DebateFest, DU’s free outdoor celebration of the presidential debates,  kicked off at 3 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon with students, alumni, guests and the press lining up to get into the festival. With three separate entrances, volunteers in red shirts made sure to check IDs and bags at the gates.

An estimated 5,000 people attended DebateFest, many of which were current students. Contrary to what was previously advertised, students with a valid Pioneer ID were allowed admission whether they were registered or not.

The festivities of the day included live performances from Denver bands, speeches from Governor John Hickenlooper, Denver mayor Michael Hancock and  Chancellor Robert Coombe, as well as hot dog eating contests, vendors, painters and a live broadcast of MSNBC talk shows.

Various leaders of DU and the community at large spoke about the history unfolding on the campus on stage.

“This is a historic moment for our university, for our city, and for our state… it fits perfectly with who we are, and this is how we show it,” said Coombe on the Carnegie lawn around 3:20 p.m. as students and guests were filing in.

Hancock and Hickenlooper also spoke to the crowd and urged DebateFest attendees to vote in the upcoming election.

“What is happening here today is the backbone of democracy, but it doesn’t make a worm’s worth of difference if we don’t get out and talk about it,” said Hickenlooper.

Hancock echoed the message later during the event.

“I understand Pioneers blaze trails; so blaze a trail to the election box,” said Hancock.

Throughout the rest of the day, hot dog eating contests ensued, as well as various Denver musicians and newscasters from local stations to entertain the masses.

After Hickenlooper’s brief speech, Mustard’s Last Stand hosted a hot dog eating contest; there were two teams and each member of the team needed to eat two Chicago style hot dogs in one minute. The winning team received 100 hot dogs donated to a charity of their choice.

“Another One Bites The Dust” played in the background while sophomores Mia Estenson, Mike Tsiolis, Maggie Cunningham and freshman Roy Harris competed and came out the winning team. The charity of their choice was the Delores Project, a shelter and services project for homeless women.

“It was the most disgusting thing I’ve done in my life,” said Harris.

Other attendees could grab a bite at more than 12 famous Denver food trucks.

Issues Alley, made up of 50 separate booths, was located outside near the Driscoll bridge and worked to inform guests about the issues to be discussed during the debate.

“It felt like everybody here has come by,” said Thai Trieu, marketing director for the So Cal region at USA Today. “People are excited; they want to know what we’re doing.”

Kimberly Robson, director of Affiliate & National Programs for NARAL Pro-Choice America, was also surprised by student attendance in Issues Alley.

“We’ve had a tremendous response; people are thanking us for being here,” said Robson. “It’s been extremely busy; we did not expect it to be this busy.”

Occupy DU was also present at DebateFest.

“What it means for us to be here is to add a lot of stuff to the conversation that’s not really talked about,” said third year graduate student Roshan Bliss. “We’re trying to get students’ attention.”

Unofficial mascot Boone appeared throughout the day, taking photos with students, posing for the media and proposing to the DU dance team all while sporting a white suit.

Denver artist Brian Olsen then took the stage to create a painting of President Obama and Governer Mitt Romney in front of a live audience to the tune of Led Zeppelin.

“We can have some fun when it comes to politics,” Olsen told the crowd before he began his painting, which was complete only eight minutes later to cheers from the audience.

“It’s kind of neat to have a world class event in my backyard,” said Olsen, who is a Colorado native and lives in Denver.

MSNBC had a live newscast set up in front of Mary Reed Hall, where crowds were gathered all day trying to be seen in the background while MSNBC had various pre-debate shows. At one point, Chris Matthews, host of “Hardball,” walked down near the crowd of about 150 to get their feedback.

Students and reporters alike were concerned that the debate would not cover important issues.

“I hope they cover women’s issues… taxes and healthcare also. I just want to see them actually make a change- so far it’s been all talk,” said DebateFest volunteer Sarah Fernandez, an undeclared freshman from Denver.

There was an alumni booth where former DU students could meet and greet. Richard Sandrock finished his graduate studies at DU last year in environmental management and policy.

“I’m looking forward to the debate; I’m an Obama supporter so I’m looking forward to seeing him beat up on Romney,” said Sandrock.

“I’m glad to see DU represented on a worldwide stage,” said alum Stefani Vital, class of ‘78.

Cindy Hyman, one of the volunteers at the alumni booth and assistant director of Alumni Career Programs, said she received a lot of feedback from both current and future alumni.

“What we’re hearing from alumni is that they’re incredibly proud of our university; one thing we’ve heard is if you’re not proud, you don’t have a pulse,” said Hyman. “I think we had 600 alums registered for DebateFest. We hope that we have more visibility after this. We’ve had so many students stop by.”

The debate itself sparked friendly but heated conversation and demonstration across DebateFest. “Fire Obama” and “Colorado for Obama” signs littered the crowds and stickers for various causes decorated the attendees.

“It’s cool to see a lot of people’s political views. Everyone seems to have very strong political views,” said Fernandez.

Around 5 p.m., Denver native Nathaniel Rateliff took the main stage and serenaded the crowd with folk and blues-inspired music. Just as the clouds rolled in, The Lumineers took the stage. One hour later and 30 degrees lower, DU students, alumni and guests spread blankets and chairs and prepared to watch the presidential debate on the jumbo screen.

Cheers erupted as Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney appeared on-stage and shook hands. Even though the temperature dropped from 61 to 54 degrees during the course of the debate, attendees were as vocal as ever and continued with loud applause and spirited comments throughout the debate.

First year graduate student Shannon Jackson from Atlanta, Ga. enjoyed the community of the evening.

“My favorite part of today was meeting people from school and being with people from the community,” said Jackson.

Freshman Benjamin Mills, a finance major from Golden was one of the many students at the event.

“The presidential debate, the Lumineers, all the activities… it’s just another reason to be proud to be a Pioneer,” said Mills.