The Silver Spring Penguin

There’s some serious government business going down all over the damned place, before, during and after the Inauguration.

If you plan on getting anywhere on Tuesday, check out Metro’s website for schedules and station closures. The county’s Inauguration website can give you the rundown on parking and Ride-On bus service.

Now … brace for impact!

Throughout the week

Participating restaurants and merchants throw some good Inauguration deals at downtown Silver Spring, including a couple of parties. For more info, click here.

Monday

All day. The county observes Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday by taking the day off. County offices, courts and libraries are closed. Parking at county-owned garages, lots and curbside meters is on the house.

On the flip side, Ride-On and Metro mass transit run on regular weekday schedules. Even better, the county’s liquor depot on Colesville Road is open for business, thus eliminating the need to smuggle hooch from Morris Miller over the border.

9:45 a.m. The AFI Silver Theatre (8633 Colesville Rd) rolls a free screening of the 1970 documentary “King: A Filmed Record … From Montgomery to Memphis”. Get your ass in the queue by 9:00 a.m., when the box office doles out four tickets per person.

Can’t make this gig? Hit the 1:30 p.m. screening (see below).

11:00 a.m. The GapBuster Learning Center (8216 Georgia Ave) hosts “day of service” activities to celebrate MLK’s birthday. Get down with arts and crafts, a health expo, a film about King and the civil rights movement, and a pledge to 40 days of nonviolence. (I’m talking to you, Penguin mailroom guys!)

This event is free and open to the public until 3:00 p.m.

1:30 p.m. The AFI Silver Theatre (8633 Colesville Rd) rolls another free screening of the 1970 documentary “King: A Filmed Record … From Montgomery to Memphis”. The queue gets moving around 12:00 p.m., when the box office dishes out four tickets per person.

Tuesday

10:00 a.m. The AFI Silver Theatre (8633 Colesville Rd) blasts the Inauguration ceremony on its big screen for lucky ticket holders. Free tickets to that gig disappeared last week, before anyone even knew they were being distributed.

Feeling jilted? A line for standby tickets forms at 11:00 a.m., with standby scrubs entering the theater at 12:00 p.m.

11:30 a.m. Barack Obama and Joe Biden swear in front of everyone and their brother to uphold the Constitution as president and vice president, respectively, of the United States. Security checkpoints open at 8:00 a.m. in The District for that early-morning pat down.

Ain’t got a ticket? Don’t need one if you watch the gig on the National Mall, west of Fourth Street. Just don’t pack a thermos, backpack, firearms or other banned substances. (Sorry, Penguin mailroom guys.)

2:30 p.m. The Inaugural parade rolls down Pennsylvania Avenue, with security checkpoints opening at 7:00 a.m. The ticketless masses can stand along the curb on a first come, first served basis.

All night. Silver Spring brandishes a couple of big, presidential balls:

• McGinty’s Public House (911 Ellsworth Dr) hosts a sold-out gig for the area’s Dem Club.
• Galaxy Billiards Cafe (8661 Colesville Rd) hosts a party for the nonprofit Imapct Silver Spring. Ten bucks gets you through the door.
• Jackie’s Restaurant (8081 Georgia Ave) does a Hawaiian luau, complete with spit-fired pig. No word on what it’ll cost for you to hit this gig.
• The Quarry House (8401 Georgia Ave) holds an Inauguration brawl, with garage punk by The Ubangis. No word on a cover charge.

I don’t know when any of these gigs start or end, so just show up.

Wednesday

7:30 p.m. Silver Spring’s commercial and economic development development committee holds its monthly meeting at the Silver Spring Regional Center (8435 Georgia Ave). Shake off the hangover and hit this free event.

Thursday

11:00 a.m. The county council’s public safety committee considers using bait cars to nab car thieves. The Fifth Amendment goes through the ringer at the council’s office building (100 Maryland Ave, Rockville), seventh floor. It’s free and open to the public.

2:00 p.m. The county council’s transportation and environment committee muses over plans for the Purple Line mass-transit project. Hit it at the council’s office building (100 Maryland Ave, Rockville), seventh floor. It’s free and open to the public.

7:30 p.m. The county council holds a public hearing on projects related to MoCo exec Ike Leggett’s smart growth initiative. This gig drops at the council’s office building (100 Maryland Ave, Rockville), third floor. It’s free and open to the public.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Alessio85.