Tickets limited for Bush’s Monticello visit

Attendance at President Bush’s Monticello appearance on the Fourth of July will be limited to an estimated 1,000 members of the public and security will be “heavy,” Monticello officials announced Monday.

Monticello will distribute free tickets beginning at 7 a.m. Wednesday at the Monticello Visitor Center on Route 20, just south of Interstate 64. The building is close to Piedmont Virginia Community College. Only adults can receive the tickets, but there is no age limit on those who attend the July 4 naturalization ceremony. There is a limit of four tickets per person.

The ticket scheme is necessary to manage parking, crowd control and access to the mountaintop mansion, officials said.

“Normally the ceremony is free to anyone who wants to drive up and come in,” said Wayne Mogielnicki, director of communications for Monticello. “This is a different situation and we’re trying to get as many members of the public up here for the ceremony as we can and do it in a fair manner considering the limited time we have to do it in.”

All ticket holders for the 10 a.m. event will be given a specific time to arrive and park at PVCC, with arrival times beginning at 6:15 a.m. Monticello will provide a shuttle from the parking area to the mansion.

The announcement Friday that Bush would address Monticello’s annual Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony left officials scrambling Monday to find ways to handle the anticipated crowds and security concerns.

Thomas Jefferson Foundation officials, who operate Monticello, offer a standing invitation to sitting presidents to speak at the naturalization ceremony. Last month, the White House contacted the foundation and expressed Bush’s interest. The scheduled speaker, historian Ken Burns, agreed to withdraw, clearing the way for Bush to appear.

The change created new issues for Monticello officials regarding traffic flow up and down the mountain, parking arrangements and crowd size. In addition to the 1,000 members of the public expected to attend, Monticello officials estimated that another 2,200 elected officials, local luminaries, Monticello employees and soon-to-be naturalized citizens will attend.

A long list of items will be prohibited at the event, including backpacks, umbrellas and beverages. Signs will also be banned, though visitors can wear political T-shirts or buttons, Monticello officials said. Monticello will offer attendees food and drink.

“Despite heavy security, Monticello is going all out to provide top-quality visitor amenities for the event,” said Daniel P. Jordan, president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation.

Visitors will be asked to walk through metal detectors.

For better traffic and crowd control, officials are planning to close Monticello’s park that runs along Route 53, as well as its parking areas, before 6 a.m. until noon.

It was not known Monday if Route 53 will be closed to general traffic during the event. A Virginia Department of Transportation spokesman did not immediately return a phone call for comment.

“We’re open to the public all of the time so there isn’t a lot we need to do to get the place ready,” Mogielnicki said. “The questions we faced were how many people can we accommodate. We can only get so many people up there.”

As of Monday, the White House had not announced when or where the president will arrive.

“We’ll have more information on the president’s itinerary as we get closer to the end of the week,” said Blair Jones, White House spokes-man.

When that happens, local activists plan on being there.

“I’ve met with people in various peace groups,” said David Swanson, a Central Virginia peace advocate and political activist. “We’re planning on a making a public statement out there so people will know [Bush is] not welcome.”

Swanson said activists across the state have been calling and e-mailing Monticello and asking officials to uninvite Bush.

“[Monticello officials] say they are inviting the office of president, not the man,” Swanson said. “But the chairs and lamps aren’t going to show up. The man will.”

Swanson was organizing a protest for 8:30 a.m. Friday at the first parking lot on the right side of Route 53 off Route 20. However, Monti-cello officials said Monday that the parking lot would be closed.

In reaction to possible anti-Bush protests, one blog titled “Welcome to Charlottesville, President Bush” is encouraging the president’s supporters to join a counter-protest.

Jordan shrugged when asked about the planned protests.

“It’s a free country,” he said.

Past visits to Monticello by Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher all drew vitriolic protests, Jordan said.

“Every major head of state has brought a lot of resistance,” he said. “It always happens. But Monticello is above politics.”