50 graduates of the Professional Bartending School got to enjoy the biggest weekend in Washington DC, see and meet famous celebrities, mix with the most well-known and powerful people in the nation, experience a once in a lifetime experience, and earn great money; all while bartending at the main and various inaugural balls following the 2nd inauguration of President Barack Obama.
As one graduate reported “it was the experience of a lifetime”. The two major inaugural balls, one on the evening of January 21, following the ceremonial inauguration witnessed in person by hundreds of thousands of people and seen on television by millions was the culmination of a once every 4 years event. The official inaugural ball held at the Washington Convention Center hosted 10′s of thousands of people. On January 22, a second President’s ball hosted another 8-9,000 campaign volunteers, workers, and white house staff and was hosted by the President and his wife and Vice President and his wife. Both events featured star studded entertainers, and an enormous volume of workers to make the event special. Our graduates comprised a majority of the bartenders located throughout the hall.
A Long Grueling but Rewarding Day of Work
Our graduates arrived at the Convention Center on the 21st at 10:00 AM. What followed was an amazing amount of security clearance procedures before they entered the Convention Center, about 2 hours later. The bartenders were then assigned bar stations and told to set up the bars, initially via a broad plan, but then told to adjust the bar set ups in a way that would work for them. Bar set up took some time, but was rewarded as the bartenders were the exclusive audience to a host of famous performers practicing on stage before the big event that evening.