Weekly Flâneur: DNC Edition

My hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, is hosting the Democratic National Convention this week. For those unfamiliar with the election process in the states, think of the DNC as a big party. The DNC unites delegates from every state to discuss and celebrate the party platform during the election year, and it's the place where United States President Barack Obama will officially accept the nomination to run for re-election on the Democratic ticket.

What better way to celebrate four more years of Obama than with a collection of pics? Big names are in town, and the city is a circus of politicos and protesters. Many places won't allow cameras without an anchorperson and a boom mic attached to them, so the following shots are exterior Charlotte street scenes, a live taping of a TV show, and general convention madness. Enjoy! 

Welcome to the Queen City!

High fives: The official logo of the DNC.

We're turning left at Obama Ave.

Obama merch.

This is a gigantic sand sculpture, supposedly of Obama. The first sand sculpture was damaged due to heavy rains, so maybe this was the quick fix?

By the live MSNBC stage, a wall of buttons with names of those involved with the DNC spelling "Lean Forward." Notice a missing button or two? Looks like someone was excited to find their name and stole their button right off the wall!

It's all bright lights and cheers as the cameras go live on Hardball with Chris Matthews.

Somewhere in that crowd is your favorite flâneur.

CNN was there as well.

And LOTS of these guys.

 

 Abe Lincoln is a Republican for Obama. Obviously.

Down the street from this bus we ran into Anderson Cooper. Literally -- I nearly tripped into him. I'm pretty bad at spotting celebs out in the wild, so I'm happy I recognized him.
 

Free fan given out on the streets to keep the Southern heat away. Definitely a useful souvenir!