[General] Questions related to the presidential inaugural

[Olympian]

Hello,

I watched the historic US presidential inaugural and I have a couple of questions.

In the presentation where different celebrities read out quotations from Lincoln and other past presidents, Will Smith at one point mentioned Grant Park and then said (something like) - Sha Town, stand up, Sha Town stand up. I think he said this thrice and then they showed President Obama, Michelle Obama and their daughter stand up and then sit down. At one point during this, Will Smith said - Sha Town stand up, 3 2 1. What does 'sha town' mean (not sure if I spelled it right), and what is ' 3 2 1' ?
I know Obama gave his acceptance speech at Grant Park in Chicago. Is sha town a reference to Chicago?

There was a discusson TV about what the Obama kids will experience in the White House. They said that the president and Michelle Obama had to attend ten balls in Washington, and that there will be a scavenger hunt for the kids at the White House. They said the kids have picked two movies - Bolt and some other name. What does scavenger hunt mean here?

Thank you.

[susiedqq]

The nickname for city of Chicago is Chi-Town (pronounced shy-town)
That could have been a chant for the city.

A "scavenger hunt" is a game where particpants are sent out with a list of things to gather together and return to the party. The team or person finding the most things on the list is the winner. My bet is that at the White House, the scavenger list will be very controled and geared for young girls.

[Olympian]

Originally Posted by susiedqq

The nickname for city of Chicago is Chi-Town (pronounced shy-town)
That could have been a chant for the city.

Thank you. Obviously I heard it wrong. Yes, it must have been 'shy-town'. I knew Chicago is called the windy city, but now I learned another nickname. :)

Originally Posted by susiedqq

A "scavenger hunt" is a game where particpants are sent out with a list of things to gather together and return to the party. The team or person finding the most things on the list is the winner. My bet is that at the White House, the scavenger list will be very controled and geared for young girls.

The commentators did mention that the Whitehouse staffers arrange a tour for the kids while playing games so that they learn about the layout of Whitehouse and also some history at the same time. But I did not realize that they were referring to 'scavenger hunt' as the game.

Thank you susiedqq.