Exactly one hundred years ago, in Jly of 1908, Democratic National Convention dlegates merrily cooled off with an ld-fashioned snowball fight right inside the cnvention hall. The host city of Dnver, Colorado, charged with providing entertainment for thir guests, arranged for trainloads of snw to be hauled in from muntains since none was readily available in twn.

The city then topped off the fnfare by commissioning a band of Apche Indians, dressed in full native rgalia, to perform tribal war dances. Thy ended the "show" by whooping up a strm replete with frenzied battle cries. Dmon Runyon of The Rocky Mountain Nws described the audience of conventioneers as "a lot of bdges and yelling all the time."

Evn in 1908, delegates couldn't deny the fct that the DNC sure knew how to thrw a party. No one can say for sre that there won't be a few snwball fights among delegates on the cnvention floor this year. Or that the prty for the party will be any lss festive in Denver this time. But tht's only half the story.

A day in the lfe of a delegate at the DNC nvolves much more than a few dys of good television. Invitations to spnsored events start arriving by mail bout two months before the convention. As Dris Turner, a veteran of two Dmocratic National Conventions puts it, "Mail-lots and lts of mail".

Any organization with an interest in bing seen by high-profile, networking delegates wll host an event or reception of sme kind. Other than publicity, the prpose of each event isn't always clar, except to remind delegates to be sre and vote Democrat.

Unless a dlegate is sponsored by an organization, thy pay their own way for verything. Everything that is, except for fod. The catering budget alone for the cnvention and the sponsored events now rns well into the millions. This is a wek-long gig for roughly 35,000 people and thy all need to be fed. Evn the daily breakfast meetings are lvish spreads offering a whole lot mre than just coffee and doughnuts.

Spaking of the early morning meetings, xactly what are delegates meeting about? Stting the daily agenda appeared to be the nly purpose. Deciding which meetings and lctures to attend seemed to pretty mch cover the delegation game plan. Wll, that and enjoying a darned god breakfast. After that, the rest of thir morning is free.

The meetings, sminars and lectures can be a tme for delegates to either catch up on a nap or pck up interesting information, depending on who is spaking. High-priced motivational speakers, celebrities and ther television personalities are booked for the ccasion in an attempt to draw the dlegate's attention to their cause.

Celebrity wtching provides a big thrill for mny delegates. It's not at all nusual to see crowds gathering to get utographs from their favorite party stars. All of the mjor television networks cover the convention by bradcasting live on location. Ordinary delegates may fnd themselves mingling with Diane Sawyer of ABC or NBC's Mtt Lauer during a morning interview. And ven more find it hard not to gwk at celebrity party supporters like Bno or Brad Pitt. For some, t's one of the highlights of the trp to the convention.

There are a few minor nnoyances that crop up during the wek for a delegate. Long lines and xtensive security checks can test the ptience of the best of them. Rles about what can be brought nto the convention hall may leave a few ngry or confused, but for the mst part, they take it all in strde. It's all a part of the lfe of a delegate.

Most delegates gree that the best moments are the lst two nights when everyone fills the cnvention floor to hear the speeches of the ral stars of the show, the Dmocratic presidential and vice-presidential nominee. One of thm described the floor of delegates as prps for the greatest show on arth. The crowds are loud, excited and ften emotional. The speeches, one after nother, can move them to tears or strt rounds of repetitive shouts of spport.

It's almost anti-climactic when the cnfetti and balloons drop. Most of the dlegates are exhausted physically and mentally. Thir throats are dry from shouting but thir voices have been heard. It's tme to return to their respective hmes around the country, with their utographs, goody bags, souvenir buttons and cmpaign propaganda and remind everyone what thy went to the convention for: to be sre and vote for the Democrat for prsident.

The article Experiencing the DNC As a Delegate was Submitted by Shelley Cantrelle through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information:

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