What: Creative Coalition Inaugural Ball.

Where: Harman Center for the Arts.

When: Tuesday, January 20, 8 PM.

Ticket price: Despite being one of the priciest inaugural balls, the event sold out. Four packages were offered, the most expensive at $100,000, which included 50 VIP admissions and 20 admissions to the preball VIP dinner. The least expensive package was $10,000 for two standard admissions.

Who: This was a hot ticket for celebrities, many of whom are supporters of the Creative Coalition, a nonprofit social- and political-advocacy organization of the entertainment industry. Big names included actors Anne Hathaway, Susan Sarandon, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, and Rachel Leigh Cook. Elvis Costello headlined a concert, and he was followed by performances by Sam Moore and Sting. Also at the ball were movie director Ron Howard and actors Alan Cumming, Heather Graham, Forest Whitaker, Magic Johnson, Isaiah Washington, Josh Lucas, Maura Tierney, Gloria Reuben, and Tim Daly. On the red carpet (or rather, the Pepsi blue carpet), entertainment journalist Maria Menounos interviewed celebs as they made their way inside.

What: 2009 Green Inaugural Ball.

Where: National Portrait Gallery.

When: January 19, 7 PM to midnight.

Who: Former vice president Al Gore served as the event’s honorary chair and was joined by more than 75 environmental, conservation, labor, civil-justice, youth, and business groups. Musical performances included Will.i.am., Melissa Etheridge, Maroon 5, John Legend, and Michael Franti. Other VIP guests included Blair Underwood, journalist Lisa Ling, comedian Paul Reiser, actors Melissa Fitzgerald and John Cusack, and singers Paulina Rubio, and Jon Bon Jovi. Other heavyweights included speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and environmental leaders Robert Kennedy Jr., president of Waterkeeper Alliance; Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation; Denise Bode, CEO of American Wind Energy Association; Van Jones, founding president of Green for All; and Rhone Resch, President and CEO of Solar Energy Industries Association.

Scene: All energy focused on the stage, where celebrity performances got ballgoers dancing early in the evening. The courtyard where the event was held was lit in green and purple but later transformed into blue with white stars. Songs were interspersed with a few words from Gore, Pelosi, Ling, Reiser, and others. Many celebrities escaped to a VIP room on the third floor and remained unseen by the majority of attendees. Surrounding a large stage, guests mingled at the open bars or buffet tables, which featured all-organic centerpieces made of wheat grass, green and orange orchids, and orange roses. And oh, yes—the floral arrangements will all be donated or reused.

Last month, in throes of frantic inaugural planning, Marriott Wardman Park's general manager, Ed Rudzinski, told us, "By January 17, it's over. All we’ll need to do is execute.” Last night, that's exactly what happened.

The Kentucky Bluegrass and the North Carolina State Society balls unfolded in tandem Monday night at Wardman Park. The first was a seated dinner for 1,250 people, and the second, a cocktail reception for 1,425. With two sold-out balls and a fully booked hotel, Wardman Park was packed to the gills.

When we arrived at 6 PM, the hotel was electric. Kentucky ball guests, clad in tuxedos and floor-length gowns, milled around the lobby and posed for photos before heading upstairs for a reception—in true Kentucky style—with six bourbon stations.

By 6:10, Rudzinski was already putting out his first fire of the evening: An Obama souvenir table set up near the Kentucky ball needed to be packed up and moved. "It's all about the client," Rudzinski said. "If they want us to change something, we do it. No questions."

What: The Illinois Inaugural Gala, hosted by the Illinois State Society.

Where: Renaissance Hotel.

When: Monday, January 19.

Ticket price: $500 for the dinner and ball, $300 for the Gala Ball only.  Tickets sold out by November 29, 2008 after going on sale to the public in September.

Who: Prominent Illinoisans, politicians, corporate sponsors, and anyone who figured that the new President's home state would pull out all the stops to usher in its favorite son as Commander-in-Chief. Government officials dominated the crowd of nearly 7,000, with honorees including the state's 20 members of the 111th Congress. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr attended the dinner with wife, Sandi, and told Washingtonian, "This is the party of the century! No, it's the party of four centuries!" Roland Burris, the newly appointed successor to Obama's vacant Senate seat, sat at the table next to Jackson's and told us that he was very much enjoying himself as he shook hands and posed for photos with guests. Also spotted: actor Bill Murray on the dance floor in a pale pastel madras bow tie; former NBA star Cliff Robinson sporting a top hat on his 6'9" frame; and actor Keith David, who starred in a film about a barbershop in Chicago's south side. Government types included Senator Dick Durbin; Congressman Aaron Shock, State Senator and former colleague of Obama's, Kirk Dillard.

Rumored to be in attendance: Retired Chicago Cub Ernie Banks, comedian and former Daily Show pundit Mo Rocca, and musician George Clinton, minus the Funkadelics.

Dionne Warwick's American Music Inaugural Ball at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel has been canceled. The culprit? Less-than-impressive ticket sales.

The diva had been planning the event since the end of the summer, but had to back out suddenly this week when only a few hundred tickets had been sold, sources say. Warwick had been planning to host as many as 6,000 guests at her January 20 event. Tickets started at $350.

Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges was billed as the cohost for the two-part event, which was to feature a Legends Ball and an Urban Ball. Performers slated to take the stage included Rodney Atkins, George Clinton, Marvin Sapp, Kirk Franklin, T-Pain, David Banner, Athena Cage, Cedric the Entertainer, the Cheetah Girls, Fantasia, Lil Jon, Monica, Bella Steez, and Bobby Valentino.   

Sources close to Warwick say the singer was "upset and disappointed" with the decision to cancel. Many of the performers and VIP guests, including several NBA stars, were already in town for the event.

Thousands gathered at the Kennedy Center this afternoon to catch a glimpse of the opera house's power lineup: Oprah Winfrey and Aretha Franklin.

Despite reports that Winfrey's show would broadcast live, taping for the show, which aired at 4 PM EST, wrapped up by 2. Hundreds of gawkers and media types gathered at the Kennedy Center's Hall of Nations entrance to catch a glimpse of Winfrey and her all-star lineup of guests. Winfrey eluded the crowds—perhaps she stuck around to watch the free Aretha Franklin concert?—but the mob seemed content to snap photos of NFL veteran Emmitt Smith, California's first lady Maria Shriver, hip-hop star Will.i.am, and actors Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore.

Meanwhile, a serpentine line of hundreds lined up for the Aretha Franklin concert. Though the concert starts at 6, Aretha fans began arriving before 11 AM to guarantee a a spot inside. According to the Kennedy Center Web site, tickets would be given out beginning at 4 PM. However, guests at the front of the line told The Washingtonian that they had been given tickets earlier in the day and that only those with orange ticket stubs would get in.

What: The Children's Inaugural Ball hosted by Every Child Matters Education Fund and 40 other local and national children's groups. The afternoon, open-house-style event was kid-friendly in every way, from the casual attire to the story-time stage to the popcorn and cotton-candy carts.

Where: Historical Society of Washington in DC's Mount Vernon Square.

When: January 18, 2009, noon to 5 PM.

Ticket price: Free. The 2,000 tickets (one per family) to this informal but very popular event went fast. Weeks ago, the RSVP list was full, and parents who were hoping their children could take part in the only free, family-friendly inaugural ball were directed to a long waiting list.