The University of Virginia will suspend classes on Inauguration Day so students and faculty can observe the ritual. Mr. Jefferson’s University also will provide live coverage at John Paul Jones arena and several school libraries. UVa isn’t alone in marking the sacred event. Across the country, some colleges are chartering buses to take students to D.C. Others—among them, Tidewater Community College in Norfolk—are hosting viewings. (No word yet on whether they also will offer communion.)

Plan your trip now to the National Mall for Barack Obama’s inauguration—or risk missing the main event, Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and other regional officials are warning.

Many who reserved a seat on a Washington-bound Amtrak train leaving the Staples Mill Road station on Inauguration Day still haven’t picked up their tickets. And waiting until Tuesday could mean long lines—and possibly missing the train. Before the historic day, travelers should go to the station to pick up a printed ticket from the ticket window or machine, said Chuck McIntyre, acting station manager for Amtrak’s Richmond-area district. The station is open 24 hours a day.

Barack Obama’s inauguration is next Tuesday, Jan. 20, in Washington. About a dozen miles away in College Park, Md., Virginia and Maryland will play an ACC men’s basketball game that night. Typically, U.Va.‘s traveling party spends only one night in a hotel before a road game. Because of the inauguration, however, the Cavaliers will leave Charlottesville on Sunday and stay that night in Columbia, Md. They usually stay in Greenbelt, Md., but they’re heading farther away from Washington to avoid the inauguration-related congestion.

QVC is traveling to Washington to mark President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration this month—and is bringing along plenty of coins, stamps, jewelry and even a small handbag to sell. The retail network has already sold more than 100,000 items related to Obama’s election and sees the inauguration as an opportunity to reach far beyond the group of people regularly interested in political collectibles.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee yesterday put 5,000 choice bleacher tickets for Barack Obama’s inaugural parade on sale to the public for $25 each. They were gone in less than a minute. Albert Lopez, a Ticketmaster spokesman, said 94 percent of the tickets were purchased online and the rest by phone. It was “blazingly fast,“ Lopez said.

Expect major highway backups as far south as Richmond.

Virginia Union men’s and women’s basketball teams have changed their schedules to avoid conflict with the president-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration. The two VUU teams’ games against Bowie State—originally scheduled for Jan. 20, inauguration day—have been moved to Jan. 22. The games will still be played in the A.C. Jordan Arena on the campus of Bowie State. The women’s game tips off at 5:30 p.m., the men’s game at 7:30.

Chauncey Spencer II has an issue with the committee orchestrating next month’s presidential inauguration. “It’s not a big issue, maybe, but it is an issue,“ said Spencer, the son of Lynchburg-raised pioneer aviator and civil-rights leader Chauncey Spencer.

Attending President-elect Barack Obama’s swearing-in next month may be free, but the cost of being a part of the inaugural festivities can add up quickly.

The dance cards are filling up fast. Another dance and music fest has been lined up in the days before the inauguration Jan. 20, but this one will benefit nonprofits in the greater Richmond area. The Jan. 17 event—The Greater Richmond Pre-Inaugural Celebration: A Musical Evening to Remember—is counting on corporate participation with packages ranging from $2,500 to $10,000.

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine met yesterday with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and leaders from Maryland and Washington to discuss inauguration security. At a private meeting at Secret Service headquarters, Chertoff, Kaine, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty talked about traffic and other public safety issues surrounding the inauguration.

You couldn’t get a ticket to the already sold-out Virginia Inaugural ball? Can’t afford a hotel room at perhaps $800 a night? Don’t want to get involved in all that Washington area traffic anyway? Virginia Young Democrats are offering an alternative.

Congestion, crowds and cost have caused some people to cancel their Inauguration Day pilgrimage to Washington, while others still plan to go.

If they get their way, a Richmond music teacher and nine of her star pupils will help Barack Obama ring in his presidency in style. They’ll do it with hand bells. Pamela Tait and her hand-bell choir at Miles Jones Elementary School applied to participate in January’s inaugural festivities. They asked to play several inspirational songs during the official breakfast Jan. 20, when Obama will be sworn in as the nation’s 44th president.