Here are some great ideas for celebrating New Year’s Eve in Denver. For more New Year’s Eve activities, see our event calendar.
THE MILE HIGH TREE
WHEN: Thru Jan. 2, 2021 (5-9:30 p.m. on most Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays; and 5-8 p.m. on some Sundays)
WHERE: 16th Street Mall at Welton Street
Join in the free festivities at this festive holiday attraction, the Mile High Tree. It’s a brilliantly lit, 110-foot-tall immersive art installation that provides a dazzling lights-and-music show.
WINTER WANDERLAND LIGHT WALK
WHEN: Thru Jan. 3, 2021
WHERE: Cherry Creek North
New for 2020, explore 16 sparkling blocks with more than a half million lights and discover eight twinkling displays choreographed to music.
ZOO LIGHTS
WHEN: Dec. 4–31, 2020
WHERE: Denver Zoo
t’s official: Zoo Lights has been making magic, memories, and even marriages for 30 amazing years! Presented by Your Hometown Toyota Stores, this illuminating annual event transforms Denver Zoo into Colorado’s WILDEST winter wonderland. Don’t miss this year’s historic celebration, with more than a million lights sparkling over 80 acres—plus a host of special measures to keep your family safe and healthy.
NIGHT LIGHTS DENVER
WHEN: Permanent installation
WHERE: Daniels & Fisher Tower
Night Lights Denver features rotating content designed by local artists and the community and projected on the Arapahoe Street side of the Daniels & Fisher Tower every Tuesday through Sunday evening.
FAMILY-FRIENDLY NEW YEAR’S ACTIVITIES
NOON YEAR’S EVE
WHEN: Dec. 31, 2020
WHERE: Children’s Museum of Denver
Bringing in the sights, sounds and excitement of Times Square to the Children’s Museum – all before bedtime! Their celebration is filled with countdowns and ball drops each hour, rainbow confetti, bubble wrap fireworks, crafts, music and more. Check website for COVID cancelations and restrictions.
PARADE OF LIGHTS
WHEN: Thru Dec. 31, 2020
WHERE: Throughout downtown Denver
The Downtown Denver Partnership is transforming the community tradition, 9News Parade of Lights, in 2020! This year’s parade will be a multi-week, socially safe extravaganza of activities across downtown. The floats you know and love will be displayed throughout downtown, from Denver Pavilions to Denver Union Station, offering multiple chances for our community to relish in the charm and excitement of the holiday season again and again. Download the mobile app for the exact locations but here’s where they are roughly located:
On Wynkoop Street between 17th and 18th streets
Home for the Holidays Float Presented by American Furniture Warehouse
Toybox Float Presented by 5280 Publishing
In the parking area off of Market Street between 18th and 19th streets
Jewelry Box Float Presented by The Crazy Merchant Inc.
In the courtyard at 16th and Lawrence streets
Gift Box Station Presented by Donor Alliance
On the plaza at 16th and Arapahoe streets
Ram Station Presented by Colorado State University
Clocktower Float Presented by 9NEWS
Christmas Story Float Presented by Confluence Ministries
On Glenarm Place between 15th and 16th streets
Santa Float Presented by Ent Credit Union
Share the Magic Presented by KOSI 101.1
Gingerbread House Float Presented by Xcel Energy
BLOCKBUSTER EVENTS
DOGS! A SCIENCE TAIL
WHEN: Thru Jan. 3, 2021
WHERE: Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Have you ever wondered to yourself what your dog is thinking? Dogs! A Science Tail is a fun, interactive glimpse into the world of our canine friends. The exhibition highlights the extraordinary ways dogs see, hear, and smell their surroundings and explores why humans and dogs are best friends.
THE ART OF THE BRICK
WHEN: Thru Jan. 24, 2021
WHERE: Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Contemporary artist Nathan Sawaya’s original artworks and reimagined versions of famous masterpieces made from LEGO® bricks will wow you! The exhibit also showcases a collection of LEGO-infused, hyper-realistic photography from Sawaya’s innovative collaboration with award-winning photographer Dean West. Guests of all ages will be able to put their own ingenuity to work in an area filled with LEGO bricks.
TRAIL OF LIGHTS
WHEN: Thru Jan. 3, 2021
WHERE: Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms
Stroll through the Colorado countryside along a winding path glistening with lights. Features this year include a three-sided light tunnel, illuminated antique and model tractors, a children’s play area and warms holiday food and drink. Visitors must purchase a ticket online for a specific day and time.
CAMP CHRISTMAS
WHEN: Thru Jan. 5, 2021
WHERE: Online
This digital experience takes place on a web-based app where campers can explore fantastical places like Sweetsville, Fairy Forest and Treehouse Village. Each location includes multimedia content about the history and traditions surrounding the holiday season, as well as in-home activities. Campers can earn badges, track their progress and receive up to five packages featuring a wide variety of Christmas-themed activities.
BLOSSOMS OF LIGHT
WHEN: Thru Jan. 16, 2021 (Closed Nov. 26 and Dec. 25)
WHERE: Denver Botanic Gardens
Denver Botanic Gardens is proud to host Blossoms of Light, an annual family-friendly event that has become a tradition for people across Colorado. Come interact with incredible light displays — a large field of sound-reactive, animated LED lights — plus sip warm drinks and nibble on tasty treats as you stroll.
GRANNY DANCES TO A HOLIDAY DRUM
WHEN: Dec. 5, 2020–Jan. 2, 2021
WHERE: Online
A Denver family tradition for 29 years, this incredible blend of dance, music, and spoken word lifts the spirit and fills the heart with joy, love, and peace! Even in challenging times, the magic of Granny Dances to a Holiday Drum, presented by Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, continues. Guided by the Three Angels of the Rainbow, Granny visits Africa, the Americas, Mexico, Asia, and the Caribbean to celebrate the joy of Holiday Times! From the African Harvest to Kwanzaa, from the Chinese New Year to Junkanoo…. a celebration of both diversity and oneness!
MUSEUM & GALLERY EXHIBITIONS
AFTER THE ASTEROID: EARTH’S COMEBACK STORY
WHEN: Thru Dec. 31, 2020
WHERE: Denver Museum of Nature & Science
A new trove of remarkably preserved fossils found by paleontologists from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science near Colorado Springs paints a vivid picture of how Earth recovered after the devastating asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. See some of the very best fossils from the site at a brand-new bilingual pop-up exhibit to bring the discovery to life.
PRISMAJIC
WHEN: Thru Jan. 3, 2021
WHERE: 2219 E. 21st Ave.
In this 1,200-square-foot pop-up installation, you’ll follow Shiki, a spiritual yeti guide and leader of the Spirits of the Forest. The immersive experience explores the dreams of this wise spirit in a multi-sensory experience of stunning creativity.
WINTER ART MARKET
WHEN: Thru Jan. 3, 2021
WHERE: NEXT Gallery, Lakewood
NEXT Gallery will be open Fridays from 5 p.m.–10 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Purchase artwork and support local artists!
HECHO EN COLORADO
WHEN: Thru Jan. 10, 2021
WHERE: History Colorado Center
See historically significant paintings, sculptures, textiles and writings from Colorado’s Chicano/Mexican American community, including prominent figures like Carlota Espinoza, Carlos Fresquez and David Ocelotl García, as well as selections from up-and-coming artists. Hecho en Colorado (Made in Colorado) honors the artistic achievements of a community whose impact continues to shape Colorado culture.
LUMONICS MIND SPA: LIGHT INTERSECTION
WHEN: Thru Jan. 30, 2021
WHERE: Understudy Gallery
The Lumonics Mind Spa is a concept developed by Dorothy Tanner (1923-2020) who wanted her light sculptures and those of her late husband Mel Tanner to be experienced as a total art installation that fosters a state of comfort, relaxation, and creativity. The art work will be seen from several windows of the Understudy Gallery at the intersection of Stout and 14th Street in the Denver Theatre District, with each angle of gazing providing another perspective. Understudy Gallery is adjacent to the Convention Center RTD stop and viewable to all from the train. It is truly a Light Intersection.
SHANTELL MARTIN: WORDS AND LINES
WHEN: Thru Jan. 31, 2021
WHERE: Denver Art Museum
London-born, New York-based contemporary artist Shantell Martin has collaborated with iconic brands and artists from Puma and Nike to Max Mara and Kendrick Lamar. This interactive multimedia installation features Martin’s signature black and white drawings that explore intersectionality, identity and play.
CITIZENSHIP: A PRACTICE OF SOCIETY
WHEN: Thru Feb. 14, 2021
WHERE: MCA DENVER — Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
This exhibition posits art making as a critical civic act and exemplifies how artists act as citizens. Many of the works address specific political crises, such as the opioid epidemic and Flint, Michigan’s battle for clean water. Others highlight specific legal issues that shape American society.
THE LATE WORKS: CLYFFORD STILL IN MARYLAND
WHEN: Thru Feb. 21, 2021
WHERE: Clyfford Still Museum
This exhibition explores Clyfford Still’s later paintings and drawings, made after his move to rural Maryland in 1961. This marks a particularly fertile period for Still, during which he made more than 375 works on canvas and more than 1,100 works on paper (nearly all in pastel) before his death in 1980 at the age of 75. The Late Works will include approximately 70 of these unique works.
PRIMA LINGUA: FIRST WORDS OF THE EARTH
WHEN: Thru Feb. 21, 2021
WHERE: Denver Botanic Gardens
Aspen-based artist Jody Guralnick explores the intersection of science and art, bringing to light the microscopic and often unnoticed structures of lichens, mushrooms, molds and more. For her, these tiny organisms are comparable to the first words of the earth — the building blocks of nature’s language.
THE NEW FOUR FREEDOMS
WHEN: Thru Feb. 28, 2021
WHERE: History Colorado Center
On the brink of war against tyranny, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued his famous proclamation that all Americans had the right to Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear. Almost 80 years later, History Colorado is asking four up-and-coming Denver artists to illustrate the condition of those four freedoms today.
WOMEN BEHAVING BADLY
WHEN: Thru Feb. 28, 2021
WHERE: History Colorado Center
In works combining watercolor with historical photography, news clippings and text, Denver-based artist Adri Norris highlights women who’ve made history.
THE LIGHT SHOW
WHEN: Thru Mar. 7, 2021
WHERE: Denver Art Museum
Let there be light! This brilliant exhibition features around 250 pieces pulled from the Denver Art Museum‘s nine curatorial departments and explores humanity’s drive to understand both physical light and metaphorical, spiritual and divine light.
RAUSCHENBERG: REFLECTIONS AND RUMINATIONS
WHEN: Thru Mar. 20, 2021
WHERE: Museum of Outdoor Arts, Englewood
This exhibition at the Museum of Outdoor Arts showcases Robert Rauschenberg’s original works spanning from 1962 to 2008 and features more than 50 original artworks by the American Master, making this the largest collection of Rauschenberg’s artworks ever displayed in Colorado.
ONE FELL SWOOP BY PATRICK DOUGHERTY
WHEN: Thru Apr. 30, 2021
WHERE: Denver Botanic Gardens – Chatfield Farms Location
This immersive, outdoor, site-specific sculpture was created by weaving flexible saplings and branches into a complex and whimsical architectural form and was created over the course of three weeks with the help of staff and volunteers.
FORTY YEARS ON THE ’FAX
WHEN: Thru Dec. 31, 2021
WHERE: History Colorado Center
Take a nostalgic ride down Colfax, with stops at the quirky and memorable places that gave the street its worldwide reputation.
SENGA NENGUDI: TOPOLOGIES
WHEN: Dec. 13, 2020–Apr. 11, 2021
WHERE: Denver Art Museum
This collection is composed of more than 70 abstract and conceptual artworks by the internationally recognized artist, a prominent figure of the 1970s Black American avant-garde and Black Arts Movement.
Author: Mile High Mamas
