Inauguration Hoopla!

By Text by Melissa August and Polly Forster

INAUGURAL HIGHLIGHTS

1 AN AMERICAN CELEBRATION General Motors throws a cocktail party for new chief of staff Andrew Card, former top D.C. lobbyist for the automaker. Herbie Hancock plays. Kennedy Center Roof Terrace, Jan. 18

2 TEXAS FAIR & MARKETPLACE Giant pandas? What giant pandas? Four Belgian horses, three longhorns, a roadrunner, a Brahman bull and assorted other critters will be flown in from the Fort Worth Zoo to form a Lone Star menagerie. Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Jan. 19

3 BEST LITTLE BALL IN D.C. A funky little gathering--ZZ Top will play some tunes--put together by the Friends of W., Inc., a down-home group including Hyperion Energy, Boeing, Dow Chemical, Reliant Energy, AOL Time Warner, Texas Utilities and Motorola. Guests include campaign chairman Don Evans and the Bush Iron Triangle--Karl Rove, Karen Hughes and Joe Allbaugh. Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Jan. 18

4 DEGAS TO MATISSE COCKTAIL BUFFET Ford Motor Co. and the Phillips Collection welcome the new Administration and members of Congress. A great time for Dick Cheney to work on that bipartisanship thing. The Phillips Collection, Jan. 20

5 BUFFY CAFRITZ'S PRE-INAUGURAL SUPPER A tradition since 1980 for Cafritz, one of Washington's reigning socialites. Co-hosts are Phyllis George and Friend-o'-Dubya Nancy Brinker. Perhaps the hottest event--an intimate sit-down dinner where the press isn't welcome. At Buffy's 1993 soiree, Jack Nicholson stayed until 4 a.m. Westin Fairfax Hotel, Jan. 19

6 BLAIR HOUSE Poppy, Barb and Jeb will spend Inauguration week in this 19th century townhouse across the street from the White House. It's cheaper than the Four Seasons. Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street, N.W.

7 WYOMING STATE SOCIETY BALL The NRA, the American Trucking Association and Anheuser-Busch toast native son Dick Cheney and his family. Hank Williams Jr. sings a song about the Bush-Cheney campaign. U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 19

8 DEMONSTRATIONS Get out your black armband. It's the biggest Inaugural protest since Nixon's, in 1973. Police and Secret Service are mobilizing 7,000 officers for a predicted 20,000 demonstrators, some of them veterans of Seattle '99. Expect placards reading hail to the thief. McPherson Square, Freedom Plaza and the Justice Department. Jan. 20

9 INAUGURAL BALLS Only eight this year. Most bring together luminaries from six to 12 states. Texas, Wyoming and Florida each get a ball of their own. The Bushes and Cheneys stop by each for a dance or two. Multiple locations, Jan. 20

10 ARKANSAS STATE SOCIETY BALL President Clinton gets in his last licks at a party honoring him and the Arkansas congressional delegation. Roger Clinton has promised a song, and there will be a saxophone. Bubba's not going quietly. Washington Court Hotel, Jan. 18

11 THE HOTLINE POLITICAL COMEDY CONCERT FOR CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL Twenty-four hours into the Bush era, and the comedy won't be pretty. Comics include Bob Somerby, a Gore roomie at Harvard, Arianna Huffington and impressionist Jim Morris, who has added W. to his repertoire. Warner Theater, Jan. 21

TIME.com ON AOL For more on the Inauguration, including historical photo essays, go to www.time.com