I just got back from an evening in D.C. with the Susquehanna Travellers and the Victorian Dance Ensemble, two local groups invited to play at the Lincoln 2.0 Inaugural Ball at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery.
The building where the event was held was where Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural ball took place in 1865. It was the Patent Office Building then.
On the museum's second floor, modern-day revelers with drinks in hand walked through an exhibit on Lincoln's inaugural ball and tried out their waltz skills by following arrows and footsteps painted on the floor. It was kind of funny to watch.
I learned a handful of interesting tidbits from the exhibit, and because I like interesting tidbits, I'll share them with you here:
*Lincoln's inaugural ball was held two days after his inauguration.
*A public ticket for his inaugural ball cost $10 and admitted "one gentleman and two ladies."
*People mobbed the midnight buffet supper served at his second inaugural ball, carrying off trays and spilling food everywhere.
*Ladies at his inaugural ball were given dance cards, which, in addition to being souvenirs, helped them keep track of the songs played and the partners they danced with.
The exhibit will be on display until January 2010, so if you have occasion to go to D.C., check it out.
And Jen was such a trooper as she rushed to finish her story! I was there and I saw a fascinating bit of history. The Susquehanna Travellers and the Victorian Dance Ensemble provided a great retrospective. It was history repeating itself. These dancers and musicians transformed the ballroom, and later the National Portrait Gallery, beside Lincoln and Buchanan's portraits. Their exquisite display of Victorian gentility was amazing. We should all pick up a book and learn more about Lincoln, his presidency and how society behaved. It's really quite different than what I experienced at the Lincoln 2.0 Inaugural Ball. But the best part of it, was how these two amazing periods were blended together! I can check Inaugural Ball off MY bucket list! Thanks, Jen.
Jen,
Thank you for the coverage you have given to us and the Victorian Dance Ensemble in the weeks leading up to and including the Lincoln Ball. We hope you enjoyed the event as much as we did, even though you were working hard all evening. We appreciate all of your efforts and the efforts of your videographer. Best wishes for the coming year.
Regards, Mark Ehrsam, Susquehanna Travellers