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Media Contact: Chea Franz, chea@indiecreativeco.com

A new neighborhood restaurant honoring the women who taught us to cook and the tables that brought us together. 

DENVER, CO (June 15, 2026)— Mother Other, a new vegan bar and restaurant rooted in family recipes, seasonal ingredients, and radical hospitality, is set to open its doors in Denver’s Baker neighborhood on June 27. Located in the Denver Design District, the restaurant is the brainchild of Chef Alexi Mandolini and Beverage Director Taylor Herbert, the team behind The Easy Vegan. Mother Other is the brick-and-mortar realization of six years of pop-ups, farmers markets, and a long-held dream to give their food a permanent place at the table.

The name says it all. Mother Other is a love letter to the women who defined hospitality long before it was an industry: the grandmothers, mothers, and chosen family who made food feel like belonging. Their recipes, handwritten, dog-eared, and passed down through generations, will hang on the walls as a living archive of the women who taught us that feeding someone is an act of love.

Mother Other is also an act of defiance, where professional kitchens have often sidelined and tokenized women, Mother Other places them at the center. The restaurant is committed to pay equity, a positive workplace, and extending genuine care to its team as much as its guests. Don’t expect a special occasion spot. Expect your neighborhood restaurant—the one that feels like walking into your Italian grandmother’s kitchen with 50 years of patina on every surface and the food polished to a five-star shine.

“Women have always been the backbone of hospitality, and we want our kitchen to reflect that, but Mother Other is also for everyone who has ever needed a third place to call their own,” says Mandolini. “Queer folks, chosen families, people who found their people at a neighborhood bar. Hospitality, to us, means everyone at the table.”

The menu tells the story of both founders: Mandolini’s Chicago roots, her grandmother Doree’s table, her father’s foraging trips, and Herbert’s years of craft behind the bar. Shareables set the tone: the Giarancini, a panko-crusted deep-fried risotto served with house giardiniera, celery root puree, and chive aioli, is a love letter to Mandolini’s Chicago roots, while the Spring Pea + Leek Dumpling arrives in a ginger and porcini brodo with charred peas and pea shoot. Vegetable-forward plates include a Japanese Sweet Potato crowned with miso and black garlic whipped potato, tempura-fried onion, truffled taro chip, and sesame chili oil, and the Carrot + Ginger Bisque finished with coconut cream and a house carrot chip.

For heartier appetites, expect Potato + Chive Pierogi with ruby kraut, coconut sour cream, braised apple, and caramelized onion, a The Easy Vegan fan favorite, alongside a Rigatoni alla Vodka with signature sauce, whipped almond ricotta, basil oil, and aleppo crumb. And for something sweet: a Chocolate Budino layered with vanilla sponge cake, passionfruit curd, chocolate cashew pudding, and shortbread crumb, and a Brioche Doughnut served with vanilla custard and poached rhubarb with basil. The bar program will feature house-carbonated vegetable sodas (think carrot, tomato, and celery root), creative cocktails using the same seasonal produce from the kitchen, and true to form, a cold cheap beer and a shot.

“Farmers markets are an incredible proving ground, but they can’t replicate the full dining experience,” says Herbert. “My background is in bartending and bar management, and there’s a craft to that work that I’ve been eager to bring back, such as developing cocktail menus, working behind the bar, creating drinks that speak the same language as the food on the plate. At Mother Other, the bar program and the kitchen aren’t separate conversations. They’re the same one.”

Mandolini is a graduate of Kendall College’s culinary program in Chicago and became executive chef of a Chicago catering company before she could legally drink. Herbert has spent most of her adult life working behind the pine–from bartending and managing primarily at LGBTQ+ nightclubs and bars from North Carolina to Denver.

The two met in 2018 when Mandolini moved to Denver from Chicago and Herbert served her her first beer in town at Asbury Provisions and they have been partners in life and business ever since. The duo rose to national attention in 2023 when their team won Season 16 of Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race. In building out Mother Other, the pair has stayed true to their DIY spirit—completing much of the physical build themselves with the help of friends and family, from plumbing to light construction, rather than taking on a six-figure contractor loan.

Mother Other will be located at 675 South Broadway Ste. 300, Denver, CO 80209. Opening is anticipated for June 27. For updates, follow @motherotherdenver on Instagram or motherother.com.

Mother Other hours of operation: Thursday – Sunday, 4-10 p.m.

About Mother Other

Mother Other exists at the crossroads of artful sophistication and a warm embrace—a vegan bar and restaurant that feels less like going out and more like being invited over to your grandmother’s house, sitting down with the whole family, and noshing on the recipes that have been passed down, argued over, and perfected for generations.

Everyone says their mom makes the best version of something. Mother Other is all of your mothers’ favorite recipes, reimagined through a plant-based lens and served without the pomp, the pretense, or the price tag that fine dining so often demands. Founded in 2026 by Chef Alexi Mandolini and Beverage Director Taylor Herbert, Mother Other is located in the Denver Design District in the Baker neighborhood. Rooted in radical hospitality, the restaurant is committed to matriarchal leadership, pay equity, and a warmth that extends as generously to its team as it does to every guest who walks through the door.

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Spend summer in the pages of a good book

Summer reading programs are a fun and competitive way to keep literacy skills sharp during the languid, sunny months for kids and adults alike. But summer reading can serve yet another vital function.

In an age of heightened censorship, books with themes of LGBTQ+, race, mental health, sexuality, and social justice are being banned and restricted in schools across the United States. Second Lady Usha Vance launched a summer reading program last year, particularly encouraging military families to participate while at the same time schools near military bases were actively pulling books from their libraries for DEI-related themes and, what Florida state attorney called, “pornographic” content. 

Additionally, library funding has been challenged on a federal level with the Trump Administration’s appeal to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) which is the only federal agency dedicated to providing funding for the nation’s libraries. Earlier this month the American Library Association struck a historic win, when a federal court granted the Trump Administration’s request to withdraw its appeal to defund the IMLS.

With so much tumult rocking bookshelves, this summer, more than ever, is the time to show support for your local libraries by checking out physical books, e-books, even audiobooks. Showing demand for library services ensures continued access to books that provide essential historical, identity, and human rights perspectives.

Here is Yellow Scene’s guide to the various library summer reading programs in the area. If you’re not sure where to start, you’ll also find their book recommendations and get a peek at the prizes that await (fun ones too, not just the moralistic prizes for reading)!

BOULDER

Boulder Public Library’s Summer of Discovery is kicking off June 1st and running through July 31st. Kids, teens, adults, and even pre-readers are invited to participate. 

• Every 50 minutes of reading or participating in one library-approved activity earns the reader 50 points. Reaching 500 points earns readers a prize. 
• All registrants receive a buy-one-get-one-free voucher to a Colorado Rapids game, and adults are entered into a drawing upon registration.  
• Kids and teens who complete the challenge will receive a coupon for a free ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, a free entry to Gateway Park Fun Center, and the choice between a new book or a coupon to the Paper and Spine bookstore.  
• Adults who complete the challenge will receive a coupon for a free ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery and a second entry into a drawing for a gift certificate. 

Once the main challenge is finished, participants can keep earning points to use as entries for the grand prize drawing. Each additional 100 points = 1 entry. There is a limit of three entries total. One winner will be drawn from each age group.

Grand prizes include: 

• Pre-Readers: Strider Bike
• Kids: Gift Card for a Cooking Class at the Food Lab
• Teens: Gift Card for a Cooking Class at the Food Lab
• Adults: Gift Card for a Class at Colorado Glass Works

The Boulder Library lists staff and reader picks on their blog, which can be filtered based on adult, teen, or kid reading. Their Teen-by-Teen book picks include reviews like Ellie’s recommendation, Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas, a paranormal mystery romance following a trans man from an unaccepting traditional Latinx family who unleashes unexpected consequences with a dangerous family ritual. In another teen review, Julian touts Queer Ducks (And Other Animals): The Animal World of Sexuality by Eliot Schrefer. NPR’s All Things Considered calls Queer Ducks “teenager-friendly. It’s a Printz Honor young adult book filled with comics and humor and accessible science, and it’s filled with research on the diversity of sexual behavior in the animal world.”  

Other teen and adult picks include I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, a story told by twins exploring family and identity, and Soma by Fernando Llor, a sci-fi graphic novel about a struggling author whose fate collides with an alien’s. 

Staff recommendations for adults include The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck by Kylie Scott, a romance novel following a plus-size woman who is given unexpected gifts from a witch she saves, and The Emperor of Gladness by award-winning poet and fiction writer Ocean Vuong. 

The Boulder Library staff also created extensive booklists for kids on their website, which are broken down into categories like “Women Making History” and “Picture Books About Black History,” as well as by genre and age range.

ERIE

Director of Erie Public Library Becky L. Duncan was excited to share that their summer reading program will include all ages for the first time – “from 0 to 100.” It kicks off June 1st, and the theme is Bingo! More info will be shared on the Erie Public Library’s website as the date draws closer.

LAFAYETTE

The Friends of the Lafayette Library present the Exploring Colorful Colorado Summer Reading Program, running June 1st through July 31st. The program’s America 250/Colorado 150 theme celebrates the nation’s and the state’s anniversaries. 

At Festival Plaza on Thursday, May 28th, the Library’s Summer Reading Program will kick off with Picnic on the Plaza, presented by the Arts and Cultural Resources Department, featuring award-winning artist Jenn Cleary. The library says, “This family-friendly event is the perfect way to kick off a season of reading, music, and community fun.” 

No fees or registration are required to participate. Participants can track reading and activity goals with a paper passport or online. Lafayette residents and visitors can expect regular Saturday special events, workshops, storytimes, and other engaging activities all summer. Signup begins on June 1st, either in person at the library or online.

LONGMONT

Longmont’s Public Library is holding Summer Bingo May 21st through July 31st, kicking off with a party on the library’s West patio headlined by local youth band RLY ORY. 

Kids and teens must complete BINGO boards by July 31 for a chance to win prizes. Adults are also encouraged to participate and can track their reading, get card punches as they finish books, and win small prizes along the way.

DENVER

The Denver Public Library is hosting Summer of Adventure from June 1st through August 10th. It promises to be “a season filled with exciting events, reading inspiration, book giveaways, hands-on STEM activities, nature discovery, teen workforce opportunities, and meaningful connections for all ages.” Readers up to those in the 12th grade can complete 20 hours of reading, learning, listening, and attending library events to earn a completion prize. Upon registration, participants will receive their Adventure Guide to fill out with their activities. Participants can expect to find free books at any one of the library’s events.

COLORADO-WIDE

The Colorado Rapids Summer Reading Program partners with local libraries to reward young readers with complimentary game tickets and discounted tickets for family members. Readers can sign up at any library.

Yellow Scene’s 2026 Summer Support Drive is underway with a goal of 1,000 Sustaining Supporters by summer’s end.

For 26 years, we have remained fiercely independent, free from sponsored content and outside editorial influence.

Reader-driven support keeps local journalism unbossed, unbought, and our journalists fed. Become a sustaining supporter for $8/month and get Yellow Scene delivered to your home.

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Photo by Steven Nasada

We barely got a day’s rest. When you’re in the business of journalism, things move fast, you expect that. But after our recent big court victory (which we shared in detail in the last issue), we felt like maybe things in the courts were swinging back towards common sense and decency and we wouldn’t have to worry about the judicial branch as much. But then the United States Supreme Court decided they had seen enough of the Voting Rights Act and, in doing so, not only tanked the representation of millions of Americans but ratcheted up our collective stress levels. It’s not a surprising decision (unfortunately), and it points to the fact that we can’t ever stop fighting.

Thankfully, we’ve got a pretty nice platform here for that fight. One that you’re an important part of. Yes, we’re on the streets asking the questions and writing the stories. But you’re reading them, sharing them, taking the next steps like going to community government meetings, visiting farmers’ markets, taking part in a protest. Together we’re working to keep people accountable, to shine a light on corruption and misdeeds, to fight for our neighbors, to push back on fascism. 

As these court cases have shown us, we’re in a “one step forward, two steps back” world. And of course, what’s important is that we take those backwards steps for what they are, just a setback, and we keep pushing forward. For us, that means digging in and continuing to tell the important stories because now, perhaps more than ever, local journalism is a vital resource.

With 85% of U.S. media now controlled by six major conglomerates, what we’re served often protects those in power—or worse, isn’t journalism at all. You’ve heard us say it, but it’s important enough to repeat: Yellow Scene is the last locally owned, independent publication serving all of Boulder County. Even though it could ease the financial challenges of independent media, we refuse pay-to-play content and hold ourselves to high standards. 

Those standards aren’t just what we expect from ourselves, we know that they are what the community expects from us. When you become a sustaining member, you’re voicing your support of those standards and helping us to maintain them. We invite you to become a monthly sustaining member to keep us coming to your mailbox with stories that matter.

Let’s keep this fight going. Together.

Yellow Scene’s 2026 Summer Support Drive is underway with a goal of 1,000 Sustaining Supporters by summer’s end.

For 26 years, we have remained fiercely independent, free from sponsored content and outside editorial influence.

Reader-driven support keeps local journalism unbossed, unbought, and our journalists fed. Become a sustaining supporter for $8/month and get Yellow Scene delivered to your home.

Join the Summer Support Drive and keep local journalism strong.

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Recapture the charm of going to the movies

by Anna Wolfgram Evans

This summer, Colorado theatergoers have a lot to look forward to. As blockbuster franchises dominate multiplexes across the country, a quieter, more personal movie culture is thriving in Colorado’s independent theaters. Throughout Boulder, Longmont, Lafayette, and North Boulder, local cinemas and arts venues are offering audiences something rare: curated films, repertory classics, filmmaker discussions, and communal experiences that streaming services and oversized, multi-screen theaters cannot replicate.

From restored screenings and community discussions at the Boulder Public Library to classics and new films at the Boedecker Theater, this summer there is a great deal for theatergoers to anticipate.

The new silent palace

On warm evenings in Boulder, moviegoers can be seen gathering outside the Dairy Arts Center long before the doors to the Boedecker Theater even open. There is noticeable excitement as moviegoers discuss which Hitchcock film should earn the title of his greatest work, while others scan posters for upcoming documentary film festivals, silent film nights, and new independent releases from Sundance or Cannes.

Inside the Boedecker Theater, which is located within the Dairy Arts Center, audiences regularly encounter films that they would not be able to find at a standard chain megaplex. The Boedecker has become one of Boulder’s most important destinations for arthouse cinema and independent filmmaking. Audiences may spend one weekend revisiting classic silent films and return a few days later for a new international drama or environmental documentary.

Just twenty minutes down the road from the Boedecker is The Alamo Drafthouse. The Alamo has the unique distinction of being a theater that runs new releases while also curating its own film selections. Moviegoers can go from watching the newest superhero movie one day to watching an international or independent horror film the next. The theater offers a highly curated selection of films, from localized independent productions to the newest blockbusters.

One of the hallmarks of the Alamo is its laser-focus on the experience. It has a strict no-talking and no-phone policy. Any visitor talking or using a device is given only one warning before being asked to leave. This creates the perfect atmosphere for theatergoers looking to get lost in the world of their new favorite film.

The Alamo also offers plenty to discuss when it comes to its dining menu. Before the movie, guests browse a huge menu with everything from standard popcorn to fresh stone-baked pizzas.

The classic American film-going experience

For those looking for a more relaxed, yet classic film experience, there are also various drive-in theaters near Boulder. The Dairy Arts Center and 88 Drive-In Theater both feature classic drive-in experiences that enhance even the most traditional movie. Connecting your car radio to the correct station and heading into the concession stand to fill up on popcorn and nachos can make the most mundane blockbuster feel exciting.

Extending the viewing experience

In Longmont, the Longmont Museum Stewart Auditorium has built a strong reputation for eclectic film programming that blends education and entertainment. Its screenings frequently include foreign films, documentaries, classic films, and community-centered events. The venue draws a broad audience from all walks of life, from college students discovering classic film history to retired cinephiles.

The Dairy Arts Center film program is curated by a team of movie lovers, all with interests in different areas of film. They work together to blend their tastes, and what emerges is a thoughtful, well-rounded program. The Dairy Arts Center states on its website, “Community is what sets Dairy Cinema apart from the commercial theater experience. We believe that the cinema experience should extend beyond the screen.” The organization continues by explaining that their club conversations are designed to form deeper connections with both the community and cinema.

The programming that these independent theaters offer reflects a broader philosophy shared by many independent cinemas: movies are meant to be discovered, discussed, and experienced collectively.

Over the last decade, streaming services have transformed the way people consume media, especially cinema. Nearly every film imaginable can now be watched instantly from a phone or from the comfort of a couch. Yet these independent theaters, along with countless others across the area, have found that audiences still crave the ritual of moviegoing, especially when theaters offer curated programming rather than traditional blockbusters. Streaming films offer convenience, but independent theaters offer context.

Cinema as community

When audiences attend a screening at one of these independent venues, the film does not exist in isolation. A screening of the classic Citizen Kane might include an introduction discussing the film’s revolutionary cinematography and its influence on modern filmmaking. A documentary screening may feature local activists or scholars speaking afterward. These additions transform a movie from passive entertainment into an active cultural event.

In Lafayette, organizations like The Arts HUB are helping expand that sense of community-centered cinema even further. Although smaller than traditional theaters, arts venues throughout Lafayette increasingly host film festivals, local filmmaker showcases, and independent screenings that bring residents together. The smaller scale of these events often makes them feel intimate and collaborative. This intimacy is difficult to replicate in traditional multiplexes built around speed and volume.

Independent theaters and arts venues also play an important role in preserving film history. For younger audiences raised primarily on streaming services, these screenings provide opportunities to experience older films the way they were originally intended to be seen: on large screens, in dark rooms, and surrounded by strangers.

From Boulder’s Boedecker Theater to Longmont’s museum screenings and Lafayette’s community arts venues, independent cinemas continue proving that moviegoing is not disappearing. If anything, it is evolving into something more intentional, personal, and deeply connected to the communities that support it.

Yellow Scene’s 2026 Summer Support Drive is underway with a goal of 1,000 Sustaining Supporters by summer’s end.

For 26 years, we have remained fiercely independent, free from sponsored content and outside editorial influence.

Reader-driven support keeps local journalism unbossed, unbought, and our journalists fed. Become a sustaining supporter for $8/month and get Yellow Scene delivered to your home.

Join the Summer Support Drive and keep local journalism strong.

The post Nix the Multiplex for Flix This Summer appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Legacy restaurants add to the fabric of the community.

There are so many ways to run a restaurant. From fish ‘n’ chips to fine dining, I looked into three longstanding Boulder County institutions to see how they’ve survived and thrived through ownership transitions, family legacies, a global pandemic, and at least one misspelling of the owner’s last name on an Irish-themed sign.

Palpable Energy on the Menu

When I first moved to Longmont, there was one place I walked past nearly every day that was always buzzing. Tuesday at lunch, 9 p.m. on a Thursday night, there was always some energy to it. In 2026, in this economy, I was curious about a place with that kind of pull.

A few months later, Pumphouse Brewery had become a regular in my rotation. The firehouse-themed eatery draws beer-drinking sports fans and families alike, built on a reputation for good service and generous portions. On a recent visit, I noticed a new menu celebrating the restaurant’s 30th birthday. As a ’96 baby myself, I couldn’t help but wonder how this place had stood the test of time.

Who better to pull back the curtain than long-time General Manager Ross Hagen. Hagen was a law school student when he started serving tables at Pumphouse in May 1997. He quickly gelled with the original owners, four friends who happened to also be aerospace engineers, and worked his way up through the ranks, buying in as a partner in 2000. After deciding law wasn’t his true calling, he found that the pace and energy of the restaurant world was exactly where he wanted to be. He’s been all in ever since.

Running a broad menu isn’t simple, and Hagen doesn’t pretend otherwise. “It’s gotta taste good. It’s got to be something we can execute consistently,” he said. He knows the “something for everybody” model isn’t for everyone. “Most operators starting up would shy against the breadth of what we’re doing.” What makes it work, he says, is structure: strict recipe standards, plating consistency, and a management team larger than most comparable restaurants. “It really requires that everybody’s on the same page, absolutely busting their butt, every day. There’s no way around that.”

That broad menu is also strategic. Hagen knows Pumphouse’s staying power depends on becoming the neighborhood’s go-to for both date nights and family dinners. “You have to develop regulars and keep them. It’s what matters.” A dedicated back-of-house staff, many of whom have been with the restaurant for decades, has made that consistency possible.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a hard look at Pumphouse’s future. The answer, original ownership decided, was a transition to employee ownership. In 2022, the business was sold to Teamshares, a company that converts acquired businesses to employee-owned models over time. Every Pumphouse employee, from longtime chefs to part-time dishwashers, became a 20% owner, receiving stock and dividend checks nearly every month.

The goal is 80% employee ownership within 15 years. Hagen sees it as the best available path. “If it’s not going to be a fully independently owned restaurant like it was from the five of us, maybe the next best thing is to have it employee owned, as opposed to just selling out to some restaurant group that may or may not keep the character in place.” Though no longer an owner in the traditional sense, his commitment hasn’t shifted. “As long as I’m here, I’ll continue to run the place with an owner’s eyes and the mentality that this is a legacy business, and I don’t want it to decline on any level.”

A 40+ Year Longmont Fixture

Less than a block down Main Street, you’ll find a place that has the Pumphouse beat by 15 years. Mike O’Shays has been a fixture in downtown Longmont since 1981, when New Jersey natives Mike and Nania Shea opened the Irish pub, their last name slightly altered on the sign in a spelling that just stuck. Shea was once quoted calling it a “stay with it” place, and walking in today, you understand exactly what he meant.

General Manager Jen Burchette is the engine of Mike O’Shays. On any given afternoon, she might be welcoming a regular, interviewing a prospective bartender, and signing for a liquor delivery, sometimes in the same 10-minute window. Burchette says Shea built something that didn’t need much propping up. “This place stands on its own.” His hands-on ownership style cultivated a loyalty that has proven remarkably durable. Burchette says they’re generations deep into regulars now, and she hopes it just keeps going. Head Chef Martín, who has been with the restaurant for 30 years, has grown alongside the menu, finding creative freedom in exploring Irish cuisine.

The restaurant has navigated change, including a shift in ownership that brought menu updates and operational adjustments with mixed reactions from longtime patrons. Through it all, Mike O’Shays has held onto what it’s always been: a neighborhood place built on a little bit of grit and a lot of community.

A Generational Dining Destination

From Longmont’s Main Street, head up Baseline Road into the Boulder foothills, and you’ll find Flagstaff House, a fine dining institution with a view to match and a family story spanning three generations. Adam Monette is the restaurant’s co-owner and general manager. He’s the third member of his family to hold that role. His grandfather, Don Monette, bought the property in 1971 and moved his family onto the five-acre mountainside lot where he set about turning what had been a home — possibly destined to become a cabin or ranger station — into a year-round restaurant. Don liquidated three downtown restaurants to make it happen. “It really never should have existed in the first place,” Adam reflected. “But with his foresight and ability to put things together, he saw an opportunity that really wasn’t there at the time.” At its peak, 18 members of the Monette family were working within the restaurant’s ranks. “It was, quite literally, a family affair.”

Don’s connection to Colorado began in the 1950s, when he was stationed at Camp Hale in Leadville as part of the 10th Mountain Division. The mountains left a mark, and after marrying his wife Carol in Michigan, he insisted they move back to the Centennial State. Adam still speaks of him with reverence. “Don is honestly the foundation of this restaurant. But certainly, in many ways, he was my idol.”

That reverence shows up in how the place is run. Flagstaff House is fine dining, but Monette is deliberate about the atmosphere it projects. “Fine dining comes off as pretentious and snooty more often than not. You don’t hear those words here, because we make sure that we’re not.” Staff longevity mirrors the family’s own investment. Employees with over 35 years of service have retired from their posts while promotions into management have nearly always come from within. “Every time we’ve promoted into management, with very few exceptions, it’s been someone who has proven themselves from day one, probably starting as a food runner,” Monette said.

Another example of their commitment to the community can be found on their awards shelf. Flagstaff House recently received the Snail of Approval from Slow Food Boulder County, a non-profit dedicated to fostering a “good, clean, and fair” food system in the region.

From employee ownership to navigating a new proprietor’s vision to stewarding a grandfather’s dream, there is more than one recipe for longevity in the restaurant world. But a few ingredients keep showing up: people who refuse to treat the work as temporary, communities willing to keep coming back, and an understanding that the restaurant belongs, in some way, to everyone who walks through the door.

Yellow Scene’s 2026 Summer Support Drive is underway with a goal of 1,000 Sustaining Supporters by summer’s end.

For 26 years, we have remained fiercely independent, free from sponsored content and outside editorial influence.

Reader-driven support keeps local journalism unbossed, unbought, and our journalists fed. Become a sustaining supporter for $8/month and get Yellow Scene delivered to your home.

Join the Summer Support Drive and keep local journalism strong.

The post More Than One Recipe appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Cultivating and crafting the perfect mixers takes time and age-old processes.

Everything old is becoming new again, with summer drink choices also joining in on the trend. Sweet and savory drinks designed from what you can grow in your garden are making a comeback, providing a way to preserve the fruits of your labor or that of your local growers, if your green thumb isn’t fully developed yet.

Vintage Vibe

A refreshing drink called a Shrub was popular as a way to extend the life of produce before refrigeration hundreds of years ago. It can be made from locally grown fruits, sugars and vinegars with 2-4 days maceration time and a 2-4 week shelf life in the refrigerator. Phil Giomassis from Japango Boulder explained their process for making this base for fruity mocktails.

“What you’re doing is taking fruit, this time it’s strawberry, and you take two parts fruit to one part brown sugar,” said Phil. “You let this macerate for 24-48 hours; that’s going to extract a lot of oils and make an oleo saccharum syrup. Then you mix that syrup with one part Balsamic vinegar and let that macerate for another 24-48 hours in the fridge.”

Japango on Pearl Street in Boulder offers not only the Shrub Drink, perfect for mocktails and mixing cocktails, but also a Garden Party drink that contains carrots and an Old Fashioned-type drink made with shitake mushrooms.

After it’s ready, you take the sweet and tart mixture and add soda water to serve, giving it an effervescent, bubbly feel.

Pick your produce

If you are just practicing, or a professional, at growing greens, fruits, and vegetables you can pluck these ingredients right from your garden. Those thirsty for a refreshing drink, but lacking a gardener’s tender touch, can get what they need at the Boulder Farmer’s Market, which runs every Saturday, April through November from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Many of the growers there are able to produce fresh produce in greenhouses, making them ready for early spring delivery to the market.

Some of the produce you’ll need for your summer sips is native to Colorado, though if it’s found in the wild, is likely totally different than what you buy at the market. Tommy Roth, with the Colorado State University Extension Office, said that native plants like strawberries, blackberries and raspberries would be different when picked from the wilderness.

“The Boulder raspberry… is not going to be like if you’re expecting a raspberry, you’re going to be like, ew,” said Roth. “What is this thing that’s not sweet?” And as for the native strawberries, Roth said with a chuckle, “I wouldn’t say they are tasty, but I wouldn’t say they are not, not tasty.”

Vendor views

The farmers market offers much of what you need to get started creating your concoctions, including plant starters grown in a greenhouse over the winter that you can just pop into your garden and nurture through the growing season for your Shrub Drink needs.

One popular farmers market vendor, The Fresh Herb Company, offers herbs, vegetables, and flowers. Jonathan Rogerson who works at Fresh Herb said they have three greenhouses as well as farmland for producing plant starts, as well as peppers, cucumbers, and hanging flower baskets. Like most good things it takes time to grow the herb starter plants. “The largest rosemary was planted last fall,” explained Rogerson.

“You can never be in a bad mood at the farmers market,” said Jonathon Rogerson, with The Fresh Herb Company, which offers many herb plants to put in your own garden, as well as greens and tomatoes, lavender and other beautiful flowers.

Rogerson said the company also makes a lavender spray that is perfect for adding flavoring to drinks, with a spritz or two proving a floral pop to your summer sip.

At the farmer’s market you’ll also find pressed juices for mocktails and cocktails. Cocktail Caravan does all the work of creating refreshing drinks and mixers ready to pour over ice. A dried orange garnishment sweetens the deal.

Seasons savings

Different fruits and vegetables ripen at different times over the summer, enabling you to create a varied menu of seasonal elixirs. Melons are the bumper crop for Monroe Family Farms, which is located east of Greeley. Robert Thompson said the reason they grow so well is the sandy soil in the area. The muskmelons, cantaloupe, and honey dew will be ready for market in July.

And with a Shrub Drink, your summer doesn’t have to end just because the growing season does. “Now you can have your Colorado peaches into the winter,” pointed out Giomassis.

Whether you’re growing the goods yourself or frequenting the farmers’ market, sipping summer drinks never tasted so good.

Breakout Box:

How to Make a Shrub Drink

Ingredients:

The post Drinks from the Garden appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

On March 19th, we attended the opening ceremony of Beyond the Western Horizon, curated for the Museum of Outdoor Art’s Madden Gallery to celebrate Colorado’s 150th anniversary and the 250th anniversary of the United States. The art exhibition (displayed in the museum’s indoor gallery) features over 50 artworks from 20 artists. Admission is included with the regular museum ticket. We sat down with museum co-founder and curator Cynthia Madden Leitner to ask about the exhibition, which runs through July 31st.

Photos by Heather Longway Photography

Jamie Lammers: I’m curious about the curation of the show.
Cynthia Madden Leitner: A lot of times, the theme will dictate the curation. What is Americana? What artists most exemplify the West? And what is the West? A lot of people think of the West as a place. It conjures up these iconic images, but to us, the West really resides in the heart of being an American. That whole Western attitude of not just freedom, but of experimentation and invention using new ideas, the frontier spirit, the sense of adventure, the newness, sometimes being a renegade or a rebel.

Jamie: What has stuck out to you about what people have taken in the most?
Cynthia: I love hearing the artists, how they critiqued other artists’ work, who they were drawn to, and some of the nuances of each piece. There’s one artist, David Uhl. He did two barrel-racer paintings for this show, and when you really look at it, trying to conceive an action shot of a horse with a rider on the back going around a barrel, that kind of athleticism and how you show it… I don’t know too many artists that could do that. That’s just one example. There are several examples going into the different artists’ works that makes it a high-quality, incredible show.

Jamie: What’s changed during your time at the museum?
Cynthia: The museum has changed organically over its 45-year history. I’ve had several different jobs, worn several different hats. Everybody that works at the museum, it’s the same. It’s a small staff. We have a cadre of artists and educators, people we work with outside. We’ve shifted in and out over those years, so I feel like I’ve had the advantage of having several different kinds of jobs.

Jamie: Has there been a consistent threadline you’ve hoped people connect with at the museum?
Cynthia: Art is a part of everyday life. If you look at life that way, you’d be surprised how much art you see in everything. Everyone is creative. Everyone has art sense. We have hundreds of examples of that through our education programs, so I believe that implicitly.

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The post Spotlight: Museum of Outdoor Art – Beyond the Western Horizon appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Monthly Summer Calendar

June

June 1, Arankai: The Portrait Tour, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 1, Classical Guitar Ensembles, Newman Center for The Performing Arts, Denver

June 1, Lamont Jazz Orchestra, Newman Center for The Performing Arts, Denver

June 2, Femme Musicians Meet-Up, Dog House, Lafayette

June 2, Sewerperson & Polearm, Globe Hall, Denver

June 2, Spite, Summit Music Hall, Denver

June 3, An Acoustic Evening With Trey Anastasio, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

June 3, Oh Snap!, Muse Performance Space, Lafayette

June 3, Bourbon, Blues, & Grooves with Delta Sonics, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 3, White Denim, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 3, Learnmore Jonasi, Black Buzzard, Denver

June 3, Lamont Wind Ensemble, Newman Center for The Performing Arts, Denver

June 3, Leanna Firestone, The Perplexiplex, Meow Wolf, Denver

June 4, Pamela Machala, Festival Plaza, Lafayette

June 4, Mountain Grass Unit & Surf Hat, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

June 4, The Unteachables Comedy Tour: Unprofessional Development, The Louisville Underground, Louisville 

July 4, Patriotic Concert, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

June 4, ¡VIVA MÉXICO! A Dance Spectacular, Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver

June 4, Pradabagshawty: The Five Problems Tour, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 4, Avery Lynch & Julia Campbell, Globe Hall, Denver

June 4, MGNA Crrrta: The Beautiful Disaster Tour, Larimer Lounge, Denver

June 4, Broken Compass Bluegrass & All She Wrote, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

June 4, Shane Mauss TRIPS: The Third Dose, The Perplexiplex, Meow Wolf, Denver

June 4, Derek Dames Ohl opening for Noah Fowler & Jack Holland, Jamestown Mercantile, Jamestown

June 5, Danse Etoile Ballet: Les Contes de la Mere L’Oye, Dairy Arts Center, Boulder

June 5, Improv Boulder presents: Laughayette! Improv, Dog House, Lafayette

June 5, Last Men On Earth, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 5 – August 30, Brigadoon, Jesters Dinner Theater, Longmont 

June 5, Jo Fuller, Brick’s on Main, Longmont 

June 5, Jammin’ Feud Trivia, Superior Community Center, Superior 

June 5, Wilderado & Michael Marcagi, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

June 5, TV Game Show Night with Rion Evans, The Louisville Underground, Louisville

June 5, Young and Dead with Josy Rosalies’ Old & in the Way Tribute, Globe Hall, Denver

June 5, North Indian Classical Ensemble, Newman Center for The Performing Arts, Denver

June 5, Adult Chamber Music Workshop, Newman Center for The Performing Arts, Denver

June 5, Taste of Louisville, Downtown Louisville

June 5, Troy Doherty, Marquis Theater, Denver 

June 5, Emerson Woolf & The Wishbones, Black Buzzard, Denver

June 5, Yo-Yo Ma & the Colorado Symphony at Ford Amphitheatre, Denver

June 5, By Storm & Lerado Khalil, Larimer Lounge, Denver

June 5, Toadies: The Charmer, Ogden Theater, Denver

June 5, Chan, Temple Denver, Denver

June 5, KR3TURE: Ecosystems Tour, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

June 5, Alex Manga & Enaldo Barrera En Concierto, Stampede, Aurora

June 5–August 9, Phenomenomaly, The Perplexiplex, Meow Wolf, Denver

June 6, Allman Betts Family Revival in the Rockies, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

June 6, Brewfest, Lafayette Chamber, Morrell Printing lot, Lafayette

June 6, Thomas Dow, 300 Suns, Longmont 

June 6, WhiteWater Ramble, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

June 6, Asti Park Historical Museum Open, Asti Park Historical Museum, Superior

June 6, National Trails Day, Coalton Trailhead, Superior 

June 6, Grasso Park Interim Museum Open, Grasso Bungalow, Superior

June 6, Lane 8, Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

June 6, Josiah and the Bonnevilles, Gothic Theater, Denver

June 6, Fresh Fruit! & Altaphonic and Wampus Cat, Globe Hall, Denver

June 6, ‘68, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 6, Louisville Pride, Main St., Louisville

June 6, The Orion Experience, Black Buzzard, Denver

June 6, Yot Club: Simpleton Tour, Summit Music Hall, Denver

June 6, Abe Parker, Larimer Lounge, Denver

June 6, Rumours: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

June 6, Can’t Feel My Face: 2010s Dance Party, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

June 6, Open House ft. Goles, and Dayvie & Glox, Larimer Lounge, Denver

June 6, Saturday Jamz: Throwback Party, Tracks, Denver

June 7, Rise as One Concert, Stampede, Aurora

June 7, Mister Mike Unplugged, Jamestown Mercantile, Jamestown

June 7, An Evening with Dakota Blonde, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 7, The M.O.B. (Mike Ortiz Band), Brick’s on Main, Longmont 

June 7, Danielle Ate the Sandwich, Muse Performance Space, Lafayette

June 7, Queer Circus, Junkyard Social Club, Boulder

June 7, Erie Pride, Coal Creek Park, Erie

June 7, Em Beihold, The Perplexiplex, Meow Wolf, Denver

June 8, Kittie & Gore., Ogden Theater, Denver

June 9, Ringo Starr, Bellco Theater, Denver

June 9, Leah Kate, Globe Hall, Denver 

June 9, Pearl, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 9, The Cab: The Back From the Dead Tour, Summit Music Hall, Denver

June 9, Leah Kate, Larimer Lounge, Denver

June 9, Virtuosity and Poetry, Newman Center for The Performing Arts, Denver

June 9, Ásgeir, The Perplexiplex, Meow Wolf, Denver

June 10, Broomfield Summer Concert Series | Summer Kickoff! ft. Velvet Daydream with Banshee Tree, Anthem Community Park

June 10, Songwriters Meetup, Dog House, Lafayette

June 10, Bourbon Blues & Grooves with The Front Rangers, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 10, Museum Connection: The Right Collections Management System for Museums, History Colorado, Denver

June 10, Worm: Total Possession of America, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 10, Royal & the Serpent, Summit Music Hall, Denver

June 10, Shinyribs & Schaefer Llana, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

June 10, Claire Rosinkranz, The Perplexiplex, Meow Wolf, Denver 

June 11, Pride on the Plaza with Cellists for Change & Jeremy Dion Band, Festival Plaza, Lafayette 

June 11, Lynette Wolfe with Some Hustlers, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 11, StreatBeets, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

June 11, Kickoff Party for Lafayette Music Fest 2026, Acreage by Stem Ciders, Lafayette

June 11, Five Dollar Film Series: Rocky Horror Picture Show, Riverwalk Center, Breckenridge

June 11, Prisoners of War, History Colorado, Denver

June 11, All the Feelings Tour: Metric, Broken Social Scene, and Stars, Fillmore, Denver

June 11, The Talbott Brothers, Globe Hall, Denver

June 11, Rostam, Gothic Theater, Denver

June 11, Head Automatica, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 11, Juvenile’s Boiling Point Album Release Tour, Ogden Theater, Denver

June 11–15, Black Pride Colorado 2026, X-Bar, Denver

June 12, Chicken Coop Willaye, Jamestown Mercantile, Jamestown

June 12, Santa Rios | “A Tribute to Santana”, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 12, Deborah Stafford & The Night Stalkers, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

June 12, Comedy All Stars, The Louisville Underground, Louisville

June 12, The Velveteers, Riverwalk Center, Breckenridge

June 12, Palmyra & Kyle Szalay, Globe Hall, Denver

June 12, Between Worlds, Newman Center for The Performing Arts, Denver

June 12, Ace Monroe: Summer Tour 2026, Black Buzzard, Denver

June 12, Emo Nite, Summit Music Hall, Denver

June 12, Pixel Grip, ReelWorks, Denver

June 12, Justin Allison and Bob Rebholz, Muse Performance Space, Lafayette

June 13, Bill McKay Band, Superior Commons Amphitheater, Superior

June 13, DCPA Gala: Saturday Night Alive, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Denver

June 13, Racing Mount Pleasant & Isobel, Globe Hall, Denver

June 13, Those Crazy Nights, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 13, Summer Concert Series, Superior Commons Amphitheater, Superior 

June 13, AudioMedz, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

June 13, The Pogs: A Tribute to The 90s, The Louisville Underground, Louisville

June 13, Earlybirds Club: 80s Party, Gothic Theater, Denver 

June 13, Nik Parr & the Selfless Lovers, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 13, Gabriel & Dresden: Stories We Tell 25th Anniversary Tour, Larimer Lounge, Denver

June 13, Trinix, Larimer Lounge, Denver

June 13, Mikaela Davis, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

June 13, Ireland, Appalachia, and Mendelssohn, Newman Center for The Performing Arts, Denver

June 13, Denver Onyx vs Boston Banshees, Infinity Park, Denver

June 14, 5 Foot Bettys, Jamestown Mercantile, Jamestown

June 14, Al ooooh minimum, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

June 14, Fire Station Block Party, Fire Station 1, Louisville

June 14, The Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame presents: The Ladies of Country Music All Star Showcase, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 14, Local Author Book Fair, The Read Queen, Lafayette 

June 14, Hayden Blount, Globe Hall, Denver

June 14, Sistas Who Kill: Back from the Dead, Summit Music Hall, Denver

June 14, Flawed Mangoes: The Killswitch Memories Tour, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

June 15, MASA Seed Co. Farm Tour, Museum of Boulder, Boulder

June 15, Stygian Bough: A Bell Witch/Aerial Ruin Collaboration, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 16, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: All the Good Times, the Farewell Tour, Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

June 16, The Main Squeeze, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

June 16, Bôa, Summit Music Hall., Denver

June 16, Tigers Jaw, Gothic Theater, Denver

June 17, Juneteenth Celebration ft. Rex Peoples & XFactr with Dzirae Gold, Anthem Community Park, Broomfield

June 17, Bourbon, Blues, & Grooves with Johnny O Band, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 17, Summer Market, Downtown Superior

June 17, Amble, Gothic Theater, Denver

June 17, Thee Marloes, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 18, Juneteenth with Jaren Jackson, Festival Plaza, Lafayette 

June 18, Unchained “Classic Rock”, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 18, March to August, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

June 18, Concert in the Park: The Reminders, Longmont Downtown Development Authority, Longmont

June 18, Music on the Lawn, History Colorado, Denver

June 18, Little Image & Mayor Grey, Globe Hall, Denver

June 18, The Jacob Larson Band, Community Park, Louisville

June 18, French Montana And Max B: Wave Gods Narcos Tour, Summit Music Hall, Denver

June 18, Raveyard: Daybreak & Local Sleaze, London Panther, Larimer Lounge, Denver

June 19, Van Zeppelin with Judgement Day, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 19, Altin Sencalar Natural Rhythm CD Release, Muse Performance Space, Lafayette

June 19, O.A.R.: Three Decades Tour, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

June 19, Improvarama: Boulder’s Most Dangerous Improv Troupe, The Louisville Underground, Louisville 

June 19, Jammin’ Feud Trivia, Superior Community Center, Superior 

June 19, Flattop Rider, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

June 19, Delicate Steve, Globe Hall, Denver

June 19, The Alex Lucero Band: Heavy & Unkind, Black Buzzard, Denver

June 19, Searows: Death in the Business of Whaling, Gothic Theater, Denver

June 19, Rx Bandits: And The Battle Begun 20th Anniversary Tour, Summit Music Hall, Denver

June 19, Tycho & Nitemoves, Ogden Theater, Denver

June 19, Bluetech, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

June 19, Rainbow Roll, Tracks, Denver

June 19, Juneteenth Celebration, Bridge Refill Market, Erie

June 20, Windy Pines, Ned General, Nederland

June 20, The Nu Wave with Bullet The Blue Sky!, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 20, Luck of the Draw – Bonnie Raitt Tribute, Brick’s on Main, Longmont 

June 20, Y2K Summer Kick-Off Party, Bounce Empire, Lafayette 

June 20, Grateful Dead Night presents: Chinaflower Suncats, The Louisville Underground, Louisville 

June 20, National Repertory Orchestra (NRO): Dreams of a New World, Riverwalk  Center, Breckenridge

June 20, Monkeypaw & The Backlash, Kung Fu Juice Box, Winched!, Larimer Lounge, Denver

June 20, Amelia Day, Globe Hall, Denver

June 20, Elijah Scott, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 20, Khary: The Big Mania Tour, Black Buzzard, Denver

June 20, Summer Vibes Bike Rally and Run, Lyons

June 20, HeartByrne, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

June 20, Level Up! A Nerdlesque Video Game Show, The Perplexiplex, Meow Wolf, Denver

June 20, Fur Coat & Davi, ReelWorks, Denver

June 20–21, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in Concert, Boettcher Concert Hall, Denver

June 21, Danny Shafer, Jamestown Mercantile, Jamestown

June 21, Makeout Reef & Soft Blue Shimmer, Globe Hall, Denver

June 21, Holly Humberstone, Gothic Theater, Denver

June 21, Girli, Larimer Lounge, Denver

June 22, Cook Like an Astronaut: Demonstration of The SATED Space System, Museum of Boulder, Boulder

June 21, Moon Walker: Wasteland Country Tour, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 21, Leo Middea, The Perplexiplex, Meow Wolf, Denver

June 21, Denver Onyx vs NY Exiles, Infinity Park, Denver

June 22, Dance Gavin Dance, Fillmore, Denver

June 22, Himalayas, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 22, Modern Alibi, Summit Music Hall, Denver

June 23, Jammy Buffet, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

June 23, NRO: Free Family and Kids Concert, Riverwalk Center, Breckenridge

June 23, “Night Skies of the Ancients: Mesa Verde” Overnight Trek, History Colorado, Denver

June 23, Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters, Gothic Theater, Denver

June 23, Monolord and Mizmor, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 24, 13 Fires, Dairy Arts Center, Boulder

June 24, David Lawrence & Fruta Brutal, Anthem Community Park, Broomfield

June 24, Wine & Jazz with Nelson Rangell, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 24, Joshua Slone, Gothic Theater, Denver

June 24, Redferrin, Summit Music Hall, Denver

June 25, Mad Dog Friedman, Festival Plaza, Lafayette 

June 25, Summer Concert in the Park: Blessing Bled Chimanga, Community Park, Louisville

June 25, Wandering Roads, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 25, Neon Blonde & Sunday Toni and Strangers, Globe Hall, Denver 

June 25, H2O, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 25, Chandler Kline, Crisco, Tasuuna, Syphyr, Rizzy Rails, & Raiyne, Larimer Lounge, Denver

June 25, Pattie Gonia: Save Her! ft. Sequoia and Vera!, Ogden Theater, Denver

June 25, Corb Lund & Branson Anderson, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox

June 25, Tracks Pride, Tracks, Denver

June 26, Keith Waters/Niwot Jazz, Muse Performance Space, Lafayette 

June 26, Dirty Heads, Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

June 26, Hillbilly Demons, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 26, DJ Drake, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

June 26, This Broken Beat & Aimee Lynne, Dog House Lafayette

June 26, Comedy Underground with Al Jackson, The Louisville Underground, Louisville

June 26, Parky Jobbins & The Angle and Sniff, Globe Hall, Denver 

June 26, Tiny Desk Contest on the Road 2026, Gothic Theater, Denver

June 26, Skáld, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 26, myspace nite, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

June 26, Drag Nation and Women’s Pride, Tracks, Denver

June 26, Doses: Devastating News Tour, Black Buzzard, Denver

June 26–27, Distant Worlds: Music from FINAL FANTASY, Boettcher Concert Hall, Denver

June 27, Shelvis and the Roustabouts, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

June 27, Disco Revue | An Electric Night of Disco Hits ft. members of The Petty-Nicks Experience, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 27, Leftapalooza 2026, Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont

June 27, NRO: A Night at the Opera, Riverwalk Center, Breckenridge

June 27, Smash and Release Piñata Workshop, BMOCA, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder

June 27, 999999999, Fillmore, Denver

June 27, Cailin Russo, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 27, Bearracuda, Summit Music Hall, Denver

June 27, That Eighties Band, Superior Commons Amphitheater, Superior

June 27, The Taylor Party: Taylor Swift Night, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

June 27, Big Gay Soirée, Tracks, Denver

June 28, Cry Huntress, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

June 27–28, Claypool Gold, Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

June 28, The Crystal Swing Band, Nissi’s, Lafayette

June 28, John Shepherd, Jamestown Mercantile, Jamestown

June 28, Queer Art Organics Open Mic, Junkyard Social Club, Boulder

June 28, Taylor Swift Fest, Boulder Public Library, Boulder

June 28, Yes Sir: Underwear Party, Tracks, Denver

June 29, Muse Jazz Jam with Clare Church Trio, Muse Performance Space, Lafayette

June 30, The Long Run, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

June 30, Novulent, Marquis Theater, Denver

June 30, Wolfmother & Love Gang, Ogden Theater, Denver

July

July 1, Bourbon, Blues, & Grooves with Mad Dog Blues, Nissis’s, Lafayette

July 2, Charlie Tea, Festival Plaza, Lafayette 

July 2, 2MX2, Longmont Museum, Longmont

July 2, Vudu Sunshine, Nissis’s Lafayette

July 2, Alex Thoele, Globe Hall, Denver

July 2, 42 Dugg and Babyface Ray: 4 the Trenches Tour, Summit Music Hall, Denver

July 2, Savage, D:Form, Macefacekilla, & Bimbofied, Larimer Lounge, Denver

July 3, Lies or Lullabies and Street Survivors, Nissis’s Lafayette

July 3, Myles Smith, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

July 3, The Doors Jam, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

July 3, Yesterday: A Tribute to The Beatles, Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

July 3, Solya, Marquis Theater, Denver

July 4, Party in The USA!, Ned General, Nederland

July 4, NRO: Fourth of July Spectacular, Riverwalk Center, Breckenridge

July 4, Doug’s Garage, Bricks on Main, Longmont

July 4, World Rugby Nations Cup 2026, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Denver 

July 5, Special Holiday Show: 101st Army Band, Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

July 5, Rave Jesus: Rave Revival Tour, Summit Music Hall, Denver

July 7, Spanish Music and Movement with Elisa Garcia, Boulder Public Library, Boulder

July 7, Wynton Marsalis Septet, Buell Theatre, Denver

July 8, Stillhouse Junkies & The Skinny, Midway Park

July 8, Bourbon, Blues, & Grooves with Lionel Young Band, Nissi’s, Lafayette 

July 9, Eco del Silencio, Festival Plaza, Lafayette 

July 9, The Dog and Pony Show, Bricks on Main, Longmont

July 9, Ritmo Jazz Latino, Muse Performance Space, Lafayette

July 9, Kat Hasty, Black Buzzard, Denver

July 9, St. Mary, Larimer Lounge, Denver

July 9, Summer Concert in the Park: The River Arkansas, Community Park, Louisville

July 9, Touch of Trey, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

July 9, The Bouncing Souls & The Suicide Machines, Ogden Theater, Denver

July 9–10, Rocky Horror Picture Show Summer Beach Party Extravaganza & Shadowcast, The Perplexiplex, Meow Wolf, Denver

July 10, Bands of Brothers, Muse Performance Space, Lafayette

July 10, Morpheus Dreaming, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

July 10, The Highwayman Show | Tribute to Country Legends Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson with Tony Saruci and special guest Makayla Phillips, Nissis’s, Lafayette

July 10, Futurebirds, Gothic Theater, Denver 

July 10, Sincere Engineer: The Probable Claws Tour, Marquis Theater, Denver

July 10, Tribute to Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, Arvada Center, Denver

July 10, 128 Presents Benson, Larimer Lounge, Denver

July 11, The Dream Team, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

July 11, Spandex Nation | Nat’l Touring Act from Vegas with special guest Sound of Madness, Nissis’s, Lafayette

July 11, Low Sensory Morning, History Colorado, Denver

July 11, Harvey Street, Globe Hall, Denver

July 11, High Lonesome, Superior Commons Amphitheater, Superior

July 11, The Church: The Singles: 1980–2025, Summit Music Hall, Denver

July 11, Siamés, The Perplexiplex, Meow Wolf, Denver

July 12, Colorado Music Festival Free Family Day, Louisville

July 12, Local Author Book Fair, The Read Queen, Lafayette

July 12, Asteria Jazz Collective, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

July 12, Season Preview Concert, Buell Theater, Denver

July 13–14, Chance Peña & Hans Williams, Ogden Theater, Denver

July 14, Wuki, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

July 14, Hatebreed: Summer Slaughter Tour 2026, Summit Music Hall, Denver

July 15, Beasts of No Nation & Trusetto, Midway Park

July 15, Max Meisel, Black Buzzard, Denver

July 16, Music on the Lawn, History Colorado, Denver

July 16, Summer Concert in the Park: The Long Run, Community Park, Louisville

July 16, Lee Brice, Fillmore, Denver

July 16, Fooz Fighters, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

July 16, Aurora Fashion Week: Wild West Runway, Stampede, Aurora

July 17, Kiko Rodriguez Bachata Concert, Stampede, Aurora

July 17, David Tutmark, Muse Performance Space, Lafayette

July 17, The Traveling Wilburys Revue, Nissis’s, Lafayette

July 18, NRO: Jurassic Park in Concert, Riverwalk Center, Breckenridge

July 18, New Wave Flashback! DM101 & Double Life, Nissis’s, Lafayette 

July 18, Jay Scott Album Release, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

July 18, Summer Art Market, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder

July 18, Fiddlehead, Gothic Theater, Denver

July 19, Leon Majcen, Globe Hall, Denver

July 19, Idobi Radio: Summer School, Summit Music Hall, Denver

July 20, NRO: Chamber Concert, Riverwalk Center, Breckenridge

July 21, Jamestown Revival, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

July 21, Jinjer Duel: North America 2026, Summit Music Hall, Denver

July 22, Marfa & Riley J Band, Midway Park, Broomfield

July 22, Wavves, Marquis Theater, Denver

July 22, Flexi-Verse: Harmonic Convergence, The Perplexiplex, Meow Wolf, Denver

July 23, Rayna Marie, Festival Plaza, Lafayette 

July 23, Summer Concert in the Park: May Be Fern, Community Park, Louisville

July 23, 2026 Bites and Brews, Blue Sport Stable, Broomfield

July 23, Old 97’s, Gothic Theater, Denver

July 23, Zoska, Larimer Lounge, Denver

July 23, Kim Gordon: Play Me Tour, Ogden Theater, Denver

July 24, 6 Million Dollar Band | 80’s Dance Party, Nissis’s, Lafayette

July 24, DJ Drake, Bricks on Main, Longmont

July 24, “Japanese-American Farming, Past and Present” Bus Tour, History Colorado, Denver

July 24, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Gothic Theater, Denver

July 24-25, Premier Lacrosse League, Peter Barton Stadium, Denver

July 25, The Foundry, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

July 25, Watchhouse: Rituals Tour, Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

July 25, Syncopation Music Experience, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder

July 25, Jamestown Revival, Gothic Theater, Denver

July 25, Soul School, Superior Commons Amphitheater, Superior

July 25, Uncle Lucius, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

July 25, Concert in the Park ft. Boogie Machine, Coal Creek Park, Erie

July 25–26, Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in Concert from the Colorado Symphony, Buell Theater, Denver

July 26, Boulder Big Band | Swinging Sunday, Nissis’s, Lafayette 

July 26, Vacation Manor, Marquis Theater, Denver

July 27, Muse Jazz Jam with Clare Church Trio, Muse Performance Space, Lafayette

July 29, End-of-Summer Celebration for Kids and Families with Animal Farm & Bear Cub Brigade, Midway Park

July 29, Poppy: Constantly Nowhere Tour, Fillmore, Denver

July 29–30, Mozart at The Studio Loft, Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver

July 29-August 2, The Sound of Music, Buell Theater, Denver

July 30, Mountain Buddies, Festival Plaza, Lafayette 

July 30, ConnectArte: Living Stories of Denver’s Chicano Movement, Motus Theater, Boulder

July 30, Blue Tongue, Bricks on Main, Longmont

July 30, Chiodos: It’s Not You, It’s Me Tour, Fillmore, Denver

July 30, Haunt Me, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

July 30, Max Davidson: Strangers, A Magic Show, The Perplexiplex (Meow Wolf), Denver

July 31, Thunder Roads, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

July 31, Young the Giant: Victory Garden Tour, Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

July 31, Mozart Under Moonlight, Arvada Center, Denver

July 31, Nerd Halen, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

July 31, MC Chris, The Perplexiplex, Meow Wolf, Denver

July 31-August 1, FAN HALEN | Nat’l Touring Van Halen Tribute with special guest Mr. Scary, Nissis’s, Lafayette 

August

August 1, Martha Graham Dance Company, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

August 1, Steel Monkey, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

August 1, NRO: The American Sound: Colorado at 150, Riverwalk Center, Breckenridge

August 1, Baby Bash & MC Magic, Summit Music Hall, Denver

August 1, Erie Fest, Coal Creek Park, Erie

August 2, Upclose with Damian Woetzel, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

August 2, Opera in the Park, Boulder Opera, Boulder

August 3, State of Grace, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

August 3, Day We Ran, Globe Hall, Denver

August 4, Dance for $20.26, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

August 4, John-Robert, Globe Hall, Denver

August 4, Kingfishr, Gothic Theater, Denver

August 4, Audrey Hobert, Ogden Theater, Denver

August 4-9, Beetlejuice the Musical, Buell Theater, Denver

August 5, Rennie Harris Puremovement American Street Dance Theater: Nuttin’ But a Word, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

August 5, “Curiosities of Cripple Creek” Overnight Trek, History Colorado, Denver

August 5, Ben Chapman, Globe Hall, Denver

August 5, Alex Dagicevich, Black Buzzard, Denver

August 6, Jocelyn Medina, Brazilian Jazz, Festival Plaza, Lafayette 

August 6, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company (BETC): Witch, Dairy Arts Center, Boulder

August 6, Upon Your Dead Body: The Coyote Gospel Tour, Black Buzzard, Denver

August 6-23, 504: The Musical, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Denver

August 7, Messengerz Dance Company Presents: “Waves”, Dairy Arts Center, Boulder

August 7, Improv Boulder presents: LAUGHayette! Improv, Dog House Lafayette

August 7, DJ_Dave, Larimer Lounge, Denver

August 7, Tomahawk, Ogden Theater, Denver

August 7, Pink Talking Fish, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

August 7–8, Trampled by Turtles & Leftover Salmon, Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

August 7–8, International Evenings of Dance, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

 August 8, Swallow Hill Music Presents Dustbowl Revival in the Garden, Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont 

August 8, NRO: The Land that Shapes Us, Riverwalk Center, Breckenridge

August 8, Audio Medz, Bricks on Main, Longmont

August 8, The Marvelous Miss Gender starring BOSCO, Fillmore, Denver

August 8, 3BallMTY, Summit Music Hall, Denver

August 8, Dutch Melrose, The Perplexiplex (Meow Wolf), Denver  

August 8, The Long Run, Superior Commons Amphitheater, Superior

August 9, Local Author Book Fair, The Read Queen, Lafayette

August 9, Passion Pit, Ogden Theater, Denver

August 9, Legend Zepplin, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

August 10, Now: Premieres, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

August 11-23, Spamalot, Buell Theater, Denver 

August 12, Spark! Accessible Art Exhibition, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder

August 12, Museum Connections: Revenue and Financial Accessibility of Education Programs, History Colorado, Denver

August 13, Voces, Exhibition-Inspired Poetry Reading, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder

August 13, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and St. Paul & the Broken Bones, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

August 13, Jutes: Smile You’re On Tour, Summit Music Hall, Denver

August 14, Needtobreathe: The Long Surrender, Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

August 14, Mojomama, Bricks on Main, Longmont

August 14–15, Greensky Bluegrass: Summer Tour 2026, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

August 14-30, Tick Tick Boom!, The Arts Hub, Lafayette

August 15, Good Music Medicine, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

August 15, Swallow Hill Music Presents: Two Runner in the Garden, Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont

August 15, Die Spitz, Gothic Theater, Denver

August 15, Driveways, Summit Music Hall, Denver

August 15, Hulvey: Could Be Tonight, Ogden Theater, Denver 

August 15, Jason Schmidt & Haven Madison, Larimer Lounge, Denver            

August 15, Jesse Welles: Red Tour 2026, Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

August 15, Steely Dead, Superior Commons Amphitheater, Superior

August 16, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

August 16, Asteria Jazz Collective, Bricks on Main, Longmont 

August 18, The Australian Pink Floyd Show: The Happiest Days of Our Lives: Greatest

Hits 26, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

August 20, Music on the Lawn, History Colorado, Denver

August 21, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

August 21, Pattie Gonia: Keynote, Drag, and Dance Party, Riverwalk Center, Breckenridge

August 21, Thee Sacred Souls: The Constellation Tour, Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

August 21, Drawing Club, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder

August 21, Strangelove: The Depeche Mode Experience, Gothic Theater, Denver

August 21, Diggy Graves: The No Vacancy Tour, Summit Music Hall, Denver

August 21, Starjunk 95, Ogden Theater, Denver

August 21, Preseason Game 1: Denver Broncos v Green Bay Packers, Empower Field At Mile High, Denver

August 22, Foggy Tops, Ned General, Nederland

August 22, Summer Art Market, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder

August 22, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

August 22, Steam Powered Giraffe, Gothic Theater, Denver

August 22, Concert in the Park ft. Face Vocal Band, Coal Creek Park

August 23, Gov’t Mule: Summer Tour 2026, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

August 23, Millkzy: Extension of You Tour, Larimer Lounge, Denver

August 24, Eagles of Death Metal, Summit Music Hall, Denver

August 25, Ray Lamontagne: Trouble 20th Anniversary Tour, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

August 25, Low Gap, Black Buzzard, Denver

August 27, a plague I call a heartbeat Performance, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder

August 28, Benise, Dairy Arts Center, Boulder

August 28, Colorado Centennial Farms & Ranches, History Colorado, Denver

August 28, Emo Night Karaoke, Marquis Theater, Denver

August 28, Hayla, Ogden Theater, Denver

August 28, Preseason Game 2: Denver Broncos v Minnesota Vikings, Empower Field At Mile High, Denver

August 29, Brewfest: Pints in the Park 2026, Community Park, Louisville

August 29, Clarent, Summit Music Hall, Denver

August 31, Muse Jazz Jam with Clare Church Trio, Muse Performance Space, Lafayette

September

September 1, The Wailers, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

September 2, Dogstar: All in Now Tour, Summit Music Hall, Denver 

September 3, 76th Street, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver

September 4, Improv Boulder presents: LAUGHayette! Improv, Dog House Lafayette

September 4, Have a Nice Life, Gothic Theater, Denver

September 4, An Evening with the Colorado Symphony Cello Ensemble, Boettcher Concert Hall, Denver

September 4, Comedian Cliff Cash, The Louisville Underground, Louisville 

September 5, Defying Gravity: The Best of Broadway, Boettcher Concert Hall, Denver

September 6, Sonu Nigam: Revolution, Bellco Theater, Denver

September 10, Cole Swindell with Zach John King, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

September 11-12, The String Cheese Incident, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

September 12, Chili & Beer Fest, Community Park, Superior

September 12-19, Arts Week, Longmont

September 15, Yesterday and Today, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail

Festivals

• Colorado Events & Festivals
• Fairs & Festivals in Colorado
• The Biggest 2026 Events in Denver | Concerts, Broadway, Festivals
• 2026 Colorado Festival Guide
• Colorado Music Festivals 2026-2027
• Colorado Music Festivals 2026 – 2027 | JamBase
• Boulder Annual Events | Parades and Festivals 
• Keystone Festivals
• Vail Events Calendar
• Festivals | Visit Telluride
• Featured Summer Events | Winter Park Colorado
• Festivals in Grand Junction
• Breckenridge Events 2026: Summer Festivals, Food, Wine & Art — The BuyBreck Team | RE/MAX Properties of the Summit 
• Summer Events in Estes Park
• Annual Events 2026 – Visit Colorado Springs
• Rocky Mountain Events
• 18 Festivals to Put on your Calendar Now
• Bravo! Vail
• Summer Music Festival – Colorado College
• June Colorado Events | 2026 Festivals

Ark Valley Pride – June 6th, Riverside Park, Salida

Aurora Fest – June 13th, Municipal Center Great Lawn, Aurora

Arvada Summerfest – June 6th, Ralston Park Addition, Arvada

Blues From The Top – June 26th through June 28th, Rendezvous Event Center, Winter Park

Boulder Comedy Festival – June 16th, Niwot Hall, Niwot

Boulder Comedy Festival -June 17th, Junkyard Social Club, Boulder

Boulder Comedy Festival – June 18th through 21st, Dairy Arts Center, Boulder

Boulder Comedy Festival – June 20th, The End at Doghouse Music, Lafayette

Boulder Environmental/Nature/Outdoors Film Festival – July 16th through 19th, Dairy Arts Center, Boulder

Boulder Jewish Festival – June 7th, Pearl Street Mall, Boulder

Boulder Philharmonic Spring Into Summer Festival – May 31st, Planet Bluegrass, Lyons

Boulder Pride Festival – June 11th, Central Park, Boulder

Boulder PrideFest – June 13th, Boulder Main Library, Boulder

Boulder Roots Music Fest – August 27th through 30th, Pearl Street, Boulder

Bourbon and Bacon Festival – June 27th and 28th, Keystone

Bravo! Vail Music Festival – June 25th through August 6th, Bravo! Vail, Vail

Breckenridge Agave Festival – June 26th through 28th, Main Street Station, Breckenridge

Breckenridge International Festival of Arts (BIFA) – August 20th – 23rd, Arts District Campus, Breckenridge

Breckenridge Summer Beer Festival – July 11th, Beaver Run Resort and Conference Center, Breckenridge

Brighton Summerfest – June 6th, Carmichael Park, Brighton

Broomfield and Westminster Pride – June 6th, Aerostat Park, Westminster

BurroFest – June 20th, Boyle Park and Grand Avenue, Mancos

Carbondale Arts Mountain Fair – July 24th – 26th, Sopris Park, Carbondale

Carbondale Pride Parade – June 5th, Main Street Carbondale

Caveman Music Festival – September 4th through 6th, Monument Lake Resort, Weston

Central City Opera Festival – June 27th through August 2nd, Central City Opera, Central City

Colorado College Summer Music Festival – June 6th through 26th, Colorado College, Colorado Springs

Cherry Creek Arts Festival – July 3rd through July 5th, Cherry Creek North, Denver Civic Center Park 

Colorado Dragon Boat Festival – August 29th and 30th, Sloan’s Lake Park, Denver

Colorado Medieval Festival – June 5th through 7th, The Savage Woods LLC, Loveland

Colorado Music Festival – July 9th through August 9th, Chautauqua Auditorium, Boulder

Colorado Rennaissance Festival – Weekends from June 13th through August 7th, Colorado Renaissance, Larkspur

Colorado Shakespeare Festival – May 30th through August 2nd, Mary Rippon, Boulder

Crested Butte Wildflower Festival – July 10th through 19th, Crested Butte

Denver Chalk Art Festival – June 7th and 8th, Golden Triangle Neighborhood, Denver

Denver French Fest – July 10th through 12th, Fillmore Plaza, Denver

Denver Fringe Festival – June 3rd through 7th, Denver

Denver Greek Festival – June 5th through 7th, Assumption Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Denver

Denver International Festival – August 1st, Historic Five Points, Denver

Denver Pride – June 1st through June 30th, Denver

Denver Villain Arts Tattoo Arts Festival – June 5th through 7th, National Western Center, Denver

Dolores River Festival – June 6th, Joe Rowell Park, Dolores

Edgewater Music Festival – June 20th, Citizen’s Park, Edgewater

Edgewater Pride – June 6th, Edgewater Public Market, Edgewater

Elizabeth Celtic Festival – July 18th and 19th, Casey Jones Park, Elizabeth

Erie Balloon Festival – July 10th through 12th, West of Soaring Heights K-8, Erie

Erie Pride – June 7th, Erie

Erie Town Fair – May 16th, Historic Downtown and Coal Creek Park, Erie

Evergreen Jazz Festival – July 24th through 26th, Evergreen

Feast of St. Arnold XIV – June 13th, Chapel of Our Savior, Colorado Springs

Festival of the Arts – June 5th through 7th, Tennyson Sculpture Park and Garden, Pagosa Springs

FIBark Whitewater Festival – June 18th through 21st, FIBark Community Paddling Center, Salida

Field of Vision Festival – August 14th through 16th, Meadow Creek, Buena Vista

Flatiron Sounds Music Festival – June 21th, Chautauqua Park, Boulder

Flatline Fest – June 13th and 14th, Oriental Theater, Denver

FoCo EcoFest and Xeriscape Garden Party – June 6th, Washington Park, Fort Collins

FoCo Fondo – July 16th through 19th, Fort Collins

Fort Carson Freedom Fest – July 3rd, Iron Horse Park, Fort Carson

Fort Collins Peach Festival – August 15th, Civic Center Park, Fort Collins

Friends of Folk Music Festival – June 23th, Performance Park, Estes Park

Ghost Canyon Fest – August 28th through 30th, Denver

Glenwood Springs Strawberry Days – June 19th and 21st, Glenwood Springs

Global Sounds – May 30th, Old Town Square and Linden Street, Fort Collins

GoPro Mountain Games – June 4th through 7th, Vail

Grand Junction Peaks and Plains Prepper Expo – June 20th and 21st, Grand Junction Convention Center, Grand Junction

Grand Mesa Songwriter Festival – June 5th through 7th, Grand Mesa Arts and Events Center, Cedaridge

Greeley Blues Jam Music Festival – June 5th and 6th, Greeley

Greeley Pride – June 13th, Aims Community College Welcome Center, Greeley

Greeley Stampede – June 24th through July 5th, Greeley

Gunnison River Festival – June 12th and 13th, Gunnison

Highlands Art Festival – June 13th and 14th, Highlands Denver

Highlands Street Fair – June 20th, Highlands Denver

Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Experience – September 4th – 6th, Snowmass Village, Snowmass

June Jubilee – June 20th and 21st, Acacia Park, Colorado Springs

Juneteenth Music Festival – June 19th through 21st, Five Points, Denver

Keystone Oktoberfest – September 5th, Keystone

Keystone Bacon and Bourbon Festival – June 27th and 28th, Keystone

Keystone Bluegrass & Beer Festival – August 1st and 2nd, Keystone

Keystone River Run Village Art Festival – July 24th through 26th, River Run Village, Keystone

Keystone Stars and Guitars Festival – July 3rd through 4th of July Weekend, Keystone

Keystone Wine and Jazz Festival – July 18th and 19th, River Run Village, Keystone

Kids in the Park City of Fort Collins – July 31st, Town Silo Community Park, Fort Collins

Lafayette Arts Night Out – Every second Friday, May through September, S. Public Road, Lafayette

Lafayette Brew Fest – June 6th, S. Public Road, Lafayette

Lafayette Electronic Arts Festival (LEAF) Augurs Wand, Field Theory, Eliza & Izaiah 

Miller – May 29th, Center for Musical Arts

Lafayette Electronic Arts Festival (LEAF), Ancient Ambient Soundscape Journey – May 30th, Arapaho Center Theater

Lafayette Fun and Fireworks Festival – June 27th, Waneka Lake, Lafayette

Lafayette Music Fest Kickoff Party – June 11th, Acreage, Lafayette

Lafayette Peach Festival – August 8th, Old Town, Lafayette

Lake Dillon Beer Festival – June 13th, Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

Lavender Festival – July 18th and 19th, Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms, Littleton

Leftapalooza – June 27th, Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont

Life in Chimney Rock Festival – June 6th and 7th, Chimney Rock National Monument, Pagosa Springs

Longmont Pride Festival – June 6th, Roosevelt Park, Longmont

Louisville Street Faire Series – June 12th through August 7th (Fridays), Downtown Louisville

Louisville SummerFest – June 6th, Main Street, Louisville

Loveland Pride – June 20th, Hammond Amphitheatre, Loveland

LunaFest – June 14th through 21st, Grossen Bart Brewery, Longmont

LunaFest Afterparty – June 22th, Bizarre Electronics Repair, Longmont

Manitou Springs Colorado Wine Festival – June 6th, Memorial Park, Manitou Springs

Mesa County Fair – July 14th through 18th, Mesa County Fairgrounds

Mike the Chicken Headless Festival – May 29th and 30th, Civic Center Park, Fruita

Mile High Power Festival – August 15th, Oriental Theater, Denver

Mimesis Documentary Festival – August 11th through 16th, Mimesis, Boulder

Montrose Pride – June 6th, Cerise Park Amphitheater, Montrose

Mountains of Music – June 4th through 7th, Golden Peak and Vail Village

Nederland Jazz & Wine Festival – August 22nd, Chipeta Park, Nederland

New Play Festival – May 27th through 31st, The Arts Hub, Lafayette

Niwot Jazz Festival – June 27th, Cottonwood Square, Niwot

Northglenn Pride, – June 6th, Festival Lawn, Northglenn

OFAM Global Festival – June 7th, Stampede, Aurora

One World Festival – June 28th and 29th, Wynkoop Plaza at Union Center, Denver

Out of the Box Summer Fest -July 11th, Downtown Longmont

Outside Days – May 29th through 31st, Auraria Campus, Denver

Palisade Bluegrass & Roots Festival – June 5th through 7th, Riverbend Park, Palisade

Palisade Peach Festival – August 21 and 22, Riverbend Park, Palisade

Paonia Cherry Days – July 3rd and 4th, Paonia

Park Hill Arts Festival – June 6th and 7th, Park Hill Masonic Lodge, Denver

Parker Days Festival – June 11th through 14th, Main Street, Parker

Pikes Peak Pride Festival and Parade – June 13th and 14th, Pioneer Museum, Colorado Springs

Planet Bluegrass RockyGrass – July 24th through  26th, Planet Bluegrass Ranch, Lyons

Planet Bluegrass Telluride Bluegrass Festival – June 18th through 21st, Town Park, Telluride

Planet Bluegrass Rocky Mountain Folks Festival – August 7th through 9th, Planet Bluegrass Ranch, Lyons

Scandinavian Midsummer Festival – June 28th and 29th, Civic Green Park, Highlands Ranch

SECO Pride – June 27th, Enchanted Forest, Lamar

Small Batch Weekend – May 29th through May 31st, Odell Brewing Company, Fort Collins

Soul Rebel Reggae Fest – July 12th, Levitt Pavilion, Denver

Southern Colorado Juneteenth Festival – June 20 and 21, Norris Penrose Indoor Events Center, Colorado Springs

Southern Colorado Renaissance Faire – August 22nd through 23rd, Pathfinder Park, Florence

Underground Music Showcase – July 24th through 26th,Rino Art District, Denver

Up in the Sky Music Festival – August 7th and 8th, Buttermilk, Aspen

Vail Dance Festival – July 31st through August 10th, Vail

Major Venues

Boulder Theater 

May 29, Ott. with Treecycle

June 2, Between the Buried and Me with Imperial Triumphant, Fallujah

June 5, Burning Spear with Jesse Royal

June 13, Lee Harris: The Oneness Experience

June 19, An Evening with Tommy Emmanuel, CGP

June 20, Mountain Grass Unit

August 9, Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble

August 11, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue with Mile High Soul Club

August 13, Django Festival Allstars ft. Samson Schmitt, Ludovic Beier, & Pierre Blanchard

August 14, Oliver Tree

August 15, Nick Shoulders

August 16, Harmony of Rhythms 2026: One Legacy

August 23, Laurie Berkner – Early Show

August 23, Laurie Berkner – Late Show

August 26, Hidden Brain with Colorado Public Radio

Fox Theater 

July 10, 2000’s Rave

July 11, Canyon Collective & Thunderboogie with special appearance by Dr. Frogger’s Electric Meatsuit

July 16, Toadstool with Wampus Cat, Third Turn

July 18, Liv, Laugh, Love: Olivia Rodrigo Dance Party

July 23, moondoggy with Uncle Strut, The Speeks

July 24, Junglefowl with Argentym, Jackson Cloud, Ok I love you

July 25, Teenage Bottlerocket with The Drowns, Tightwire, Bury Mia

July 28, Uncle Lucius with Keyland, Red Revival

July 30, Slick Portal with DTTA, Ondy, Zazzy, Beanz

July 31, House Party

August 1, A Very Jerry Birthday | A Night of JGB – Dave Abear’s A Very Jerry Band

August 14, Easy Jim with Shakedown Strings

August 20, Wax Monkey

August 23, Rehash with Mexican Slum Rats

August 28, Hostage Situation

September 4, Congress The Band with Superstar, Sunkissd

September 5, Black Flag

Chautauqua Auditorium 

June 25, Blind Pilot + John Craigie

June 26, The Wallflowers with Early James

June 28, The Crane Wives with special guest Yasmin Williams

June 30, The Robert Cray Band

July 20, Rosanne Cash with John Leventhal

July 22, DakhaBrakha

July 29, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives

August 3, Cat Power

August 5, SYML: Solo in North America

August 8, The Jayhawks + James McMurtry

August 11, Herbie Hancock

August 12, Herbie Hancock 

Roots Music Project

June 1, Open Mic Night with Host Riley J

June 2, 105.5 The Colorado Sound Presents Sober Night Live! 

June 10, Roots Psych Project – Psych Showcase

June 13, Rhythms of Resistance: Emily Barnes, Cat Plants & Trouble’s Braids

June 21, New Ways – Ian Coury & Igor Souza Duo (Colorado Brazil Fest)

June 25, Samantha McKaige with Bridgette Spinney and Emelise

June 26, Blues! Sue Foley – One Guitar Woman

July 11, Indie Roots Project

July 23, Cash Box Kings: Chicago Blues Royalty Live

July 31, Rolling Harvest & Poorfree: Dylan, Young & Mountain Soul

e-Town

June 8, Ásgeir and Pieta Brown

June 9, EmmyJean Jenkins’ Queer Country Cabaret

June 13, Jake Leg: Record Release Show

June 14, Nick Forster’s Hippy Bluegrass Church

June 18, Alash

June 20, Delicate Steve with special guest Inaiah Lujan

June 27, Los Lobos and Courtney Marie Andrews

June 28, Cousin Curtiss

July 11, An Evening with Chicken Wire Empire playing the music of Jerry Garcia

July 15, Pat Byrne Trio

July 29, Andy Babb and Lara Elle with Noah Proudfoot

August 2, The Montvales

August 20, The Animeros

August 23, Never Come Down and Tonewood String Band

September 3, Darrell Scott

Coors Field

August 8, Noah Kahan: The Great Divide Tour

August 9, Noah Kahan: The Great Divide Tour

August 14-15, Savannah Bananas vs. Indianapolis Clowns

August 27, My Chemical Romance The Black Parade 2026

Red Rocks

May 25, Alabama Shakes

May 26, Kali Uchis: For the Girls

May 27–28, Santana: Oneness Tour 2026

May 29, Michael Franti & Spearhead: Spring Tour 2026

May 30, Alan Walker

May 31, Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso: Free Spirits World Tour

June 1, Kesha: The Freedom Tour

June 2, Alex Warren: Finding Family on the Road

June 3, Yo-Yo Ma & The Colorado Symphony

June 4–5, Brit Floyd: The Moon, the Wall, and Beyond

June 6, Big Head Todd and the Monsters

June 7, Trey Anastasio & The Colorado Symphony

June 9, Jimmy Eat World: Bleed American

June 10, Lord Huron

June 11, Jon Bellion

June 12–13: Paul Simon

June 14, Lenny Pearce: Family Rave on the Rocks

June 14, Trevor Hall, Thievery Corporation, and Dirtwire

June 15–16, Rod Stewart: One Last Time

June 17, Amyl and the Sniffers

June 18, Third Day: 30th Anniversary Concert

June 19, Louis Tomlinson: How Did We Get Here? World Tour

June 20, O.A.R.: Three Decades Tour

June 23, “Weird Al” Yankovic: Bigger & Weirder 2026 Tour

June 24, Ziggy Marley & Stephen Marley

June 25, Dirty Heads, honestav, &Satsand

June 26–28, Widespread Panic

June 29–30, AJR

July 1, Treaty Oak Revival

July 2–3, Deadrocks XII with Zeds Dead

July 4, Blues Traveler

July 5, Andrea Gibson: Love Letter from the Afterlife

July 6–8, Eric Church

July 9, Sam Barber

July 10–12, The Avett Brothers

July 14, Kaleo

July 15–16, The Head and the Heart & The Colorado Symphony

July 17–18, The String Cheese Incident

July 19, Maren Morris & The Colorado Symphony

July 20, Hilary Duff: The Lucky Me Tour

July 22–23, The Strokes: Reality Awaits North America 2026

July 24, Cross Canadian Ragweed

July 25, Darius Rucker: Songs of Summer Tour 2026

July 25–26, Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in Concert from the Colorado Symphony

July 26–27, Sombr: You Are the Reason Tour

July 28, Sara McLachlan

July 29, Parker McColum: 2026 Tour

July 30, Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen

July 31–August 1, Tedeschi Trucks Band: Future Soul 2026 Tour

August 2, Wynonna Judd, Melissa Etheridge, & The Colorado Symphony

August 4–5, K-Love Live

August 6, Of Monsters and Men: The Mouse Parade Tour

August 8, Slightly Stoopid

August 9, Motionless in White: The Sweat and Blood Tour

August 11, Empire of the Sun: Ask that God: Afterlife North American Tour

August 13–14, Mt. Joy

August 17, Train: Drops of Jupiter: 25 Years in the Atmosphere

August 18, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Colorado Symphony

August 20, Tori Amos: In Times of Dragons Tour

August 21, Grupo Frontera: Triste Pero Bien C*brón Tour

August 22, Reggae on the Rocks

August 23, Joe Bonamassa

August 25, Ian Munsick

August 26, Ray LaMontagne: Trouble 20th Anniversary Tour

August 27–28, An Evening With Goose

August 30, Ty Myers: The Legal Tour

August 31, John Fogerty: The Legacy Tour

September 4–5, Maná: Vivir Sin Aire Tour

September 6–7, Gregory Alan Isakov & The Colorado Symphony

Ball Arena

June 1, NHL Western Conference Finals: Colorado Avalanche Vs. Vegas Gold Knights

July 1, Josh Groban With Special Guest Jennifer Hudson

July 5, Don Toliver: Octane Tour 

July 14th, Daniel Caesar

July 20, Forrest Frank: The Jesus Generation Tour

July 23, Joji: Solaris

July 25–26, Olivia Dean: The Art of Loving Life

July 28, Megan Moroney: The Cloud 9 Tour

July 31, Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire

August 1, Meghan Trainor: The Get in Girl Tour

August 21, J. Cole: The Fall-Off Tour

August 22, Toto, Christopher Cross, and The Romantics

August 23, Avenged Sevenfold and Good Charlotte

August 28, Chicago and Styx: The Windy Cities Tour

September 2, Babymetal World Tour 2026

Mission Ballroom

June 2, The Last Dinner Party

June 3, Wale & Smino

June 6, Beats Antique

June 13, Lane 8

June 16, Earl Sweatshirt & Mike: Home on the Range Tour

June 18, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: All the Good Times, the Farewell Tour

June 19, Synthony: A Generation of Dance Music

June 20, The Dead South & Amigo the Devil

June 21, Archetype V2: Emancipator

June 26, Connor Price & Nic D: Iconic Tour

June 27, Elderbrook & Tobiahs

July 10, Artifakts & Bricksquash Mafia and Two Guys

July 18, BUNT.

July 19, Totally Tubular Festival

July 20, The Marcus King Band: Darling Blue Tour Pt. 2

July 22, Silverstein & Story of the Year: Camp Screamo Tour

August 1, Dombresky & Walker & Royce

August 11, Sugar: Love You Even Still 2026 World Tour

August 18, Dimmu Borgir: Grand Serpent Rising

August 20, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead

August 21, Courtney Barnett

August 22, Dillstradamus: Dillon Francis B2B Flosstradamus

August 29, Little Stranger

Paramount Theater

June 3, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson: Delusions of Space Enthusiasts

June 6, Joe Jackson + Band: Hope and Fury Tour 2026

June 12, The Moth Mainstage: American Dreams

June 13, America: The Happy Trails Tour 2026

June 14, Aaron Lewis and the Stateliners: 2026 American Tour

June 25, ALOK

June 26, Rene Vaca: 2026 Tour

June 27, The Kevin Langue Show: Live!

June 30, Five for Fighting & Edwin McCain

July 8, Jon Anderson & The Band Geeks

July 11, George Harris: El Pueblo de Uno

August 5-6, Not for Radio

August 8, Rick Ross: Port of Miami 20

August 9, One Night of Queen

August 18, Marc Cohn & Shawn Colvin: Together in Concert

August 22, Little Feat: The Last Farewell Tour

August 28, Thunder From Down Under

September 3, The Electric Light Orchestra Experience ft. Evil Woman

September 4, Theresa Caputo Live! The Experience

September 8, Comedy Bang! Bang!

September 9, All Is Not Lost Tour

Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom

June 4, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes

June 4, Burning Spear

June 5, Eric Krasno & Friends

June 5, Daniel Allan

June 6, Juno What?! & DeadPhish Orchestra

June 6, Kenny Mason

June 7, Shordie Shordie & Hoodtrophy Bino

June 9, Aaron Hibell

June 12, Atlas Radio & MoonRadish and Vada

June 12, G-Space & Patches.

June 13, Giant Walking Robots & Splendid Blend

June 14, Bleood

June 14, Emo Fest: Drag and Pop Punk by Discord Addams

June 18, Shift ft. Secret Recipe

June 19, Flying Mojito Bros

June 19–20, Iration & Artikal Sound System

June 20, Iration & Tunnel Vision

June 25, Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles

June 25, Taylor Scott Band

June 26, Howie Daw

June 26, House Party.

June 27, Monophobics

June 27, Golden Era Rave

June 28, Vincen García

July 7, Corto.Alto

July 8, Andrew Duhon

July 10, The Pamlico Sound

July 10, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio & Typical Ghost

July 11, B-Side Players & Gio Chamba

July 11, Kitty’s Rave

July 12, Chris Travis

July 16, “Untz is Dead” Grateful Dead Celebration

July 17, Paul Oakenfold & The Crystal Method

July 17, Flowdan & Hypho

July 18, Krewe of Buddha Summer Ball

July 19, Phaseone & Autohmate

July 21, Kill Bill: The Rapper

July 23, Stavroz & Peter Blick

July 24, LTG

July 24–25, The Widdler

July 25, Lelo & Grovepill

July 30, Shift ft. Backwhen

July 31, Gudfella & Hans Glader

August 1, Polyrhythmics ft. Adryon de León

August 5, DTF: Deitch, Teitel, Fribush

August 6, Fireside Collective

August 7–8, Parkbreezy

August 8, Hogslop String Band & Hannah Marie Kelley

August 14, Wax Monkey & Sam Walker Band

August 15, Memba

August 15, Memba & Minila Killa

August 16, Nine Vicious

August 20, Five Minutes Out, Girl Dinner & Jackson Cloud

August 20, Shift

August 21, Midnight North

August 21, Richard Finger

August 22, Float Like A Buffalo

August 22, Blookah & Align, Spenny, and Gibbs

August 29, Monster Rally

August 31, Pawpaw Rod

Mishawaka Amphitheater

June 5–6, Railroad Earth: 25th Anniversary Celebration

June 12, Late Night Radio & Flamingosis, Alex Unger, and Vinyl Restoration

June 13, Pride Drag Brunch ft. Vegina Quartz, Tooth Decay, Jenna Tavia, Tink, & Amber Sand

June 13, Yonder Mountain String Band

June 14, Lane 8: TNH TEN: I Made You a New Mixtape

June 18, Canyon & Coals: A Dusk-bound Dining Experience

June 19, Mountain Grass Unit: Dog’s Out the Cage Tour

June 20, Tycho & Nitemoves

June 26, John Craigie & Blind Pilot

June 27, SoDown & Buku

June 28, Boots Fest ft. Cary Morin and Ghost Dog

July 3–5, STS9

July 6, Grace Potter

July 9, The Wood Brothers with Sway Wild

July 11, Dead Floyd & Tumbledown Shack

July 12, Asleep at the Wheel

July 17, Supertask: Downtempo

July 18, Supertask: Uptempo

July 19, Lucero

July 21, Buti & Beats

July 24–25, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country

July 30, Paul McDonald & The Mourning Doves

July 31, The Motet

August 1, The Infamous Stringdusters

August 7, Band of Horses

August 8, The Polish Ambassador

August 14, Josh Teed & Chamber Orchestra

August 15, Bertha: Grateful Drag

August 16, Nick Shoulders: Apocalypse, Never! Tour

August 21–22, Moe.

August 28–29, Tophouse with Daniel Rodriguez and Danno Simpson

August 30, St. Paul and the Broken Bones

Bluebird Theater

June 2, Graham

June 4, Los Mirlos

June 5, Jamø

June 6, Bob Schneider

June 7, The Slackers

June 9, Kings Kaleidoscope

June 10, Witch Club Satan

June 11, Haute & Freddy

June 12, Sully

June 13, ZOA: The Eras Within

June 20, The Rock and Roll Playhouse for kids

June 26, Jessica Baio

June 27, Low Cut Connie

July 1, The James Hunter Six

July 3, Dead Pioneers

July 9–10, Rattlesnake Milk

July 16, Lakeview

July 17, Olivia Rodrigo Dance Party

July 18, Marcos Valle: Jazz está morto

July 22, Kevian Kraemer: Only if it Matters

July 23, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum

July 24, of Montreal

July 25, Cracker

July 28, ML Buch & Andrew Weathers

August 1, An Album Tribute to Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky

August 2, Dinosaur Pile-Up

August 4, Wunderhorse

August 13, La Luz

August 14, Riff Wood

August 15, Willis

August 21, Dead on a Sunday

August 22, Ray Wylie Hubbard

August 25, Josh Tatofi

August 26, Fink

September 3, Congress The Band

September 5, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram: Hard Road Tour

Levitt Pavilion Denver

June 5, Pride Kick-off with Tiana Major9

June 6, Steph Strings

June 7, Drag Me to the Opera

June 12, Fleetmac Wood

June 13, Sunsquabi, Chris Karns, & Drew Birch

June 14 Sunsquabi, 5Am, & Mikey Thunder

June 19, The Circuit Summer Kickoff: Munchies Fest Edition

June 20, Lettuce Cook World Tour

June 26, The Bright Light Social Hour with Tarantula Bill

June 27, J. Roddy Walston & the Automatic Band with Rugburn

July 3, High Fade: Twice as Nice USA & Canada Tour

July 4, Flobots, Espiaille, &DCI Tour

July 11, Andy Frasco & the U.N. with The Cultet

July 12, Soul Rebel Reggae Festival & Black Uhuru

July 17, Las Cafeteras

July 18, Girls Rock Denver Showcase ft. May Be Fern and Sunstoney

July 31, Dessa & Kayla Marque

August 1, Jerry Day & Shakedown Street

August 2, Boulder Philharmonic

August 7, Mariachi Sol De Mi Tierra & Fiesta CO Dance Company

August 8, Afrik Impact Cultural Day Celebration ft. Élage Diouf

August 9, All My Relations Celebration ft. Snotty Nose Rez Kids

August 13, Shwayze & Claire Wright

August 14, Rebirth Brass Band & Deltaphonic

August 16, Silverada with Blake Brown & The American Dust Choir

August 22, Inspector & Roka Hueka

August 23, Rainbow Girls & LVDY

August 27, Dumpstaphunk

August 29, The Rock and Roll Playhouse Plays Music of Phish & More for Kids

August 30, Kyle Hollingsworth Band & Cass Clayton Band

September 4, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears

September 5, Mo Lowda & the Humble

September 11, Chali 2na + Cut Chemist & Osha Renee

Fiddlers Green

June 11, Lord Huron

June 20, Flatland Cavalry with Shane Smith & The Saints

July 22, Ella Mai: Do You Still Love Me?

July 25, Rainbow Kitten Surprise

July 30, Howard Jones: Things Can Only Get Better Tour

July 31–August 1, Excision: Mile High

August 2, The Black Crowes & Whiskey Myers

August 7, Sublime, Slightly Stoopid, and 311

August 13, The Guess Who

August 15, Mt. Joy

August 18, Muse, Portugal. The Man, & The Temper Trap

August 21–22, Caamp

August 28–29, Dave Matthews Band: Summer Tour 2026

September 2–3, Jack Johnson: Surfilmusic Tour

Dazzle Denver

June 1, Colorado Jazz Ambassadors

June 2, Andrew Elwood Quartet

June 4–6, Cyrus Chestnut Trio

June 4, Enion Pelta

June 7, Simple Match & Charles Blenzig

June 8, Queen City Jazz Band

June 9, Eric Gunnison: Horace Silver Reimagined

June 10, Kerosene Ensemble: The Music of Masada

June 11, Matt Skellenger Group

June 12, Dotsero

June 12, The End All

June 13, Dazzle Summer Musical Play Production Camp: The Rainbow Fish

June 13, Nelson Rangell

June 14, Electric Giz

June 15, G.A.M.E. Jazz

June 16, Gold & Maddox ft. HOME

June 17, Nicole Zuraitis

June 19, Joshua Trinidad’s Jaguar Breath

June 20, Luminous Beings Recital

June 20, Foothills Community Choir: Sain’t Misbehavin

June 24, Mr. Knobs

July 3, Daniel Weidlein’s From the Ashes

July 10, Aaron Summerfield’s Summer Circle

July 24, Cash Box Kings

August 9, Mary Louise Lee Band

August 13–14, Goldings/Bernsterin/Stewart Organ Trio

August 20, Miki Yamanaka Trio ft. Nicole Glover

Denver Botanic Gardens

May 25–September 7, Jaume Plensa: A New Humanism sculptural retrospective

June 20–21, Gabby’s Dollhouse Fairylandia Meet and Greet

June 23, John Craigie and Blind Pilot

June 24, Arts Ecosystem Tour: Black Cube

June 26, Children and Family Make and Take: Pollination Stations

June 26, Big Day of Bugs

June 29-30, Evening al Fresco

July 7, Grace Potter & Emily Brimlow

July 8, Allen Stone

July 9, Soccer Mommy & Jawdropped

July 16, Chris Botti

July 18–19, Lavender Festival

July 22, July Collins & Bruce Cockburn: Sweet Judy Blue Eyes Tour

June 26, Children and Family Make and Take: Pollination Stations

July 26, Watchhouse

July 29, The Beths and Beach Bunny

August 6, Band of Horses

August 10, Gregory Porter

August 11, Steel Pulse

August 12, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue

August 17, Sam Bush and phoffman

August 28, Fête des Fleurs

Repeat Events

Campfire Sessions, Thursdays and select Fridays, Riverside Colorado, Bellevue

Sunday Summer Series, select Sundays, Mishawaka Amphitheater, Bellevue  

Lunch Series, Fridays, Dazzle, Denver

Dazzle Brunch, Sundays, Dazzle, Denver 

Blues Jam, Wednesdays, Bricks on Main, Longmont

Open Mic Night, Tuesdays, Bricks on Main, Longmont

Lunch Line Dancing, 1st and 3rd Sunday, 2nd and 4th Thursday, Bricks on Main, Longmont

Acoustic Open-Mic, Every 4th Thursday, Dog House, Lafayette

Amplified Open-Mic, Every 3rd Tuesday, Dog House Lafayette

Milk & Cookies Thursdays, Thursdays, Tracks, Denver

Lesbian Night, Every 1st Friday, Tracks, Denver

Mountain Music Mondays, Mondays, Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

Open Mic Night, Superior Community Center, Superior, 2nd & 4th Wednesday

Art Night Out & Art Market, Every 2nd Friday, Festival Plaza, Lafayette

Palisade Park Concert Series, Thursdays, Palisade Park Amphitheater, Broomfield

Denver, check website for schedule, Infinity Park, Denver

Colorado Rapids, check website for schedule, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Denver

June 4th-16th, NH L Stanley Cup Finals: Colorado Avalanche Vs. TBD 

Boulder Farmers Market, Wed & Sat, 13th & Canyon, Boulder, see website for details

Longmont Farmers Market, Sat, Boulder County Fairground, Longmont

Louisville Farmers Market, Sat, Downtown Louisville

Erie Farmers Market, Thur, Downtown Erie

Lafayette Farmers Market, Sun, Public Rd, Lafayette

Spotlights

Summer Vibes Bike Rally and Run

Lyons

June 20

The way they describe themselves says it best – “A wild weekend of gravel and road bike adventures, trail running races, summer pool party, camping and live music.” or in other words it’s pure summer fun.

Palisade Park Free Concert Series feat. Lowdown Brass Band

Palisade Park Amphitheater, Broomfield

June 27

There’s something special about a summer concert out in the park. And the mix of hip hop, reggae and soul that permeate from the talented horns of the Lowdown Brass Band makes this concert a perfect summer night out. You can bring a chair but you won’t need it.

101st Army Band

Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon

July 5

There are some big anniversaries hitting The United States and the State of Colorado this year. Celebrate both in throwback style with the measured tones of a military band. We know it can be hard to get ramped up with American pride given all that’s happening but there’s something to be said in taking a moment to remember how we started and hopefully find the hope of where we can get to.

Local Author Book Fair

The Read Queen, Lafayette

July 12

This is a fun opportunity to meet an author whose work you’ve always loved or to find a new favorite book. You’ll find dozens of authors, across genres, all with a singular purpose – to tell a story that will captivate your imagination.

Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in Concert from the Colorado Symphony

Red Rocks

July 25–26

Pirates. Red Rocks. The Symphony. How can you not? The movie is a perfect example of summer escapist fun. Whether you’ve somehow never seen it or can quote it front to back, seeing it with the score being performed live gives it an entirely new dimension. 

Bertha: Grateful Drag

Mishawaka Amphitheater

August 15

There are Grateful Dead tribute bands across the region, but Bertha is in a class of its own. They combine the perfectly melded harmonies of the Dead with the electricity of a top drag performer. The result is a concert performance with music that is felt, deep within your core.

Chicago and Styx: The Windy Cities Tour

Ball Arena

August 28

On their own, these two bands provided the soundtracks to so many summer adventures of your youth. Now they are combining their musical powers for a special evening of hits, memories, and “oh wow, what’s good” songs.

Yellow Scene’s 2026 Summer Support Drive is underway with a goal of 1,000 Sustaining Supporters by summer’s end.

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Reader-driven support keeps local journalism unbossed, unbought, and our journalists fed. Become a sustaining supporter for $8/month and get Yellow Scene delivered to your home.

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Get wild with your staycation

Purple mountain majesty and fruited plains are just the beginning of what Colorado has to offer. It seems like something beautiful, from vibrant wildflowers to roaring waterfalls, can be found in every corner of the state. With gas prices climbing as high as a local fourteener, getting out and enjoying the landscape can feel expensive and impractical, but there is a way to make it into an economical and efficient road trip.

Sunrise

For the best summer sunrise viewing, aim to be at a location 30 minutes before the predicted sunrise in order to catch the “magic hour.” While fall and winter sunrises might be the most vivid, the soft summer yellows and pinks bouncing off the peaks provide great opportunities to practice photography.

Close to home: Davidson Mesa

While nothing beats a sunrise from the top of one of Boulder’s peaks, Davidson Mesa is the unsung hero for those who may not have the motivation (or quad power) to get up high early in the morning. The sun comes from the east and lights up the western views of the Flatirons, the Boulder skyline, and Rocky Mountain National Park, all visible from the easily accessible gravel trail. It is the perfect spot to take some photos and enjoy a morning walk.

A little further: Garden of the Gods

The sandstone formations of the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, pasted against the backdrop of Pikes Peak, lend themselves to a glowing sunrise, perfect to start any day. The more athletically inclined might take this moment to climb a few pitches to the top of a formation, or run along the trails, but views can also be enjoyed from a bench or picnic table.

Get out there: Mt. Flora

While not necessarily too far from home, just needing a little bit more planning, the summit of Mount Flora has exceptional 360 views where you can watch the sun come up over Denver and illuminate the peaks surrounding Burthoud Pass. With a six-mile round trip hike, getting up for sunrise will leave you feeling accomplished for the day.

Waterfalls

The geological richness of Colorado offers an array of cascading waterfalls throughout the state. While they are incredible, it is important to practice awareness and safety in the area, because where water falls, rocks and humans can too. Stay on marked trails and follow all signage and warnings.

Close to home: Eldorado Canyon Falls

If staying local, some hiking is required to see the falls; however with the steep grade of water flowing into the Boulder Valley you will not be disappointed. A six-mile round-trip hike from Eldorado State park up the Eldorado Canyon Trail will get you to the falls. However, if you do a little more driving to start from the Walker Ranch Trailhead, you can cut the hike to 2.5-miles round trip.

A little further: Chaffee County

With its steep mountains, roaring creeks, and rivers, the area surrounding Buena Vista and Nathrop offers several cascading waterfalls to enjoy. For a short hike, Anges Vaille waterfalls are just 1.1 miles up from Chalk Creek campground. Though the final section has been closed due to a rockslide for over a decade, the last overlook gives a great view of the falls. For a longer hike, a 5.8 mile loop will take you to Browns Canyon Falls. Not only will you get to enjoy the crashing water, but also views of Mount Antero and a picturesque wooden bridge crossing.

Get Out there: Fish Creek Falls, Steamboat

With options for the adventurous, as well as for those who would rather keep their time on the trail limited, Fish Creek Falls is located in Summer Haven, Steamboat. Just a short drive from downtown, the lower falls are a mere quarter mile up a stroller-accessible gravel path. For an even more amazing view, you can hike another couple of steep miles up the trail and see the upper falls on a five-mile round-trip adventure.

Wild Flowers

Wildflowers are an amazing perk of living in Colorado; however, they are not a given. With a dry winter and a predicted hot summer, it may not be the most vibrant year for the delicate plants. If off to see the flowers, be mindful that they are an important part of the ecosystem, especially in a high alpine environment. Avoid picking, trampling, or crushing any plants.

Close to home: Moffet Tunnel

Just past Rollinsville is the East Portal trailhead. With countless options for hikes, the trails will take you through a short wooded walk before depositing you in fields of native wildflowers. While not as vibrant as those found in higher areas, the colors and mountain views are one of a kind and easily accessible for a short trip.

A little further: Mosquito Pass, Leadville

End the day with a jeep road drive or hike to the hills east of Leadville, Colorado. From June-August, the fields bloom with wildflowers. Parking at the Monarch Mine, you are hiking in all directions. For those with a 4-wheel drive vehicle, you can take a spin up Mosquito pass. The flowers will have a backdrop of the Sawatch mountain range with Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive towering above.

Get out there: Snodgrass, Crested Butte

Crested Butte boasts the title of Wildflower Capitol of Colorado. Just north of the town of Crested Butte is the rounded peak of Snodgrass. The sunny slopes are perfect for the vibrant flowers, with views of the Mount Crested Butte, the Elk Range, and the Gunnison valley below. While the full hike is eight miles, an easy out and back will still give you amazing views.

Scenic Mountain Drive/ Ride

Once the snow has melted, winding mountain roads can be a great way to enjoy the scenery or show off the state to visitors. While storms are less likely in summer, they are never impossible. When traveling on remote roads, be sure to always have a shovel, warm clothing, closed-toed shoes, snacks, and water. Hopping on a bike is always a great way to view these roads and get the heart rate up as well.

Close to home: Peak to Peak

A 55-mile stretch of highway connects Central City/Blackhawk to Estes Park. With plenty of stops for hikes or food in small towns along the way, it is a great way to enjoy the rolling mountain views of Indian Peaks Wilderness and Rocky Mountain National Park.

A little further: Cottonwood Pass

With paving completed in 2019, this pass stretches between Buena Vista, Colorado, and Taylor Reservoir, just above Almont. With the pass going over 12,000 feet high, with several overlook and hiking opportunities, this is a true Colorado experience without the need of 4-wheel-drive.

Get out there: Engineer Pass

On the more wild side is Engineer Pass. This 4-wheel drive road connects the small mountain towns of Lake City and Ouray. Traveling through the San Juan Mountains, you will witness looming peaks, alpine lakes, wildflowers, animals, and some challenging rocky roads. For Thai Drive, a high-clearance 4-wheel-drive vehicle is absolutely required, and travel should not take place if snow or heavy rain is predicted.

Sunsets

Closing out the day with a vibrant Colorado sunset is the perfect nightcap on a day of adventure. Be mindful and prepared when hiking to a location to watch the sunset. Even well-marked trails can become dangerous in the dark.

Close to home: Sunshine Canyon, Gold Hill

At the top of Sunshine Canyon, just past Gold Hill, is a clear pull-off to sit and watch. With views of Lefthand Canyon and the Indian Peaks, along with solitude for miles around, a rarity in Boulder County.

A little further: Salida

A cute little town for the arts and outdoors, Salida has many options for outdoor patios, parks, and trails to watch the sunset over the Collegiate Peaks. If timed at the end of the summer, fields of sunflowers can enhance the sensory experience.

Get out there: Telluride Gondola

For the ultimate sunset experience, the town of Telluride provides a free gondola from May 21-October 25, running from 6:30am to midnight on weekdays, and even longer on weekends or busy seasons. From this view, you will see the whole valley stretching out below you, the peaks illuminated, and the vibrant stars as the sky darkens.

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The post Taking the Scenic Route appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Why run clubs matter in competitive Boulder County

In a region already defined by outdoor culture, run clubs do something more specific than trails or terrain, they add rhythm and connection. They turn movement into a habit. Strangers into training partners. And weekly runs into something people plan their lives around.

Whether it’s a relaxed brewery jog, a structured interval workout, or a long-standing community like LoLa, the goal is the same: help people show up. And once they do, something simple tends to happen.

They come back.

Local running culture in Boulder County has grown into something bigger than training plans or weekend mileage. It’s become a kind of social fabric, one that connects people across Lafayette, Erie, Louisville, and Boulder through shared routes, routines, and post-run coffee tables. And while the formats vary, the message underneath is surprisingly consistent, running is easier and more meaningful when you don’t do it alone.

Three local leaders, Ziranda Dominguez, Doug Croft, and Leslie Hoffmann, each describe run clubs in Boulder in their own way. One is rooted in breweries and casual connection. One is built around structured coaching and accountability. And one lives somewhere in between, where performance and community overlap on the same training calendar.

Running that starts casually and stays that way on purpose

For Ziranda Dominguez, running was never something formal.

She grew up running trails like the Old Creek Trail in Lafayette, never part of a team, never chasing races, just moving because it was there. Even now, she describes herself as a “very casual runner.”

That mindset shaped the run club she helped build, one intentionally designed to feel low pressure and social, with a strong local twist — breweries.

Instead of centering around pace or performance, her group organizes Friday runs that rotate between local breweries. The run itself is simple. The real anchor is what happens after — people lingering, talking, and building community over a shared drink.

“We have no expectations,” she said. “It’s super casual, super fun.”

The group tends to be small but mixed in experience; beginners, former athletes, and people who just want a reason to get outside on a Friday night. The common thread isn’t ability, it’s a willingness to show up.

And that’s part of something important that all three leaders touched on in different ways, running doesn’t have to feel like something you already “like” to do. In the right setting, it can become something people actually enjoy, even people who start out thinking they won’t.

Structure, accountability, and making running feel doable

If Ziranda’s group is about keeping things light, Doug Croft represents the more structured side of Boulder County’s running culture, though still grounded in accessibility.

Doug didn’t come into running through tradition. He came into it through experimentation, then endurance, then community. What started as a personal effort to get healthier eventually turned into marathons, coaching certification, and years of building local running groups.

But his philosophy isn’t built on intensity, it’s built on inclusion.

His club combines coached weekday workouts with open Saturday runs. The weekday sessions are structured with intervals, tempo runs, hills, and progression work designed to help runners improve in a guided environment. Saturdays, by contrast, are completely open. Anyone can show up, run or walk any distance, and join others afterward for coffee. “It doesn’t have to be intimidating,” he said. “Walking is perfectly fine. Just get out and try things.”

That message shows up often across his groups, people who think they “hate running” are often really reacting to running alone, or running without support. Add structure, people, and consistency, and the experience changes. Sometimes dramatically. Because in the right environment, even running, arguably one of the simplest, most stripped down forms of exercise, can shift from something people avoid into something they actually look forward to.

LoLa Runners, where effort and community meet

In Louisville and Lafayette, Leslie Hoffmann leads one of the most established groups in the region, LoLa Runners. Her own path mirrors many in the local running scene, starting young, stepping away, and then returning through community. What began as Loco Fit eventually evolved into LoLa Runners, a structured yet welcoming club that blends coached training with a strong social core.

The schedule is intentional. Weekday workouts are coached and focused with intervals, tempo runs, hill work, and time trials built to help runners improve together. Saturdays are open community runs where people choose their own distances and regroup afterward at coffee shops. But what stands out most in Leslie’s description isn’t the structure, it’s the culture.

“We’re just such a welcoming group,” she said. “It feels like family.” That sense of belonging extends beyond workouts. Members travel together for races, form book clubs, and organize social events that have nothing to do with running at all. Over time, the group becomes less about training logs and more about shared life rhythms.

And like Doug’s group, LoLa also reinforces something subtle but important, consistency beats motivation. People don’t always feel like showing up, but they usually leave glad they did.

Different styles, same discovery

Ziranda Dominguez’s group is built around brewery runs and casual social connection. Doug Croft’s group centers on structured coaching and accountability. Leslie Hoffmann’s LoLa Runners blends both, with a clear training structure anchored by a strong community identity.

But the overlap is where the story lives. All three approaches are, in their own way, solving the same problem, how to make running something people stick with, and maybe even enjoy. And that last part matters more than it sounds.

Because one of the quiet truths that comes up again and again in run clubs is this, a lot of people start running thinking they don’t like it. They associate it with discomfort, boredom, or pressure. But in a group setting, whether it’s a brewery run, a coached workout, or a Saturday coffee meetup, that perception often shifts.

Running doesn’t become easier because the miles change. It becomes easier because the experience changes. Or, as these groups show in different ways, running can actually be fun, even for people who are pretty sure they hate it. 

Yellow Scene’s 2026 Summer Support Drive is underway with a goal of 1,000 Sustaining Supporters by summer’s end.

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Reader-driven support keeps local journalism unbossed, unbought, and our journalists fed. Become a sustaining supporter for $8/month and get Yellow Scene delivered to your home.

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This piece is part of Yellow Scene Magazine’s Opinion section. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent a reported news position. At Yellow Scene, opinion pieces speak freely, challenge assumptions, and say the quiet parts out loud.

Several months ago, while returning from a mountain bike ride on the local single track, I was knocked for a loop by a teenager riding an E-bike. He was inattentive, not reckless, and sort of apologized when I regained my senses while attended to by the Mountain View Rescue Team. A few days later, I declined to “testify” in some legal action taken against the kid.

I can well imagine that I would have been an E-bike rider if such things were available back – way back! – in the day. But they weren’t – and that’s a very good thing.

There’s much to dislike about those machines, even if you’re not a crash victim.

Most unfortunate is what is lost to this generation. Among my life’s greatest joys has been pedaling an actual bicycle. It started at age 8 or 9, when I would pack a PB&J and head down a street that turned into a country road, pedalling through cornfields and past red barns. In those days, we called such adventures “bike hikes.” 

My sense of independence and self-reliance was profound and seasoned with a dash of romance as the route took me by Carol Hathaway’s house. She was a 4th grader’s blonde-braided dream, although I cannot recall ever speaking to her. The round trip may have been all of three miles.

With a break for a little bit of college and a lot of Army, pedaling a bike has been a gentle pleasure and an intense thrill. 

When I was a new dad, I took 50-mile bike hikes into the splendid hills and valleys east of Cleveland, Ohio, starting at sunrise and returning in time to make pancakes. When our kids were grown enough, I spun through our suburban neighborhood with my daughter in a bike seat and son in a backpack. I cycle commuted to work as a necessity and a bit of a game. 

For much of several years, I cycled everywhere I could, year-round, including to business meetings wearing rain gear and packing a wrinkle-free suit in a waterproof backpack. I did Superman changes in gas station toilet stalls or corporate lavatories. I learned to balance on ice and brake with my feet when wet pads failed.

I thought then, and think now, that the world is best experienced at bicycle speed.

Later, I raced bikes. Not for everyone, I suppose, but there are few life experiences more vivid than riding shoulder-to-shoulder, wheels inches apart, through sharp corners at 30mph.

Bike riding under your own power is empowering. I learned that as a child and regret that so many children today have lost the beauty and freedom of pedaling through a three-mile bike hike, seeing, hearing, and smelling their world.

The impact of technology is similarly disempowering. Digital representation of life is not life itself. Children’s brains are too busy with iPhones and iPads to make room for imagination and invention. ChatGPT and other manifestations of AI may be pragmatically helpful, but are replacing discovery, ingenuity, and diligence. 

An April 19 New York Times column by Molly Worthen explicates the shallow “learning” offered by games, computer simulations and other highly profitable educational shortcuts. Technology in schools is a plague, offering the illusion that machines can make education more cost-effective and entertaining. As Worthen points out, there is a powerful correlation between increased technology in schools and decreased scores on standardized measures. I don’t give a damn about standardized measures, but this correlation shows that ed-tech fails to reach even its own dismal goals.

My paired critique of E-bikes and school technology is not a contrivance. In each case, the benefits of work are sacrificed to effortless entertainment and illusory gains. I suggest, with supportive evidence, that pedaling a bike for 30 minutes is better for the brain than a full day of digitized educational games.

When lying helpless in rehab after a paralyzing spinal cord injury, I visualized riding a bike again. My brain knew I could do it before my body could move. I could, I did, and, in addition to my wife, a daily mountain bike ride became my salvation when much else was lost.

Yellow Scene’s 2026 Summer Support Drive is underway with a goal of 1,000 Sustaining Supporters by summer’s end.

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The post Nelson’s Corner -E-bikes and iPhones: The Devil’s Technological Spawn appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

104th North Photo by George Hudetz

[ Boulder County News ]

• Twelve people were indicted for allegedly using card-skimming devices at convenience stores across the county. By using these devices, the group was able to take close to $300,000 from unsuspecting shoppers.
• Visitors to Glenmere Park will not be greeted by an old familiar friend. The popular statue of a boy holding a fish he caught has been taken. The Prize Catch was sawed off of its pedestal and taken to parts unknown.
• A Boulder man, needing a ride home after being released from jail, improvised by stealing a fire truck. Richmond Takashi Johnson eventually lost control of the vehicle and was then given a ride right back to the jailhouse.
• The City Council in Lafayette delayed their decision on whether or not to close the Lafayette Cemetery to casket burials. A suggestion made by the state archeologist.
• On May 13, the Erie Town Council declared the community to be in a Stage 2 drought. Council said they took this proactive step as a precursor to what they predict will be a hot and dry summer season.

[ State News]

• An unexpected May snowstorm that brought more than two feet of snow to parts of the state brought a (small) boost to the snowpack. Scientists state that it’s a help but not enough to overcome the issues caused by the dry winter.
• Two bills concerning data centers that were working their way through the state legislature are dead. For now. This put data center regulation under the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.
• The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in favor of families seeking gender-affirming care when it ordered Children’s Hospital Colorado to restart treatment programs.
• Governor Jared Polis cut short the prison sentence that was being served by Tina Peters. The former Mesa County Clerk, a Trump supporter, was convicted of tampering with election equipment in her attempt to prove malfeasance in the 2020 election.
• Two minor earthquakes were registered earlier this month. The respective 3.1 and 3.0 quakes hit in a three-day span. They were the sixth and seventh registered quakes in the state in the past 30 days.

[ National News]

• In the midst of a burgeoning economic crisis at home and a tentative ceasefire in the war in Iran, President Trump travelled to China to discuss trade, tariffs, and other key issues. The summit concluded with no substantive agreements.
• The United States Supreme Court blocked the ruling from a lower court that would have seriously restricted access to abortion medications sent via the U.S. Mail.
• People around the world braced for the worst as it was discovered that a group of passengers aboard a cruise ship contracted hantavirus. The passengers, who are all back in their home ports, are being strictly monitored.
• A United States judge ruled that the government must bring back a Colombian woman who was deported to Congo. The woman had no ties to the country, which was initially refusing to take her.

[ International News ]

• Residents of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda are on high alert as multiple cases of Ebola have appeared across the region. To date, there are 8 confirmed and 246 suspected cases being monitored.
• As the Iran War continues with no end in sight, it has been reported that the United Arab Emirates has quietly carried out several strikes against Iran.
• Despite the presence of a U.S. backed ceasefire agreement, Israel continues to attack civilians in Gaza.
• Protests rocked Bolivia as supporters of former president Evo Morales took to the streets to protest the country’s current economic situation.
• The Gold Coast of Australia faced its worst flooding in eleven years when more than a month’s worth of rain fell in just 24-hours.

[ Small Talk ]

“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation.” 

• President Donald Trump, when asked if he is taking the current economic situation into consideration when looking at a peace deal with Iran.

“Nobody won.”

• Colorado State Representative Rick Taggart, a Republican representing Grand Junction, said as he described the $46.87B budget signed by Governor Jared Polis.

“We all need childcare to be able to do the thing we love.”

• Tony-nominee Carrie Coon shared how she was able to succeed in the show “Bug.”

“Our home and native land…”

• The fans in Buffalo picked up the second stanza of the Canadian national anthem when technical difficulties plagued the featured singer. The fans then sang the anthem all the way through.

“It’s almost literally a note home from the teacher.”

• Phil Koopman of Carnegie Mellon used the analogy to discuss a proposed California plan that would allow police to issue notices instead of tickets when an autonomous vehicle breaks the law.

In the Numbers

$4.50
– The national average for a gallon of gas. That price has risen 50% since the start of the Iran war.

Two-Thirds

• The number of physicians in America who use a chatbot, Open Evidence, to develop patient treatment plans.

$1.776B

• The amount of money the United States Justice Department is reportedly putting into a fund that can be used to pay out people who believe they were harmed by the “weaponization” of the government.

2.5M

• The estimated number of materials in the Epstein Files which have still not been released in spite of a legal obligation to do so.

3.9%

• The current unemployment rate in Colorado. The national number for this same period is 4.3%.

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Debuting at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the career retrospective Jaume Plensa: A New Humanism has made its way to Denver. Meijer Gardens collaborated with the Denver Botanic Gardens to continue the exhibition’s journey. After taking us through the gardens, Jen Tobias, Associate Director of Exhibitions and Art Collections and Associate Curator of Art, sat down to talk about the exhibition, which runs through September 7th.

Jaume Plensa, Julia and Lou, steel, 2019. Photo by Scott Dressel-Martin. Artwork © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VEGAP, Madrid

Jamie Lammers: I’m here for my first time to celebrate this new exhibition. Do you wanna talk about that a little bit?
Jen Tobias: The exhibition is called A New Humanism. It features works by Barcelona-born artist Jaume Plensa. He’s an artist who’s interested in the idea of the individual experience as it applies to all of us, which, of course, makes it universal. Each of us as an individual has value, and we have individual experiences, but at the same time, the things that we share as a community are profound and powerful.

Jamie: What is the process of picking what art is going to go where?
Jen: It starts often with curatorial vision. What is the exhibition about? What do we want it to say? How does it support the visitor experience? We start with those kinds of questions, working with the artist about their artistic vision, and then it’s also this combination of logistics. When you walk into an exhibition, it’s a bit like walking into a story that’s about something in particular. We wanna make sure we have the right pieces in the right place so that the story makes sense and is something people can understand when they walk into it.

Jamie: What is the message that you’re hoping people take away?
Jen: The goal is always for people to have an experience with artwork that is joyful and powerful, and that can look like a lot of different things. We always say in museums that people take away what they come to an artwork with. You can’t tell somebody how to interpret artwork because everybody experiences it with the background of their own unique perspective and experience, which, of course, is perfect for Jaume Plensa’s work, because that’s exactly what it’s about. But we do our best to express what the artwork is about and how it fits into us as a place. Here, the key idea really is that each of us, as an individual, is valuable and beautiful, and we fit into this thing called culture and community and collective that is also valuable and beautiful.

Jaume Plensa, Talking Continents, steel, 2013. Photo by Scott Dressel-Martin. Artwork © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VEGAP, Madrid

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Where will you find your new favorite summer song? 

A year ago all anyone who loved music wanted to do was attend a concert on the Era’s Tour. One of the defining factors of that tour was the community that developed in, and around, each show. For seasoned concert-goers this wasn’t an entirely new experience, the surprise (and joy) was perhaps in the scale. That’s because there are dozens of opportunities, in every city, to recreate similar (albeit smaller) musical communities at local festivals large and small each summer.

The communal experience of gathering with family, neighbors, and friends you haven’t met yet to listen to someone who maybe lives just a couple of streets away share their artistry is a particular summer treat. Residents in the area are especially fortunate because of the number and range of opportunities to see live music. Yes there are larger venues that afford you the opportunity to see national or up-and-coming acts but we also have a host of festivals and local venues, from straight concert stages to brewery back rooms and library spaces, where the primary driver for a performer is not how much they will make but how much they can play. 

There are places like church socials and the “____” festival that takes place in the open area of town. In those spaces you’ll find musicians with talent, power, poise, and professionalism that’s often equal to any “big-time” performer. If they don’t have the name recognition yet, who cares. What they lack in top-line billing they more than make up for in the infectious way that they utilize their talents.

The region’s diverse population, driven in part by our university connections, means that the range of music you will hear in the summer months runs the gamut from traditional classical to avant garde. On nearly every weekend in the summer there’s a musician playing the type of music that you built your record collection around. This means there are also numerous low-investment opportunities to “try out” something new. Going into a concert blind, being unaware as to what you will hear, is not a negative thing. Live music takes on a dimension that even the best recording equipment can’t capture so experiencing it for the first time, as it plays in communion with even just one other audience member, can give you the experience, and even understanding, of a music, performer or culture that you otherwise would not have ever had.

This low-impact exposure that some concerts and festivals provide also gives you an easy way to expose the younger members of your family to different styles of music. The hope is that they will love the music on their own or maybe the excitement of hearing a live performance surrounded by others in the community will be an extra push towards putting the music in the plus column for them. 

Free and festive

One great opportunity to do that is at the Colorado Music Festival which will hold a free family concert on July 12. In addition to one of national treasure John William’s non-filmic pieces you’ll experience the musical story of Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev. It promises to be not only entertaining but an easy entry point into a music genre that some people have trouble connecting with.

You can experience a different genre of music at the Flatiron Sounds Music Fest on June 21. In addition to free performances from Armchair Boogie, Lindsay Lou, and Blessing Bed Chimanga you’ll have an opportunity to enjoy local food vendors. Plus an artisan market gives this the full festival feel.

One of the best examples of the confluence of music and community will be found in late summer at the Boulder Roots Music Festival. Held up and down Pearl Street, this year’s incarnation will showcase over 800 performers in twenty venues across three days. It’s an incredible mix of artists all in one compact place. If there is a downside to this festival it’s that it is a ticketed event.

A sampling of international sounds

If you’re looking for music with a stronger international flavor, the Mountain View United Methodist Church in Boulder will host Adjei Abankwah. He will be sharing the music of Ghana as part of the Cultural Caravan festival on June 6. While at the Lafayette Public Library Zivanai Masango will entertain with melodies on the Zimbabwean marimba. That event, which takes place on June 6 with a second show on June 13 in Erie, highlights another bonus of more hyper-focused local concerts – opportunities to interact more directly with the performer and their instrument. Over in Longmont on July 11,  you can sample the music of Nepal at the Nepali Jatra.

A new way to listen

There is something different about listening to a song sitting in a lawn chair in a parking lot or on a blanket spread across the green grass of the park you usually only come to with the dog for exercise. Even if you’ve heard the song a dozen times before, in that summer setting it just has a different sound. Not bad, but different. More tangible. It’s not just something felt by the audience but those on the other side of the instruments as well.

Musician Peter Frasier said “There is something powerful about playing for your community, especially at a festival or celebration. It’s an opportunity to, in probably the truest sense, do what we all really love to do and that’s to change the way that a person feels.”

“Music can have this really amazing effect on people,” Fraiser continued. “And when we’re out playing and you see people, of all ages really, just…connect with the music, especially when maybe they’re walking in the background going to do something else and they just stop and then wander over and join us…we really are connecting, if just for a brief moment, together as a true community.”

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This piece is part of Yellow Scene Magazine’s Opinion section. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent a reported news position. At Yellow Scene, opinion pieces speak freely, challenge assumptions, and say the quiet parts out loud.

Guest Contributor: Bernard Douthit

I wanted to thank Mike Broemmel for posting a thoughtful commentary about Governor Jared Polis and the broader question of political leadership in Colorado. I took some time to underscore Mike’s argument with some important details.

Like John Hickenlooper before him, Jared Polis has remained personally popular for much of his time in office. But popularity and branding are not the same as transformational leadership.

On some of Colorado’s most pressing challenges — healthcare costs, tax policy, housing affordability, and environmental justice — Polis often governed like a cautious purple-state technocrat rather than the leader of a state that has repeatedly shown a willingness to embrace ambitious public policy.

Colorado is not Mississippi or Alabama. This is a state that:

• Put single-payer healthcare on the ballot — 150,000+ signatures
• Repeatedly approved large transit expansions
• Legalized marijuana early
• Rejected hosting the Olympics
• Regularly supports local tax increases for schools, parks, and infrastructure

Yet Polis governed as though bold structural reform was politically impossible.

Healthcare is perhaps the clearest example.

Colorado Democrats repeatedly described healthcare affordability as an emergency, yet avoided the kind of political confrontation that real cost containment would require.

Instead of aggressively confronting hospital monopolies and market concentration, the state often relied on commissions, task forces, transparency measures, and heavily branded “public option” reforms that produced incremental change while leaving the underlying system largely intact.

According to multiple studies, including research from the RAND Corporation, Colorado still has some of the highest hospital prices and some of the most profitable hospital systems in the country. Polis governed more like a manager of the healthcare marketplace than a reformer willing to challenge entrenched economic power.

And contrary to the claim that Colorado is too moderate for ambitious healthcare reform, more than 150,000 Coloradans signed petitions to place single-payer healthcare on the ballot through Amendment 69. The measure ultimately failed, but it was also outspent by the healthcare industry by roughly 8-to-1. That history matters.

Tax policy presents a similar story.

Polis consistently opposed more progressive approaches to taxation and largely embraced Colorado’s libertarian tax culture rather than challenging it. Yet during the same period, homeowners across Colorado experienced dramatic increases in property taxes following the repeal of the Gallagher Amendment and the rapid rise in home values.

While Polis and legislators eventually passed relief measures, many homeowners still saw property tax increases far beyond what those policies offset. The response often felt technocratic and incremental rather than structural. And many Coloradans are still asking a simple question: with property values and tax collections rising so dramatically over the last decade, where exactly did all of that additional revenue go?

The same pattern appears with Suncor.

Colorado markets itself as environmentally conscious and climate-forward, yet one of the metro area’s largest and most controversial industrial polluters continues operating near densely populated communities. For decades, residents of north Denver and Commerce City have raised concerns about emissions, odors, and public health impacts, while Suncor has repeatedly faced fines and violations.

Why was there never a truly ambitious long-term plan to relocate, phase down, or fundamentally transform one of the region’s most problematic industrial facilities?

Important things are worth fighting for. Clean air for millions of residents should have been one of them.

The contrast between Polis and other Democratic governors is striking.

Tim Walz pushed universal school meals and labor protections in Minnesota. Gavin Newsom moved California toward state-supported insulin manufacturing and aggressive climate initiatives. Gretchen Whitmer repealed right-to-work laws and advanced major infrastructure investments in Michigan. Jay Inslee built one of the country’s most ambitious state climate agendas in Washington.

Compared with many Democratic peers in similar political conditions, Polis often appeared more focused on political positioning, branding, and technocratic moderation than on pursuing defining structural reforms.

I voted for Jared Polis twice. Like many Coloradans, I hoped he would govern with more courage and ambition than he ultimately did.

Competence matters. But at a time when healthcare affordability, housing costs, environmental risks, and economic inequality are worsening, competence alone is not enough. Colorado needed leadership willing to confront entrenched interests and pursue solutions equal to the scale of the problems we face.

Jared Polis Once Sold Colorado (and the Nation) a Shimmering Emerald City

Original article by Mike Broemmel

He was the libertarian-minded tech governor. The “different kind” of Democrat. The wealthy entrepreneur who promised efficiency over ideology, innovation over inertia, and a fresh political vocabulary that supposedly transcended the stale battles of the past. For a time, many bought the performance. The curtain stayed firmly closed.

But eventually, in politics as in The Wizard of Oz, the machinery begins to sputter. The smoke thins. The booming voice loses resonance. And somewhere in the back of the chamber, Toto pulls at the curtain.

What remains is not the great and powerful wizard. What remains is merely a man frantically working levers.

The Leader Who Never Was

History is crowded with political figures who mistook branding for leadership.

There was Ron DeSantis, once marketed as the inevitable heir to Trumpism before collapsing beneath the weight of his own synthetic persona. There was Michael Dukakis, whose technocratic competence could never ignite genuine public trust. There was British Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose ideological theater imploded in real time before the world’s financial markets.

And now there is Jared Polis.

The tragedy — or perhaps the farce — of Polis is not simply that his governorship appears to be collapsing. It is that the collapse reveals something darker: there may never have been much substance there to begin with.

Polis governed like a man permanently auditioning for a future role. A presidential run. A national media identity. A carefully focus-grouped brand called “reasonable futurism.” He floated above conflict, avoided moral clarity whenever possible, and cultivated the image of being smarter than the room without ever proving capable of leading it.

Colorado increasingly became a state managed through vibes, branding campaigns, and social media aesthetics rather than coherent civic vision. And eventually, voters notice.

The Emerald City Illusion

For years, Polis benefited from Colorado’s broader economic and demographic momentum. The state grew. Wealth poured in. Tech money expanded. Denver transformed into a glossy urban postcard marketed to affluent transplants.

But underneath the emerald glow sat worsening affordability, deepening housing crises, visible urban deterioration, and growing public frustration about safety, infrastructure, and basic governmental competence. The contradiction became impossible to ignore.

Polis often seemed less interested in governing Colorado than in narrating Colorado — endlessly promoting an image of innovation while ordinary residents confronted a state increasingly unaffordable to live in.

The Wizard projected grandeur on the giant screen. Behind the curtain? Panic. Improvisation. Hollow performance. The problem with governing as branding is that eventually reality insists on participating.

The Politics of Evasion

Great leaders absorb political risk when principle demands it. Polis perfected the opposite instinct.

Again and again, he positioned himself slightly outside the emotional center of consequential debates, forever triangulating, forever calculating. During moments requiring moral force, he often defaulted to managerial language and carefully sterilized ambiguity.

That instinct has now reached its grotesque culmination in the Tina Peters clemency debacle.

The decision to commute the sentence of the former Mesa County clerk convicted in an election security breach tied to 2020 election conspiracy theories detonated across Colorado’s political landscape. Even members of Polis’s own party reacted with fury and disbelief. Critics argued the move rewarded election denialism while signaling weakness in the face of pressure from Donald Trump and his allies.

Polis defended the clemency as a response to sentencing disparity concerns after an appeals court questioned aspects of Peters’s sentencing. But politically — symbolically — the damage may already be irreversible.

Because the issue is no longer merely Tina Peters. The issue is collapse.

The Final Flame in the Inferno

Every failed governing regime has its final defining image:

For Richard Nixon, it was the helicopter departure from the White House lawn.
For Rudy Giuliani, it was Four Seasons Total Landscaping.

For Jared Polis, it may well be the moment he chose clemency for Tina Peters.

Not because the legal arguments are entirely frivolous. Reasonable debate exists over sentencing severity. But leadership is not merely legal interpretation. Leadership is moral comprehension. It is understanding the symbolic weight of decisions within historical context.

And this decision landed like gasoline on an already raging fire.

At precisely the moment democratic institutions remain under sustained assault by election conspiracists, Polis handed one of the movement’s most celebrated figures a political victory. Trumpworld rejoiced. Election deniers claimed vindication. Colorado Democrats openly revolted. The wizard’s machinery exploded in plain view.

Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

That line from The Wizard of Oz endures because it captures an eternal political truth: power often depends upon performance more than substance.

Jared Polis mastered performance politics. But performances cannot govern forever.

Eventually citizens ask harder questions. What did this administration actually build? What moral vision did it defend? What crises did it truly solve? What courage did it display when courage became expensive?

And increasingly, the answers feel uncomfortably thin.

The great irony is that Polis spent years cultivating the image of the pragmatic adult in the room — the sophisticated governor above partisan hysteria. Yet his governorship may ultimately be remembered for collapsing into exactly the kind of muddled opportunism he once implied he transcended.

The Emerald City flickers. The smoke machine dies. And standing behind the curtain is not a visionary statesman. Just another politician desperately pulling levers while the audience finally sees the truth.

—————————
From: Politix INK
https://mikebroemmel.com/politix-ink

The post Guest Opinion: Why Jared Polis has disappointed us appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

This piece is part of Yellow Scene Magazine’s Opinion section. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent a reported news position. At Yellow Scene, opinion pieces speak freely, challenge assumptions, and say the quiet parts out loud.

As a person with a disability, my personal experiences with job employment have been poor. Nearly every summer I suffer the pain of not getting personal work or job opportunities. I remember on one particular occasion when I tried to get a job as a lifeguard, I was dismissed from the position even though I proved that I am an extraordinary swimmer and treader in water. It made me wonder whether they chose to focus on me only as a person with a disability. 

The unemployment rate for people with disabilities sits at 7.8%, nearly double the 4.6% rate of those without. Likewise, the labor force participation rate for men with a disability is 43.0%, compared to 40.8% for women. This stat is significant because it measures the percentage of the population that is either actively working or looking for work. A lower rate highlights that a large portion of disabled individuals face systemic barriers to entry, effectively excluding them from the economic workforce entirely before unemployment numbers are even counted. This means roughly 60% of disabled individuals are neither working nor looking for work. This high inactivity rate is often due to severe barriers like a lack of workplace accommodations, inaccessible transportation, and the fear of losing essential disability benefits.

There are programs in place to help those with disabilities find employment. However, there should be a greater focus on programs that help individuals gain specific experience for the career paths they actually want to pursue. Furthermore, the interview process itself must be structured with built-in accommodations to ensure candidates with disabilities have the resources they need to succeed from day one.

While some individuals navigate this system successfully, experiences vary wildly. My friend Andrew, a Colorado Springs resident with a disability, has had a remarkably positive journey with his career aspirations.

“Right now I work for the RMAC for Colorado Springs, however my dream is to be a commissioner there,” Andrew said. “I feel like I can achieve a lot of things and face no challenges.”

While I am incredibly happy for Andrew and inspired by his optimism, his smooth experience is unfortunately not the reality for the vast majority of people with disabilities. Financial and work conditions are not the only challenges that disabled people face, because navigating daily life also means dealing with major health barriers.

People with disabilities risk developing more health issues in their lives. According to the World Health Organization, some persons with disabilities die up to 20 years earlier than those without disabilities.

Luckily, there are services in place to help people overcome these health barriers. For example, Colorado has programs to help those in need. People who are blind or deaf can receive services to help them safely navigate and communicate. The Colorado Division for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind Communities has a direct goal to help people connect, participate, and thrive. Their program opens up access to technology, mentorship, and legal support.  Another great solution to these health issues would be creating more workout and personal training programs specifically for people with disabilities. This would give everyone the opportunity to stay active, be healthy, and prevent future health issues.

At the same time, staying safe and healthy is hard to do when the people who are supposed to protect you are the ones causing harm.

Law enforcement is helpful in many ways, but sometimes officers abuse their power due to prejudices they hold against people with disabilities. The actions taken by police and the government often raise more problems than solutions because of false claims and profiling of innocent people.

For instance, an article published by CBS highlighted a case where a thirteen year old boy was mistaken for bringing a bomb into school, only for officials to find out it was actually a toy bunny. Even more recently, an article on Courthouse News Service from March 2026 detailed how Special Olympics athlete Shawn Nicholas, who has an intellectual disability, was arrested and unlawfully thrown to the ground with excessive force.

To solve this serious problem, law enforcement officers must learn about people with disabilities through required training and government funded classes. But the issues do not just stop with the police; they are deeply rooted in how everyday people view us.

My personal experience with ableism from society is very widespread. What impacts and hurts me the most is how much society spreads the belief that there are only certain jobs people with intellectual disabilities can do, like working at a grocery store, retail, or janitorial work. The society I have grown up with has often made me feel like an alien and unnatural. Ableism is the discrimination against people with dyslexia, language disorders, Tourette syndrome, autism, and other disabilities. Ableist people believe their actions are fair, and they are quick to be unwelcoming to anyone who has a disability.

I experienced this firsthand while scrolling on social media, where I found a creator who makes supportive content for the disability community. In one video, she talked about a horrible post from a woman online who wrote, “If you rely on someone for care constantly, you are a burden on them, get used to it, and learn to be more thankful.” The creator and I both reacted in shock at how discriminatory that is.

When discussing this with others, one interviewee told me, “Discrimination against people with disabilities is wrong and not good, it makes us feel very upset.” Overall, ableism in today’s society is harming people in all parts of the world, and it is absolutely crucial that society changes.

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The post The Structural Barriers Facing Disabled Coloradans appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

This piece is part of Yellow Scene Magazine’s Opinion section. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent a reported news position. At Yellow Scene, opinion pieces speak freely, challenge assumptions, and say the quiet parts out loud.

Oil hasn’t been in the news this much since Diddy’s trial last fall.

In another essay I ranted about the media’s obsession with gas prices. Children are slaughtered in Iranian schools and thousands have died elsewhere in the Mideast, but those damn gas prices!  If I see one more entitled American whining about the cost of filling the ravenous tank on the pickup they use only to drive to Starbucks…

Oil is in the news these days in my hometown of Erie. A political flare-up has been sparked by our Town Council’s rather sneaky negotiations to either sell or lease the town’s mineral rights. The process is driven by the conservative majority and their methods are Trumpesque: Highly secretive, probably self-dealing, and rife with obvious conflicts of interest.

A note on the euphemistic phrase “mineral rights.” In policy and public discourse this phrase is employed to wash a patina of innocence over the dirty business of the oil and gas industry. “Mineral” is a class of substances including diamonds, emeralds, gold. and quartz. 

Our no-longer-little town is not haggling over the rights to mine for gold or emeralds. It’s all about “Drill Baby Drill.” Most community chatter is about the comparative benefits of leasing vs. selling. The esoteric economic calculations should be of little interest. Whether in our town, the nation, or the withering planet the only calculation should be the toll on our communities or the planet’s health. 

The local quest for more oil and gas includes horizontal drilling of nearly five miles. This bit of trickery allows a greasy corporation to set up extraction businesses in a more sympathetic or stupid jurisdiction and then access the “minerals” from beneath homes like mine. Health and environmental concerns be damned. The oil and gas companies assure us that there are no health and environmental risks. Ummmm…yeah, sure. The risks are significant and quantifiable.

As with bitching about gas prices, the earnest capitalists in our community are focused on money, not ethics. “The sale or lease of “mineral rights” will benefit the town!” “Imagine the tax savings!”

Should the odd conservative or oil baron accidentally land on this essay, I will acknowledge that the topic of the world’s energy resources is complex, perhaps beyond my progressive educator ken. I know that a windmill in every backyard or a sudden total switch to so-called “renewables” is not possible.

But it is undeniable that burning fossil fuels is bad—inarguably catastrophic—for the planet and our survival as a species. But despite that inevitability, ya know – those gas prices! We’ve gotta keep that oil swooshing through the vulnerable pipes beneath my grandchildren and through the Strait of Hormuz.

The enormous, and enormously complex, global economy largely runs on fossil fuels. Starving that beast can have dire consequences. The world, at least the privileged world, is gluttonous. A gastric band—pardon the pun—might reverberate through the world economy in ways that would also cause great harm. But as with gluttons everywhere, a little diet wouldn’t hurt. 

In a chat with one of my many doctors this morning, we commiserated over the broad abdication of our collective responsibilities for the future of our children and (my) grandchildren. I used to claim, with empirical justification, that my environmental conscience was selfless, that I would not be alive to see the devastation being wrought by our greed and ignorance. Now, through the years gifted by my medical treatments and by way of several decades of flaccid environmental activism, the effects of global warming are bearing down on my retirement years like a freight train of oil cars.

Pushing back on powerful corporate interests, climate change denialists, and oil-slick local politicians is like trying to stop that freight train. It takes every set of hands we can muster.

The answer to Erie’s “sell or lease” question is “none of the above.” We should hold on to  “mineral rights” as if they are the diamonds and gold they are not. Will saying “no thanks” have economic consequences? Perhaps. Can it even stop them? Perhaps not.

The struggle to save the planet requires all world citizens to do what they can. Conserve energy, use alternatives when feasible and point out the gas and oil industry’s greed and dishonesty to your family, friends, neighbors, enemies and Town Council members.

And don’t whine about oil prices. The higher they are, the less we burn.

Like journalism like this? Consider becoming a sustaining supporter — and get our print edition delivered to your home each month.

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The post Nelson’s Corner: Don’t Whine About Gas Prices appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Sherpa Kitchen taught us something; in Nepalese culture “the guest is God.” Owner Ombo Sherpa surprised his regulars, the mayor of Boulder, and members of the Yellow Scene Magazine Staff with gifts in honor of their 7th anniversary. 

The Sherpa Family with Boulder Mayor, Aaron Brockett

Rasoj Shrestha, nicknamed RJ, led the invited group to a community table in the center of the restaurant. Guests were greeted with appetizers and drinks while sitting with genuine Sherpas that had guided countless tourists along the Nepalese mountains including Mt. Everest. Seated with Aaron Brockett, the mayor of Boulder, were neighbors of the kitchen including a resident of Gunbarrel that traveled to indulge in Sherpa Kitchen’s cuisine frequently. 

Nima, a niece of Ombo, led the festivities showing a video of Pasang Tendi Sherpa climbing Mt. Everest with the Sherpa Kitchen flag in hand. Afterwards the Sherpa Kitchen family gifted hand-made plaques engraved with their regulars’ names to each of the guests invited. To our surprise the Yellow Scene Magazine Publisher, Shavonne Blades, was gifted a shawl made in Nepal. Yellow Scene’s Business Development Manager, Peter Constas was gifted a sash with the Nepalese flag and American flag. 

Akriti Rai, the president of the Rocky Mountain Friends of Nepal, demonstrated a donated collection of mountain-climbing gear used by Sherpas, still climbing to this day. The night was filled with celebration as Nima thanked the loyal customers who helped them endure the pandemic. She reminded the crowd of another celebration; The Nepal Day Parade scheduled on May 16th. 

Beautiful table placement for Sherpa Kitchen’s 7th Anniversary

It was beautiful to see the looks on the unsuspecting faces of everyone as each one was announced and given a sincere gift of gratitude. The food was incredible as Ombo handed out curry and naan, showering the community table with generosity.

The night was a beautiful cultural exchange, and gave everyone in the room a chance to feel grateful. No one invited was expecting a gift, much more, a custom engraved plaque of their name commemorating their contribution to Sherpa Kitchen’s success. 

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The post At Sherpa Kitchen’s 7th Anniversary, the Guests Received the Gifts appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

True Crime Murder Mystery Dinner Show, May 9–Jun. 13
The Dinner Detective brings their True Crime Murder Mystery Dinner Show to Embassy Suites in Downtown Denver almost every Saturday—shows are scheduled until Jun. 13, but they run year-round. Each dinner will feature a night of comedy and crime in which no one is safe from being named a prime suspect, and the real culprit is hidden among the audience.

True Crime Murder Mystery Dinner Show | May 9–Jun. 13 | Embassy Suites, Denver

Rocky Horror Picture Show With Shadowcast, May 23
As with all showings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” the audience is encouraged to sing, dance, and interact with the comedy horror musical. However, this special showing will include Colorado’s Elusive Ingredient (CEI) as a shadowcast. While the original cult classic plays on the big screen, CEI will be singing and acting on stage alongside the characters.

Rocky Horror Picture Show With Shadowcast | May 23 | Sie FilmCenter, Denver

45th Annual Chocolate Lovers Fling, May 9th

Get ready for a night filled with chocolate, charity, and cheer! This decadent gala is dedicated to sharing stories and supporting the community of domestic violence survivors, complete with a feast of fine dining, live and silent auctions, and, of course, plenty of chocolate. Raise money for survivors and their families, and unwind with lively music and a Caribbean Nights theme. Connect with your community on May 9th at 5:30 p.m. and learn how you can best support the survivors in your life.

45th Annual Chocolate Lovers Fling | May 9th | Omni Interlocken Hotel, Broomfield

Boulder Ballet: Radiance, May 15-17th

The Boulder Ballet is putting on a new recital with contemporary works from Jorma Elo and Nicolo Fonte. These two choreographers are some of the most sought-after dancer-makers in the world, and the Boulder Ballet will have a chance to perform their radiance at the Dairy Arts Center. The dances are electric, unforgettable, and impossible to look away from.

Boulder Ballet: Radiance | May 15th-17th | Dairy Arts Center, Boulder

Seth Meyers, May 8th

After demand for a second night to be added, Seth Meyers is hosting a late show at the Paramount Theatre. This kind of performance is the one that requires a lot of laughter to deal with the world’s current events. Seth Meyers does an excellent job of keeping you entertained from the opening act to the last line.

Seth Meyers | May 8th | Paramount Theater, Denver

“Being Grayson,” May 8 

“Being Grayson,” a photo exhibit by Julia Vandenoever, will be on display at East Window & Gallery in Boulder from May 8 to June 26. This solo exhibit shares the story of raising her neurodivergent son as a neurotypical parent. She aims to bridge the gap between parents, educators, and neurodivergent communities in understanding community support for neurodiversity. 

Learn more about the exhibit at Vandernoever’s artist talk on Thursday, May 14, from 7 to 8 p.m.

Being Grayson | May 8th-Jun. 26th | East Window & Gallery, Boulder

Colorado Shakespeare Festival, May 30th

CU Presents brings a full summer of Shakespeare to the historic Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre, with three productions — Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, and Shakespeare in Love. Professional performances under the stars at one of Colorado’s most beloved outdoor venues.

Colorado Shakespeare Festival | May 30th – Aug. 2nd | Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre, Boulder

Tough Knuckle Teddy, May 8th

One of the scene’s most compelling rising acts brings their signature raw energy and dynamic sound to one of Boulder’s most storied venues. An all-ages show with doors opening at 7:30 PM and music beginning at 8:00 PM. An adult must accompany guests under 16.

Tough Knuckle Teddy | May 8th | Fox Theater, Boulder

Broncho, May 14

Oklahoma-based indie-rock band, Broncho, brings their hazy, genre-bending sounds to Boulder’s own Fox Theatre, revisiting a decade of their album, Double Vanity, with the kind of loose, hypnotic energy that has defined their live shows.

Broncho | May 14, 8 pm |  Fox Theater, Boulder

Naomi Watanabe, May 14

Japanese comedian and cultural force Naomi Watanabe brings her From Tokyo tour to Boulder Theater, folding sketch, stand-up, and her larger-than-life persona into a performance that lands somewhere between comedy set and pop spectacle. Known for viral impersonations and a fashion-forward stage presence, Watanabe’s U.S. run marks a continued push into English-language audiences with a style that’s as physical as it is sharply observant.

Naomi Watanabe – From Tokyo | May 14 | Boulder Theater, Boulder

Alan Doyle and Beautiful, Beautiful Band with Special Guests Bandit on the Run, May 10

Alan Doyle is a Canadian folk-rock artist who has experience as lead for the band Great Big Sea. Now, he joins Beautiful, Beautiful Band for a highly anticipated U.S. tour. For an extravagant performance that blends rock music with classic Celtic folk, come to one of Boulder Theater’s most anticipated May shows.

Alan Doyle and Beautiful, Beautiful Band with Bandit on the Run | May 10th | Boulder Theater, Boulder

Broomfield Symphony presents Winners of the Young Artists Competition, May 16

This May, the Broomfield Symphony Orchestra brings back one of its most fun and important traditions as the Broomfield Auditorium showcases the winners of the annual Young Artists Competition. This exciting show profiles the most talented young musicians in the Broomfield area.

Broomfield Symphony Presents Winners of the Young Artists Competition | May 16th | Broomfield Auditorium, Broomfield

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The post Scene Stealers | May 2026 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Photos by Florence McIntosh

Lyons, Colorado doesn’t beg for attention. It just is—a scrappy little town at the foothills’ edge where the mountains rise like they own the place. And, honestly, they kind of do.

It’s a place where development hasn’t marred the town’s character and time seems paused. Founded in 1880 on sandstone and pluck, Lyons used to ship its red rock everywhere. Now those cliffs just sit there, looking like the drama queens they are, while the town trades quarry grit for a mini-foodie paradise, tunes, and a few good quirks. 

Summer is when Lyons really shines: bluegrass and folk festivals pop up along the St. Vrain River, musicians pull fans from near and far, and somehow it all still feels like a backyard jam session, minus your annoying cousin hogging the tambourine. That music culture extends beyond the festivals, as many venues have live music in the afternoons, especially on the weekends. 

Here’s the smart way to spend a day without fighting crowds in Estes Park: start in Lyons. Morning is sacred—grab your caffeine and carbs at Moxie Bread Co., then pick up a stacked sandwich at St. Vrain Market, and swing by Colorado Cherry Company for a hand pie. That’s your triple-snack power-up for the hike ahead. 

Next: head to Rocky Mountain National Park for a stroll around one of its stunning lakes—Lily, Sprague, Bear or Dream Lake, take your pick. Then, swing by Estes Park itself. Peek at the iconic Stanley Hotel, people watch, wander the shops, or just breathe in the mountain air. The town is fun, but save the heavy eating for later.

Mojo Taqueria

Back to Lyons in the late afternoon for the ultimate reward—Mojo Taqueria, the crown jewel. The tacos were life-changing. Try the carnitas, fried avocado and gobernador for a palate pleasing trio. The mango mahi mahi ceviche special? Worth writing home about. Our server, Lexa Venekamp, promises that returning in the afternoon brings a lively, festive vibe, when locals are sipping beers, chatting on patios, and the town hums with energy. Locals love it, and visitors instantly feel wrapped into that warm “this is our spot” feeling. 

Afternoon Lyons is a personality parade. Live music might drift from a patio, or maybe not, but the vibe whispers “stay a while, friend.” If pizza, smoky barbecue, or a Colorado classic are calling, MainStage Brewing Company, Smokin Dave’s BBQ, and Oskar Blues Grill & Brew have you covered. Try the Rock Garden for live music and food trucks. 

If your inner kid is still buzzing, step into Lyons Classic Pinball. Launch that silver ball, chase a high score, and step back into a time when quarters and feathered hair ruled and chicks dug guys with high scores.

Lyons isn’t just a stop. It’s history, music, food, and quirks all wrapped into a day you’ll still be talking about weeks later. Skip the Estes frenzy—spend your time where the food, fun, and small-town charm actually shine.

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The post Front Range Foodie: How Mahi Mahi, Banjo Solos, and Pinball Machines Stole My Heart in Lyons appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Affordable housing is a glaring and urgent concern for metropolitan areas and their surrounding towns across America. In Denver, average home prices have almost doubled in the last decade. Boulder has seen a similarly steep trend in that time period while the average rent across Colorado is $2040 a month. Aside from inflation, these skyrocketing numbers have been attributed to the involvement of what are being widely being referred to as “corporate investors.” The logic behind the attribution is that these large investors are taking ownership of pre-existing residential units, namely single family homes (SFH) which lowers the available supply for purchase and drives up demand. The other branch of this argument is that those residential units are then turned around and rented out for prices so high that renters can’t save up to buy a home. 

In response to these affordable housing concerns, an executive order from the Trump Administration on January 20th called for greater restrictions on large investors’ purchases of SFH. “Neighborhoods and communities once controlled by middle-class American families are now run by faraway corporate interests,” Trump stated. “People live in homes, not corporations.”  An official stop on Wall Street involvement, from the president whose family legacy is built upon corporatization, makes sense from the lens of the “returning to traditional American values” messaging which has dominated the MAGA platform. 

“Buying and owning a home has long been considered the pinnacle of the American dream and a way for families to invest and build lifetime wealth,” Trump’s order reads. “But…that American dream has been increasingly out of reach for too many of our citizens, especially first-time homebuyers.”  

Colorado realtor Vivi Gloriod said that the January 20th executive order works in conjunction with an August 2025 order which, in part, allows individuals to withdraw from their 401k’s for the purpose of purchasing homes – with zero penalties and zero taxes. “A lot of people get matching [401k’s] with their employers but it was elusive money they couldn’t touch until they turned 65.” Gloriod added hopefully, “This could make a big difference in housing affordability for first time buyers.” 

Although the imbalance of Colorado’s housing supply and demand is apparent to realtors, renters, and aspirational homeowners alike, banning corporate investors from buying more property only fractionally addresses the affordable housing crisis. The housing issue spans multiple sectors, all engaging in a tug of war over supply, costs and risk. 

With the implementation of HB23-1253 in 2023, the Colorado legislature created a task force to study corporate home ownership. They published their findings in a June 2025 report. The report shows that in 2023 the share of corporate owned housing across all “owner occupiable” units in Colorado was 3%, which was less than the national average. One of the top three corporate investors, accounting for highest ownership of residential realty in the country, is Blackstone Inc. 

Gloriod said, “Blackstone has bought up a ton of houses in Colorado in the past, and this executive order really prevents that from happening again.” She was referring to a lot of 978 apartment units under Blackstone’s ownership, later sold to Equity Residential in 2024, as well as a 2007 purchase of  359 residential properties through “Tishman Speyer Real Estate Venture VII,” a partnership between two Blackstone subsidiaries. The mass of property acquired by corporate heavy hitters like Blackstone is nothing to snuff at but it cannot account for the entirety of the affordable housing crisis Coloradans find themselves in. 

Smaller LLC investors, known as “mom-and-pops,” have also played a role in lowering housing supply. According to Cotality’s 2024 data acquisition close to 1 in 5 SFH purchases made since the pandemic were done so by these so-called mom-and-pop landlords. Both Gloriod and Joe Seehusen of Compass Real Estate said that Colorado was a hot spot for small and large investors alike in the 2010s, but that has changed in recent years. Seehusen said “Ideally when you are a mom-and-pop investor, you want to buy low and rent high enough to net a profit. There were opportunities for people wanting a 10-20 house portfolio in Colorado, before prices started shooting up. So now they’re leaving town for cheaper places like St. Louis.” 

Despite federal claims that blocking large investors will increase homeowner accessibility, the trickle out of such investors from Colorado’s housing market witnessed by Gloriod and Seehusen has not significantly impacted Coloradans’ home ownership opportunities.  

Increasing the housing supply has been looked to as a possible solution for affordable housing in Colorado. In 2019, Colorado hit a historic peak – the shortfall between housing demand and supply was a gap of 140,000, meaning 140,000 residents who wanted or needed homes did not have them.  Since the HB23-1253 initiative, led by Governor Jared Polis, the State Demography Office (SDO), and Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), the shortfall lessened to 106,000 units but, the report acknowledges that the drop was largely due to slower population growth and increased housing production. “Between 2020 and 2023, Colorado built an average of 43,000 housing units each year, significantly higher than the pace of the previous decade.”

Seehusen, who has been a realtor to the West of I-25 for eleven years, said that continuing to increase the housing supply has become incredibly difficult. Building supplies, while increasingly plasticized, have been deteriorating in quality since the pandemic, and prices have spiked with the implementation of Trump’s tariffs. Seehusen said, “A lot of builders don’t want to build because the quality of the building can go downhill. If they put in windows that give out in five years, they can get sued…They just don’t build complexes how they used to.” 

Stricter zoning has also played into liability and costs, as in the case of the Boulder and Superior areas after the Marshall Fire. With over a thousand homes destroyed, Boulder implemented new fire-preventative requirements for new developments, but residents’ insurance coverage for losing their home could not afford a re-build under those requirements.  

Along with increased mortgage interest rates in the Denver area – from approximately 3% in 2020 to 6.5% in 2025 – insurance rates for both builders and homeowners have also gone up. “Colorado is in the top three for hail in the country. With high HOA rates, owners can’t afford to repair hail or other kinds of damage, and the damage gets worse because of that,” Seehusen said. While liability increases for builders using less sustainable materials, the use of cheaper materials does make housing more affordable. “People may not like it, but they have to do it that way.” Seehusen said as he referred to the war between affordability and liability. 

“For example, there is an initiative for ‘assumable loans,’ where somebody can sell their house with the same interest rate they bought it at. So if they’re paying a 2.8% interest from a house they bought in the pandemic, the next owner would assume that amount… but a deal like that in a market with a 6 or 7% average, would drive up the value anyway,” Seehusen weighed. 

It is possible that the White House block of Wall Street investors may work in conjunction with its’ executive order to make 401k’s more fluid for potential homeowners to result in more accessibility for first time homeowners, as Gloriod predicted. But in the grand scheme of Colorado’s housing, the restriction of corporate buyers will hardly move the needle. If the complex problem of affordable housing is to be even marginally solved, it will require a more holistic approach than an executive order can provide.

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The post Affordable Housing vs Housing People Can Afford appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

When Jesus Soto’s grandparents began selling tortillas in Durango, Mexico, they had no idea how far their family business would go. Jesus immigrated to Colorado nearly 50 years ago, working his way through the Front Range’s manufacturing scene at Longmont Foods and Coors before making the jump to starting something for his family and community. Today, Las Americas Tortilleria is 35 years strong.

This journey did not come without its challenges. Daniela Soto, Jesus’ daughter who is now at the helm of the business, recounted her parents’ experiences navigating a much less populated Longmont in the 1990s. During their tenure at Longmont Foods, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) visited frequently, and the couple observed several coworkers being taken away. Longmont lacked an established Hispanic community, and they had to adapt to a new place, language and way of life.

Tired of buying mass-produced tortillas, the Soto family decided Longmont needed something fresh- something that would bring back memories for neighbors who had immigrated from Mexico, Guatemala, and beyond. Daniela recalled her parents searching for an area where their dream could fill a gap in the market, eventually landing on the Lashley Street location.

Daniela reminisced about the early days, sharing fond memories of staying up late helping her parents perfect their corn and flour tortilla recipes. When the business first opened, patrons were mainly of Hispanic descent. Today, she delights in welcoming shoppers from all backgrounds. “We have a lot of diversity, you know, cultures coming in for the tortillas.”

There is a sense of reciprocity between the Sotos and the community. For three decades, children of customers and employees alike have grown up knowing this place. Las Americas donates tortillas to St. Vrain Valley Schools and partners with local businesses including La Panda Mexican Restaurant and Jefes Tacos & Tequila, both of which feature their tortillas.

Longmont’s population has nearly doubled since Las Americas Tortilleria was born, and Daniela hopes to see more small businesses prosper to serve this growing community. She hopes to carry on her family’s legacy, affirming, “If I put the same work and love that my dad has put into this business, I think we’re gonna keep on going.”

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Democracy needs journalism more than ever. For 25 years, we’ve told the truth — your support helps us keep doing it for the next four and beyond. Administrations come and go. Our team stays ready to lead, no matter who’s in charge.

The post Front Range Foodie: Building Community, One Tortilla at a Time appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

104th North Photo: Coal Creek (Courtesy of Friends of Coal Creek)

[ Boulder County News ]

• The state and BNSF reached a $333M deal to take the next step forward in bringing passenger rail service to Broomfield, Louisville, Boulder, Longmont and Loveland.
• The Sundance Film Festival is expected to bring thousands of visitors to the area and Boulder wants to be prepared. The City Council unanimously approved a resolution that would allow residents to sublease their homes expressly to those out of town visitors attending the festival.
• A Superior woman was struck by lightning while out for a late evening walk. First responders revived her and she is now in critical condition.
• Officials in Erie have been accused of participating in discussions to lease, or sell outright, the town’s mineral rights. These deliberations have been held in Executive Sessions which have excluded public interactions and input.
• Ranked choice voting may still appear on the ballot in Lafayette this November. After seeing the debate for that type of election change play out in neighboring communities, city council members said they are willing to discuss options to put in front of their residents.
• A disaster was averted in Eldorado Canyon State Park when rescuers intervened to save a group of three climbers who had lost their way. Drone reconnaissance and traditional rescue team skills were combined to help return the stranded team to safety.
• Sara Loflin was removed from her role as PTSA Treasurer at Meadowlark School in Erie. At issue was the unauthorized removal of $70,000 from the PTSA fundraising account. Although the funds have been returned, the incident is currently under police investigation.

[ State ]

• If you were a graduate of the Academy Driving School in Colorado Springs you might have just lost your license. The Colorado DMV said that nearly 500 drivers would have to retake their driver’s test because of fraud charges at the school. 
• According to a recent poll, the majority of voters in Colorado approve putting limits on cell phone and social media use among minors. 
• The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment released their revised final 2025 jobs report. It showed a loss of just over 11,000 jobs through the end of 2025.
• XCEL has proposed a new rate structure that would require data centers, and other users of high amounts of electricity in Colorado, to pay higher rates.
• In order to more precisely understand what the dry winter weather will mean for the state, SNOTEL measured mountain snowpacks and compared the results to historical data. They found the snowpack to be at 24% of where it should be at this time.

[ National News ]

• Three people were killed and 14 were injured in a mass shooting at an Austin, Texas bar. The FBI is investigating the incident as an act of terrorism.
• Pam Bondi was fired as U.S. Attorney General. Deputy Attorney general Todd Blanch was installed in the role on a temporary basis.
• Four astronauts aboard the Artemis II spacecraft travelled further from Earth than any human before them. They would circle the moon and successfully return to Earth.
• The complete Epstein Files still have not been released, breaking federal law.

[ International News ]

• Hungarian Prime Minister lost his reelection campaign and was ousted from a role he held for sixteen years.
• Scientists in England announce that they have successfully tested a lab?grown oesophagus. They believe this will help people regain normal swallowing functions.
• Iran and the United States met for ceasefire talks. After 21 straight hours, Vice President Vance announced that no agreement was reached.
• The Wireless festival in London was cancelled because the headliner would not be present. The British Home Office banned musician Kanye West from entering the country due to his past remarks.

[ Small Talk ]

“No fear”

• Pope Leo (?!) said he had “no fear of the Trump administration” after the president came after him on social media.

“We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care.”

• President Donald Trump during an Easter luncheon speech where he also said it wasn’t possible to take care of Medicaid and Medicare.

“Unprecedented”

• How the KOAA 5 weather team described Colorado’s March weather.

“Tonight, truth prevailed over lies.”

• Newly elected Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said after the results of the election came in.

“Copy Moon joy”

• The happy response from Mission Control to Artemis II’s astronaut Reid Wiseman’s description of what the crew was seeing.

[ In the Numbers ]

$3.82

Current average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Boulder. That’s up $.78 for a year ago.

$50,000,000,000

Estimated to-date cost of the attack on Iran.

3

The number of appellate court judges who ruled for Yellow Scene in our winning court case against the City of Boulder!

11

The Denver University men’s hockey team won its’ 11th National Title beating the University of Wisconsin 2-1.

8,000,000+

It is estimated that over eight million people attended No Kings protests in March. There were over 3,000 events held in all fifty states.

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The post Month in Review | April 2026 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

How do we make practical shifts to balance an environmental concern?

At the beginning of April, Colorado scored 323 on the U.S. Drought Monitor drought severity and coverage index. At the end of 2025, that number was 127.

In a place where winter usually does its most important work quietly, this year has felt alarmingly different. Across Boulder County and the broader Front Range, snow has come in fits and starts, often melting almost as quickly as it arrives. Trails that are typically packed with snow this time of year have been dry, dusty, and unusually accessible. It is the kind of winter that makes people pause, not because of a single dramatic event, but because of a steady absence.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, much of Colorado has been trending drier than average, with drought conditions expanding and contracting throughout the season but never fully easing. While variability is part of life in the West, this year stands out. For a region that depends on snowpack to function as a natural water savings account, a dry winter is not just a seasonal anomaly. It is an early signal of what the rest of the year might demand.

For people like Kristine Johnson, who serves as co-chair of the propagation committee for the Front Range chapter of Wild Ones, the change has been impossible to ignore. “I was born and raised in Colorado. This winter has been startling,” she says. Her perspective is grounded not just in observation, but in data. As a volunteer with the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS), she contributes regular condition reports as part of a nationwide network of more than 25,000 community scientists. Around 600 of those observers are in Boulder County alone. They track precipitation with approved gauges and share what they see. “It’s really, really cool,” she says. “My neighbors, when it rains or snows, want to know.”

The absence of snow has consequences that reach far beyond winter recreation or aesthetics. Traditionally, the snowpack in Colorado acts as a slow-release system, feeding streams and rivers, replenishing groundwater, and keeping soils hydrated well into the spring. When that system falls short, the effects ripple outward. Farmers may find themselves navigating tighter water allocations earlier in the growing season.

At Ollin Farms, those challenges are already taking shape. Owner Mark Guttridge, who spent years working as an environmental consultant before becoming a farmer, approaches agriculture with a focus on water conservation and soil health. Much of the farm relies on drip irrigation, a system that delivers water slowly and directly to plant roots. Compared to conventional sprinkler systems, drip irrigation can reduce water use by as much as 30 to 60 percent while also minimizing evaporation and runoff. By applying water in a steady, measured way, it more closely mimics natural hydrologic cycles—absorbing into the soil rather than overwhelming it all at once.

For Guttridge, the bigger picture comes down to what’s happening beneath the surface. “The best way to mitigate a flood or a drought is to have healthy soil that acts like a sponge,” he says. Soil rich in organic matter can hold significantly more water, buffering crops against both extremes.

Even so, the season is already showing signs of stress. “A lot of our overwintered perennials—onions, garlic—are coming up,” Guttridge says. “Irises are up early. But a lot of the fruit trees are starting to put out blossoms, so if we get a freeze, it’s going to be not-so-great.” That early growth, triggered by warm, dry conditions, leaves crops vulnerable to the kind of late cold snaps that are still common along the Front Range.

Water access is another concern. “We have all drip irrigation systems; we’re on Left Hand water,” he explains. “Luckily, we have a commercial rate, so we haven’t seen a huge price escalation. Ag ditches don’t really start running until May, so a lot of farmers are in a tough spot: they have decent planting weather, but the water’s not running yet…and when it does run, it’s not going to be very much this year.” While reservoir levels across Colorado remain relatively stable for now, that stability depends on future snowpacks. “If we don’t get replenished going into next winter, it’s going to be really, really bad,” he says.

Still, adaptation is part of the work. “We’re making the best of a bad situation,” Guttridge says. “Obviously, a drought is not good, in that the heat’s going to put some stress on things.” Crop selection, like irrigation, becomes another way to manage uncertainty. “Bitter greens, like arugula, don’t really mind the heat as much,” Guttridge said.

Even home gardeners and urban landscapers are beginning the spring at a disadvantage, with dry soil that struggles to retain what little moisture it receives. At the same time, the lack of sustained moisture can quietly increase wildfire risk, as grasses and other vegetation dry out earlier and stay that way longer.

Despite those challenges, there are signs of resilience, particularly in landscapes that have evolved with Colorado’s natural cycles. “What we’re seeing right now is really anomalous,” Kristine explains. “But plants that have evolved here have likely seen conditions like this at some point in their evolution. They’re better adapted than plants from climates that rely heavily on irrigation.” Organizations like the Colorado Native Grass Association have long emphasized this point. Native grasses and plants tend to develop deeper root systems that help stabilize soil and access moisture far below the surface. They are also better equipped to handle swings between wet and dry periods, which are becoming more pronounced across the region.

That reality is starting to shift how people think about their own outdoor spaces. In neighborhoods across Boulder County, traditional green lawns are slowly giving way to more water-wise alternatives. Through programs offered by Resource Central, residents can remove turf and replace it with curated native plant gardens designed specifically for Colorado’s climate. These “Garden in a Box” kits make it easier to transition to landscapes that use significantly less water while still supporting pollinators and local ecosystems. For many households, it is one of the most direct ways to respond to ongoing drought conditions. Reducing lawn size, watering more intentionally during cooler parts of the day, and improving soil with mulch or compost can all make a noticeable difference over the course of a single season.

At the community level, efforts to adapt are becoming more visible and more collaborative. Wild Ones hosts seed swaps, plant exchanges, and workshops that teach people how to propagate native species at home. The goal is not just environmental, but practical. Making native plants more accessible helps more people participate in water-conscious landscaping without high upfront costs. These gatherings also create space for knowledge-sharing, where longtime residents and newcomers alike can learn what actually works in Colorado’s shifting conditions. As Johnson puts it, the organization’s mission is to bring native plants and people together, but the benefits extend much further into community resilience and environmental awareness.

Looking ahead, the uncertainty remains. Climate projections for the West have consistently pointed toward greater variability, with longer dry periods punctuated by more intense storms. If winters like this past one become more common, Boulder County may need to continue rethinking everything from agricultural practices to urban planning. Water conservation could become less of a seasonal concern and more of a year-round mindset. Fire mitigation may start earlier each spring. The landscapes that define the region, from foothill grasslands to backyard gardens, may gradually shift toward species that can tolerate stress and recover quickly.

For residents, the path forward is not about a single solution, but a series of small, intentional choices that add up over time. Paying attention to water use at home, whether by adjusting irrigation habits or replacing high-demand landscaping, is one piece of the puzzle. Preparing properties for fire season by clearing dry vegetation and choosing more resilient plants is another. Staying informed and involved, whether through community science networks like CoCoRaHS or local workshops and conservation programs, helps build a broader understanding of what is happening and why it matters.

This winter may not define the future on its own, but it offers a clear glimpse of what that future could look like. The question is how Boulder County responds, not just in moments of crisis, but in the quieter decisions made on a daily basis.

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The post The Dry, Dry, Dry Winter appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Pouring love on pets who defy the odds

Photos from Dustin Doskocil / Doskophoto

The staff at Longmont Humane Society are ready to love any pet that comes through their door, whether it is a three-legged dog or a cat with no eyes. No pet is turned away, regardless of their disabilities or special care needs. 

“We look at each dog individually,” Lynsey Georgen, the humane society’s Director of Operations told Yellow Scene. She said “We look at each animal’s specific personality and figure out what we can do to make them adoptable, and get them into their forever home.” There are special challenges to consider when planning to adopt or foster a handicapped pet. They might need ongoing physical therapy, daily medicine, or another kind of accommodation. One of the biggest deterrents to taking in an animal with special needs is the financial commitment. Despite this, it can be a rewarding experience that many people choose to do over and over. 

Georgen has a special place in her heart for disabled pets. She said that handicap is her “favorite breed.” She has opened her home to dogs with just one eye, dogs with missing limbs, and multiple deaf dogs. “I fostered a blind puppy that had dwarfism because of overbreeding, and she was a handful,” Georgen shared, “but also, my soul dog.”

Photo credit: Dosko Photography, Dustin Doskocil

When it comes to fostering, there is more stigma around taking in a handicap pet as opposed to one that is seen as healthy, according to Georgen. She said this is likely due to the challenges that already exist for fostering. “Fostering is already so hard and requires so much patience and time,” Georgen said. “I think that when you add on the idea of a handicap, it pushes people away from that just a bit.” But caring for a handicap pet becomes second nature, Georgen said. “I just have a special place in my heart for spending that extra time to make sure they’re given a chance.”

Even when owners are willing and able to give a special needs pet the accommodations they need, the financial commitment is still a major factor. The potential cost is one of the main considerations that Dr. Danyel Wynn, the owner of Walking Paws Rehab, wants potential adopters to keep in mind. There are resources for mitigating costs, such as pet insurance, but adopting a disabled pet is still a long-term financial commitment. This is especially true of animals that require ongoing physical therapy. 

“It takes time,” Dr. Wynn told Yellow Scene. “It’s not a quick fix. It’s not an instant moment where a dog is healed. It really does take a commitment of doing the physical therapy, doing these exercises, and helping that dog get healed again.”

There are other resources that can potentially help mitigate costs and challenges, such as specialized nonprofits. Handicapped Pets Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the lives of disabled dogs and cats. They donate new or reconditioned pet wheelchairs to low income families in need. Nearly every month, over 100 applications come in. 

“We respond to all of them, and we award ten to twenty wheelchairs to families each month,” Rachel Shields, the Foundation’s Executive Director told Yellow Scene. To date they have donated over 120 used wheelchairs and nearly 600 new wheelchairs.

In her time at Longmont Humane Society, Georgen noticed that some disabilities “tug at the heart strings” and make it more likely for those pets to be adopted. She has seen dogs that are blind and deaf get the same attention as any other dog, and sometimes they are even adopted quicker.

Georgen said that caring for disabled pets is not as big of a deal as it seems. “Don’t look at it as a barrier,” she said. “It’s just a unique piece of the animal that’s part of their personality, and they almost always will accommodate for their disability in other ways. My one-eyed dog, who has very poor eyesight in her other eye, makes up for it by having an incredible sense of smell. She’s kind of a licker because she’s finding out her environment through her other senses. I think a lot of time, they make up for it in other ways.” 

Photo credit: Dosko Photography, Dustin Doskocil

A New Sense of Purpose

Dr. Wynn established Walking Paws Rehab to transition out of general practice and into rehabilitation work with animals. The idea for the clinic came from a strong interest in working with injuries. She said that she’s able to do work she feels good about.

“When we would cry in general practice, it was often because of a euthanasia, or a sad moment,” Dr. Wynn explained. “But in physical therapy when we cry, it’s because of a lot of hard work and reward.”

Working with patients at the clinic, Dr. Wynn has seen animals go from fully paralyzed to regaining the ability to walk. When she opened Walking Paws, she wasn’t sure if there was a need for that type of veterinary practice in the area. It didn’t take long for her to see just how much of a need there was.

Dr. Wynn vividly remembers one early patient that helped her believe in the work she could do.

“She fractured her back limb when she was a puppy and was placed in a cast by the primary vet,” Dr. Wynn said. “Unfortunately,  she was left in that cast for a couple of months, and she continued to grow. When they got to the point of taking the cast off, her limb was atrophied.”

The back leg was left unstable and nonfunctional. Multiple orthopedic surgeons in the Fort Collins and Denver area recommended the owners have the limb amputated, Dr. Wynn shared. They turned to Walking Paws Rehab for another option, and they found one. The clinic’s team used a custom brace and physical therapy to save the limb and restore function. In the end, the puppy was able to walk again without the help of a brace.

“It’s amazing when you have a dog that is completely paralyzed, and is given a poor prognosis of never being able to walk again, when euthanasia is on the table and recommended, and then we defy all the odds,” Dr. Wynn shared. 

Photo credit: Dosko Photography, Dustin Doskocil

“A Complete 180”

Shields found Handicapped Pets after her senior dog Squirtle passed away. He used a wheelchair for the last year of his life. “Once I put him in the wheelchair, it was like a complete one-eighty,” she said. “He could get around like he used to. He had to be supervised in the wheelchair because he could flip himself over because he would get excited and try to go very fast.” Squirtle used the chair until he passed away. 

“It really extended his life because I wouldn’t have been able to keep him in the condition that he was in without his wheelchair, because he wasn’t happy being immobile.”

When Squirtle passed, Shields wanted to find a way to donate his wheelchair to another animal in need. Shields was grateful that she was able to buy the chair when she needed it, and she knew there were plenty of pet parents who would not have been able to.

This led her on a search to find a way to donate it. Shields found Handicapped Pets Foundation and they helped her chair get to another dog in need, Paco. She was sent pictures of Paco in the chair and loved getting to see him enjoy it.

Photo credit: Dosko Photography, Dustin Doskocil

Around this time, the foundation was looking for board members, and Shields, who has a background as an attorney, put herself in the running. Handicapped Pets is located in New Hampshire, but they work with families around the globe which their testimonials, or “happy tails,” attest to. Anyone can fill out the application on their website and feel confident that a team member will review it. They accept donated pet wheelchairs too but rather than have donated chairs sent to the foundation, they work with donors to send them straight to the family. 

Shields believes the cost can be a major challenge for many families with disabled pets, and the foundation wants to help offset some of that burden. “I think the biggest hurdle for a lot of people is just the cost that’s associated with helping a pet that has mobility issues,” Shields said.  “A huge stigma is that it can be more challenging having a dog with mobility needs, but they’re just like a normal dog once they’re able to get around.”

Walking Paws also has an expanded reach. They work with several animal rescues that take in handicapped pets, Dr. Wynn shared. Sometimes the clinic can offer the work pro-bono in order to get an animal healthy again. The rescues play a major part in caring for the disabled pets they take in and giving them their best chance at getting adopted. 

The Right Path is Not Always Easy

Disabled dogs and cats are, for the most part, just like other pets, according to Shields. “I think sometimes people view them as defective or like they’re suffering if they have mobility issues,” she said. 

While that can be true for some handicapped animals, many just need extra support.  “When we’re able to put them in a wheelchair, they really just have another shot at life and they’re really resilient and happy.” 

A husky using a donated Handicapped Pets Foundation wheelchair

Belle is supported by a donated wheelchair

Adopting or fostering a special needs pet can be a wonderful journey to make, but that doesn’t mean it is for every one. “It’s not necessarily an easy path to go down to adopt a disabled dog,” Dr. Wynn said.

There are multiple factors to consider, such as the extra care they will need and additional medical expenses. Disabled pets will require more care than a pet that is young and healthy. It can be challenging, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. For many owners, it is one of the most rewarding decisions they make.  

And who knows? You might just meet your soul dog (or cat).

Feature Box: The Story of Coachella

Longmont Humane Society’s current longest stay cat resident is a disabled cat. Coachella, a one year old domestic short hair with tuxedo coloring, has been at the shelter for four months now. She can’t properly walk due to a nervous system condition, and she has trouble making it to her litter box in time. She is FIV positive, and would need to be the only cat in a home. However, she gets along with children of all ages and is trained to walk on a leash. 

Coachella gets extra attention from staff members because of how sweet she is, but Georgen said her special care needs make it harder for her to find a home. Shelter staff hope to see her adopted out as a “shop” cat. The idea is similar to barn cats, but Coachella would need to be indoors. “She needs to be in a situation where she’s going to still get that love and feeling of being inside a home, but maybe the opportunity where her litter box situation isn’t a huge obstacle to overcome,” Georgen said. 

Coachella is given extra attention on the humane society’s social media accounts, and was taken to Longmont’s recent Cat Fest. 

“We’re looking for the best match where she can still be herself and still be successful in a home, and have owners that are understanding and love her anyway,” Georgen said. 

Sidebar:

Owners and rescues alike can use the Disabled Pets Project to find resources for caring for special needs pets. The online directory includes a list of the disabilities found in pets, with descriptions of each. They also have a checklist that highlights important steps for rescues hoping to adopt out disabled pets. For example, they recommend getting three references from potential adopters and doing a home check. In addition, they highlight the importance of considering the pet’s needs and the adopter’s lifestyle.

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The post The Challenges and Rewards of Caring for Disabled Pets appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

There were two big events in April that have helped to illustrate our goals as local journalists. We hosted our annual SuperKids Expo (more on that next issue), where we celebrated who we are as a community today, and we see in the eyes of our youngest residents who our community is going to be.

But it was something else that created a reason to celebrate, not just for us, but for the community — we won an appellate court case in a 3-0 decision (in baseball terms, a shutout). Back in 2024, we requested all of the police body camera footage from the City of Boulder related to the officer-involved shooting of Jeanette Alatorre on December 17, 2023. Sure, the city said, only it will cost you around three thousand dollars. (That number would later inexplicably triple.)

Here’s the thing. There is a law in Colorado known as ELEIA or the Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act. That law does not permit agencies from charging fees before releasing certain types of footage. In fact, they can only slightly delay releasing video clips if there is an active investigation that the footage would be relevant to. The Boulder police department did not relent and so we took them to court in 2024. We won the case. The city appealed. And this month we won again. 

The Colorado Court of Appeals found that the Boulder police department in fact can not charge for this type of footage. As Yellow Scene attorney Matt Simonsen said in his arguments before the court “I would certainly hope that when there is a complaint of police misconduct that there are public employees reviewing this video for other purposes than just to blur it.” 

To say that we were overjoyed at winning the appeal would be an understatement. It’s also important to understand that when we say “we won this case” we mean it as what is often called the “Royal We.” Yes, this case was spurred by our desire to find the truth in a tragedy but the ruling will affect all of us. It’s a win for accountability, for equality, and for truth. And those are three things that sorely need a mark in the Win column now. It means that misdeeds can’t be hidden behind a paywall, that family members can regain a little faith in the follow-up of an incident, and that we can collectively watch for the truth, not settle for the official version of what they want that truth to be. You can follow that thought a little deeper with John Oliver in his Last Week Tonight segment on Bodycams.

When the verdict was announced we celebrated a victory for all of us. And then we got back to work because that’s what we do. And we do it best when we do it together so please keep reading, share the stories that matter to you with friends and family and become a sustaining member to keep those stories coming.

If that win does anything, it shows the power of local journalists who will scrape and fight for the truth.

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The post Editor’s Note: A Victory for the Community appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Have you ever purchased a wonderful-looking container of strawberries from the grocery store, only to find those shiny, bright red berries are mere tasteless imposters? Or perhaps you’ve tried one of those little seedless personal watermelons on sale in February. You did all the tests—looked for the yellow “field spot,” felt its weightiness in your hand, and noted a slight softness at the stem. It’s a nice, ripe watermelon! Then you got home, cut into it, and discovered that your beautiful fruit produced what can only be described as crunchy water. How disappointing!

As Erin Dreistadt, owner of Aspen Moon Farm in Hygiene said, that tasteless February watermelon went through an epic and very unnatural journey to get to your local grocery store. It’s a journey that sapped that watermelon of its natural flavor and character. It was likely picked from its vine way too early and to keep it looking good on its adventure, the watermelon may have been sprayed with a protective coating to maintain its shine and color. Then, it was shipped in dark containers over great distances. After traveling thousands of miles and reaching its destination here in Colorado, it waited in a warehouse before finally making it into the produce section of a massive grocery store, where a weary 3:00 am produce stocker carefully placed it in a marketing-optimized display.

From seed to table, that watermelon had been expertly engineered and managed—not for taste or quality, but for production efficiency, distribution, and “shelf appeal”—all for the purpose of presenting the unsuspecting consumer with a picture of a manufactured idea of a “quality” watermelon, shined up and free of dirt. The fact that the watermelon tastes bad is not surprising. The fact that it even made it to the end of this voyage looking good is an impressive feat of modern commerce with one goal in mind: the final sale at the check-out counter. According to calculations by Gemini, a single two-pound seedless watermelon from Honduras requires almost a pound of carbon emissions (nearly half its own weight) to reach the Lafayette Walmart produce section.

There’s another way to go about this but it requires you, the consumer, to take ownership, put thought into your food-buying approach, and adjust your expectations. A century ago, the average Coloradan would not have been able to find a February watermelon at their local market simply because it wasn’t in season. The very idea would have been preposterous. A commitment to buying and eating local requires a “table rotation” approach that leverages the availability of locally produced foods well-suited for our ecology and climate.

Dreistadt educated me on much of this while walking around Aspen Moon Farm on a recent 80-degree late-March day. She pulled a single radish from the ground for me—a one-step distribution network of exactly five feet from the dirt at my shoes directly to my mouth. And it was the best radish I’ve ever eaten. Starting in April each year, Aspen Moon opens their own farmstand at 7940 Hygiene Road. They can also be found at the Boulder County Farmers Market.

Sustainable, Ethical, and Local

What does it mean for a producer to be sustainable, ethical, and local? For Dreistadt, who has been running Aspen Moon for seventeen years, sustainable agriculture goes a step beyond organic farming to embrace the concepts of regenerative and biodynamic farming.

“Biodynamic agriculture is a spiritual science,” said Dreistadt. “It takes into account that there’s a lot about nature that we don’t understand, and so we first observe.” As Dreistadt handed me a piece of fresh spinach to try, she explained that by utilizing an active microbial system, they grow crops that are stronger, taste better, and have more nutritional value.

According to the Aspen Moon website, biodynamic agriculture moves beyond the soil chemistry focus that drives most modern agriculture and re-incorporates ecologically natural processes into crop production. This involves the use of microbial-based compost, cover crops, and crop rotations based on a four-phase calendar revolving around “leaf, root, flower, and fruit.”

“We’ve been applying biodynamic preps to our entire property for over 14 years, and each year we continue to see an increase in the vibrancy of the land and the crops,” they state on their website.

This part of Boulder County is within what can be considered a “peri-urban” environment, which is ideal for local, sustainable, and ethical agriculture. Boulder County’s historic land zoning laws have created a mixed agricultural and open-space greenbelt surrounding the county’s communities. Combine that with a highly educated, socially and environmentally conscious community, and you have a strong—albeit high-cost—market for local farming. A drive along the back roads of northeast Boulder County reveals a healthy scattering of small working farms with their greenhouses and, oftentimes, self-serve farmstands.

Along 63rd Street, just northwest of Niwot, lies the Treehouse Farm Collective. Here, a small group of independent farmers collectively leases a beautiful piece of agricultural land surrounded on three sides by Boulder County Open Space. They combine resources here to offer the community a range of high-quality products. It represents another model of how sustainable, ethical, and local agriculture can work. Like Aspen Moon, the Treehouse Farm Collective operates its own public farmstand, open daily from April through November.

I walked the grounds with Helen Skiba, owner of Artemis Flower Farm, accompanied by “Elder,” an Icelandic Sheepdog. Skiba described an interesting background that took her from English literature and poetry to working with indigenous tea farmers in Ecuador, followed by a tenure at Aspen Moon, and finally to co-owning Artemis Flower Farm with her husband, Nelson Esseveld.

Skiba looked the part of a local cut-flower farmer in her wide-brimmed hat. She and her flower studio exude an aura of local authenticity—a refreshing reminder that such places still exist amidst the mass corporate production that surrounds us. As consumers, we still have choices if we seek them.

It’s not necessarily a dream job, however, as Skiba explained the stresses of making a business like this work. Often those stresses come in the form of financial and climate uncertainties, which are particularly concerning in this very warm and dry year. Expanding on the concept of biodynamic farming, Skiba explained the basics of cover crops and no-till practices that focus on ecosystem-based agriculture.

“We incorporate a lot of cover crops, making sure something is always growing and giving carbon back to the soil,” said Skiba. Looking out over one of her flower plots, she explained that cover cropping ensures there is always a root system in the soil, as opposed to a fallow field which is mostly devoid of organic material. “We think of our farm as a place where we learn from the creatures already here,” said Skiba.

It’s the collective land-lease approach that opens the door to financial viability at Treehouse. “Just the fact of being in a collective allows us to afford organic practices,” said Skiba. “And, because we are able to afford the land by leasing, we can support a more human-sustainable business practice.”

Skiba’s statement about human-sustainable practices speaks to the ethics of the operation, especially when applied both to employees and the community. A local farm must be able to support local wages, which is a challenge but an important consideration. As for the community, Skiba’s message is simple: “I’d love for people to just know that there are local cut flowers, and people deserve to have them.”

Bypassing the Big Box Store

I mentioned to Dreistadt my suspicion that the barrier to entry for many consumers is driven by a perceived inconvenience. One major advantage of big agriculture is that their massive marketing and distribution systems make it easy for the average busy consumer to use the grocery store as a one-stop shop. Local growers can never compete with that convenience. As consumers, we must adjust our approach to meet them halfway.

Dreistadt suggested two solutions. First, start small. Don’t try to replace your entire food system all at once. Start with one thing, then another. Over time, you can convert an increasing percentage of your purchasing to local producers.

Second, embrace the seasonality. Instead of insisting on tomatoes in May, look for snap peas and spinach. In late fall, switch gears from short-term shopping to winter stocking by focusing on durable produce that can take you through the winter until those snap peas return in spring.

Looking at it another way, try to pretend you’re back in 1926 and your only option is the local farmer and what they can offer at any given time. Instead of going to the store with a recipe, go to the market with an open mind and build your meals around what’s available. After all, wouldn’t you rather eat the best radish you’ve ever had than the worst watermelon? When Colorado’s true watermelon season arrives in late summer, you’ll appreciate that delicious, local flavor more than ever.

Like journalism like this? Consider becoming a sustaining supporter — and get our print edition delivered to your home each month.

Democracy needs journalism more than ever. For 25 years, we’ve told the truth — your support helps us keep doing it for the next four and beyond. Administrations come and go. Our team stays ready to lead, no matter who’s in charge.

The post The New Farmers: Supporting Sustainable, Ethical, and Local Agriculture appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Can the region make the roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists?

If you are a pedestrian out for a walk anywhere in Colorado you may want to change your posture from “relaxed afternoon stroll” to “high-alert combat positioning.” That’s because one-fifth of all traffic fatalities in the state involve pedestrians. The shock of that number is naturally followed by a question: why. Or perhaps the more accurate question is how. It’s a question with a heightened level of importance as we move into spring and summer and more of our neighbors head out for a morning ride or after dinner stroll.

An Alarming Trend

According to a March 2026 release from the Colorado Department of Transportation, 127 pedestrians were killed on Colorado roadways in 2025. This is nearly double the amount of pedestrian deaths the state saw just a decade earlier.

If you’re thinking of trading in your pedal pushers for actual pedals and making a bike your primary mode of transportation, you might get somewhere faster but it’s not necessarily going to be a safer trip. Over the past decade there has been an average of 1,370 incidents involving bicycle riders on Colorado roadways. While most of those left victims with only injuries, far too many resulted in a fatality. In 2023, twenty cyclists lost their lives on the Colorado roadways. That number dropped to fourteen in 2024 but moved back up in 2025 when eighteen cyclists were killed in separate crashes.

The ebike dilemma

Complicating this discussion has been the ascension of the eBike (and comparable electric scooters). These motorized transports have increased mobility options for residents and, in doing so, cut back on the number of cars on the road. But they have done so at a speedy price. Depending on their class rating, an eBike can travel between 15 – 30 miles an hour (although most average 15-20 mph). It’s a rate of speed that belies the “bike” part of its name because eBikes can be difficult to control at that speed and cavalier riders can create traffic incidents.

It’s become a popular question, not just locally, but around the country – how should the ebike be classified? That’s an important question because with a classification, safety regulations can follow. To determine that though, speed and shape say two different things and the answer is probably somewhere in the difference.

In 2025 the Colorado General Assembly passed HV 25-1197 which was an attempt to regulate the discussion around ebikes in the state. The law set out requirements for helmet use, labeling, and battery certification. In terms of tightening the parameters of when and where an ebike can be ridden, lawmakers settled on establishing an eBike class system. This puts control in the communities, allowing them to decide what type of bike can be ridden in what location. The (perhaps) unintended consequence of this approach is a degree of confusion for ebike operators as what’s a permitted, legal use in one town may be prohibited the next town over. The issue with what could be seen as a patchwork legal approach is that everyone in community A has one set of expectations and in community B they have a separate set. When a community member crosses over accidents can happen because of those fundamental differences in expectations they are operating under.

And yet, for now there doesn’t seem to be any appetite to return to the discussion. Colorado State Representative Rick Taggart said “At this point, I don’t see myself revisiting that issue at the state level. I believe this is best handled locally, where communities can make decisions that fit their own trails, infrastructure, and needs. Local governments are in a better position to determine what type of motorized vehicles should or shouldn’t be allowed on their bike paths and trail systems.” 

Sue Prant, Executive Director of Community Cycles in Boulder said “The state treats every road like it’s a giant highway and they want the most thru-put possible, but the truth is, in Colorado, many roads that it seems like a community should have local control over to make it safer and work with the surroundings are actually “state highways” because all state roads are considered “state highways”.”

“There are certainly areas where a statewide approach makes sense, like battery safety standards, but when it comes to how trails are used, especially dirt and gravel systems, that’s something I think should remain a local decision,” Taggart said

The focus of the issue of safety and how to draw down the numbers of preventable pedestrian and cyclist deaths in the region is found in the balance of education and awareness and legal guardrails. Like many issues, laws are needed because some people struggle with taking common sense actions. For example, not driving distracted.

A cyclist pedals through the intersection of Seventh and Williams streets in Denver on Friday, June 9, 2023. Bike safety improvements in the intersection, including white plastic posts, have drawn criticism from some neighbors. But cyclists say they will help prevent crashes and save lives.

Vision Zero Action Plan

In 2024, Boulder County attempted to set the groundwork for a path to safer streets, particularly for bike riders and pedestrians. After a year plus of studies and surveys, town hall meetings and data review sessions, the Vision Zero Action Plan team released three action plans in July and August of last year. The plans were specific to the roadways of Boulder County, Superior, and Lafayette. (Longmont has their own version of Vision Zero.) City officials hope that these plans help to eliminate deaths caused by motor vehicles by 2040. It is admittedly a long lead team but, in all respects, a practical and pragmatic one.

While the Vision Zero program is not a law per se, it follows the form and structure of one and legal experts say that there can be a significant period needed for behavioural change in circumstances like this. A study produced by the National Center for Biotechnology Information found that “changing a behavior can be an inherently unstable and unsteady process; frequent lapses and relapse should be expected to occur.” The goal of the Vision Zero programs then becomes finding ways to shorten that process because there are literally lives on the line.

Liviana Lewin, Boulder County Vision Zero Program Manager, said “In addition to engineering guidance and infrastructure projects, the plan includes proposed enforcement actions, education, and other approaches that help raise awareness about safe travel. The plan has flexibility in it to work with regional partners to address ongoing issues. For example, in the last several months we have seen an increase in the use of “e-motos”—with close calls and crashes—particularly among youth. These “e-motos” sometimes look like e-bikes but which have more powerful motors, higher speeds, and different regulations that many people are not aware of. We now have a working group of multiple agencies addressing this safety issue together.”

Brian Hannon, the owner of Boulder Bicycle Works, believes a shift in safety starts with refocusing priorities which he admits can be difficult. “How do you change people’s habits and attitudes? How do you get people out of oversized Tonka-toy trucks and SUVs that are rolling tanks that can obliterate any person that dares get in their way? How do you stop people from buying huge, inefficient vehicles in general,” Hannon said.

An Unsafe Infrastructure?

There are a number of contributing factors to the deaths of cyclists and pedestrians. Some, like operating a bike/eBike in an unsafe manner or crossing streets in unmarked areas, are decisions that people make that could lead to tragic consequences. And yet some factors are a direct result of what each community will tolerate. For example, poorly guarded bike lanes or a lack of sidewalks, but users in harm’s way, even when they are attempting to do the right thing.

Hannon suggested “We could make dedicated ‘bike thoroughfares’ that cross both north to south and east to west. And we can keep cars to other arterial routes.” He also suggested that cities can “Make more routes where the bike lanes are physically protected from the car traffic. Make more separate bike paths to nearby towns – east to Louisville and Lafayette and Erie – north to Lyons – south to Golden.” Hannon understands, though, that “This is heady stuff and realistically it takes a lot of planning and money.”

Prant said, “I think many of the communities are doing a good job, but many are not. But those are all local roads. I don’t think the state is doing that good a job. In many places, especially the more rural, but even in Boulder County, most roads are state roads. On state roads they don’t do protected bike lanes at all, speeds are too high, there are too many lanes and in many cases really crappy shoulders.”

If we make the roadways safer for cyclists and walkers, Hannon sees broader benefits. He said “We, long ago, made cars and gasoline the default way of getting around.  This needs to end and especially in the hearts of towns.  Make the city greener, quieter, less polluted, safer.  It can be done with enough political willpower.  Once you show people what’s possible, many more will become enamored and get on board.”

Changing transportation habits isn’t easy but for the safety of the community, residents still need to put in the hard work. Lewin “Addressing transportation safety is a complex, adaptive process with many inter-related parts and conditions that will continue to evolve; there is no one solution. The county will continue to approach safety with multiple tools and approaches with the goal of keeping people safe when traveling and creating a culture of safety in the community.”

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The post Red Roads appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Dr. Ietef Vita is an artist, activist, educator, and vegan chef from Five Points, Denver. He primarily advocates through environmental hip-hop, performing with the stage name DJ CaveM in festivals, schools, and even grocery stores. His latest beat tape, Land of the Setting Sun, is available to stream on SoundCloud now. We sat down with CaveM (virtually) in his home in Oakland, California, to talk about how his performances have educated and inspired others to take action for the environment.

Photos Courtesy of DJ CaveM

Jamie Lammers: So, environmental hip-hop artist. Can you tell me about that trajectory?
DJ CaveM: I think the conversation of food justice is what pulled me in. I had a deep passion for urban farming, growing up around elders who had access to front-yard gardens and collard greens in their backyard. The injustice of the world is an environmental issue, but so is access to healthy food and redlining.

Jamie: What about hip-hop stuck out as a form of activism?

CaveM: I think seeing how it was done, standing on the shoulders of people like KRS-One and the late, great Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest, and seeing a lot of the elders I know dying from food-related illnesses. These are things that can be reversed if we have a wellness consciousness within hip-hop.

Jamie: What’s stuck out to you about being able to get the message out?
CaveM: Reintroducing ideas of holistic health through hip-hop, community engagement, creating events, these are important to me and should be important to others.

Jamie: What has been rewarding about being able to see that message spread?
CaveM: I just dropped a beat tape, Land of the Setting Sun. That’s my gift to Cuba and the Cuban people. I performed at the Cuban Jazz Festival earlier this year. I see the constant blackouts and food shortages and realize that, regardless, I’m here to give my art, show up, and bring other artists who also wanna show up. I think the greatest gift you can give is your skills when things are tough.

Jamie: Has that been seen by others as, like, “Why are you going in that direction?”
CaveM: Yeah, depending on where you were, this is “not gangsta enough,” or promoters would be worried you’re “telling people to drink juice in a club when they’re trying to get alcohol sales.” I really went from being a club DJ to an MC to a producer to focusing on education. Give me 3500 kids in a gym, it’s going down. Next thing you know, they’re in Home Ec trying to learn how to build a garden.

Jamie: I’m curious about DJ CaveM as a stage name. Where did that originate?
CaveM: Well, I went to Red Shield, appreciated the Golden Glove boxing concept, really tried to get my knuckles right. CaveM, you know, boom, was a knockout, but the acronym definitely represents communicating awareness, victoriously educating the masses. The idea of knockin’ ‘em in, knockin’ ‘em out, with that CaveM energy, that’s really the concept and inspiration, you dig?

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The post Spotlight: DJ CaveM appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

The Town of Erie Colorado is weighing whether to sell or lease a portion of its mineral rights tied to the state-approved Draco oil and gas project, a decision that has exposed divisions on council, raised questions about the town’s negotiating process, and highlighted uncertainty about how much authority Erie actually has.

At a special meeting on April 21, town staff emphasized that no final agreement has been reached and no vote has been scheduled. Council questioning made clear that key aspects of the proposal, including how it originated, how consultants were selected, and what the town actually owns,remain unresolved.

Erie Environmental Services Director David Frank

The Draco project, approved in March 2025 by the Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC), allows for up to 26 wells to be drilled from a site in unincorporated Weld County, extending horizontally beneath portions of Erie. Town officials reiterated that the project is expected to move forward regardless of local action. “I would fully expect, no matter what action the town takes, that 26 wells will be drilled,” Erie Environmental Services Director David Frank said.

Town of Erie Councilmember, Dan Hoback

Early in the meeting, Early in the meeting, Councilmember Dan Hoback began pressing staff on the fundamentals of the deal: when the town was first approached, how negotiations began, and why Alameda Minerals was selected without a competitive process. When asked about this piece of the process, Frank said, “I’m not aware of any other companies that do this exact work.”

 By the end of the meeting, those questions had evolved into a broader challenge to both the process and the assumptions underlying it.

“I have serious concerns about conflict of interest,” Hoback said. The consultant, Alameda Minerals, is led by a former oil and gas executive with ties to the industry involved in the project, a connection that drew scrutiny during the meeting. He also warned that the absence of a formal request-for-proposals process could expose the town to legal and audit risks.

More significantly, Hoback disagreed with the idea that Erie lacks leverage. While town staff and some council members emphasized the town’s relatively small percentage of mineral ownership, Hoback emphasized that without permission to drill through town-owned minerals, operators may not be able to reach large portions of the approved drilling area. “The inability to drill through Erie land without owning its mineral rights can be a major, major impediment to the ability of Draco to drill much of its planned area, currently approved or not,” Hoback said.

Town officials declined to provide additional documentation or answer detailed questions about the procurement process, citing the ongoing nature of negotiations.

Those competing interpretations of the town’s authority sit at the center of the debate. Erie’s leverage stems from Colorado SB24-185, which prevents operators from forcing municipalities into pooling agreements. But how that law will function in practice, and particularly whether operators can drill through or around municipal minerals, remains untested.

Public comment reflected both that uncertainty and a sharp divide over how the town should respond. Sixteen residents and stakeholders spoke at the meeting, with the majority opposing a sale or urging alternatives such as delaying action or retaining the town’s mineral rights. Five supported moving forward with a sale or lease, including three who identified themselves as representing business or industry interests, such as mineral rights owners and energy companies.

Former state senator and attorney, Mike Foote

Former state senator Mike Foote, who worked on oil and gas legislation for years, described the current moment as the result of a long effort to give local governments control over their mineral rights. He recalled earlier policies that allowed a single mineral owner to force others into leasing, calling it something he “couldn’t believe” when he first encountered it. 

The 2024 law, he said, was designed to change that dynamic. “This was a hard-fought provision,” Foote told council, urging them to “take advantage of it” and follow the will of the community. “There’s nothing in the law anymore that says that you have to say yes.” He warned that approving a deal would entangle the town with the oil and gas industry for decades. “This puts Erie in business with oil and gas for a long, long time,” he said. “I would urge you [… ] to say no.”

Other residents raised concerns about long-term environmental and infrastructure risks. Steve Hochgesang pointed to the lifespan of plugged wells and containment systems, warning that decisions made now could create long-term liabilities, particularly for groundwater and waste disposal.

In contrast, speakers aligned with mineral interests emphasized financial realities and potential legal consequences. Kole Kelley, an oil and gas attorney at Fennemore Law, argued that development is already approved and that refusing to participate would not stop drilling but would result in forgoing compensation. He warned that the town could face litigation if it interferes with mineral owners’ ability to realize value from their assets.

Those competing perspectives were reflected in the council’s closing statements.

Hoback remained the most openly critical, raising concerns about procurement, transparency, and conflicts of interest, while also emphasizing the town’s decision-making power in this moment. “Other companies cannot drill through our land to reach other people’s mineral rights. So I’ll be a bit of the voice of the wilderness and say, yeah, we can impact Draco, despite the narrative that’s been making its way through social media and tonight’s presentation. um The initial approval of the Draco pad was not a rollover and play dead moment.  In fact, we should be fighting harder than ever,” Hoback said.

Councilmember Anil Pesaramelli aligned more directly with residents opposing the deal. “I am for health and safety,” he said. “I urge everyone to stop this sale.”

Councilmember Brian O’Connor took a more cautious position, expressing frustration with the process and emphasizing the need for more information before any decision is made.

Town of Erie Councilmember, Emily Baer

Councilmember Emily Baer delivered one of the most detailed and forceful closing statements, drawing on years of work in oil and gas regulation. 

She pushed back on the idea that selling mineral rights would improve safety, noting that many of the cited protections are already required by the state regardless of any deal. “To imply there are safety regulations that will go unenforced unless Erie sells its minerals is misleading,” she said.

Baer also argued that the town retains meaningful authority under current law, including the ability to deny subsurface access. She framed the decision as a question of values and long-term governance. “My principles are not up for purchase,” she said, reiterating her opposition to selling the town’s mineral rights.

Councilmember John Mortellaro took a more logistical tone, emphasizing that the project has already been approved and suggesting the town should consider whether it can secure benefits from an outcome it cannot prevent.

Mayor Pro Tem Brandon Bell and Mayor Andrew J. Moore both framed the decision in similar terms, emphasizing inevitability and the potential to capture value. Moore rejected claims that the town could significantly alter the project, calling that idea “100% false,” and stressed the importance of protecting negotiations.

Bell drew a direct comparison to a past landfill decision, where the town chose to accept development in exchange for compensation rather than oppose it without leverage. “If you’re going to dump trash in my backyard, you’re going to pay me for it,” he said, describing the philosophy guiding his position. His remarks made clear that he views the mineral rights as a negotiating tool rather than a mechanism to stop drilling.

To some council members, the project is unavoidable and selling the mineral rights are a means of extracting value and oversight. Others view those same rights as one of the town’s only remaining tools to challenge or constrain development.

No vote has been scheduled, and officials said any agreement would be subject to a future public hearing. Until then, core questions remain unresolved, including the exact location and value of Erie’s mineral rights, whether the town followed standard procurement practices, and how much influence Erie ultimately has over a project already approved by the state.

For now, the debate in Erie is not just about oil and gas. It is about whether a town that fought for the authority to say no will use it.

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The post Erie mineral rights hearing divides council over control, transparency and who decides appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Amanda Pascali is a singer-songwriter, bilingual translator, and music scholar based in Austin, Texas. Her mixed-race heritage builds the backbone of her musical storytelling. She will perform for the first time in Colorado at Savoy Denver on May 7th, Cottonwood Cottage in Greeley on May 8th, and Chautauqua Community House in Boulder on May 9th.

Photos Courtesy of Jayme Stone

Jamie Lammers: How did you get started in music? How have things built to where you are now?
Amanda Pascali: I grew up around a lot of music, but no one in my family played music. As the daughter of immigrants from two different continents, I felt like there was never really a box where I could fit, so I picked up a guitar and said, “I’m going to create that space for myself.” Now, fast forward, over a decade later, I’m traveling the world, playing these songs, and encouraging anybody who’s ever felt out of place to join me in the space that I’ve created, where we can all be who we are without apologies.

Jamie: In addition to performing, you’re a song translator and scholar? What’s that been like?
Amanda: My Fulbright research was to pioneer the first comprehensive project to translate and revitalize the songs of Rosa Balistreri. She was one of the first Italian women to publicly denounce social inequality through music. My project was the first to ever say, “How about I take these songs, and I translate them, switching back and forth between Sicilian and English, as a way to share these songs with the rest of the world?”

Jamie: You’re also an artist-in-residence at the Library of Congress?
Amanda: I am set to embark on a research trip where I go to the Library of Congress, to the American Folklife Center, and look through the archives of Alan Lomax, work songs, and folk songs from the United States, Italy, and other countries as a way to inspire a new body of work for myself. It’s a great honor, and I’m really excited to look through those archival materials.

Jamie: As a bilingual translator and songwriter, what is your hope in terms of these songs?
Amanda: My native language is English, but I also speak Italian as a second language and have been learning Sicilian through songs and poetry. English is the most widely spoken language in the world, so that’s the working language I use as a bridging tool to disseminate what I think are songs that speak to the most pressing issues of our time, but are written in different languages.

Jamie: What is your hope in sharing this music and this work?
Amanda: Something that always strikes me is people coming up to me afterwards and telling me how much of an impact the songs have made on them, or that I’ve allowed them to access something that was previously unreachable for them. I think music is a perfect tool for bridging people of different backgrounds. What I really wanna do is facilitate a conversation, because there’s always so much to be learned.

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The post Spotlight: Amanda Pascali appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

(Community Corner is provided as local contributions from experts in their field as well as local residents.)

DATE: April 14, 2026

CONTACT: Joshua Maynard, DirectColorado@gmail.com, 720-306-1360

The Time is Right for Boulder County Home Rule

Boulder, CO: A citizens’ petition for Boulder County Home Rule” is being circulated by leaders of two local non-profits, Best Democracy and Direct Colorado. For Boulder County, home rule is a big step towards a better Boulder County government.

Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann, speaking at a Best Democracy public meeting held in January at the Longmont Library, noted that the purpose of county home rule is to provide more flexibility over elections and management of county affairs than Colorado counties currently have under State statute” (CRS Section 30-11-101-605). A Boulder County home rule charter will enable Boulder County to meet the challenges of 21st-century democratic governance and provide the framework for systematic changes in democratic governance that enhance functionality, transparency, accountability, citizen access to government, and diversity.

It’s up to our generation to make Boulder County’s government more responsive to and representative of the people of the County. We can do a better job designing a government that includes everyone than they did back in 1861,” stated Jesse Kumin, founder of Best Democracy and one of the two petition sponsors.

The timing of the Boulder County Home Rule grassroots effort is compatible with the Big Tent BoCO” citizens push to increase the number of Boulder County Commissioners from three to five. If the County votes to increase the size of the Commission, a reworking of County management responsibilities and election districts would be required.

A home rule charter includes the election of a special Charter Commission to draft modifications to the County’s statutory charter. The resulting Charter is then placed on the ballot for voters’ approval. The goal of these County charter revisions is to go beyond the State’s minimum requirements: it enables adding flexibility to the county’s authority and election supervision, increasing government transparency and accountability, protecting human and environmental rights, and increasing community engagement and oversight.

Expanded petition rights for citizens are a major benefit of home rule, especially for people living in unincorporated neighborhoods throughout the county. Petitioning is severely restricted at the county level by the state’s boilerplate statutory county charters. Only residents in municipalities have full petition rights – unless their county is home rule.

Going beyond mere representation, petitions add a vehicle for direct democracy, which is important because public sentiment does not always agree with the people in charge. The public can push for changes that are popular and necessary,” stated Josh Maynard, petition co-sponsor and founder of Direct Democracy Colorado and Direct Colorado.

A second major benefit to Boulder County Home Rule is the ability to keep professional talent through direct hire by the County. It creates the option to turn elected positions for Coroner, Treasurer, and Sheriff into professional staff positions. This allows for the retention of good talent and eliminates the need for multiple special elections to extend term limits of qualified and respected staff (as is the case with Boulder’s long-time Sheriff Pelle).

Thirdly, the Boulder County home rule petition sponsors agree, in part, with all three current Commissioners, who publicly disagree over the merits of the Big Tent BoCo’s three to five” petition.

Support for increasing the number of Boulder County Commissioners from three to five is sensible. Since 1861, when the Territorial County charter was established with three elected Commissioners, Boulder’s population and the responsibilities of the County Commission, who oversee a $700+ million budget, have grown.

It is difficult to find times to meet with constituent groups around the County that don’t conflict with the timing of official business meetings of the Board of Commissioners. Voter approval for a five-member Boulder County Commission will mean that more than two Commissioners will be required to make a quorum,” stated Commissioner Stolzmann.

The current quorum requirement for Commissioner meetings pits meeting with constituents against conducting public business, and in recent months led to back-and-forth decision-making. In this case, more elected representatives are one action step towards better representation.

Criticisms of the limitations of going from three to five commissioners, previously voiced by current County Commissioners Levy and Loachamin in a joint statement, have merit.

“Increasing accountability and transparency in government does not come from increasing the size of government; it comes from making systemic changes to elections and governance, which we support,” some former and present Commissioners argued in The Boulder Reporting Lab on February 15, 2026.

True.

Home rule for Boulder County answers that criticism. When placed on the November ballot after garnering 13,000 signatures, Boulder County Home Rule will offer voters a more comprehensive approach to reform than the three-to-five petition drive. It addresses a broader array of issues and can solve additional problems with our county-level government by enabling major reform.

Additionally, problems with the state-mandated county commission election process are real. Achieving diversity of opinion and diverse representation of constituent groups requires a shift to proportional representation for county elections. Current Colorado law leaves county governments stuck with two bad options for county elections.

One bad option is the current voting method, at-large plurality voting. This method has the advantage of unifying county identity; however, it locks out large minority blocks of voters from representation and shifts power away from any minority (racial, political, religious, ideological, and so on). Used extensively in the Jim Crow South, at-large plurality voting has been found to violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (see “Charleston County v. United States” (2004) and “Dillard v. Crenshaw County” (1987).

The other poor option is voting for a single County Commissioner per district. When a single person wins the county district seat, it is a case of “Winner Take All.” While district-based voting enhances the ratio of representatives to voters, it has the disadvantages of promoting provincialism or hyper-localism and fostering “One Party Dominant” counties, in which votes for other than the majority viewpoint are wasted, and third point of view candidates are considered election “spoilers.”

Another major flaw of this single-member district option is the inability to draw district boundaries that represent small but significant pockets of the population, such as rural voters. Political tugs-of-war over boundaries can result in gerrymandered districts or swing districts that are disproportionately attractive to dark money political donors.

There are far better voting methods available to Coloradans that accurately represent voters. Recent statewide election reform, Colorado’s Voter Choice Act (CRS 1-7-1001-1004) fixes the election method biases: it allows cities and towns” to conduct elections by proportional representation using two rank choice voting methods, instant run-off for election of a single candidate to office (i.e. a mayor) and single transferable vote for election of multiple candidates to office (i.e., city council members). Counties were excluded.

The original language of State Reps Bob Marshall and Jennifer Bacon’s bill, HB26-1203, proposed extending the right to elect officials using state-approved voting methods of proportional representation to Colorado’s counties. It has been watered down extensively in the House State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs committee to the point where it is hardly worth passage unless fully restored to its original intent.

Meanwhile, a Boulder County home rule charter should include enabling legislation for the election of multiple County Commissioners through rank choice voting – single transferable vote. This would bring a diversity of voices to the County’s Board of Commissioners when the State decides to lift restrictions on voting methods that still apply to counties. Proponents of representative elections are encouraged to lobby their legislators to restore the original language of HB26-1203 to enable accurate representation in Colorado’s county governments.

To learn more about the effort behind Boulder County Home Rule and the possibilities it creates for a better Boulder, members of the public are invited to attend a Best Democracy monthly meeting, held at the Boulder Public Library* at the following dates, times, and locations:

• Saturday, 4/25/26 at 3:00 PM. Main Branch, 1001 Arapahoe Avenue, Arapaho Room
• Thursday, 5/14/26 at 5:30 PM. Meadows Branch, 4800 Baseline Road, Unit C112, Meeting Room.
• Saturday, 5/23/26 at 1:00 PM. Main Branch, Arapaho Room
• Saturday, 6/13/26 at 1:00 PM. Main Branch, Arapaho Room

Members of the public who are registered to vote in Boulder County are urged to sign the ballot petition being circulated by volunteers. Let the people decide by putting the question of whether to form a Boulder County Home Rule Charter Commission on the November ballot.

* Note: This event series is not sponsored or endorsed by Boulder Public Library District.

For more information, please contact Liz@BestDemocracy.org.

###

The post Community Corner: The Time Is Right For Boulder County Home Rule appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

This letter was sent to Yellow Scene Magazine. As with all Letters to the Editor, the views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the publication. We value providing space for community voices.

The folks trying to stop the City from shutting down the South Boulder Rec Center have attended the last four or so Council meetings in force. Their petition has almost 3,800 signatures.

It’s rare that so many people are paying attention to a local issue, so I took advantage of the moment to help them understand what is going on at City Hall. This was my Open Comment to Council—but mostly to the audience:

It’s amazing that this Council, famous for planning growth for eventually 50,000 new residents, would be reducing rec centers from three to two and Iris Avenue from four lanes to three, etc. Any 10-year-old knows that more people require more rec centers and more transportation. How did things get so whack?

A big reason was that the city manager, city attorney, city clerk, and city IT director were “replaced” some five years ago after all but the clerk lied to Council and the public to obstruct the online petitioning system for ballot initiatives we have, only in Boulder, at petitions.bouldercolorado.gov. If it worked correctly, an initiative to preserve the Rec Center would be easy to get on the ballot. I was on the city’s Campaign Finance and Elections Working Group that got online petitioning on the 2018 ballot, which passed with 71%.

The system is almost unusable. Top politicians in the state had the details butchered. I documented top staff lying and cheating with video and audio, so they had to be replaced. See and hear it at tinyurl.com/petitionstory.

The incompetence due to the replacements is why public relations staff grew from 12 in 2018 to 30-something now. [According to Jan Burton, former council member.]

Confirm this with other members of the city working group, like long-time council members Steve Pomerance and Allyn Feinberg, Planning Board member Mark McIntyre, and attorney Ed Byrne. People should have the power.

Photo by Nathan Nowack, Nathan Nowack Photography LLC

Several Council members, after Open Comments, tried to tell us we can’t criticize city staff at meetings. This was my email to them in response:

Ryan Schuchard: You made it clear to me in person that you were talking about me, not the multitudes tonight who implicitly criticized current staff who consistently misrepresent what the people want in order to force on us what staff—and apparently you—want. You said, “This is not a place to be criticizing individuals, former or current.” We are addressing you, their employers. We are not going to help you hush up these problems by talking with you privately. This is public business.

City Atty Tate: Please cite any law that stops me! You know that truth is an absolute defense against defamation charges. The documents and recordings of the past staff I called out tonight tell the truth and are an absolute defense against City lawfare. Remember, you have your job because I documented in that file the lying and cheating of your predecessor, Tom Carr, and therefore, he was a liability and was “moved on.”

Attorney Matt Simonsen (left) presents Yellow Scene’s argument to Court of Appeals judges (left to right) Stephanie Dunn, Gilbert Román, and Craig Welling. (Credit: John Eisele, Colorado State University)

The City is losing its lawfare cases, including against Yellow Scene Magazine [which sued for the bodycam video of the police killing of Jeanette Allatore and got it without having to pay thousands] and Save CU South [the city sued them for legal expenses in their appealed attempt to stop the city from paying at least $66 million to raise the CU South property out of the floodplain to maximize building space, etc.]. Your vengeful suit against council candidate Aaron Stone for $375 is obviously a waste of far more of our money.

All: If you’re thinking of having the police evict me for telling the truth about past or present staff, let me remind you that the only time there has ever been violence in City Hall in my 48 years here was in 2010, when the mayor had police arrest Seth Brigham, who stripped down to his boxers to call attention to then-councilman George Karakehian leaving out of his financial disclosure that he was partners with Steve Tebo. David Lane took his case, and the city settled by giving Seth $10,000.

Here’s the best context article I could find:

Is City Council above the law?

If you’re “thinking” of passing a law to prevent us from criticizing you and/or your staff, think again. I’ve already started talking to the ACLU about all the limits you’ve put on open comments, by far the most restrictive limits of all large Colorado cities. And David Lane has represented me before.

As you can see from the text of my comment above, I never said the current staff was incompetent. Your defensiveness does say it, though! My sentence in question is: “The incompetence due to the replacements is why public relations staff grew from 12 in 2018 to 30-something now.” It’s unclear how much incompetence is from the ~2020 regime change, how much from current staff, how much from Council, and how much from the money and power people you mostly serve.

I suggest you stop your threatening behavior and get your shit together. Start by instructing staff to be honest—and consider representing those of us who pay your salaries. Three people stopped me on my way home this evening to thank me for explaining why so much coming from your organization is whack, one of them talking with me at length. Imitating Trump’s bullying will backfire on you, too, much faster.

You can contact the Council at:

https://bouldercolorado.gov/contact-city-council-and-staff

You can register to speak in person or virtually at:

https://bouldercolorado.gov/services/participate-city-council-meetings

“Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Evan

The post Letter to the Editor: Open Comments Respond to South Boulder Rec Center Shutdown appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

On April 6, Weld County Commissioners approved a county code that will define data centers and where they can be developed. The ordinance (2026?01) updates Chapter 23 of Weld County Code by adding language about data centers, and guidelines on where they can be built. While not specific to one data center project, it adds parameters to what future projects can look like. 

The ordinance applies to the entire unincorporated Weld County, and is not specific to one particular site. 

The new code clarifies data centers as, “A building or buildings used to house information technology or telecommunications equipment with which digital information is processed, transferred, and/or stored, with no limitation on peak electrical load.” 

This definition was amended following discussions and public comment during the April 6 Board of Commissioners meeting. 

The code adds that data centers can “include associated ancillary structures, including but not limited to offices, security buildings, cooling water tanks, and backup power systems with a total generation of less than fifty megawatts.”

Commissioners clarified during the board meeting that the 50 watt limitation is just for backup power, and does not limit the total power of the project. 

Several Weld County residents spoke during the public comment to share concerns about the possible impacts of AI data centers. Concerns they pointed out were possible noise pollution, water usage, and electric consumption. Several spoke out and asked the board to pause their decision. 

“Put on the brakes a little bit,” one resident said. 

A Loveland resident highlighted the current drought in Colorado,  as a reason to delay moving forward with the new Code Ordinance. 

“We understand well how precious water is in the world, but especially here in Colorado for our farms and ranchers,” she shared.

Another resident was more blunt in their reservations , “We don’t have the water for these things.”

Weld County Board of Commissioners discuss Code Ordinance 2026-01 with the Department of Planning Services.

A.I. data centers across the country consumed around 17 billion gallons of water in 2023, according to the Association for Cleaning and Facility Solutions. Data centers are projected to be using approximately 68 billion gallons of water by 2028. Globally, they are expected to consume anywhere from 4.2 to 6.6 billion cubic meters of water in 2027, according to a 2023 study published by Cornell University.

David Eisenbraun, the director of Weld County’s Department of Planning and Development Services, told Yellow Scene Magazine that Colorado is familiar with water scarcity as a semi-arid state. Future developments could utilize dry cooling or closed loop systems, which rely on less water than some of the systems currently being used by data centers. 

“However, we did not choose to mandate or specify a particular type of technology because in the data center world, technology is changing so rapidly, that was something we advised them [the board of commissioners] to not try and dictate,” Eisenbraun said.

As of April 7, over 40% of Weld County was in a severe drought, and around 38% was in an extreme drought. Just under 20% of the county was in a moderate drought. 

Despite the worry some people shared, other residents were in support of the ordinance. One Weld County citizen felt it would “level the playing field,” while another stated the county needs to “keep moving forward.” 

Code Ordinance 2026-01 was approved with a 4-1 vote, following around 3 hours of public comment from more than 25 residents. April 6 was the third reading of the ordinance, and each one included public comment. 

Scott James was the “no” vote. 

The Board of Commissioners first read the code in January. Since that time, board members have investigated data centers already in Colorado, and other parts of the country. They identified what worked well and what didn’t, according to the board members. 

In addition to defining data centers, this ordinance also lays out where they can be built. With approval from a Use by Special Review (USR), they can be built in the I-1 (Light Industrial) zone. Centers can also be built in other Industrial Zone districts after being approved by an administrative Site Plan Review. The Use by Special Reviews are required to hold a public hearing in front of the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners. 

The approved code ordinance also prohibits data centers being built on agricultural land, requires  “Will Serve” letters for electricity, and implements dBA noise regulations. 

Weld County is not the only place in Colorado where residents are vocal about opposing data center developments. 

Tensions are on the rise in Colorado Springs due to a proposed data center near the Garden of the Gods, KOAA News5 reported. The crowd at a recent public forum was large enough to warrant two meetings, with a third one to be scheduled in the future. The debate got heated at times, according to KOAA, as several in attendance were clear about their opposition to the project. 

There are currently more than 50 data centers across 5 markets in Colorado, according to Data Center Map. The markets are Loveland, Walsenberg, Fort Collins, Denver, and Colorado Springs. Denver is the largest market, with 46 total data centers. 

In February, Denver City Council announced that they would file a moratorium on new data centers. It will last for several months, if approved, but will not stop current projects. The pause will allow city officials to go over guardrails and review regulations regarding new data center developments in the city, according to Mayor Mike Johnston. Projects that were already permitted or are already underway might be expected to follow any new regulations. 

Eisenbraun told Yellow Scene that the Department of Planning Services is not concerned about the environmental impacts of developing data centers in Weld County.

“We have good state agencies who can regulate the air quality permitting side,” Eisenbraun said. “We have a great county environmental health department who’s very good at managing wastewater, septic permits, things like that.”

Eisenbraun hopes that in the future, residents can see the potential benefits of data centers in Weld County.

“With these data centers being large property tax producers and then low infrastructure impacts, minimal impact on roads and traffic and things like that, I do think people are going to see the benefit of these when they’re done in the correct zone districts and properly mitigated,” he said.

A handful of data center projects have expressed interest in Weld County as a development site, according to Eisenbraun. However, no plans have been approved yet. 

In today’s corporate world, finding true, honest journalism is getting harder, and that includes local news, too. From corporate takeovers to the nonprofit industry, finding reporters willing to ask the hard questions seems like a thing of the past.

Which is why Yellow Scene remains fiercely independent and never, ever accepts quid pro quo. We are only beholden to our readers, not funders.

The truth is, we really cannot do this without you. If you value our journalism, become a sustaining supporter for $8 a month. Your support keeps honest reporting alive and gets the hard copy delivered to your home.

The post Weld County Adds Data Centers to County Code During Drought appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

We’re online! Check out the most exhaustive education directory in Colorado: schools, extracurriculars, and plenty of resources!

Schools

Art Schools

East Side Art Institute

(720) 829-7225, Erie

PO Box 44, Erie, CO

info@eastsideartinstitute.org

eastsideartinstitute.org

Charles Burrell Arts Campus

K-8: 303-340-0770, 875 Peoria St., Aurora

HS: 303-340-1600, 11700 E. 11th Ave., Aurora

burrellarts.aurorak12.org

Parlando School for the Arts

Located in the Dairy Arts Center

303-442-0006, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder

parlando.org

Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design

303-753-6046, 1600 Pierce St., Denver

800-888-ARTS

rmcad.edu

Tara Performing Arts High School

303-440-4510, 4180 19th St., Boulder

enrollment@tarahighschool.org

office@tarahighschool.org 

tarahighschool.org

Charter Schools

The Academy School

Main Campus: 303-289-8088, 11800 Lowell Blvd., Westminster

North Campus: 303-289-8088, 12161 Park Centre Drive, Westminster

theacademyk12.org

Aspen Ridge Preparatory School

720-242-6225, 705 Austin Ave., Erie

aspenridgeprepschool.org

Boulder Preparatory High School

303-545-6186, 5075 Chaparral Court, #1, Boulder

info@boulderprep.org

boulderprep.org

Jefferson Academy https://www.jajags.com/ 

Elementary School: 303-438-1011, 9955 Yarrow St., Broomfield

https://elementary.jajags.com/ 

Secondary School: 720-887-1992, 11251 Reed Way, Broomfield

https://secondary.jajags.com/ 

Justice High School

720-328-4864, 805 Excalibur St., Lafayette

justicehigh.org

Peak to Peak Charter School

303-453-4600, 800 Merlin Drive, Lafayette

p2p.office@bvsd.org 

peaktopeak.org

Pinnacle Charter School

K-8: 303-450-3985, 1001 W. 84th Ave., Federal Heights

High School: 303-412-2940, 8412 Huron St., Thornton

pinnaclecharterschool.org

Prospect Ridge Academy

K-8: 720-399-0300, 2555 Preble Creek Parkway, Broomfield

High School: 720-723-2100, 2555 Preble Creek Parkway, Broomfield

info@prospectridgeacademy.org 

prospectridgeacademy.org

Ricardo Flores Magón Academy

303-412-7610 (for attendance line press 2), 5330 Meade St., Denver

magonacademy.org

Stargate Charter School

303-450-3936, 14530 Washington St., Thornton

stargateschool.org

The Summit Academy

303-438-6985, 7575 W. 103rd Ave., Westminster

questions@thesummitacademy.org 

thesummitacademy.org

Twin Peaks Classical Academy

303-772-7286, 340 S. Sunset St., Longmont

info@twinpeaksclassical.org 

twinpeaksclassical.org

Two Roads Charter School

Arvada Campus: 303-423-3377, 6980 Pierce St., Arvada

Littleton Campus: 720-425-6163, WaterStone Community Church, 5890 S. Alkire St., Littleton

tworoads.jeffcopublicschools.org

Colleges, Universities, and Trade Schools

Aims Community College

Greeley Campus: 970-330-8008, 5401 W. 20th St., Greeley

Fort Lupton Campus: 303-857-4022, 260 College Ave., Fort Lupton

Loveland Campus: 970-667-4611, 104 E. Fourth St., Loveland

Windsor Campus: 970-339-6610, 1120 & 1130 Southgate Drive, Windsor

aims.edu

American Real Estate College

303-422-2220, 4704 N. Harlan St., #520, Denver

americanrealestatecollege.com

 Ann Rose School of Nursing Arts, Inc.

303-650-2994, 7280 Irving St., Ste B-205, Westminster

annroseschoolofnursingarts.com

Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts

877-249-0305, 637 S. Broadway St., Suite H, Boulder

escoffier.edu

Colorado Christian University

303-963-3000, 8787 W. Alameda Ave., Lakewood

ccu.edu

Colorado Mesa University

970-248-1020, 1100 N. Ave., Grand Junction

coloradomesa.edu

Colorado Mountain College

970-945-8691, 802 Grand Ave., Glenwood Springs

coloradomtn.edu

Colorado School of Mines

303-273-3000, 1500 Illinois St., Golden

mines.edu

Colorado State University

Fort Collins Campus: 970-491-6444, 2545 Research Blvd., Fort Collins

Pueblo Campus: 719-549-2100, 2200 Bonforte Blvd., Pueblo

Denver ‘Spur’ Campus: 970-297-4321, 4777 National Western Dr., Denver

colostate.edu

Colorado Technical University

Colorado Springs Campus: 855-230-0555, 1575 Garden of the Gods Rd Suite 100, Colorado Springs

Denver South Campus: 303-632-2300, 3151 S. Vaughn Way, Aurora

coloradotech.edu

Elevate Salon Institute Westminster

720-243-2962, 6775 W. 88th Ave., Westminster

esiwestminster.com

Front Range Community College

Boulder County Campus: 303-678-3722, 2190 Miller Drive, Longmont

Larimer Campus: 970-226-2500, 4616 S. Shields St., Fort Collins

Westminster Campus: 303-404-5000, 3645 W. 112th Ave., Westminster

frontrange.edu

Metro State University

303-556-5740, 890 Auraria Parkway, #310, Denver

msudenver.edu

Naropa University

800-772-6951, 2130 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder

naropa.edu

Red Rocks Community College

Arvada Campus: 303-914-6010, 10280 W. 55th Ave., Arvada

Lakewood Campus: 303-914-6600, 13300 W. 6th Ave., Lakewood

rrcc.edu

Regis University

800-388-2366, 3333 Regis Blvd., Denver

regis.edu

University of Colorado

Boulder Campus: 303-492-6301, 65 UCB, Boulder

CU Anschutz Medical Campus: 303-724-5000, 13001 E. 17th Place, Aurora

Colorado Springs Campus: 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs

Denver Campus: 303-315-5969, 1201 Larimer St., Denver

colorado.edu

Continuing Education CU

303-492-5148, 1505 University Ave., 178 UCB, Boulder

ce.colorado.edu

University of Denver

303-871-2036, 2199 S. University Blvd., Denver

du.edu

University of Northern Colorado

970-351-1890, 501 20th St., Greeley

unco.edu

Daycare/Preschools

Acorn School for Early Childhood Development

303-938-8233, 2845 Wilderness Place, Boulder

theacornschool.org

Active Boulder Kids Preschool Louisville

303-665-9669, 1970 Centennial Drive, Louisville

activelouisvillekids.com

Alaya Preschool

303-449-5248, 3340 19th St., Boulder

alayapreschool.org

Apple Tree Christian Preschool and Kindergarten

303-466-1719, 545 W. 10th Ave., Broomfield

appletreebroomfield.org

Babysitters Of Boulder | The Boulder Nanny Agency

(303) 749-1168

https://babysittersofboulder.com/

Bal Swan Children’s Center

303-466-6308, 1145 E. 13th Ave., Broomfield

balswan.org

Boulder Day Nursery

303-442-7605, 1518 Spruce St., Boulder

bdnschool.org

Bright Horizons

East Longmont: 303-834-3665, 919 Deerwood Drive, Longmont (closed)

Westminster: 303-213-9615, 11305 Decatur St., Westminster

Denver: 720-590-4498, 1050 17th St., Suite 201-B, Denver

Denver: 720-590-4497, 999 18th Street North Terrace, Ste 350, Denver, CO (closed)

Loveland: 970-461-9802, 2420 W. 8th St., Loveland

Lakewood: 720-258-4210, Denver Federal Center, Building 64, Denver

Broomfield: 720-274-7992, 575 Eldorado Blvd., Broomfield

Broomfield:  303-604-6545, 2655 W Midway Blvd., Broomfield (not listed)

East Fort Collins: 970-484-4700, 2815 Iowa Drive, Fort Collins

West Fort Collins: 970-229-0300, 3513 Richmond Drive, Fort Collins

Greenwood Village: 720-274-8134, 6560 S. Greenwood Plaza Blvd. Suite 20, Greenwood Village

Englewood: 720-274-8086, 5889 S. Greenwood Plaza Blvd. Suite 100, Plaza W., Englewood

Golden:+1 720-647-6417, 1900 Tangent Way, Golden, CO

brighthorizons.com

The Nest Schools

Broomfield: 720-893-5681, 900 E. First Ave., Broomfield

Centennial: 720-223-0235, 9064 E. Mineral Circle, Centennial

Centennial: 720-702-8676, 5637 S Himalaya St., Centennial

Columbine: 303-647-4215, 6768 W. Ottawa Ave., Littleton

Ken Caryl: 720-893-5680, 12633 W. Indore Place, Littleton

thenestschool.com

Children’s Garden Learning Center

303-466-8801, 7085 W. 119th Place, Broomfield

childrensgardenlc.com

Children’s House Preschool

303-444-6432, 3370 Iris Walk Court, Boulder

childrenshousepreschool.org

A Child’s Touch

303-286-8460, 9141 Poze Blvd., Thornton

achildstouch.com

Cornerstone Preschool

303-776-3290, 1000 15th Ave., Longmont

bethlehem-lutheran.net/faith-formation/cornerstone-preschool.html

Cottage School

303-546-6814, 1301 North St., Boulder

cottageschoolsco.com

Cradle to Crayons Learning Center

303-216-1910, 1921 Youngfield St., Golden

goldenchildcare.com

Dream Makers Preschool

720-274-0101, 1345 28th St., Boulder

dreammakerspreschool.com

Exploring Minds Academy for Learning

303-828-3452, 4051 NE County Line Rd., Erie

exploringmindsacademy.com

The Family Learning Center

303-442-8979, 3164 34th St., Boulder

flcboulder.org

Goddard School

Arvada: 303-423-1869, 14679 W. 87th Parkway, Arvada

Arvada (Ward Road): 720-779-3222, 12720 W. 54th Drive, Arvada

Aurora: 303-693-1700, 21805 E. Quincy Ave., Aurora

Aurora (South): 303-693-3100, 23905 E. Arapahoe Rd., Aurora

Castle Rock: 303-660-9992, 4340 Woodlands Blvd., Castle Rock

Centennial: 303-738-5922, 6477 S. Lima St., Centennial

Colorado Springs: 719-495-4432, 8560 Scarborough Drive, Colorado Springs

Denver: 303-722-2336, 1400 S. Emerson St., Denver

Denver (City Park West): 303-355-0982, 1733 Vine St., Denver

Denver (Highlands): 303-800-0225, 3914 King St., Denver

Denver (Park Hill): 720-543-9797, 1501 N. Locust St., Denver

Erie: 303-828-5202, 3000 Village Vista Drive, Erie

Fort Collins: 970-482-1003, 6427 Carmichael St., Fort Collins

Highlands Ranch: 303-470-9899, 1101 Sgt. Jon Stiles Drive, Highlands Ranch

Lakewood: 303-237-4558, 12850 W. Alameda Parkway, Lakewood

Littleton: 303-932-7499, 8010 Shaffer Parkway, Littleton

Littleton (South Broadway): 720-779-0085, 6975 S Broadway, Littleton 

Longmont: 303-772-3501, 1095 Olympia Ave., Longmont

Louisville: 720-739-1938, 380 Centennial Parkway, Louisville

Meridian: 303-708-1838, 12700 Lynnfield Drive, Englewood

Northfield: 720-943-0672, 4901 N. Wabash St., Denver

Orchard Park Place: 303-469-4998, 14325 Orchard Parkway, Westminster

Parker: 303-805-1700, 11450 S. Pine Drive, Parker

Reunion: 303-222-0994, 15320 E. 103rd Pl., Commerce City

Thornton: 303-254-4144, 4203 E. 136th Ave., Thornton

Westminster: 303-635-1790, 4147 Main St., Westminster

goddardschool.com

Growing Minds Learning Center

303-530-1820, 6525 Gunpark Drive, Boulder

growingmindsco.com

Here We Grow

720-600-5927, 630 15th Ave., Suite #105, Longmont

hwgchildcare.com

Jeanne’s Sunshine Preschool

720-339-3198, 11307 Billings Ave., Lafayette

jeannessunshinepreschool.weebly.com

Jefferson Street Preschool

303-666-6080, 733 Jefferson Ave., Louisville

jeffersonstreetpreschool.com

Kiddie Academy

Aurora: 303-529-1605, 21950 E. Quincy Ave., Aurora

Columbine: 720-826-8268, 6650 W. Ken Caryl Ave., Littleton

Erie: 303-828-1030, 641 Mitchell Way, Erie

Denver: 720-702-0222, 7100 E. 1st Ave., Denver

Lone Tree: 720-805-3500, 10344 Park Meadows Drive, Lone Tree

Windsor: 970-800-8802, 4701 Oakmont St, Windsor, CO 80528

kiddieacademy.com

Kindercare

Arvada West: 303-422-9232, 6255 Simms St., Arvada

Arvada West Woods: 303-432-9445, 14449 W 63rd Pl., Arvada

Boulder: 303-443-5595, 3050 34th St., Boulder

Broomfield: 303-439-9110, 1045 Opal St., Broomfield

Castle Rock: 303-663-3536, 3760 Dacoro Ln., Castle Rock

Centennial: 833-905-3276, 18585 E Smoky Hill Rd., Centennial

Colorado Sphrings: 719-531-6508, 3325 Vickers Drive, Colorado Springs

Colorado Spings: 719-538-4614, 885 Cheyenne Meadows Rd., Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs: 719-434-1270, 9410 Grand Cordera Pkwy., Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs: 719-473-2620, 1204 Mesa Rd., Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs: 719-481-2121, 1004 Middle Creek Pkwy., Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs: 719-535-2878, 7035 Lexington Drive, Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs: 719-536-0370, 6610 Flying W Ranch Rd., Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs: 719-536-0370, 6610 Flying W Ranch Rd., Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs: 719-622-1411, 5797 Jackpot Drive, Colorado Springs

Denver: 303-757-8561, 2200 S Holly St., Denver

Fort Collins: 970-377-0407, 4703 Mcmurry Ave., Fort Collins

Golden: 303-279-0814, 18601 Eagle Ridge Drive, Golden

Golden: 303-279-9171, 107 N. Rubey Drive, Golden

Highlands Ranch: 720-344-0330, 9290 S Ridgeline Blvd., Highlands Ranch

Lakewood; 303-985-8256, 975 S Kipling Pkwy., Lakewood

Lakewood: 303-716-9115, 13990 W Bates Ave., Lakewood

Littleton: 303-972-9275, 9501 W Coal Mine Ave., Littleton

Lone Tree: 303-799-4650, 8100 Park Meadows Dr., Lone Tree

Longmont: 303-651-1008, 851 Crisman Drive., Longmont

Louisville: 303-666-9999, 107 McCaslin Blvd., Louisville

Parker: 303-841-7300, 16975 Village Center Drive E, Parker

Thornton: 303-451-5210, 4200 E 128th Ave., Thornton

Wellington: 307-365-1329, 8515 4th St., Wellington

Westminster: 303-469-8503, 7395 Church Ranch Blvd., Westminster

Windsor: 970-223-0056, 4755 Royal Vista Cir., Windsor

kindercare.com

La Petite Academy

888-251-5816

Aurora: 17001 E Iliff Ave., Aurora

Aurora: 17391 E Wagontrail Pkwy., Aurora

Aurora: 4290 S Richfield St., Aurora

Broomfield: 13009 Westlake Dr., Broomfield

Castle Rock: 2541 Prairie Ln., Castle Rock

Colorado Springs: 3615 Rio Vista Dr., Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs: 2760 Purgatory Dr., Colorado Springs

Greenwood Village: 4620 S Yosemite St., Greenwood Village

Lakewood: 348 S Owens St., Lakewood

Littleton: 11550 W Burgundy Ave., Littleton

Littleton: 9994 W Geddes Ave., Littleton

Louisville: 380 McCaslin Blvd., Louisville

Parker: 11105 S Pikes Peak Dr., Parker

Thorton: 3900 E 124th Ave., Thornton

Westminster: 11180 Eaton St., Westminster

lapetite.com

Larks Preschool

303-778-9988, 730 S Logan St., Denver

larkspreschool.com

Little People’s Landing Learning Center

Arvada: 303-422-9157, 7885 Allison Way, Arvada

Fort Collins: 970-266-1230, 4525 Boardwalk, Building T, Fort Collins

Highlands Ranch: 720-344-1804, 122 Plaza Drive, Highlands Ranch

Littleton: 303-973-1926, 8305 S. Wadsworth Blvd., Littleton

Louisville: 303-604-4440, 215 Century Circle, Louisville

Loveland: 970-225-2936, 6606 Avondale Road, Fort Collins

Parker: 303-841-4313, 16808 Village Center Drive, Parker

Roxborough: 303-794-6858, 10127 Waterton Road, Roxborough

littlepeopleslanding.com

Little Sunshine’s Playhouse and Preschool

Arvada: 720-634-5102, 14650 W. 90th Place, Arvada

Broomfield: 303-457-1477, 3555 W. 144th Ave., Broomfield

Colorado Springs: 719-576-9789, 1245 Tenderfoot Hill Road, Colorado Springs

Littleton: 303-973-8589, 4780 W. Mineral Ave., Littleton

Parker: 303-226-4201, 17033 Cedar Gulch Parkway, Parker

littlesunshine.com

Louisville Montessori School Inc.

303-665-2002, 461 Tyler Ave., Louisville

louisvillemontessorischool.net

Mapleton Early Childhood Center

720-561-6200, 840 Mapleton Ave., Boulder

mpe.bvsd.org

McGregor’s Garden Preschool

303-499-9341, 3535 Eastman Ave., Boulder

Meadowlark Preschool

303-499-2646, 2650 Table Mesa Drive., Boulder

preschoolboulder.com

Mt. Hope Lutheran Preschool

303-499-9800, 1345 S. Broadway St., Boulder

mthopeboulder.org/index.html

My Second Home

Oldtown Louisville: 303-664-1098, 300 W. Baseline Road, Lafayette

Waneka Lake Louisville: 303-665-0235, 1321 W. Baseline Road, Lafayette

mysecondhomeco.com

Primrose School

Bear Creek: 303-716-7147, 3395 S. Kipling Parkway, Lakewood

Candelas: 720-621-2000, 9179 Kendrick St., Arvada

Castle Rock: 5885 New Abbey Ln., Castle Rock

Centennial: 720-488-7400, 13331 E. Euclid Place, Arapahoe Road and Potomac, Centennial

Colorado Station: 303-757-7727, 4300 E. Warren Ave., Denver

Cottonwood Creek: 719-260-8181, 4110 Dublin Blvd., Colorado Springs

Denver Central Park: 303-322-7200, 2501 Syracuse St., Denver

Denver North: 720-405-5150, 9954 E. 59th Ave., Denver

Denver Tech Center: 303-993-3665, 8745 E. Orchard Rd., # 500 Greenwood Village

Erie: 303-665-3444, 2998 Ridge View Dr, Erie

Flatirons: 303-469-8000, 1680 Coalton Road, Superior

Fort Collins: 970-689-3811, 2117 Bighorn Drive, Fort Collins

Highlands Ranch Business Park: 303-346-4800, 9055 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Highlands Ranch

Ken Caryl: 720-981-2988, 6060 S. DeVinney Way, Littleton

Lafayette: 303-665-4769, 411 Homestead St., Lafayette

Littleton: 303-795-6555, 7991 Southpark Way, Littleton

Lone Tree: 303-792-9234, 9200 Teddy Lane, Lone Tree

Longmont: 303-774-1919, 1335 Dry Creek Drive, Longmont

Lowry: 303-341-7000, 150 Spruce St., Denver

North Colorado Springs: 719-268-0664, 2380 Briar Ridge Pt., Colorado Springs

Parker: 303-840-5300, 18692 Pony Express Drive, Parker

Reunion: 303-637-9999, 17050 E. 103rd Ave., Commerce City

Saddle Rock: (303) -766-7859, 5950 S. Gun Club Road, Aurora

Shadow Canyon: 720-200-9388, 4105 Siskin Ave., Highlands Ranch

Standley Lake: 303-650-5437, 8430 Church Ranch Blvd., Westminster

Sterling Ranch: 303-319-6377, 8159 Piney River Ave., Littleton

Tallgrass: 303-699-8001, 21537 E. Quincy Ave., Aurora

Thornton: 303-279-0525, 12899 Grant Drive., Thornton

Torrey Peaks: 303-246-4203, 5483 W. 118th Pl.ace, Westminster

West Woods: 303-431-5437, 16395 W. 64th Ave., Arvada

primroseschools.com

Promise Christian Preschool

303-666-9874, 270 76th St., Boulder

promisechristianpreschool.org

Snowlions School

720-564-0456, 2580 Iris Ave., Boulder

snowlionschool.org

Spark Discovery Preschool

720-652-7906, 555 8th St., Frederick

sdpk.svvsd.org

St. John’s Early Learning Center

303-733-3777, 700 S. Franklin St., Denver

sjdenver.org/elc

Sunflower Preschool

303-494-2012, 3340 Dartmouth, Boulder

sunflowerpreschoolboulder.com

Sunset Academy Daycare

303-651-6600, 711 S. Sunset St., Longmont

sunsetacademy.com

Sunshine House

Colorado Springs: 719-573-6910, 6910 Wills Drive, Colorado Springs