Taking in the ‘American Presidential Experience’

A willingness to make an ass of yourself if key to enjoying most things in life. The American Presidential Experience, an exhibit that fills a good chunk of the parking lot at Invesco Field at Mile High, is pretty much what you’d expect — in a good way. The primary…

The weekend before the DNC: Outside the Pepsi Center

“Wow — they look just like the cabs in the big cities.” Drove past the Pepsi Center a couple of times on Saturday to get a passing look at the DNC preparations there. The first time by, two enormous groups of police officers, clad in full riot gear, posed in…

The weekend before the DNC: Denver International Airport

“Howdy folks.” As (bad) luck would have it, my son, Nick, was scheduled to fly to Washington, D.C. to begin his second year at the Catholic University of America early on Sunday morning, during the very weekend that thousands of Washingtonians were fleeing their fair city to come to Denver…

The weekend before the DNC: Denver International Airport

“Howdy folks.” As (bad) luck would have it, my son, Nick, was scheduled to fly to Washington, D.C. to begin his second year at the Catholic University of America early on Sunday morning, during the very weekend that thousands of Washingtonians were fleeing their fair city to come to Denver…

Flood the market with bizarre Obama-wear? Yes we can!

Slideshow. Gas masks, pantsuits and “Buck Fush” shirts aren’t the only fashion statements being made on the streets of Denver as the DNC ramps up this week. An army of street vendors are making sure the politically inclined but stylistically hopeless have every opportunity to embarrass their loved ones with…

That was quick! Anarchists amass downtown; traffic snarled for hours

Welcome to Denver! Click here to see highlights from Sunday afternoon. Between 300 and 500 self-proclaimed anarchists associated with the far-left group Unconventional Action weaved through downtown Denver for several hour this afternoon, in an unscheduled march that blocked numerous streets and intersections. It began around 2 p.m. in conjunction…

The first DNC protest arrests?

At about 11:15 a Denver Department of Corrections bus — the same type used last year to haul away arrested Columbus Day Parade protesters — drove by the Westword offices with a police escort. The windows were covered with mesh, but about a dozen people could be seen in the…

Denver, the day before the DNC storm

I thought I’d seen everything just before midnight on Friday, when suddenly there were swarms of available cabs around 15th and Platte streets. Denver is many things, but it’s never been a town where you can hail a cab…until now. On Saturday, August 23, the only thing more plentiful than…

DNC security cameras brings new era of Big Brother to Denver

This camera can see a lot more than the Pepsi Center. Do you ever get that funny feeling you’re being watched? Well if you’re anywhere near downtown Denver during the Democratic National Convention, you probably are. Over the past three weeks, the Denver Police Department has quietly rolled out an…

The Westword.com blog shortcut, August 22 edition

Look what the Cat coughed up. As the blogs turn. The Cat’s Pajamas brings us word of an Equilibrium Clothing sale, plus another of Susan Froyd’s Talking Shop offerings — this one focused on weird DNC-related items like a needle-felting kit to create the Obama seen here. Nothing’s more patriotic…

The DNC and Soapy Smith

Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith. To advance the Democratic National Convention, which is now so close you can practically smell the lobbyists, news organizations from beyond these parts are straining to seem like Denver experts — hence articles like this mondo-obvious USA Today roundup of ten places in town that visitors…

How to be a model DNC volunteer

“Sparkle, people! Sparkle!” In case you’re jealous of those savvy Obama fans who volunteered to help out at the DNC (and thus increase their proximity to The Hopeful One), here’s something that should make you feel better. It’s an orientation video that a friend of mine was required to watch…

The view from Inside the Pepsi Center

Check one two. I didn’t learn much during the Pepsi Center’s community walk-through today that I didn’t already know, but I did get a feel for just how massive an operation the Democratic National Convention and the accompanying media coverage will be. Just getting to the Pepsi Center from the…

Bernar Venet sculpture finds a home in Commons Park

Bernar Venet’s “222.5º Arc x 5.” Within the last week, the City of Denver decided that Bernar Venet’s “222.5º Arc x 5” will be permanently displayed in Commons Park near Little Raven Street about a block north of 15th Street, which is just a short walk from the Museum of…

Dean Singleton’s cow-ardice

Dean Singleton, image protector. In this morning’s Denver feature on National Public Radio, reporter Jeff Brady purports to share with listeners the five things visitors to the Democratic National Convention should do while here but probably won’t. His first item, though, is actually something DNC attendees should do but can’t…

Watering down the high costs of Invesco Field at Mile High

Quench your thirst on the way to Invesco. First things first: No beer. But all other concessions will be open for business at Invesco Field at Mile High on Thursday, August 28, as documented in this Rocky Mountain News piece — and they’ll be the only option for people who…

Abortion-opponent to deliver DNC closing prayer

Joel C. Hunter. There have been loads o’ rumors about who else will be in the spotlight during Barack Obama’s August 28 Invesco Field at Mile High acceptance speech. For instance, the Denver Post’s Bill Husted puts odds of a Bruce Springsteen appearance at 95 percent. But someone who’s publicly…