Activities FREE with zoo admission

Members — Boo at the Zoo admission is included with your membership

The 27th annual Boo At The Zoo offers more than 25 trick-or-treat stations, creepy crawly animal demonstrations and exciting family-friendly entertainment under the canopy of the beautiful fall foliage of Denver Zoo.

This Halloween event is very popular and parking will be at a premium.

RTD: You can ride RTD and get dropped off right at the front entrance of the Denver Zoo. RTD’s Route 32 bus picks up in downtown Denver and drops off at Denver Zoo’s main entrance. Show your RTD transfer ticket at the zoo’s box office and receive $2 off general admission.

Ride your bike: Denver Zoo is partnering with BikeDenver and will be providing free bike valet parking for guests that ride their bikes to Boo at the Zoo. Guests that bike in will receive a coupon valid for $2 off general admission valid during Boo at the Zoo weekend.

Free Shuttle: You can also grab a free shuttle from the overflow park during Boo at the Zoo. A Gray Line buss will run every 15 minutes. Last shuttle leaves Denver Zoo at 6:30 p.m.

Boo at the Zoo After Dark is SOLD OUT!

Saturday, August 28, 2010
12 Noon till 10:00 p.m.
Free Outdoor Festival in the heart of downtown Denver.
Skyline Park @ 16th St. Mall and Arapahoe. MAP

Another free music in the park event in Colorado

Sarah Samantha Rose is part of the “Unknown Fest” but she’s known quite well in her hometown of Parker. Sarah has been singing in church since she was quite young is a graduate of the Douglas County Childrens Chorale and has performed at  Lannie’s Clocktower as a regular along with  the Pinnacle Theater, Denver Downtown Aquarium, City Park Festival of the Arts and Herman’s Hideaway.

With a heart to give back, she also participates in many musical fundraising events giving over 100 hours a year to causes like  The Red Cross, Relay For Life, Foster Grandparents and the Adoption Alliance.

Sarah also won eleven awards in 2010 from the Colorado Country Music Association.

Sarah is excited to be participating in The Unknownfest this year.

Unknownfest Voted Best New Outdoor Festival by Westword

UnknownfestRated an August Best Bet by 5280 Magazine.
And it’s FREE!! Spread the word and we’ll see you there!!

Schedule for the Unknownfest 2010

12:00 – Sarah Samantha Rose

12:45 – Chella Negro

1:30 – Cutter Nuxon

2:45 – Kevin Mileski

4:15 – Ground Up

5:45 – The Hippogriffs

7:15 – Dave Tamkin

8:45 – Foma

The Unknownfest is proud to have MTV Networks, Westword, Coda Inc. and the Downtown Denver Partnership as sponsors this year.

For more information go to Gruckee.com

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Free music in the park, O’Brien Park, Parker Colorado

The fourth annual Holiday Bazaar put on by The Mountain Pine Woman’s Club.

Mountain Pine Woman’s Club is a local not for profit organization affiliated nationally and internationally with General Federated Woman’s Club. Mountain Pine Woman’s Club donates 100% of all profit back into the community through scholarships and to other organizations.

This year’s bazaar will be held on the in-line hockey rink at the Parker Field House. There will be 100 vendors 75%  crafters 25% local community business or direct sales companies.

Parker Fieldhouse

November 14th

18700 E. Plaza Drive
Parker CO 80134
Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Contact: 303.766.2418 or 303.929.4695
Cost: Free

November 21st, beginning at 1:00 p.m., carolers, bell ringers, musicians, hot chocolate, carriage rides, puppet shows and a variety of special holiday celebrations comprise this “Norman Rockwell experience.”

The Starlighting program begins at 5 p.m. and includes a group sing of Silent Night and the traditional reading of the Starlighting Poem. That jolly old elf himself, Santa Claus, directs the crowd in the count-down to the lighting of the Star. The Castle Rock Fire Department sponsors a Chili Supper at the station on Perry Street from 3-7:00 p.m. For more details, visit www.castlerock.org or call the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce at 303-688-4597.

The Starlighting Title Sponsor, Castle Rock Bank, is proud to sponsor this long-standing community tradition as it celebrates its 35th anniversary as your independent, locally-owned community bank.

Enjoy this video showing the sights of Castle Rock Colorado during the Starlighting December 2008.

2010 Starlighting in Castle Rock Colorado information

The winter journey is filled with merry activities both inside and outside of the museum beginning with the wildlife themed trail of lights. This path around The Wildlife Experience is lined with beautiful light sculptures and colorfully light-coated trees. Escape the cold with a cup of cocoa from a refreshment station along the path and get a family picture with dazzling Winter WonderLights backdrop, or with one of the many stunning sculptures found along the path!

A perfect place to end the trails’ journey is in The Wildlife Experience’s newest exhibit Globeology. Visitors can warm up by exploring this quarter-mile indoor path through eight different worldly biomes including the Arctic Tundra where visitors can gaze eye to eye with polar bears and delight in the Aurora Borealis.

Before you leave the warmth of the indoors, be sure to write your letter to Santa as you will soon bundle up to wander around the whimsical Santa’s Village. Full of winter charm and merriment, guests enter the enchanting village and are instantly transported to the magical world of the North Pole. Live reindeer prepare for the big night as elves keep busy by entertaining and spreading good cheer. Throughout the village, families are welcomed to a variety of snowy villas where children can visit with Santa as they warm by the fire in the Claus’ living room and take a picture. Each villa provides a new encounter of holiday traditions, new and old, cheerful elves and clever ornamental trimmings. Educational opportunities await families to learn about favorite winter animals, such as the arctic fox, polar bears, orca whales…and many more!

After delivering your letter to Santa, guests can escape the winter chill and relax in the Extreme Screen Theater with a showing of the original animated, How the Grinch Stole Christmas complete with popcorn and other favorite holiday treats.

Start a new tradition with your family and The Wildlife Experience.

Winter WonderLights runs nightly, December 11-24 (For a sneak peek visit us December 4 & 5)from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. (last ticket will be sold at 8p.m.)

Winter WonderLights admission includes all activities (trail of lights, Globeology, letters to Santa, Santa’s Village, Santa visits, live reindeer and How The Grinch Stole Christmas):
Adults: $9
Seniors: $8
Children 3-12 $6
Children 2 and under: FREE!

Members receive a $2.00 discount.

Purchase your tickets to Winter WonderLights online

See more great family events on their website Wildlife Experience!

Map to the Wildlife Experience

Date: Saturday, October 31, 2009 – HALLOWEEN!
Time:  11:00am – 2:00pm
Location:  Recreation Center at Eastridge
9568 University Blvd
Highlands Ranch, CO

Children ages 12 and under are invited to put on costumes, grab their trick-or-treat bags and join the fun at Trick-or-Treat Street! Local businesses provide treats for all the “little ghost and goblins!”

$1.00 per trick-or-treater (ages 12 and under) and each family may select a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch; while supplies last.

Admission is at the door; Cash or check only; No credit cards.

Get the latest information from the Highlands Ranch Community Association via their Facebook Fan page here.

Saturday, October 10, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday, October 11, 9:00 am – 5:00 p

Located at the Recreation Center at Eastridge
The Fall Craft Show is the perfect place to find that unique, one-of-a kind, handcrafted gift. Best of all, admission is free and open to the public!

This two-day show features over 100 exhibitors whose items have been lovingly handcrafted. You will be delighted at the creativity shown in their work. Items for sale include jewelry, bath products, pottery, wooden crafts, floral arrangements, wreaths, precious baby and children’s articles, fused glass vases and bowls, hand-knit scarves, shawls, afghans and a multitude of other objects of art and apparel.

Recreation Center at Eastridge

List of Artisans, Parker, Directions, Booth Locations.

Pictures from last years show are here.

The picture at the top is from my favorite store in Parker, CO … “Fruits of our Spirit”

My husband and I noticed this garden patio area with the fountain and soft lights and I thought it very reminiscent of my visit to Italy, so he knew he just had to bring me back here to see if the food and service was as good as the ambiance we’d seen outside.

It definitely delivered!

We started with The Grilled Artichoke which was sliced in half grilled and served with a lemon-garlic aioli.  YUM!

We also sampled the Tuna Carpaccio… thinly sliced ahi tuna, soy ginger vinigrette, toasted sesame, avocado and mango.  This was just wonderful, fresh, with enticingly complex flavors.

They have several salads available including a Grilled Summer Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella, Mixed Baby Greens, Italian and Tradtional Caesar.  We chose to share the Fig and Spinach Salad. This salad featured a pistachio crusted goat cheese served over prosciutto carpaccio and tossed with a light chianti-honey vinaigrette.  Take a LOOK!

One of my favorite Italian Foods is Pizza.  I tend to like something other than pepperoni, so this pizza below attracted my attention.  It has Roasted Chicken, Boursin cheese, artichoke hearts and of course brushed with extra virgin olive oil.

The Owner, Head Chef and Marketing Director  Maureen stopped by our table to check on us.

Our waitress was just fantastic and knew so much about the menu and the chef’s new world take on old world Italian Classics.

I am allergic to shrimp but she kept talking about this angel hair pasta in a puttanesca sauce… The chef was kind enough to make me a little taste of it being careful to not contaminate my dish with shrimp.  You should always alert your server and the chef if you have any common food allergies but rarely will they go out of their way like this to give you a taste of something you expessed an interest in.

These flavor combination’s in the puttanesca sauce did not disappoint.  A blend of all the classic Italian aromatics.. garlic, basil, parsley, olives, tomatoes… Soooo flavorful it’s hard to explain, and the owner and the server had different takes on the classic story of what  a “puttanesca” sauce is.  I’ll let you read what the Wiki has to say aout Puttanesca Sauce This picture does not do the dish justice at all.

My husband is a more meat and potatoes guy so he ordered the Double Cut Pork Chop which is grilled and served in a ranch style Topping Italian Gigande Beans with roasted chilies and peppers and topped with pickled red onions and a chimichurri sauce.  He enjoyed this huge hunk of pork immensely.

The other options for dinner were a non traditional take on Spaghetti, Baked Penne, Smoked Chicken Raviolis, Lasagna, Linguini with Clam Sauce, Eggplant Rollatini, Chicken Parmagiana, Pan Roasted Scallops, Grilled Florentine Steak, and Veal Piccata.  They also serve burgers and sandwiches and have an entire lunch menu as well.

Now for the most romantic and fun part of the meal… Dessert!

OH MY GOSH! The pastry chef here is simply amazing.  Take a look at these scrumptious things we had to choose from.

Cannolis and Spumoni.. Classic mini cannolis served with a scoop of spumoni ice cream and strawberries pazzo. My date (husband) chose this dessert.. for one thing it’s the biggest and who can go wrong with chocolate, cream and berries… all high on the romance factor and tastes exploding in your mouth.

Vanilla Creme Brulee with Caramelized Lemon Sugar - This didn’t look the prettiest but it was a perfect Brulee, crispy crunchy sugar topping with a killer creamy custard hiding underneath.

Flourless Chocolate Cake – espresso flavored chocolate cake with warm chocolate sauce and roasted banana gelato.

Coconut Panna Cotta with lime syrup, fruit garnish and cookies.

Chocolate Tiramisu – Rum and Kahlua soaked chocolate cake, iced in coffee ganache and layered with mascarpone sabayan. Sienna Restaurant, Castle Rock Colorado.

We also enjoyed 3 glasses of wine each chosen by our server and they were reasonably priced and melded perfectly with our selections.

This was simply a wonderful spot to choose for date night and one we will go back to again and again.  Check it out and lets us know in the comments what you thought.

Check out the website for the Courtyard at Castle Rock Here.