Plan Your Meetings

In case you haven’t noticed, the presidential election season is in full swing. We thought you might be ready for a lighter, slightly more relevant look at the candidates, as well as a break from the daily back and forth rhetoric of the political pundits. So we asked ME Productions, an award-winning special event and production company, to tell us how they would plan the Inaugural Ball to suit each candidate.

Many of you may remember the Camelot days of President John F. Kennedy, whose Inaugural Ball and state dinners were cultural and fashionable affairs. Since then, it’s been up and down. Jimmy Carter toned it down; the Reagans upped the opulence and partied often. The current Bush White House is less formal, has had fewer state dinners, and the guest list is weighted towards party contributors.

What will events under a new administration look like? Take a peek and get ready to vote.

It Takes A Village

Hillary Clinton dedicates her Inaugural Ball to the children of the United States, the world and the promise of the future. The Boys Choir of Harlem will perform. Centerpieces will be created by children — materials, including a globe, will be sent to select school classrooms all over the U.S. The color scheme will be the rainbow hues of purple, blue, red, orange, yellow and green

A World of Change

Barack Obama’s Inaugural Ball is a green party, in which “nature’s bounty” is the emphasis and the décor elements include tiki bars, bamboo mats, LED lighting, water fountains, lush indigenous plants, natural fabrics, aromatherapy diffusion with essential oils and beeswax candles. The color scheme will be in earth tones. Entertainment will be by a steel pan band (no electricity is used). Evites will be sent to save paper.

I Dream of America

John McCain’s inaugural ball will celebrate the iconic moments, places and people of America. Some of the most important historic moments in America’s past will be projected on a video screen using sophisticated lighting throughout the night. Maps of the U.S. will be design elements on the walls. Enlarged sepia-toned photos of some of the country’s greatest figures, places and events will be hung throughout the space. Centerpieces will be replicas of America’s greatest places/icons (Statue of Liberty, Mt. Rushmore, Empire State Building). U.S. Navy Band will provide entertainment.

We’d like to hear your Inaugural Party ideas (no endorsements or political statements, please). Leave your comments below.