Last weekend we continued to hear how the Pepsi Center here in Denver was handing over the keys to the facility to the Democratic National Committee to begin preparations on the Democratic National Convention scheduled to begin on August 25, 2008. Stories of 160 miles of new cable to be installed, lights, cameras, and other things being added.  This morning the local news is reporting that the committee has announced that the acceptance speech of Barack Obama for the nomination of the democratic ticket for President will be held at Invesco Field at Mile High .  The officials indicate that those that want to attend the acceptance speech will be given special “community credentials” to attend.  As the time gets closer to the event the details will be provided.

Invesco Field is a relatively new stadium replacing the old Mile High Stadium where the Denver Broncos played for many years.  They have many of the latest features that are available to the newest of stadiums.  You can get some information for your event if you want to book a space at the facility including the visitors locker room, and other places in the stadium.  They have weddings, proms and other events held here throughout the year when they are not hosting the sports teams that use the field.  This is turning out to be quite a big deal for the people here in Colorado and the Denver Metro area.  Apparently, Barack Obama really wants to win Colorado as a swing state and is pulling out all of the stops.  To give some equal billing, John McCain is stopping in Denver today as well, but the big news is Obama is looking for some Mile High magic.

Popularity: 47% [?]

Share This

I have been following along with the news of what is happening in the Democratic National Convention and a story that is catching a few links is a story by Leslie Wayne of the New York Times. Apparently, the Coors Brewing Company here in the Golden, Colorado has been brewing beer and changing the unsatisfactory stuff and that not fit to sell into ethanol. This ethanol is used in GM cars that operate on E85 fuel. I am not saying that Coors makes bad beer, heck I was brought up on the beer living here in the Denver area. Coors is an icon business here in rockies. Leslie explains more about what will be going on with the beer and how it will be used:

The happy cars getting an injection of beer in their tanks are to be provided by General Motors, designated as the convention’s “Official Vehicle Provider.” G.M., a major sponsor at both conventions, will be showing off its fleet of cars with biofuel capabilities and hybrid technologies to lawmakers often been dubious about Detroit. A fleet of 400 G.M. cars will chauffeur around members of Congress, Democratic officials, state party leaders and other Democratic V.I.P.’s during the four-day extravaganza.

Coors has been a big part of the Denver area and is the title sponsor of the Colorado Rockies field in lower downtown. They are sponsoring the DNC as well. Apparently they are a large contributing sponsor of over $1 Million and are also providing beer for some of the hosted events throughout the 4 day period. I’m looking forward to covering the news that happens here in Denver for the Democratic national Convention. I’ll make sure you can read about the local scene here on Convention Insider.

Popularity: 43% [?]

Share This

One of the bigger stories here in the Denver area where I am from is the fact that the Denver Host Committee came up more than $10 Million short of their goals for raising money for the Democratic National Convention which is to be held here in Denver on August 25. The organizers had until June 16 to come up with the funds for the convention and fell quite short. They are talking about some of the events that were scheduled will be cancelled and the government officials here are all scrambling to see how they can figure out how to come up with the funds required.

Many are saying that the drawn out process of determining the Democratic nominee is the cause as their backers are still waiting to see if they will put their money into the pot. Others are saying that the big Clinton money making machine that has provided them with their ability to raise funds is not in the race any longer and therefor withholding funds. One thing is certain, this does not bode well for the Dems as they begin to figure out how to make a big splash here in Denver in about 10 weeks.

Popularity: 32% [?]

Share This

My wife is a huge CSI fan.  She records every episode of it so that she can make sure to watch them.  Now that the writer’s strike is over, tonight she got to see a brand new episode.  I’m not sure who is more excited about it being back on, her to watch her show or me to not have to hear about why the writer’s strike stinks.  Naturally, since I love to check out if there is a convention or trade show on a certain topics or industry I had to see what was available for crime scene investigators and where they convene.

A small world that it is, I found it right in my own back yard.  The American Academy of Forensic Sciences is holding a conference at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver on February 16-21, 2009.  The annual meeting is described as:

The Academy’s annual scientific meeting is held in February at which time over 500 scientific papers, breakfast seminars, workshops, and other special events are presented. The AAFS consists of ten sections representing a wide range of forensic specialties, and the annual scientific meeting gathers these professionals who present the most current information, research, and updates in this expanding field.

I guess the time not to commit a crime in Denver will be that week in Denver in February.  Criminals beware.

Popularity: 35% [?]

Share This

I am very close to Boulder so I tend to pay attention to what companies in the area are doing and what they are doing as a part of in the business world.  A recent announcement on TSNN.com lead me to find a company here in Boulder that is launching a new event called Healthy Foods International Exposition and Conference.  This expo is set to take place in June at the Dallas Convention Center.  The Boulder company that is partnering for the event is New Hope Natural Media.  New Hope is described in their website:

For more than 25 years, New Hope Natural Media has been the leading media resource and information provider for the natural, organic and healthy products industry. Our publications, events and e-business products and services deliver industry information and provide community-building forums that showcase the entire value chain of healthy products from start to finish. We provide integrated marketing solutions that connect you to your next customer…in print, in person, and online.

Obviously, they do a number of Natural Products Conventions as well, with the most recent scheduled March 13-16, 2008 at the Anaheim Convention Center.  With their experience in the natural product industry, the health food convention is a perfect match.  Good luck to the people at New Hope and to the Dallas Convention Center good job getting another very cool event.

Popularity: 52% [?]

Share This

I was reading up on my feeds I missed over the holidays and ran across an article in the 5280 Magazine’s online presence about the Democratic National Convention that is taking place here in Denver.  The blog post goes on to state:

The House of Representatives will vote tonight on a $900 billion plus ominibus spending bill. Thanks to Rep. Diana DeGette, it includes $50 million for security funding for Denver and a like amount for Minneapolis, host cities for the Democratic and Republican conventions this summer. DeGette said she spoke with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and things look good for passage.

I am astonished at that amount for security.  The convention itself is scheduled for a total of 4 days. Even my ability at remedial math makes that figure of $12.5M per day.  I can understand the need for security at such an event, but that seems a little high for a budget.  I can certainly see that security is big business and with prices such as that, it seems it may also be pretty lucrative.  I’ll stay tuned to see if that bill is passed.

Popularity: 39% [?]

Share This

You had to know that I would eventually have to get around to talking about my Colorado Rockies being in the World Series.  I’m all giddy of the notion of watching my hometown team in the World Series against the likes of a legendary team like the Boston Red Sox. So I thought about how I could tie the event into a blog post here.  I have already discussed sporting events and how you move a number of people with the likes of The Convention Store.  I could talk about how the sports industry has lot of conventions about memorabilia and collectibles and those types of conventions. I suppose I could talk about all of the t-shirt companies that are scrambling to capitalize on the Rox vs. Sox  ideas, and of course T-shirt companies I’m sure are a huge trade show unto themselves.  I could talk about the economical impact events such as this World Series and of course conventions and trade shows have on the local businesses.  I just can’t seem to nail down a way to tie it in here.  If I hadn’t spent 2 1/2 hours online trying to buy tickets yesterday, I am positive that I would have researched a cool convention like topic, but I have to stand here hat in hand and let you know that I can think of no way to talk about conventions and trade shows and try to make it not about the only thing I can see on my windshield today.  With that said…LET”S GO ROCKIES!!!

Popularity: 23% [?]

Share This

If you are thinking that trade shows and conventions are nothing but drab and stuffy business like events, think again.  I know of an event that would draw even the likes of celebrities such as Homer Simpson! 

In my Nyquil induced coma this weekend, that began on Friday and has continued through to the present, I was unable to get out of bed much other than to poke my head from the covers to see if the the Colorado Rockies could continue their magical run to the National League title and the possibly the World Series.  What I really missed over the weekend was a great party put on here at the Colorado Convention Center, called the Great American Beer Festival.  I know, you are thinking this is not really a convention but a festival, but you would be wrong.

GABF visitors enjoy one-ounce beer samples from the fest?s breweries. These breweries are arranged on the festival floor by regions of the country, giving beer lovers a walking tour of the nation?s beer-blessed landscape. Many of the booths are staffed by the brewers themselves. Over 41,000 beer enthusiasts from Colorado, the US and around the world attended last year?s GABF. The 2007 GABF will cover 188,000 square feet of the Colorado Convention Center.

This is certainly a way for companies, in this case brewers, to show off their craft and their trade.  It is a huge highlight here in the Rocky Mountain region and a convention that is tough to miss given its popularity.  Of course with the amount of cold medicine in my system, adding beer would have almost certainly guaranteed a Homer Simpson siting at the event.  Sorry to have missed the event, but I think discretion was the better part of valor on my participation.

[photo via Jason E. Kaplan]

Popularity: 25% [?]

Share This