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SEPTEMBER 2015
A Taste of Colorado Celebrates 32nd anniversary of new format By Denny Taylor
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Taste of Colorado is a free, four-day outdoor festival held annually in Downtown Denver’s Civic Center Park on Labor Day weekend. Originally founded in 1895, the festival was named Festival of Mountain and Plain. The festival started as a carnival similar to New Orleans’ Mardi Gras. The goal of the carnival was to boost the city’s morale and vitality after the Silver Panic of 1893. The festival was ultimately unsuccessful in ending Denver’s economic depression, and after a decline in attendance the carnival ended in 1902. In 1983, the Downtown Denver Partnership decided to bring back the spirit of the original festival to commemorate the opening of the 16th Street Mall. “A Taste of Colorado” was added to the Festival of Mountain and Plain name, and the new concept moved back to Civic Center Park in Downtown Denver, where it first began almost 100 years ago. To say it is now successful would understate its presence in the City of Denver, since over 500,000 people make the four-day Festival their Labor Day Weekend celebration. Participants can delight their taste buds with the offerings of more than 50 of Coloradans’ favorite restaurants and food establishments that gather at the Festival, featuring small portions to full meals. An elegant Fine Dining Area is also showcased, highlighting gourmet cuisine from renowned chefs and offering daily cooking demonstrations. In addition, marketplace artisans and vendors will be purveying their wares featuring a variety of products and services to enhance both your home and your life! There will be more than 275 marketplace booths for arts and crafts, home and gift items, furniture, jewelry and more. You can shop till you drop. A total of five entertainment stages for different genres of Music will be set, from country to feisty rock-n-roll. The outdoor stages will be on fire with entertainment, all with no cover charge, and will offer something for everyone. This year, in the 32nd annual iteration of the new, A Taste of Colorado, the legendary rock band Kansas will open on the Main Stage. Kansas will kick off the festival on Friday Sept. 4 at 7:30 p.m. The band is best known for their hit classic rock singles “Carry on Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind.” A Taste of Colorado music stages are presented by KOOL 105, and will have four other entertainment stages open throughout the Festival for continuous live music featuring Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Craig Campbell and Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers, just to name a few. We’ve only begun to touch the surface of the many venues and programs being offered to festivalgoers this year, which is one reason the festival runs for four full days. One can find intriguing educational See TASTE on page 3
Denver Museum of Miniatures is Moving
CHILDREN & ADULTS CAN STAY BUSY FOR HOURS, enjoying the thrill of the carnival rides at A Taste of Colorado Festival. PHOTO BY JEFF HERSCH
WalkDenver Pushes City to Put Its Best Foot Forward By Caroline Schomp
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ith their first fundraiser a sold-out success, WalkDenver hopes to change the way people – and the City of Denver – view pedestri pedestrians and walking. The nonprofit was founded in 2011 to focus on improving the pedestrian experience. Much of WalkDenver’s current activity centers on Colfax Ave., “The spine of Denver,” according to Founder and Executive Director Gosia Kung. Colfax, and other major streets like Colorado Blvd. and Alameda Ave., “divides the community, when they should be ‘zippers’ that actually bring them together.” WalkDenver’s July 30 fundraiser at the Sie Film Center,
dubbed the “I Walk Colfax” gala, was the launch-pad for the organization’s People on Colfax Initiative, celebrating a revitalization of America’s longest street and WalkDenver’s efforts to make Colfax a welcoming, walkable pedestrian corridor. Illustrating Colfax’s attractions were the winners of an “I Walk Colfax” video contest: Sarah Wells – Grand Prize for “Most Colfax.” Most Creative – Tatiana Kisakova. And Honorable Mention – Steve Ballas of Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs. You can view the videos at WalkDenver.org. WalkDenver organized and co-sponsored a daylong “Re-imagine West Colfax” event August 16 to showcase creative ideas to make Colfax more pedestrian and bicycle-friendly.
According to WalkDenver’s Policy and Program Director Jill Locantore there are many ways the city could accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists better, that are not hugely expensive and should be tried. “We’re not going to get it perfect right out of the gate. We could do a low-cost version and then adjust,” said Locantore. WalkDenver is represented on Denver’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee, which it pushed the city to establish last year. Kung and Locantore anticipate WalkDenver will also play a key role as the city works on a Pedestrian Master Plan. Their objective, according to Locantore, is to get city officials to consider See WALK on page 3
By Christa Palmer
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he Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls & Toys (DMMDT), located at 1880 Gaylord, has a 25-year history beginning in 1981. The museum was created solely by a diverse group of volunteers including miniature doll artists, business owners, and civic leaders. In the fall of 1987, in cooperation with the Colorado Historical Society, the museum opened at its present location, the historical Pearce-McAllister Cottage. The DMMDT has a collection of 20,000 objects ranging from rare Japanese dolls to Happy Meal Toys, and it retains the region’s best collection of artisan miniatures. The gift shop is a treasure trove for miniaturists, hobbyists and collectors. It is one of the few places in Denver where visitors can purchase everything from artisan miniatures to “Duchess of Cambridge” paper dolls. Museum hours are Wed.-Sat., 10 am-4 pm. Ticket prices are seniors (62+) $5, adults $6, children (5-16) $4, under 5 free. Groups of ten or more of the same age group receive $1 off admission per person. Directions and parking information are available on the website at dmmdt.org. The museum hosts a variety of events including family workshops, adult workshops, guided tours, yard sales, community days and board game nights. A schedule of events is available on the website. Although DMMDT will move from its current location in approximately one year, it will operate as usual for the foreseeable future. The director of the museum, Wendy Littlepage, explained, See MUSEUM on page 2
BOTANIC GARDENS SUMMER CONCERT – DUELING BANJOS - Bela Fleck & wife, Abigail Washburn, wowed sell out crowd. PHOTO BY JEFF HERSCH
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