Festivities will be bigger this year
But some Denver winter celebrations will be missing
Downtown Denver will look a lot different during the holidays this year, and with a few exceptions, the future looks bright.
As expected, we’ll temporarily lose some of the traditions that have dotted November and December for generations. There will be no “Nutcracker” from the Colorado Ballet, no ice- skating rink, and no lap- visits with Santa — all owing to state and citymandated safety measures.
But there’s a lot that’s returning and, in some cases, even expanding for the anticipated crowds.
“We invite the public to grab a festive mask and come downtown,” said Tami Door, president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership ( DDP), in a Tuesday press conference delivered via Zoom. “It’s time for us to come together ... and remember the wonderful things that make up the holiday season, the winter season and our city.”
While Door teased several future announcements as part of DDP’s Winter in the City programming, she provided some details on how the city’s most popular holiday activities are adapting to the coronavirus age.
The 9News Parade of Lights, which annually winds through the central business district from the City and County Building, is ditching its traditional route for static offerings. Now families can expect “a multi- week, socially safe extravaganza of activities across downtown,” according to a press statement, including “the floats you know and love ... displayed throughout downtown for several weeks beginning Friday, Nov. 27.”
Locations have yet to be revealed, but Door pitched it as a choose- your- own- adventure activity. The floats will be available for photo ops and lookyloos through the end of the year.
The popular ice- skating rink at the 16th Street Mall’s Skyline Park will be shuttered due to state health mandates, and instead of staging the wildly popular ( and often intensely crowded) Christkindl Market at Skyline, the vendor- driven experience will move to Civic Center park, which will “give them more space to spread out,” Door said.
A Downtown Denver Partnership spokesman had not responded by press time to questions about additional safety measures, given that Civic Cen
ter has lately been known as ground zero for socialjustice protests and camps for people experiencing homelessness. Admission to the market is free and runs Nov. 20- Dec. 23.
The well- heeled Larimer Square block will remain a pedestrian- only street with a visit from Santa, as well as various outdoor dining and drinking options. The general street closures and expanded outdoor dining may make the city feel more pedestrianfriendly for people who prefer to take in the sights by foot ( although horsedrawn carriage rides are returning, too). Outdoor greenhouses and bubblelike domes are popping up at many restaurants for the winter, adding to the feeling that the whole city is becoming an après- ski experience.
“This is a great example of the innovation that’s come out of this pandemic,” said Mark Sidell, president of Gart Properties, which owns the Denver Pavilions. “This new format might even be better than the format we had.”
A popular, multi- tiered and open- air shopping complex, the Pavilions will this year host a pair of Parade of Lights floats, but also bring in a 110foot LED Christmas tree for display. While Sidell called it “the largest digital Christmas tree in
North America” during the press conference, Door declined to say whether it was the same Mile High Tree that was stationed in Denver Performing Arts Complex’s Sculpture Park last holiday season.
“We deserve it downtown,” Sidell said of the expected crowds. “We need it.”
Dates and a location will be revealed in the coming weeks, and a portion of sales at Denver Pavilions will benefit Food Bank of the Rockies, Sidell said.
Lower Downtown’s Union Station, another traditional hub of holiday activity, will forgo its inperson Santa photos this year for an expanded version of its outdoor offerings. While the elaborate indoor holiday decor will return for photo ops, the plaza will host wreathmaking, “Yappy Hour,” holiday cocktails and Santa letter- writing activities, according to Sarah Hendricks of Sage Hospitality Group, which manages the redeveloped transit hub and downtown hotels such as The Oxford and The Curtis.
The Grand Illumination — the night when Union Station and other downtown landmarks light their lights for the season — will return Nov. 27.
Door declined to estimate the budget for this year’s Winter in the City programming, owing to its mix of private and public partnerships, and the fact that cost savings ( such as closing the ice skating rink) will be balanced out by larger investments in new projects.
“( Our partners) are deeply committed to presenting a really high quality experience, so some things would cost more than in a given year, and some things are substantially less,” she said.