Thirteen N.C.-based event planners have won contracts to throw 12 parties welcoming 6,000 delegates to Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention on Sept. 2. Event planners have been waiting since early February, when they were first given the details on how to make a pitch for one of the parties, which will be used to welcome delegates when they arrive on the Sunday night before the convention. Up to 200 planners made pitches and only 12 were chosen - actually 13, because two companies teamed up for the big party at the Mint. That will allow the delegates to see more of the area, but it also lets the Host Committee spread the wealth a little, getting more event planners, caterers, florists, photographers and other party-makers a crack at business. All the planners picked were listed in the committee's vendor directory. Dan Murrey, the executive director of the host committee, said delegations were matched with spaces based on size, type of venue and historic alignments. The event sites include Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Carolina Raptor Center, Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, Discovery Place, Duke Mansion, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Historic Rosedale Plantation, Levine Museum of the New South, Mint Museum Uptown, NASCAR Hall of Fame, U.S. National Whitewater Center, and the Wadsworth Estate.