Monthly Archives: December 2008

Elsewhere on the web today:

• Denver’s Road Home launched a new website this week. The site is chock full of organizing / networking features that enable you to support the campaign to end homelessness, and to connect with other people  who also support this initiative. Visit the site at http://participate.denversroadhome.org.
• If you’re looking for stuff to do during the holidays—or after them, for that matter—www.Denver.org is a great place to keep tabs on events throughout town. The site maintains perhaps the most complete events calendar on the Web, as well as detailed neighborhood guides that describe history, dining, shopping, housing &c.
• Denver Water has posted a whole bunch of weatherizing tips for homeowners, to prevent your pipes from freezing this winter. We’ve already had one record-breaking cold snap, and it may not be the last this season. The site also tells you what you can do if a pipe does freeze and/or burst. Log on at www.denverwater.org.

The Denver Art Museum’s yearly celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is underway, with free family general admission available from now through January 4th. The Spanish Colonial Galleries will host a large number of works depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of the most beloved icons of Mexico. Free bilingual family activities will be going on throughout the holidays, and tours in Spanish will be available at 2:30 p.m. every Sunday through January 4.

To take advantage of DAM’s free admission policy, click on this link and fill out the attached flyer, then bring the form with you to DAM.

Don’t forget, Thursday night Judy will be hosting her annual holiday party / dinner. It runs from 4 to 7 p.m. at the District 1 police station, 1311 W. 46th Avenue. Bring the kids —- Santa will be on hand, along with a face painter, pinatas, and a performance by the Mariachi Juvenil. Free dinner and drinks will be provided, and we’ll be collecting canned food for the Bienvenidos Food Bank in Highland.

Hope to see you there!

This Sunday, December 14, more than 300 tuba players will gather in Skyline Park, just outside the boundaries of District 9, for the 33rd annual TubaChristmas concert.

Bill Clark, associate professor of music at the University of Colorado at Denver, has been conductor of the TubaChristmas performance since 1976. Under his direction the event has grown to include more than 30 high school tuba players and independent musicians. This is the second time it will be peformed in Skyline Park.

TubaChristmas won’t be the only thing happening in Skyline Park that day. Don’t miss Christkindl Market taking place on the adjacent block of Skyline Park. Host vendors from Germany will offer quality, handcrafted gift items, traditional German food, pastries, and candy as well as authentic German beer. Christkindl Market will be open through December 23.

Other holiday events taking place this weekend in and around District 9:

• Denver Firefighters Museum will be having a free Holiday Open House tonight from 4 to 6 p.m.  at 1326 Tremont Pl. , 303-892-1436, denverfirefightersmuseum.org.
• Museo de las Americas will be having a Family Free Day on Saturday, December 13, from 12 to 4 p.m., with creative activities for children. The Museo is at 861 Santa Fe Dr., 303-571-4401, museo.org.
• Also on Saturday, the Denver Concert Band will be giving its annual Holiday Concert, including free admission for children and a visit from Santa. The concert is at 2 p.m. at Central Presbyterian Church, 1660 Sherman St. , with a $5 ticket price for adults.
• Ballet Ariel will be performing The Nutcracker on Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. (with an 8 p.m. performance on Saturday night) at the Cleo Parker Dance Theatre, 119 Park Ave. West. Tickets are $16 for adults, $14 for students and seniors, $10 for children under 12; info at 303-282-9828, balletariel.org.

Family to Family Denver passed along a helpful list of ways you can help — or get help — this holiday season. It includes everything from food baskets to Christmas meals, toy drives, and adopt-a-family programs. The listings are located all across Denver, but many of them are right here in our district. In part, that’s because of the demographics of northwest Denver —- District 9 is still primarily working-class, and in times like these families need a little help. But the glut of giving programs also reflects northwest Denver’s spirit. This is a tight community where people look after each other, and it remains so despite the ethnic and socioeconomic changes of this decade.

If you need a little help this holiday season, use the attached list — just click the link below. And if you’re doing OK, then check out the link to find out how you can give a hand to someone who’s not quite as lucky as you are.

How to help a neighbor

Judy’s FasTracks committee meets at 3:30 p.m. today for a special meeting related to the Denver Union Station redevelopment.  The plan has to be approved and funding put into place before the end of the year; in order to ensure those things happen, the bill has to come out of committee today. It will be discussed tomorrow at Mayor-Council, filed toward the end of this week, introduced on first reading at Council on December 15, and (presumably) approved on December 22 in the final Council meeting of the year.

Judy chairs the FasTracks committee and sits on the Denver Union Station Project Authority, the agency created to implement the redevelopment.

 ’Tis the season . . . . mark your caldendars for these important gatherings in and around District 9.

• The Globeville Civic Association will hold its annual Christmas celebration next Friday, December 12, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. It’s a pot-luck celebration with all kinds of entertainment, including door prizes. The party will be at Transfiguration Church of Christ Cathedral Hall, 349 E. 47th Ave. (47th and Logan St.); to RSVP, contact Margaret Escamilla at (303) 296-6378.
• Highland United Neighbors (HUNI) will sponsor the 32nd Avenue Christmas Stroll on Saturday, December 13, from 2 to 6 p.m. between Zuni and Clay streets. It will feature carolers, merchant samples, holiday lights, and of course Santa Claus. For information, contact Amy Berglund at aberglund@rmpro.net.
• The 15th Annual Luminaries de Santa Fe takes place on Friday, December 19, from 5 to 10 p.m. A lot of people think this is the loveliest and most enchanting night of the year on Santa Fe Drive. The streets will be adorned with hundreds of luminaries, the galleries will be open, and carolers, mariachi groups, Aztec dancers, and Santa Claus will be in evidence along corridor. This time-honored event is perfect for families and art lovers. Admission is free.
• And of course don’t forget Judy’s own holiday party and dinner, from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 18. It will take place at District 1 police headquarters, 1311 46th Ave., and will include dinner, beverages, face-painting, pinatas, a mariachi concert, and of course a viist from Santa Claus. Call Stephanie for information at (303) 458-8960.

About 100 people attended Tuesday  night’s River North planning meeting at Swansea Elementary. There was not a lot of new ground covered — people got updates about the River North Plan, the Brighton Boulevard corridor, and the RiNo arts district, as well as the latest from RTD about the Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility and Bus Maintenance Facility. The real benefit of the meeting was getting the various parties together in one room. Nearly all those in attendance are highly engaged, active citizens, yet each is so deeply involved in his or her own issue or neighborhood that all are often unaware of everyone else’s work. On Tuesday night, people learned about important work going on in adjacent neighborhoods — or even within the same neighborhood — that they were completely unaware of.

The meeting provided all these folks with a chance to make connections and, potentially, to join forces in the future. Strong interest was expressed in convening River North stakeholders on a regular basis, perhaps two or three times a year.

Click here for a matrix of planning efforts in District 9.

Judy would like to invite you to a presentation and open house for a comprehensive look at planning in North Denver tonight at 6 p.m. Staff from the City, Greenway Foundation, RTD, and CDOT will be on hand to answer your questions about community planning processes and development tools.

The meeting takes place at Swansea Elementary School, 4650 Columbine Street. If you have questions, give us a call at 303-458-8960.