RICHMOND — Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin (R) will scrap the traditional inaugural ball and instead throw a more casual celebration with a dress code mimicking his campaign-trail attire of fleece vest and cowboy boots.
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Every Virginia governor in recent memory has capped his first day in office with a black-tie gala, where the new chief executive shows off his dancing skills (or lack thereof). Then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) memorably shimmied to “Your Love is Taking Me Higher” in 2014. Four years later, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) took a more understated spin with first lady Pam Northam to “A Change is Gonna Come.”
Youngkin and his wife, Suzanne, will host a black-tie “candlelight dinner” at the Science Museum of Virginia on Jan. 14, the night before his swearing-in. But the inauguration-night festivities will be a more down-home affair.
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At Richmond’s historical Main Street Station, the event will feature music and food, but the dress code is “Casual Creative” — defined as “patriotic colors, ‘Glenn vest’ and cowboy boots,” according to a promotional flier.
“Choosing boots over ball gowns, Governor Glenn and First Lady Suzanne Youngkin will host a uniquely casual and welcoming gathering at Main Street Station featuring live music and foods from different regions of the Commonwealth,” said a news release issued Tuesday by Youngkin’s transition team.
The informal affair is in keeping with the image Youngkin projected on the campaign trail. A former private equity chief, Youngkin has a personal fortune upward of $300 million, but his public image was one of an unassuming basketball dad as he ran to become Virginia’s 74th chief executive.
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“It’s very consistent with the interests and inclinations of the people who elected him,” said Bob Holsworth, a veteran Richmond political analyst, referring to the rural voters who powered his win over McAuliffe, who was seeking a comeback.
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Tickets are required for the Main Street Station celebration, the black-tie dinner and other events, but prices were not listed on the flier or in the news release. Youngkin’s transition team did not immediately respond to inquiries about ticket prices.
An unspecified “Grammy award-winning national artist” will perform at the station, according to the flier, so it is possible that Youngkin will wind up cutting a rug.
In an interview ahead of the election, Suzanne Youngkin recalled that her husband — a fiercely competitive former Division I basketball player — spent the early days of the coronavirus lockdown in cutthroat family “Let’s Dance” competitions.
“I was afraid Glenn was going to throw his back out, you know?” she said. “I mean, it was not pretty.”