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Storm Ravages Denver Black Arts Festival

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Jul 11, 2009 8:04 pm US/Mountain

Storm Ravages Denver Black Arts Festival

Written by Andrea Lopez

Reporting
Andrea Lopez
DENVER (CBS4) ― The Denver Black Arts Festival wasn't just dampened by Friday night's incredible thunderstorm, it was nearly shut down for a day.

The storm came in after the festival had closed for the evening, after 8 p.m.

Vendors say by 11 p.m., tents were all over the place, as well as soaking wet merchandise.

Some vendors weren't able to come back to the festival Saturday because of the damage they sustained to their tents and items.

"It hit and it just kept going and going and going and going and it didn't stop," said Kenneth Thompson, an event volunteer. "After it stopped, after 45 minutes, we walked over to the vendors are and there were tents destroyed, merchandise wet, things floating in the water. It was amazing. I felt like it was a little Katrina."

There was concern that the festival wouldn't be able to open to the public on Saturday. The event began Friday and goes through Sunday at 8 p.m. But vendors worked throughout the night to clean up the mess and put their displays back together. Many had to dry out merchandise and buy new tents.

One organizer describes the scene as something you might see after a tornado hits -- some tents were left standing while others were crumpled up into balls and thrown across the park.

Aside from mud puddles covered by tarps, cardboard, and boards for event-goers, vendors are going about business as usual the day after this intense thunderstorm.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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