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6 holiday markets near Denver where you can shop, sip and celebrate the season

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:02 GMT

Holiday celebrations are fast approaching, which means you might be on a time crunch to purchase gifts for everyone on your list.Don’t fret: The Denver region is home to many holiday markets that include festive fun so shoppers can simultaneously knock out their to-do lists, get in the giving spirit and sip some spirits.Here are six seasonal shopping opportunities not to miss.Mile High Holiday MartDates: Nov. 10-12Location: Gates Field House at the University of Denver, 2201 E. Asbury Ave., DenverThe Junior League of Denver’s 44th annual holiday market celebrates the season with a fundraiser where locals can shop for their loved ones and support a good cause. Proceeds from tickets support the organization’s mission to empower women in leadership roles and disrupt the cycles of poverty for local women and children. The price also affords access to an array of local and national artisans selling housewares, specialty food items, jewelry, apparel, pet products, and more.Tickets t...

Don’t miss Cuban jazz pianist Harold Lopez-Nussa at Dazzle this month

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:02 GMT

There’s a lot of live music to dig into for November, including a recent discovery who is helping to redefine Latin jazz.The Cuban expatriate pianist and composer Harold Lopez-Nussa has just released his first album after leaving the country of his birth, and “Timba A La Americana” (Blue Note) is genuinely invigorating. Lopez-Nussa, who will bring his quartet to the new Dazzle location on Nov. 18, is simultaneously flashy and purposeful in his playing.His performances on this disc absolutely pay homage to the Latin jazz masters who appeared before him, but the production (from Snarky Puppy’s Michael League) has contemporary flourishes and touches of electronic sounds to remind us this was conceived in the 2020s. More often than not, the results on “Timba” point in the direction of an accessible brand of fusion.Cuban jazz pianist Harold Lopez-Nussa poses for a photograph in Havana, on May 9, 2019. (Photo by ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP) (Photo by ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP via Getty Images)As acco...

Election Day is here in Colorado. Here’s what to know and how to vote.

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:02 GMT

Tuesday is Election Day in Colorado, as voters weigh in on a property tax relief measure backed by Gov. Jared Polis and whether to use excess tobacco tax money to help fund preschools.Besides the state’s propositions HH and II, many cities and towns are holding elections in municipal races, and some school board seats also are on the ballot. Voting centers are open for in-person voting statewide from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you’re in line to vote by 7 p.m., you’ll be able to cast your ballot. If you’re still holding onto a mail ballot, it must be dropped off at a box or voting center by 7 p.m.You can find the nearest secure 24-hour dropbox on the state’s website.RELATED: Last-minute voter guide for Colorado’s 2023 electionThe Colorado Secretary of State’s Office will begin posting results for statewide and local races from the election at 7 p.m. The Denver Post will have updates on early results at denverpost.com right after those returns begin droppi...

This full-bodied red was just named the best wine in Colorado

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:02 GMT

The only Colorado winery using a special Californian grape won the top honors at the Colorado Governor’s Cup wine awards.Alfred Eames Cellars, located at Puesta del Sol Vineyards three miles south of Paonia, won Best in Show on Nov. 4, for its 2019 Carmena. The wine beat 11 other contenders that participated in the 2023 Governor’s Cup Collection.Carmena is made from the Carmine grape, which Dr. Harold Olmo of the University of California- Davis developed in 1946 by crossing Cabernet Sauvignon with Carignane, a common blending grape in southern France and Spain, and that grape was then crossed with Merlot. The variety produces full-bodied, tannic red wines in cooler climate regions, like Colorado. Alfred Eames Cellars’ wine is the only commercially available Carmine wine in Colorado.Devin Petersen, left, with his father Alfred Eames, right, celebrating their Best in Show win at the 2023 Governor’s Cup. (Provided by the Colorado Wine Board)Alfred Eames and his son Devin Petersen...

“The Wind Knows My Name,” by Isabel Allende, and more short book reviews from readers

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:02 GMT

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. Sure, you could read advertising blurbs on Amazon, but wouldn’t you be more likely to believe a neighbor with no skin in the game over a corporation being fed words by publishers? So in this series, we are sharing these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email [email protected] WIND KNOWS MY NAMEBy Isabel Allende272 pp. Ballantine. $28.“The Wind Knows My Name,” by Isabel Allende (Ballantine Books, 2023)This one starts a bit slow, as in, how are these disparate story lines related?!? But Allende, a masterful storyteller, does tie it all together, although perhaps a bit too coincidentally for some readers. This novel explores the lasting trauma of refugee children separated from their parents, whether by choice or by force.  Inspired by a play based on the Kindertransport actions that sen...

Rocky Mountain National Park wants to make reservation system permanent

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:02 GMT

A long-range planning process, which is expected to result in timed-entry reservations becoming permanent at Rocky Mountain National Park during peak visitation months, is entering its final stages, as officials hold public meetings and solicit public comment as part of an environmental assessment of the proposal.The plan is necessary “to provide day-use visitor access in a way that protects resources while creating opportunities for high-quality visitor experiences,” park officials said in a statement. A permanent reservation system is needed, they argue, because the park saw a 44% increase in visitation from 2012 to 2019. But since a “pilot” timed-entry reservation system was introduced in 2020, those numbers have leveled off.“Rapid growth in day-use visitation and changing use patterns in the park have degraded natural and cultural resources, diminished quality of the visitor experience, increased visitor and staff safety concerns, and created a heav...

Keeler: Avs’ Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen say Colorado still missing “chemistry.” Is Bednar’s tinkering hurting or helping?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:02 GMT

The Avs need more cowbell. The 2022 Stanley Cup champs right now look like a gold-record rock band without a drummer. The songs are still killer, but the tempo’s all over the dang map.“It’s the chemistry,” forward Mikko Rantanen said as he leaned back in his locker stall at Family Sports Center Monday. “It’s the little details that we’re lacking a little bit. Execution hasn’t been good (the) last four games — power play, 5-on-5, whatever. So I think we just got to execute the game plan better.”Some nights, they blow the flippin’ roof off the building. Others, you’re reaching for the ear plugs. Nasty Nate McKinnon & The Nightriders (7-3-0) host Eastern bully New Jersey (7-3-1) on Tuesday night, and nobody is 100% sure how the set’s going to fly.Will Burgundy & Blue faithful get the troupe that’s won its last three home games by a combined score of 14-5? Or the band of oh-brothers who are oh-fer thei...

Denver blog digs up dirt and demystifies the city’s rapid transformation | Opinion

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:02 GMT

Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s new series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we will offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems).It’s increasingly common, even after calling Denver home for 23 years, for me to stop and wonder what block I’ve stumbled onto. That’s why I rely on the Denver Infill Blog to not only tell me what’s changed, but when and why — and what’s next for that area, block or parcel.Since 2004 it’s been chronicling both single projects and sweeping changes in metro Denver, thanks to both planner Ken Schroeppel, who lives and works downtown and teaches at the University of Denver, and tireless co-editor Ryan Dravtiz.Yes, I also write for a media outlet that covers this stuff with vigor and detail. But Denver Infill Blog feels complementary, not competitive, and Schroeppel and his contributors aren&#...

Reports to Colorado’s Safe2Tell rebound to pre-pandemic levels as children seek help for mental health, bullying

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:02 GMT

Colorado students are seeking help from Safe2Tell — the state’s system for making anonymous reports about safety concerns — at levels not seen since before the pandemic, according to a new report released Monday.Safe2Tell saw report volumes drop during the height of COVID-19 as schools were shuttered and students moved to remote learning. But report volumes fully rebounded during the 2022-23 academic year and even slightly exceeded pre-pandemic levels — with concerns about suicide the leading reason why students contact Safe2Tell, according to the program’s annual report. The state logged 22,486 reports to Safe2Tell during the last school year, a 16% increase from the previous year and marginally higher than the 22,332 reports the program received in 2018-2019, the last full year before pandemic disruptions, according to the report released by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.CRISIS POINT: Teens increasingly turn to Safe2Tell for suicide, mental h...

Body found in trunk outside home leads to homicide investigation 

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:02 GMT

A call regarding a home disturbance in Huntington Beach led to authorities discovering a body in the trunk of a car. The original call came in late Monday afternoon from a home on Friml Lane, according to law enforcement officials.  Historic hangar at former air base in Orange County engulfed in flames Upon arriving and conducting a preliminary investigation, officers were able to locate the body in the back of a sedan parked nearby.A call regarding a home disturbance in Huntington Beach led to authorities discovering a body in the trunk of a car. (OnSceneTV)Police confirmed to KTLA that no obvious signs of trauma were found on the body, but it is being investigated as an “apparent homicide.” Details on the gruesome discovery remain limited. This is a developing story. Stay with KTLA for updates.