“Everybody was so excited that we were willing to put in the extra practice time,” Vodscka said.
While not everyone was so lucky to score a ticket to the event, people found other ways of participating.
About 50 people lined the street outside of the convention center to show support for Kerry and possibly get a glimpse of their candidate.
“We’d just like to see him drive by,” said Chris Wohlers, a 15 year-old home-schooled student from Boston.
Many of the donors inside the event expressed similarly strong support for Kerry and uneasiness about Bush administration policies. Marshall Bradstreet, a local businessman, said this was the first time he had donated to a political campaign and that he felt a strong urge to do so.
“There is so much optimism with the Kerry campaign,” Bradstreet said. “I kept an open mind with the Bush administration, but I have been nothing but disappointed.”
Most of the volunteer staffers at the event were college students, including several from Harvard. But the volunteers declined comment, saying the night was about John Kerry.
—Staff writer Evan M. Vittor can be reached at evittor@fas.harvard.edu.