The Washington, D.C.-based “State Society of Iowa” is hosting a party in D.C. on the eve of President Obama’s second inaugural.
The “First in the Nation Celebration” will be held Saturday, January 19 at a museum near the the White House. Iowa native Jennifer Mullin, a D.C. resident, is on the planning committee.
“A terrific party for Iowans who are in the Beltway for the inauguration or for folks from Iowa who work and live in D.C.,” Mullin says.
More than 700 people attended a similar “Iowa party” in January of 2009, just before Obama’s first inaugural. Mullin expects at least one or two politicians who hope to run for president in 2016 will stop by this year’s affair. They’ll bump into a few people with campaign experience in Iowa.
“D.C. is just chock full of people who have done a tour in Iowa,” Mullin says. “It’s interesting that you’ll find folks who don’t just work for members of congress from Iowa, but who have worked on a presidential campaign who work in various different jobs now in D.C., but have a special connection to Iowa and those folks always show up to these types of events.”
Every member of Iowa’s congressional delegation has been invited. Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack — the current secretary of agriculture — and his wife are on the guest list, too.
“There’ll be a lot of Iowa elements to the party,” Mullin says. “There’s going to be Templeton Rye which everyone knows is Iowa’s favorite hooch. We’ve got a terrific menu planned with a lot of Iowa-themed dishes.”
Tickets are $75 each, plus Alliant Energy, Microsoft and Pioneer have signed on as corporate sponsors.