Category: Denver, Colorado Local News

Communities around the Denver metro have grappled the past year with large numbers of new immigrant arrivals – a topic that will be a focus of a city council meeting in Aurora on Monday.

The “Resolution Regarding the Transportation for Those Experiencing Homelessness and Migrants Into Aurora Without an Agreement to Address the Financial Impact and Coordination of Services,” is an agenda item for its Feb. 26 city council meeting.

The resolution was co-sponsored by council members Danielle Jurinsky, a business owner who chairs the public safety and courts and civil service committees, and Steve Sundberg, who chairs the water policy committee and employs two dozen at a local family-owned bar, according to the city council website.

In a telephone interview Friday afternoon, Sundberg said the resolution stemmed from Denver recently transporting new immigrants from there to a hotel in Aurora.

“After Denver bused 400 migrants to an extended stay hotel in Aurora, that caught us off guard,” said Sundberg. “It brought to us quickly the realization that we were not prepared to take on a number of migrants in our city as a city alone – not a city and county [as Denver is].”

He added that funds are not available to support new immigrants.

“The reality is that we have a fiscal responsibility and a balanced budget for our current residents, and with the current challenges we face with homelessness, we are limited.” He said, if passed, the resolution will let residents know: “We have a fiscal responsibility. You really can’t just bus migrants in here without having an agreement.”

It might not have actionable teeth, he acknowledged.

“I believe it’s more of a statement than anything, allowing our residents to know where we stand on the issue because they’ve been inquiring,” he added. “In reality, we do not have the financial resources to care for them.”

When asked what he’d like to happen to the newly arrived, Sundberg said, “I’d like the federal government to control the border rather than leave it open as it is. Bring our southern border under control, where we have legal immigration in a controlled and vetted manner. We need immigration in Colorado – we value our diverse population, but we can’t be overwhelmed.”

He said Aurora isn’t the same as Denver, which is both a city and a county and has more resources. The capital city has helped more than 38,000 new immigrants since 2022, spending about $42 million on temporary shelters and other services.

It’s an offer of services that Sundberg described as “not sustainable.”

“They are cutting into recreation centers, the DMV …  what will that look like in three months from now? Is that fair? Is that compassionate? Is that humane?” questioned Sundberg.

“America is still a beacon of hope for a lot of people, but we have to be realistic and not take on more than we can,” said Sundberg.

Aurora, a city of over 380,000, is considered the most diverse in Colorado with immigrants from many countries.

However, the city council voted against Aurora being deemed a sanctuary city in 2017.

“And I’d like to keep it that way,” said Sundberg.

Other municipalities have been expressing views that don’t contradict Sundberg’s. Colorado Springs passed a resolution on Feb. 13, declaring that it is not a sanctuary city. In Lakewood, a city council meeting was attended by more people than usual earlier this month, with those in attendance voicing concerns that it does not follow in the footsteps of Denver.

Counties are also sending similar signals. Mesa County’s Board of Commissioners this week unanimously passed a resolution declaring itself as a “non-sanctuary county,” meaning the county won’t provide shelter or other services to “uninvited migrants and/or illegal immigrants that may arrive in unincorporated Mesa County.”

The reasoning offered by county commissioners was that strain on resources prevented them from offering additional assistance to new immigrants. El Paso County commissioners have also declared the area would not become a sanctuary.

So far, Aurora hasn’t made the financial investment that Denver has. Instead, non-profit organizations have filled some gaps in services needed by those who have newly arrived, fleeing political dangers in their countries of origin.

Monday’s city council meeting is at the Paul Tauer Aurora City Council Chamber in the Aurora Municipal Center.

After nearly a year of waiting, a group of tenants will be able to bring a class action lawsuit against a series of management companies that own a Denver apartment complex in Virginia Village after a judge certified the case could move forward as a class action suit on Thursday.

The ruling means the case involving potentially thousands of tenants claiming inhospitable apartment conditions can now move towards trial.

Lawyers for the tenants say it is likely one of the first class action certifications for tenants in Colorado in a case involving warranty of habitability, a law that requires landlords to provide livable accommodations. The class status means that instead of tenants having to take their landlord to court individually, any potential ruling could cover people who lived in the more than 500-unit complex between 2018 and 2022, when a new management company took over.

“It’s a huge, huge milestone, we’re all super excited,” said Dre Chiriboga-Flor, executive director of the Justice for the People Legal Center, who has been working with lawyers on the case. “I think we’re setting a pretty big precedent. Hopefully, this will show landlords that this could happen to them because we know this is such a widespread issue.”

Denverite has reached out to the defendants, Cardinal Group Management, Glendale Properties I and Glendale Properties II, for comment but has not heard back.

The class action decision has been a long time coming.

The tenants filed the lawsuit in 2021 and the Denver District Court first heard arguments for and against class action status in March of 2023, but the decision lagged because of multiple changes in the assigned judge.

The tenants bringing the case forward claim that residents of the Mint Urban Infinity apartment complex raised concerns about broken elevators, doors and AC, piled up trash, a week without hot water and a number of other maintenance and safety issues.

Lead plaintiff Brandon Smith began organizing tenants when his AC stopped working. When raising the alarm about apartment issues, Smith said that building management told him and other tenants that they had not previously heard about the issues and that they were isolated to a specific unit.

“I started going door to door after work and on weekends, just trying to talk to people, and the more I talked to, the worse it got. I’ve heard the worst stories imaginable,” he said. “I had people knocking on my door crying at random times throughout the day because of the stuff they had to go through.”

In the 2023 hearing, lawyers for the defendants said that owners were working on fixing issues and that maintenance delays were due to supply chain problems during COVID-19. They argued against trying the case as a class action, claiming that because different apartments have varying features, tenants experienced issues differently. Chiriboga-Flor said this is partially why class action lawsuits like this involving tenants are rare.

Colorado District Court Judge Martin Egelhoff recognized that not all tenants experienced the same issues to the same degree, but ultimately wrote that the alleged issues were widespread enough to rule that the case could move forward as a class action.

“The thrust of the plaintiff’s statutory and contractual claims stem from alleged community-wide and building-wide issues, and the defendants’ systemic and institutional response to such issues,” Egelhoff wrote in his decision Thursday.

Now the case will move toward a trial unless the groups involved decide to settle.

“This is usually when defendants get real about negotiating a fair resolution to save the expenses of litigating to the end and to try to… manage their liability to the extent they can,” said Jason Legg, a lawyer with the Justice for the People Center involved in the case.

Smith, the lead plaintiff and former tenant, said he wants to see financial restitution for tenants. But he also wants to see a national investigation into the management companies involved, which have properties across the country.

“I am filled with so much hope. I cried yesterday when I found out because I’m just so happy that all this hard work has paid off,” Smith said. “I want to make an example of bad landlords like this. I want them to be hurt so bad financially, that they have to liquidate their assets, and they have their real estate license revoked in the state of Colorado.”

The East Colfax Bus Rapid Transit project is currently in the design phase and part of this step requires figuring out what parking will look like along the corridor and nearby side streets when the line is in use years from now.

Proposed parking rule changes have been submitted and now residents are invited to give feedback on the proposed changes and add markers on an interactive map where they think parking changes should be implemented.

The planned BRT route will run from Broadway to Yosemite Street with the Colfax Lynx riding in center lanes designated for bus-only use. To implement the project, parking will be impacted on East Colfax and in the surrounding side streets with the biggest impact occurring between Broadway and Colorado Boulevard and between East 17th Avenue and East 13th Avenue.

Because of the impact, a curbside access plan is in the works and that plan will dictate curbside and parking management policies, along with identifying any possible new recommendations.

Currently, these are the proposed general parking changes:

• All time-limited parking will be three hours instead of two or one hour.
•  Time-limited parking on the side streets will be in place from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Paid parking on East Colfax will have a two-hour maximum from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• All parking currently limited for 30 minutes will be changed to loading zones, which will not serve as short-term parking.

There’s also changes to the unrestricted parking to the north and south of E. Colfax. These areas will be changed to time-limited parking:

Between E Colfax Avenue and 16th Avenue
N Washington Street
N Marion Street to N Lafayette Street (2 blocks)
Franklin Street
N Williams Street to York Street (6 blocks)
Filmore Street to Milwaukee Street (2 blocks)
Steele Street
Monroe Street
Between 16th Avenue and 17th Avenue
N Clarkson Street
N Downing Street
N Lafayette Street to City Park Esplanade (12 blocks)
Between E Colfax Avenue and 14th Avenue
N Emerson Street
N Corona Street
N Marion Street to Steele Street (20 blocks)
Madison Street
Between 14th Avenue and 13th Avenue
N Clarkson Street to N High Street (12 blocks)
Garfield Street

 

So far, the BRT team has received 26 contributions with about 10 comments. So far, these indicate residents aren’t pleased with proposed changes.

One person said only handicap or loading parking should be allowed on the corridor, considering the purpose of the BRT and recent rezoning of Colfax is to promote a pedestrian friendly environment.

Other people have issues with the parking regulations along the side streets that are mainly residential. One person said having timed parking in front of their home will reduce their property value and cause inconveniences and another person said residents should be exempted from paid parking, again considering that they live there.

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You can find that map here.

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Under the proposed plan, residents can apply for parking permits that will allow them to stay parked past time limits but they won’t apply to paid spaces.

It’s unclear when the survey will end, so if you want to have your say, get your responses in soon.

The BRT project team will host a town hall on Feb. 28 from 5-8 p.m. at the Carla Madison Recreation Center, 2401 E. Colfax Ave. Childcare will be available for $2 until 7:30 p.m. and Spanish interpretation will also be available. The town hall won’t focus specifically on parking but instead will be about the overall project.

A resolution appearing before the Aurora City Council on Monday could pause the city’s consideration of whether to privatize its public defender’s office.

City officials are currently collecting bids from private law firms to see whether a contractual deal for a firm to represent low-income residents would be more cost-effective than the city’s public office.

However, the search, driven by the council’s conservative majority, has drawn significant criticism from more progressive members, who worry the move would be a disservice to people in need.

Democratic Rep. Alison Coombs is behind the resolution to stop collecting bids.

“The folks that are being served by the Public Defender’s Office are disproportionately people of color,” Coombs said in an interview with CPR News. “And particularly, disproportionately African Americans.”

She argues the quality of public defense has the largest impact on these communities.

At Monday’s meeting, she plans to ask the council to table its request for law firms to bid on replacing the Aurora Public Defender’s Office.

A brief history of the proposal to privatize public defense in Aurora

The Aurora Public Defender’s Office currently employs 10 full-time attorneys who represent clients unable to pay for their own legal defense. According to reporting by the Denver Gazette, the office’s 2024 budget is $2.3 million.

In 2022, a subcommittee of Aurora’s Citizens’ Budget Advisory Committee proposed that the city fund a cost-benefit analysis to compare the $2.55 million expense of maintaining the city’s Public Defender’s Office with the potential expense of switching to state-provided or private representation.

In October 2023, a majority of Aurora City Council members voted in favor of funding the cost-benefit analysis.

Aurora City Council member Dustin Zvonek sponsored the proposal, saying he would only support a bid to replace the Public Defender’s Office if it saved the city money. The council also voted in favor of funding a court-wide workload study that would examine the scope and volume of defense work, so that the city could properly advise bidding firms.

Zvonek and the Aurora Public Defender’s Office have not responded to Denverite’s requests for comment on the upcoming resolution vote.

According to Coombs, officials disagreed on whether the cost-benefit analysis and the workload study should be conducted separately. But Republican councilmembers Zvonek and Danielle Jurinsky “insisted that the court-wide workload study should serve the purpose of completing the cost-benefit analysis,” Coombs explained.

The workload study is still in progress. Meanwhile, the City of Aurora has asked firms to submit bids by March 8 and plans to select finalists for the council’s consideration by April 9.

Coombs fears that firms are being “undersold” on the workload given the incomplete study. She said that could create new problems down the line.

“There’s a dispute about the actual workload as far as the number of cases, as well as the amount of time that the cases take and the number of trials that are needed to be performed,” she said. “I think, possibly, [a hired firm] would end up asking us for a change order to increase the amount we pay them for our contract once they realize how much it actually costs them to provide the service.”

 

Concerns over privatization

Aurora and Denver are the only Colorado municipalities that currently operate their own public defense offices.

While private defense systems may meet the needs of constituents in many counties, local advocates say privatization would be a disservice to Aurora residents.

“Aurora is definitely a special circumstance,” said Cat Ordoñez, policy counsel at the ACLU of Colorado. “It’s only one of two municipal courts in the state that prosecutes domestic violence cases, and Aurora chooses to prosecute these higher-level cases like domestic violence and car theft with mandatory minimum sentencing laws.”

That means people charged with those crimes would be guaranteed prison time if convicted, so a strong defense is especially crucial. For that reason, many of Aurora’s cases require more time and energy than those handled by municipalities that are using private defense systems, Ordoñez said.

If Aurora does move to a private model, providers will be paid a flat rate to represent clients experiencing poverty.

“Flat-fee contracts have been banned in several other states across the country,” said Ordoñez. “If an attorney receives a flat fee for every case, regardless of the amount of time they spend on it, it encourages the attorney to spend as little time as possible” and “creates a conflict of interest.”

Coombs echoed that sentiment.

“An entity that is paid a flat fee per case is not motivated to zealously advocate for their client, which is supposed to be the role of a defender,” she said. “They’re instead motivated to complete their contractual obligation in the least amount of time possible, which results in worse outcomes and a higher likelihood of individuals pleading guilty to crimes that they did not commit.”

Coombs added that the Aurora Public Defender’s office has “significant familiarity with [Aurora’s] court system and procedures, and is providing a service effectively” to city residents.

The efficacy of the Aurora Public Defender’s office has been independently verified by a study conducted by the National Legal Aid & Defender Association.

“Aurora, Colorado has a strong and effective municipal public defense delivery system and a municipal court that promotes the rule of law and protects individual due process rights,” the study states. However, the study also notes that “staffing for the Aurora Public Defender’s Office assumes that attorneys will carry an open caseload of 125 active cases. This figure does not appear to be grounded in any empirical basis.”

Aurora City Council will conduct an open meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 26 to discuss the issue. City Council meetings are hybrid, with the option to attend in person or virtually. Agendas, minutes, and voting results are available on the council’s website.

Denver City Councilmember Flor Alvidrez exhibited behavior to staff in her office that likely amounted to bullying under the governing body’s Code of Conduct, according to an internal email from the city’s human resources staff. Alvidrez denies much of the behavior.

Alvidrez “admitted to the alleged behavior, acknowledging it likely violates the Denver City Council Code of Conduct as bullying,” according to a Dec. 21 email written by a city HR staff member to one of the first-year councilmember’s former aides who filed a complaint. The document does not detail what behavior Alvidrez admitted to.

In an email to Denverite, though, Alvidrez denied bullying her staff.

“I did not bully my staff and I did not yell at them,” Alvidrez wrote in the email. “I was doing my best to build relationships with open communication with my staff. Unfortunately we did not get there despite my efforts. There was a breakdown in communication and I could tell some staff members weren’t happy. I was not aware how unhappy they all were. I often asked them what I could do better and they had no suggestions.”

Denverite obtained and reviewed complaints filed against Alvidrez as well as emails and documents associated with the complaints through an open records request.

The complaints in the documents allege a culture of dysfunction and miscommunication in Alvidrez’s office. Aides claimed they were yelled at by the Councilmember, subjected to inappropriate language from her and cried because of the job, much of which Alvidrez denied in a statement to Denverite.

All four of Alvidrez’s aides resigned between December and January. Before they quit, all four aides submitted HR complaints about Alvidrez’s behavior.

None of the aides sat for an interview with Denverite. Some asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation.

Alvidrez, who represents District 7, which includes Athmar Park, Baker, Speer, Ruby Hill and South Denver, is also currently under investigation by the Denver Board of Ethics after one of the former aides submitted a complaint about the councilmember’s spending. Alvidrez said in a newsletter sent to her constituents on Wednesday that she is cooperating with the pending investigation and that she does not agree with that separate complaint.

In one instance detailed in the HR statements, an aide alleged that Alvidrez, her manager, used a crude insult in Spanish meant to offend one’s intelligence or competency.

Alvidrez told Denverite the insult was not directed at the aide. She provided a screenshot of a text message in which she clarified to a staffer that the language was not aimed at them, and apologized for using the word. The exchange shows the staffer accepting the apology.

“I need to work on my language regardless,” Alvidrez wrote in the text message to the aide. “That’s not acceptable or ok.”

Another staff member claimed Alvidrez referred to a fellow aide as a “cancer” who needed to be removed in order to improve office culture. In another instance, an aide alleged that the councilwoman said she did not care if fellow staff were fired or quit. Alvidrez told Denverite she could not recall saying either of the statements.

“The tone of her voice and words she used made me feel belittled and small,” one aide wrote in a complaint.

In the complaints, aides detailed what they felt was a dysfunctional office culture. They felt Alvidrez poorly communicated with staff, held mistakes over their heads and took away responsibilities as retaliation.

Multiple staff members wrote that they left the councilmember’s office in tears and called each other crying.

“Working in the District 7 office has been the most toxic work environment I have ever experienced,” one aide wrote.

Another aide described a situation where Alvidrez took away her communications, budget and team meeting responsibilities and told the aide would focus only on constituent concerns.

Alvidrez denied claims of retaliation.

“Regarding taking responsibilities away from staff, I was trying to find their strengths and allocate duties accordingly and had inquired with the city about [a] ‘strength finder’ tool I was hoping to use,” she wrote in an email to Denverite. “This was not retaliation.”

Alvidrez went on to say that she believes staff dissatisfaction stemmed from confusion about holiday time off near the end of 2023, and from when she told her staff she could not give them bonuses from leftover office money.

“I believe everything escalated after a meeting in which I told my staff I did not think it was ethical for them to not work and get paid during the weeks of Thanksgiving and the week between Christmas and New Year’s day when other city staff members do not have access to that and I also told them that they could not receive bonuses from the left over funds in my budget,” Alvidrez wrote. “Prior to that they were very happy and even referred to me as the best boss ever.”

None of the aides’ complaints that Denverite reviewed mention bonuses.

In one of the complaints, an aide wrote that Alvidrez initially told staff they could take days off work near the holidays without using vacation time.

When staff realized that was not allowed under city rules, Alvidrez told some staff they could take time off without using vacation days, while hourly staff would have to either work or put in time off requests, raising concerns about fairness, according to an aide’s complaint.

Describing the situation about time off, another aide wrote that “staff felt confused and blindsided by lack of clarity and continuous misinformation from the CW [councilwoman].”

Alvidrez told Denverite, in response to claims of miscommunication, that she told staffers “it was the same for all of them. No one could take time off and not use PTO.”

The HR statements also expand on claims made in the ethics complaint for which Alvidrez is currently being investigated by the city’s ethics board.

Multiple staff members wrote in statements to HR that they recalled hearing Alvidrez yell at a staff member in her office when asking the councilmember for receipts from a trip, something also alleged in the ethics report. When asked if she ever yelled at staff, Alvidrez wrote, “No.”

Two aides claimed Alvidrez asked one of them to attempt to use a specific parking exemption given to Councilmembers to get an overdue street sweeping ticket dismissed.

Denverite reviewed an email between an aide, Alvidrez, and a Department of Transportation and Infrastructure staff member about the request to dispute a parking citation. The DOTI staff member pointed them to the main city parking ticket portal.

Alvidrez told Denverite she could not recall asking a staffer to seek the ticket dismissal.

According to internal documents, Alvidrez recognized her behavior as “bullying” in a conversation with HR, and agreed to take remedial steps.

According to an email from human resource manager Danean Jenkins to one of the former aides, Human Resources did not move forward with a longer-term investigation because an employment law advisor did not find evidence of discrimination, harassment or retaliation. Instead, Jenkins characterized the behavior as “bullying.”

“CW [Councilwoman] Alvidrez admitted to the alleged behavior, acknowledging it likely violates the Denver City Council Code of Conduct as bullying. With no dispute on the facts, further investigation is deemed unnecessary,” Jenkins wrote in the email. “Although the Denver City Council Code of Conduct lacks provisions for discipline, remedial steps have been proposed to CW Alvidrez. She has accepted the employment law attorney advisor’s invitation to assist in finalizing these steps for immediate action. Remedial measures may include training, leadership coaching, and possibly a formal written response, though the latter is not mandated by policy.”

In an email to Denverite, Alvidrez said that she took a Respectful Workplace Training at the end of December.

Senior Assistant City Attorney Allison Moore, who worked on the complaints, declined to comment. Jenkins and City Council Executive Director Bonita Roznos did not respond to Denverite’s request for comment.

In the email to the aide, Jenkins wrote that Council President Jamie Torres was included in a meeting with Alvidrez, City Council Executive Director Bonita Roznos and an employment lawyer, to discuss the complaints. In an interview with Denverite, Torres said she did not see the complaints but recalled Jenkins’ findings. Torres said that Alvidrez is in the process of hiring new staff.

“I think in terms of a follow-up or next steps, obviously there isn’t a relationship to repair, the Councilwoman is starting fresh with new staff,” Torres said. “I think what we ended with was establishing, which I am seeing evidence of, establishing a much tighter connection with our HR coordinator, and making sure that both support is there where it might be needed and training is there where it might be needed as Councilwoman Alvidrez brings on new staff.”

By Cassidy Ritter, Special to Denverite

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Ludacris is in town on Friday at the Fillmore Auditorium and the Colorado Rapids play their first match of the regular season on Saturday. There’s also a Winterfest in Arvada, a Onesie 5K and an immersive art experience at Spectra Art Space. And on Sunday, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science has free admission.

Whatever you get up to, make it a great weekend!

Notes: Events with an * are taking place virtually or outdoors.

 

Friday, Feb. 23

Kids and family

After Hours Teen Laser Tag. Sheridan Library, 3425 W. Oxford Ave. 5-6:30 p.m. Free. Advanced registration required. Ages 11-18.

Comedy and theater

Actual Serious Actors. Chaos Bloom Theater, 70 S. Broadway. 7-8 p.m. $5.

Beth Stelling. Comedy Works Downtown, 1226 15th St. 9:45 p.m. $32.

Arts, culture and media

Nomadic Daydreams. Walker Fine Art, 300 W. 11th Ave., Unit A. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

Dragon Painting Class with Artist Kim Pham. Far East Center, 333 S. Federal Blvd. 5:30-7:30 p.m. Donation-based entry fee. Advanced registration required.

 

 

Music and nightlife

Ludacris. Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St. 7 p.m. Starting at $90.

90s Country Party Featuring Double Wide. The Grizzly Rose, 5450 Linconl St. 8 p.m. $20.

Sports and fitness

New York Riptide vs. Colorado Mammoth. Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle. Watch on ESPN+. 7 p.m. Starting at $35.

*Denver Nuggets vs. Portland Trail Blazers. Watch on Altitude or listen at 92.5 FM. 8 p.m.

 

Saturday, Feb. 24

Just for fun

2024 Colorado Garden & Home Show. Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. $12 (seniors), $15 (adults).

*Arvada Winterfest. McIlvoy Park, 5750 Upham St., Arvada. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Free.

Meditation in Motion: Experience the Joyful Art & Science of TaiChi/QiGong. Far East Center, 333 S. Federal Blvd. 2-3:30 p.m. Donation-based entry fee. Advanced registration required.

Couples Gamenight. Parkside Eatery + Bar, 14515 E. Alameda Ave., Aurora. 6-8 p.m. $50 (for team of two).

Kids and family

FamilyFest. Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St. Noon-6 p.m. Free (children 13 and under), $12 (attendees 14 and older).

Movies at APL: “Detective Pikachu.” Tallyn’s Reach Library, 23911 E. ARapahor Road, Aurora. 2-4 p.m. Free.

Pixar Theme Quiz. Max Taps Centennial, 11405 E. Briarwood Ave., Suite 100, Centennial. 7-9 p.m. No cover. Family friendly.

Comedy and theater

Beth Stelling. Comedy Works Downtown, 1226 15th St. 9:45 p.m. $32.

Art, culture and media

Nomadic Daydreams. Walker Fine Art, 300 W. 11th Ave., Unit A. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

Lumonics Immersed. Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery, 800 E. 73rd Ave., Unit 11. 8-10 p.m. $15-$25.

Eat and drink

Beer, Bacon and Coffee Fest. All five Denver Beer Co. locations. 8:30-11 a.m. $30 (designated driver, ages 18 and up), $60 (full price event ticket, ages 21 and up). Advanced registration required.

Hook & Halligan Fire Fighter Collab Event and Fundraiser. WestFax Brewing Co., 6733 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood. Noon-8 p.m. No cover.

2024 Mile High Beer Festival. Stockyards Event Center, 5004 National Western Drive. 12:30-8 p.m. Starting at $59.99.

Learn to Cook Series: 2 Day Weekend Workshop. Stir Cooking School, 3215 Zuni St. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. $299 (for Saturday and Sunday). Advanced registration required.

Wine School: What’s An Orange Wine? Noble Riot, 1336 27th St. 3:30-4:30 p.m. $49. Advanced registration required.

Music and nightlife

Jazz Roots – Musician Interviews. Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, 2401 Welton St. 2-4 p.m. Free.

Denver Celtic Night. Mercury Cafe, 2199 California St. 6-9 p.m. $15.

DRAMA. Summit, 1902 Blake St. 8 p.m. Starting at $119.

Eddie 9V. Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave. 9 p.m. $20.

Sports and fitness

Rainforest Yoga. Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 W. 104th Ave., Westminster. 7:45-8:45 a.m. $10 (members), $12 (non-members). Advanced registration required.

Indoor Goat Yoga. Aspen Grove, 7301 S. Santa Fe Dr., Suite 450, Littleton. 10-11 a.m. and noon-1 p.m. $30.

*The Onesie 5K. Starting at Cheluna Brewing Co., 2501 Dallas St., Suite 148, Aurora. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. $35 (includes free beer, pint glass and door prizes), $55 (includes free beer, pint glass, door prizes and T-shirt).

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Colorado Avalanche. Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle. Watch on ESPN+. 5 p.m. Prices vary.

*Portland Timbers vs. Colorado Rapids. Watch on Apple TV. 8:30 p.m.

 

Sunday, Feb. 25

Just for fun

2024 Colorado Garden & Home Show. Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $12 (seniors), $15 (adults).

BarkGarage – Professional Pet Photos. Station 26 Brewing Co., 7045 E. 38th Ave. 1-4 p.m. $35.

Dating in the Dark. Zeppelin Station, 3501 Wazee St., Suite 100. 6-7 p.m. $15.

Comedy and theater

Tomás and the Library Lady. Elaine Wolf Theatre, 350 S. Dahlia St. 10-11 a.m. $11.50.

Ralph Barbosa. Comedy Works South, 5345 Landmark Place, Greenwood Village. 4:30 p.m. $35-$45.

Beth Stelling. Comedy Works Downtown, 1226 15th St. 9:45 p.m. $32.

Art, culture and media

Free Days. Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

Sundays on Santa Fe. Art District on Santa Fe, 858 Santa Fe Drive. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. No cover.

Eat and drink

Beer, Bacon and Coffee Fest. All five Denver Beer Co. locations. 8:30-11 a.m. $30 (designated driver, ages 18 and up), $60 (full price event ticket, ages 21 and up). Advanced registration required.

Pajama Brunch. Launch Pad Brewery, 884 S. Buckley Road, Aurora. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. No cover.

Wine School: Chocolate + Wine Pairing Noble Riot, 1336 27th St. 3:30-4:30 p.m. $59. Advanced registration required.

Music and nightlife

Sunday Night Jitterbug featuring Reid Poole and the Night Owls. Mercury Cafe, 2199 California St. 8-11:30 p.m. $15 (music), $18 (dance class and music).

Sports and fitness

*Denver Nuggets vs. Golden State Warriors. Watch on Altitude or ESPN, or listen at 92.5 FM. 5 p.m.

 

All Weekend

Art, culture and media

Black History Month Public Art Tour. Locations vary across the Denver metro. Anytime. Free.

Space Explorers – The Infinite. Stanley Marketplace, 2501 Dallas St., Aurora. 2-7 p.m. (Friday), 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (Saturday) and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (Sunday). Prices vary. Advanced registration required for timed entry.

Pages of the Past: Aurora’s Library System. Aurora History Museum, 15051 E. Alameda Parkway, Aurora. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (Friday) and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (Saturday and Sunday). Free.

Wild Color. Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free (members, children ages 2 and under), $19.95 (guests ages 3-18), $21.95 (seniors ages 65 and older), $24.95 (adults). All ages. Advanced registration recommended.

All Stars. Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free (guests ages 5 and under), $5 (members, guests ages 6-18), $23 (Colorado resident), $27 (non-resident).

Blaxplanation. History Colorado Center, 1200 N. Broadway. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free (members and children 18 and under), $15 (adults).

Have a Seat. Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free (guests ages 5 and under), $5 (members, guests ages 6-18), $23 (Colorado resident), $27 (non-resident).

Museum of Illusions Denver. 951 16th Street Mall. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. (Friday and Saturday) and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. (Sunday). $20 (children ages 5-12), $22 (seniors and active military), $24 (adults). Advanced registration required for timed entry.

The Museum for Black Girls. 500 16th Street Mall. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. $30. (Read more about the museum and its creator here.)

Little Bit of Love Art Show. Spectra Art Space, 1836 S. Broadway. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. (Friday and Saturday) and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (Sunday). Free.

Spookadelia: Doubt’s Echo. Spectra Art Space, 1836 S. Broadway. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. (Friday and Saturday) and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (Sunday). $12 (children 10 and under), $20 (ages 11 and older, timed entry), $30 (priority tickets and swag).

Eat and drink

Beer & Girl Scout Cookie Pairing. Fiction Beer Co., 7101 E. Colfax Ave. Starting Friday at 2 p.m. and continuing through Sunday, while supplies last. $16 (includes four cookies and 4 beer samples).

 

Worth the Drive

All weekend

*Subaru WinterFest. Cooper Mountain, 230 Ten Mile Circle, Frisco. All day. No cover.

Colorado Environmental Film Festival. Green Center, 924 16th St., Golden. Times vary. Starting at $12.

Nothing make-believe about this: Daniel Tiger, the friendly neighborhood feline will be in town and many pre-school aged Denver fans and their hopefully caffeinated parents can meet him on Saturday, March 2.

The free event based on the PBS KIDS musical TV series “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” will focus on early learning and the importance of being a caring neighbor. It’ll be hosted at Rocky Mountain PBS’ Buell Media Center located at 2101 Arapahoe St. in Five Points.

There will be three timed entries at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Folks interested in attending can RSVP here.

The animated character’s Denver visit is part of the second annual “Be My Neighbor Day,” where little ones can take part in hands-on activities from local museums, children’s music, dancing, an interactive green screen experience and even enjoy a free lunch.

Participating organizations like the Children’s Museum of Denver, Spring Institute, History Colorado Center and the Clyfford Still Museum will be in attendance hosting fun activities for the kids.