Bring On Summer
Things Are Heating Up Around The Neighborhood
Compiled by Cara DeGette
GPHN Editor
Juneteenth Returns
To Five Points
The Juneteenth street festival returns after a pandemic hiatus to the Five Points neighborhood west of Park Hill Friday through Sunday, June 17-19. The festival, which generally draws 50,000-plus people, includes live performances, music, art, vendors and fun for the entire family.
Juneteenth is also known as Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, and Emancipation Day. It celebrates the day African Americans in Texas learned of their freedom two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
This year the Colorado Legislature adopted a bill, signed into law by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, making Juneteenth an official state holiday. The Colorado action comes a year after President Joe Biden signed bipartisan legislation making June 19 a federal holiday — the first new holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983.
Check out schedules and details for the two-day celebration at juneteenthmusicfestival.com.
Denver PrideFest June 25 & 26
Denver PrideFest is also returning this year after pandemic hiatus. The two-day festival draws celebrants from across Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region. (Estimated attendance in 2019 exceeded 525,000, marking the 50th anniversary of Stonewall.)
The weekend kicks off with a 5K Pride run that benefits The Center on Colfax on Saturday, June 25, followed by a two-day festival at Civic Center Park downtown. PrideFest includes more than 250 exhibitors, 30 food and beverage vendors, and live performances all weekend long.
The PrideFest Parade kicks off on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. with colorful floats, marchers and music, with more than 100,000 people lining 14 blocks of Colfax Avenue from Cheesman Park to Civic Center, where the celebrations continue.
More details and information is at denverpride.org/parade/.
Join The Great Park Hill Cleanup
The second annual Park Hill the Beautiful Great Alley Cleanup is taking place during two dates in June, and all Park Hillians are invited to do some post-COVID spring cleaning.
The first cleanup is Saturday, June 4 for the portion of the neighborhood between Colorado Boulevard and Quebec Street north of 26th Avenue, to Smith Road. The second date is Saturday June 18, and includes all of Park Hill between Colorado and Quebec south of 26th Avenue to Colfax. Park Hill neighbors east of Quebec are also invited to join the fun.
This is a chance to get outside, meet up with neighbors on your block, and get to work. Put on your work gloves and grab your rakes and brooms and pick up a year’s worth of stuff that has gathered along fences and garages. Haul out your clippers and saws to neaten up the vegetation.
This old fashioned Alley Clean-up is sponsored by the Greater Park Hill Community registered neighborhood organization, and kicks off the 2022 Park Hill the Beautiful Campaign. Cleaner alleys makes us all feel better about ourselves and the space where we live.
To maximize efficiency, it is recommended that you and neighbors on each side of your alley pick a two-hour time slot between 8 a.m. and noon on the day of the clean-up, and proceed accordingly. The dates align with Denver’s scheduled large item trash pickup the following week, on Monday, June 6 and Thursday, June 23.
Park Hill Art Fest Set
For June 4-5
The 9th Annual Park Hill Art Festival is set for Saturday and Sunday, June 4 and 5.
Founder and organizer Darren Skanson estimates that this spring’s juried fine art and fine craft show will showcase close to 100 professional artists from Colorado and beyond. The artists’ work range from paintings to fine jewelry, woodwork to sculptures, textiles to photography.
The Art Fest will be on the grounds of the Park Hill Masonic Lodge, on Montview Boulevard between Dahlia and Eudora streets, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is no entry charge.
The Art Festival has grown by leaps and bounds, including weathering two years of pandemic. Two years ago, after the world went on lockdown and people were filled with uncertainty, Skanson sent a note to rally his fellow artist friends. “Fight this chaos with hope and beauty,” he wrote. “It is our calling to be hopeful. We are the reminders of what mankind can be. We are the reminders that the world has beauty.”
Join EdEquity Corner
For A Pizza Party
EdEquity Corner will hold an in-person celebration on Wednesday, June 8. Join the group for an informal gathering at Sexy Pizza, 2846 Fairfax St., from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the patio. Free pizza will be provided until they run out. Children are welcome! Celebrate the conclusion of another pandemic school year and recharge batteries to continue the fight for equity in Park Hill next year. RSVP to info@phnee.org.
EdEquity Corner is sponsored by Park Hill Neighbors for Equity in Education, a group of parents and community members who are working to ensure students attending all Park Hill elementary schools get a quality education. Check out their website at phnee.org.
Girls Who Click
Join Girls Who Click and photographer Dawn Wilson on Saturday, June 4 for a day of photographing wildlife at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge north of Park Hill.
Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge is one of the largest urban wildlife refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System. This location provides excellent opportunities to photograph wild animals including bison, burrowing owls, prairie dogs, deer, coyotes and a wide variety of birds. The group will meet for an introduction to nature photography in the classroom and then head out to test skills by photographing birds, butterflies and prairie dogs.
This free workshop is for girls and female-identified youth ages 13-18. Age exceptions are provided for motivated students. The workshop is free. Register at this link:
girlswhoclick.org/event/colorado-wildlife-photography-workshop-with-dawn-wilson/
Bathe In The Forest
Forest Bathing (Shinrin-Yoku) is the practice of taking time in nature, to “bathe” in the rich sensory experience of all that surrounds us. It was developed in Japan during the 1980s to relieve stress and enhance well-being. Bluff Lake is offering a free class in Forest Bathing on Saturday, June 18. During this relaxing, two hour, guided walk, participants will be invited to open their senses and engage with nature in a deeper way. Best suited for adults and teens.
RSVP at this link to reserve your spot: blufflake.org/events/guided-relaxation-walks
Park Hill Parade Will Roll Down 23rd Ave. On July 4
Expect the Westernaires, Platinum Divaz Dance and many, many other merrymakers among the groups participating in the 12th annual Park Hill Parade.
The Park Hill Parade takes place on Monday, July 4 beginning at 1:30 p.m., Thousands of cheering fans line up along 23rd Avenue between Dahlia and Krameria streets. Grab a blanket and the family and head over early to get a good spot to cheer everyone on.
Registration is still open if you want to march in the parade. Are you a group of neighbors looking to show your red, white and blue spirit? Are you a community organization that wants to get your members together to celebrate? Or maybe you’re a group of misfit musicians looking for a reason to get together and play for the crowds. All are welcome! Check out the parade website at parkhillparade.com, or email organizers at parkhillparade@gmail.com.
The Park Hill Parade is a Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. event and is supported 100 percent by sponsors. This year’s title sponsors are Nestman Orthodontics, the Urban Cookie, Dardano’s School of Gymnastics and Wolfe + Epperson-COMPASS. Premier sponsors include Tables Restaurant, Grape Expectations Wine & Spirits and Clair Family Dentistry. Sponsors include Dee Ciancio Realty, Ciji’s Natural Pet Supply, Park Hill Treasures, Denver Zoo and Kona Ice 5280.
Save The Date! Home Tour And Street Fair Is Sunday, Sept. 25
The 44th Annual Home Tour & Street Fair will be held on Sunday, Sept. 25 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. In-person home tours will be back in full swing, along with an all-day street fair. Details are at parkhillhometour.org.
Organizers are still looking for a few more homes that will be featured on the tour. If you would like to nominate your home or someone else’s home, please contact director@greaterparkhill.org.