New Orleans to be theme of Demo's Big Bash in Denver

Convention party to focus on recovery

Friday, June 06, 2008

By Bruce Alpert

WASHINGTON -- New Orleans and its hurricane recovery efforts will get star billing at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Denver's 2008 Host Committee and Democratic National Committee announced Thursday that instead of the 24 separate parties for state delegations originally planned, they've decided on a single bash with a New Orleans theme. It will be held Aug. 24, one day before the four-day convention that will nominate Barack Obama for president begins.

"Nearly three years after Hurricane Katrina, we want the nation to know that rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf region is not just a local issue but a national one," DNC Chairman Howard Dean said.