Wed 1/20 @ noon
No matter where you stand politically, a presidential inauguration is a historical event. Normally it’s an occasion of great pomp and spectacle, with tens of thousands of observers.
Alas, this one will be different. That was long planned, due to the coronavirus. But the seditious riot at the Capitol on January 6, which left 5 dead and endangered the lives of lawmakers, forced even more limitations and more stringent security measures to the point where the National Guard will outnumber guests.
Regardless, we’re moving on. One of the pluses of the limited in-person attendance is that the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris Inauguration team put together a greatly enlarged schedule of online opportunities so that those who would never have had the time and resources to go to D.C. anyway have the chance to join in.
Biden and Harris will be sworn in at noon on Wednesday January 20 as provided by the Constitution. Ceremonies start at 10:30am. Following the swearing in, President Joe Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will participate in the traditional post-inauguration wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, and President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton will join them for this tribute. Sadly President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn will be missing the ceremonies for the first time since Carter’s own swearing-in in 1977; both are in their mid 90s and are quarantining at home in Georgia.
You can watch all of this, along with Biden’s Presidential Escort to the White House at 3pm, accompanied by all branches of the service, the U.S. Army Band and more, followed by the televised “Parade Across America” with performances by people across the country. At 8:30 you can join the Celebrating America Primetime Special, hosed by Tom Hanks and featuring performers such as Bruce Springsteen, Demi Lovato, Jon Bon Jovi, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, the Foo Fighters and more.
All of that can be accessed at bideninaugural.org/schedule. Crack out the champagne and gorge yourself!
