Smithsonian Channel

A presidential inauguration only comes around once every four years and on Tuesday, January 20th, Washington, DC is likely to see a record breaking number of people on The National Mall and along the parade route down Pennsylvania Avenue. Rumor here in DC is that there hasn’t been a celebration this huge since President John F. Kennedy was sworn into office nearly 50 years ago. 

Obama-Hope Poster uploaded to Flickr by Steve Rhodes.

Everyday I take some time to read the new information released about this upcoming historic event, so here is my list of essential information surrounding the presidential inauguration festivities. 

1. Bring Your Walking Shoes
Since two of the major bridges leading into the District of Columbia will be closed on Tuesday, plan on walking anywhere and everywhere that day. Some friends of mine who live outside of the city and work in DC are actually planning on camping out at their offices overnight!

2. Hope It Doesn’t Rain
Among the list of prohibited items at both the inaugural address and the parade is an umbrella. The only thing worse than millions of people crammed into one area, is millions of people crammed into one area without umbrellas who are hungry, cold and wet.

3. Eat a second Thanksgiving the night before
Because there won’t be any food vendors allowed near the events. Which is probably a good thing considering…

4. Port-a-potties are limited in number
For every 6,000 people there will be only one port-a-potty. (Which is still a TON of porta-potties if you were to drive by and see them right now -as I have- when The Mall is completely empty) Let’s hope everyone doesn’t have to go at the same time, or you will spend most of your day waiting to use the facilities.

5. The Pennsylvania Avenue Parade Route Is Not Very Long
Officials have released information stating security checkpoints will close after 300,000 people are let into the parade route area. Subtract the 5-6,000 people who have tickets to the bleachers and then think about the couple of million  just around the corner at The National Mall… I am starting to give up hope of seeing anything on Tuesday!

Some fun Inauguration facts:

• George Washington’s inauguration was held in New York City, not Washington, DC.
• Bill Clinton’s inaugural address in 1997 was the first to be broadcast live over the World Wide Web.
• The President-elect will walk the parade route and then sit to watch the rest of it go by on a specially crafted raised platform that is heated and comes complete with bulletproof glass.
• The official theme for the 2009 inauguration is “Renewing America’s Promise.”
• The 5,000 extra parade tickets released to the public on Monday, January 12 sold out in less than 60 seconds

I don’t know about you, but after his acceptance speech back on November 4th, I’m pretty excited to hear what President-elect Obama will say in his inaugural address. I have a feeling it’s going to be so momentous that Fox News will have to add it to their “Top 5 Inaugural Speeches: The Most Memorable Lines.”

To learn more about the events and activities taking place from January 18-21 take a look at the Washingtonpost.com website or WUSA9 ’s informational pages.