The President, the People. the Parties: NYTimes

Quoted via NYTimes:

For five days and nights, as Washington partied its way toward the inauguration of a new president, the city was a mishmash of celebrities, politicos and regular people, and sometimes it was tough to tell them apart. Obama officials were treated as celebrities. Celebrities gushed over politicians. And everyone else who had invaded the city en masse reveled alongside them, all part of the spectacle.

Mr. Obama had promised a people’s inaugural, and the parties delivered. From the unofficial kickoff on Friday night to the early hours of Wednesday, hundreds of galas, dinners and concerts throughout the city provided a round-the-clock break from the frigid January air. more