Meeting News - February 2, 2009 - (Page 38)

Cover Story past, there have been so many bleachers assembled and sold by property owners along the route that it really wasn’t accessible.” That accessibility and the historic crowds that journeyed to DC called for unprecedented efforts by all involved planning parties. Destination DC spent six months building an inauguration website (www.washington.org/visiting/experience-dc/presidential-inauguration/information), developing collateral and visitors guides, and staffing a call center, which had six people working overtime to answer 250 calls a day at peak. Much of the attention centered on the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, just blocks away from the National Mall and site of six of the 10 official inaugural balls: the Obama and Biden Home States balls, Mid-Atlantic Ball, Midwest Inaugural Ball, Western States Ball, and the hippest and bestpublicized Neighborhood Ball. On inauguration night alone, the convention center accommodated about 40,000 people, but organizers scarcely sounded fazed at the prospect of the events.“We have a number of people on our staff who have served here since [Ronald] Reagan’s second inauguration,” said Greg O’Dell, CEO and general manager of the convention center.“This is Photo: U.S. Department of Defense/Mark O'Donald Inauguration continued from cover Revelers rock out at the “Kids’ Inaugural: We Are the Future” concert at Verizon Center. not that much different from a typical citywide, though we generally don’t have six simultaneous events going on in the building.” Remarkably, the same 200-person staff that’s usually in place coordinated the events, though the venue’s caterer, Centerplate, did require hundreds of extra servers, while tightened security meant restricting convention center access to single entry and exit points, which made management of crowd flow that much more important. Color-coded tickets indicated one of two entrances for ball-goers, while a second color corresponded to a ball-specific coat check.“We often do this for smaller-scale events,” said Pia Brown, the center’s director of event management,“but it was critical—given the magnitude of the events and maximization of space—that we made crowd flow as easy as possible.” The exclusive guest lists and high price tags for most of the official balls prevented most average citizens from attending, but most of the 120 unofficial celebrations—the most ever—were no less glitzy. The Lincoln 2.0 Ball, so called for its location in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, site of Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural ball, brought out an elegant but outspoken crowd. Young men and women decked out in Victorian and Civil Warera attire dotted the venue, along with a joviallooking Lincoln look-alike, who traveled in from Gettysburg, VA. “I got this brilliant idea about a week before the election,” joked Wendy Pangburn, Lincoln 2.0’s organizer.“This is the fastest event I’ve ever produced.” Normally, she said, the museum would have rented out the facility six months in advance for a private function. That turnaround was common throughout the city during inauguration week, particularly for official events. Since the incoming administration determines the Presidential Inaugural Committee, its members often can’t begin planning in earnest until early December. “It’s an intense planning process in a very shortened time period,” said the convention center’s O’Dell. “We can’t get ahead of the process until we know which side has won the election.” But city boosters can’t help but get ahead of themselves when it comes to speculation about what the inauguration celebrations, and the corresponding boost in profile around the world, could mean for Washington, DC.“There’s a new sense of citizenship and democracy, and we just happen to be the place where you can touch and feel that,” Destination DC’s Hanbury said. “The energy and excitement that’s surrounding this moment will be felt for months to come.” H www.meetingnews.com AD Index Advertiser Page Advertiser Page Aria Resort & Casino . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 www.arialasvegas.com Aruba Convention Bureau . . . . . . . . . .37 www.meetaruba.com Beau Rivage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IFC www.beaurivage.com Bellagio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 www.bellagio.com Bermuda Dept. of Tourism . . . . . . . . . .11 www.bermudatourism.com/meetings Gold Strike Tunica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 www.goldstrikemississippi.com Greater Miami CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 www.MiamiMeetings.com Las Vegas Hilton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 www.lvhilton.com Las Vegas CVA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BC www.lvcva.com MGM Grand Detroit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 www.mgmgranddetroit.com New York New York Hotel & Casino . . . .31 www.nynyhotelcasino.com Nuevo Leon Monterey . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 www.ocvmty.com Peabody Orlando, The . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 www.PeabodyMeetings.com/mn Puerto Rico Convention Bureau . . . . . .35 www.meetpuertorico.com Riviera Hotel and Casino . . . . . . . . . . .29 www.rivierahotel.com Venetian Resort, Hotel, Casino . . . . . . .23 www.venetian.com/meetings Wynn Las Vegas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 www.wynnlasvegas.com The Index to Advertisers is published for the convenience of our readers. Every effort is made to list advertisers’ names, web addresses and page numbers correctly. The publisher is not liable for errors or omissions. 38 MeetingNews February 2, 2009 http://www.washington.org/visiting/experience-dc/presidential-inauguration/information http://www.washington.org/visiting/experience-dc/presidential-inauguration/information http://www.arialasvegas.com http://www.nynyhotelcasino.com http://www.meetaruba.com http://www.ocvmty.com http://www.beaurivage.com http://www.PeabodyMeetings.com/mn http://www.bellagio.com http://www.meetpuertorico.com http://www.bermudatourism.com/meetings http://www.rivierahotel.com http://www.goldstrikemississippi.com http://www.venetian.com/meetings http://www.MiamiMeetings.com http://www.wynnlasvegas.com http://www.lvhilton.com http://www.lvcva.com http://www.mgmgranddetroit.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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