Who's going to the Dem Convention in Houston on Juneteenth?

[liveoaktx]

I was just told by my local Dem chairman that he's going to get me a ticket to go. What exactly happens at the convention?

[jobycom]

1. Speeches

You hear speeches, you get to buy a lot of Democratic paraphanelia.

There are workshops and seminars you can attend to learn how to campaign, how to speak persuasively, how to start a grassroots campaign, etc.

And at the end,the go over all the resolutions that a committee has decided should be considered, and this is what creates the platform of the state party. They debate and vote from the floor on these, and you can introduce your own resolution if you want.

It's fun. Like any conventions, there are a lot of parties going on, there is a lot of networking, and you get to meet Dems from all over. And a lot of groups have caucuses where they decide their own issues. Stuff like that.

[Gman]

23. Technically...

the reports of the Platform and Resolutions committees are two different things. The Resolutions committees often gets issues the Platform committee would rather not handle and vice versa. I once sent a resolution to the Resolutions committee and got a note back saying it would be more appropriate to be sent to the Platform committee. The Platform committee sent me a note saying it would be more appropriate for Resolutions. Both committees considered it too hot to handle!

[sonias]

2. I'm going as a delegate

And I know there are many others from Austin that are DU members that are going as delegates as well. We have talked about putting together a DU caucus at the convention but I haven't heard anything lately on the board. We should work this out pretty soon.

See ya there.

Sonia

[NoPasaran]

3. I'm going

Another one of those Austin delegates.

[Jane Austin]

42. Me, too

Except I'm a delegate from Elgin, near Austin.

[PDittie]

4. I'll be there -- errr, here

I'm not a delegate, though.

I'll also be your tour guide and social activities coordinator.

What would y'all like to do? :D

[Richardo]

5. yo soy tambien! Not a delgate, but a gracious host...

[PDittie]

14. What other fun can we have?

Help me with some suggestions, Rich...

[sonias]

6. PDittie we leave it up to you

We trust you to come up with something fun. You know how wild and crazy we are, so anything goes. But let's keep out of any right wing hangouts unless we can overthrow them with our sheer numbers.

Sonia

[PDittie]

12. Here's a couple of suggestions:

Menil Collection -- eclectic art gallery and museum; traveling exhibits by Olafur Eliasson and Luisa Lambri during 6/18 and 19
link

Museum of Natural Science -- my favorite, includes the planetarium, IMAX, and the butterfly habitat; traveling exhibits during this time include "Macchu Picchu: Unraveling the Mystery of the Incas"
http://www.hmns.org/

Houston Astros vs. Chicago Cubs at Minute Maid Park, Thurs. 6/17 7:05 p.m.
Astros vs. Anaheim Angels, Fri. 6/18, 7:05 p.m. and Sat., 6/19, 6:05 p.m.

Lots of good (and not necessarily expensive) dining and clubbing in downtown...what kind of food does everyone like?

[efhmc]

7. Delegate here. It will be so lovely to be in a city again.

[GOPisEvil]

8. Heck...I may come down for funsies!

I'm not a delegate, as I am leaving the precinct I live in now. But, it might be fun to head down there for a few laughs.

[PDittie]

13. C'mon, brotha

It's gonna be a big pahty.

[fudge stripe cookays]

19. You GOTTA go, David.

I'll be there! I'm an alternate from Rockwall County. (We only have 1 delegate and 1 alternate out here- very few Dems; tiny county, tiny precinct).

It'll be a blast! Let's all order up our DU bumperstickers to stick to our shirts like we did in DC. That helped a LOT!

FSC

[Lisa0825]

9. I'll be there as a delegate (nt)

[ChickMagic]

10. I'll be there

I'm an alternate delegate, but I'm told that I'll move up to full delegate.

[derby378]

66. So how's things going down there?

I stayed behind to hold down the fort. I've got a resolution winding through the convention, though, so it'll be interesting to see if it passes...

[WolverineDG]

11. I'm going

as a delegate from Webb County & i'm also running for national delegate. :)

dg

[Brazosboomer]

15. Bring some money!

Fort Bend Democrats has rented a booth and they'll be selling Anti-DeLay tee-shirts, and you can get your official Richard Morrison tote bags and shirts from them.

[fudge stripe cookays]

20. Rockin!

I'm stocking up! Woohoo!!!

[PDittie]

16. Everybody look at my suggestions (post #12) and give feedback

Also, if you will tell me what kind of food you like, I'll suggest a few restaurants...

[fudge stripe cookays]

26. Hey P....

How far away is Taco Milagro from the main hotels and convention center? I've heard lots of good things about it.

And how far away is Montrose? I'm sure there must be some interesting dining ideas near there. I've heard Barnaby's is good. Or funky little shops?

I'd like to see the Rothko Chapel if I have time; I've heard it's really beautiful.

Here are some restaurants I just looked up that say they're relatively near the Convention Center. And since many of us are at that Hilton, let's check these out:

Cava Bistro
Saba Blue Water Cafe
Twisted Fork
Mia Bella Trattoria
Skyline Bar and Grill (think this is in the Hilton)
Birraporetti's
Hard Rock Cafe
Ibiza
The Fish
Farrago
Ninfa's

I was looking for pubs and the like, but didn't see any listed. Do the natives recommend any of these spots? Anyone? Anyone?

There's some input from me.
FSC

[PDittie]

30. Not a bad pick in the bunch, Cookie

T.M. is on Kirby just north of Westheimer, maybe 5 or 7 miles from downtown convention activities. You will have to drive through the Montrose to get there.

It's The Bomb, but there are options just as good within walking distance, such as:

Mia Bella, Saba, the Skyline (yes, in the Hilton), Birra's, H.R. and Ninfa's are the ones I like; the first three are upscale and the last three not quite so. All excellent; just depends on what kind of grub you wish to knosh on.

Houston's downtown has transformed itself into a Sixth Street-like atmosphere (mostly as a result of the Super Bowl last January). Lots of great restaurants and clubs line up along Main Street where the new Metro Rail comes by. One can hop along about twenty or thirty places within a few blocks.

Go to MSN City Guides if you want to look at the clubs. Live Sports Cafe, Slainté, and St. Pete's Marlin are casual (I've been to these); the hip, trendy, beautiful twenty-somethings line up at Pangea, Opus, and the Mercury Room (I have NOT been to these).

As a result of my post on the crawfish boil, it looks like we have a Saturday evening and a Sunday morning to organize...

[fudge stripe cookays]

31. Excellent!

Slainte sounds like it might be a good pick. Irish pubs are always worth a look. Besides...if they have shirts I'll have to pick one up for the old man. We have quite the collection of pub shirts at home.

Brunch sounds like a capital proposition. One can never have enough brunch. If there are equivalents to Breadwinners or the Dream Cafe (Dallas fixtures on my brunch schedule) in Houston, I will be one happy woman.

FSC =)

[VelmaD]

17. I'll be there as a delegate

There's been talk of the DU delegates getting together to caucus. We definitely need to have a party with the locals too. :)

[WolverineDG]

18. How are we going to spot each other?

should i put my DU name on my name badge or something? wear a skull & bones t shirt or develop a secret handshake? ;)

dg

[fudge stripe cookays]

25. Get a DU shirt or bumper sticker

and stick the bumper sticker on your shirt.

Once we know each other from hanging out, we'll be able to spot each other pretty easily during the proceedings.

[WolverineDG]

33. check w/richardo

he was very nice to put together a namebadge file. mine is downloaded & ready to wear!

of course, on friday, i will be wearing red, to show my opposition to the bush administration & support for the impeach bush movement. :)

dg

[PDittie]

21. kickin' it for more details

Since John Edwards is speaking Friday the 18th at 7 pm, only the night owls are gonna want to go out after that.

(And that's only if you don't re-assemble early the next morning.)

You delegates need to let us know what times you are going to have available to recreate.

Anyone staying over Saturday night the 19th, for example? That might be our best gathering night...

[fudge stripe cookays]

27. I'm staying over the 19th...

We're leaving Sunday sometime.

FSC

[PDittie]

29. Excellent! We'll do brunch or something

Lots of good choices for that.

[WolverineDG]

34. hi pdittie!

i'm staying over the 19th. :) i'm up for food, movies, not so much into the bar scene, but the pub sounds interesting, esp if they have an Irish sing-a-long that night. :party:

i would like to see "supersize me" if that's showing anywhere close by in houston. i might have time to kill on thursday; just depends on whether my brother is working or not that evening, and even tho he's a repub, family takes precedence. :)

dg

[PDittie]

36. Hey, Wolvie!

"Supersize Me" is on at the Angelika Theater, inside Bayou Place, which is on the west side of downtown (if you're staying on the east side of downtown, near the George R. Brown convention center, the Hilton Amerícas, or the Hyatt Regency, it's a long hike -- I recommend a cab).

It may still be here two weeks from now...

[KCDem]

51. It's also at the theater in Greenway Plaza

I work there (in greenway). If anyone wants to have a bite before the film, let me know--I'll meet you!

[VelmaD]

37. I'll likely stay over the 19th

I'm gonna have to do some glad-handing and whatnot during the convention itself and I'm still not sure whether or not I'm gonna get roped into helping in Katy Hubener's hospitality suite or not. But y'all figure out what you want to do and I'll do my best to be there.

PDittie you know Houston best. :) If you need any help organizing though just let me know.

[fudge stripe cookays]

38. Velma come do brunch wit' us!

It'll be a blast!

FSC

[VelmaD]

43. Where and when?

:)

[fudge stripe cookays]

44. Not sure yet.

Dittie's doin the legwork.

But we got some ideas!

Hey Dittie! We got a live one!

FSC

[PDittie]

46. That Darth Velma

...can be quite the rabble-rouser at brunch.

Nevertheless:

I'll bet there are a million good choices close enough to y'all who are staying downtown that we won't have to travel far, and maybe not even by car. I'll post two or three options later...

[PDittie]

49. Best of Sunday Brunch

Baba Yega's, in the Montrose:

link

Sambuca Jazz Cafe, downtown:

link

benjy's, in my part of town (Rice Village):

link

Buffalo Grill, West U:

link

Farrago, Midtown:

link

El Pueblito Place, Montrose:

link

The first two listed I haven't been to, but they get raves from others.

The last four are some of my very favorites.

It just depends on what food you want and what your budget is, so give a click and cast a vote.

[fudge stripe cookays]

50. I say....

Baba Yega's or El Pueblito both sound good!

FSC

[PDittie]

59. OK then, la comida Mexicana it is

El Pueblito Place, on Richmond, just south of the Montrose, is a short drive from the convention center downtown, where most of y'all (I presume) will be. Wonderful food -- think Curras, Austinites -- a large patio with shaded tables (but we still should probably sit inside) and frozen margaritas that are The Bomb. Let's get there about 11 am Sunday morning the twentieth...

[fudge stripe cookays]

60. Thanks Dittie-man!

I and my lovely friend Dot will be there!

FSC

[KCDem]

22. We can likely do something

Either meet up for activities, host a coupla outtatowners, or host a potluck or something. We're having a shindig the previous weekend... TXLib mentioned it in the Lounge... but I'm always happy to do something fun.

[thethinker]

24. I will be there

I will be at the convention as a delegate.

There is a reception Thursday evening at 7 p.m. Maybe DUers could get together after the reception, or during the reception. It will be at the Hyatt.

I would love to meet some of you people.

[PDittie]

28. Crawfish Boil w/Chris Bell and Rodney Ellis

"Congressman Chris Bell and Senator Rodney Ellis invite you to their..."

Bayou City Crawfish Boil

during the 2004 Texas Democratic Party Convention

Come by for some Mud Bugs, Brewskies and Zydeco
Friday, June 18, 2004
9:00 p.m. until midnight

Uptown Banquet Hall
1515 Dallas at LaBranch
(across from the Hilton Amerícas and GRBrown Convention Center)

RSVP: [e-mail] or call 713-978-7701

I just RSVP'd. Chris and Rodney happen to be my representation, and this party will undoubtedly be THE place to be after John Edwards' speech Friday night (7pm depending on how well we keep to it).

Get on board.

[sonias]

32. yahoo this does sound really cool

See ya there PDittie.

Sonia

[fudge stripe cookays]

35. Thanks for the heads up!

I just RSVP'd for me and my friend Dot, who will no doubt be accompanying me to most of the events over the weekend.

This should be a blast!
FSC

[ChickMagic]

45. Just RSVP'ed

That sounds like a blast. There's also a party on the 17th after the reception at the downtown aquarium given by Hon. John Sharp and Dr. David Alameel. To RSVP for that, email [e-mail] or call 713-978-7701.

[slutticus]

39. If anyone needs....

...a place to crash, I have 3 very nice sofas!

Just PM me and let me know.

Also, how does one go about getting a ticket?

[PDittie]

40. It's easy, slut

Click here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=180x1748

[slutticus]

41. Thanks! n/t

[sonias]

47. Another great party at the convention on Friday 6/18

Calling All Political Partiers:
State Representative & Speaker Pro Tem Sylvester Turner and
State Representative Helen Giddings
Invite you to the
Ultimate Democratic Party Party
With Special Guest
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee
Friday, June 18, 2004
Hilton Americas
Downtown Houston
1 0 PM to 2 AM
------------------------

Party with the party that knows how to party. We are going to be so busy trying to catch all of these things plus do some real convention work.

Sonia

[PDittie]

48. I'm glad I am not going to have to get up early

and go to caucuses on Saturday morning.

Got to go find those Sunday Brunch options...

[slutticus]

63. Is this one RSVP?

Sounds like it's going to be a great one!

[thethinker]

52. Some questions

Is there a cover charge to get into these parties? Do you have to be a delegate to go? I am a delegate but my friend is not one.

Sylvester Turner's?
Chris Bell's crawfish boil?
John Sharp's party at the aquarium?

Is anyone else going to the opening reception Thursday night? If so, is it a dress up affair? what do people wear?

Thanks to whom ever can answer these questions.

[merci_me]

53. What I know......

I've recieved invitations to the events put on by the three you mentioned, plus there's one the Young Dems are sponsoring Saturday night. We aren't delegates, but my husband is a precinct committeeman, so I'm not sure what the criteria is, though the Young Dems definitly seem to have a wide open event.

In the e-mails, neither John Sharp's nor Chris and Rodney's said anything about donations, though I imagine all will have some sort of container there to drop money in. We'll be attending both.

I deleted the one from Turner/Jackson-Lee without reading it, so don't know if money is involved. I' am not a fan of either of them and I'm not at all forgiving of Sheila's stabbing Chris Bell in the back, to Tom DeLay's utter delight.

The one the Young Dems are sponsoring will be Saturday night at the Live Sports Bar. It starts at 8pm and there's no cover before 10pm. It's a cash bar and free snacks. I recognize many e-mails on that site and they definitly are not all "young", so I don't know the makeup. If you're "old" like me, go before 10pm and do a look-see.

I don't know yet how this board works, so I'll post this and comeback with the website, where you can add yourself,if you haven't already been invited.

Here you go. When I got my invite yesterday, there were 288 invites listed and today there are over 500, so have at it.

http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=BFVJIMRTCYXVFGRXNELF&li=iq&src=email

[PDittie]

54. my invitations don't say anything about

charges, donations, or being a delegate.

Cash bar is usually in play; they'll have some finger food or in the case of the crawfish boil, they hand you a beer case box full of crawfish, little red taters, and spicy corn; more than enough for one person.

Most of the time these things aen't going to give you a good feed, and they want people to come, so they're not going to try to collect money from ya.

[ChickMagic]

55. Richardo!

Would you be so kind as to send me a DU name badge? I don't want to miss any of you guys!

[VelmaD]

56. oh oh oh...me too

:)

[Richardo]

58. Ginbarn and VelmaD - PM me your email addresses

and I'll send a name tag...

Will be looking for you here!

[PDittie]

57. John Sharp's Late Night Party Thursday night 6/17

co-sponsored by Dr. David Alameel, special guests Sylvia Garcia & El Franco Lee

10 pm to 12 pm, The Downtown Aquarium, 410 Bagby St.

RSVP Heidi Kirkpatrick, 713-978-7701 or email [e-mail]

The Ditties will be caucusing at the Hyatt Regency's lobby bar between 8 and 8:30 with any DUers and friends who wish to join us, prior to going to the Sharp soiré. The Aquarium is a seafood restaurant (owned by Tilman Fertitta) and as such will likely be serving food even at that late hour, for those worried about getting fed.

Get RSVP'd and get yourself to the pre-party also.

[VelmaD]

61. I am RSVPed...

and I'm ready to "caucus". :)

[merci_me]

62. Another event to add

This event is being held at the sametime as the Chris Bell/Rodney Ellis event, which is 9pm-midnight. Both are right across from the convention center, so you should beable to meet BOTH, Richard Morrison, the guy who is going to defeat DeLay and Chris Bell, the guy who filed an ethics violation against DeLay today.


The Harris County Democratic Lawyers Association
Invites You to a Party & Reception for
Richard Morrison
Congressional Candidate for U.S. House District 22
at the Hilton Americas Convention Center Hotel
1600 Lamar Street
Houston, Texas
From 9pm-10:30 pm
Friday, June 18th

Please join us for fun, food and fabulous political conversation. If you need more info contact Ms. Young @281-513-4968.
Room location will be listed in the hotel lobby on the night of the event.

[slutticus]

64. Ok....newbie question...

...What do us non-delegates have to do as far as registering and all that? Is there somewhere we should go on Friday or Saturday morning? And finally, what events are we allowed or not-allowed to attend?


Thanks!

[BlueCollar]

65. You can attend

just about everything...just won't be able to vote (if an issue comes to a vote)

Just show up and enjoy...