While Denver residents are still contending with a mandatory “stay at home” order to help curb the spread of COVID-19, VISIT DENVER has teamed up with a multitude of tourism and hospitality partners to develop a new initiative designed to inspire locals to show their love of the community by supporting Denver businesses and attractions suffering from mandated shutdowns.

As part of the new “Love This City Denver” initiative, VISIT DENVER has created LoveThisCityDenver.com, a convenient online resource for supporting Denver tourism and hospitality businesses through the COVID-19 crisis including local restaurants, museums, attractions, sports and educational/cultural institutions.

“Love This City Denver” was launched today with a seven-week online and social media drawing that will present fun daily giveaways to locals who visit the website to take a Denver trivia challenge. While weekday drawings will offer a variety of individual experiences, such as a family membership to the Denver Zoo, each Friday, neighborhood giveaway packages valued at nearly $600 will be awarded to locals featuring full weekend experiences in one of Denver’s distinct neighborhoods. This Friday, one winner will be awarded the LoDo package, which includes a night’s stay at The Maven Hotel, a Larimer Square shopping certificate and a Milk Market gift certificate, among other items for future use.

In the final week of the contest, residents can enter to win one of two “Love This City” grand prize staycation packages that winners can claim when COVID-19 closures are lifted and Denver is open for business. Seasonally themed grand prize packages will offer full Denver weekend experiences including performing arts tickets, restaurant gift certificates, sports and attraction tickets, two-night weekend downtown hotel stays and more. Each grand prize staycation is valued at $2,000 and will have an extended redemption period.

“Although it’s challenging to think about a vacation in the midst of this crisis, we wanted to create an opportunity that rewards locals for expressing their love of our community while supporting our struggling businesses through the COVID-19 recovery,” said Richard W. Scharf, president and CEO of VISIT DENVER. “When this shutdown is behind us, locals will need to look no further than our own city for great food, culture, entertainment and other amazing experiences.”

LoveThisCityDenver.com offers a wealth of resources that engage residents and support local businesses including ToGoDenver, which provides access to nearly 900 Denver metro restaurants offering convenient take-out and delivery services during COVID-19 closures. And, the site includes entertainment resources as well including Virtually Denver, which features children’s activities and learning tools as well as options for exploring The Mile High City’s rich cultural and performing arts scenes and attractions from the safety of your home. Select locals will be featured on LoveThisCityDenver.com by submitting their favorite Denver images to VISIT DENVER’s Instagram account.

The “Love This City Denver” initiative was inspired by homegrown Denver artist Pat Milbery of So Gnar Creative Division, which created a Love This City mural campaign to express his love of Denver. Milbery’s Love This City murals can be found in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe, Golden Triangle Creative District and River North Art District.