PRESS RELEASE from the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                              Contact: PIC Communications Office
December 15, 2008                         

President-Elect and Vice President-Elect to Host Events in Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore on Weekend Before Inauguration
Obama, Biden and Their Families Will Travel to DC by Train on Jan. 17th

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee announced that the President-elect, Vice President-elect and their families will travel - via railroad -- to Washington, D.C. on Saturday, January 17th and host events along the way in Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore.   The trip marks the final leg of a journey that began on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Illinois and will culminate on the steps of the United States Capitol.

"As part of the most open and accessible Inauguration in history, we hope to include as many Americans as possible who wish to participate, but can't be in Washington," said Emmett S. Beliveau, Executive Director of the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee.  "These events will allow us to do that while honoring the rich history and tradition of previous inaugural journeys."

In the tradition of past Presidents-elect, the daylong trip will include a series of events on the way to Washington, DC. Saturday morning, President-elect Obama and his family will hold an event in Philadelphia before boarding a train bound for Wilmington, Delaware, where he will be joined by Vice President-elect Biden and his family.  Together, the families will travel to Baltimore, Maryland, and hold another event, before finally arriving in Washington, D.C. on Saturday evening.

In keeping with the theme of the 2009 Inauguration, "Renewing America's Promise," the President-elect and Vice President-elect will hold events in some of the cities instrumental to that promise: Philadelphia, where that promise was realized; Baltimore, where that promise was defended, then immortalized in our national anthem; and Washington, where Americans of all backgrounds will gather over four days, united in common purpose and resolved to renew that promise once more.

Additional details of the inaugural trip, including information on each event, will be released at a later date.

For the latest information on the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, please visit www.pic2009.org.

###