On Monday, Jan. 21, the historic Tampa Theatre will open its auditorium and welcome the community to a free and open-to-the-public screening of the 57th Presidential Inauguration public ceremony. Doors will open at 10 a.m., and the broadcast is expected to start around 10:30 a.m. Concessions will be available for sale throughout the presentation.
Although White House organizers have not yet announced the exact schedule for the morning’s festivities, the Presidential Inaugural Committee Press Office has revealed other details about the event:
· The 2013 Inaugural Ceremony’s theme is “Faith in America’s Future,” meant to commemorate the United States’ perseverance and mark the 150th anniversary of the placement of the Statue of Freedom atop the U.S. Capitol dome.
· Pop star Beyoncé will perform the national anthem. Also lending their musical talents this year are James Taylor, who will sing "America the Beautiful," and Kelly Clarkson with "My Country Tis of Thee."
· Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers, will deliver the invocation. This year is the 50th anniversary of Evers’ murder, and Evers-Williams will be the first woman and non-clergy member to deliver the invocation.
· Richard Blanco will be the inaugural poet. The 44-year-old son of Cuban exiles lives in Maine and has published three poetry collections. He is the youngest and the first Hispanic or LGBT person to serve as inaugural poet – a post formerly held by writers such as Maya Angelou and Robert Frost.
The 20th Amendment to the Constitution mandates that the beginning of a Presidential term is January 20, and the White House will likely arrange a private swearing in before noon on Sunday for Barrack Obama. But following precedent that dates back to 1917, this will be the seventh time in presidential history that a public ceremony will be held at the U.S. Capitol on Monday. The most recent Monday ceremony was for President Ronald Reagan's second inauguration in 1985.
This is also the second time that Martin Luther King Jr. Day has coincided with a presidential inauguration. The first was President Bill Clinton's second inauguration on Monday, Jan. 20, 1997.
Comments