City Cast Denver

Sure, Denverites love the Parade of Lights and the tree lighting at Union Station. But what else is there to do here during the holiday season? Today on the show, host Bree Davies is joined by newsletter editor Peyton Garcia for a rundown of some of the best Christmas-y things to do, see, and eat in the Mile High. From pop-up bars and holiday markets to tamale tastings and visits with Santa, we’ve got a variety of seasonal recommendations to fill your December calendar and make the yuletide great!Stuff we mentioned: Christkindl Market at Civic Center Park (Plus, Peyton mentioned this list of first-timers tips) Denver Zoo Lights Camp Christmas (Listen to Bree’s tour with director Lonnie Hanzon from last year) Holiday Tea at Hotel Boulderado  Miracle, the Christmas cocktail pop-up Festival Del Tamal Y Atole For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Denver Post published a blockbuster three-part investigation last week, unveiling the spokes of an international criminal conspiracy with Denver as a key hub — the Denver Art Museum, in fact. Their fifth floor Bunker Gallery is so-named for Emma C. Bunker, “The Scholar,” as she was known in court papers connected to the scheme. From her Denver home, she validated and elevated the false claims of Douglas Latchford, an art dealer and collector who trafficked in priceless relics looted from southeast Asia. Producer Paul Karolyi talks to reporter Sam Tabachnik, who investigated the story for more than a year, including on the ground in Cambodia and Thailand. Paul mentioned the new venue for Frozen Dead Guy Days and Denver’s laudatory efforts to replace lead water pipes. For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it mean to have a safe space? We tackle that question from two different directions in this week’s Friday news round-up. First, Club Q’s owner has pledged to re-open after the mass shooting left 5 dead and 22 injured less than two weeks ago. Will it still be a respite for the LGBTQ community of Colorado Springs? And second, dozens of parents and students from Athmar Park’s American Indian Academy of Denver — a charter school rooted in indigenous values — flooded the Denver Public Schools board meeting on Monday to protest the possible closure of their school. But should it stay open right where it is? Public radio veteran and fan favorite guest Jo Ann Allen returns to break it all down with host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi. Plus, Hey Denver newsletter editor Peyton Garcia joins us to pick our official Maybe for your weekend.Jo Ann mentioned this episode of her excellent podcast Been There Done That with Mia Yamamoto. For more on the American Indian Academy of Denver, guest host Avery Lill and former CCD producer Xandra McMahon visited the school and talked to its founder almost exactly one year ago. Are you feeling the holiday spirit? Help us get in the mood! Leave us a voicemail with your name, neighborhood, and favorite Denver holiday tradition, and you might hear it on the show soon. Our number is 720-500-5418.Subscribe to Hey Denver, our kickass morning newsletter, by texting “Denver” to 66866, and check out today’s newsletter for Peyton’s list of spots to watch the USMNT take on the Netherlands at the World Cup on Saturday.Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverLooking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Libertarian Party celebrates its 51st birthday next week — that’s 51 years pushing a fiscally conservative, socially liberal agenda. And the party’s origins trace back to a living room in the Denver suburbs — Westminster! — when a group of people fed up with the Nixon administration imagined a different way. Their message has shaped Colorado in many ways in the decades since, but why was Colorado the perfect place for this political ideology to be born? And is Governor Jared Polis really a secret Libertarian? Today on the show, author and former party leader Ari Armstrong joins host Bree Davies to talk about Libertarianism’s impact on local and national politics, why Colorado became the birthplace of this movement, and more. Read Ari’s work on his website.Here’s the interview with party founder David Nolan: https://lpedia.org/wiki/Document:Memoir_2001_David_Nolan_Reflects_on_the_Libertarian_Party_on_its_30th_AnniversaryLooking for more Denver news you can use? Sign up for our daily newsletter, Hey Denver, by texting “Denver” to 66866You can also find us on Twitter: @CityCastDenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With no fewer than 20 declared candidates, the race to be Denver’s next mayor seems to be getting more crowded by the day. And more of those candidates might have a fighting chance this year, thanks to the new Fair Elections Fund, which matches certain campaign contributions with public money. But there’s only so much money available, and some of the requirements could make this election in particular a bit unwieldy. Producer Paul Karolyi talks with Westword editor Patty Calhoun about what she’s seen in 45 years of covering mayoral elections and if this fund is, indeed, a game-changer, as some have called it.Find out more about the Fair Elections Fund and its ramifications in this article from Westword.Paul mentioned James Leprino, the reclusive pizza cheese billionaire who hasn’t been photographed in public since 1978. His family is in court this week fighting over his billions, and if you want to learn more, the only interview we could find was with Forbes in 2017: “This Secretive Billionaire Makes the Cheese For Pizza Hut, Domino’s and Papa John’s”For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a milestone year for Su Teatro, the 50-year-old Westside institution and third-oldest Chicano theater in the country. They’re also close to paying off the mortgage on their building, cementing their place in a part of town that has seen so much change — and displacement — over the years. Host Bree Davies sits down with Su Teatro’s Executive Artistic Director Tony Garcia to hear the story of how Su Teatro came to be and why their mission is still important.Starting this weekend, Su Teatro is bringing their acclaimed play “The Westside Oratorio” back to the stage. Learn more and buy tickets at http://suteatro.org/the-westside-oratorio/Paul mentioned the indictments in connection with the killing of Christian Glass. He also talked about the World Cup, which would be great to watch at these local spots recommended by our pals at Westword.Subscribe to our weekday morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866 and learn more at https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Learn more about the sponsor of this episode:Youth on Record’s Underground at the Showcase podcastLooking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whether you’re celebrating Cyber Monday today or thinking about a wardrobe refresh for the new year, it’s time to talk fashion. Do Denverites have style? Do Crocs, cargo pants, a puffer jacket, and a cowboy hat count as fashion? LA-based designer Lil Fresh Sam grew up in Denver and now styles superstars like Doja Cat and Method Man. She sits down with host Bree Davies to talk about about finding her style in a fashion-challenged Denver, how she’s styling mayoral candidate Leslie Herod, and whether or not Denverites have style. Looking for great local charities and nonprofits to support on Giving Tuesday tomorrow? We rounded up a list of our favorites in today’s edition of our newsletter Hey Denver, which you can subscribe to by texting “Denver” to 66866Follow us on Twitter @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been a difficult week in Colorado, as the nation reels from yet another mass shooting — this time apparently targeting the LGBTQ community at Club Q in Colorado Springs. So we’re taking a break from the news to have some fun. Host Bree Davies, producer Paul Karolyi, and newsletter editor Peyton Garcia swap tips for surviving DIA this holiday season. Then, producer Erin O’Toole shares your craziest edibles stories and we pick a winner to receive a private dinner with world-class cannabis chef Jarod Farina, AKA Chef Roilty. Programming Note: We’re taking the rest of the week off for Thanksgiving, so City Cast Denver won’t be back in your podcast feed until Monday morning. For even more DIA hacks, Peyton rounded up a bunch of reader-submitted ideas in our newsletter Hey Denver. And don’t miss today’s newsletter to see that pic of Emily N.You can subscribe to Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866Bree also mentioned Westword editor Patty Calhoun’s 2017 articles about the “Interior Garden” art piece at DIA.Learn more about DIA’s food delivery service, therapy animal program, and other things to do at DIA. A few airport restaurant recs from the team: Root Down La Casita Shake Shack Voodoo Doughnut Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone knows Denver’s got a housing shortage — but so many proposed fixes seem too expensive, too controversial, or just too out of reach. So what if we took some of the city’s existing structures and turned them into, well, places for people to live? That’s what Monica Martinez and The Fax Partnership decided to do when they bought two dilapidated old motels on East Colfax. These vestiges of a time when Route 40 was a tourism paradise have since become makeshift affordable housing — but Monica hopes her organization can bring stability, upgrades, and eventually, more housing to these properties. Monica joins host Bree Davies to explain why, as executive director of an East Colfax-centered non-profit, she chose to take on the housing crisis, one motel at a time. Bree also mentioned this Denverite report on Denver Rescue Mission.  For the latest affordable housing developments and other news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866As of this writing, we are (were?) still on Twitter: @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: Youth on Record’s Underground at the Showcase podcast Mental Health with Marielle Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shortly before midnight on Saturday, November 19, a 22-year-old armed with a semi-automatic weapon entered one of Colorado Springs’ few LGBTQ+ nightclubs, Club Q, and opened fire on the crowded dance floor, killing 5 people and injuring at least 25. The attack comes after Colorado Republicans, including gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl, deployed increasingly anti-queer rhetoric in the lead-up to the midterm elections earlier this month. Journalist Heidi Beedle reports on far-right extremism for the Colorado Times Recorder and was on the ground covering the aftermath of the shooting on Sunday. She sits down with host Bree Davies to talk through what happened over the weekend and the connections she sees with the increase in anti-queer rhetoric around the election. Our friends at CPR have put together a list of resources and ways to help out the victims of the shooting: https://www.cpr.org/2022/11/20/colorado-springs-club-q-shooting-resources-how-to-help/Find more of Heidi’s reporting here: https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/author/heidi-beedle/We'll be covering the aftermath of the Club Q shooting in our weekday morning newsletter Hey Denver, which you can subscribe to by texting Denver to 66866.Share your thoughts! Just leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:Mental Health with MarielleLooking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices