Audio By Carbonatix
It’s nice to know that Historic Denver Inc. can now boast a little history of its own. The preservation-minded nonprofit, which celebrates its fortieth anniversary this year, will make that perfectly clear by bringing back, at least in spirit, A Night in Historic Denver, a defunct history festival that drew thousands of Denverites back in the ’70s. Of the original event, spokeswoman Heather Quiroga notes, “Historic Denver was a fledgling nonprofit at that point, and at the time, preservation was a hot topic. This was a huge fundraiser that really put us on the map and earned us some lifelong dedicated members.” The organization hopes to resurrect some of the cachet of the original in a one-two punch, with two events unfolding on the Auraria campus, the site of Ninth Street Historic Park, one of Historic Denver’s early successes.
The new twist, separated into a pair of parties, commences tonight with a time-traveling Night in Historic Denver gala that will progressively explore, in the course of an evening, the food, music and even the cocktails of the past four decades. Attend the gala from 6 to 11 p.m. at St. Cajetan’s Center, 1190 Ninth Street; tickets are $40 to $50. The fun continues under the sun tomorrow from 2 to 9 p.m. with a family-friendly festival, Day in Historic Denver. “We worked hard to bring back some of the folks who performed at the original event,” Quiroga says.
Also on tap are tours of the nineteenth-century homes in Ninth Street Park, roving costumed characters, a vintage baseball game, strolling mariachis, activities for kids, ethnic dancers, oral history and more. Admission to the fest is free, as are most activities; visit www.historicdenver.org or call 303-534-5288, ext. 6, for details and reservations for the gala.
Fri., Aug. 6, 6-11 p.m.; Sat., Aug. 7, 2-9 p.m., 2010
