By Danielle Nottingham
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CBS NEWS) - Police are patrolling the streets and helicopters are hovering over Charlotte.
The city is getting ready for Tuesday - opening day of the Democratic National Convention.
More than 35-thousand people are expected in town. Organizers say security will be tight.
Charlotte resident, Carey Dice, says, "There seems to be a police officer on every block and every station."
Jennifer Thompson wasn't worried about bringing her sons downtown.
"He was--I wasn't so much. I guess I knew there were going to be plenty of cops and protection around," she says.
Police escorted hundreds of demonstrators - protesting big banks - through Charlotte's business district Sunday.
The city is using a 50-million dollar federal grant to help cover the cost of keeping order. That includes a 100-square block security zone around the convention hall.
President Obama is making his way to Charlotte through key swing states. On Sunday, he stopped at the University of Colorado.
Mitt Romney went to church in New Hampshire Sunday. His advisers say President Obama will have to account for the struggling economy.
Romney's campaign adviser, Eric Fehrnstrom, says, "I think next week in Charlotte, the President needs to explain why he didn't do what he said he was going to do."
The President says he`ll layout a plan for how to move the country forward when he accepts his party's nomination on Thursday.
