Among the most attention-grabbing parts of political party nominating conventions are the colossal balloon drops.

But for the delegates and candidates on the floor of the convention? It might be a different story.

“You see it on TV and it looks like a lot of fun,” said Patrick Donahue of Meadville, who has attended Democratic National Conventions dating back to 1980. “I was standing there when they dropped all those balloons, and you wouldn't want to be there if you were claustrophobic.”

Donahue is running again to be a delegate in the 16th Congressional District, which includes much of Butler County.

State Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, has run as an alternate delegate or gone with her sister each year she's attended the Republican National Convention.

“Being an alternate, you get to sit up in the stands and see all the sardines on the floor,” Mustello said.

For both Donahue and Mustello, the energy and excitement of being part of the political process without the burden of crafting or voting on legislation or holding the office was a driving force for them to go to their party's convention — and to do it again.

“Really, the last one, when Trump ran, in Cleveland, the energy in the room to get the right person elected, it's exciting,” Mustello said. “Listening to the speakers (who) come and tell their stories about why they joined the Republican Party, why they supported Donald Trump in 2016, it's a very exciting time.”Even before 2016, Mustello said, her experience at conventions past were enough to get her to go almost every four years. Mustello was an alternate delegate at the nominations of former President George W. Bush in 2000, John McCain in 2008, Mitt Romney in 2012 and President Donald Trump in 2016.In 2004, Mustello, who described the conventions as “the World Series, the Olympics and the Super Bowl wrapped up into one,” attended the convention where Bush was renominated alongside her sister, Michele Mustello, who was serving as a delegate.“You still get to go and still get to experience the convention for the four days that it's on,” she said.Donahue said much of the excitement occurs in the process itself — although, he said, his view might be influenced by the fact that his first convention was in 1980, when an incumbent president had a legitimate primary challenger.“It's interesting,” he said. “When we went in 1980, it was interesting because, if you remember, Jimmy Carter was president and Ted Kennedy ran against him.”He was part of the 1980 Carter campaign and not serving as a delegate. But the experience there has driven him to go to other conventions, both as a delegate and not.“Even when you're not a delegate, there's still passes available,” he said.And for Mustello, much of her reasoning for going has been to experience the different cities in which the conventions are held.“Each town you go to, each town has their own personality and you really get to see those cities you may not see otherwise. (The twin cities of) Minneapolis and St. Paul, you may not go there on your own,” she said. “It's exciting to go to the different cities and see what they have to offer.”

The excitement exists on both sides of the aisle, according to Colleen Cooke of North Hills. Cooke served as delegate in 2008 for Hillary Clinton, who would lose to former President Barack Obama.“It was so interesting and so inspiring and so much fun,” she said.The Democratic National Convention was in Denver, which included entertainment from star-studded singers. She said the entire experience though was unifying. “It was so emotional,” she said. “We knew we were making history. We knew we would have either an African-American presidential nominee or a woman presidential nominee.” Cooke said she will never forget sitting in Mile High Stadium as Obama accepted his nomination. As Jennifer Hudson began singing the national anthem, Cooke turned to those around her who also had tears streaming down their faces. “It was very meaningful for me in my life as a citizen of the United States,” she said.

One of the most prominent elements of campaigns is often the memorabilia.A Gibsonia resident, Steve Mihaly, who gave a presentation at the Butler County Historical Society in 2016, has amassed a collection of more than 20,000 campaign items, many of which were prominent at conventions. His collection physically traces back to James Monroe, the country's fifth president, and a campaign snuffbox that asked people to support The Monroe Doctrine.Mustello said the items at conventions tend to vary from the unremarkable to the bizarre. “There's quite a bit. Pins, especially,” she said. “You get the Donald Trump wigs, those kinds of things, Donald Trump face masks.”In 2008, conventioneers showed support for their candidates by adorning their feet (some Democrats sported Obama flip-flops)or had candidate's images dropped on their heads (GOP confetti had the photograph of candidate John McCain). Other memorabilia — even if gimmicky — is “fun,” Mustello said, such as the appearance of the animal that is the Republican Party's symbol, the elephant, in as many spots as possible. “It is fun, the hats, seeing all the elephant hats in the room,” she said.Eagle Staff Writer Nathan Bottiger contributed to this report.