Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Another Ed Sadowski creation
ED SADOWSKI
FESTIVALS
& HOLIDAYS
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Downtown
Denver
FESTIVALS & HOLIDAYS
Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods People's Fair
Columbus Day
Denver Comic Con
Denver Pridefest
Great American Beer Festival
St. Patrick's Day Parade
Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods People's Fair
The People's Fair is one of the largest two-day festivals in the country, and is one of Colorado's longest running outdoor urban festivals. The Fair attracts over 200,000 people every year in June at the Civic Center Park.
The Fair features free entertainment by national and local live music, dozens of fine artists and hundreds of local food and craft vendors.
The Fair was initially organized in 1972 at Morey Junior High School by the local police as an effort to bring the community together during a time of political unrest. The Fair grew successfully as it moved to East High School then to its present location downtown.
Columbus Day //////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Colorado was the first state to make Columbus Day an official holiday, in 1907 (it became a national holiday in 1937).
Denver had not officially recognized Columbus Day, but after much controversy, in 2016 the city, along with other cities, designated the second Monday of October to a non-official Indigenous People's Day, honoring Native Americans. Denver followed Boulder, which became the 14th US community to recognize the Indigenous People's Day. But in 2016 an attempt to repeal the holiday was killed by the state legislature and retained the holiday as state-recognized.
Denver Comic Con /////////////////////////////////////////////
Denver Comic Con comic book convention is the third largest in the US.
Its inaugural year (2012) attendance of 27,700 was the second largest opening ever for this type of convention; second year's attendance (2013) was second largest ever; are the first fan or comic book convention to collaborate with a local brewery (Breckenridge Brewery) to brew and sell a specialty beer, with the name chosen by a fan contest. DCC is one of the few independently operated events of its size and type.
Denver Pridefest /////////////////////////////////////////////////
Denver Pridefest is the third largest gay pride celebration in the nation.
What began as a small picnic in Cheesman Park to bring attention, identity, and fellowship to the LGBT community has exploded into one of the premiere gay pride celebrations in the country, a 350,000-person party that injects $25 million into Denver each year.
Great American Beer Festival ////////////////////////////
The Great American Beer Festival in Denver showcases the largest variety of beers of any beer festival in the world.
When it was started in 1982 by the Colorado-based Brewers Association, it was the first-ever national beer-judging event and now is the premier event of its kind.
The annual fall Festival held in the Colorado Convention Center represents a world record beernanza of over 700 American brewers and 3,500 kinds of beer imbibed by 30,000 quaffers.
Over 100 medals are awarded by professional tasters to the best brews. The Great American Beer Festival is listed as one of the top 1,000 places in the U.S. to visit before you die.
St. Patrick's Day Parade ////////////////////////////////////////
Denver's St. Patrick's Day, with over 200,000 spectators, is said to be the largest St. Patrick's Day parade west of the Mississippi, and 20th oldest in the nation. In contrast, San Francisco's parade has 100,000-plus spectators.
Denver's St. Patrick's Day parade was once claimed to be second only to New York City, which is the world's largest. Chicago is most often cited as having the second-largest, followed by Boston.
