by Valley Gadfly | Nov 20, 2020 | Valley Gadfly
Goodbye, November. Hello, December. How did this month get here so soon? As Dr. Seuss stated, “It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before it’s June.” This month feels like both a beginning and an ending. It’s all the rushing, preparation and celebrating as we try to slow down right in the middle of a near year-long pandemic.
December is Denver’s coldest month. That mean the thermometer may drop below 0 °F on a few nights. Still we are nearer to spring than we were in September.
Here are our silver bells ringing and sugar plums dancing choices for shopping, dining and entertainment to prepare you for the merriment and bah humbug-ness ahead:
3 With jaunty jingles and titillating tales, the world premiere of Winterland at Wonderbound Studios is your antidote to the winter blues. Sunflower Bank is sponsor of the cabaret, Dec. 2-18. Information: 303-292-4700.
3 Take the family to Zoo Lights 30th Anniversary with more than a million lights aglow at the Denver Zoo, Dec. 4-31. Information: 720-990-5105.
3 View Begin Again, new artwork to inspire healing, hope and wonder on display at Walker Fine Art through Jan. 9. Information: 303-355-8955.
3 Book a time, dress in your holiday best for family photos at Lowry’s Eisenhower Chapel Dec. 12, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Information: 303-344-0481.
3 Make the holidays special with pastries, artisan breads, quiche and sandwiches from French bakery Detour on South Holly St. Tue.-Sat., 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Helpful staff to help you stock up. Information: 303-756-2020.
3 Spruce up for the holidays with décor fabrics from Boris’s Upholstery. Select from over 300 rolls of fabrics in-stock. One-stop home upholstery, custom cushions and decorative pillows. Information: 303-751-2921.
3 See Stories On Stage as it performs Making Merry live streamed from the Nomad Theatre in Boulder Dec. 13, 7-8 p.m. Information: 303-494-0523.
3 Catch Other People’s Pets, the Novel by R. L. Maizes during Dec. 17 virtual JAAMM Fest, 7 p.m. Information: JCCDenver.org/JAAMM.
3 Faced with this year’s historic challenges, take the family to December Delights at Four Mile Historic Park, Dec. 4-27. Outdoor winter spectacular features installations, ice skating, kids’ activities and a scavenger hunt. Event has snacks and a full bar. Open Friday through Sunday from 5 to 8 p.m. the stunning space is designed to transform endings into new beginnings. Information: 720-865-0800.
Do You Hear What I Hear? AAAaaALViiiNN! Whether it’s the Chipmunk song or Jingle Bells, holiday songs are inescapable this time of year. They’re on your car radio, in department stores and your dentist’s waiting room. Even Up on the Housetop, click, click, the DINGing and DONGing and RING-A-LINGing dance in your ear drums.
Even if holiday songs don’t top our list, we still remember the words to Deck The Halls, FA LA FA LA! After all, it’s the time of year to “be jolly and don gay apparel!
Although December is filled with love and positivity, let’s face it: this month can leave you feeling pretty cold. So go ahead and cozy up to all those holiday songs and their December-themed lyrics — enjoy them while you can, it’ll be 2021 before you know it! Wishing you and your family health, happiness and prosperity in the New Year.
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
by Valley Gadfly | Nov 2, 2020 | Valley Gadfly
The frenzy of fall has subsided. Pull out your cozy sweaters and take a deep breath of crisp air before pulling on your mask and settling into November. It’s a holiday month and there’s always something to be thankful for. Hopefully, for starters, November morns will no longer hide in the smoke and haze we had through summer and fall.
With the pandemic still affecting how we gather, the celebrated Thanksgiving holiday will bring a more intimate experience that’s, well, a little forced upon us.
Here are our Covid-style Thanksgiving choices for shopping, dining and entertainment as we sit socially distanced, careful not to do anything coronavirusy:
3 Enjoy city’s vibrant cultural scene during Denver Arts Week(end), Nov. 6-8. You’ll enjoy hundreds of in-person and virtual events from visual arts to music, museums and drama. Information: Denver.org-arts-week.
3 Don’t miss Veterans Day speaker Lisette Celmons at the Lowry Speaker Series in Eisenhower Chapel Nov. 11, 7 p.m. Information: 303-344-9471.
3 Catch National Bohemians playing in remodeled Benchmark Theatre with social distance seating, Nov. 13-15 & 20-22. Information: 303-275-3430.
3 Support DCPA by viewing singer-actress Laura Benanti in a virtual concert transmitted live Nov. 13, 6 p.m. Information: denvercenter.org.
3 Embrace the season by enjoying the warmth and abundance of Autumn Chai Teas from Ku Cha House of Tea on E. 3rd Ave. in Cherry Creek North. Open from noon to 5 p.m. daily. Information: 303-322-0183.
3 As the holidays approach shop for vintage and modern timepieces as gifts for family and friends from Cherry Creek Watch Co. nestled in the heart of Cherry Creek North at 231 Milwaukee St. Information: 720-770-2223.
3 Get in the holiday spirit as Denver lights up the City & County Bldg. and downtown light displays on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 27-Jan. 1.
3 View art by Tony Ortega on display in the Freyer-Newman Center at the Denver Botanic Gardens, Nov. 21-Feb. 28. Information: 720-865-2500.
3 Shop for holiday gifts during Junior League of Denver’s annual Mile High Holiday Mart with strict attendee limits in the venue, Nov. 13-15. Event is at the Denver Marriott South Fri. 3-8 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sun. to 4 p.m. Ticket holders can sign up for an entry time. Entry time reservations are not required, but attendees may need to wait in line during peak hours. Parking is free at the venue. Information: 303-692-0270,
For many, kitchens, living rooms and hallways that are usually flooded with family members and friends will be a bit quieter. We get it: It will seem a bit somber to go from having large crowds gather at home or at a restaurant to hosting intimate gathering of three or four, even if the turkey is plump and your tummy’s full.
But you can flip this fall’s script: As you downscale plans for the upcoming holidays, it is the perfect time to create new memories and long-lasting traditions.
Most of us can be thankful that our family and friends haven’t contracted the coronavirus and we’ve managed to stay healthy. In a year bombarded by the pandemic, Thanksgiving can be a day to remember all of the things, big and small, we have to be thankful for. Have an enjoyable Thanksgiving as you gobble ’til you wobble.
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
by Valley Gadfly | Sep 25, 2020 | Valley Gadfly
October is customarily characterized by comfy sweaters, pumpkin spice, jack-o-lanterns and trick-or-treating. The pandemic, however, has created masked confusion. Some think everyone is dressed as masked schnooks. This year, however, wearing masks gives us 2020 vision. Thus as Halloween approaches humbly ask, “Whoo ghost there?”
Paint on a brave face, we’ll be worse for wear. It’s hard to think of anything that has so radically and rapidly become so integral to our daily lives at home and at work.
Strap on your mask, here are our unisex and reusable ghoulish choices for shopping, dining and entertainment even when wearing a colorful face covering:
3 View exhibit highlighting Masks as an art form plus a universal symbol as a public health issue at DU’s Vicki Myhren Gallery now through Dec. 1. Exhibits feature the work of 30 artists. Information: 303-871-3716.
3 See all of your favorite Dragon Boat Festival performers and vendors during virtual fundraising campaign Oct. 3. Information: 303-953-7277.
3 Watch spooky movies Oct. 8 and 22nd at RiNo’s Ironton Distillery with cocktails and nibbles. Doors open at 8 p.m. Information: 720-532-0937.
3 See displays of jack-o’-lanterns and glowing pumpkins at Denver Botanic Garden’s Glow At The Gardens Oct. 19-23. Information: 720-865-3500.
3 Experience relaxing, warm and friendly fall dining at Toro Latin Kitchen inside Cherry Creek’s JW Marriott. Select from tasty small plates and family-style entrees plus cocktail and wine. Information: 303-253-3000.
3 Extraordinary health care is now open in the heart of Cherry Creek on the corner of 1st Ave. and Cook St. UCHealth building has outpatient surgery center with free valet and self-parking. Information: 720-848-0000.
3 Take the family to Union Station for annual BOOnion Trick-Or-Treat costume parade in the Great Hall Oct. 29. Information: 303-592-6712.
3 Learn about Denver’s African-American experience at Lowry Speaker Series in Eisenhower Chapel Oct. 27, 7 p.m. Information: 303-344-0481.
3 Fall into some old-fashion family fun during annual Pumpkin Harvest Festival at Four Mile Historic Park Oct. 2-4, 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun. to 6 p.m. Autumn fun includes live music, food trucks, photo booth, pioneer games plus pick pumpkins from park’s patch. Attendees can also enjoy cool fall inspired beverages plus a full bar. Advanced purchase of timed tickets required for safe 90-minute experience. Information: 720-865-0800.
Albeit we’ve already had an early cover-up of snow, most years the season’s first snow habitually arrives near Halloween. It’s the third season of the year coinciding with the dropping of leaves from trees, which is why it’s also called fall. It’s a time when we start to unwind and simmer down, to hang loose, laze and begin to feel cozy at home.
In March as we set clocks to “spring forward” the pandemic forced us to knock off. Now we’re locked in masked confusion as the clock creeps toward “fall back” time.
We don’t formally “fall back” until Nov. 1. Nonetheless, the pandemic’s monster mayhem endures as a devilish fall fad. Large gatherings are a ghostly thing of the past. Before the sun rises earlier on our clocks, we’re stuck in a soul-searching hullabaloo. Even after we gain an hour the ghostly glow will give ‘em pumpkin to talk about.
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
by Valley Gadfly | Aug 21, 2020 | Valley Gadfly
Music routinely triggers that yearning feeling and September — the iconic Earth, Wind & Fire song — reminisces over a nostalgic period that took place in the month of September. As the Valley begins the transition from warm to cool this month we’re hoping along with everyone else that September will be chasin’ the coronavirus away.
The doo-wah virus pretty much chased the first six months of 2020 away. Now our souls are singin’ setback the virus while chasin’ the clouds away, oh yeah!
Here are our heart ringin’ choices for shopping, dining and entertainment heaped with warmth, passion and color to keep you glowing as crisp and golden as an apple:
3 Join dance, cardio, meditation, yoga and other 60-minute classes open to all levels offered multiple times at city’s Sculpture Park on Tues.-Thur., Sept. 1-29. Information: artscomplex.com/sculptureparkfitness.com.
3 Watch classic films from your car at Red Rocks on lower south lot 2 Thurs. through Sun. Sept. 3-27, 7:30 p.m. Information: denverfilm.org.
3 View the Rocky Mountain Bonsai Show Sept. 5-6 at Denver Botanic Gardens, Sat. 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun. to 4 p.m. Information: 720-865-3500.
3 For a thrill of a lifetime, rappel down 36-stories at 1670 Broadway Office Bldg. Sept. 10-12 to fund Cancer League. Information:cancerleague.org.
3 Enjoy lunch and dinner at Civic Center Park — the centerpiece of Denver’s green space — from 20 food trucks on Wed. & Thur. Sept. 2-Oct. 15, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and 5:30-7:30 p.m. Information: civiccentereats.com.
3 Experience extra good vibes shopping 55 diverse stores in stress-free Glendale, just minutes from Cherry Creek. You’ll find popular-unique retail, dining and entertainment brands. Information: glendale.co.us.
3 Enjoy virtual gala at home with charcuterie board for two and a bottle of wine to aid Mental Health Sept. 17, 5:30 p.m. Information: 303-756-9052.
3 View the provocative religious-political commentary art exhibit Holy Moly at Niza Knoll Gallery, Sept. 18-Oct. 31. Information: 303-953-1789.
3 Support The Lowry Foundation while enjoying food, libations and ice cream at the Lowry Beer Garden and Rocket Ice Cream Sept. 24, 5-9 p.m. A portion of sales on dine-in and take-out at the benefit event will be donated to the non-profit to meet the needs of the historical neighborhood. Venue is relaxing family spot with communal tables and outdoor patio offering beers, burgers and brats. Information: 303-344-0481.
September is a 30-days long goodbye to summer, to a season that left everyone happy but weary of the warm-windy weather. Combined with social distancing and masks, the days dragged on due to the threat of sickness. Life, like the air, didn’t feel fresh. It made us uncomfortable because it was stifling and sometimes suffocating.
Summer clouds dwindle in September and it’s the year’s sunniest month in Denver. Days cool down quickly, dropping around 12 °F by the end of the month.
It’s the end of summer and the beginning of fall. Known as Indian summertime, it’s the transition from warm to cool. September days are indeed here, promising summer’s best of weather and autumn’s best of cheer. Notwithstanding the coronavirus, “Try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh so mellow.”
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
by Valley Gadfly | Jul 23, 2020 | Valley Gadfly
Symbolizing the end of summer, this month brings backyard cookouts, the sweet ode to cars, romance and partying. A summer fling has hardly happened this year due to the coronavirus, albeit many tried on the July 4th weekend. There’s still primetime to linger and enjoy the Cherry Creek Valley’s outdoors as our days slowly begin to cool.
Even though this isn’t the summer we asked for, our mindset still envisions an open meadow of wildflowers, pastel colors and sunsets that never last long enough.
Here are our hotter’n a pepper-patch crop of choices for shopping, dining and entertainment to help you seize the final days of summer, sizzle and make a splash:
3 With the Morgan Adams Foundation’s other major fundraiser now canceled, plan to attend the 10th Race Against Kids Cancer at High Plains Raceway July 31-Aug. 2, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Information: 303-758-2130.
3 Shop the Cherry Creek Fresh Market each Saturday at First Ave. and University Aug. 1 through 29, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Information: 303-442-1837.
3 Mark your calendar and hit the streets in Cherry Creek North to browse-buy during annual Sidewalk Sale, Aug. 6-9. Information: 303-294-2904.
3 NFL author Scott Perry is Lowry Speaker Series first in-person guest this year at Eisenhower Chapel Aug. 11, 7 p.m. Information: 303-344-0481.
3 For lunch, weekend brunch and dinner try newly opened Jimmy’s Jersey Street Café & Osteria, east of 9th & Colo. Blvd., at 932 Jersey St. Dinner menu has Lamb Chops, Scampi Romana & Bananas Foster. Information: 303-961-6135.
3 View the new Atlas Townhomes at Boulevard One in Lowry featuring a main-floor master or elevator, plus a personal rooftop terrace. Moreover, you’re surrounded by walk-to amenities. Information: 303-300-8789.
3 See art showing the music of ancient Americas titled Rhythm & Ritual at the Museo de Las Americas through Aug. 15. Information: 303-571-4401.
3 Attend the Park Hill Art Festival located on the Masonic Lodge grounds on Montview Ave. Aug. 22-23, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Information: 720-941-6088.
3 See the Denver Zoo in a new way, as Nature Connects®, Art with LEGO® Bricks has returned after five years, now through Nov. 1. LEGO artist Sean Kenney has created more than 15 life-size species. Sculptures placed throughout the Zoo includes a snow leopard, monarch butterfly, whooping crane and a black rhino. You’ll also see an African lion plus a polar bear with her three cubs. Information: 720-337-1400.
You know that feeling you get mid-afternoon every Sunday when you realize the next day is Monday? Well, welcome to the Sunday of Summer, better known as August. The eighth moon cycle is basically a month-long Sunday that marks the end of summer. It’s when we try to squeeze in everything we wanted to do over the entire summer.
It’s 31-days of what’s called “Sunday Sads” or “Sunday Weirds.” It’s Jimmy the sensation we feel moving from an unstructured weekend to a week full of structured time.
August is a transition month. The last open window through which pours the sunlight of summer’s serenity. One last chance to “make the most” of the season. As you begin to fill the fall calendar with work and school responsibilities, consider this month as Julie London did, “Now that it’s time for August, I’ve got thirty-one days to glow.”
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
by Valley Gadfly | Jul 1, 2020 | Valley Gadfly
After last month’s blast of wind — the strongest ever reported in Denver or in the U.S. — July is the month the sun doesn’t rise, it overflows. It is the Valley’s hottest month of the year, with an average high temperature of 88°F, while nights rarely fall below 50°F. The good news: July is actually a little less windy than most months.
Prior to the pandemic shutting down travel and hospitality, the Cherry Creek Valley was always a hot spot for vacationers since temperatures rarely top 100°F.
Here are our cool choices for shopping, dining and entertainment so a summer breeze and the sun’s rays let you shine and discover each day’s bright prospects:
3See fashions by designers, local boutiques during Denver Fashion Week at the McNichols Bldg. July 11-17, Information: denverfashionweek.com.
3View over 60 Treasures of British Art paintings on display at the Denver Art Museum, Level 2, through July 12. Information: 720-913-0130.
3If you’re considering selling your home in these uncertain times rely on the knowledge and experience of Denice and Stephanie. No none knows Denver like the RE/MAX Alliance pair. Information: 303-886.0000.
3For a dazzling selection of flowers, plants and trees go to Country Fair Garden Center. After 26 years on Colorado Blvd. they’re now located in South Lowry Square at 7150 Leetsdale Dr. Information: 303-757-4949.
3With so many events canceled this July, you won’t want to miss Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the final completed symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven at Red Rocks Amphitheater, July 26, 7 p.m. Colorado Symphony Music Director Brett Mitchell is joined by four vocal soloists and a massive community chorus made up of the Symphony Chorus plus other choruses from around the state. Information: 303-623-7876.
It seems like many things most of us have taken for granted are canceled this year, just as Woodstock’s 50th Anniversary was canceled last July. It’s a reminder of Jimi Hendrix’s 1969 Star Spangled Banner performance at that iconic festival and the fact we again find ourselves and the country in the midst of uncertain, tentative times.
Hendrix’s rendition turned the lyrics “o’er the ramparts we watched” into a blazing protest reflecting the violence carried out under our flag and its national anthem.
Denver has more thunderstorms during July than any other month. About once every two years, an inch or more of rain drenches the city in one day during the month. Remember July 27th is Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day. If storms develop, the lightning bolts play Rock & Roll music and your plants will be right as rain — all wet!
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
