Ripping the community asunder with an anti-immigrant sting executed by military personnel or federal agents under a presidential order called “Operation Aurora” would upend the city’s hard-fought safety and stability.

According to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, almost. That statistic is likely an undercount given the understandable reluctance among immigrants without legal status to participate in any government survey or census.

President-elect Donald Trump has relentlessly tried to paint the city of 386,000 people as a violent hell-hole needing drastic federal action to save it from the scourge of illegal immigration. In a clear nod to the white supremacists backing his campaign, Trump repeatedly said recent migrants were “poisoning the blood” of America by flooding across our borders from around the world. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The and 63% of the city owns their own home. The rate of violent crime is significantly lower than that of similarly sized cities across the nation, and it is slightly lower than the average rate in Colorado. When looking at all crimes, Aurora did see a spike in 2021 along with the rest of the nation, but that those property crimes have been decreasing rapidly as things have stabilized again post-COVID.

Aurora is the light, not the blight, of diversity

Aurora is a community made richer because of its diversity. The sprawling suburb is a culinary mecca for the slew of immigrant-owned restaurants. Minority-owned small businesses thrive in the community and the schools are a rich tapestry of cultures that frequently overperform their socio-economic status.

Aurora is a place where immigrants can still buy a home and attain the American dream of building equity, and a nest egg for retirement while sending their children, many of whom are U.S. citizens born and raised in the community, to college.

None of that prevented Trump from standing on the stage at the Gaylord Rockies Hotel amid the jail photos of gang members and pledging to use the Alien Enemies Act of 1789 to bypass due process and round up suspected foreign-born gang members, detain them, and quickly deport them. Trump dubbed his plan “Operation Aurora.” How cruel to name the operation after the very community it would harm the most and that along with Springfield, Ohio, is among the least deserving of this slur.

Aurora police and surrounding supporting law enforcement agencies, in conjunction with federal bureaus, have already made progress in shutting down the Tren de Aragua gang, an international criminal organization that The Denver Post had exhaustively covered long before Trump started freaking out about their criminal activities. Aurora police have arrested nine individuals related to 14 separate criminal activities over the past 10 months. A 10th member of the gang was identified but has not been charged with any crimes. The crimes range from attempted murder and assault to intimate partner violence. Two other men affiliated with the gang were arrested in Aurora for a murder in Texas. Police say there aren’t many more members than that — 12 people — in Colorado.

Those 12 people are a tiny fraction of the thousands of immigrants who call Aurora home. Trump will not be satisfied when he realizes the criminal element in Aurora is a mere couple dozen people who entered the U.S. illegally or abused the asylum system. Then who will he target?

Anyone with temporary legal status is at risk

Trump may think voters gave him a mandate to deport millions of people, but we aren’t certain that all Trump voters understood the depth of his plan.

Trump doesn’t just want to target violent criminals or even just petty criminals. He has pledged to strip Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from more than 800,000 people living in the United States legally and deport them back to their home countries. Past presidents have used TPS to allow people whose home countries had become unsafe to remain in the United States even after their visa or travel permit expired. President Joe Biden recently expanded TPS to some Venezuelans, but there are people living and working in the U.S. who have fled conflicts in Sudan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria, and Haiti. For some going home will be a death warrant.

And he won’t stop at ending TPS.

Trump’s attempt to repeal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was one of his first actions as president in 2017. If Trump repeals DACA for dreamers, friends and neighbors who have attended Colorado schools since kindergarten and are now working legally and paying taxes will be deported. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that Trump’s administration had failed to properly revoke DACA calling the decision arbitrary and capricious, but stating clearly that the Department of Homeland Security could revoke DACA if it followed proper procedures. We have little faith that the court, now stacked with another Trump appointee, would stand up for dreamers.

We cannot think so ill of Colorado’s 1.3 million Trump voters to think they want communities like Aurora to be devastated by the fear of deportation and the reality of families separated when mothers and fathers, grandparents and siblings are stripped of their temporary legal status and sent to countries that many of them hardly know. We hope we are wrong and Trump doesn’t execute the drastic anti-immigration policies he’s outlined.

But if he goes forward, Trump cannot name his cruelty after Aurora — a place of hope and light for immigrants. He should name it Amache after a place of dark shame for the last American president to use the Alien Enemies Act of 1789 to round up foreign-born Japanese Americans during World War II. The families put in Camp Amache were not criminals or enemies of America, but that didn’t stop President Franklin D. Roosevelt from making the order for internment.

It may prove fitting that Trump unveiled this “Operation Amache” only 200 miles north of Colorado’s Amache National Historic Site.

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Former President Donald Trump hosted a campaign rally Friday at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Aurora. Colorado officials, candidates and other figures were among the early speakers, and Trump took the stage about 1:45 p.m. See video of his remarks above (beginning about 48 minutes in).

This story will be updated throughout the day.

3:05 p.m. update: Trump finished his remarks a moment ago, about 80 minutes after he began — slightly on the shorter side for his recent speeches.

“We will make America proud again. We will make American safe again. And we will make America great again. Thank you, Colorado,” he said, signing off.

Much of his speech revolved around immigration, and he returned to it repeatedly. But he also touched on other favorite topics — like 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton (which sparked a brief “Lock her up!” chant).

Trump also criticized Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, for his recent debate performance against Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance. He promised to “drill, baby, drill,” and played a video contrasting clips of Marine training from the film “Full Metal Jacket” with members of the military dressed in drag.

2:57 p.m. update: Trump, on stage, promised to invoke to send federal officers into Aurora to “expedite the removal of the savage gangs.”

“We will send elite squads of ICE, border patrol, and federal enforcement officers to hunt down, arrest, and deport every last illegal alien gang member until there is not a single one left,” Trump said.

The Alien Enemies Act was last invoked during World War II, most notably to create Japanese internment camps, including in southeastern Colorado. More than 10,000 people were incarcerated there between 1942 and 1945.

2:52 p.m. update: A little fact-checking on Trump’s rhetoric — which uses real but isolated episodes of migrant violence to portray a large population of migrants and other immigrants negatively, as . He’s seized at his rally Friday not only on Aurora’s challenges but on crimes and incidents in other places that have involved migrants, including in the death of Laken Riley, a nursing student in Georgia.

Trump is channeling real concerns that many voters have about immigration and border security. But his exaggerated characterizations of what has happened in Aurora in recent months has been met with pushback by Mayor Mike Coffman and others.

Local officials have described the transnational Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as having a “limited” presence in the city of 400,000 — with problems most apparent at a handful of run-down apartment complexes owned entities associated with a group called CBZ Management. The gang has a violent reputation, and the Colorado city isn’t the only one where a presence has been reported.

In Aurora, police have arrested at least nine men with connections to the gang, for alleged crimes that range from shootings to domestic violence. But Chief Todd Chamberlain said the TdA gang was not the “biggest, baddest gang in Aurora,” which last year tracked 36 gangs in the city.

2:41 p.m.: Trump brought onto stage Cindy Romero, whose doorbell camera caught the now-viral video at the heart of the narrative that the Aurora apartments were taken over by gang members. He called her “very brave.”

“With Trump’s help, we can take this state back over,” Romero said. “We can make a difference.”

While the Venezuelan gang has been the uniting thread of the rally, Trump also singled out Africa, the Middle East and Asia as the source of the country’s woes — naming every inhabited continent that’s not predominantly of European descent.

“Our criminals are like babies compared to these people. These people are the most violent people on Earth,” Trump said.

2:22 p.m. update: Trump has repeatedly referenced the unsuccessful 14th Amendment lawsuit aiming to keep him off the ballot that came out of Colorado last year — including falsely accusing Gov. Jared Polis of leading the effort. The lawsuit was filed by current and former Colorado Republicans and others who argued Trump was disqualified from office under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause.

The Colorado Supreme Court, late last year, sided with the plaintiffs and found Trump ineligible for Colorado’s ballot this year because of his actions around the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach and riot by his supports. The U.S. Supreme Court, by a 9-0 decision, overruled the state court in March.

“When you get the three very liberal votes in the Supreme Court voting — when they vote for Trump — it’s got to be pretty off the wall, right?” Trump said. “But they did. I respect them for doing it.”

2:15 p.m. update: The former president came to Colorado to seize on the issue of migrant crime. When he mentioned Tren de Aragua, the transnational Venezuelan gang that has had some presence at a handful of Aurora apartment buildings, there were shouts from some in the crowd of “Send them back!”

On the screen, several minutes of news clips about crimes committed by migrants — first in Aurora, then around the country — played.

“I make this vow to you: Nov. 5, 2024, will be liberation day in America — liberation day,” Trump said afterward.

He also speculated about his own political fortunes in Colorado, which has strongly favored Democrats in statewide votes since he took office.

“This state has to flip Republican — it has to,” Trump said, later adding that “we want to win this state so badly.”

2:10 p.m. update: Trump tore into Vice President Kamala Harris — stretching the vowels of her first name to Ka-ma-la — and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. He called Polis “weak and ineffective” — prompting a large wave of boos — and “a coward and fraud” while saying, without elaborating, that Polis fears indictment if Democrats lose the White House.

Ahead of Trump’s visit, Polis defended Aurora and pushed back on the narrative that it’s been taken over by gangs. (See earlier update below.)

But Trump also is weaving the threat of immigration throughout. He showed a graph of immigration into the country and how it fell during his time in office, saying: “I take it home every night and I sleep with it and I kiss it.”

“Illegal immigration saved my life,” Trump said, highlighting it as a motivating factor for his 2016 run. “I’m the only one. Usually it’s the opposite.”

Before getting into the substance of his remarks, Trump thanked a litany of Colorado politicians and those who came from Wyoming, Texas and other places, including former GOP vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — and former Denver Broncos great Derek Wolfe.

1:45 p.m. update: Trump walks on stage to applause, waving Trump-Vance signs and chants of “USA!”, soundtracked by Lee Greenwood’s song “God Bless the U.S.A.” His entrance came a short time after his adviser Stephen Miller spoke about the need to stem migration and deport immigrants in the country illegally — aligning with the theme of this rally.

“What the hell is happening with our country? What are they doing?” Trump says in his opening remarks. “What are they doing to Colorado? They are ruining your state. Ruining your state.”

As of 1:15 p.m., the last of the Trump supporters planning to attend the rally still waited in a line that ended on East 64th Avenue, across from North Kirk Street — much shorter than the line was an hour earlier. Some attendees who didn’t make it into the building were resigning themselves to watching the rally on a screen.

When Trump took the stage, they cheered, whistled and sung along to Greenwood’s song.

12:49 p.m. update: The program is on pause as the crowd waits for Trump’s arrival at the Gaylord Rockies.

Outside the venue this afternoon, Dena McClung stood among a group of Harris-Walz campaign supporters at the corner of East 64th Avenue and Gaylord Rockies Boulevard. Four police officers were on hand nearby as interactions between Trump and Harris supporters have hit intermittent boiling points.

One man, holding a Trump flag, yelled homophobic slurs at the counter-protesters.

McClung has lived in Aurora for 29 years. She decided to come out several days ago with her roommate to protest, she said, observing: “It is a much bigger turnout than I expected it to be. … Some of them (Trump supporters) — they don’t really say anything. Some of them are a little bit friendly. But honestly, a lot of them are hostile.”

Ahead of the election, she said, “I’m really hopeful that we have enough people who are not like this to sway it, so that Kamala Harris will win.”

12:30 p.m. update: Outside the Gaylord, David Leach, 18, was among vendors selling items to attendees. He drove to Denver from Salida in the central mountains on Friday morning, coming to sell Trump flags through his business, Fly Your Own Flag LLC.

“I’ve never seen so many people in my life,” he said as in the moments after the assassination attempt on him at a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Leach said he’s the son of two liberals and used to identify as liberal, too. He said “a lot” of his friends aren’t politically active yet. “There’s a lot of shaming if you’re interested in Trump,” he said. “I’ve definitely gotten a lot of people yelling at me while I’m selling flags.”

12:25 p.m. update: A woman who said she’d previously lived in Aurora apartments that drew local and national scrutiny said she was “run out of our home” of four years by gunshots, crime and destruction.

“We were overrun. The police were overwhelmed,” she said. The woman spoke after Danielle Jurinsky, an Aurora city councilwoman who elevated the gang-takeover claims in recent months.

Read more about those claims here. The Denver Post also has reported on problems with management of several apartment complexes that predated the arrival of Venezuelan migrants and problems with a gang’s activity.

12:07 p.m. update: As of just before noon, the line of hopefuls trying to enter the rally wound its way down from the Gaylord Rockies entrance to East 64th Avenue — and then down Lisbon Street, a queue that measured a mile or more in length.

At the corner of Lisbon and 64th Avenue, Kim West said, when asked if she was surprised by the massive turnout for the rally in Colorado: “I am. I don’t know why I’m surprised.” But she added that it¶¶Ňőap probably because she lives in Denver, where “you have a couple (Trump supporters) here and there.”

Inside, a standing crowd filled up half the ballroom and spilled around the press pen in the center of the room. Behind the media area, another group sat on the floor, watching a giant screen of the stage, as a Colorado Springs mom led the crowd in a “Polis sucks” chant, referring to Gov. Jared Polis.

9News reported that Trump’s plane has landed at Denver International Airport nearby.

11:49 a.m. update: U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert asked the crowd if they were ready “to position yourself for the good fight of faith?”

Flanked by two TV screens displaying her speech, Boebert cracked jokes about Hunter Biden “scurrying out of a laptop repair shop” and said “our backyards are looking like ‘Narcos,’ ” a reference to the Netflix show about Colombian drug cartels. She also called out 9News anchor Kyle Clark, which sparked a wave of boos from the crowd.

She referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Cacklin’ Kamala” and said undocumented immigrants should be deported.

11:42 a.m. update: State Rep. Gabe Evans, who’s running a tight race in the 8th Congressional District in the north Denver suburbs, spoke to the crowd.

“We are going to flip this seat,” Evans said; the 8th District is currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo. “And we can make sure that Donald Trump has a Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.”

Evans was followed by Jeff Crank, the likely favored candidate for the 5th Congressional District, which covers most of El Paso County. Crank blasted the “failed policies of Joe Biden, an economy that makes it harder for working class Americans to get by.”

When he called Colorado a “sanctuary state,” the crowd booed. “Unfortunately,” Crank said, “it’s a sanctuary for crime and drugs, and we need to take back Colorado.”

11:39 a.m. update: Aron Weinstock, who lives in Littleton, was excited about the rally’s turnout as he waited to enter the Gaylord building.

“In the city, you’re there by yourself,” he said. “You come to a rally like this and you see how many actually do support (Trump).”

Weinstock is a Colorado native and said he wished it was more of a red state. “Everything that¶¶Ňőap going on in our country right now is because of the Democratic side of government,” he said. “The Democratic Party is full of lies.”

11:34 update: Luke Bollwerk, an Aurora resident, stood in line for the rally with a sign that read: “Aurora is a shining light and a beautiful place to live.” He said he was trying to rebut the rumors voiced about Aurora in recent weeks.

“Trump has been talking about (Aurora) being a war zone, and that¶¶Ňőap not the city I woke up in,” Bollwerk said. “That hurts us.”

He plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election and said he would bring the sign into the Trump rally if he was allowed.

11:26 a.m. update: The rally’s program began shortly after 11 a.m., with Colorado Republican Party chair Dave Williams taking the stage. On either side of the stage were large mugshots of suspected gang members and two signs advocating for deportation and reading, “End migrant crime.”

People were still filing into the Gaylord’s 10,000-capacity ballroom as Williams was followed by a pastor and John “Tig” Tiegen, who survived the 2012 Benghazi terror attack on two U.S. government sites in Libya. He led the room in the Pledge of Allegiance.

11:24 a.m. update: Two hours before the rally began Friday morning, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and four members of Colorado’s U.S. congressional delegation spoke at a brewery in Aurora and criticized what Sen. Michael Bennett described as Trump’s decision to visit the city and “demonize immigrants, lie and to serve his own political purposes.”

The event was a short drive from the Edge of Lowry apartments, the troubled and dilapidated complex that drew national attention — including from Trump — amid reports that the buildings had been overrun by a Venezuelan gang. U.S. Sen John Hickenlooper and U.S. Reps. Jason Crow and Diana DeGette also spoke at Cheluna Brewing at the Stanley Marketplace.

Crow said he wanted to “stand in solidarity, to send a very strong message about what this community really is, what we really mean and what we really represent.”

“Donald Trump invited himself to tell lies, to twist and distort (the apartment issues) for his own terrible purposes,” Crow added. “We will not tolerate it.”

10:53 a.m. update: Police have established a heavy presence around the Gaylord Rockies. A small group of four people stood near Jericho Street and Gaylord Rockies Boulevard, holding signs and a flag supporting the Democrats’ Harris-Walz campaign. But a sea of Trump supporters crowded the sidewalk leading to the resort, chanting and wearing Trump’s trademark red “Make America Great Again” hats.

Original reporting: Former President Donald Trump is coming to Aurora on Friday, and supporters began lining up outside the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center before dawn, hours before his really is set to begin.

Roads near the venue were experiencing heavy traffic mid-morning, especially on East 64th Avenue and on Peña Boulevard, the primary access route to Denver International Airport. Travelers should also expect some delays in coming hours as police make accommodations for Trump’s motorcade between DIA and the Gaylord. (Tip for travelers heading to DIA: Take E-470, a toll road, to access Peña from the north or south. Or take RTD’s A-Line train to bypass roads.)

Doors were expected to open at 9 a.m, and Trump’s remarks are set to begin at 1 p.m., barring any delays.

The Republican presidential nominee’s visit is motivated by the Denver suburb’s challenges with Venezuelan migrants and gang activity this summer at a handful of apartment complexes. He has seized on the problems in recent weeks, calling Aurora a “war zone” and employing rhetoric that has drawn pushback from Mayor Mike Coffman and other local officials, who contend Trump is exaggerating the issues.

Trump’s campaign says the rally has sold out of free tickets. Though the campaign didn’t disclose how many attendees are expected, the Gaylord’s front desk told The Denver Post on Thursday that the event would be in a space with a capacity of 10,000.

He is set to depart sometime later in the afternoon for a Friday evening rally in Reno, Nevada, that’s set to begin at 6:30 p.m. mountain time.

Updated at 2:27 p.m.: A previous update misidentified one of the earlier rally speakers at Cindy Romero, the woman who filmed armed men in the hallways of the Edge of Lowry apartments.

Former President Donald Trump hosted a campaign rally Friday at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Aurora. Colorado officials, candidates and other figures were among the early speakers, and Trump took the stage about 1:45 p.m. See video of his remarks above (beginning about 48 minutes in).

This story will be updated throughout the day.

3:05 p.m. update: Trump finished his remarks a moment ago, about 80 minutes after he began — slightly on the shorter side for his recent speeches.

“We will make America proud again. We will make American safe again. And we will make America great again. Thank you, Colorado,” he said, signing off.

Much of his speech revolved around immigration, and he returned to it repeatedly. But he also touched on other favorite topics — like 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton (which sparked a brief “Lock her up!” chant).

Trump also criticized Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, for his recent debate performance against Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance. He promised to “drill, baby, drill,” and played a video contrasting clips of Marine training from the film “Full Metal Jacket” with members of the military dressed in drag.

2:57 p.m. update: Trump, on stage, promised to invoke to send federal officers into Aurora to “expedite the removal of the savage gangs.”

“We will send elite squads of ICE, border patrol, and federal enforcement officers to hunt down, arrest, and deport every last illegal alien gang member until there is not a single one left,” Trump said.

The Alien Enemies Act was last invoked during World War II, most notably to create Japanese internment camps, including in southeastern Colorado. More than 10,000 people were incarcerated there between 1942 and 1945.

2:52 p.m. update: A little fact-checking on Trump’s rhetoric — which uses real but isolated episodes of migrant violence to portray a large population of migrants and other immigrants negatively, as . He’s seized at his rally Friday not only on Aurora’s challenges but on crimes and incidents in other places that have involved migrants, including in the death of Laken Riley, a nursing student in Georgia.

Trump is channeling real concerns that many voters have about immigration and border security. But his exaggerated characterizations of what has happened in Aurora in recent months has been met with pushback by Mayor Mike Coffman and others.

Local officials have described the transnational Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as having a “limited” presence in the city of 400,000 — with problems most apparent at a handful of run-down apartment complexes owned entities associated with a group called CBZ Management. The gang has a violent reputation, and the Colorado city isn’t the only one where a presence has been reported.

In Aurora, police have arrested at least nine men with connections to the gang, for alleged crimes that range from shootings to domestic violence. But Chief Todd Chamberlain said the TdA gang was not the “biggest, baddest gang in Aurora,” which last year tracked 36 gangs in the city.

2:41 p.m.: Trump brought onto stage Cindy Romero, whose doorbell camera caught the now-viral video at the heart of the narrative that the Aurora apartments were taken over by gang members. He called her “very brave.”

“With Trump’s help, we can take this state back over,” Romero said. “We can make a difference.”

While the Venezuelan gang has been the uniting thread of the rally, Trump also singled out Africa, the Middle East and Asia as the source of the country’s woes — naming every inhabited continent that’s not predominantly of European descent.

“Our criminals are like babies compared to these people. These people are the most violent people on Earth,” Trump said.

2:22 p.m. update: Trump has repeatedly referenced the unsuccessful 14th Amendment lawsuit aiming to keep him off the ballot that came out of Colorado last year — including falsely accusing Gov. Jared Polis of leading the effort. The lawsuit was filed by current and former Colorado Republicans and others who argued Trump was disqualified from office under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause.

The Colorado Supreme Court, late last year, sided with the plaintiffs and found Trump ineligible for Colorado’s ballot this year because of his actions around the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach and riot by his supports. The U.S. Supreme Court, by a 9-0 decision, overruled the state court in March.

“When you get the three very liberal votes in the Supreme Court voting — when they vote for Trump — it’s got to be pretty off the wall, right?” Trump said. “But they did. I respect them for doing it.”

2:15 p.m. update: The former president came to Colorado to seize on the issue of migrant crime. When he mentioned Tren de Aragua, the transnational Venezuelan gang that has had some presence at a handful of Aurora apartment buildings, there were shouts from some in the crowd of “Send them back!”

On the screen, several minutes of news clips about crimes committed by migrants — first in Aurora, then around the country — played.

“I make this vow to you: Nov. 5, 2024, will be liberation day in America — liberation day,” Trump said afterward.

He also speculated about his own political fortunes in Colorado, which has strongly favored Democrats in statewide votes since he took office.

“This state has to flip Republican — it has to,” Trump said, later adding that “we want to win this state so badly.”

2:10 p.m. update: Trump tore into Vice President Kamala Harris — stretching the vowels of her first name to Ka-ma-la — and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. He called Polis “weak and ineffective” — prompting a large wave of boos — and “a coward and fraud” while saying, without elaborating, that Polis fears indictment if Democrats lose the White House.

Ahead of Trump’s visit, Polis defended Aurora and pushed back on the narrative that it’s been taken over by gangs. (See earlier update below.)

But Trump also is weaving the threat of immigration throughout. He showed a graph of immigration into the country and how it fell during his time in office, saying: “I take it home every night and I sleep with it and I kiss it.”

“Illegal immigration saved my life,” Trump said, highlighting it as a motivating factor for his 2016 run. “I’m the only one. Usually it’s the opposite.”

Before getting into the substance of his remarks, Trump thanked a litany of Colorado politicians and those who came from Wyoming, Texas and other places, including former GOP vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — and former Denver Broncos great Derek Wolfe.

1:45 p.m. update: Trump walks on stage to applause, waving Trump-Vance signs and chants of “USA!”, soundtracked by Lee Greenwood’s song “God Bless the U.S.A.” His entrance came a short time after his adviser Stephen Miller spoke about the need to stem migration and deport immigrants in the country illegally — aligning with the theme of this rally.

“What the hell is happening with our country? What are they doing?” Trump says in his opening remarks. “What are they doing to Colorado? They are ruining your state. Ruining your state.”

As of 1:15 p.m., the last of the Trump supporters planning to attend the rally still waited in a line that ended on East 64th Avenue, across from North Kirk Street — much shorter than the line was an hour earlier. Some attendees who didn’t make it into the building were resigning themselves to watching the rally on a screen.

When Trump took the stage, they cheered, whistled and sung along to Greenwood’s song.

12:49 p.m. update: The program is on pause as the crowd waits for Trump’s arrival at the Gaylord Rockies.

Outside the venue this afternoon, Dena McClung stood among a group of Harris-Walz campaign supporters at the corner of East 64th Avenue and Gaylord Rockies Boulevard. Four police officers were on hand nearby as interactions between Trump and Harris supporters have hit intermittent boiling points.

One man, holding a Trump flag, yelled homophobic slurs at the counter-protesters.

McClung has lived in Aurora for 29 years. She decided to come out several days ago with her roommate to protest, she said, observing: “It is a much bigger turnout than I expected it to be. … Some of them (Trump supporters) — they don’t really say anything. Some of them are a little bit friendly. But honestly, a lot of them are hostile.”

Ahead of the election, she said, “I’m really hopeful that we have enough people who are not like this to sway it, so that Kamala Harris will win.”

12:30 p.m. update: Outside the Gaylord, David Leach, 18, was among vendors selling items to attendees. He drove to Denver from Salida in the central mountains on Friday morning, coming to sell Trump flags through his business, Fly Your Own Flag LLC.

“I’ve never seen so many people in my life,” he said as in the moments after the assassination attempt on him at a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Leach said he’s the son of two liberals and used to identify as liberal, too. He said “a lot” of his friends aren’t politically active yet. “There’s a lot of shaming if you’re interested in Trump,” he said. “I’ve definitely gotten a lot of people yelling at me while I’m selling flags.”

12:25 p.m. update: A woman who said she’d previously lived in Aurora apartments that drew local and national scrutiny said she was “run out of our home” of four years by gunshots, crime and destruction.

“We were overrun. The police were overwhelmed,” she said. The woman spoke after Danielle Jurinsky, an Aurora city councilwoman who elevated the gang-takeover claims in recent months.

Read more about those claims here. The Denver Post also has reported on problems with management of several apartment complexes that predated the arrival of Venezuelan migrants and problems with a gang’s activity.

12:07 p.m. update: As of just before noon, the line of hopefuls trying to enter the rally wound its way down from the Gaylord Rockies entrance to East 64th Avenue — and then down Lisbon Street, a queue that measured a mile or more in length.

At the corner of Lisbon and 64th Avenue, Kim West said, when asked if she was surprised by the massive turnout for the rally in Colorado: “I am. I don’t know why I’m surprised.” But she added that it¶¶Ňőap probably because she lives in Denver, where “you have a couple (Trump supporters) here and there.”

Inside, a standing crowd filled up half the ballroom and spilled around the press pen in the center of the room. Behind the media area, another group sat on the floor, watching a giant screen of the stage, as a Colorado Springs mom led the crowd in a “Polis sucks” chant, referring to Gov. Jared Polis.

9News reported that Trump’s plane has landed at Denver International Airport nearby.

11:49 a.m. update: U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert asked the crowd if they were ready “to position yourself for the good fight of faith?”

Flanked by two TV screens displaying her speech, Boebert cracked jokes about Hunter Biden “scurrying out of a laptop repair shop” and said “our backyards are looking like ‘Narcos,’ ” a reference to the Netflix show about Colombian drug cartels. She also called out 9News anchor Kyle Clark, which sparked a wave of boos from the crowd.

She referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Cacklin’ Kamala” and said undocumented immigrants should be deported.

11:42 a.m. update: State Rep. Gabe Evans, who’s running a tight race in the 8th Congressional District in the north Denver suburbs, spoke to the crowd.

“We are going to flip this seat,” Evans said; the 8th District is currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo. “And we can make sure that Donald Trump has a Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.”

Evans was followed by Jeff Crank, the likely favored candidate for the 5th Congressional District, which covers most of El Paso County. Crank blasted the “failed policies of Joe Biden, an economy that makes it harder for working class Americans to get by.”

When he called Colorado a “sanctuary state,” the crowd booed. “Unfortunately,” Crank said, “it’s a sanctuary for crime and drugs, and we need to take back Colorado.”

11:39 a.m. update: Aron Weinstock, who lives in Littleton, was excited about the rally’s turnout as he waited to enter the Gaylord building.

“In the city, you’re there by yourself,” he said. “You come to a rally like this and you see how many actually do support (Trump).”

Weinstock is a Colorado native and said he wished it was more of a red state. “Everything that¶¶Ňőap going on in our country right now is because of the Democratic side of government,” he said. “The Democratic Party is full of lies.”

11:34 update: Luke Bollwerk, an Aurora resident, stood in line for the rally with a sign that read: “Aurora is a shining light and a beautiful place to live.” He said he was trying to rebut the rumors voiced about Aurora in recent weeks.

“Trump has been talking about (Aurora) being a war zone, and that¶¶Ňőap not the city I woke up in,” Bollwerk said. “That hurts us.”

He plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election and said he would bring the sign into the Trump rally if he was allowed.

11:26 a.m. update: The rally’s program began shortly after 11 a.m., with Colorado Republican Party chair Dave Williams taking the stage. On either side of the stage were large mugshots of suspected gang members and two signs advocating for deportation and reading, “End migrant crime.”

People were still filing into the Gaylord’s 10,000-capacity ballroom as Williams was followed by a pastor and John “Tig” Tiegen, who survived the 2012 Benghazi terror attack on two U.S. government sites in Libya. He led the room in the Pledge of Allegiance.

11:24 a.m. update: Two hours before the rally began Friday morning, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and four members of Colorado’s U.S. congressional delegation spoke at a brewery in Aurora and criticized what Sen. Michael Bennett described as Trump’s decision to visit the city and “demonize immigrants, lie and to serve his own political purposes.”

The event was a short drive from the Edge of Lowry apartments, the troubled and dilapidated complex that drew national attention — including from Trump — amid reports that the buildings had been overrun by a Venezuelan gang. U.S. Sen John Hickenlooper and U.S. Reps. Jason Crow and Diana DeGette also spoke at Cheluna Brewing at the Stanley Marketplace.

Crow said he wanted to “stand in solidarity, to send a very strong message about what this community really is, what we really mean and what we really represent.”

“Donald Trump invited himself to tell lies, to twist and distort (the apartment issues) for his own terrible purposes,” Crow added. “We will not tolerate it.”

10:53 a.m. update: Police have established a heavy presence around the Gaylord Rockies. A small group of four people stood near Jericho Street and Gaylord Rockies Boulevard, holding signs and a flag supporting the Democrats’ Harris-Walz campaign. But a sea of Trump supporters crowded the sidewalk leading to the resort, chanting and wearing Trump’s trademark red “Make America Great Again” hats.

Original reporting: Former President Donald Trump is coming to Aurora on Friday, and supporters began lining up outside the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center before dawn, hours before his really is set to begin.

Roads near the venue were experiencing heavy traffic mid-morning, especially on East 64th Avenue and on Peña Boulevard, the primary access route to Denver International Airport. Travelers should also expect some delays in coming hours as police make accommodations for Trump’s motorcade between DIA and the Gaylord. (Tip for travelers heading to DIA: Take E-470, a toll road, to access Peña from the north or south. Or take RTD’s A-Line train to bypass roads.)

Doors were expected to open at 9 a.m, and Trump’s remarks are set to begin at 1 p.m., barring any delays.

The Republican presidential nominee’s visit is motivated by the Denver suburb’s challenges with Venezuelan migrants and gang activity this summer at a handful of apartment complexes. He has seized on the problems in recent weeks, calling Aurora a “war zone” and employing rhetoric that has drawn pushback from Mayor Mike Coffman and other local officials, who contend Trump is exaggerating the issues.

Trump’s campaign says the rally has sold out of free tickets. Though the campaign didn’t disclose how many attendees are expected, the Gaylord’s front desk told The Denver Post on Thursday that the event would be in a space with a capacity of 10,000.

He is set to depart sometime later in the afternoon for a Friday evening rally in Reno, Nevada, that’s set to begin at 6:30 p.m. mountain time.

Updated at 2:27 p.m.: A previous update misidentified one of the earlier rally speakers at Cindy Romero, the woman who filmed armed men in the hallways of the Edge of Lowry apartments.

Firefighters first received an investigation call at 4:20 p.m., which was upgraded to a fire response to the resort at 6700 N. Gaylord Rockies Boulevard.

Fire crews found a fire in the laundry room in the first floor of the convention center and stamped it out by 5:15 p.m., agency officials said in a news release.

The fire started in a laundry vent and sent smoke into the first and second floors of the convention center.

Convention center and hotel guests were evacuated but have since returned and the property is operating normally, fire officials said. No injuries were reported.

But attendees say the April 18-21 conference was so disorganized and chaotic — self-described “RTD survivor” Kelli Meyer referred to it as — that authors soon began pulling out of next year’s event at the Aurora hotel, which already was on sale.

This week, Readers Take Denver announced its 2025 edition was canceled.

“I’ve been to many conferences and this, by far, was the worst one I’ve ever been to,” said Sarah Slusarczyk, a 32-year-old who traveled from Michigan. “It was such a nightmare.”

Miffed attendees told The Denver Post they shelled out for registration fees, hotel expenses, airfare and additional charges for books and other added experiences, all predicated on unfulfilled promises from conference organizer Lisa Renee Jones.

They described an event marred by hours-long lines, a lack of proper security, insufficient communication from events staff, preordered books that weren’t delivered in time to be signed by their authors, and even a shortage of gift bags.

Big-name authors, including New York Times bestseller Rebecca Yarros, of “Fourth Wing” and “Iron Flame” fame, , pledging not to return in 2025.

“Readers, on behalf of every author at the event, I’m sorry.” Yarros last week. “I’m so sorry you couldn’t get your preorders, couldn’t see the authors you wanted to. I’m sorry registration took hours, sorry food ran out, sorry security wasn’t tight enough at the night events, sorry some volunteers raised voices… sorry you did not get to bask in the overwhelming joy that spending three days in the book world should give you.”

Organizer Renee Jones did not respond to a request for comment from The Post.

She had put on a smaller version of Readers Take Denver in 2023, but promised a bigger, better conference this year — and vowed, specifically, that no one would have to wait in line, according to screenshots of marketing materials shared with The Post.

Attendees said Renee Jones — a mystery and romance author herself, who has —  downplayed problems with Readers Take Denver during the event and shifted blame to the venue in Aurora or the invited authors, at one point referring to the conference in an email as having some “bumpy bumps.”

In a statement emailed to attendees after the conference, Renee Jones said many people brought her to tears with their praise for the event. She acknowledged concerns about the conference, including a lack of security, unprofessional behavior by volunteer staff and not enough accessible accommodations.

“In the case that someone has claimed a volunteer put hands on someone, I got security involved IMMEDIATELY,” Renee Jones wrote in the email to attendees.

Representatives for the Gaylord Rockies Resort did not respond to a request for comment.

“Unorganized disaster”

Renee Jones marketed Readers Take Denver, which cost $300 to $375 to attend, as unique because there wouldn’t be any lines.

A timed ticketing system utilizing the WhatsApp messaging service was supposed to prevent waits to see favorite authors, according to the promotional materials shared with The Post. Guests were told this meant they could visit as many of the hundreds of authors in attendance as they wanted.

“All we did was stand in line. It was total BS,” said Meyer, the attendee who likened the Readers Take Denver to the Fyre Festival. That 2017 event in the Bahamas, which had been sold as a luxury music festival, went viral after attendees found themselves staying in wet disaster-relief tents and eating cheese sandwiches.

People who spoke with The Post about Readers Take Denver said they waited hours just to check into the conference and receive their name tags and swag bags, though some people say they didn’t receive the giveaways as they were told the event had run out.

Lines wrapped throughout the hotel, confusing attendees who didn’t know which line was for what. Volunteers at the event didn’t know, either, and often gave out incorrect information, causing people to wait hours in the wrong line, multiple attendees told The Post.

“It was worse than Disney, and there wasn’t even a ride at the end,” said Meyer, a 35-year-old from Massachusetts.

conversations on romance subgenres like mafia romances, sports romances and small-town romances. Other topics that were featured included how to write from personal experience and how to publish a successful audiobook.

Meyer said she ran into Renee Jones, who she described as rude and unhelpful — “about as cuddly as a friggin’ cactus” — when she asked the organizer what was going on. Author Rhian Cahill describing an “unorganized disaster” and also detailed a heated run-in with Renee Jones.

“I witnessed the utter chaos of the event, the lack of communication between the organizer and her volunteers, between the volunteers themselves, between the volunteers and attendees. It was insane how little anyone seemed to know about what was going on,” Cahill wrote.

“This was not a good time”

After the lengthy registration waits, attendees said they were directed to what was described as a welcome reception, but instead found a lone bartender in a hallway filled with throngs of conference-goers.

“There weren’t enough people working,” said Susan Casper, a 52-year-old from New York. “I don’t think they were trained right. There were a lot of technical issues. I have been to much bigger book conferences that were organized and ran smoothly. This did not.”

The process of picking up preordered books and getting them signed devolved into hours-long waits in rooms so crowded that Slusarczyk said she could barely move an inch.

Those waits were so long that some attendees never received the books they had already paid for, resulting in authors holding impromptu book distribution and signing sessions from their hotel rooms, Meyer said.

As attendees shared their experiences online, people tried to get refunds, which Renee Jones denied, citing the event’s standing refund policy, according to email screenshots shared with The Post. On the , the only page currently available says the 2025 event is canceled and that refunds are underway for qualifying ticket buyers, minus non-refundable fees and non-refundable down payments for delayed payment plans.

Slusarczyk said she felt bad for the people who came to the Gaylord to experience their first book conference.

“The whole point is to have a good time, she said. “And this was not a good time.”

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The massive hotel near Denver International Airport is the largest taxpayer in Adams County. It opened in 2018 and was sent a property tax bill of $25.3 million the next year.

The hotel’s owner, Nashville-based Ryman Hospitality Properties, took issue with that. It claimed that the county had wrongly valued it at $676 million rather than $270 million due to a flawed methodology that includes income from restaurants and shops in a hotel’s value.

The Gaylord appealed its 2019 tax bill to the county’s board of equalization, the Colorado Board of Assessment Appeals and the Colorado Court of Appeals. It lost every time.

Then, in October, it asked the Colorado Supreme Court to take up its case.

“The Gaylord is not one ball of undifferentiated wax,” it wrote. “It is a complex property containing mixed assets which generate distinct types of income…For property tax purposes, there is no legal basis to merge non-realty income into realty-derived income.”

Adams County called the entire disagreement “a run of the mill dispute” that was “in no way novel nor particularly interesting” and therefore unworthy of the Supreme Court¶¶Ňőap time. The high court agreed on June 26, when it announced that it would not hear the case.

If the Gaylord had won out, the county may have been forced to change the way it calculates property taxes for hotels. Ken Musso, the assessor for Adams County, said it is difficult to know how much less money would have gone to the government as a result.

“Each property owner would have had the right to try and use the same methodology. It would be hard to enumerate a cost. It would depend on the outcomes of the appeals,” he said.

Instead, the Gaylord had to pay its taxes for 2019 and the years since, which were also on appeal pending the outcome of the Gaylord’s request to the Supreme Court.

The resort has paid that $25.3 million bill for 2019, along with a similar bill for 2020, $17.9 million in property taxes for 2021 and $18.8 million for 2022, according to data provided by the Adams County Treasurer’s Office. Its market value increased to $762 million in 2023, according to Musso, so it will need to pay taxes on that amount next year.

Michael Miller, an attorney for the resort, confirmed that his client has paid all of its taxes.

Two of the six suffered life-threatening injuries. Their condition Tuesday remained unclear. A city spokesman said that, as of late Monday, Aurora officials had been told they were alive.

Gaylord Rockies Resort officials referred queries to Aurora Fire Rescue. And fire officials said Gaylord will look into what happened.

“It is under investigation. Gaylord will have their own independent contractor come out to investigate,” Aurora Fire Rescue spokesman Andrew Logan said. “Obviously, if they feel it is unsafe, they are not going to allow people back in.”

Aurora firefighters went to the resort complex, southwest of Denver International Airport, on Saturday morning after receiving 911 calls. They determined 50 to 100 guests were inside the pool area when the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system components collapsed. Eight firefighters from Aurora already were on scene conducting training, working in stairwells, and they provided a quick paramedic response in the pool area, according to a weekend news release attributed to Aurora Fire Chief Alec Oughton.

Aurora’s technical rescue crew also determined, Oughton’s statement said, that “there were still hazards present” with a threat “of ongoing falling debris and mechanical systems.”

On Tuesday, Aurora city government officials confirmed that Gaylord as a private property must conduct an investigation — and then apply for city permits after making repairs.

“We remain in touch with Gaylord management as they navigate this difficult situation,” city spokesman Ryan Luby said.

Aurora Fire Rescue “is not equipped and does not have the authority to determine the cause of the structural failure that occurred,” Luby said.

Similarly, city building inspection staffers have limited authority over incidents on private property. However, building permitting staffers conducted more than 60,000 inspections at the resort before it opened in 2018, ensuring compliance with International Building Code standards, he said.

“Once the investigation is completed and Gaylord determines the next steps, they will be required to apply for city permits and submit detailed plans developed and signed by licensed professionals to complete any new work or necessary repairs,” Luby said. And city building inspectors then will make sure the work done meets requirements.

The Gaylord facility includes a 1,501-room hotel and cost $800 million to build. Thousands of construction workers were employed on the project, which was expected to generate $275 million a year in economic activity.

responded about 9:50 a.m. to the resort, 6700 N. Gaylord Rockies Blvd., where mechanical equipment — part of the HVAC system — collapsed into an indoor swimming pool area, according to a fire department news release.

At the time of the collapse, 50 to 100 people were inside the aquatics center.

Before the incident, eight firefighters from nearby Aurora Fire Station No. 16 were training in stairwells at the Gaylord property, the fire department said, allowing paramedics and EMT’s to respond quickly to the pool. Additional firefighters responded, including ladder trucks, engines and the department’s Technical Rescue Team.

“There were still hazards present with the threat of ongoing falling debris and mechanical systems” when emergency responders were first on scene, the news release said.

The resort and convention center, which has more than 1,000 rooms, features a water park on the sprawling property.

A spokesperson with the resort, owned by Marriott International, directed questions about the incident to Aurora Fire Rescue.

We have provided medical care for six total patients.
Two of these patients were transported to local hospitals with life-threatening injuries.

— Aurora Fire Rescue (@AuroraFireDpt)

Ryan S. Luby, a spokesman for the city of Aurora, said in a written statement: “Our hearts go out to all those who were injured today, to their families and to those traumatized by witnessing what occurred. We expect a thorough investigation, and our immediate focus is the well-being of those involved, and we thank our first responders for their quick response and care.”

To start the merry adventure, head toward Mistletoe Village, a makeshift town at the far end of the convention center. Don’t worry, there are maps and ropes of Christmas lights to guide you. Once there, make sure to book a time to see “Mission: Save Christmas Featuring Elf” (starting at $19.99). It’s like stepping into a stretched-out version of the movie, with interactive games and plenty of photo opportunities. Favorites of the 7-year-old we brought included the giant piano game, mailroom dance party and snowball fight. Overall, this attraction is for the 3-year-old to 10-year-old set, and/or die-hard fans of the 2003 movie “Elf” who just want to immerse themselves in Buddy’s world.

Next, wander around Mistletoe Village. Don a mask to visit Santa. Just keep in mind any photos with the big man are done by the professionals and must be bought. If no physical memory is needed, it’s fun for the kids just to whisper their heart’s desire in hopes Santa will deliver it Christmas morning.

Also in the village, guests will find Mrs. Clause dishing up milk and cookies and reading “Twas’ The Night Before Christmas,” complete with some caroling ($12.99, various times). Or check out the “Naughty or Nice Escape Room” (starting at $125, various times) for some older kid fun. Don’t skip the fantastic gift shop that covers the back end of the village. With fun ornaments, clothes, cute plushies, candies and more, it will make any Christmas fan squeal in retail delight.

At this point, it’s nice to get some fresh air right outside of the hotel and enter into a wonderland of snow games, holiday lights and surprises around every turn. Skates can be borrowed for a twirl around the rink ($17.99), which also has push-rides for little ones to either sit on or use to anchor themselves as they glide along. There’s no time limit here, and guests of the hotel can pop in and out of the attraction all day as they desire.

Next, take a plunge down a snowy hill on a fat tube ($19.99), or a more gentle ride around the merry-go-round ($6.99). Start a snowball fight in the man-made snow area (free), play some snowdrift mini golf ($9.99) or take a ride on the ice bumper cars ($10.99). It’s worth walking outside, too. With pockets of games and fun lights, this space has been transformed into a winter wonderland perfect for kids to burn up some of that cookie energy by running around.

Warm up inside with a hot drink or food from the makeshift cafeteria. Then go see “Cirque Dream Holidaze” ($19). This circus act runs two times a day for 90 minutes and features death-defying plunges down a pole, a strong man that can balance a Christmas tree on his chin, artsy clowns, juggling, acrobatics and more. It’s magic to watch, and guests can bring in food and drink. There’s also a Snoopy Scavenger Hunt and a Secret Santa Scavenger Hunt ($9.99 each) that include a decoder ring, scavenger hunt booklet and prize.

Christmas at Gaylord of the Rockies runs now until January 2. Guests can enjoy the attractions most days from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. Prices depend on which attractions you want to attend. If doing a bunch of the events, purchase a bundle package, which starts at $63.67 for adults and $55.27 for kids. All tickets and timed attractions can be booked online on the hotel’s website, christmasatgaylordrockies.marriott.com. Between the lights, Santa, decorations and things to do, this attraction certainly fits its tag line, “So. Much. Christmas.” And for those who love the season, it’s a dream come true.

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Friday. Boulder hard-rock trio The Velveteers created a lot of hype for a band without a full-length album. That changed Oct. 8 when the group, led by Demi Demitro, released the searing “Nightmare Daydream,” a mascara-soaked grip of baritone riffs and melodic, howling vocals propelled by a pair of drummers. It doesn’t hurt that Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, who has produced for Denver indie band Tennis in the past, lent his sonic sensibilities to the album.

The Velveteers will headline the Gothic Theatre on Friday, Nov. 26, with Dreadnaught and Dry Ice. Doors open at 7 p.m., show at 8, for ages 16 and up. 3262 S. Broadway in Englewood. Catch the group while it’s still playing venues of this size. Tickets: $18 via . — John Wenzel

Christmas at Gaylord Rockies

Through Jan. 2, 2022. Like a hotel-castle rising from the plains south of Denver International Airport, the Gaylord Rockies entertainment complex in Aurora aims to be a destination of its own with its annual Christmas programming.

That includes a new “multi-sensory marquee experience” known as Mission: Save Christmas featuring “Elf,” joining the Cirque Dreams Holidaze show among the hotel’s family-friendly entertainment options. The latter offers 62 performances of a Broadway-style musical mixed with contemporary circus offerings, the hotel said. The outdoor Glacier Point also features Ice Bumper Cars, a snow-tubing hill, ice skating, a Snow Merry-Go-Round and Snowdrift Mini Golf — among other Christmas options (pics with Santa, workshops, etc.).

Through Jan. 2, 2022, at 6700 North Gaylord Rockies Blvd., Aurora. Tickets: $19 for Cirque Dreams; $20-$32 for Mission: Save Christmas. — John Wenzel

A bit of (literal) magic this weekend

Sunday. Denver-based, nationally touring mentalist and magician Professor Phelyx makes his work look easy, having won awards and fans with his honed stagecraft over the years. But the crisp, bespectacled and gentlemanly professor also elicits wild, unselfconscious laughs with his ever-changing set, which returns on Sunday, Nov. 28, online as part of Artists Sunday. The free, virtual shows encourage donations to local arts nonprofits and will take place at .

Also magical, but not part of Artists Sunday: Colorado Stars of Magic, Saturday, Nov. 27, at the Holiday Theatre, 2644 W. 32nd Ave. ($32 for tickets; )

Note: Shopping for local and handcrafted holiday goods from the dozens of Colorado artists at also gives you access to more than 550 communities and 4,200 individual artisans and craftspeople nationwide. If you can’t find something you love, you’re not looking very hard. Now in its second year, Artists Sunday also features special promotions and events at . — John Wenzel

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