What a lovely way to spend the morning and support small local businesses. I was able to get some…read moreholiday shopping done and get a little something for myself! Fabulous event!

What a great day! My husband and I just love local art, and supporting these artists. I hadn't…read moreheard of the Jackalope Arts festival, which apparently appears every year just up the street from me in Olde Arvada. We went out on this sunny and warm October day, glad to enjoy some time outdoors in the sun. We were greeted, as well, with an enjoyable stroll through local venue booths sporting everything from beeswax products to locally mixed spices to jewelry made from local stones (think petrified wood and Marble's marble, among many others). I was drawn to the designs at a T-shirt shop, and when I couldn't find my size in the design I wanted, they assured me that I could email them and they would make it for me and send it along to my home. The jewelry maker at Waystone (mywaystone.com) promised that if I could bring her a piece of petrified wood that I had discovered in my backyard, she would make it into something special to display in my home. While she accepts items through mail, since she is just down I-70 just east of Denver, I mean to bring it right to her. I was excited to visit this arts fair, and came away with some nice items, along with the cards of some artisans to whom I will reach out for some custom items. What a great way to spend a glorious fall day outside!

Typically, we have a ton of fun at the coronation festival. This year we came to see the bands, but…read morewe're way laid by the remote control cars when we came into the entrance we couldn't get our kids to wanna do anything else except do that but we were still sort of able to hear the music and had a nice picnic on the lawn. I really liked the addition to the snowball food cart this year delicious.

The problem I have with them is how they handle parking. I live the in surrounding neighborhood…read morewhere this takes place. Literally every street is packed with cars. People even blocking entry ways, parking in apartment parking lots meant for tenants. Throwing trash, being disrespectful and letting their dogs crap everywhere. I swear this circus brings in the wrong crowd. They should've had overflow parking to nearest Park-N-Ride and offered shuttles to the park. Our apartment dumpster is literally full of carnival trash I am glad this is over

Beautiful church and enjoyed the priest and homily. Parishioners were welcoming at the early 7:30…read moreAM Sunday Mass without being intrusive! Strong Hispanic influence which was nice to see how they are active in the community. Glad they have the song reference displayed in the upper corners of the church (but didn't until mid-Mass)!

Catholic church. It's big and beautiful on the inside since it was remodeled…read more There's a young priest, he does mass really beautifullly.

This is a quintessential cultural event must-do for anyone in Denver. Started over 20 years ago,…read morethis annual gathering has become a fan favorite for people who love art and Denver festival celebrations. What started in downtown at Larimer Square with dozens of artists has now become over two hundred talents chalking it up over several blocks around the Denver Art Museum. The way this festival works is sponsor-driven. Local businesses and organizations buy "squares" to which carefully curated artists are assigned with full autonomy in theme and execution to create, as long as the sponsors' names are chalked first. The artists are then given two days to create their design in real time, rain or shine. It's an opportunity to witness visual art in all shapes and colors. With the youth group and school opportunities as well, you've got kids of all ages being represented on the pavement. In addition to the visual arts, the festival includes live music and vendors. I strongly recommend planning your weekend around it. This is an event to build a tradition around, for sure!

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous, so I couldn't resist heading out to check out some chalk art!…read moreThe crowd was out in full force (no surprise there), which made snapping clear photos a bit tricky--but I still managed to grab a few that I really loved. The creativity and talent on display were just incredible! These artists seriously blow me away every time.

Denver Flea is taking on the holidays four weekends strong this year, with a Union Station setup…read moreuntil mid-December. $5 per person gets you admission Friday-Sunday, which is a very easy price point. Even if it's not the most expansive showing of vendors, you can't really argue with the low cost. Also, I appreciate the warming tents serving adult beverages like bourbon spiked cider. Even on a "warm" December day downtown, it gets chilly. If you arrive before noon, there's plenty of room to relax and enjoy mid-shopping moment. Yesterday I purchased some buffalo leather gloves for myself as well as an incense burning kit + 2019 lunar calendar for a holiday present. And I'm going back for the final weekend while my parents are visiting. A festive (and brisk) way to get into the holiday spirit!

The Denver Flea was fabulous (and free admission!) when I first attended a couple of years ago…read more There were loads of interesting vendors with items I'd never seen anywhere else, live music, good food, busy but not overwhelming and loads of fun! Now the secret's out and the Flea busts at the seams. There's an admission fee, long lines, and impossible parking. Vendors and food trucks become redundant in that the same ones come to every Flea, and many carry similar goods- candles and soaps: CHECK. Colorado/Outdoorsy t-shirts: CHECK. Salsa and similar food items: CHECK. Jewelry made from rocks: CHECK. Succulent plants: CHECK. A Denver hipster's delight for sure! All of the his is super cool if you haven't seen all the very same makers before, but I have, so... I'm over it. The new space, Denver Rock and Drill, is pretty rad. It's an old warehouse that feels haunted by ghosts of the past. Old machinery and even metal and materials still lurk in some places, a liability issue waiting to happen I'm sure, but interesting none the less. My fave part about this Flea was the photo booth, Whoa Pony! Be sure to hunt them down as they wee wedged far in the corner, but they're free! Ultimately, I think I'll skip the next few fleas in hopes that fresh vendors and some new ideas and surprises may work their way in in the future.

I haven't been to the Taste in quite a while but decided to give it a go on rock and roll music…read moreday. I spent about 5 hours touring the area. The layout makes sense and flows well with the exception of the food area. The music and vendors are placed for optimal traffic and viewing. The porta-potties were off to the side, music in front of courthouse, and the food along Broadway. The music and vendors were great I ended up spending $40 on socks and beef jerky. I listened to a few songs by the Police cover band, a Zeppelin cover band, and REO. I cannot offer a way to improve these aspects of the festival and award them 4-5 stars. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the music even though organizers turned it into musical clique days. Parish the thought of different genres on the same day. The lineups are reminiscent of seating in a middle school cafeteria. The porta-potties get 3 stars mainly due to the lines. While you're waiting in a 15 deep line it's interesting to see who can muster the most appalling grimace as they step out into the fresh air. Academy Awards for sure. The technology has improved over the years with a side urinal to keep the seat somewhat usable. The odor control has improved immensely. Hand sanitizer is available too. They should have a few retro potties from the 90s for comparison giving performers a real reason to grimace. Now, the food, 1 maybe 2 stars at best. This is what crashes the overall rating. This festival is the Taste of Colorado-- it's about food, right? 30 tickets or $20, for a gyro sandwich? Is the meat marinated in Macallan? All the prices are out of wack. How much do these restaurants have to pay to be here? 50% of sales?? Everything is double what it should be. This festival is supposed to be about food! Let's represent. I spent $30 for 45 tickets. The pictures below show the ticket amounts and what I got. You be the judge. The best was the Top Sirloin from Rodizio. (Expert tip: skip the 4 ticket rice enjoy the meat.) Worst: Jaegerschnitzel for 15 tickets. The mushroom sauce was ok but way too salty; bring a sharp knife for the patti. 2 little ramekins of alligator giblets will set you back. $5.33. Jell-O shots have more substance. Street tacos were good. The lines and pedestrian flow in the food area-- ridiculous, the food--meh, the music/vendors and people watching-- much better. Recommendations: double or triple the food vendors by creating an atmosphere where they can make money and showcase and prepare their offerings. Raise the stage 10' and add a couple of big screens by the half-way-satellite-speaker extensions.

My dad and I had some free time to kill before I needed to head to the airport on Labor Day. We…read moredecided to check out Taste of Colorado because, to be frank, there wasn't too much else going on. While the whole weekend I heard "Taste of Colorado sucks" come out of his mouth a handful of times, I think we were both mildly impressed deciding it doesn't "suck" but is simply A-OK. In terms of getting bang for your buck, this certainly isn't the place to do that. I paid nearly $7 (in tickets) for a shot of nitro cold brew coffee. For my main dish of the day, I got a lamb sandwich from Bistro Colorado which was actually pretty darn delicious and worth it in my opinion. You really had to do a few laps to scout out to find the hidden gems amid the typical fair food. For that reason, maybe Taste of Colorado isn't quite the best name for it. Besides that, we had fun scanning all the stalls with cool arts and crafts, as well as random knick knacks. There is also the carnival area with rides and games which we stayed far away from, as well as three stages with different music happening. On the main stage during the time we were there, Granger Smith was performing who is an up and coming country singer. Pretty cool to see him for free. Would I recommend this to everyone I know? Probably not; however, if you have some time to kill, you can't really beat hanging out in the beautiful Colorado sunshine with free music, funny people watching and some good eats (if you can find them).

This is consistently one of the better festivals in the Denver area. The actual dragon boat races…read moreare ok, but you can only spend so long watching those. But there are a ton of food trucks & booths with all kinds of Asian foods and a similar range of cultural performances on the main stage. Even the vendor/sponsor booths tend to be more interesting than other events. It's free, and the lakeside park is a great, spread out location for all of it, some shade and never feels too crowded. Parking can be a little tricky, either in the neighborhood with a long walk or take the shuttle to Auraria lots (check the website for the discount code).

Such a beautiful way to celebrate and appreciate Asian culture at the Dragon Boat Festival in…read moreSloan's Lake. Lots of food, drink and booths. The. Dragon boat races are the highlight as they are exciting and beautiful.

It's an annual friend tradition to go here every year - and I live about 40 min away. The biggest…read morelure for me is the American Legion-sponsored rubber duck race down Clear Creek. It's so much fun to see the ducks floating down the rive, to help throw them back in the rive flow, and donations go to a good cause. The food selections are also great. I appreciated seeing Santiago's this year, but do miss the giant rice crispy treats. The music is fun. The vendors seems to be the same each year, so it would be nice to see some new products next year.

Great festival. They always have good bands which everyone can enjoy. A wide variety of good food…read morefrom many vendors. Ice cold beer for a fair price. Sundays have a really good car show. Saturday morning's car show is well worth the visit. We usually spend all weekend at this event.

This event was held at the Ralston Park Addition in 2015. At 64th and Simms. Parking was good as it…read morewas right next to a high school with a large lot. I liked the fact that we could get beer and still play with the kiddo. They didn't have a separate beer garden for only 21 and up. And the beer selection was good. Arvada Brewery, Yak & Yeti and Odyssey Beerwerks. Yum! I liked the craft table for the kids. My daughter loved painting rocks. But the title of the event was Sand in the City and all the kids had to play with in that regard was a small pit of clay dirt. It was very crowded and my child was excited about digging in the sand, only to be freaked out by the number of kids in a very small area digging madly for toy cars in plastic bags. I understand true sand is probably hard to come by but there must be a park that has a more impressive sandbox than this. With actual sand. There were bouncy castles and other such things for older kids that looked cool. Maybe when she gets older we can thoroughly enjoy this event and ignore the lack of sand. But right now this event was only A-OK for our toddler.

This is one fun event!! My preschoolers had a blast last year because there is so much for kids to…read moredo with bouncy castles, face painting, digging for buried treasure, hamster balls, etc. And not to to be left out, there are great craft beer and wine vendors for the adult kids. With plenty of food vendors to choose from, plus an authentic luau and live music, it's a festival your family can enjoy all day!

Such a fun, well planned event! Even with a large amount of attendees it didn't feel crowded. Each…read morerestaurant's tent was well spaced so lines were never unmanageable. No one ran out of food and every tent was manned by friendly, welcoming, staff. There were plenty of tables and trash/recycling receptacles. The crowds were so well managed that it didn't feel like there were so many people - until we waited for the shave ice truck. After a half hour we gave up but we saw people with great looking shave ice. The live band was great and kept the vibe upbeat. We met lots of people who attend this event every year and I can see why. People were friendly and staff was amazing! Special thanks to Stem Cider for indulging me multiple times and to #eatdrinketc for the tickets to this event.

DBB is better than TGABF because it has all you can drink beer, whiskey, cider, and Waterloo plus…read moreAYCE quarter size burgers for 20 contenders. Tivoli is a great venue with lots of student parking lots available. Only thing missing is a burger eating contest that I want to see. Tidbit: In Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, the word tivoli has become synonymous with any amusement park. Disneyland was heavily inspired by Tivoli Gardens in Denmark . 2022 winners: Stanley Beer Hall (peaches & cream) Cherry Cricket (983 big cheesy)