We’ve just released the first batch of tickets for the Crunchies Awards Ceremony any After-Party. Get them now.

The awards ceremony will be held at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco at 7:30 pm, Friday January 9. We’ve commissioned the Richter Scales to launch a new song at the ceremony, and there will be other surprises to keep the event lively.

We’re expanding the reception this year to the beautiful rotunda of City Hall, directly across the street from the theater. Big thank you to MySpace, who is co-hosting the after-party and bringing a celebrity DJ for us. There will be an open bar and finger-food served from 9 pm – midnight. We’re also hosting a game room with a mix of online and traditional games to enjoy.

Additional details on GigaOm, VentureBeat and SiliconAlleyInsider.

Thank You Sponsors
Thank you to the following companies who quickly stepped up to help sponsor the 2008 Crunchies Awards: Amiando, Charles River Ventures, Mayfield, Microsoft BizSpark, MySpace, Media Temple and UStream.

If you would like to add your name to that list and be part of something special, contact jlogo at earthlink.net or heather at techcrunch.com. There are many creative ways to show your support and help us recognize innovation and entrepreneurship in tech.

Look for finalist voting to launch later this week. We’ll give you a bit of advance warning here when we’re close. Thanks for your patience.