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Elbow-to-elbow with hundreds of fellow North Carolinians at a watch party in Washington D.C., Kasey Stone, of Washington, N.C., observed the inauguration ceremony of President Donald Trump as it unfolded mere blocks away at the Capitol Building on Monday, Jan. 20.  

A week before the inauguration, a friend of Stone’s who is closely associated with the Trump administration, asked her if she would like to attend the Liberty Ball the night of the inauguration. She said yes and invited long time friend, Megan Tate, to a four-day trip to the nation’s capital. 

Their trip began on Saturday, Jan. 18 in Wilson, NC. They took a five-hour trip on an Amtrak train from Wilson to Union Station. Saturday and Sunday were spent sightseeing around D.C., but on Monday Stone and Tate went to a watch party organized by the NC GOP and Michigan GOP. 

“It was packed,” Stone said. “There were big screens everywhere so they had it up on the televisions and everybody was just watching and felt super patriotic.” 

Stone had tickets for seats outside the Capitol Building; however, when the ceremony was moved inside the Capitol, they lost their seats. Stone and Tate decided to go to the watch party instead. 

Stone said a sense of camaraderie permeated throughout D.C. that weekend. “There was just a fun camaraderie. Everybody, the whole time I was there, everybody was just happy, feeling patriotic.” 

That evening, Stone and Tate dressed up to go to the Liberty Ball where they heard brief remarks from President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. 

The Liberty Ball was held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, where some 5,000 people were in attendance. 

“There was lots of food and entertainment. The national [college] football championship was happening that night and they had a sofa area where people could watch that. There were all kinds of cheesy photo opportunities,” Stone said. The entertainment that evening consisted of performances by Jason Aldean, Nelly, the Village People and Billy Ray Cyrus. 

Stone and Tate agreed that despite their different political party affiliations, the Liberty Ball was “one heck of a party,” and it was an honor to witness a historical event. 

The next day, Stone and Tate boarded an Amtrak train back to Wilson. 

President Trump’s inauguration was not the first time Stone traveled to D.C. for a major political event. She was in the nation’s capital to march in an inaugural parade for President Bill Clinton and attended a ball for President George W. Bush. 

In 2020, Stone volunteered to help decorate the White House for Christmas. An architect, interior designer and general contractor, Stone applied online and wrote letters to the White House chief florist and head of volunteers. She made ornaments for all of the Christmas trees and bows for the State Dining Room and strung lights on trees in several rooms. 

Stone has renovated several homes in Washington, NC which include the Hyatt House on Water Street. Interestingly, construction of the Hyatt House began in 1785 began eight years before President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the Capitol Building in 1793.