Kids' Inaugural: We are the Future Concert
By John Oliveira - 1/19/09The President-elect may be the most sought after person in Washington D.C. but Monday night he had to share the spotlight with the likes of Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.
These young entertainers and others, including rapper Bow Wow and cast members from the "High School Musical" franchise were all tapped to appear and perform at the "Kid' 'Inaugural: We are the Future" concert. Young fans were seen mobbing and crowding Obama Inaugural volunteers at the Verizon Center begging for a much-coveted ticket into the sold-out event. Some even shed tears when they realized their chance at seeing Joe Jonas croon had became a no-go.
The ball was geared towards military families. An e-mail about the event was sent from the Obama Inauguration Committee to military families who had a parent deployed for at least a year. These families were invited to participate in a lottery and the winners won tickets to the concert.
The young fans and some overly aggressive parents may not have posed a serious threat to the public, but that did not mean security was not a priority. President-elect Barack Obama was not in attendance. However his wife Michelle and Vice-President Elect Joe Biden's wife Jill co-hosted the event. All attendees had to pass through security and metal detectors. Members of the press even had their equipment scanned by Secret Service trained bomb sniffing dogs.
Photo Credit: Valeria Villarroel Espinoza.