If you don't feel like making a trip up to DC, and spending lots of time and money to watch the presidential inauguration on a JumboTron screen, you're not alone. There are plenty of like-minded people who are planning to celebrate the occasion right here in Raleigh Durham.

Where's the party at? It's all over the place! For instance, you can choose to honor our new head-of-state by enjoying a President Obama-themed Chicago-style hot dog topped with pineapple at Neal's Deli in Carrboro. This Tuesday, January 20, Neal's Deli will also offer free red velvet flag cupcakes, while supplies last. Along the same lines, Hillsborough-based Joe Van Gogh Coffee Roasters is offering a special Inaugural Blend coffee made with premium Kenyan and Hawaiian beans.

For something more refined than 'dawgs and cupcakes, consider taking part in a banquet luncheon sponsored by local alumni chapters of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority. The "Inauguration 2009, Our History Now" luncheon is scheduled to take place at the Four Points by Sheraton Durham at Southpoint from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (food served at about 12:15 p.m.). The event will center around watching the inauguration events on CNN while enjoying good food and company. Tickets to the luncheon are $20 and must be purchased in advance. For more information, call (919) 744-1392.

Other Presidential inauguration happenings in the Triangle include the Durham for Obama Inaugural Bash at Golden Belt (807 E. Main St.) from 6:00-10:00 p.m on Tuesday, January 20.

And if, at the very last minute, you decide that you simply must go up to DC to try to get a glimpse of Mr. Obama during the big event, there are several Inauguration Bus Trips leaving from the Raleigh-Durham area on Monday, January 19.

The new Raleigh Convention Center will be a stop on Antiques Roadshow's summer 2009 tour. The popular PBS show, which features antiques appraisers estimating the value of antiques brought in for "show and tell" by members of the general public, will be visiting Raleigh on June 27, 2009.

Tickets to the show are free, but there are only 6,400 tickets available. If requests for tickets exceed the number of tickets available, Antiques Roadshow will hold a random drawing that will have 3,200 winners, each receiving two tickets. Each Antiques Roadshow ticket holder is allowed to bring two objects for evaluation by the Antiques Roadshow appraisers at the live event.

So, if you have some antiques that you would like to have appraised, or if you just want to check out the mayhem surrounding Antiques Roadshow, you can request tickets online, or by sending a postcard with your name and street address to Raleigh Roadshow, P.O. Box 249, CANTON, MA 02021.

Here's to hoping those knick knacks are worth millions!

This afternoon, Tar Heels Women's Basketball Coach Sylvia Hatchell earned the 800th victory of her coaching career when the Carolina women defeated NC State 75-66 in overtime.

Ms. Hatchell is the fourth NCAA Division I women's basketball coach to have reached the 800-win mark. Strangely enough, Coach Hatchell has celebrated many victory milestones in the company of NC State: her 500th, 600th, 700th and 800th wins have all been against the Wolfpack women. What are the odds?

The Carolina Women's Basketball team remains undefeated for the season, with a 16-0 record. They will be playing their next home game this Friday, January 16 at 8:30 p.m. against the Virginia Cavaliers. Tickets are still available ($10 each) and can be purchased online or in person at the Smith Center Box Office.

Governor-Elect Bev Perdue will be sworn-in this weekend, and will become North Carolina's first female governor. Massive inauguration celebrations have been planned in her honor, and will kick off tonight with a Council of State reception and a "Rock the Ball" concert at Raleigh's Lincoln Theatre. A Governor-Elect reception and a gala ball will take place on Friday evening. Tickets are still available for the concert and the ball at a cost of $20 per ticket and $125 per ticket, respectively. The other events are sold out.

North Carolina is one of the few states in the nation that has not cut back on its budget for inaugural festivities (many of which are sponsored by the Junior League of Raleigh), and the party will continue full-throttle through Saturday. There will be a pre-inaugural concert at the State Library of North Carolina on Jones St. in Raleigh at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday followed by a 10:30 a.m. swearing-in ceremony for Ms. Perdue and the Council of State.

At 12:30 p.m., newly sworn-in Governor Perdue's inaugural parade will begin, winding its way from the intersection of Fayetteville and E. Davie Streets to the intersection of N. Wilmington Street and W. Edenton Streets. The official festivities will conclude with an Executive Mansion open house at 2:30 p.m.

For more information about Saturday's events, call (919) 715-1530.