Category: Denver, Colorado Local News

Hundreds of people ignored snow and freezing temperatures to celebrate Lunar New Year — the first time the holiday was officially recognized in Colorado — at Federal Boulevard’s Far East Center.

“This is nothing, right? We can do this,” said City Council member Jamie Torres, who presides over this edge of the city. “This is exactly the kind of thing we deliver in Denver. It is these rich, cultural, dynamic, community-investing events and festivals.”

The Far East Center, too, celebrated a special occasion this week, as the state’s historic commission added it to its list of historic places. Annie Levinsky recognized the Luong family, who opened the shopping center in the 1980s, for their decades on the block. Fawn Luong, the family’s matriarch, beamed at the crowd as she shared her journey from Vietnam to Denver. Her family was one of the first to arrive here as refugees fled America’s war in their country.

“It’s cold, but my heart is warm,” she said during the recognition.

Lunar New Year is celebrated across the globe, primarily in East Asian countries. It’s still not a national holiday in the U.S., but there’s some appetite to change that.

Are you ready for the big game? Don’t forget the cheesy “football” dip! Here’s how to make this delectably cheesy dip for the big game.

Recipe:

• 16 oz cream cheese
• 4 oz cheddar shredded cheese
• 4 oz mozzarella shredded cheese
• 3 whole scallions
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
• 10 slices Bacon

In a mixing bowl, stir room-temp softened cream cheese until smooth. Add in cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese- stir until blended.
Add sriracha for a little kick and your favorite barbecue sauce.
Fold in 3 finely chopped scallions and 5 pieces of cooked candied bacon.

For the Candied bacon- sprinkle 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes over uncooked bacon on a baking tray- cook in oven 450 degrees for 8-10 mins, or until crispy.

Coating:
1 cup Finely chopped, toasted pecans & remaining 5 slices of chopped candied bacon

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters

By Ann Schimke/Chalkbeat

The school board of Colorado’s largest district called for all kindergarten through third grade students to be screened for dyslexia. Leaders in the Denver district said that’s happening this year. But some parents, teachers, and others are finding it hard to tell.

“I haven’t heard anything specific about a special assessment, screener, or anything regarding dyslexia,” said Lisa Williams, a second-grade teacher who teaches in northwest Denver.

District leaders haven’t announced to families that dyslexia screening is taking place and aren’t tracking the number of students who show signs of having the learning disability. Instead, teachers are testing students for a variety of reading difficulties as they have in years past. It’s not what advocates who’ve long pushed for districtwide dyslexia screening envisioned and some feel like they’ve been kept in the dark about what is actually happening.

The school board mandate that Denver Superintendent Alex Marrero launch dyslexia screening is the latest development in a yearslong shift in the district’s approach to reading instruction and remediation. The changes have been driven, in part, by new state laws requiring curriculum and teacher training aligned to the science of reading, a large body of research on how children learn to read.

The mixed messages on dyslexia screening may stem from the fact that the 88,000-student district is using a version of the screening process it has used for years — one that was never focused on dyslexia specifically. In addition, many educators have long been told they don’t have the expertise or credentials to flag students for dyslexia.

While legislative efforts to mandate dyslexia screening statewide have failed repeatedly, several districts, including Boulder Valley, have rolled out their own dyslexia screening programs in recent years. Denver piloted a dyslexia screening at five elementary schools two years ago.

Jennifer Begley, the district’s director of humanities, said the current process screens for a variety of reading problems.

“The teachers you talked to would not refer to our guidance as a dyslexia screener,” she said by email. “Rather, it is our district guidance for screening, identification, and intervention in reading.”

About 15% to 20% of the population has dyslexia, a learning disability that makes it hard to identify speech sounds, decode words, and spell them. With the right instruction, students with dyslexia can do as well as their peers in school.

Denver administrators say this year’s screening process flags students who are reading below grade level, pinpoints their weak skills, and provides specially tailored reading instruction to help them improve. The process doesn’t focus on communicating explicitly to families about whether their children have signs of dyslexia.

But some parents wonder why, if the district claims to screen for dyslexia, it’s shying awaying from the term.

Denver parent Kirsten Hansen, whose two children have dyslexia, said families are notified about other kinds of screenings — for scoliosis or gifted programming, for example — and dyslexia should be no different.

“If you’re not going to tell people about it, why not?” she said. “Information is power.”

The school board will evaluate Marrero this year in part on whether all K-3 students have been screened for dyslexia. The universal screening is among dozens of performance goals that will determine how much of a bonus, potentially tens of thousands of dollars, he’ll receive next fall.

How Denver tests students for reading problems

Colorado’s landmark reading law — the READ Act — has long required schools to test kindergarten through third grade students three times a year on reading. Denver district leaders say that’s the first step of their dyslexia screening process.

Most Denver schools use an assessment available in English and Spanish called IStation, though DIBELS is another common one. Students who score below grade level on those tests are given one or more diagnostic tests to drill down on the specific areas where they struggle — perhaps phonemic awareness, phonics, or spelling.

Next, students are put into small groups to receive instruction targeting their weaknesses. If, after about six weeks of specialized help — or multiple rounds of such instruction — they don’t make progress, they may be referred to the special education team at their school for an evaluation.

The special education team may not use the word dyslexia with parents initially, but after the evaluation may share that the child has indicators of dyslexia, Begley said during a phone interview.

This year, just over half of the 25,500 K-3 students who took the initial reading assessment scored below grade level and were given diagnostic tests. Of those students, 488 students were evaluated for special education and 106 were classified as having a “specific learning disability,” an umbrella term in special education that includes dyslexia.

But despite that multi-step process, district officials said they couldn’t tell Chalkbeat how many of the 106 students have dyslexia because the eligibility criteria for that umbrella category doesn’t call out that disability. Even if all those students have dyslexia, it would represent less than half a percent of the district’s K-3 population.

Many students with dyslexia, which can range from mild to severe, don’t have a special education plan. Some have what’s called a 504 plan, which includes accommodations such as extra time to complete assignments or access to audiobooks. Some have no plan at all.

“I worry that the DPS dyslexia screener is more of a ‘low literacy screener’ and will not give many kids the one thing they need most — the actual reason for their struggles, which is dyslexia,” said Tayo McGuirk, president of DenCoKID, an advocacy group.

Struggling to read can make students feel frustrated or doubt their own intelligence. McGuirk said that when kids know dyslexia is the reason for their struggles, it can improve their mental health and their overall trajectory.

The knowledge can help parents, too. After her oldest son was found to have dyslexia, she said she became more patient and had more empathy for the way he learned.

Some Colorado districts are more transparent than Denver about flagging students for signs of dyslexia.

The Boulder Valley district has screened all kindergarteners for dyslexia since 2023, using the Mississippi Dyslexia Screener for most students. Students whose primary language is Spanish are screened using a combination of subtests pulled from different assessments. Parents receive a letter detailing the child’s overall risk level for dyslexia, as well as information about the subtests.

‘To call it dyslexia is hard’

Denver teachers and administrators say the biggest change this year in how K-3 students are screened for reading problems is that there’s more clarity about each step of the process, and about what teachers should do to help students who are behind.

“Before we’d say, ‘Oh this kid is really struggling’ and we didn’t necessarily have the right next steps to take,” said Molly Veliz, a reading intervention teacher at Marie L. Greenwood Early-8.

She said the district created a “decision tree” that tells teachers exactly how to proceed in assessing and teaching struggling readers.”It’s a super clear system,” she said.

Shelley Flanagan, a reading intervention teacher at Goldrick Elementary School, said of the district’s dyslexia screening mandate: “I’m thrilled that it’s one of the things the superintendent will be called on to follow through on.”

Flanagan, who took a college-level class on dyslexia when she became interested in the science of reading, said teachers have historically been discouraged from using the term dyslexia even when the signs point to that disability. Doctors or psychologists were seen as the ones who could legitimately identify it.

“To call it dyslexia is hard for us as teachers,” she said. “I think it’s rare to find people who will call it that.”

But Flanagan thinks many parents would feel better “knowing these are a team of experts and they’ll let me know if they see some signs of dyslexia.”

Some teachers told Chalkbeat the dyslexia label can be shocking to parents, or that it’s not as important to name dyslexia as it is to ensure children get help on the skills where they’re weak.

Robert Frantum-Allen, the district’s former director of special education and the architect of Denver’s dyslexia screening pilot, said it’s outside a general education teacher’s job scope to tell parents a child could have dyslexia.

He said students can struggle to read words for all kinds of reasons: dyslexia, ADHD, vision problems, hearing impairment, or because they were not taught properly.

“A screening tells us there is a problem, but the problem isn’t always dyslexia. It just says we need to do a diagnostic assessment,” he said.

Experts says teachers need specific dyslexia training

In the spring of 2022, Denver piloted a dyslexia screening program at five elementary schools. It used several of the same components in use now, including the initial reading test and some of the diagnostic tests.

But it also used other tools, including a teacher survey called the Shaywitz Dyslexia Screener and a parent survey asking about the child’s reading ability and any family history of reading problems. Unlike the district-wide screening program today, pilot schools also sent parents explicit information about their child’s risk for dyslexia.

The Shaywitz Dyslexia Screener and the parent survey are not part of the district’s current dyslexia screening process. Frantum-Allen said the pilot found that the Shaywitz Dyslexia Screener was reliable when filled out by highly knowledgeable teachers, but not novice teachers. Asked why family surveys aren’t part of this year’s dyslexia screening process, district officials didn’t provide an answer Friday.

Frantum-Allen said one of the biggest takeaways from the pilot was the need for teacher training specifically on dyslexia. He said the state-mandated science of reading training that all K-3 teachers have to take doesn’t dive deeply into the topic. LETRS — another well-regarded reading training that some Denver teachers are taking now — also doesn’t delve deeply into dyslexia, he said.

As special education director, he oversaw some training on dyslexia, but “not to the level I think should be there.”

Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at [email protected].

Weld County will eventually house hoofed mammals and other endangered species as the Denver Zoo is expanding into a 570-acre facility.

In an effort to expand its animal care and conservation breeding efforts, the land is nearly seven times the size of the zoo’s 84-acre urban campus in City Park.

“The Lembke Family Preserve represents the start of a new era for Denver Zoo and will dramatically expand our capabilities for our animals and Colorado wildlife as we build it out in the coming years,” said Bert Vescolani, president and CEO of Denver Zoo, in a statement.

Donated by the Lembke family, the expansion will not be open to the public.

“We are deeply grateful to the Lembke family for their generosity and mutual understanding that saving wildlife for future generations requires a dedicated community of donors, members, partners and neighbors,” Vescolani said.

Zebras and Eastern Bongos are likely to be some of the first species introduced once the expansion is complete.

Phase one of development will involve expanding current Species Survival Plans (SSP) breeding efforts and give space for growing animal families. It will also increase the organization’s holding capacity, providing space to temporarily relocate animals during habitat maintenance and renovations on its Denver campus.

The second phase will involve developing a conservation center focused on conservation breeding and a reintroduction of species threatened or endangered in Colorado and other areas.

It’s likely that some of the first species to be part of the expansion will be ungulates, like eastern bongos or zebras, according to Denver Zoo Director of Communications Jake Kubié.

Urban water broker Robert Lembke donated the land, one of the many donors part of the Denver Zoo’s $75 million “Into the Great Wild Open” conservation campaign.

“Denver Zoo has been part of our family tradition since the late 1950s,” Lemkre said. “Both Carol and I loved visiting the old zoo of our childhood, and we took our kids there many times. It’s always a special family outing. With the stewardship provided to endangered species by the Zoo through The Preserve, we hope that the Zoo can be part of our family for generations.”

Updated at 12:17 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024

Services at Denver Parks and Recreation and Motor Vehicle will have reduced hours and operations as the city looks to cut back overall spending in response to its efforts to serve new immigrants in city shelters and those who may arrive in the coming months.

Mayor Mike Johnston announced the cuts Friday.

Starting March 4, DMV will stop processing vehicle registration renewals in person and will only be processed online, through mail or at kiosks. New registrations will still be processed in person. Satellite DMV locations will rotate full-week closures. The city’s central location at 2855 Tremont Place will remain open.

Starting Feb. 20, Parks and Recreation will cut rec center hours, reduce summer programming and not plant annual city flowerbeds.

The city will also pause new applications submitted after Feb. 4 for permits for public events, special occasions and tournaments.

Johnston said the cuts will not involve lay-offs, but hourly employees and seasonal contractors will see reduced hours and job opportunities. He also said more cuts will come in future weeks.

These service reductions are expected to be in effect for the rest of the 2024 budget year and Johnston said more cuts could be on the way.

A failed bill at Congress made Denver’s budget situation even more dire this week, according to Johnston.

The mayor has been sounding the alarm for months about how the city’s spending on new immigrant arrivals was not sustainable. Johnston had asked department leaders to cut their budgets weeks ago.

But now that a federal immigration bill has failed, the cuts will be larger, the mayor said.

Earlier this year, he said the effort could end up costing about 10% of the city’s general fund budget if Denver continued offering the same level of support to newcomers.

But the situation became much more pressing in January when he told department heads to identify ways to cut spending so that those dollars could be reallocated to Denver’s immigration response.

On Friday, an emotional Johnston heavily blamed the cuts on a failed U.S. Senate bill unveiled this week that was a non-starter in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. That bill would have allocated $1.4 billion to cities like Denver sheltering families, the Associated Press reported.

“This was a deeply solvable problem,” Johnston said Friday, tearing up as he described the journey of families traveling to the U.S. from Venezuela. “It was solvable with bipartisan support and we would not face these challenges. I want it to be clear to Denverites who is not responsible for this crisis that we’re in: The folks who have walked 3,000 miles to get to this city.”

Explainer: Why many new immigrants in Denver can’t get federal work permits

If the city were to continue immigrant operations at the current level throughout 2024, it would cost the city $180 million.

The budget cuts, paired with scaling back immigrant response services, are aimed at filling that $180 million gap. But Johnston said Friday that the service cuts to the DMV and Parks and Recreation will only save about $5 million. He said the cuts will require “shared sacrifice.”

“This is what good people do in hard situations as you try to manage your way to serve all of your values. Our values are, we want to continue to be a city that does not have women and children out on the street in tents in 20-degree weather,” Johnston said. “And we also want to be a city that provides all of our constituents with the services they deserve, and the services that they expect.”

The mayor also said the city will work with Denver’s chief equity officer to ensure the cuts do not disproportionately affect certain communities or parts of the city.

However, the service cuts at rec centers present a challenge to equity-focused work, said Jason McBride, a youth violence prevention specialist with Struggle of Love, a nonprofit that works with at-risk youth.

“When you cut it even a day, it doesn’t seem that much, but that just allows kids to be places that they shouldn’t be when they probably would be at the rec center,” McBride said. “Any cuts to any resources that the kids utilize is definitely gonna be detrimental to our process and trying to keep them safe.”

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect that Denver Motor Vehicle will only process registration renewals online while new registrations will still be done in person.

By Cassidy Ritter, Special to Denverite

From Winter Bike to Work Day on Friday to Super Bowl Sunday celebrations, there’s plenty happening in Denver this weekend. Several businesses are also hosting Valentine’s and Galentine’s Day celebrations ranging from cooking and flower arrangement classes to brunch and markets.

It’s also the last weekend to skate at the Downtown Denver Rink and visit Rough Gems: Dirty Abstraction at Union Hall.

If you’re looking to get out of the city, check out our new “worth the drive” section below.

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

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

Friday, Feb. 9

Just for fun

*Winter Bike to Work Day. Across Colorado (water, coffee, breakfast and party stations here). All day. Free.

Valentine’s Bazaar. Downtown Lakewood, 439 S. Upham St., Lakewood. 4-8 p.m. Free.

Lunar New Year Festival. 14200 E. Alameda Ave., Aurora. 4:30-7 p.m. Free.

Mercury Mini Market. Mercury Cafe, 2199 California St. 6-10 p.m. No cover.

Kids and family

Black History Live. Montbello Branch Library, 12955 Albrook Dr. Noon-1 p.m. Free. All ages.

Comedy and theater

Makeshift Shakespeare. Chaos Bloom Theater, 70 S. Broadway. 8-9 p.m. $5.

Fortune Feimster. Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Place. 9:30 p.m. Starting at $25.

Lil Sasquatch & Francis Ellis. Comedy Works Downtown, 1226 15th St. 9:45 p.m. $25-$35.

Christopher Titus. Comedy Works South, 5345 Landmark Place, Greenwood Village. 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.

Rough Gems: Dirty Abstraction. Union Hall, 1750 Wewatta St., Suite 144. Noon-6 p.m. No cover.

Neyla Pekarek & Friends Present “Western Woman.” MCA Denver, 2644 W. 32nd Ave. 7-8:30 p.m. $35.

Music and nightlife

Shania / Taylor Swift Tribute. Grizzly Rose, 5450 Lincoln St. Starting at 8 p.m. $25.

Magic City Hippies. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St. 8 p.m. $27 (general admission).

Sports and fitness

*Colorado Mammoth vs. Panther City. Watch on ESPN+. 7 p.m. 

*Denver Nuggets vs. Sacramento Kings. Watch on Altitude or listen at 92.5 FM. 8 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 10

Just for fun

Orchid Sales. Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Free (entrance for members), $7.50-$15 (entrance for non-members), prices of orchids vary.

Far East Center Welcomes The Year of the Wood Dragon 2024. Far East Center, 333 S. Federal Blvd. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free.

Valentine’s Bazaar. Downtown Lakewood, 439 S. Upham St., Lakewood. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Free.

Valentine’s Floral Design Workshop. Beet & Yarrow at the Source Hotel, 3330 Brighton Blvd. 5-6:30 p.m. $85. Advanced registration required.

Mardi Gras Party: Fat Saturday. BurnDown, 476 S. Broadway. Starting at 6 p.m. No cover.

Kids and family

Baby Rave — Valentine’s and Super Bowl edition. Mercury Cafe, 2199 California St. 10-11:30 a.m. Free (children under 1), $5 (ages 1 and older, when accompanied by an adult). All ages.

LED my Valentine at the ideaLAB. Sam Gary Branch Library, 2961 Roslyn St. 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Ideal for ages 9 and up.

The Learning Lab Presents: The Year of the Dragon Craft . Ross-Broadway Branch Library, 33 E. Bayaud Ave. 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Ideal for ages 7 and under, when accompanied by an adult.

African Drumming with Bob Hall. Decker Branch Library, 1501 S. Logan St. 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free. All ages.

​​Black History Live. Creen Valley Ranch Branch Library, 4856 N. Andes Ct. 1-2 p.m. Free. All ages.

Comedy and theater

Lil Sasquatch & Francis Ellis. Comedy Works Downtown, 1226 15th St. 9:45 p.m. $25-$35.

Christopher Titus. Comedy Works South, 5345 Landmark Place, Greenwood Village. 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.

Rough Gems: Dirty Abstraction. Union Hall, 1750 Wewatta St., Suite 144. Noon-6 p.m. No cover.

Woodbury Film Club presents a screening and discussion for Black History Month. Woodbury Branch Library, 3265 Federal Blvd. 1-4 p.m. Free.

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

Eat and drink

Valentine’s Day Drag: You Had Me at Brunch. Stir Events  at the Ice House, 1801 Wynkoop St. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. $60. Advanced registration required.

Love Sucks Anti-Valentines’s Day Party. Federales Denver, 2901 Larimer St. 11 a.m.-2 a.m. No cover. Reservations recommended.

Pinkies Up, Galentine’s Tea. Local Jones, 245 Columbine St. Starting at 11 a.m. $55. Advanced reservations required.

Macaron & Beer Pairing with Cakeheads Bakery. Fiction Beer Co., 7101 E. Colfax Ave. Noon. $20 (includes 3 beer samples and 3 macarons).

Explore Vegan Caribbean Cuisine. Ross-Barnum Branch Library, 3570 W. 1st Ave. 2-3 p.m. Free.

Cooking with Cupid. Cook Street School of Culinary Arts, 43 W. 9th Ave. 6 p.m. $150. Advanced registration required.

Denver’s Best 21+ Valentine’s Party. Mile High Spirits Tasting Room, 2201 Lawrence St. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. No cover.

Sports and fitness

Puppy Love: Community Puppy Yoga Class. The Source Hotel, 3330 Brighton Blvd. 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Advanced registration required.

*Colorado Avalanche vs. Florida Panthers. Watch on ESPN+. 4 p.m. 

Sunday, Feb. 11

Just for fun

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

Bridal & Wedding Expo. National Western Complex, 4655 N. Humboldt St. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free (in advance and online), $10 (at the door).

Mercury Mini Market. Mercury Cafe, 2199 California St. 6-10 p.m. No cover.

Kids and family

Family Fun Day: Galentine’s Day. Girl Scout DreamLab, 63 N. Quebec  St. Noon-2 p.m. Free.

Anti-Valentines Day Party. Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales Branch Library, 1498 N. Irving St. 2-4 p.m. Free. Ideal for ages 13-17.

Comedy and theater

Carnival Cabaret – A Jazz, Big Band, Burlesque and Variety Show. Orchid Denver, 1448 Market St. 8 p.m. $45 (entry, doesn’t include dinner or drink special).

Eat and drink

Galentine’s Day Party + Brunch. Nurture, 2949 Federal Blvd. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free.

Galentine’s Arrangement & Cocktails: Celebrate Valentine’s Day. Stir Events  at the Ice House, 1801 Wynkoop St. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. $125. Advanced registration required.

Super Bowl Chili Cook Off. Danico Brewing Co., 18490 E. 66th Ave. $5 (includes chili samples and voting ticket). 5-7 p.m.

All Weekend

Just for fun

*Ruby Hill Rail Yard. Ruby Hill Park, 1200 W. Florida Ave. 5 a.m.-11 p.m. Free. (Read more here).

Orchid Showcase. Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free (members), $7.50-$15 (non-members).

Arapahoe County Spring Home Show. Arapahoe County Fairgrounds Event Center, 25690 E. Quincy Ave., Aurora. Noon-6 p.m. (Friday), 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (Saturday) and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (Sunday). Free.

Monster Jam. Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle. 7 p.m. (Friday and Saturday), 1 p.m. (Saturday) and noon (Sunday). Starting at $23.

Art, culture and media

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

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

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.)

Cowboy. MCA Denver, 1485 Delgany St. Noon-7 p.m. (Fridays) and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (Saturdays and Sundays). Free (children 18 and under), $9 (college students, military members, teachers, seniors ages 65+), $12 (adults).

Eat and drink

Festival de Bichos. La Diabla, 2233 Larimer St. 11 a.m.-11 p.m. (Friday), 10 a.m.-11 p.m. (Saturday) and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. (Sunday). Prices vary.

Sports and fitness

*Downtown Denver Rink. Skyline Park, 1600 Arapahoe St. 10 a.m.-10 p.m. (Friday and Saturday), 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (Sunday). Free, rentals are extra.

*McGregor Skate. McGregor Square, 1901 Wazee St. Noon-9 p.m. (Friday and Saturday) and Noon-6 p.m. (Sunday). Free (children 2 and under, seniors 65 and older), $6-$9 (children), $6-$15 (adults).

Worth the Drive

Saturday

*Fraser Fire & Ice 2024. Fraser, Colorado. 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Free.