Camera and cell phone, yes. Backpack, no.
If you are planning a trip to the January 20 United States inaugural ceremony of President-elect Barack Obama, be warned: Backpacks, signs, umbrellas and thermos bottles are forbidden.
The list of prohibited items on the Capitol building grounds includes the obvious -- firearms, explosives and knives -- along with some questionable items, like coolers, baby strollers and laser pointers.
Strollers take up a lot of space, and "they're made up of hard metal or plastic, just like umbrellas. Anything like that is not permitted," said Carole Florman, communications director for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. That includes chairs.
"Unfortunately, this is not a festival," Florman said, noting the difficulty of screening hundreds of thousands of visitors.
The committee is also warning visitors to expect to stand for several hours in the cold, normally 2.7degCelsius and park outside the city.
