probably discover that most were guilty of what some may call criminal activities. Not being privy to having sat in that seat of power, one can not even imagine what it must be like to be making decisions that affect so many people on a daily basis.

Again, I will say that we should be looking forward instead of backward and attempt to learn from our previous mistakes.

Picking the scab from a wound does not make it heal any faster nor does it make it any more attractive. The infection of hate has no cure.