Ten More Things to Do in Denver Today

Did you resolve to get out more in 2022? It's not too early to start checking activities off of your list. While Omicron is shutting down some events around town, there are still entertaining options — including many of the big holiday productions that are sticking around through the weekend. Evergreen Lake is open for ice-skating, as is the downtown ice rink. And there's also a sad memorial for two of the creative people whose deaths hit at the heart of Denver.

See our list of free things to do here, and keep reading for events all worth the price of admission:

Evergreen Lake Ice Skating
Sunday, January 2, through Tuesday, January 4, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Evergreen Lake (shuttles from Stagecoach Park, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
Evergreen Lake is open for skating, on special holiday hours (regular hours of 3 to 7 p.m. start January 5). Individual admission is $10; find out more here.

Celebration of Life and Fundraiser for the Families of Alyssa Gunn-Maldonado and Alicia Cardenas
Sunday, January 2, 1 to 4 p.m.
The Hangar, Stanley Marketplace, 2501 Dallas Street, Aurora
The overwhelming local response to the loss of Sol Tribe shooting victims Alyssa Gunn-Maldonado and Alicia Cardenas includes support from the yoga community. Courageous Yoga is holding a fundraiser that will pay it forward to the families of Cardenas and Gunn-Maldonado, a dedicated yoga instructor. The first half of the event comprises a beginner-friendly yoga class and meditation; afterward, guests can mingle, commiserate and commemorate together. Admission is $35, plus an additional $35 donation to support the family funds; register here.
Zoo Mundo
Through January 2, 7 p.m., online
Thaddeus Phillips, inventor of all things theatrical, graduated from East High School and Colorado College, where he ran with Denver’s Buntport Theater crew. He didn’t hang around Colorado for long after that, but the constant traveler through space and time will return, at least by way of cyberspace, for a virtual one-man performance of his latest work, Zoo Mundo. It involves eclectic world excursions, a 1970s game show, interactivity, illusions, magic and miniatures, broadcast live from Colombia nightly to audiences of 25. He’ll be beaming ten Buntport-supported shows through January 2; find the schedule and tickets, $21 (use discount code Buntport for a $5 discount), here.

Luminova
Through January 2, 5 to 10 p.m.
Elitch Gardens, 2000 Elitch Circle
Looking for something different in the holiday lighting category? Elitch Gardens will be all aglow this season with the arrival of Luminova, a three-million-bulb display that includes a 65-foot-tall Christmas tree, along with a gigantic snowman and larger-than-life ornaments and gift packages. Visitors can also walk through a candy-cane tunnel ablaze with glowing lights, enjoy limited amusement park rides, play a game of light-up hopscotch and have a word with old Saint Nick and his elves. Admission is $24.99 to $34.99; get tickets and details here.

Trail of Lights at Chatfield Farms
Through January 2, 5 to 8:30 p.m.
Chatfield Farms, 8500 West Deer Creek Canyon road, Littleton
The Denver Botanic Gardens will light up its Chatfield Farm location with LED lights along the pathway through the Green Farm, Crossroads, Deer Creek Discovery Children's Play Area and 1880s Hildebrand Ranch homestead. Special features include synchronized music in the children’s play area, singing Christmas trees, illuminated antique and model tractors on display, and hot beverages, nuts and kettle corn available for purchase. Tickets are $15 adults, $10 children and members; get all the details here.

Cirque Dreams Holidaze
Through January 2
Gaylord Rockies Resort, 6700 North Gaylord Rockies Boulevard, Aurora
Have a merry, acrobatic holiday with Cirque Dreams Holidaze, just one of the many holiday attractions Gaylord Rockies has to offer — and one of the few that will satisfy a multi-generational audience with its classic Christmas themes, performed cirque style. Tickets start at $29 and are going fast; get yours here.

Camp Christmas
Through January 2
Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park, 801 South Yarrow Street, Lakewood
Immersive master Lonnie Hanzon has outdone himself to bring Camp Christmas, formerly an indoor affair, to life in a six-acre outdoor environment. But he’s had plenty of experience with al fresco holiday displays in the past, at Hudson Gardens, the Houston Zoo and even Denver's Parade of Lights. Camp Christmas, a collaboration with the Denver Center for Performing Arts Off-Center, is a different sort of holiday display: It has a campy personality that dictates such displays as pun trees, a glamping Santa, an emotional baggage check and drag queen tours. There's also a bar fit for a fairy queen! See for yourself; see the schedule (hours vary) and get tickets, $8 to $25 (with optional add-ons available) here.

Zoo Lights: A Toast to Love, 125 Years + Beyond
Through January 2, 5 to 10 p.m.
Denver Zoo, 2350 Steele Street
In celebration of the Denver Zoo’s 125th anniversary, this year’s Zoo Lights extravaganza has been beefed up with new installations and portable bars serving holiday craft cocktails, and nightly ice-carving demos have returned. While viewing of zoo animals is limited to indoor habitats and a few cold-hardy outdoor beasts, chances are good that folks will mostly be looking up at the lights. Admission ranges from $15 to $25; get tickets here.

Living Lights
Through January 2, 5:40 to 9 p.m. daily (last entry at 8:15 p.m.), except Christmas
Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 West 104th Avenue, Westminster
The Butterfly Pavilion is doing holiday lights with a twist: It’s called science, and combines biofluorescent invertebrates, aerial artists undergoing metamorphosis and a Firefly Forest with a learning experience about the pavilion’s Firefly Life Cycle Project. But there will be plenty of lights for lights’ sake, as well as such holiday touches as a kid-friendly glow-in-the-dark dance rave and a photo-op station. Admission is $10 to $20; learn more and reserve timed-entry tickets here.

Blossoms of Light
Through January 8, 4:30 to 9 p.m. nightly except Christmas Day
Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York Street
Blossoms of Light at the Denver Botanic Gardens is a real thing of beauty: a fairyland blinking with millions of LED lights in colors that rival the beauty of the botanical attraction’s summer flowers. Perfect for holiday-lights nerds of all ages, it’s one of the best reasons in town to let the little ones stay up late and gulp hot chocolate on a frosty winter night. And don’t miss the new 200-foot-long, 17-foot-tall tunnel of animated lights lining the O’Fallon Perennial Walk. Find information and get timed-entry tickets, $16 to $21, here.
and plan ahead:

Nights in the Adulti-Verse
Wednesdays, January 5 and 26, and February 2 and 23, 6 to 10 p.m.
Convergence Station, 1338 First Street
It didn’t take long for the folks at Denver’s Meow Wolf site, Convergence Station, to realize that grownups want the place to themselves once in a while. It's not PlayPlace, after all. So in a test, Meow Wolf Denver is hosting a series of alcohol-enhanced evenings free of hyped-up children running amok among the installations. Four Nights in the Adulti-Verse are scheduled for the first and last Wednesday evenings in January and February; if the concept catches on, it might continue after the trial period. Admission remains $35 to $45; buy tickets here.

Know of a great event in Denver? We'll be updating this through the week; send information to [email protected].