Denver will ring in the new year with plenty of parties, shows and fireworks and, as usual, cold.
The city is in a cold snap with temperatures staying below freezing through the end of the year. But the free, 14th annual downtown fireworks show, at 9 p.m. and at midnight, won’t be affected by the weather.
Experts and are finalizing the coordination of the show with local music.
Eight DJs along the 16th Street Mall will help play the music that was produced by DJ Chonz.
Brea Olson, marketing and communications manager with the Downtown Denver Partnership which hosts the fireworks shows, said officials expect 100,000 partygoers to watch the displays, including locals and tourists from near and far.
“People are naturally drawn to downtown Denver,” Olson said. “The fireworks are just a really nice bonus.”
Denver’s new Union Station is hosting a free event counting down to the new year.
Two local DJs will battle for popular votes, and the winner will play late night into the new year.
For more child-friendly celebrations, the Children’s Museum will host its from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
The Denver Aquarium is hosting similar daytime celebrations this year.
The light displays at the Denver Botanic Gardens and at the Denver Zoo will be open New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and will wrap up for the year this weekend.
For those planning to go downtown Thursday night, National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Fredin said temperatures by midnight in Denver should be 10 to 13 degrees, but light winds might at times make the temperature feel closer to zero.
Light rail service near the 16th Street Mall will be affected from about 8 p.m. Thursday to about 1 a.m. Friday.
, but riders are encouraged to check schedules and plan ahead for lots of commuters.
New Year’s Day is a free day for parking on meters downtown, but not New Year’s Eve.
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372, yrobles@denverpost.com or @yeseniarobles
Downtown denver fireworks
Two identical shows, about 8 minutes long, are each planned at 9 p.m. and midnight
Best views are along the 16th Street Mall
