"I was at a gathering recently and someone asked, 'Where can we go to a place in town to watch the inauguration on a big screen?'" Reigelman said.
"I thought, well, Weisiger has a big screen and is a nice little hall, so maybe that can be the place," he said.
Reigelman said he ran his idea by Centre President John Roush, and the president approved it.
Reigelman said the Norton production staff will hook up a feed from one of the cable television networks to show the event on Weisiger's screen.
"We are opening Weisiger at 11:20 (a.m.) because that's when classes will be out that morning," he said. "At that time, any Centre student, faculty or staff member as well as townspeople are welcome to go into the hall and watch the inauguration."
While the big screen telecast can't duplicate being at the inauguration in person, Reigelman says those inside Weisiger might be able to sample at least a flavor of the event.
"We are offering this as an opportunity for people who aren't able to go the inauguration in person but would like to capture at least a sense of the event by coming together with a group of people and watching what is truly an historic moment in our nation's history," he said.
Reigelman said those attending are encouraged to bring their patriotic spirit but not posters, signs, fliers or noisemakers.
"We want people to enjoy themselves and be in good spirits but, by the same token, it is not supposed to be a political rally," he said.
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If you go
Here is the inauguration program:
*n 11:30 a.m. Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California
* Dr. Rick Warren will give the benediction
* Aretha Franklin will sing
* Vice President-elect Joe Biden will take the oath of office
* Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Gabriela Montero, and Anthony McGill will perform music composed by John Williams
* 12:00 p.m. President-election Barack Obama will take the oath of office
* 12:05 p.m. President Obama will deliver his inaugural address, and it will be followed by the reading of poem by Elizabeth Alexander, the benediction by Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, and the National Anthem by the U.S. Navy Band "Sea Chanters."
