Protesters to levitate the Denver Mint

[Pat McCotter]

No Coin-Making, Tours At Mint During Convention
By P. Solomon Banda, AP Writer
Aug 9, 2008 4:38 pm US/Mountain

DENVER (AP) ? Protesters hope to levitate the Denver Mint with mental energy and then shake the money out during the Democratic National Convention, but the coin-making machines will be shut down for maintenance that week.

Mint spokesman Greg Hernandez in Washington said the plant will get its annual physical inventory and workers will perform maintenance on machines the week of Aug. 25-29.

The convention is Aug. 25-28. Last year's maintenance was performed July 23-27.

"Yes, it does coincide with the DNC being in town, but it was planned long before that," Hernandez said.

No tours will be offered that week and the gift shop will be closed, Hernandez said.

The advocacy group Recreate 68 plans to surround the Mint on Aug. 25 in an attempt to levitate the one-square-block building and "shake the money out of it for the people," the group said on its Web site.

The event is meant to commemorate an anti-Vietnam war protest in October 1967, when demonstrators sought to levitate the Pentagon in the hopes of ending the conflict.

Recreate 68 is encouraging demonstrators to bring noisemakers, energy, spells, magic costumes and "a sack to put all of your loot in."

Glenn Spagnuolo of Recreate 68 said it would take at least 1,000 people to ring the building.

"We'll just have to see if we shake it and anything falls out," he said.

The Mint is on Colfax Avenue, the designated route for protest marches, and is about two blocks from Civic Center park, the designated staging area for marches.

It can produce more than 50 million pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters each day.

[Jim Johnson]

I wonder if these guys practice shaking buildings before they go out into public and make fools of themselves.
I think they should get ten people around a chicken coup and see if they can shake out a few chickens first.
How about five people and a box of Milk Duds?