by Valley Gadfly | Aug 20, 2026 | Valley Gadfly
The mornings finally begin to cool down, the afternoons are still warm enough for a patio, football returns, school is back in session, and before long the mountains will begin putting on the annual fall-color show that reminds us why people keep moving here despite our repeated requests that they stop.
Around the Cherry Creek Valley, September also brings something else: a return to the rhythm of community life.
Summer vacations are ending. Business groups are gathering again. Arts organizations are launching their fall seasons. Restaurants and shops are preparing for a busy final stretch of the year. And local governments, never known for taking an extended vacation, have plenty on their agendas as well.
Cherry Creek Keeps Growing
The latest State of Cherry Creek numbers provide some perspective on just how significant the area has become. Cherry Creek now attracts more than 16.8 million visitors annually, is home to 1,694 businesses, and supports more than 16,800 workers.
The district also generated more than $119 million in tax revenue for Denver during 2025, including retail sales, property and lodging taxes, and parking revenue.
And the building cranes aren’t disappearing anytime soon. Eight projects were reported under construction with another eight announced, including major developments such as Cherry Creek West, the Waldorf Astoria Residences, and Cherry Lane.
All of that development naturally produces debate about traffic, parking, density and what Cherry Creek should look like 10 or 20 years from now.
Those are worthwhile discussions. But amid all the arguments over growth, it is worth remembering that thousands of small and locally owned businesses are part of the Cherry Creek economy. The State of Cherry Creek report counted more than 462 ground-level retail and service businesses, with 87% qualifying as small businesses.
So this September, perhaps buy lunch from somebody who knows your name.
Amazon will survive.
The Arts Wake Up For Fall
September also means Denver’s cultural calendar starts getting serious again.
The Denver Center for the Performing Arts begins its 2026-27 Theatre Company season with Destiny of Desire, opening September 11 at the Wolf Theatre and running through October 4. The production is a telenovela-inspired play with music by Karen Zacarías, directed by Marcela Lorca.
After a summer of concerts, festivals, and outdoor entertainment, September is the month when Denver’s theaters, galleries, and performance spaces begin filling their calendars again. The Gadfly recommends taking advantage. There are only so many evenings one can spend watching television while scrolling through a telephone and simultaneously complaining that nobody does anything interesting anymore.
Colorado Boulevard Remains A Conversation
One subject that will continue well beyond September is the future of Colorado Boulevard. The proposed Bus Rapid Transit project has generated substantial discussion over dedicated transit lanes, automobile capacity, pedestrian safety, neighborhood traffic, and how construction could affect businesses along the corridor.
At an April stakeholder meeting, participants expressed strong interest in safety improvements and more reliable transit, while also asking for additional technical information about traffic modeling and raising concerns about vehicles being diverted onto residential streets. Businesses and residents have also asked planners to consider construction impacts and access. Those aren’t unreasonable questions.
Colorado Boulevard is one of the region’s most important north-south corridors, and improving transit and pedestrian safety while keeping businesses accessible and neighborhoods livable is a balancing act worth getting right.
The Gadfly’s contribution to the planning process remains simple:
Anyone making a major decision about Colorado Boulevard should first be required to drive it during rush hour. Call it field research.
Enjoy September While It Lasts
Colorado September never seems long enough.
Soon enough we’ll be scraping windshields, arguing about snowplows, and watching television meteorologists stand beside Interstate 70 explaining that driving into the mountains during a blizzard might involve delays.
For now, however, we have cool mornings, warm afternoons, football weekends, community gatherings, theater openings, busy patios, and the beginning of fall in the Rockies.
Get outside. Visit a local business. Attend an event. Meet somebody new. Take in a show. Spend an afternoon in the neighborhood.
And sometime this month, look west. The leaves will soon begin changing.
For once, that’s a change everyone around here can probably agree on.
by Valley Gadfly | Jul 23, 2026 | Valley Gadfly
Valley Gadfly
August arrives wrapped in golden sunshine, lazy afternoons, and lingering laughter. Summer doesn’t end with a bang. It slowly slips away with backyard barbecues, baseball under brilliant blue skies, mountain escapes, and evenings made for patios and peaceful strolls.
The season’s final full month reminds us to savor every sunset, every scoop of ice cream, every concert under the stars, and every adventure before autumn comes calling.
As students sharpen pencils and athletes lace up their shoes, here are our sizzling selections for shopping, dining, and entertainment throughout the Cherry Creek Valley:
Experience the dazzling Bright Nights at Four Mile Historic Park, where immersive light displays transform Denver’s oldest standing structure into a magical evening adventure for the entire family. Information: fourmilepark.org.
Catch Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire together at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre on Aug. 17 for one of summer’s biggest concert events. Information: fiddlersgreenamp.com.
Laugh the night away with nationally touring comedians appearing throughout August at Comedy Works South in the Landmark district.
Spend a relaxing afternoon exploring the boutiques, galleries, and outdoor cafés throughout Cherry Creek North, one of Colorado’s premier shopping destinations.
Beat the heat with handcrafted frozen custard or gourmet ice cream before enjoying an evening walk through one of the Valley’s beautiful parks and trails.
Take the family aboard the historic Georgetown Loop Railroad, where spectacular mountain scenery and vintage steam locomotives create unforgettable Colorado memories.
August is the bridge between carefree summer days and the excitement of a new season. School buses return to neighborhood streets, football fields come alive, and community calendars quickly fill with festivals, fundraisers, and fall traditions. It’s a wonderful time to rediscover the businesses, restaurants, and attractions that make our Valley such a remarkable place to call home.
Expect warm afternoons reaching the mid to upper 80s, cool evenings perfect for outdoor dining, brilliant sunsets, and the occasional late-day thunderstorm rolling across Colorado’s Front Range. Before long, leaves will begin changing colors and pumpkin patches will replace swimming pools.
Until then, soak up every glorious August moment.
Why is August so optimistic?
Because it’s always looking forward to fall without forgetting how much fun summer has been.
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
by Valley Gadfly | Jul 23, 2026 | Main Articles
Would Like Dallas Developers And Others Brought In
by Glen Richardson
Glendale Resident Tim Dickey
For many years longtime Texans have been moving to Colorado for a change of pace and lifestyle. Most have been positive additions to the state, but there has been a prototype that has had a long tradition of being despised by many natives of the Centennial State.
The prototype is a person who comes from one of Texas’ big cities (i.e. Dallas, Houston, Austin) to a smaller Colorado community and informs the inhabitants that they are rubes and that he or she believes that the inhabitants have been doing things the wrong way for a long time and insists they change and do it the “Texas Way,” whatever that may be.
Glendale has the misfortune, in many people’s minds, of attracting Dallasite Tim Dickey who recently made the upscale 4550 Cherry Creek Residences his permanent domicile. He appeared at the Glendale monthly City Council meeting on June 2, 2026, and announced, sua sponte, that Glendale has too many residents who are young and single and “live in complexes-built decades ago as ‘singles only’ apartments.”
The 74-year-old Dickey apparently believes young singles are somehow by their very nature inferior to residents who are older and have spouses and children. It is true Glendale has been a Mecca for younger residents and renters since the 1970s. According to the U.S. Census median age of Glendale is roughly 30.8 years compared to Denver’s 35.3 years and the national average of 38.9. Glendale is heavily dominated by young professionals in their 20s and 30s, who comprise 57% of its total population.
That is apparently unacceptable to Dickey who wants “high quality, family friendly, Low Income Housing Tax Credit projects” like those he is familiar with from his many years in Dallas. He even brought in for the City Council brochures from Dallas low-income project developers although he noted that there are about 200 low-income multifamily developers in Colorado.
Kids Programs: Mr. Dickey is apparently unaware of enormous resources and programs available to Glendale children at the Glendale Sports Center at Infinity Park.
What would happen to the young professionals in their 20s and 30s that he would kick out of Glendale in favor of federally subsidized low-income families is apparently of no concern to Dickey. According to Zillow, renting in Glendale is roughly 18% to 33% more affordable compared to neighboring Denver. Glendale has managed to be one of the most affordable cities in all of Colorado with virtually no federal subsidies in the form of federal tax credits. A relatively free market system adopted by Glendale is apparently anathema to Dickey.
Dickey from his vantage point on the 21st floor of 4550 Cherry Creek thinks he lives in a town that bears little resemblance to the actual Glendale. He sent a highly condescendin
g letter to Glendale Mayor Mike Dunafon after Glendale City Council turned down his application to be on Glendale Planning Commission in favor of a candidate they believed was better qualified and a longer-term resident of the town.
The recently arrived 74-year-old Texan appointed himself advocate for the poor children of Glendale. In that role declared: “One in four children under 18 lives in poverty with almost no amenities for children.”
He seemed unaware that there are only about 360 children living in Glendale and even if his statistics are correct that is a total of 90 kids and there is arguably no better place for them to live than Glendale in Colorado.
Glendale, under Mayor Mike Dunafon built Infinity Park Sports Center that includes basketball, volleyball, and tennis courts as well as a state-of-the-art weight room and equipment along with access to the pool facilities at Schlessman Y on Colorado Boulevard. There is a plethora of programs for kids and teenagers run by the YMCA under contract with the city. At Glendale Sports Center individual membership for Glendale residents is only $10 a month and only $22 per month for a family of any size which includes all offspring under the age of 24. If for any reason a family can’t afford even those low prices there are generous scholarships available for Glendale residents.
For all kids in school there is an after-school program where the city takes care of kids after school until 5:30 p.m. absolutely free of charge. Kids in Glendale go to the Cherry Creek School System, considered one of the best in the country. After school Cherry Creek District school buses go directly from the schools to the Sports Center and drop the kids off.
Glendale is also known as RugbyTown. Kids living in Glendale starting at age 5 and through age 18 can play organized rugby with top coaches free of charge including all equipment, uniforms, and transportation they might need.
The affluent Dickey appears to be willing to destroy all of that so he can bring high density developers while throwing out and replacing the 57% of the population that are young professionals.
Dickey acted as the campaign consultant for Glendale Planning Commissioner Elizabeth Bonney who ran for City Council last Spring. Under Dickey’s tutelage she garnered only 28 votes and finished last in the election. He now wants the City’s general elections which have been held in Spring since the town’s incorporation 74 years ago changed to November.
Apparently, he believes if Bonney runs two years from now (and presumably himself) they will somehow have a better chance of succeeding if the election is in November and not April.
Knowledgeable insiders have trouble understanding how a Dallas transplant in his seventies will appeal to Glendale voters 57% of which are young professionals who he wants thrown out of town whatever season elections are held.
Dickey apparently has not made very many friends over at 4550 Cherry Creek. There is a rumored effort afoot to get Dickey kicked out of the development. He did not enamor himself to the management of the building when he called over to the city demanding that the city cite the building for federal Americans with Disabilities Act violations for repairs it was making at the building claiming he was expert concerning the Act. The city found no merit in his assertions.
During the Spring election he outraged his fellow residents by littering the halls with Elizabeth Bonney campaign literature and blank absentee ballot applications in direct violation of building rules and regulations.
It is unclear whether the elderly white Texan also objects to the racial demographic diversity of Glendale with 26% being Hispanic, 12% African-American, and only 51% to 65% White. His redevelopment of the city would likely drastically alter those demographics.
Dickey is expected to be at the next Glendale City Council meeting on August 4 to demand the city council approve a ballot initiative to change its elections from spring to fall.
by Valley Gadfly | Jun 30, 2026 | Valley Gadfly
Valley Gadfly
Take time to unwind, summer will flash by as quickly as fireworks as we celebrate Colorado’s 150 years of statehood. In patriotic spirit, own each day like it’s the Fourth of July.
July’s glorious roar of fireworks plus summer thunderstorms are a dazzling reminder of the sounds, color and beauty of summertime throughout Cherry Creek Valley neighborhoods.
As new life bursts forth, and birds chirp and sing in patriotic spirit, celebrate Independence Day with these rapid-fire choices for shopping, dining and entertainment blasts:
- Don’t miss Treaty Oak Revival playing at Red Rocks Amphitheatre June 3, 7:30 p.m. The Odessa, Texas rock group have self-released three studio albums and five singles since 2018. Information: 720-865-2494.
- Brooklyn singer, DJ, and producer Yaeji blends hip hop with mellow vocals at The Church, July 4, 10 p.m. Information: 720-604-0604.
- Catch English singer, and musician Jon Anderson playing in the Paramount Theatre, July 8, 7:30 p. m. Information: 303-623-0106.
- Want comfort dishes with seasonal ingredients inside a compact neighborhood setting? Try South Pearl Steet’s Florence Supper Club featuring spicy rigatoni, plus chicken or veal parm and tasty cheesecake. Information: 303-483-7684.
- Whether remodeling or new construction, look to the skilled electricians at Welsh Electric for quality craftsmanship and customer satisfaction. Smart, sustainable solar energy solutions also offered. Information: 720-476-7780.
- Texas singer, and producer Chance Pena plays the Ogden Theater, July 13, 8 p. m. Information: 303-832-1874.
- Country music singer-songwriter Lee Brice entertains at the Fillmore Auditorium July 16, 8 p.m. Information:303-837-0360.
- Folk and roots duo the Okee Dokee Brothers plays at the Federal Theatre, July 19, 8 p.m. Information:com
- Attend the Summer Garden Party Fundraise in the Cableland Mansion on Saturday, July 11, 3 to 6 p.m. Event has hand-passed hors d’oeuvres, coffee bistro, plus live poolside entertainment from Skylark Jazz. Silent auction will feature an array of unique items up for bid. Information: 720-837-1501.
This year’s holiday Drone Show is at Sculpture Park July 3 following the free Sunset Cinema outdoor movie that is screening “National Treasure.” Pre-show entertainment at 6 p.m.
Expect warm, sunny days paired with dry heat, and afternoon thunderstorms as July gets underway. Daytime highs are in the upper 80s to low 90s, with cool, comfortable evening 50s.
Catch the free Independence Eve concert in the Buell Theater in the DCPA complex at 6 p.m. What did the lightning say about the fireworks show? “You stole my thunder!”
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com
by Valley Gadfly | May 19, 2026 | Valley Gadfly
Valley Gadfly
June is the month of leaves and roses. Thirty days when pleasant sights salute the eyes, and sweet scents the noses. Cheers to the scent of change with lazy days and sunshine rays.
Known as the start of summer, it is characterized by the summer solstice and the peak of the wedding season. It is celebrated as Dairy Month, and the month of the Strawberry Moon.
As the days grow longer and we look forward to what’s ahead, here are our choices for shopping, dining, and entertainment, for a month filled with sunshine, fun, and laughter:
Don’t miss the extraordinary opportunity to see and hear world-renowned Chinese American cellist Yo-Yo Ma performing with the Colorado Symphony under the stars at Red Rocks Amphitheatre June 3, 7:30 p.m. Information: 720-865-2494.
Manhattan ska band The Slackers play reggae, garage rock, and jazz at the Bluebird Theater June 7, 8 p.m. Information: 303-377-1666.
Catch the Canadian indie rock band from Toronto, the Metric, playing at the Fillmore Auditorium June 11, 6:30 p. m. Information: 303-837-0360.
Try newly opened Waldo’s Chicken & Beer located in the former Panera space in Glendale’s CitySet. It’s the third Colorado site for the Nashville chain. Eatery serves both Southern fried and rotisserie chicken. Information: 720-263-4007.
Thinking of summer camp for your school-aged kids? With more than 60 years of nurturing children, consider Iliff Preschool. Youngsters will love the school’s dynamic and playful setting. Information: 303-757-3551.
Texas piano man, saxophonist, and singer Nik Par plays the Marquis Theater, June 13, 7 p. m. Information: 303-487-0111.
American rapper and record producer Earl Sweatshirt entertains at the Mission Ballroom June 16, 7 p.m. Information: 720-577-6884.
Edwin McCain, singer, guitarist known for soulful ballads, plays at the Paramount Theatre, June 30, 7:30 p.m. Information: 303-623-0106.
Attend the Rendezvous Gala at Four Mile Park to fund the preservation of Four Mile House at Four Mile Park, June 13, 6:30 p.m. Dinner and auction will help fund the preservation of Denver’s oldest standing structure. Event will be a rip-roaring evening of revelry and Old West charm. Information: 720-865-0810.
June is when a simple scent can transform our mood, revive a memory, or sooth our emotions. The month boasts longer days, outdoor activities, and historic milestones like D-Day.
The Mile High City features warm, sunny days — with highs hitting 80s°F — most days, making it ideal for exploring city parks, hiking, and outdoor dining. Expect late day rain, hail.
Catch the first soapbox races in 24 years at Mile High Stadium starting at noon on June 13. Playing hide and seek with clouds, June is like a glass of lemonade, sweet and refreshing.
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
