by Mark Smiley | Aug 29, 2016 | Editorials
The Denver City Attorney’s Office is an enormous operation employing over 100 attorneys and hundreds of paralegals and staff personnel. It not only advises the Mayor and all City Department agencies as well as the City Council but also the City Auditor. It also represents and defends the City in all legal matters including initiating and defending lawsuits.
In recent years the job of City Attorney, which is considered a great political plum, has attracted the good, the bad and the ugly. Cole Finegan broke the record for hutzpah in office by claiming that the City Attorney position was not really a full-time job and so he became City Attorney and Chief of Staff simultaneously for then Mayor John Hickenlooper. His successor Larry Manzanares committed suicide after being charged with stealing a government computer and putting pornography on it.
In 2014 Mayor Hancock appointed 34-year-old Scott Martinez to the position. We noted that he had little or no qualifications for the job and the people who knew him called him a “legal lightweight” and “a political hack.” His appointment was apparently due to political pressure put on the Mayor by the Colorado Latino Forum which claimed, probably validly, that Hancock had appointed very few Hispanics to important positions in his administration.
For pointing out Martinez’s lack of qualifications we received a scalding, if not unintentionally hilarious letter, from the Board of Directors of the Colorado Latino Forum Denver Chapter accusing the Chronicle of all types of political incorrectness including racism, ageism and anti-nativism.
Since our story wherein we criticized Mr. Martinez concerned Hentzell Park, the Board of the Colorado Latino Forum Denver Chapter for good measure also severely castigated those individuals and neighborhood groups opposing the park being traded away for development. The Board specifically excoriated the everyday citizens for failing “to ask permission of those tribes that have historical claim to the land, the C
heyenne and Arapaho Nations, and explain how their homeland will be used for the good of the people.” Ostensibly any person challenging any land use decision or rezoning in the City and County Denver would be subject to the same criticism. Wow, as if opposing the entire city bureaucracy and the all-powerful real estate developers isn’t bad enough.
The Board then went on to declare that they were standing up for Mr. Martinez and others like him who they knew have “earned their leadership positions” and that they would take their “rightful places in history.” The Board extensively publicized its letter throughout the Internet.
Well Mr. Martinez has taken his “rightful place in history” after being forced to resign in disgrace after two and half disastrous years as City Attorney. He is under criminal investigation by the District Attorney for destroying his letter terminating Assistant City Attorney Stuart Shapiro that was being sought by investigative reporter Brian Maass of Channel 4 News pursuant to a Colorado Open Records Act request.
Related thereto the Denver City Council has just approved paying Mr. Shapiro a $660,000 settlement of claims that he was “scapegoated by higher ups” (read Scott Martinez and his deputies) regarding his suspension for his apparent unethical actions during the investigation of the Sheriff’s Deputies abuse of Jamal Hunter, who the city paid $3.25 million. No one appears to doubt that Shapiro engaged in unethical conduct as highlighted by Federal Judge John Kane, but instead it appears he did so so on the instructions of Scott Martinez and his deputies.
Why that entitles Shapiro to $660,000 of the taxpayers’ money is a little unclear, but as the headline to the lead Denver Post editorial declared, “Something stinks about Denver’s Shapiro settlement.” Thanks to an obsequious and secretive Denver City Council we will, in fact, probably never find out what really happened.
We, along with neighborhood groups like Friends of Hentzell Park, are anxiously awaiting the heartfelt apology to us from the entire Board of the Colorado Latino Forum Denver Chapter acknowledging that we were correct and they were wrong about Mr. Martinez’s fitness to be City Attorney, but somehow we get the feeling it will never come.
So out with the incompetent and apparently ethically challenged City Attorney Scott Martinez and in with the new one Kristin M. Bronson from the national law firm Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie, LLP. She too is a virtually unknown and by all appearances is not much more than a mediocre attorney stuck in a huge firm with little or no qualifications for municipal legal work, but her predecessor had a similar background.
How did our esteemed mayor find her? That is easy — he didn’t. She was found by Pat Hamill and/or his real estate development buddies who knew her from the fact that a significant part of her legal work, according to her law firm’s website, was representing “lender, developer and property management clients in all facets of real estate, construction, and banking law.” No reason for the mayor to kowtow to the Colorado Latino Forum any longer when the real estate developers can have their gal put in place who will undoubtedly “do as instructed.”
Will she be as inept, incompetent and ethically challenged as Scott Martinez? We doubt it, but that is a very low bar to hurdle. Will she represent the interests and concerns of the citizens of the City and County of Denver? You have got to be kidding. She knows who got her appointed — real estate developers — and that is who will give the necessary marching orders.
So, the beat goes on in Mayor Michael Hancock’s Mile High City.
— Editorial Board
by Mark Smiley | Jul 22, 2016 | Main Articles
Former Denver City Council President Cathy Donohue:
by Cathy Donohue
I have witnessed or was a part of Denver’s political scene, especially the Denver City Council, for over 40 years. Along the way many neighbors, friends and curiosity seekers have asked me how long zoning decisions in the City and County of Denver have been less than above board and whether it is worse today than in the past.
For the past several months the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle has been publishing in-depth articles about the manner in which land use decisions are made by some members of council.
The articles have prompted me to tell the citizens what “really” happens before and after the final votes are taken. I believe that Denver citizens need to know the truth from someone who was present when the decision was made and is still able to tell this story.
First it should be acknowledged that the Denver government has a long history of shady characters. By way of example Denver’s 20th mayor, Wolfe Londoner, won the office by 77 votes in 1889, thanks to friends stuffing the ballot box and having operatives, including legendary lawman Bat Masterson and con man “Soapy” Smith, exchanging votes at bars for drinks. In turn Londoner, with the help of the City Council, rewarded saloon owners by ignoring the local zoning laws and residential ordinances on where new drinking establishments could be located as well as reducing fees and cost of licenses for saloon owners. There is still a tunnel under Bannock street that allows people to cross over to the Carnegie Library. It was used to take money to city politicians before the rules of campaign contribution disclosure were established.
Londoner’s level of corruption was so extreme that the courts removed him from office. He later became the President of the Colorado State Press Association. If you substitute today’s “real estate developers” for “saloon owners” and “campaign contributions” for “drinks” you can see that over the years not much has really changed regarding zoning decisio
ns in Denver.
The Rise Of “Courtesy Zoning”
When I was elected to City Council in 1975, I was joined by two other new councilmembers, Sal Carpio and Sam Sandos (think new Denver City Council members Rafael Espinoza, Paul Kashmann and Wayne New from the 2015 Denver municipal election). The three newcomers did not come from the ranks of “party” politics or any other of the usual paths into elective office. We were “unknown” to the Denver political establishment and we did not receive the normal campaign contributions from Denver’s development community. The entire cost of my 1975 election was $3,000. My opponent spent $4,000 — quite a change from today’s campaigns where office seekers spend $100,000 to be elected to the Denver City Council.
In 1975, Sal, Sam and I were shocked to find out after several months in office that we were powerless to represent those who elected us to office regarding rezoning of private property and parkland. Seven council members (out of a total of 13) had formed a cabal and agreed to vote in lockstep with each other and as their developer co
ntributors wanted.
Elvin Caldwell, the leader of the 7-vote cabal that worked for the development community, resigned from council because Mayor McNichols appointed him to be the Manager of Safety. His replacement, King Trimble, was not cut from the same cloth as Mr. Caldwell, and voted with the newcomers. As the Caldwell-led coalition shrunk, we devised a new system to challenge the cabal.
The new system allowed each councilmember to decide what would be appropriate in his or her district and the other councilmembers would respect that decision and “not mess in another councilperson’s district.” (These were the words used at the time).
For more than 20 years beginning in 1975, this system worke
d. We did not have developer-controlled zoning. Land use in parks and private property was under the control of the council person of each district. After 2003, the development community gradually found seven politicians who would accept their contributions. There are now seven Council votes that will put the developers back into their old position of power over council members. They have reverted back to the pre-1975 system.
Long after Sam, Sal and I left council, someone decided to give a name to the phenomenon. They called it “Courtesy Zoning.” Sal Carpio, Sam Sandos or I never heard the words “Courtesy Zoning” until long after we left elective office. In those districts in which the developers gave lots of campaign contributions, they controlled the city council person in question. The voters in each district know which councilmember is responsible for any questionable rezoning or “Parks” decisions. The voters can put pressure on their representatives if they vote irresponsibly, or they can find a replacement.
The Effect Of Term Limits
In 2003, 12-year term limits were imposed by the voters on all of 
Colorado’s elected officials. While term limits can have salubrious effects, in Denver the law of unintended consequences occurred.
It was an opening that developers and elected officials could exploit. Anyone considering running for Denver City Council simply waits until an existing member becomes term limited instead of going through the hassle of challenging an incumbent. Once elected, a councilmember, barring extraordinary circumstances, does not have to worry about being re-elected until the term limit has been served. Thus, maximum density developers only have to invest heavily in the first term-limited campaign and keep the contributions flowing for the two remaining terms. It usually takes only one election cycle (and quite a few campaign dollars) for developers to regain control of a councilmember.
After 2003, a dramatic and unfortunate reversal began. Slowly, but surely, Councilmembers began to vote against their constituents’ wishes and ultimately the 20-year hiatus from the developers’ hold on councilmembers ended.
Councilwoman Marcia Johnson was the first member to reverse the historical purpose of Courtesy Zoning by voting “yes” on a controversial zoning in her District called Lowry Vista.
Councilwoman Johnson represents District 5. She ignored 87 percent of the residents who opposed the rezoning from open space to high density mixed use. The land had once been used as a waste dump for all the toxic materials generated at Lowry Air Force Base. Quite naturally, Johnson’s constituents worried about contamination, but Johnson simply paid no attention to their pleas. Fortunately, the rezoning is being re-heard in the courts and no one has shown an interest in buying this highly toxic piece of land.
The City Council hearing on the Lowry Vista matter lasted until 2 a.m. Windsor Gardens, whose residents had previously supported the rezoning application, sent a representative to the hearing at midnight to tell Johnson they had rescinded their support from “yes” to a unanimous “no.”
Instead of voting as her constituents requested, Johnson voted with the developers and their lobbyists. In doing so she betrayed the voters. Repercussions followed. When she attended meetings in her district, she was met by angry voters. She decided to hold an “Ice Cream Social” to re-establish herself. Her constituents stayed away. A short time later she announced she would not seek her third term so that she could spend time with her family. Johnson is the only City Council member that has abandoned the 12-year term which began in 2003. Johnson was succeeded as the council member from District 5 by Mary Beth Susman, who promised she would listen to and respect the opinions of her constituents.
Parks In The Crosshairs
Several years ago Denver City Council gave up its right to control Denver parks to the Mayor’s office. It was a strange decision, since under Denver’s “strong mayor” form of government the City Council historically has been envious of the powers of the Administration. Soon, the mayor and his developer friends began looking to Denver’s parks as a source of revenue and development.
The Administration began looking for parkland and open space that had perhaps, by accident, not been designated as a park by an ordinance passed by Council. They found a portion of Hentzell Park that had inadvertently failed to be officially designated as a park. Mayor Hancock quickly prepared to exchange the land for a downtown office building owned by Denver Public Schools. Despite adamant neighborhood opposition Councilwoman Peggy Lehman, who was also term limited, voted “Yes” on removing this land from the parks system. The rest of the Council supported her as if it were a “Courtesy” matter. It should be noted that zoning matters concern “privately owned” land and are requested by the owner. Parks belong to the citizens of Denver. Peggy Lehman’s duties did not include the removal of any parks from the citizens who own them without their approval. She should not have been the “decider” in the matter of publicly owned parkland.
We should also question the wisdom of any public body that believes it is good government policy to put a public school in that part of Hentzell Park that is in a flood plain. Council members then extended the “Courtesy” vote to parkland — a new addition that clearly violates Denver’s charter.
The Death Of “Courtesy Zoning”
By the time the 2015 municipal election took place, neighborhood groups and private citizens throughout the city demanded that all candidates for City Council pledge to abandon “courtesy zoning.” The “Johnson” reversal of Courtesy Zoning left a very bad taste in the mouths of the citizens. Most politicians took the pledge. Voters did not want “courtesy” to ever be used as Johnson had done at Lowry Vista, or as Lehman did with Hentzell Park.
Little did we know that maximum density developers and their minions had figured out a way to pervert the vote of council. When a maximum density developer wanted to rezone the Mt. Gilead Church property on Crestmoor Park he assumed he knew just how to accomplish his mission. Although Susman thought the matter was settled, this rezoning also had to be settled by the courts.
Johnson’s replacement on City Council, Mary Beth Susman, had seen what happened to her predecessor when the vast number of her constituents opposed her vote on the Lowry Vista rezoning. The Mt. Gilead Church property on Crestmoor Park had an equal if not more fierce neighborhood opposition. Susman in fact voted “No” on the rezoning but she let her colleagues know it was just a phony “show” vote. The Council as a whole voted “Yes” to the rezoning. “Courtesy voting” was not honored. Several Denver councilmembers even mocked neighborhood groups at the hearing telling them that, “You wanted us to get rid of ‘courtesy zoning’ and you have been granted your wish.” The councilmembers knew that “courtesy zoning” was a great gift to the citizens, not to the maximum density developers.
Call To Action
Today, voting patterns have come full circle. We have returned to the place we were prior to 1975 — seven votes solidly in the pockets of the Mayor Michael Hancock and the maximum density crowd. Fortunately, the voters elected four new councilmembers last spring that are not controlled by the pro-maximum density crowd –- Rafael Espinoza, Kevin Flynn, Paul Kashmann and Wayne New. They vote their consciences. Two veterans, Debbie Ortega and Paul Lopez, often join them.
Seven other councilmembers, the Denver Community Planning Development Agency under Brad Buchanan, and Mayor Hancock promote bad land use decisions. As demonstrated by the revolting conduct of the infamous “Pro Corruption” Denver District Court Judge Shelly I. Gilman in the Crestmoor Park case, the local court system in Denver may well be as venal as the majority of the members of the Denver City Council. The Denver courts apparently refuse to pretend to be neutral arbiters of disputes between the citizenry and their municipal government and cannot be trusted, based on the judges’ rulings on Crestmoor and Hentzell Park.
Thus, as Denver continues to grow, we need to shine a bright light on the voting of our city’s politicians. We need a “performance audit” to track the land use voting records of Council. The Auditor, the Mayor and the City Council should not be forced to use the same attorneys, as is the rule according to Denver’s Charter. It is morally reprehensible to use the same attorney to represent opposing sides of an issue. At least the Council and the Auditor should have separate legal representation. In the city of Denver, the Mayor is the only elected official with proper legal representation. A number of times in the past, Council has hired its own legal representation.
Applications for rezoning property are believed to make land more valuable — at least that is the common understanding. Private property bordering a city park is even more valuable. Denver citizens need to be made fully aware of the outcome of all “Courtesy” voting, whether it is for zoning changes or loss of land in city parks. If the way in which our city politicians perform their duties does not pass the smell test, we need to replace them and those parts of the city’s constitution that permit this behavior.
Neither do we have to wait 12 years to replace a politician who has sold his or her vote to the highest bidder. Even replacing one council member at a time will cause the others to shiver and quake. They may even begin to care about Denver. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to try to keep our city safe and livable for the future. Council is currently approving highly questionable decisions.
by Mark Smiley | Jul 22, 2016 | Travel
by Megan Carthel
Happening every Wednesday night from June 8 to August 17, the Shady Grove Picnic Series is a delightful night of local and national music talent. A crowd gathers together with picnics, friends and family, fresh air and good music. The Four Mile Historic Park adds the perfect backdrop to this almost two-decade musical tradition. So far this year, the Shady Grove Picnic Series goers have had the pleasure of hearing the musical talents of Wendy Woo and Friends, Perpetual Motion and Sweet B and Her Moonshine.
Harry Tuft and his friends played a magical set on July 13. The folksy-country sound was a perfect match for the evening’s warm breeze and shady trees. Marti Friednash, Mag Hayden, Ron Jones and Jack Stanesco joined Tuft on stage, adding not only a mix into the music, but bits of comedy. It was truly an enjoyable show for every age.
The Shady Grove Picnic Series is the perfect family night, date night or evening out of the house, and with the Em’s Ice Cream truck at every show doling out fresh and cold organic scoops of delicious home-made ice cream, it’s a great way to cool off and relax after a long, hot summer day.
These relaxing Wednesday evenings are put on by Swallow Hill Music, a non-profit organization for musicians and music lovers. Barry Osborne, mar
keting manager for Swallow Hill Music, said the Shady Grove Picnic Series is a more low-key concert that allows friends to come together, listen to music, chat, enjoy each other’s company. It’s safe to say music fans are transported to a summer oasis within the city limits. The family-friendly and laid back environment gives younger music fans the chance to experience live music. Swallow Hill Music works with Four Mile Historic Park to put together these summer staple Wednesday nights and to find emerging talent.
“The Shady Grove Picnic Series is a great way to introduce music fans to bands they might not be aware of,” Osborne said.
For the bands, it’s a chance to get in front of a larger crowd than they’re used to — with about 100 or so people gathering around the tent stage.
While the Shady Grove Picnic Series generally showcases folk music, other genres are making an appearance this year. Color, a funk, soul band driven around a guitar lending to a modern-soul sound, and The Scones, with an Americana-Ro
ck-and-Roll sound, are sure to shake up the Shady Grove scene with new and exciting sounds.
“Even though we’re known as a folk organization and present a lot of folk we feel the American music experience is broad enough we can push that,” Osborne said.
For Osborne, when everything from the audience to an energetic live band comes together, putting on these shows is amazing. “[The Shady Grove Picnic Series] feels like a hallmark of summer in Denver,” said Osborne.
Swallow Hill Music does more than put on concerts. The non-profit has a music school that employs experienced and talented musicians. Students learn a song by the end of their first class. But teaching isn’t all Swallow Hill Music does; the non-profit hosts “exceptional musical experiences” throughout the year in the Denver community. Their concerts feature up-and-coming artists, local talent and national talents who “enrich the local arts scene.”
This year, tickets are available online or at the door. An evening of great music and picnics is a steal at $12 for adults, $8 for Swallow Hill Music and Four Mile Historic Park members and kids under 12 can enjoy the music for only $2 — kids under two are free. For more information, visit Swallow Hill Music’s website swallowhillmusic.org.
by Mark Smiley | Jul 22, 2016 | Main Articles
New Hotel Adding Fuel To Fire Of Beltway Boom
by Glen Richardson
South Colorado Boulevard is heading into summer with explosive momentum: Three new retail redevelopments are getting underway plus two towers along the thoroughfare have sold to a Middle East investment firm for $62 million. Furthermore, at the Colorado Center — the southernmost dense pocket on the corridor — where Lincoln Properties currently has a 15-story office-retail building and 189-unit apartment complex under construction the developer is also planning to build a hotel.
Once the business backwater to flashier projects in Cherry Creek and downtown, a potent mix of fierce market demand, older properties ripe for redevelopment, plus high traffic volume is fueling a race to rebuild. The muscle behind the boulevard’s new driving power is Glendale’s $175 million entertainment and retail venue planned between Colorado Boulevard and Cherry Street, and Virginia Avenue and Cherry Creek Drive North. Creating added horsepower and torque to the business breakaway are the two $50 million Sonic Automotive car dealerships (Mercedes-Benz and BMW) under construction on the east side of Colorado Boulevard in Glendale.
Colorado Blvd. real estate market watchers remind the Chronicle that North Carolina-based Sonic originally swapped its Cadillac dealership in Lone Tree to John Elway Automotive Group for the Colorado Blvd. Chevy site. Initially Sonic planned to continue running the Chevy dealership but later came to the conclusion, “the real estate was more valuable than the Chevy business.” Moreover, both the BMW and Mercedes dealerships now under construction will have two-story showrooms. Insiders note the property has to be very valuable to go vertical because it’s very expensive.
Buying Binge
Directly across Colorado Blvd. from the Mercedes-Benz dealership under construction, Florida real estate investor and car dealer Ira Lang has purchased the site that once housed language-learning center BridgeEnglish. The two buildings on the site at 915-925 S. Colorado Blvd. will be redeveloped into 7,020 square feet of new retail space. The Miami Beach investor who already owns more than a half dozen properties on Colorado Blvd., paid $3.275 million for the prime property on the corner of Colorado
Blvd. and Kentucky. Longtime Lang associate Gary Glusman — who manages all of Lang’s Denver properties — says, “we simply ran out of buildings to buy as investments along Colorado Blvd. so we are buying older properties that can be redeveloped.”
Lang Development has also purchased a parcel of land at Colorado Blvd. and Arizona for $3.2 million. A three-story, 17,706-square-foot office building sits on the three-quarters of an acre site. The 52-year-old building will be partially demolish
ed and remodeled. The building is being redeveloped with 70 off-street parking spaces.
Further south at 2865 S. Colorado Blvd. Lang is redeveloping a 15,000-square-foot, three-story office building near one of Denver’s busiest thoroughfares. Located just north of Hampden Ave. with easy access to I-25, Lang paid $825,000 for the property in an area that already has several office and retail new construction and redevelopment projects. G3 Architecture is designing all three of Lang’s retail redevelopments.
Greenbacks Buy
Investcor, an active investor in U.S. real estate based in the Middle East island country of Bahrain on the western shores of the Persian Gulf, has purchased the two Centerpoint Towers on Colorado Blvd. for $62 million. Built in the early 1980s, the Centerpoint 
complex is comprised of two office towers located at 3900 E. Mexico Ave. and 1777 S. Harrison St.
Seattle-based Unico — owner of a cluster of Cherry Creek North buildings — was the seller. Back in 2006 and 2012 Unico paid a total of just more than $38 million for the two buildings.
Centerpoint II made up the majority of the sale price at $32.7 million. The tower is a 17 story building with 205,000 rentable square feet. At 14 stories Centerpoi
nt I is the smaller tower and has 168,000 rentable square feet, accounting for $29 million of the sale price.
Full Tilt Ahead
The Colorado Center — where new residential and retail components are under construction near Colorado Blvd. and Evans — has been ripe for growth since the light rail station opened. With 35 stations across five lines, the existing light rail system allows for fast and easy metro area travel.
More than one million square feet of development is currently underway on the 13-acre office, retail and entertainment complex. Tower III construction began in August of 2015. The Main Street and the Residential Tower construction got underway this June.
Buildings featuring 269 apartment units and 40,000 square feet of retail space are being built closest to the transit station. Already featuring three Class-A 
office buildings, a Dave & Busters plus United Artists Colorado Center Stadium 9 and IMAX, a hotel is the logical next addition to the Center’s portfolio. Although shown in Denver’s Tryba Architects master plan, the firm has yet to release a rendering of the proposed hotel.
by Mark Smiley | Jul 22, 2016 | Glendale City News
by Brent New
Writer for and on behalf of the City of Glendale
Infinity Park at Glendale, Colorado
Glendale is throwing a beer festival alongside a prestigious rugby tournament at Infinity Park.
How the two will ultimately mix? Where better to find that answer than inside one of Colorado’s flavorful craft breweries.
“I think rugby and beer are perfect together because beer actually has all eight amino acids,” Post Brewing Co. Director of Sales AJ Boglioli weighed in. “Perfect for a postgame sip.”
Hmm. Well, all right then.
The event on August 27, dubbed “Glendale’s Bruises and Brews Beerfest,” will give attendees the chance to sample from breweries and distilleries while taking in the second day of the three-day Serevi RugbyTown 7s Tournament (August 26-28).
More than 20 breweries will showcase their top beers, liquors and hard ciders. Admittance — and unabashed acceptance — is $35.
“It seems like two passionate groups of people coming together — people who are passionate about rugby and people who are passionate about beer,” said Boglioli, whose brewery will make its first appearance at the event.
“It just makes sense,” he added. People are working up a sweat and watching a sport that they love, and then they get to sit back and chug some delicious beer that they like to drink.”
And hey, the whole rugby part should be pretty good, too.
The Rugby 7s tournament — called 7s because of two seven-minute halves and seven players on each side — will feature teams from five nations, including teams from each branch of the United States Armed Services.
It comes on the heels of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, where 7s will make its fast-paced, hard-hitting debut.
The tournament purse is $10,000.
“In my opinion it’s an all-around really good event for everybody,” said Annette Gilman, the owner of Scrum Enterprises, the liquor concessionaire for Infinity Park. “People like it. They come, they sample beer, they go down and watch some rugby, they come back. … It’s great.”
Gilman said she expects between 22 and 24 breweries and four distilleries.
Expected beverage providers include 3 Freaks Brewery, Boggy Draw Brewery, Blank & Booth Distillery, Bull and Bush, C Squared Ciders, Colorado Cider Co., Comrade Brewing, Copper Kettle, Dad and Dudes Breweria, Denver Beer Co., Epic Brewing Company, Goldspot Brewing Company, Golden Moon Distillery, Hogshead Brewing, Joyride Brewing, Lariat Lodge Brewing, Mile High Spirits, Odell Brewing, Platt Park Brewing, Post Brewing, Sanitas Brewing, State 38 Distillery, Station 26 Brewing, Strange Brewing, WestFax Brewing and Westminster Brewing Co.
The high (large amount) turnout? It’s no secret as to why, said Kelissa Hieber, a brewer at Goldspot Brewing Company.
In a time where beerfests can sometimes blur together, Glendale is making sure it stands apart.
“A lot of breweries have been really pulling back with how many festivals they are doing,” said Hieber, a lover of beer and rugby. “We always before considered it as free marketing but now there are so many festivals and so many of them are the same. There’s no other entertainment festivals like this, just a bunch of beer.
And the wider demographic makes this beerfest all the more exciting.
“This festival is unique in that is does have that entertainment factor and you’re bringing people to your booth that wouldn’t go to your standard festival,” she adds. “We were really eager to come back this year.”
The beer will be served under a giant tent at the park’s Festival Plaza from 12-4 p.m.
Admission for the two-in-one event includes a ticket and a commemorative tasting mug. Only 1,500 tickets will be sold.
“I think people have really enjoyed it,” said Kieran Nelson, the Director of Stadium Operations at Infinity Park. “I think that a lot of people think it’s a cool mix — it’s a cool marriage if you will.”
The beerfest in its current form has been going on since 2014 and the Serevi RugbyTown 7s is in its fifth year.
A donation from the event will go to the Glendale Raptors Rugby Youth Foundation.
Tickets for Glendale’s Bruises and Brews Beerfest can be found online. It includes unlimited beer pours and three distillery tastings. Must be 21 or older.
Tickets for day two of the Serevi RugbyTown 7s Tournament ONLY are $10. Children under the age of 12 are free.
Free parking is available at the corner of Kentucky and Cherry Street or at the corner of Ohio and S. Birch Street. First come, first served.
