Advice for attending a Hillary rally?

October 22, 2016 4:09 AM

My main question is- if I take a day off work and go all the way up to NH on Monday, what are the chances that I'll actually get into the Clinton/Warren rally? If anyone has been to a Clinton rally recently, how early do I have to line up for a good chance at getting in? If I bring my 6 year old will it be a miserable experience for both of us?
posted by banjo_and_the_pork to Travel & Transportation (5 answers total)

It really depends on where the rally is being held and it looks like this one hasn't been announced yet. I would say yes it's worth and unlikely to be a miserable experience, but if you can hold until you know exactly what the venue is going to be that would be the safest bet. I'm actually en route to NH myself to meet up with friends who work for the campaign up there and do some canvassing. If I can acquire any shareable intel I'll pass it along!
posted by fancypants at 4:45 AM on October 22, 2016

I signed up to attend the rally where Michelle Obama gave that emotional speech about Trump's remarks.

I got there 3 hours before the rally, waited with at least several hundred other people, and then couldn't get in because of the hall's small size.

And I would do it again. Yes, you should absolutely go!
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 5:27 AM on October 22, 2016

A friend of mine tried to attend the Hillary/Bernie rally in New Hampshire a few weeks ago, got there several hours before the event, and waited in line those hours and didn't get in. I think getting there super-early is key to getting in. These events seem to bring in a lot of people, and they're not that great at organizing people to get tickets for it or anything, so it's first-come, first-served.
posted by xingcat at 5:36 AM on October 22, 2016

I attended Hillary's rally in Pueblo on 10/12 with my 8 and 11 year old. We got there about an hour and 15 minutes before they said doors would open, which was the recommendation in the HFA emails we got about the event, and there was already a line hundreds of people long. We waited in line for over 2 hours, but we did get in and had a spot on the floor where I had a great view to the podium and my kids were freaking out because all they could see was the back of other people, so we approached a staffer about going up on the sides where they were accommodating people with disabilities and providing chairs. We were allowed to go up to that section and the kids liked it better because they could see. They tolerated being in line pretty well because we were chatting with other people and bought some buttons and there were volunteers were going up and down the line offering us water since it wasn't permitted inside the venue. I was absolutely exhausted by the end of the day, but it was absolutely worth it.
posted by danielleh at 6:13 AM on October 22, 2016

In case anyone is looking for similar intel later, we arrived at 8:30 (doors were at 10:30, event is 12:30), and we got in! Now the six year old just has to be patient for another hour of waiting and however long of speeches. Worth it!
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 8:24 AM on October 24, 2016