Rehearsal of Obama inauguration conducted

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- A rehearsal was conducted in Washington Sunday in preparation for the upcoming inauguration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, an official says.

Presidential Inaugural Committee spokesman Kevin Griffis said the early-morning walk-through in the nation's capital gave event organizers a chance to determine their level of preparedness for the Jan. 20 event, The Washington Post reported.

"It's an opportunity to make sure all the systems prepared for the parade are functioning," Griffis said.

Standing in for Obama was Army Staff Sgt. Derrick Brooks, who even offered a brief statement to the nearly 200 people who gathered to watch the imitation inauguration.

"My fellow Americans, God bless America," Brooks said to the assembled crowd.

Roxanne Ikner, one of the people attending Sunday's rehearsal parade and inauguration, said the event was a unique experience for her and her three children.

"This is the closest we're actually going to get," Ikner told the Post. "Even if we can't be part of the real thing, we can be part of the rehearsal."