How to watch, attend inauguration events for Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear
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It’s almost Inauguration Day in Kentucky.
Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman officially begin their second term Tuesday, Dec. 12, and Kentuckians are invited to participate in the festivities in Frankfort.
The 62nd Inauguration’s theme is “Forward, Together,” and the day will include a worship service, parade and swearing-in ceremony.
Beshear beat Republican challenger Attorney General Daniel Cameron on Election Day by 5 percentage points, and has declared greater public school funding and universal pre-K to be his top priorities for the next four years.
“Let’s just try to be better,” Beshear said the day after his re-election. “And I’m going to do my best to lead that way in these next four years, to hopefully be able to end two terms and everybody say, ‘He tried to be the best governor he could be for all of us.’”
There will be several road closures throughout the day in Frankfort, including in downtown, along Capital Avenue and around the Capitol grounds. A map is available online.
Free off-site parking and a shuttle service will be offered during the inaugural events, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The remote lot is at the Cabinet for Health and Family Services building, located at the corner of E. Main Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and will drop off at Fourth and Logan streets.
Buses to assist attendees with special needs will be available, and attendees with handicap parking can park in a lot at Shelby Street and Lafayette Drive on the Capitol’s west side.
Parking at the Capitol and Capitol Annex garage will be restricted to people with permits only.
Members of the public looking to attend events are encouraged to RSVP online at www.kentucky.gov/inauguration.
Here’s what you need to know about Tuesday’s events:
Breakfast Reception, 8:30 a.m.
The Breakfast Reception will take place at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, at 100 W Broadway St. in Frankfort.
It is hosted by the “citizens of Frankfort and Franklin County,” and will include music from the Kentucky State University Faculty-Student Jazz Collective and other artists.
Food is provided by the Kentucky State Parks and three local bakeries.
Worship Service, 9:30 a.m.
The non-denominational worship service will take place a block away from the breakfast at First Christian Church at 316 Ann St.
The service will include remarks from:
Rev. Bruce Barkhauer, director of the Center for Faith and Giving of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ.)
Rev. Dr. Trey Flowers of Beargrass Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Louisville.
Rev. Dr. Daniel Corrie Shull of Burnett Avenue Baptist Church, Louisville.
Rabbi David Wirtschafter of Temple Adath Israel, Lexington.
Rev. Dr. Valerie Washington of Hughlett Temple A.M.E. Zion Church, Louisville.
Rev. Dr. Bill Kincaid of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Frankfort.
Seating at the church is limited, but the service will be live-streamed online at www.facebook.com/1stChristianFrankfort.
Parade, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The parade starts at Capital Avenue by the Main Street bridge and will end in front of the Capitol.
Grand Marshals for the parade are “the health care workers who guided Kentuckians through the global pandemic, disasters, and other events, and educators from across the commonwealth, who continue to lead Kentucky’s children into the future,” according to state officials.
The parade will tell the “story of Gov. Andy Beshear’s first term in office - governing through a time of unprecedented adversity, capitalizing on game-changing economic opportunities and moving Kentuckians forward, together.”
Beshear and his family, as well as Coleman and her family, will ride in horse-drawn carriages provided by the Kentucky Horse Park.
KET will have live coverage.
Prelude, 1:30 p.m.
The 202nd Army Band of the Kentucky National Guard and the Kentucky State University Concert Choir will provide music on the Capitol steps at 700 Capital Ave.
KET will have live coverage.
Swearing-in Ceremony, 2 p.m.
Though Beshear will be officially sworn in at midnight, the public ceremony takes place that afternoon on the Capitol steps.
Musical performers include Walker Montgomery, Ben Sollee and Tyler Childers, who will perform his song “Universal Sound.”
There will also be a reading of “Those Who Carry Us” by Kentucky Poet Laureate Silas House.
Coleman will be sworn in first by Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Debra Hembree Lambert. Beshear will be sworn in by Justice Michelle M. Keller.
The ceremony will conclude with a performance of “My Old Kentucky Home” by Professor Everett McCorvey and lecturer and vocal coach Tedrin Blair Lindsay from the University of Kentucky School of Music.
KET will have live coverage.
Grand March, 6 p.m.
The formal presentation of Beshear, Coleman and the other five elected constitutional officers who will be sworn in Jan. 1, takes place in the Capitol Rotunda.
Music will be provided by Orchestra Kentucky of Bowling Green.
Doors open at 5 p.m. Attire is black tie optional.
KET will have live coverage.
Inaugural Ball, 7-11 p.m.
This event, taking place on the Capitol grounds, is limited to ticket holders only due to space restrictions.
