An $8 Million Shindig

Ronald Reagan may have campaigned on a pledge to cut spending, but he clearly does not believe that aus terity must begin at home -- at least not so far as the Jan. 20 Inauguration is concerned. In a return to an older elegance, Reagan and his entourage will wear formal morning suits complete with striped gray trousers and a white pleated-front shirt at the 11:30 a.m. swearing-in ceremony, which for the first time will be held on the West Front of the Capitol, facing down Pennsylvania Avenue. That evening there will be nine formal balls (Carter had six) attended by celebrators willing to pay $100 and up for the chance to help ring in the new Administration. The ticket revenue will help pay the $8 million-plus cost of a four-day series of assorted events in tended to launch the Reagan years with fun and flair.

The festivities will begin on the weekend before the swearing-in. On Saturday night, 10,000 rockets will be shot off in a 14-minute fireworks extravaganza at Lincoln Memorial; laser beams will link other monuments. That same day George Bush and his family will be wel comed by Texas Governor Wil liam Clements at a "black-tie and boots" reception. On Sun day, there will be two candle light dinners and four concerts at the Kennedy Center, featuring Dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, Pianist Rudolf Serkin, and Conductor Mstislav Rostropovich leading the National Symphony Orchestra. Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush will toast a "distinguished ladies" reception for 7,000 on Monday.

But that day's highlight will be Frank Sinatra's Inauguration eve gala at the Capital Centre in Maryland. Some 19,000 have been invited to pay from $50 to $10,000 (for a ten-seat box) to see OF Blue Eyes put on a show that will include Johnny Carson, Debby Boone, Donny Osmond, Ethel Mer man, Jimmy Stewart and Charlton Heston.

Many of the ceremonies will have a made-for-TV look.

The new President's traditional postInaugural lunch in the Capitol's Statuary Hall will be televised. Although the Tues day night balls, with such hosts as Reagan Pals Liz Taylor, Ed McMahon and Hugh O'Brian, will be open to 40,000 guests, their revelry will also be telecast to many more at "satellite balls" in such places as Hastings, Neb., Pocatello, Idaho, and even Paris. Tickets to these balls start at $5.

Organizers hope that half the tab for the Inauguration will be covered by ticket receipts for the balls and receptions. But the $4.2 million overhead, including salaries for 400 of the 3,400 Inaugural committee staffers, will be raised from the largest offering of souvenirs ever. A 14-page brochure of commemoratives, mailed to millions of Americans, lists copies of a Frederick Remington bronze at $1,875 per, a porcelain "Nancy Reagan rose" for $650, a set of highball glasses for $35, even pieces of wood from the reviewing stand encased in Lucite for $28. Inaugural auto license plates, valid in any state until March 15, come in two models: $25 ones bearing only numbers and $35 "vanity plates" with a choice of lettering.

The Inaugural parade, of course, is free for anyone willing to line up along Pennsylvania Avenue. Carter's lasted two

hours, but Reagan's will be held to one, to accommodate TV's limited attention span. Explains Event Chairman Terry Chambers: "President-elect Reagan asked for a short snappy parade." As a result, dozens of high school bands casually invited by Candidate Reagan during the campaign have been quietly disinvited. Only 20 bands, including one from Reagan's home town, Dixon, Ill., will march on Jan. 20; the rest will be asked to play concerts on the White House lawn some time later. The parade will

include 26 equestrian groups and three dogsled teams.

There are people who are disgruntled about the arrangements. Some are upset by the price (it would cost a minimum of $2,000 to buy tickets to all the events); a few Congressmen are ruffled by a "suggestion" that they too wear morning suits at the swearing-in. Jimmy Carter, who wore a business suit to his Inauguration, will bow to Reagan's dress code. But Democratic Senator Don Riegle of Michigan is outraged: "I'm not sure that's the way to start fighting inflation." Counters Inauguration Co-Chairman Robert Gray: "If the swearing-in of a President is not worthy of the dignity of formal clothes, then we should do away with them." Reagan aides hint that he may also distinguish the event with an as yet undisclosed gesture that will rival Carter's celebrated walk down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. Boasts Gray: "People will remember more about this President's Inauguration than how he got home."

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