21ST ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF WREATHS
WHEN: TBA 2021
WHERE: Aurora History Museum
For more than two decades, artists and other members of the community have decorated and donated wreaths for this holiday-themed fundraiser. Wreaths will be on display at the Aurora History Museum and sold through an online auction. This year's proceeds will help ensure the continuation of exhibits, programs and preservation efforts that have been affected by COVID-19. Reserve an entry time to visit the museum to view the wreaths and vote on your favorite!
THE POLAR EXPRESS TM TRAIN RIDE
WHEN: TBA 2021
WHERE: Colorado Railroad Museum
The story of The Polar ExpressTM is theatrically re-created and combined with a magical train ride at the Colorado Railroad Museum. Children get to meet Santa and experience all the sights and sounds of this classic tale as if happening all around them. This year, a whole host of carefully crafted updates have been made in order to ensure the health and safety of guests, cast and crew, so put on your pajamas and your most fashionable mask and bring the family to enjoy sharing hot cocoa and cookies together as the "Hot, Hot, Hot—Chocolate" song and dance unfolds before your eyes.
CAMP CHRISTMAS
WHEN: TBA 2021
WHERE: Online
This digital experience takes place on a web-based app where campers can explore fantastical places like Sweetsville, Fairy Forest and Treehouse Village. Each location includes multimedia content about the history and traditions surrounding the holiday season, as well as in-home activities. Campers can earn badges, track their progress and receive up to five packages featuring a wide variety of Christmas-themed activities.
DENVER CHRISTKINDL MARKET
WHEN: TBA 2021
WHERE: Civic Center Park
This outdoor event brings the most beloved elements of an authentic German holiday experience to The Mile High City. Stroll through a European village decorated for the holiday season as you shop for finely crafted artisan gifts and treats at charming wooden huts. Fuel your shopping with authentic Glühwein (mulled spiced wine), German Biers and hot chocolate, and nosh on Bavarian-style pretzels, fresh smoked salmon, Knödel, Goulasch, Nürnberger Sausages, pastries, caramels and European chocolates. This year, the Denver Christkindl Market is moving to a spacious, open-air location in Civic Center Park.
Check back for the 2021 lineup!
WHEN: Permanent installation
WHERE: Daniels & Fisher Tower
Night Lights Denver features rotating content designed by local artists and the community and projected on the Arapahoe Street side of the Daniels & Fisher Tower every Thursday through Saturday evening.
SHANTELL MARTIN: WORDS AND LINES
WHEN: Thru Jan. 31, 2021
WHERE: Denver Art Museum
London-born, New York-based contemporary artist Shantell Martin has collaborated with iconic brands and artists from Puma and Nike to Max Mara and Kendrick Lamar. This interactive multimedia installation features Martin’s signature black and white drawings that explore intersectionality, identity and play.
CITIZENSHIP: A PRACTICE OF SOCIETY
WHEN: Thru Feb. 14, 2021
WHERE: MCA DENVER — Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
This exhibition posits art making as a critical civic act and exemplifies how artists act as citizens. Many of the works address specific political crises, such as the opioid epidemic and Flint, Michigan's battle for clean water. Others highlight specific legal issues that shape American society.
THE LATE WORKS: CLYFFORD STILL IN MARYLAND
WHEN: Thru Feb. 21, 2021
WHERE: Clyfford Still Museum
This exhibition explores Clyfford Still's later paintings and drawings, made after his move to rural Maryland in 1961. This marks a particularly fertile period for Still, during which he made more than 375 works on canvas and more than 1,100 works on paper (nearly all in pastel) before his death in 1980 at the age of 75. The Late Works will include approximately 70 of these unique works.
PRIMA LINGUA: FIRST WORDS OF THE EARTH
WHEN: Thru Feb. 21, 2021
WHERE: Denver Botanic Gardens
Aspen-based artist Jody Guralnick explores the intersection of science and art, bringing to light the microscopic and often unnoticed structures of lichens, mushrooms, molds and more. For her, these tiny organisms are comparable to the first words of the earth — the building blocks of nature's language.
THE NEW FOUR FREEDOMS
WHEN: Thru Feb. 28, 2021
WHERE: History Colorado Center
On the brink of war against tyranny, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued his famous proclamation that all Americans had the right to Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear. Almost 80 years later, History Colorado is asking four up-and-coming Denver artists to illustrate the condition of those four freedoms today.
WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY
WHEN: Thru Feb. 28, 2021
WHERE: History Colorado Center
In works combining watercolor with historical photography, news clippings and text, Denver-based artist Adri Norris highlights women who've made history.
THE LIGHT SHOW
WHEN: Thru Mar. 7, 2021
WHERE: Denver Art Museum
Let there be light! This brilliant exhibition features around 250 pieces pulled from the Denver Art Museum's nine curatorial departments and explores humanity's drive to understand both physical light and metaphorical, spiritual and divine light.
ONE FELL SWOOP BY PATRICK DOUGHERTY
WHEN: Thru Apr. 30, 2021
WHERE: Denver Botanic Gardens - Chatfield Farms Location
This immersive, outdoor, site-specific sculpture was created by weaving flexible saplings and branches into a complex and whimsical architectural form and was created over the course of three weeks with the help of staff and volunteers.
GREGG DEAL: PYRAMID LAKE PAIUTE
WHEN: Thru July 31, 2021
WHERE: History Colorado Center
What does America mean to a person whose ancestors were insulted in its founding document? Gregg Deal of the Pyramid Lake Paiute leads an Indigenous exploration of what democracy means in Indian Country through his unique, dynamic works.
FORTY YEARS ON THE ’FAX
WHEN: Thru Dec. 31, 2021
WHERE: History Colorado Center
Take a nostalgic ride down Colfax, with stops at the quirky and memorable places that gave the street its worldwide reputation.
The holiday shopping season kicks off after Thanksgiving! There will be free parking on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday in the Denver Pavilions underground garage. Larimer Square and Cherry Creek North are also celebrating Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28, 2020. Or shop online for handmade gifts and decor at the Jackalope Virtual Holiday Market from November 28 to December 18, 2020.
