Your inquiry concerning inaugural celebrations at the Smithsonian Institution on January 20, 1981 was forwarded to me for reply. Presidential galas and balls are coordinated by the Presidential Inaugural Committee and, in turn, each gala, ball, event is sponsored by an individual organization. In 1981, there were three inaugural balls held at Smithsonian facilities on January 20th, at the American History, Natural History and the Air and Space museums. Although the Smithsonian Institution provided the event venues, it in no way was associated with guest lists, ticketing, catering, entertainment, publicity, etc. These records would have been generated by the organizations that sponsored these events. The Hoover Institution Archives at Stanford has a collection of Presidential Inaugural Committee materials [Collection # 81142]
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/view?docId=kt6779r7dg;query=;style=oac4;view=admin I suggest contacting Carol Leadenham, Reference Archivist
carol.leadenham@stanford.edu at the Hoover institution Archives for further assistance in determining if this collection contains information concerning organizations that sponsored various galas in 1981 at the Smithsonian Institution and elsewhere in the city on that night. I would then try and locate those sponsoring organizations and make inquiries regarding ticketing and/or guest lists for their inaugural events. I hope this is helpful to your search. Regards, Ellen AlersAssistant Archivist