Local inaugural celebrations gear up

People in and around Asheville are set to celebrate the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday.

Mountain Xpress will be out and about with cameras in hand, and we’ll be watching online. Visit our Twitter feed from Ashevilleans in Washington, D.C. for updates on the big event. We’ll also be keeping up with other people on Twitter, so if you have an inauguration-related tweet, tag it with #avlinaug so we can keep up. (What’s Twitter, you ask? For details, start here.)

Here’ s a look at some of the events happening around Asheville on Tuesday. If you know of an event, please leave a comment about it below.

• The Buncombe County Democratic Party will hold an Inaugural Celebration Luncheon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m at the Doubletree Biltmore Hotel. Registration starts at 10:30 a.m. The luncheon will be catered, champagne will be on hand and a big screen will be showing the events in Washington, D.C.

• The Grove Corner Market at the Grove Arcade on O. Henry Avenue will have a television in The Perch tuned in to the day’s events. The public is invited to watch.

• The YWCA, at 185 S. French Broad Ave., will also be screening inauguration events in its lobby, with the public welcome to attend.

• Asheville Pizza and Brewing Co. on Coxe Avenue will have televisions tuned to the event starting at noon.

• Laurey’s on Biltmore Avenue plans to celebrate as MoveOn.org’s official local inauguration-bash headquarters. There will be decorations and they’re staying open later than normal.

• The Orange Peel is the site of the Inauguration Gala featuring the Josh Phillips Folk Festival and the Jonathan Scales Fourchestra. The party starts at 8 p.m. and is hosted by the YMI Cultural Center and 880 AM The Revolution. Tickets are $7.

• The Grey Eagle has an inauguration party featuring Sol Driven Train starting at 9 p.m. Tickets are $6 in advance and $8 on Tuesday.

• In Black Mountain, the White Horse Black Mountain will have music by the Rick and Melinda Halford Band, Bob Hinkle and others. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the event starting at 8:30 p.m.

• Also in Black Mountain, the Democrats on the Move Gala will be held at 7 p.m. at the Lake Tomahawk clubhouse. Cost is a suggested $10 donation.

• In Madison County, the Marshall High Studios will host an Inaugural Ball. Tickets are $5.

— Jason Sandford, multimedia editor

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2 thoughts on “Local inaugural celebrations gear up

  1. Jason Sandford

    Here’s an event at UNCA that I just saw:

    UNC Asheville Literature Department Host Inauguration Day Poetry Reading

    UNC Asheville Literature & Language Department will host an Inauguration Day poetry reading at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, at UNC Asheville’s Humanities Lecture Hall. The event will feature new and commissioned poems by UNC Asheville faculty and regional poets to honor the inauguration of President Barack Obama. The event is free and open to the public.

    The event will include readings and presentations by North Carolina Poet Laureate Kay Stripling Byer, Cantaria, Robin Cape, Rick Chess, Ann Dunn, Gary Ettari, Greenway, Stephanie Hickling, Laura Hope-Gill, David Brendan Hopes, Sebastian Matthews, Glenis Redmond and Allan Wolf.

    For more information, call Hopes at 828/251-6580 for more information

  2. Jason Sandford

    UNCA’s student center is also hosting a viewing of the inauguration:

    Have plans for Monday’s historic Inauguration? If not, join fellow students and staff in the Highsmith Union for our Inauguration Celebration 2009. The Intercultural Center will sponsor a live broadcast of the Swearing-In Ceremony and Inaugural Parade. There will be door prizes, United States Presidential trivia, and light refreshments.
    11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Highsmith Union 1st floor

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