"Inauguration" courtesy of Flickr user martinstelbrink

This week the Presidential Inaugural Committee announced the theme for next month’s Inauguration, “Renewing America’s Promise.“

In a press release sent to DC Metblogs this week President-Elect Obama comments that, “At this moment of great challenge and great change, renewing the promise of America begins with renewing the idea that in America, we rise or fall as one nation and one people.“

While the theme is kinda interesting, the real news I wanted to write about is the preliminary schedule that was also released this week (as released by the PIC):

Sunday, January 18th
The schedule of official inaugural activities will begin with a welcome event on Sunday afternoon that is open to the public.

Monday, January 19th – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
In 1994, to further commemorate a man who lived his life in service to others, Congress transformed the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday into a national day of community service.  To honor Dr. King’s legacy, the President-elect and Vice President-elect and their families, like Americans in communities all across the country, will participate in activities dedicated to serving others in communities across the Washington, D.C. area.

Tuesday, January 20th – Inauguration Day
The President-elect and Vice President-elect and their families will participate in the traditional inaugural ceremonies and events, including the swearing-in ceremony on the West Front of the United States Capitol, a luncheon in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall, the 56th Inaugural Parade, and official Inaugural Balls.  Details about the Inaugural Balls will be released at a later date.

Wednesday, January 21st
The newly-inaugurated President and Vice President of the United States will participate in a prayer service.

I think the interesting note of the schedule is the Welcome event- as soon as more details get released on this event I can expect this event to get mobbed as people try and find someway to see the new President. Will this be an event on The Mall? Maybe Obama should take a page out of his convention playbook (and the Pope’s playbook) and hold an event at Nationals Stadium.

Also released this week was a list of organizations that will be participating in the parade. I heard on CNN that thousands of marching bands applied earlier in the year for the honor. You can look at the list that will be updated regularly on the committee’s website. Some of the notable to me include the local marching band from Howard University and the World Famous Lawn Rangers of Amazing Arcola- a weird named drill team that’s partied with Obama before.

For more information stay tuned to DC Metblogs and you can also head on over to the Washington Post who just created an “Inauguration Central” section of the site which includes a live webcam of the construction of stage in front of the Capital.