Civic occasion

You may not find it listed in the weekend entertainment guides, but an event in downtown Raleigh today creates a civic spectacle all its own, one well worth taking in. It's a perennial quadrennial -- the inauguration of North Carolina's new governor (and fellow Council of State officials). If you're reading this at breakfast, there's still time to attend.

We're talking here about the free public, daytime inaugural events scheduled for this morning and early afternoon, not the pricey reception and balls tonight. While those are for a good cause (Raleigh Junior League charities) they're a horse, or a donkey, of a different color.

You don't have to dress up for the swearing-ins (which start at 10:30 a.m., but there's band music beginning at 10) in front of the Archives and History building on Jones Street, nor will you be expected to dance or nibble hors d'oeuvres. It's a straightforward civic ceremony, enlivened by bunting and Andy Griffith, followed (at 12:30) by a parade along Fayetteville and Wilmington streets.

There's history, too, in addition to the 1840 Capitol standing nearby. Democrat Beverly Perdue, who plans a brief address, is the first woman to be elected governor of the Tar Heel State. That's certainly significant, as are the five women who won Council of State seats.

So come on down. Many residents of the Triangle area seldom venture to downtown Raleigh, and they miss out on a lot. Here's a chance to see downtown, and American democracy on display.