April Fools' Day

Big Blue Bear vandalism: Charges rejected for man busted in green-paint splashing

Update: Yesterday, Denver police announced, with a good deal of hoopla, that an arrest had been made in the March 31 vandalism of the Big Blue Bear at the Colorado Convention Center, during which the tourism symbol was splashed with green paint. Mere hours later, however, the Denver District Attorn ... More >>

Denver Cruiser Ride: City officially proclaims Wednesdays "Bike Night in Denver"

Denver Cruiser Ride organizer Brad Evans thinks big -- and not just when it comes to pranks like releasing an April Fools Day 2013 themes list featuring selections like "Skid Marks & Semen Stains." When Evans previewed the upcoming Denver Cruiser Ride season, which kicks off May 15, he told us abou ... More >>

Denver Cruisers season preview: Brad Evans on Social Ride Summit and more

The Denver Cruisers know how to stir things up. Rather than simply announce the 2013 themes for the mega-popular Wednesday rides, Brad Evans and company released an April Fools' Day version first -- one that turned heads via concepts like "Skid Marks & Seamen Stains." Behind the edgy irreverence, o ... More >>

Richard Howard Craft, ex-pastor and current schmuck, sentenced for child porn

In some ways, it's appropriate that Richard Howard Craft, a disgraced former Greeley pastor, was sentenced to federal prison on April Fools' Day. Then again, "fool" is too mild a term for Craft given what he's admitted to doing. And frankly, "schmuck" doesn't really cut it, either, although it'll d ... More >>

Why the Denver Cruisers put the brakes on a homeless-themed ride

Reader: Best Fried Chicken at White Fence Farm? That won't fly!

There's been the usual squawking over the Best of Denver -- complaints about the editorial picks in various categories, and much louder complaints over many of the Readers' choices. And, of course, there have been the standard queries about why the editorial picks are given so much more prominence t ... More >>

Photos: Denver Cruisers' hilarious April Fools' theme schedule -- and the real thing

Each year around this time, the Denver Cruisers announce ride themes for the rest of the year. But yesterday's list was wacky even by the group's standards -- unless you were expecting a concept built around "Skid Marks & Seamen Stains." April Fools! The Cruisers subsequently posted the actual them ... More >>

Photos: Big Blue Bear goes green in weekend vandalism

If it was intended as an early April Fools' Day joke, it wasn't a very funny one. On Saturday night, vandals splashed green paint on the Big Blue Bear, the symbolic mascot of the Colorado Convention Center, and of Denver tourism in general -- if you don't count DIA's demon Mustang, that is. See pho ... More >>

Photos: April Fools' Day memes (almost) make the other 364 days of the year seem less foolish

Do you love April Fools' Day? Or do you think it's the most annoying holiday ever -- an excuse for amateur comedians to play pranks proving once and for all they're not very funny? We've gathered together a collection of April Fools' Day memes intended to appeal to both groups. Check them out belo ... More >>

Video: Air Force squad's annoying horn stolen, held for ransom -- sort of

Members of the Air Force spend their days defending the rest of us from evil-doers, and we're grateful. But they apparently have enough free time to engage in Facebook-related pranks. Today's bizarre examples: Members of a sorta-unknown squadron have stolen a sister outfit's super-irritating air ho ... More >>

Wynkoop Brewing will package its "ballsy" Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout in cans

It took balls for the Wynkoop Brewing Company to turn an April Fool's Day joke about a brew made with bull testicles into reality in October, during the Great American Beer Festival. But the brewery really had to sack up after that, as it negotiated with the feds about what it could and couldn't pu ... More >>

Pot 107.1, Denver's Dope Hits, gets extinguished to make room for the return of Jack FM

Update 12/4/12: Well, that was short-lived. Turns out Pot 107 was an aberration after all, and not a actual format. If you tuned in to the 107.1 frequency this morning hoping to hear Denver's Dope Hits, you no doubt noticed that, rather than hearing an endless loop of ganja goodness, you were greete ... More >>

GABF week kicks off with beers, balls and a message from the Falling Rock's Chris Black

Great American Beer Festival week kicked off, as it has for the past fifteen years, at the Falling Rock Taphouse on Monday, when the clock hit 000 00 00 00.0 But things were a little different this year, says Chris Black, who owns and runs Denver's most famous craft-beer bar. "Some people thought we ... More >>

Great American Beer Festival week: Here's how to get a Monday head start

Every November, I cook a turkey. Not on Thanksgiving, but a couple of weeks early. This way, I can get a taste of Turkey-Day excitement early and not have to stuff myself on the actual day, ending up in a tryptophan-induced coma. The same plan also helps you survive Great American Beer Festival week ... More >>

Twelve beers to track down in Denver outside the Great American Beer Festival

There will be thousands of beers to sample inside the Colorado Convention Center during the Great American Beer Festival, which starts on October 11, but there will also be some very special beers served at bars, breweries and restaurants during the week before GABF. Some of these were brewed espec ... More >>

Does the Wynkoop's Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout have enough balls to win at GABF?

Malt, water, hops, yeast...and bull testicles. That's the recipe for the ballsiest beer that Denver's Wynkoop Brewing Company has made in its 24-year history, and one that it will start serving on October 8 during Great American Beer Festival week. Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout, which started off as ... More >>

Is Brian McKnight ready to learn?

Xcel Energy not amused by April Fool's Day letters about Boulder power cuts

April Fool's Day jokes often seem funnier to those pulling them than they do to their targets. That was undoubtedly the case for bogus letters claiming that Xcel Energy would be cutting off anyone who voted to end Boulder's relationship with the power supplier.

Five hilarious craft beer videos: Drink 'em in.

Wynkoop Brewing pulled off an outstanding April Fool's Day joke last weekend, producing this ballsy video about a fake beer: Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout. "These testicles; they're very fresh." In fact, it could be one of the funniest, best-produced joke videos to come out of our state's 140-plus cra ... More >>

Peyton Manning signing means Broncos fans can't enjoy team being underdog anymore

Denver blog posts are over April Fools Day. At Mile High Report, Nick Cast notes that with Tim Tebow gone and Peyton Manning on board, no one will be shocked if the Broncos win. DenverUrbanism's Ken Schroeppel looks at Denver single-family homes circa the 1920s. Denver Frank shares a video he dub ... More >>

Ten things to do for $10 this weekend, March 30-April 1, 2012

Just because you're scrambling to get the rent together this weekend doesn't mean you have to stay inside and mope. From a vegan prom to a Mexican wrestling-themed dance party, we've got everything to do this weekend all in one place, and for under $10. So go out and enjoy the sun, check out some of ... More >>

HOT 107.1 flips formats, teams with Global Dance Music to bring EDM focused radio station

Great news for dance music fans, just in time for Caffeine this weekend: Hot 107.1 just flipped formats. The former Top 40 station, owned by Max Media, will now be catering the electronic dance community. Partnering with Denver-based Global Dance Music, the station will now be spinning the biggest b ... More >>

Colorado beer calendar: IPApril at Rackhouse Pub; barrel-aged beers at Hops & Pie

Craft brewers sold $8.7 billion worth of beer in 2011, up more than 9 percent over the previous year, according to the Boulder-based Brewers Association. That's a lot of suds. The total amount of beer they made rose 13 percent, or roughly 1.3 million barrels, to nearly 11.5 million barrels. The num ... More >>

MapQuest turns fifteen

Comment of the day: Louis Vuitton replica handbags likes fake art

​When our esteemed art director (who we will decline to explicitly name for reasons that will become clear... now) designed the photo that accompanied Embattled Painting of the Virgin Mary fellating Christ appears to weep blood (at right), our fake April Fool's day joke article, he mentioned h ... More >>

The Inactivists with Little Fyodor & Babushka Band and The Skivies, 4/1/2011

Tom MurphyThe Inactivists​ The Inactivists With Little Fyodor & Babushka Band and The Skivie sWalnut Room | April 1, 2011 At least this show didn't turn out to be a April Fool's Day joke of some kind. But that's a possibility given that The Inactivists are jokers with a wickedly mischievous ... More >>

April Fools: Five ways to mess with your co-workers

​Welcome to In the Weeds. Kyle will be right with you -- most likely to complain about something. Usually he is pleasant, but this is his place to blow off some steam. Don't take it personally; he just needs to vent because he's been doing this for about thirteen years. Enjoy your meal. Serve ... More >>

April Fools' Day Steampunk Dance Party tonight at the Mercury Cafe

It's the cheese to your prankster macaroni.​There are things in this world that really were made to be together. April Fool's Day, for instance, is really nothing more than an excuse to be roguish and weird -- the exact qualities that are the basis for all that is steampunk. Peanut butter, m ... More >>

Ask a Mexican: Tom Tancredo sits in for a special April Fools' edition

J.R. Smith & Nuggets almost fall into Sacrameto Kings' trap, then spring one of their own

J.R. Smith.​Nothing to fear from these three Denver blog posts -- since it's not April Fools' Day yet. Roundball Mining Company's Kalen talks about how a potential trap game against the Sacramento King became another testament to teamwork by everyone on the Nuggets -- even J.R. Smith! Colora ... More >>

John Hickenlooper or Ken Salazar: Who will be voted Colorado Political Powerhouse 2011?

John Hickenlooper.​Denver blog posts are multiplying like rabbits... with calculators. Colorado Pols' NCAA-style bracket to determine the state's political powerhouse for the year is down to its final two contestants -- John Hickenlooper and Ken Salazar. Vote early and often. Square State's ... More >>

Opening Day is Friday, but the Sandlot at Coors Field is already in mid-season form

​Friday is opening day at Coors Field, and that means the return of Colorado's most unusual brewery, the Blue Moon Brewing Company @ the Sandlot. Open only during Colorado Rockies home games and only during baseball season, the Sandlot is celebrating its sixteenth year of serving baseball-the ... More >>

What week is it? A breakdown of everything you could be celebrating, March 28 - April 3

Proud to be an American.​This week gets off to a strong start with Something on a Stick Day, a holiday dedicated to that great American pursuit of putting food on sticks before eating it -- well, actually, the Middle East probably got the jump on this one with their kebabs and whatnot, but did ... More >>

Denver ranks as the third most socially networked city in America

Colorado Rockies opening day will be on a Friday, and on April 1 -- no joke

Salt River Fields​Major League pitchers and catchers report to spring training today -- Valentine's Day. Which is appropriate considering how little most of the guys will see their loved ones over the next seven or eight months. But the brand spanking new Spring Training facility for the Colo ... More >>

Kenyon Martin's birthday: Rookie Nuggets guard Gary Forbes elected to serenade him

Sing, Forbes, sing!​ Nugget Kenyon Martin's birthday was surely better than his April Fool's Day, when teammate J.R. Smith's driver filled K-Mart's SUV with buttered popcorn. The power forward's December 30 birthday appears to have been a happier affair, though it too involved some Nuggets haz ... More >>

Tom Tancredo will sub for Gustavo Arellano for an upcoming "Ask a Mexican" column -- really

Tom Tancredo.​It was just a week ago that former congressman and presidential/gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo and "Ask a Mexican" columnist Gustavo Arellano debated immigration in front of a packed house in Denver. And the fun's not over yet.

This year's hottest gift: My First Bacon, a huggable talking slab of meat

My First Bacon: you've got a friend in meat​"What child on this planet wouldn't want to befriend a piece of mostly meat held together with fat and love?" asks ThinkGeek, the affable producer of all kinds of geeky wares. Mario Batali jokes notwithstanding, we have the same question. Who WOULDN ... More >>

It's not butter sticks that lead to obesity: It's the "fat bug"

​Apparently, it's not the triple cream Brie, the foie gras or chicken liver pâté, or the supersize burger, milkshake and xx-large boat of fries that's contributing to our nation's obesity. Nope. According to new research, the muffin that droops over your waistline is caused by the "fat bug, ... More >>

Unicorns, Crunchberries, and butt hole meat: the five dumbest food-related legal tiffs of all time

The offending white meat​Perhaps you've heard by now about the legal scuffle that's pitting The New White Meat against The Other White Meat. Here's a primer, if not: About a week ago, the Pork Board sent a cease and desist letter, via Denver's Faegre-Benson legal team, to ThinkGeek. The lette ... More >>

Hep C victims speak out about getting stuck by Kristen Parker and Rose Medical Center