The Obamas Host State Dinner For Calderon Video

Update: Watch video from the State Dinner here.

This is a live stream that begins at 7:10 pm eastern time. See who's going to be there. The richest person in the world is attending the dinner. Performing: Beyoncé and Rodrigo y Gabriela. That will also be live streamed here. The dinner chef: Rick Bayless. See the menu below.

See Obama and Calderon's press conference from earlier today here.

Background on the dinner and the menu:

Overview
The United States and Mexico are linked by geographical, historical, familial, cultural, economic, and security ties. In recognition of these deep ties and the strong relationship President Obama has forged with Mexican President Felipe Calderón, President Obama and the First Lady will host President Calderón and Mrs. Margarita Zavala in the White House for a State Dinner.

Tonight’s State Dinner will be held in the East Room of the White House. Tonight’s State Dinner Performance will be held under a tent on the South Lawn of the White House.

The most recent State Dinner held at the White House was for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mrs. Gursharan Kaur of India hosted on November 24, 2009.

The first State Dinner for a foreign head of state was held by President and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant on December 12, 1874 for King David Kalakaua of Hawaii.

Since that first dinner, many traditions have been added to State and Official Visits – yet the common theme of forging friendships, exchanging knowledge and building bridges that last for years to come remains unchanged.

Dinner
Menu Selection: Mrs. Obama worked with Guest Chef Rick Bayless and White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford to create a menu that reflects the best of American cuisine, continuing this White House’s commitment to serving fresh, sustainable and regional food, and honoring the culinary excellence and flavors that are present in Mexican cuisine. Herbs, radishes, and lettuces used in preparing tonight’s dinner were harvested from the White House Kitchen Garden. White House Executive Pastry Chef William Yosses and his team made desserts using White House honey in the Graham Cracker Crumble and Goat Cheese Ice Cream.

Guest Chef Rick Bayless: Chef Rick Bayless is best known for his highly rated public television series, Mexico – One Plate at a Time and from his six cookbooks. His side-by-side award-winning restaurants in Chicago were founded in 1987, the casual Frontera Grill and the 4-star Topolobampo. In 2007, Frontera Grill was named Outstanding Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation. His award-winning Frontera line of salsas, grilling sauces and organic chips can be found coast to coast. Rick Bayless has won James Beard Awards for Midwest Chef of the Year, National Chef of the Year and Humanitarian of the Year. Mexico – One Plate at a Time is currently in its seventh season on PBS and Rick’s latest book Mexican Everyday was nominated for a James Beard Award. Rick’s latest restaurant, XOCO, just opened and he was also recently crowned Bravo’s Top Chef Master.

Dinner Menu:
Jicama with Oranges, Grapefruit, and Pineapple
Citrus Vinaigrette
Ulises Valdez Chardonnay 2007 “Russian River”

Herb Green Ceviche of Hawaiian Opah
Sesame-Cilantro Cracker

Oregon Wagyu Beef in Oaxacan Black Mole
Black Bean Tamalon and Grilled Green Beans
Herrera Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 “Selección Rebecca”

Chocolate-Cajeta Tart
Toasted Homemade Marshmallows
Graham Cracker Crumble and Goat Cheese Ice Cream
Mumm Napa “Carlos Santana Brut” N/V

Pete Seeger Busts Out This Land At We Are One

I love Pete Seeger. I saw photos of the rehearsal of We Are One and thought it was Willie Nelson. It was Pete! He and Bruce Springsteen led the crowd in This Land is Your Land. (see the video here). It was a brilliant production. The best part, amazingly enough (because I'm not a country music fan), was Garth Brooks singing American Pie and Shout. U2 and Bruce were great. Bruce's The Rising, played during the campaign, was fitting. Bono said "I have a Dream" is not just an American dream, it's "an Irish dream, a European dream, and African dream, an Israeli dream, and a Palestinian dream." 
Usher sang Stevie Wonder's Higher Ground, backed up by Stevie on keyboards. Oh, and Bettye LaVette-- wow! Awesome voice. 
Challenger, the bald Eagle, made an appearance. 
Obama's remarks.
CNN's take
Washington Post's take
NYT has some photos.
HBO has some photos.

Obama's remarks at We Are One:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

We Are One Clips:

Garth Brooks' Shout from the crowd:

We Are The One and More Inaugural Festivities

Update: See We Are One live streamed at HBO.com or listen at NPR.org.

Get more inauguration details on balls, events, TV coverage, tips if you're going... here.
More inauguration festivities from PIC:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) is pleased to announce the producers and initial talent lineup for WE ARE ONE: THE OBAMA INAUGURAL CELEBRATION AT THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL, the Opening Celebration for the 56th Presidential Inaugural, to be presented exclusively by HBO on Sunday, January 18 (7:00-9:00 p.m. ET/PT). The event will be free and open to the public, kicking off the most open and accessible Inauguration in history.

The special will be executive produced by George Stevens, Jr. (The Kennedy Center Honors), and produced by Don Mischer (Olympic Ceremonies) who will also direct the special, and Michael Stevens (The American Film Institute Salutes) who is also writing the special, and will be a production of The Stevens Company in association with Don Mischer Productions.

Musical performers scheduled for the event include Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder. Among those reading historical passages will be Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington. The Rt. Reverend V. Gene Robinson will give the invocation. Rob Mathes will be the music director and arranger for the backing band, which will support all of the artists. Additional performers will be announced as they are confirmed.

A kids' inaugural celebration:

Televised to the nation, the Opening Celebration will be a declaration of common purpose and new beginnings. The Sunday afternoon performance will be grounded in history and brought to life with entertainment that relates to the themes that shaped Barack Obama and which will be the hallmarks of his administration.

HBO will televise the event on an open signal, working with all of its distributors to allow Americans across the country with access to cable, telcos or satellite television to join in the Opening Celebration for free.

The 56th Inauguration promises to be the most inclusive in history, and the Opening Celebration is one of a series of inaugural events that reflect that commitment. On Saturday, the President-elect, Vice President-elect and their families will journey to the nation’s capital via train, holding events that are free and open to the public along the way. They will be joined by a group of everyday Americans they met along their road to the White House. On January 19th, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President-elect Obama will call on all Americans to make an ongoing commitment to serve their communities and their country. A new website, USAservice.org, makes it easy for Americans to organize service events or find existing events to participate in. To date, nearly 5,000 events have been organized across the country. That evening, Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, and their families will host a free “Kids’ Inaugural” concert to honor military families, broadcast live on the Disney Channel and Radio Disney.

This spirit of openness will continue on Inauguration Day, when, for the first time in history, the entire length of the National Mall will be open to the public for the swearing in ceremony. Local D.C. students have also been given the chance to receive tickets in front of the White House for the Inaugural Parade for themselves and their family members based on the submission of essays answering the question, “How can I contribute to my neighborhood through community service?“

On the evening of Inauguration Day, the first ball that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will attend will be the first-ever Neighborhood Inaugural Ball. The ball will be broadcast live on ABC and over the Internet, bringing together neighborhoods across the country in the spirit of unity and celebration.

The sum of these public events is an Inauguration that allows more Americans than ever before to come together as one nation and one people, united in our resolve to tackle our greatest common challenges and move this country forward together.

Performers, Poet and Other Inauguration Day Happenings

Update 12-18: full inaugural schedule here. 

The platform, where Obama will be inaugurated, as of 11-14

The theme for the day: "A New Birth of Freedom," commemorating the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth.

The day's events:
Morning worship

Bush and Obama will head to the Capitol

Joe Biden will be sworn in as vice president

Obama will be sworn in as president

Obama will give his address

We will all happily wave goodbye to Bush as he departs

Inaugural lunch, parade then ball.

Read about each of these events and the history behind them here.

Questions are being asked as to how lavish should the celebration be.

Update 12-3: Dionne Warwick to chair the American Music Inaugural Ball. There's also a Creative Coalition Be the Change Inaugural ball headlined by Elvis Costello. Just how many balls are there? 
Possible performers include Beyonce and Bruce Springsteen. 

Who will be the inaugural poet?  I hope it's someone original and not the usual suspects (Maya Angelou). George Bush did not have a poet.  Only 3 poets have read or recited poetry at inaugurations: 

Three poets have read or recited poems at U.S. presidential inaugurations:

Robert Frost recited "The Gift Outright" (PBS transcript) at John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural. Frost recited the poem from memory after he was unable to read the text of the poem he'd written for the inauguration, "Dedication" (PBS transcript), because of the sun's glare upon the snow-covered ground. For information on the location of the original handwritten copy of "Dedication," see the article "The Poem Nobody Knew was Lost" and associated video on MSNBC's Web site. A video of Frost reading "The Gift Outright" at Kennedy's inauguration is available through the EarthStation1.com Web site (http://www.earthstation1.com/).
Maya Angelou read "On the Pulse of Morning" at Bill Clinton's 1993 inaugural. A video of the reading is available through YouTube.
Miller Williams read "Of History and Hope" at Bill Clinton's 1997 inaugural. Click here to listen to a RealAudio recording of Williams reading the inaugural poem from the PBS Online NewsHour website.

Apparently, Obama will have a poet -- 1,000 poets have been called upon to submit their work. Obama's own poetry has been published in the New Yorker.

Kay Ryan has been mentioned as a possible inaugural poet. Ryan's bio. 

Red Room: This morning, I saw a picture of Obama with a copy of Derek Walcott's Collected Poems in his hands. I think Walcott would be a superb choice: an excellent poet and a man who has many nations running through his veins. Here is one of my favorite Walcott poems. See what you think.

Who is Derek Walcott?