The University is getting ready to party this January, when it will host its fourth consecutive inaugural ball to celebrate the winner of the 2004 presidential election.
Preparations are already being made for the event, which will be held off campus for a second time at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in D.C., GW’s “Unofficial Youth Ball” was held at the same location in 2001, when George W. Bush was inaugurated after defeating Democratic rival Al Gore in a close contest. Bush did not attend the celebration but did participate in a Smith Center event to honor war veterans.
“We started thinking about (the 2005 ball) the day after the one four years ago,” University Marshal Jill Kasle said. “I got the first memo from … (University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg) saying ‘let’s have another inaugural ball’ back in February of 2004,” she said.
The GW-hosted celebration, which is not sanctioned by an official inaugural committee, is one of numerous unofficial balls that occur throughout D.C. for every presidential inauguration, Kasle said.
“Anyone can have an inaugural ball,” she said. “There is no patent, copyright, or trademark on those two words.”
Kasle said the decision to hold the event at the Omni Hotel was based on the University’s positive experience at the venue four years ago. The 2001 celebration, which featured two bands, a disc jockey and a George W. Bush impersonator, occupied two ballrooms and additional space to “sit down, stroll around, and say hello.”
Officials are also looking into the possibility of securing a third ballroom at the Omni Hotel to accommodate a larger crowd.
The 1993 and 1997 celebrations held in the Marvin Center each sold out with more than 2,500 attendees, while the 2001 event sold out with 3,100 in December 2000.
“The last ball was a huge success,” Kasle said. “We had about 3,500 people and were sold out completely a couple of weeks before the ball.” Kasle said she expects event tickets to sell out long before the Jan. 20 celebration, which is open to all members of the GW community, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends.
While a contract has been signed, the date and number of tickets has not yet been determined, said Leah Rosen, director of creative services for Student and Academic Support Services.
“We want to make tickets available as soon as possible, but we haven’t set the price yet, which is why they can’t go on sale,” Rosen said. The price of tickets will depend on variables such as the availability of a third ballroom and the number of tickets the University is able to sell, Rosen said.
“We are looking into expanding the number of people who can attend the ball,” she added.
Rosen said the only reason the University stopped selling tickets at 3,100 for the last ball was because of “space restrictions, not because of interest.”
The student-faculty committee that decides on the celebration’s services such as catering, decorations, and entertainment has not made any decisions, but the party will probably have the same patriotic themes as the last celebration.
“We’re going to do a ball regardless of who wins the presidency, so I think our theme is going to be about democracy and being in Washington, D.C.,” Rosen said. The 2001 celebration featured red, white and blue ice sculptures in the shapes of an elephant and a donkey, representing the symbols of the Republican and Democratic parties. The ball also featured red, white and blue tortilla chips.
The idea to host an inaugural ball was thought up by Trachtenberg when he took charge of GW in 1988. Kasle said Trachtenberg is already looking forward to the event and handed out five tickets to new students celebrating their birthdays at Tuesday’s Freshman Convocation.
