Day 1 kickoff: YBBG at Democratic National Convention 2012
The Democratic National Convention has had a party-like atmosphere. Uptown Charlotte is lit up like Beale Street in Memphis every night, and looked like the streets of Washington, D.C. during the day. As I told you before, I am an Independent. Initially I did not look forward to the influx of people to the city where I live. Honestly, I was wrong. It has been a really good experience.
Day 1-September 3, 2012: Whereas I'm used to driving Uptown whenever I have to work up there, the streets were shutdown in many directions. Parking that is regularly a few dollars had a markup of three hundred percent. So I took the train.
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| Charlotte Lynx Blue Line |
Day 1-September 3, 2012: Whereas I'm used to driving Uptown whenever I have to work up there, the streets were shutdown in many directions. Parking that is regularly a few dollars had a markup of three hundred percent. So I took the train.
I met people from Boston and New York on the train. One lady worked with the dance corp at one of the museums. Her friends from Boston were in town for the convention.
A volunteer from New York sat beside me on the train, wearing her blue convention volunteer shirt and sneakers.
Instead of running its usual route, the train stopped several blocks before entering the heart of Uptown. Which meant I had to walk very isolated streets early in the morning.
Police were the only people on the streets early on Labor Day.
The guys I'm working with decided to go down to a street festival taking place a block away from where we were working. Carolina Fest boasted performances by Anthony Hamilton, Janelle Monae, James Taylor, and actor turned musician Jeff Bridges. The rain ended up washing out the James Taylor performance.
My colleagues and I on the street on Labor Day for Carolina Fest
So, my colleague, for some strange reason, thinks he's a singer. He has belted out blood curdling tunes for the last several days. (I have them recorded...). When we went down to the festival, Anthony Hamilton performed the National Anthem.
My crazy colleague had the audacity to say he sings better than Anthony. I resisted drop kicking him LOL. His performance reminds me of a bad Kermit the Frog impersonation. He asked that I blur his face so as he shall remain anonymous LOL. Below is my Twitter exchange with Anthony Hamilton about the singing fiasco.
@CM_Writer tell em if he thought that was singing then maybe. Catch me in concert where the passion is. Thanks for keepin my name alive.
Here is the rest of what I saw at Carolina Fest. As the video continues, you can hear Janelle Monae's performance in the background.
The news coverage at the Epicentre
One of the greatest things about having the DNC Uptown is the news coverage. I am an avid cable news watcher. Much to my sheer joy, several news stations recorded live at the Epicentre.
After I finished work, we walked by the Epicentre, and look at what we saw on the corner of Trade Street and College Street:
At the end of the night, I walked back to the train station with one of my colleagues.
This was just the first day...the convention hadn't even started yet. I will blog about the remaining days soon...
Instead of running its usual route, the train stopped several blocks before entering the heart of Uptown. Which meant I had to walk very isolated streets early in the morning.Police were the only people on the streets early on Labor Day.
The guys I'm working with decided to go down to a street festival taking place a block away from where we were working. Carolina Fest boasted performances by Anthony Hamilton, Janelle Monae, James Taylor, and actor turned musician Jeff Bridges. The rain ended up washing out the James Taylor performance.
My colleagues and I on the street on Labor Day for Carolina Fest
So, my colleague, for some strange reason, thinks he's a singer. He has belted out blood curdling tunes for the last several days. (I have them recorded...). When we went down to the festival, Anthony Hamilton performed the National Anthem.
My crazy colleague had the audacity to say he sings better than Anthony. I resisted drop kicking him LOL. His performance reminds me of a bad Kermit the Frog impersonation. He asked that I blur his face so as he shall remain anonymous LOL. Below is my Twitter exchange with Anthony Hamilton about the singing fiasco.
Anthony Hamilton Here is the rest of what I saw at Carolina Fest. As the video continues, you can hear Janelle Monae's performance in the background.
The news coverage at the Epicentre
One of the greatest things about having the DNC Uptown is the news coverage. I am an avid cable news watcher. Much to my sheer joy, several news stations recorded live at the Epicentre.
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| CNN at the Epicentre |
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| MSNBC at the Epicentre |
After I finished work, we walked by the Epicentre, and look at what we saw on the corner of Trade Street and College Street:
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| The Myrtle Beach contingent built this President Obama sand sculpture |
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| Tour bus on Stonewall St. |
This was just the first day...the convention hadn't even started yet. I will blog about the remaining days soon...
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