Dayton Will Cap Inaugural Week At Blue Jeans Ball
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Hoping to set a tone appropriate for the tough economic times, Gov.-elect Mark Dayton on Monday scheduled a series of inaugural events concluding with a ball where attendees will be encouraged to wear blue jeans and given a discount if they're facing financial hardships.
Dayton takes his oath next Monday and will immediately inherit Minnesota's projected $6.2 billion budget deficit. The Democrat's itinerary -- right down to the dress code -- is similar to the modest 1983 inaugural for then-Democratic Gov. Rudy Perpich, the last Democrat to hold the office.
The theme of the week, "Going to Work for Minnesota," will also include the new governor traveling the state and serving breakfast at an elementary school. But it will conclude Jan. 8, five days after Dayton's swearing-in ceremony at Landmark Center in St. Paul, with a ball far less ornate than inaugurals past.
Dayton aides made clear that the new governor plans to dress in blue jeans, but said others could pull out black ties for the "People's Inaugural Ball," being held at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
"The governor-elect wants everyone to feel welcome and comfortable, and him wearing blue jeans is a way to do that," said Dayton chief of staff Tina Smith.
Food at the event will be limited to hors d'oeuvres. Tickets are selling for $30, but students and the low-income residents can seek a reduced rate.
The 63-year-old Dayton was born to wealth thanks to his family's successful department store chain. He has sunk millions of dollars into several bids for office, including his most recent campaign.
Private money covers events other than the official oath, but incoming governors still worry about the appearance of going overboard.
Over the years, Minnesota inaugural events ranged from the ornate to the conventional to the rambunctious -- mostly mirroring the personality of the new or returning leader.
For instance, guests at industrialist L.F. Hubbard's 1882 inaugural banquet were treated to delicacies that included stony creek oysters, broiled quail, chestnut-stuffed prairie grouse, cub bear with game sauce and English plum pudding, according to a menu kept by state historians.
In modern times, inaugural events have stretched over several days -- even weeks -- with scattered gatherings fitting a theme and concluding with a formal party.
Dayton's predecessor, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, fit in a worship service, a farm breakfast and a hockey showdown featuring Democratic ex-Gov. Wendell Anderson, a former Olympian who was 69 when he laced up his skates to face Pawlenty.
Like Dayton, Pawlenty entered office to a gaping budget hole, causing him to opt for modesty over glitz. Guests at his 2003 gala bought $50 tickets and were greeted with a cash bar, appetizers and a local rock band.
Perpich, for whom Dayton worked as an economic development official, had three inaugurals. He took office for an abbreviated term in 1976, when Anderson resigned to become a U.S. senator. A mass, complete with polka music, preceded his swearing-in and the rest was informal. After an election loss, he returned to power in his own right in 1983, and his inaugural week culminated with a $5-a-head "People's Inaugural Ball" where some guests wore blue jeans.
Republican Gov. Al Quie's 1979 inaugural gala featured formal wear, table centerpieces of handmade birch canoes, a stage with evergreen trees and a menu of poached salmon, Danish ham and other fine foods. Radio show humorist Garrison Keillor, whose politics are now identified with the left, recited a poem encompassing all of Minnesota's 87 counties.
Star power dotted other governor's celebrations, too. In 1971, a performance by folk singer John Denver capped a four-day series of events for Anderson.
A sold-out Target Center was the setting for Jesse Ventura's 1999 bash, where the Reform Party governor joined rocker Warren Zevon for a duet of "Werewolves of London."
The unorthodox Ventura showed up in a fringed leather jacket, pink wraparound sunglasses and three earrings. At one point, the ex-pro wrestler and Navy SEAL proclaimed to a deafening roar: "The Body's back for tonight. Thank you, everyone. Let's party Minnesota."
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