The long-running Mile High 420 Festival comes to Civic Center Park with rappers Juicy J, Paul Wall, Mike Jones, That Mexican OT and Trap Dickey. Meanwhile, Red Rocks Amphitheatre’s signature 420 on the Rocks concert will be headlined by Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube, with support from Too Short, and Czarface. The latter is a supergroup featuring Inspectah Deck of the Wu-Tang Clan and hip-hop duo 7L & Esoteric.

How will fans decide which one to attend? Ticket price might be a factor.

Though Mile High 420 Fest was traditionally a free event for adults 21 and up, organizers began charging for tickets in 2025. This year, it costs $30 for general admission entry or $185 for VIP, which includes access to a reserved lounge, private full bar, the front of the stage and a swag bag of 420 gifts. (Tickets available at .)

420 on the Rocks is pricier, with tickets starting at $199. (Tickets available at .)

Given that 420 falls on a Monday this year, timing could also play into decisions.

Mile High 420 Fest is typically a day party with a plume of smoke emerging from the crowd during a communal celebration around 4:20 p.m. The 2026 schedule has not yet been released, though the website says Juicy J performs at 4:20 p.m. From a logistics standpoint, it����ap also unclear how the festival plans to work around construction currently underway at Civic Center Park. (The festival has not responded to inquiries from The Denver Post about what attendees can expect.)

By contrast, the 420 on the Rocks show starts at 7 p.m. (doors at 5:30 p.m.), making it a nightcap to the day. Come to think of it, that means locals could potentially hit both parties — if their stash lasts that long.

But with construction taking over most of the park this year, its biggest events will have to move, shrink or split into pieces. That’s due to the lack of regular space for beer tents, music stages, vendors and the public. The first phase, which includes reorienting the iconic Greek Theater on the south side of the park, is set to be completed by summer 2027.

“We are working with permit holders to continue to have limited activations in the park,” said Jenna Harris, downtown parks program manager for the city. “We’re doing our best to accommodate events as they come up, but it is a major, $50 million construction project. The more we delay it for big events that are about to happen around the perimeter, the harder it is to meet those milestones.”

The renovation project, which officials say will refresh Civic Center for another 100 years, includes glowing up the Greek Theater with a better stage and seating. “A new canopy arched over the stage will support contemporary theatrical equipment and provide shade and rain protection,” city officials wrote in a statement. “The design also improves accessibility and circulation through interconnected paths that better connect the park’s various outdoor spaces, including a new plaza commemorating the Gang of 19 protest and disability rights movement.”

The changes will close much of the park, including the Greek Theater, Central Promenade, and South Plaza of Civic Center, where big festivals often set up stages and vendors line the curving sidewalks. To continue at Civic Center this year, events must adapt.

Here’s what we know so far:

, which celebrates cannabis culture every year on April 20, is still scheduled to take place in Civic Center, according to city records. Event producers couldn’t be reached for comment, but general admission will cost $28.52 this year. Expect live entertainment and food vendors, although performers had not yet been announced at the time of this writing.

, May 2-3, draws about 400,000 total visitors each year. In 2026, the vibrant celebration of Mexican independence and culture will still take over parts of Civic Center, while shutting down Broadway just east of the park.

“The overall footprint is remaining almost the exact same, and we are reorganizing a few festival components that are impacted by construction,” said Austin Tafoya, special events manager for NEWSED Community Development Corp., which produces Cinco de Mayo. “Other than that, we will utilize the surrounding streets as we have in the years past.”

, the entertainment portion of Outside Magazine’s industry event in Denver, held its second successful gathering at Civic Center May 31-June 1 last year. This year, it’s moving to the Auraria Campus due to space constraints. Taking place May 29-31, producers changed the name from Outside Festival to Outside Days, added an extra day, and booked top live acts such as Death Cab for Cutie, My Morning Jacket and Cage the Elephant.

Denver PrideFest, which typically takes place in late June and draws more than 500,000 total visitors, rivals Cinco de Mayo in size and footprint. This year they’ll reimagine the event from the ground up, said organizers at the nonprofit LGBTQ organization The Center on Colfax, CEO Kim Salvaggio said.

The Denver Pride Parade will move to 17th Street on Sunday, June 28 (from East Colfax Avenue), while the Denver Pride Festival will be held the same day on 16th Street. The annual Denver Pride 5K will take place at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 27, starting at Cheesman Park Pavilion. A route is still being finalized, according to Salvaggio.

Independence Eve, a free, popular program that taps live orchestral music and a drone show to celebrate Independence Day, will not take place this year on July 3, said Eric Lazzari, executive director of the Civic Center Conservancy, which works with the city to program and maintain the park.

However, there will still be throughout the year, he said, such as the return of the food truck gathering Civic Center Eats, a Dia de Los Muertos celebration, and a local-vendor Night Market, among many others.

“We haven’t seen many public announcements yet about the bigger festivals, but we’ll have about 60 to 80 events over the course of the next year produced by Civic Center Conservancy and partners in the park, including some new events we’re working on.”

The long-running A Taste of Colorado festival, the food event that typically runs on Labor Day weekend, has not used Civic Center for a large-scale festival since 2022, so don’t expect that to jump to another large location. And by the time it’s fall, start looking for the wildly popular Christkindlmarket and Mile High Tree attraction to stay put at the Auraria Campus, where they moved for their 2025 event to make way for Civic Center’s November groundbreaking.

“The reality of an urban park in the 21st century is that it has to work for groups of 5,000 or 20,000,” Lazzari said. “On the other side of this construction, we’ll see a blend of what it’s traditionally been, but also how it is gathering people in smaller sizes for new events.”

hasn’t flashed a smile like that on the ice since, what, June 2022?

Just saying.

“I’ve been here a short while, and I think we’ve got what it takes (to win it all),” Kadri said Sunday after helping the Avalanche snatch a scrappy shootout win over the Minnesota Wild in Naz’s Denver return.

“Being around the guys and understanding their level of focus … they understand that we’ve got ourselves a great opportunity here. And when everyone’s on that same page … (During the) 2022 (Stanley Cup run), that’s exactly the feeling I had. So, I mean, there’s a lot of work to be done. Nobody’s going to give it to us. But we’re going to work for it.”

Speaking of work, it only took Kadri about a period-and-a-half to remind Avs fans exactly what they’d missed about him. The poking. The prodding. The pressing.

With 7:41 to go in the second stanza, the veteran Avs forward closed in and nagged Wild defenseman Brock Faber behind the Minnesota goal — intercepting Quinn Hughes’ drop pass for Faber in the process.

“I think we had some good pressure on the forecheck,” Kadri said. “Made a good read, picked off a pass and found Nate in the slot. He’s going to bury that.”

Whenever MacKinnon’s lurking nearby, it only takes a split second to turn a moment of chaos into utter genius.

Sure enough, Kadri spotted a charging Nate Dogg all alone in the right face-off circle, and fed the Avs center a laser from goalie Jesper Wallstedt’s blind spot. MacKinnon celebrated the gift by launching a wrister over the Wild netminder’s shoulder, putting the hosts on the board with a 1-0 lead.

Cue that smile. Oh, doctor. It was luminous. It’s the one MacKinnon saves for Cup clinchers, downtown victory parades, and reunions with his closest pals. Nate Dogg hugged Kadri. Avs fans hugged one another.

NHL? You’re

Lord Stanley? We’ve got a table

The helper was Naz’s first point with the Avs since his winning goal in overtime at Tampa to close out Game 4 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals.

Mike Penny actually saw that last one in the flesh. Sort of. The Avs diehard was part of a pack of about seven “KADRI 91” sweaters sitting shoulder to shoulder in Sections 128 and 130 Sunday.

“It was amazing,” Penny said of that Naz game-winner. “We were catty-corner from where the goal got scored. And we saw these four Avalanche fans just jumping up and down. And we’re like, ‘They must have scored! They must have scored!’

“So we started jumping up and down. And then next thing you know, the whole crowd erupts.”

“Even the Lightning fans?” I wondered.

“Well, not really,” Penny replied. “But all the Avs fans in the crowd.”

Can’t make this stuff up, kids.

“We knew Naz was coming back (today), right? So we all decided to keep our tickets,” Penny’s friend Marc Angel explained. “And we were all like, ‘Look, we are wearing the Naz (sweaters on Sunday).'”

Angel showed me a group text they’d put together after Avs GM Chris MacFarland landed Kadri from Calgary this past Friday. a coordinated effort to make sure everybody nabbed those old 91s out of the back of the closet. Like Colorado’s power play, it takes a village, sometimes.

“Ever year, (Penny) would get mad at me and tell me, ‘He’s coming back, he’s coming back, I know he’s coming back,'” Angel recalled. “This year, it actually happened.”

“Look, I kept the sweater,” Penny countered. “I don’t know what else you want!”

One more Cup?

One more summer cigar at Civic Center park?

“I’ve never been a (trade) deadline guy,” Kadri said. “But, you know, to come here and play in front of these fans and play with this team is exactly what I could have asked for.”

If Sunday was any indication, the love affair between Avs fans and Kadri burns as hot as ever.

Derek Huffman brought a 2019-2020 game-worn No. 91 with him from Thornton for Sunday’s homecoming. He’s got two more Naz sweaters back home.

“I call him, like, a Claude Lemieux. Like a hemorrhoid,” Huffman said. “The ones you want on your team. And hate when they’re not on your team.

“The guy just pokes and pokes and knows where to poke at.”

Huffman was on a Teams call in his home office around 2-ish this past Friday afternoon when news of the Kadri trade broke.

His daughter, working upstairs, let outt a cry.

“OH MY GOD!”

She went running down the steps and burst into Derek’s room. Huffman turned his mute on and his camera off. Why let a business call ruin a moment of absolute elation?

“We landed him,” she told Huffman. “Oh my God.”

“For what?” he queried.

Once they found out?

Oh. My. God.

“It’s the best thing in the world. I think (Kadri) might be the missing piece,” Huffman gushed. “When you add that back in there and the grit — you already saw it in the beginning of the game, just a grit, (his) back-checking. Getting his face in the middle of the net and everything else. Just being him.”

Naz skated with the top line and opened on the first power-play unit.  With 13:03 to go in the first period, the Avs ran a video tribute to Kadri’s first Denver stint, capped by a WELCOME HOME message on the scoreboard.

Kadri looked up, briefly, then wagged a gloved finger in appreciation. As the applause continued, his gaze turned back quickly to the ice.

“It’s almost like a ‘pinch-me’ type moment,” Kadri said later. “Like, ‘Wow, this is crazy. Hey, guys, can you settle down? I’ve got to focus here.’  But no, of course, I love the noise. I love the support. And these fans are special.”

You’ve heard of fans who can’t wait to drive a player to the airport, right? Avalanche faithful apparently tried to get Kadri from DIA back to Ball Arena quicker after his plane landed late Saturday night.

“You get spotted?” I asked Naz.

“Several times, yeah,” Kadri replied. “But they actually helped me out with my luggage.”

Denver fans with the assist. Naturally. Some legends write themselves. And some sequels are worth the wait.

The reimagined event introduces a new format and smaller footprint, cutting the main festivities down to a single day, according to nonprofit producer .

“At a time when LGBTQ+ rights are being challenged nationwide, Denver Pride 2026 stands firmly in both celebration and resistance,” The Center said in a statement. “Pride is where visibility becomes protection, joy becomes resistance, and community becomes strength — and this year, we are activating our entire city in service of that vision.”

Instead of focusing on one weekend mid-summer, as Denver Pride did June 28-29, 2025, producers are emphasizing all of June as Denver Pride (June is Pride month in general in North America and Europe), with citywide cultural events, nightlife, family programming, and community gatherings. Details are forthcoming.

The Denver Pride Parade will move to 17th Street on Sunday, June 28 (from East Colfax Avenue), while the Denver Pride Festival will be held the same day on 16th Street.

The annual Denver Pride 5K will take place at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 27. A route is still being finalized.

“With construction impacting some of our traditional gathering spaces, we’ve taken this moment to reimagine Pride in ways that ensure more people can see themselves reflected,” organizers wrote. “This year’s theme, ‘This Is Denver Pride,’ centers historically underrepresented communities — including BIPOC and trans community members, sober folks, families, and more.”

This year’s event is also closely tracking its sponsors to ensure their values align with The Center’s, the organization said. “We will not take money from companies who sponsor wars abroad or terrorizing our neighbors at home,” according to the statement.

The 2026 Pride celebration marks 52 years since activists met in Cheesman Park to create the first Denver Pride event, The Center said. Now it’s “one of the five largest Pride celebrations in the country — and the only one of our size produced by an LGBTQ+ community center.” Past events have drawn around 500,000 people to Civic Center.

This isn’t the first time Pride has had to adapt to a changed environment. During the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020, organizers moved the event fully online to comply with social distancing and health guidance.

This year, the in-person aspect is the focus. A calendar on , which launches at noon Monday, lets attendees make their own slate of events, with notable gatherings including “an all-abilities-welcome hike with the Mile High Queer Club and a joyful dog drag show at Skiptown,” The Center wrote.

Heck, yeah, Brock Nelson put family first this week.

And good for him. The Avalanche center’s got four young, adorable kids at home, Daddy’s spent the last three weeks in the Alps, grinding through Olympic mode. He deserves a day off to be with the people he loves.

Here’s what he doesn’t deserve: Becoming a political pawn that conveniently fits your worldview.

Nelson avoided President Donald Trump’s company on Tuesday, one of five members of USA Hockey’s gold-medal-winning men’s roster to do so. The Avs’ veteran forward took a pass on a visit to the White House and no-thanks to a seat during the State of the Union address. Social media reacted with its usual grace and thoughtful, nonpartisan restraint.

The Avs told The Post’s Corey Masisak that it was a family decision. Again: Three weeks abroad. Four young kids. Can’t we leave it at that? Shouldn’t we leave it at that?

“I would love to check out the White House. I think it’s an incredible honor,” Nelson told reporters early Wednesday evening. “Everyone who’s American, I think if you have that opportunity, it’s an incredible one. Kind of bummed that I missed it but for me, (it) just didn’t work out.”

Nelson’s got a family to feed. And a job to do. There’s nothing in the contract when you’ve got a Wednesday morning skate in Salt Lake City.

Buckle up, Captain America. Let’s freaking go. The Avs (37-9-9) open a compacted second half of the NHL slate late Wednesday in Utah, then host the Minnesota Wild the very next night. Colorado plays 10 games over the next 18 days. Six of those 10 are on the road.

The march to the Stanley Cup is officially underway. If Nelson wants to recharge his battery at home and not glad-hand with politicians in D.C., that’s his prerogative.

“It will present a little bit of a challenge for us, not having gone through some things as a team,” coach Jared Bednar said Tuesday before the team flew out to Utah. “I think we did everything we can do to get our guys that were here ready. And they looked really good again (Tuesday). And I think their attitudes are right. I think the guys coming from the Olympics are sharp and ready to go. They’ve just been playing some of the most intense hockey that they’ve ever played, so that we should be able to piece it together here for (Wednesday) night.”

The Avs are going for it, kids. As well they should. Colorado just flipped another piece of their ’21 Cup champs, defenseman Sam Girard ($5 million cap hit), for the bigger, cheaper Brett Kulak ($2.75 million). Tuesday’s Sammy G swap was the kind of trade that feels like the opening salvo of a series of Chris MacFarland moves that also address 3C (Kadri? O’Reilly? Coyle?); veteran depth; and bottom-six guys who can bang in the postseason.

“We like the team we have,” Bednar stressed. “I mean, any pieces that we can add just adds more depth, more options for the rigors that come ahead.”

Don’t focus on the politics. Focus on logistics. who did visit the White House Tuesday, only four — Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck, Utah’s Clayton Keller and Vegas’ Jack Eichel and Noah Hanfin — had games scheduled on Wednesday in either the Mountain or Pacific time zones.

Hellebuyck stuck around to the bitter end for his Presidential Medal of Freedom announcement, which was more than understandable. Keller reportedly skipped the State of the Union to head west for Avs-Mammoth. Eichel and Noah Hanifin, who stayed in Washington throughout, won’t play in Vegas’ Wednesday evening tilt in Vancouver.

Nelson, meanwhile, remains as ‘Merican as Chevrolet and apple pie, as long as the former’s got snow tires and the latter’s served cold.

The Avs forward hails from the tiny northern Minnesota town of Warroad, about 8 miles south of the Canadian border. He’s part of one of the coolest Olympic legacies in American hockey, too, a third-generation gold-medal winner. His grandfather, Bill Christian, won gold with the Stars & Stripes in 1960, scoring two goals in America’s first-ever victory over the Soviets. Nelson always believed in Miracles, because he grew up hearing about one of the biggest — his uncle, Dave Christian, was a defenseman for Team USA’s golden 1980 men’s hockey team.

Big Brock already gave at the office. And gave plenty. Nelson’s two goals at the Olympics were tied for third on Team USA, and he finished the tourney with three points and a plus-1 rating over six games and 81 minutes of ice time.

Remember early December? When Denver dreamed of three championship parades in 2026? Yeah, well, Nikola Jokic got hurt. Christian Braun got hurt. Peyton Watson got hurt. Aaron Gordon got re-hurt. Sean Payton was too proud, too stubborn, to kick a short field goal and go up 10-0 with a Super Bowl on the line.

Fast forward two months, and the Avs are the best hope the Front Range has of partying with a trophy at Civic Center Park. When Nelson goes to the White House, it’ll be with Lord Stanley in tow.

But to get there, Bednar needs eyes clear, hearts full and legs fresh. Veteran legs, especially. Nelson’s 34 with hair that looks 15 years older, a silver fox who’s having one of the best seasons (49 points in 55 games) of an excellent NHL career.

He’s also running out of shots to win a ring before he hangs up the skates. If you’re not putting your family and the Avs ahead of a photo op in D.C., you’re doing it wrong.

Denver City Councilman Chris Hinds is frustrated with the city’s $1.5 million council chambers renovation project, which is making mobility and access improvements for people with disabilities.

That����ap because, despite Hinds being Denver’s first-ever council member to use a wheelchair, he says he wasn’t included enough in the planning for the project.

“Accessibility is strongest when lived experience is included from the start,” he said. “This could be a chance not just to meet the minimum, but to lead by embracing the disability community’s call of ‘nothing about us without us.’ ”

The renovation project will update the entire chamber, from the council members’ desks to the public seating area, making it compliant with requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Construction crews are in the process of replacing the desks, eliminating steps, creating more wheelchair-accessible seating for the public and widening walkways.

According to Hinds, while some of those changes will bring the council chambers up to the requirements laid out under the ADA, those are only a bare-minimum standard. Even the renovated room may still present challenges for people with mobility disabilities, he said.

One example: The new ramps that are being installed will have only the minimum required width to accommodate a wheelchair, Hinds said. In Hinds’ power wheelchair, he will be limited in how fast he can move through those spaces. That might be a problem if he needs to leave the room quickly in an emergency, he said.

A spokesman for the City Council office responded to questions about the process by saying that the changes were for more people than just Hinds.

“He was the advocate for why we needed this change, but this is being done for anyone in our community who has accessibility issues,” spokesman Robert Austin said.

Council President Amanda Sandoval spoke to The Denver Post after this story was published. She said that after she was elected to a leadership position in 2024, she presented updates on the project to the full council twice. She also said she met with Hinds individually in November 2024 to review the design and ask for his input.

“Accessibility is not an afterthought. It is a foundational value of this council and of my presidency,” she said.

But Hinds said Tuesday that by the time he was asked about his input, the design was mostly set. The city had been working to develop the project since 2021. Sandoval didn’t identify any changes to the design that came from the individual meeting with Hinds.

The city’s , which is under , helped in the planning for the project, Austin said.

Jaime Lewis, a disability rights advocate with the , said it was disrespectful for the city to proceed with plans without consulting Hinds.

“We have to be at the table at the beginning,” he said. “Once the cement is dry, it����ap kind of hard to tear it up.”

What is changing

The city began the renovation back in December, and the work is scheduled to be completed at the end of June. In the meantime, the council is using the Parr-Widener Community Room on another floor of the Denver City and County Building for its meetings.

Because that space on the third floor is much smaller, officials are asking members of the public to or on Channel 8, and to make public comments online when possible.

The project will make several changes to the chamber, including:

• Eliminating a step up to the president����ap desk on the dais so that someone in a wheelchair could preside over meetings.
• Moving all council desks slightly forward so that there is enough space behind the dais for a wheelchair to move freely.
• Replacing the original desks with one long desk.
• Orienting the placement of the council members’ positions to be in a crescent moon shape so that members can all see one another.
• Making some of the public seating wheelchair accessible.
• Widening the aisles between the public seating areas.
• Altering the lectern where staff members present and public commenters speak so that it can shift up and down for speakers’ needs.
• Two new doors by the council desk to add separate exits for council members

The project will be paid for using the city’s capital improvements fund.

Removing historic desks

City officials are in the unusual position of trying to decide what to do with the set of historic council desks that will no longer be used.

Most of the desks have been with the building since it first opened in 1932. The city had only nine of them then because it had fewer council members, said Councilman Kevin Flynn, a former journalist who’s an unofficial historian for the city. The other desks were added in the 1970s, when the council expanded to 13 members.

“They are so beautiful,” he said about the desks. “A lot of the story of Denver is behind those desks. Good, bad and ugly.”

Each desk has an ornate carving of an inlaid diamond on the front. The backs have a large top drawer and three side drawers. Flynn said he liked to keep candy in his desk.

Last week, the council to the not-yet-existent Museum of Denver.

Council members Shontel Lewis, Darrell Watson and Diana Romero-Campbell took three of the desks to their district offices. That leaves the remaining four without a home, though the city may auction them off to the public, Flynn said.

First in new museum’s collection

The six desks that the city is donating to the also don’t have a home quite yet because the museum doesn’t officially have a space.

The nonprofit organization that is seeking to create the city museum applied in January to use the second floor of the McNichols Civic Center Building in Civic Center.

While the city confirms it does want to have a museum in the 8,500-square-foot space, it hasn’t decided who will operate it. Officials plan to make an announcement about the space in March, a city spokesperson said.

“The intent for the museum is that it showcases the history and culture of Denver. We’re hoping for a partner that provides a uniquely Denver experience — inviting downtown residents and visitors alike to learn and enjoy something new from their visit to Civic Center Park,” said Jen Morris, the chief of staff for Denver Arts & Venues.

The desks are the first artifacts that the museum will possess, said Kendra Black, a former councilwoman who is the chair of the nonprofit����ap board. Black said that once the nonprofit is more established and has a space, it will work on obtaining or borrowing more items to display.

“We will likely use (the desks) for when you come and check in and to display other things,” she said.

The group estimates it will need to raise at least $1 million in donations to open its doors.

Denver Arts & Venues, the department that oversees Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the Denver Performing Arts Complex, the Colorado Convention Center and other major spaces, is looking for an experienced restaurateur to lease the first floor of the historic McNichols Civic Center Building in Civic Center. The winning bidder would also run an adjacent outdoor patio.

It would be the first time the building — which has had many uses over its 116 years, including a library, an art gallery and a festival space — housed a full-service restaurant, according to a request for proposals (RFP) from the city.

“This project, part of a broader effort to activate Civic Center Park, presents a rare opportunity for a restaurateur to become a cornerstone of a significant high-profile revitalization effort in Denver,” said Jen Morris, chief of staff at Denver Arts & Venues, in a written statement. “Bringing this amenity to Downtown Denver’s front lawn will create a welcoming destination for residents and visitors alike for years to come.”

The city broke ground on the $50 million first phase of a planned renovation of the park in November. The goal of this phase will be to improve accessibility and to overhaul the outdoor Greek Theater on site. Construction is scheduled to wrap up in the summer or fall of 2027, which is when the restaurant would open as well.

To prepare the space, the city will pay to install “a full-service kitchen, bar, interior dining area and a new exterior patio,” according to the RFP. Proposals are due by March 27 and .

Opened in 1910 as the Carnegie Library, the building was renovated in 2012 and is named for former Denver Mayor Bill McNichols and his brother, former Governor Stephen McNichols. In addition to a restaurant, it will house a museum and an arts marketplace, the city said.

Christmas Day in a national park

The High season for visiting national parks is typically the summer. But if you’re ever close enough to Colorado’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in the winter, it’s well worth a visit. I live nearby, so a trek up to the canyon has been an annual Christmas Day outing for my family for four years running.

Each Dec. 25, after opening presents and eating breakfast, my husband and I, my in-laws and our dogs pile into the car and head out for a casual, snowy hike. Because most of the South Rim Road is closed during the winter, we typically park at the first overlook point, called Tomichi Overlook, and walk from there to the visitors center, enjoying the majestically steep canyon walls dusted with snow along the way. Once we reach the visitors center, we usually take the slick and icy walkway down to the overlook (Yaktrax are a must) and snap some family photos. The view may not change, but this tradition never gets old. — Tiney Ricciardi

Starry, starry Mile High Tree

It’s easy to drive through downtown Denver and marvel at the . The 110-foot-tall icon has risen each holiday season since 2019, with 60,000 undulating LED lights, set to various holiday tunes. It stood in Civic Center park before moving this year to Auraria’s Tivoli Quad. You almost have to go out of your way to miss it.

If you’re willing to stop and visit, it’s even more memorable. Crowds pouring into and out of the annual Christkindlmarket have made it a popular destination, given its proximity (and friendliness to group selfies). You can shuffle through the conical tower, or lie down on your back in the fake grass inside its 39-foot diameter footprint to gaze up at the spiraling spectacle.

My family and I are among the dozens doing just that at any one time, having made it a low-key tradition a few years back. My stepmother had been visiting from Ohio, and we instantly looked at each other when we heard George Winston’s gentle piano song “Thanksgiving,” from his 1982 album “December,” sneak into the playlist between familiar holiday melodies. It was one of my dad’s favorite songs, and one he used to usher in the season each year on his turntable at home.

He had died suddenly a few years before, about a month after my son (his namesake) was born, and my stepmom and I immediately felt his presence there.

Corny? Maybe, but aren’t moments like that what the holidays are all about? The Mile High Tree traces connections between people, but also between the city and its residents, who gather shoulder-to-shoulder to take a moment and silently open their eyes and smile. Deride its design as garish or ultra-modern, but for my kids and thousands of others, it adds a glowing lift to our outdoor gift-buying and Christmas-light sightseeing.

Visit and explore it for free through Dec.31. (You and 350,000 others, that is). — John Wenzel

Riding the bus across Colorado’s Eastern plains

My childhood Christmas tradition was riding — unaccompanied — on a packed Continental Trailways bus round-trip across the often snowy and icy Eastern Plains of Colorado. My parents divorced when I was 10, and Dad stayed in our small town in Kansas while Mom moved to Aurora to be near my grandparents.

The divorce meant I got two Christmases every year, but it also meant a long ride with frequent stops (Campo, Springfield, Lamar, Eads, Kit Carson, Hugo and Limon), making a six-hour trip turn into a 10-hour-plus haul. The trip to Aurora was always exciting; I was on the edge of my seat, filled with anticipation to see the parent I had been missing and to open more presents. The second part was more melancholy, knowing I wouldn’t see that parent again for months, when I would board the bus for summer break.

The bus was usually stocked with other children of divorce, recently released prisoners, and down-on-their-luck folks trying to make their way home. More than once, we were stopped by police looking for someone. The bus drivers usually knew me and kept an eye out for me. No passengers hassled me, but I was offered liquor and cigarettes on a few occasions. I sat next to lonely people who would talk to me the whole trip. One time, a tired mother handed me her baby so she could sleep. I spent the few dollars I had been given to buy food from the vending machines at the Lamar stop to share with people who had nothing.

Looking back, I’m grateful I learned to be independent and empathetic on those trips. There were a lot of people going through tougher times than I was. But I was always excited to step down from that bus into the arms of a loving parent who was happy to see me. That was the best part of my Christmas. — TJ Hutchinson

A winter sangria

A former colleague liked to fix a batch of sangria and then just kept adding wine to the fruit in the pitcher as it got empty. When the holidays arrive, we change it up in favor of a more wintry mixture like this one from Bobby Flay. It’s easy: Just boil 1 cup of sugar and a cup of water with two cinnamon sticks until the sugar dissolves. Cool to room temperature. Add a cup of cranberries and let that sit in the fridge for  2-24 hours. Strain and add 2 bottles of fruity red wine, 1/2 cup of orange-flavored liqueur. Add a thinly sliced apple, pear, orange and tangerine. Refrigerate for at least four hours and serve. — Lee Ann Colacioppo

Reading and snuggling

My husband, Jay, learned of an Icelandic tradition where people give each other books on Christmas Eve. They call it Jolabokaflod, or “flood of books.” We love to read, so we adopted this one during the pandemic. What better night to snuggle on the couch with a new book, hot tea and cookies? — Noelle Phillips

Strike up the sounds

There’s no better time to pull out an acoustic guitar and pass around some shakers and percussion instruments than after dinner on Christmas Eve. (Or any winter holiday, for that matter.) “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” and “Feliz Navidad” have kept my family occupied for years, whether we’re singing, banging on a tambourine or plinking keys on a piano. And if you’ve ever been to a posada, in which Hispanic families re-enact the nativity story, you know Christmas singalongs are as inevitable as the make-your-own pozole station. — Miguel Otarola

Make your own traditions

When you live a couple of states away from close family, the holidays, with memories of shared yearly traditions, can leave you feeling kind of adrift. So you start making your own traditions.

My husband and I started one on a whim. One Christmas Eve several years ago, we decided to drive downtown to take pictures of Denver’s City and County Building all decked out in lights. Dave wanted to try out a new lens, but I wasn’t too excited. I thought the whole display was a bit over the top.

Now I think it����ap magical. It gets better every year. You see all kinds of people — kids in coats over pajamas, families taking selfies, vendors selling lighted whirligigs. The addition of the 110-foot-tall Mile High Tree with more than 60,000 lights and the Christkindlmarket have turned Civic Center into a holiday town square, a community gathering place. A visit there has become an annual family tradition. — Judith Kohler

Watching all the Christmas flicks

My holiday traditions do not include favorite recipes, rides to see displays or drinking cider. Movies make up some of my favorite memories, and when my family wasn’t watching sports, it was the flicks for us. These are my favorite Christmas-themed movies (with a few screwballs thrown in):

“Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journal” (2020): There are not enough words to describe this Netflix holiday film: whimsical, steampunk, classic and more. Forest Whitaker stars as Jeronicus Jangle, whose brilliance as a toymaker is dulled when his apprentice betrays him. His granddaughter Journey enters his life decades later, and Jeronicus is in the shadow of his now-rival. Although it has many tropes seen in holiday movies, “Jingle Jangle” has stunning costumes and set designs and original music to keep viewers bopping.

“A Christmas Story” (1983): You’ve watched the marathon on TV between the football and basketball games or while preparing dinner. For years, when I worked the holiday shift in past newsrooms, I made my co-workers watch with me and annoy them by quoting the comedy classic and offering witty commentary like it was “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” I’d like to point out that I had similar gift-wrapping paper featured in the Christmas morning scene and that I didn’t finish it until 2001.

“A Diva’s Christmas Carol” (2000): Every Christmas, there are three guarantees: a new version of “A Christmas Carol,” a new layer of schmaltz and a ridiculous song. This offering debuted on VH-1 25 years ago, and I remember watching it repeatedly. Vanessa Williams is Ebony Scrooge, an R&B diva who has lost her holiday spirit. It follows the old Charles Dickens formula but for a “modern” audience. One word, “Heartquake.”

“Enter the Dragon” (1973): In my house growing up, watching the Bruce Lee actioner on Christmas morning was a family tradition. It����ap my father’s favorite film, and we would make a trek to the video store to rent a copy. He was stubborn and didn’t want his own copy. Having time to watch the martial arts film was enough. Once, he mixed things up with “The Matrix.”

“Die Hard” (1988): Let����ap settle the debate once and for all: “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie. It����ap about a cop (Bruce Willis) who wants to fix his fractured marriage while his wife attends a holiday party. It����ap all about overcoming corporate greed and wealth and thugs with iced-over hearts. Doesn’t this sound like “A Christmas Carol?”

Honorable mention: “It����ap a Wonderful Life” (1946), “The Holdovers” (2023), “The Best Man Holiday” (2013), “Feast of the Seven Fishes” (2019), “A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noël)” (2008) — Tamara Dunn

Making Apple Cider Caramels (recipe)

There’s a chapter in Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” where Violet Beauregarde steals a piece of gum from Willy Wonka’s factory that transforms into an entire meal as she chews it, overwhelming her taste buds with a feast of flavors … before turning her into a giant blueberry.

That����ap the best comparison to the experience of eating these apple cider caramels – like a slice of buttery, cinnamon-laden apple pie was concentrated into one small bite, but without the Wonka-esque consequences.

I first made this recipe by Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen for family Christmas gifts about 10 years ago, and now get requests to make them every holiday season. The hardest part is not having to work with hot sugar, but cutting and wrapping the individual caramels in slips of parchment paper — especially if, like me, you end up quadrupling the recipe.

The second hardest part is deciding whether or not to keep them all to yourself once you realize how addictive these little squares of sweet-tart-salty goodness are. — Katie Langford

Source: “The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook,” by Deb Perelman (Knopf), edited for length.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups apple cider (Colorado-grown ciders like Talbott����ap or Big B’s are ideal)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, or less of a finer one

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream

Neutral oil for the knife

DIRECTIONS

Boil the apple cider in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan over high heat until it is reduced to a dark, thick syrup, between 1/3 and 1/2 cup in volume, about 35 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch, straight-sided square metal baking pan with two long sheets of crisscrossed parchment and set aside. Stir the cinnamon and flaky salt together in a small dish.

3. Remove the reduced cider from the heat and stir in the butter, both sugars and heavy cream. Return the pot to medium-high heat with a candy thermometer attached to the side, and let it boil until the thermometer reads 252 degrees, only about 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on it. (Don’t have a candy or deep-fry thermometer? Have a bowl of very cold water ready, and cook the caramel until a tiny spoonful dropped into the water becomes firm, chewy, and able to be plied into a ball.)

4. Immediately remove caramel from heat, add the cinnamon-salt mixture, and give the caramel several stirs to distribute it evenly. Pour caramel into the prepared pan. Let it sit until cool and firm — about 2 hours, though it goes faster in the fridge.

5. Once caramel is firm, use your parchment paper sling to transfer the block to a cutting board. Use a well-oiled knife, oiling it after each cut, to cut the caramel into 1-by-1-inch squares. Wrap each one in a 4-inch square of waxed or parchment paper, twisting the sides to close. Caramels will be somewhat on the soft side at room temperature, and chewy/firm from the fridge.

Yukon Gold Cinnamon Rolls (recipe)

My family has lived in Texas for 30 years, but my parents were born and raised in the Ohio hills. Our Christmas morning tradition reflects that clash of culture: tamales from Texas’ favorite grocer, H-E-B, and my dad’s beloved potato-based cinnamon rolls. The rolls take more than a day (and a pound of potatoes) but the effort is always worth it. Now that we’re all of drinking age, mimosas often accompany the mishmash meal. Or, if you’re my mom, just champagne. — Elise Schmelzer

Source: Greg Atkinson, Bon Appétit magazine.

Mashed creamy Yukon Gold potatoes keep this take on classic cinnamon rolls extra moist.

Makes 12 rolls.

INGREDIENTS

For the dough:

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

3 large eggs

4 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)

3 1/4-ounce envelopes active dry yeast (scant 2 tablespoons)

Elise Schmelzer’s version of her dad’s cinnamon rolls from Christmas 2023. (Provided by Elise Schmelzer)2 tablespoons sugar

For the filling:

1 1/3 cups (packed) golden brown sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temperature

For the glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons (or more) whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

DIRECTIONS

For the dough:

Combine potatoes, 2 cups water, and 1 tablespoon coarse salt in a large saucepan. Boil until potatoes are very tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Mash potatoes with water in a pan (do not drain water). Add butter and mash until butter is melted. Whisk in eggs, then 1 cup flour; mash until very smooth. Let potatoes stand until barely lukewarm, about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, pour 1/2 cup warm water into a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; stir in yeast and sugar. Let it stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add potato mixture to yeast mixture; mix on low speed until well blended, 2 minutes. Mix in 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well. Beat until sticky dough forms.

3. Spread 1/2 cup flour on the work surface. Scrape dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 8 minutes.

4. Coat large bowl with butter. Transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make filling:

5. Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour in medium bowl. Using fork, mix in butter.

6. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Turn dough out onto well-floured work surface. Roll out dough to 24×16-inch rectangle. Sprinkle filling evenly over dough. Starting at 1 long side, roll up dough jelly-roll style, enclosing filling. Using large knife dipped in flour, cut roll crosswise into 12 pieces. Transfer rolls to baking sheet, spacing rolls about 3/4 inch apart. Cover baking sheet loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 20 minutes (rolls will be very puffy).

7. Bake cinnamon rolls until golden, about 20 minutes. Cool rolls 10 minutes on baking sheet.

Meanwhile, make glaze:

8. Whisk powdered sugar, melted butter, 2 tablespoons milk, vanilla, and coarse salt in small bowl. If glaze is too thick to spread, add more milk by 1/2 teaspoonfuls as needed. Spread glaze over warm rolls.

That’s the latest from social-networking company Nextdoor and its familiar smartphone app, which residents typically use to swap unwanted items, find lost dogs and stay up to date on local news.

Its put Green Valley Ranch — which was and contains about 45,000 residents — ahead of the No. 2. Wash Park West. Green Valley Ranch’s neighbor to the west, Montbello, took the No. 3 spot.

Rounding out the Top 5 are Congress Park (No. 4) and Central Park, formerly known as Stapleton (No. 5; see the full list below).

The rankings are not a matter of reputation, but rather the way neighbors relate through the app, Nextdoor said in a statement. Its study analyzed community engagement to rank local areas by friendliness, affordability, and overall quality of life.

“What makes this different from typical ‘best neighborhoods’ lists is that our rankings aren’t based on opinions or surveys,” the company said. “They come from actual neighbor interactions on Nextdoor — how people help each other out, welcome newcomers, share resources, and support local businesses. It’s real behavior, not just perception.”

That should help some Denverites make sense of the rankings, which would seem to fly in the face of lists from other apps, news media, and regional magazines that usually place such as Tennyson/Berkeley, Platt Park, Hilltop, Wellshire and Cherry Creek on the top of the heap.

This study’s No. 1 Green Valley Ranch and No. 3 Montbello have been cited at times over the last decade for their violent crime rates, which place them among the highest-crime areas in the City and County of Denver, according to and its .

However, the highest density for crime rates per neighborhood is located in and around downtown Denver, including Civic Center park, Union Station (considered its own area in rankings), Capitol Hill, Northeast Park Hill and the Five Points neighborhood, according to the data.

In addition, crime rates in Green Valley Ranch and Montbello have dropped in 2025 as compared with 2024, according to DPD statistics, and Denver overall is seeing a six-year low in the number of homicides and shootings — a roughly 60% decrease from 2021’s peak of pandemic-era violence. University of Colorado’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence has also since 2011 led youth violence prevention efforts in Montbello, Green Valley Ranch and Park Hill.

Green Valley Ranch deserves to be No. 1 in friendliness and affordability not because of raw statistics or reputation, but because its community is thriving and diverse, based on Nextdoor’s neighborhood-interaction metrics, the company said.

The full Top 20 list is below.

Denver’s friendliest neighborhoods, as ranked by Nextdoor

1. Green Valley Ranch
2. Wash Park West
3. Montbello
4. Congress Park
5. Central Park
6. East Colfax
7. University Hills
8. Platt Park
9. Sherrelwood
10. Marston
11. South Park Hill
12. West Highland
13. Sunnyside
14. Cheesman Park
15. University Neighbors
16. Washington Park East
17. Westwood
18. Fort Logan
19. Harvey Park
20. Sloans/Highlands

But as one of those vendors, Bob Stephens couldn’t help but wonder about another thing: if Christkindlmarket moved to Civic Center park, could it still pack out the festival with holiday shoppers, even if previous crowds remained loyal?

“We just outgrew that Skyline footprint, but I wasn’t too thrilled about Civic Center,” said Stephens, who has sold aromatic cinnamon-spiked roasted nuts at the European-style holiday market for 14 years. “A lot of times when you have an established event like that, the last thing you want to do is move it.”

But Stephens, who also sells nuts at farmers markets year-round, last year counted his best-ever sales at Christkindlmarket, and he couldn’t be happier about how things turned out. “We outgrew Skyline Park at the perfect time, in 2020, when people needed more space, and Civic Center was this beautiful setting,” he said.

In fact, the event, which mimics similarly festive markets all over Europe, continues to grow and grow. Between the snaking lines for schnitzel and gluwhein and 40 or so other vendors in wooden huts, Christkindlmarket drew an estimated 350,000 spend-happy visitors to Civic Center in 2024. The crowds represented a 10% growth over 2023, according to the German American Chamber of Commerce, Colorado Chapter (GACC-CO), which produces the market. (They declined to share specific revenue numbers for growth.)

Organizers believe the market’s enduring popularity will help it succeed even as it is forced to move yet again this year — and especially as it expands to host a new, second market in Colorado Springs.

You don’t have to be German or German-American to enjoy German-style Christmas markets, because the appeal of drinking, partying and eating with friends is universal, organizers said. Plus, traditional Bavarian culture is a singular experience that many people can’t access outside the holidays, which enhances its appeal.

29 pop-up bars where you can find holiday cheer in Denver and beyond

Sticking to what works

Christkindlmarket is moving this year because of a $50 million reconstruction project at Civic Center that is designed to improve and upgrade the park's features, including the Greek Theater; work began the week before Thanksgiving. Both the market and the popular Mile High Tree, a 110-foot metal structure with 60,000 LED lights, will now be located around the Tivoli Quad on the Auraria Campus, 900 Auraria Parkway in Denver.

Parking in Auraria's surface lots costs $15, while the Tivoli Garage costs $30 during nights and weekends, and other garages cost $25 per night, according to . Prices were reduced just before Thanksgiving .

And yet, when it comes to Christkindlmarket, sticking to what works is almost as important as location. At last year's showing, people snapped photos and holed up at metal tables to hoist custom steins and croon along with German polka, jazz and '70s funk cover bands. Springy reindeer ears and impromptu picnics dominated the grass-and-concrete grounds.

That hasn't changed. When Denver Christkindlmarket returned for  -- it runs Nov. 21-Dec. 23 -- it once again boasted 40 vendors, the same amount as last year, including favorites such as Sauce Leopard, a homegrown hot-sauce purveyor of national acclaim, and Berliner Haus, which specializes in doner kebabs, Germany's favorite street food. (Berliner Haus now has a year-round stall at Avanti Food & Beverage in Denver as well.)

The uncertainties of moving to a new location, along with GACC's revived marketing push and the event's 25th anniversary, have prompted it to play it more conservatively, however, rather than adding any new businesses to meet growing demand.

"We didn't want to risk overcommitting," said GACC executive director Samantha Seems. "Auraria is going to be a great location with lots of space, which was always a little tough at Civic Center, since we couldn't use the entirety of the park."

The chamber's mission is "to promote German trade with Colorado by developing community through professional and cultural programs," according to its website, with nearly 200 current members across the entire state. As such, its staff is also focused on where to reinvest growing revenue and how to find other ways to help those businesses, other than with the festival. That includes donations to causes such as First Baptist Church of Denver's Community Fridge Program, which received 100,000 reusable cups and 1,500 meals from GACC last year.

A more modern approach

The European festivals that offer the template for U.S. Christmas markets -- open-air stalls, hot beverages and lots of festive lights and performances -- have roots in medieval culture in Germany and Austria.

The modern-day versions have only come together in recent decades as organizers balanced contemporary demands with the traditional cultures they're selling. Dozens, if not hundreds, of markets attract both locals and tourists across Europe, including Germany, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Hungary and the Czech Republic. But there are also similar markets as far away as Central and South America and in countries like Japan and Korea.

But in Colorado, Seems would like to expand people's knowledge of German culture. "What I notice ... in Colorado is that it's still very Bavarian, very southern-Germany," she said. "And it's not as much representative of the rest of Germany. People know about spaetzle, but do they know that doner kababs are Germans' favorite street food? We're bringing those to the festival this year in an attempt to be a little more representative of modern-day Germany."

The steins and lederhosen are still in full effect in the U.S., but so are environmentally-friendly, hand-made gifts you can buy with QR codes, from enamel pins to boutique honey. U.S. holiday markets may stick to traditional-minded fare, but that's still a widening category, said Nikolas Diamantopoulos, owner of Denver's Berliner Haus.

"Obviously, change is on everyone's minds, especially as we move with (Christkindlmarket) over to Auraria," he said. "But it's going to help with the massive crowds. Last year, the last week of the market, we had lines wrapping around Bannock Street almost all the way down to the courthouse. We definitely need to spread out."

Speaking of change, will debut a second, smaller Chriskindlemarket in Colorado Springs () that they'll need to keep their eyes on. It will feature some of the same vendors as in Denver, but with a focus on some businesses local to Colorado Springs. And there will, of course, be music, dancing, food and beverages.

In addition, the membership-based GACC's Colorado chapter is marking Christkindlmarket's silver anniversary with an ultramodern new networking space at its Denver headquarters, called Treffpunkt (German for "meeting point") that they hope will gather German and German-American businesses and cultural institutions in a lively, informal setting.

"Christkindlmarket is definitely a big focus and brings home part of our heritage," said Barbara Wittman, president of a Colorado GACC chapter, which has four full-time employees. "But it's also something where we can be integral to the fabric of the cultural and business world here in Denver. What we have been missing is a place to gather and focus on the business end of things, and the (Christkindlmarket's) growth has been a huge piece of making that happen."