DNC Coverage: Celebrities in Denver

The number of Hollywood stars who are ardent Republicans could likely be contained in a small classroom, some might even say phone booth. Not a problem for Barack Obama and the 2008 Democrats. According to the Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and other sources, the list of the celebrities that will descend on Denver is massive. Downtown and elsewhere you are probably more likely to run into a celebrity in Denver this week than in L.A.

It all gets started on with a "green" festival at the Denver Center Performing Arts, which is free to the public between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The celebrity that you will most likely see there is Daryl Hannah, although, she is almost a local these days. There are a lot of other celebrities interested in environmental causes and alternative energy that could possibly show up to support her, including Willie Nelson (who is scheduled to do a private concert at 8 p.m. Monday at the Invesco Field parking lot), Neil Young and/or Ed Begley, Jr., etc. Later Sunday will be a private concert at Red Rocks featuring Sheryl Crow, Dave Mathews Band and Sugarland among others. You may also be able to see Daryl Hannah and others at the Starz Cinema Complex early in the afternoon on Wednesday.

A number of celebrities will be present at "specialty" events, i.e., events focusing on African-Americans, Hispanics, Gay and Lesbian, Women and New Orleans post-Katrina. The Katrina event is at the Fillmore Auditorium at the corner of East Colfax and Clarkson Streets on Sunday and will feature Randy Newman, James Carville and John Larroquette amongst others, tickets are $500. The Gay/Lesbian event, called "Rock to Win," a benefit for the Human Rights campaign, will also be held at the Fillmore at 7:30 on Wednesday. It will feature Melissa Etheridge, Cyndi Lauper and Rufus Wainwright. It is open to the public but costs $100.

African-American entertainers that you might happen to see include Spike Lee, Danny Glover, Vivica A. Fox. Aisha Tyler, Kanye West, Martin Luther King III, Bernice King, Alfre Woodard and the most famous of all, Oprah Winfrey, who is rumored to be staying in the Country Club/Cherry Creek area. Spike is scheduled to be way out east on Colfax at Mezcal on Sunday along with Matthew Modine, Dana Delaney, Tim Daly, and Ellen Burstyn and downtown at Earl's Restaurant at 1600 Glenarm at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. He will be there for the Spotlight Initiative Award Reception along with Quentin Tarantino, Annette Bening and perennial activist Susan Sarandon. Unfortunately the event is invitation only. Aisha Tyler will join Ashley Judd and Alan Cumming among others at a late night cocktail party at the Samba Room at 1460 Larimer on Monday night at 10 p.m. For tickets to that event email alicia.dupre@ppfa.org or call the Samba Room.

You might see Hispanic celebrities Rosario Dawson or Wilmer Valderrama (from That 70's Show) at a fundraiser for Voto Latino at 8 p.m. on Wednesday at 1082 Broadway. Rosario will also be present at the screening of The People Speak at the Green Room in the Starz Cinema Complex at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Scheduled to be joining her are Ben Affleck and Josh Brolin.

Another screening at the Starz Green Room featuring a scheduled celebrity will be held on Tuesday at 3 p.m. The celebrity scheduled is Charlize Theron and the film, chillingly enough for those who remember it, is Battle in Seattle, where the "Black Bloc" anarchists made their North American debut.

Demonstrators also have scheduled events, especially concerts. On Monday at 3 p.m. ReCreate '68 (I was actually there in 1968 and would not want to recreate it) is sponsoring a free concert at Civic Center Park. But the big draw sponsored by the demonstrators will be the Rage Against the Machine Concert at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at the City of Cuernavaca Park. Tickets are free but only available through a drawing held by Tent State University on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. The lottery was such a hot draw on Sunday that the cops credited it for keeping the peace in the area.

Politically Incorrect host Bill Maher will also host "Evolve America: An Evening of Sex, Politics, and Rock 'n Roll" between 8 and 11 p.m. at the Sherman Events Complex at 1770 Sherman Street. Free tickets for the event are available on Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Trojan Evolve Bus Tour stop at 1201 Auraria Parkway.

Don't be surprised if instead of trying to talk to a celebrity, a celebrity wants to talk to you. There will be numerous celebrities amongst the media covering the DNC including Comedy Central's The Daily Show's Jon Stewart, who will be broadcasting live from downtown. Hardball and every other cable channel and cable political program will be present including an up and coming media celebrity who is cutting his teeth at the DNC, Griff Jenkins of Fox News. The Denver Post and others have reported that Jenkins got into a bit of a dust-up with Ward Churchill, a fired University of Colorado professor, who became a household name in Denver and elsewhere when he called 9/11 victims "Little Eichmanns." Churchill was attending an "anti-war, anti-imperialism rally at the State Capitol on Sunday morning, featuring Cindy Sheehan, among others and demanding that the US withdraw, not only from Iraq, but also Afghanistan, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and mind-bogglingly North America.

That some of the demonstrators might be a bit out of the political mainstream might also be indicated by the SDS banner which features a picture of Muqtada Al Sadr. It made me want to rewrite the Beatle's Revolution song, but the line "But if you go carrying pictures of Muqtada Al Sadr you ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow," seemed longish.

Not all of the celebrities in Denver will be supporting Obama or McCain for that matter. Ralph Nader will be holding what his website calls a "super rally" on Wednesday the 27th at Magness Arena at 2199 S. University Blvd. in Denver. The website advertises that celebrities present (other than Mr. Nader himself) will include Sean Penn, Val Kilmer, Jello Biafra and Cindy Sheehan (who was running as a Democrat in opposition to Nancy Pelosi in her San Francisco district). Something tells me that that particular event might be the easiest one to get up close and personal with a celebrity.

Finally, if you can't get into any of the events that occur during the convention, you might be able to catch a celebrity at the post-convention parties that will be held all over town following Barack Obama's speech at Invesco field on Thursday night. The Church at 1160 Lincoln will be hosting something they call the DNC Closing Night Bash beginning at 9 p.m. which only costs $15 at the door. Also starting at 9 is DNC Underground at Below 1422 Larimer and the humor newspaper from Boulder, The Onion, will be hosting a party of music and comedy at La Rumba at 99 W. 9th Ave, RSVP only. To get an RSVP to this event email vip@theonion.com with "Onion DNC Party" in the subject line and your name in the body of the email.

One other tip on celebrity watching is to watch the Burnsley Hotel which is (was?) the preferred hangout for rockstar celebrities in town for a concert at Red Rocks or Fiddler's Green. However, since the terrorism scare involving a pound of cyanide and an unemployed Somali/Canadian Muslim, it is no longer a guarantee that you will see a celeb there. There will likely be a lot more limo traffic around the Brown Palace and other upscale hotels within short a short distance of the Pepsi Center.