ART
THRU JANUARY 3: Two Holiday Markets at NKollectiv Gallery – NKollectiv Gallery Nkollectiv is excited to feature work from a range of guest artists, alongside their regular roster of creatives, for two holiday markets running now through November 30, 2025, and December 6 – January 3, 2026. During each run, shoppers can explore a large selection of giftable and collectible works from 25 local artists in one location. Plenty of small works and larger pieces will be available, including a delightful array of cheerful paintings, prints, greeting cards, ornaments, multi-media works, sculptures, and much more! The gallery is part of EASEL, the 2nd-floor creative hub at 3485 S. Broadway. Regular hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Hours during the Christmas and New Year’s holiday weeks may be abbreviated and will be posted on the NKollectiv website. Guest Artists: Linda Armacost, Ellen Beller, Lyndy Bush, Kathy Fisher, Kathy Friesz, Brittany Hass, Lois Lupica, Brianna Martray, Shannon Mello, Karen Eberle Smith, Karen Valliant. Regular NKollectiv artists: Kelly Austin-Rolo, Mary Lynn Baird, Hugh Daly, Craig Demmon, Melody Epperson, Tiffani Erdmanczyk, Victoria Eubanks, James Garnett, Steve Girard, Nicole Korbe, Krista Lavonas, Julia Martin, Michelle Messenger, Shara Oliman, Jerry Severns, Will Thompson and Carol Till.
NOW ON VIEW: DEBORAH JACK: THE HAUNTING OF ESTUARIES…AN (AFTER)MATH OF CONFLUENCE – MCA Deborah Jack’s solo exhibition (her first in Colorado) includes a dynamic, six-channel video installation featuring tumbling waters and fauna from the shorelines of four geographically distant places: Maine, Louisiana, Brazil (Belém), and the island of St. Maarten. Entitled a sea desalts, creeping in the collapse… in the expanse…a rhizome looks for reason… whispers an elegy instead, 2024, this installation offers a meditation on the dynamic nature of coastlines and humanity’s relationship to water. Jack is a multidisciplinary artist whose artistic practice includes video installation, photography, and text. She engages a variety of strategies for mining the intersections of histories, cultural memory, ecology, and climate change. For her exhibition at MCA Denver, Jack’s photography and videos combine footage from the coastline of Jack’s home of St. Maarten with the shores of York, Maine and the shorelines of Louisiana’s Lake Peigneur (a lake created by a man-made disaster), as well as Louisiana’s Neptune Pass and Quarantine Bay (areas of the Mississippi delta where the land made from river sediment continues to rebuild despite human interventions). These shifting edges of where the water meets the land underscores the limitations of humans’ ability to control nature.
NOW ON VIEW: Southwest Impressions: Prints from the Barbara J. Thompson Collection – Denver Art Museum Southwest Impressions: Prints from the Barbara J. Thompson Collection, on view in the Western American Art galleries, highlights works on paper by artists who lived or traveled in the American Southwest during the late 1800s and first half of the 1900s, drawing inspiration from the region’s unique landscapes, people, architecture, and animals. The exhibition celebrates Barbara J. Thompson’s collection of over 100 prints gifted to the Petrie Institute of Western American Art (PIWAA) in 2024 in honor of her grandfather, the printmaker C. A. Seward. Southwest Impressions acknowledges the important role of printmaking in western American art, particularly during the first half of the 20th century. Presented in two rotations of around fifty prints each, visitors will be guided through a range of print processes including intaglio, block printing, lithography, and serigraphy.
THRU JANUARY 9: NEW EXHIBITION – Space Gallery Featuring work by Karen Scharer: The Persistence of Hope, John Wood: Floral/Forest/Found, Wendy Kowynia: Burn Series – Mono No Aware, Joshua Enck: Iterations. Space Gallery – 400 Santa Fe Drive. 303-993-3321 www.spacegallery.org
MUSIC
DECEMBER 10: Nathaniel Rateliff – Mission Ballroom Celebrating ten years since the release of Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, they remind the crowd exactly why that debut record launched them into fame. They’re still a band with some of the highest energy you have ever seen. Rateliff and the Night Sweats are still sweaty and swaggering.
DECEMBER 14: A John Waters Christmas – Boulder Theater Yep, Waters’ fast moving, all-new stand-up comedy show is here again for another year of holiday jeer, coming down your chimney ready to gobble up your Christmas cookies. It’s a whole new world out there and you know what you have to do! It’s A John Waters Christmas – resist, resist, resist, with a joyous limp wrist.
DECEMBER 19: The Railbenders 25th Anniversary – Gothic Theatre They’ve been called “country,” “alt-country,” and “outlaw country,” but the phrase that might best describe the Railbenders is “hard country.” This Denver, Colorado band has been playing unabashed, straight-no-chaser music that pulls no punches since 2000. Their music and dynamic live shows have made them one of the top draws in Colorado, bringing in a diverse fan base of all ages.
COMEDY
AVAILABLE NOW: Being Eddie – Netflix From teen comedian to Hollywood legend, Eddie Murphy revisits his extraordinary showbiz ride with raw honesty and humor in this star-studded documentary.
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FILM
NOW PLAYING: Hamnet – Landmark Theatres From Academy Award® winning writer/director Chloé Zhao, Hamnet tells the powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet. Breaking hearts and mending them in one fell swoop, Hamnet speculates on the inspiration behind Shakespeare’s masterpiece with palpable emotional force thanks to Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal’s astonishing performances. An emotional rollercoaster that will stir your soul, making you appreciate not just your loved ones but art too. Watching it feels transformative, ‘though it requires, as said in the film, keeping your heart open, even as parts of that experience are viscerally and emotionally wrenching, parts of it transcendent.
NOW PLAYING: 100 Nights of Hero – Landmark Theatres When a charming house guest (Nicholas Galitzine) arrives at a remote castle, the delicate dynamic between a neglectful husband, his innocent bride Cherry (Maika Monroe), and their devoted maid Hero (Emma Corrin), is thrown into chaos. Gender, sexuality, status and power are all in flux here, a playful effect that is however withdrawn when we arrive at the sacrificial seriousness. It is a sweet tale which floats self-consciously out of the screen. Boasting a hilarious script and mesmerising visuals, 100 Nights of Hero is an immersive, whimsical fairytale with great performances and beautiful production design. It’s the type of film we don’t receive very often.
OPENS DECEMBER 12: Little Trouble Girls – Landmark Theatres Introverted 16-year-old Lucia joins her Catholic school’s all-girls choir, where she befriends Ana-Maria, a popular and flirty third-year student. But when the choir travels to a countryside convent for a weekend of intensive rehearsals, Lucia’s interest in a dark-eyed restoration worker tests her friendship with Ana-Maria and the other girls. As she navigates unfamiliar surroundings and her budding sexuality, Lucia begins to question her beliefs and values, disrupting the harmony within the choir. Grounded by compelling performances by its two leads, it’s a sexually charged but touching story of adolescent desire in all its dirtiness and divinity.
OPENS DECEMBER 19: Is This Thing On? – Landmark Theatres As their marriage quietly unravels, Alex (Will Arnett) faces middle age and an impending divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene while Tess (Laura Dern) confronts the sacrifices she made for their family–forcing them to navigate co-parenting, identity, and whether love can take a new form. A film about comedians and divorce that’s considerably better than most films about comedians, and also most movies about divorce. A wonderful surprise from writer/director Bradley Cooper, more so than his other movies, as his naturalistic approach works wonders for a more grounded story about what it is to find and rediscover love, while also having a good old laugh about it all.
THEATRE
DECEMBER 11-21: Holidays at the Hideaway Hotel – Wonderbound (3824 Dahlia Street) For this newest production, Ammon creates an original tale of love, betrayal, loss, homecoming, and absolution. Inspired by mythology and folklore from Europe and the Americas, 19th-century holiday ghost stories, and 20th-century neo-noir thrillers, the show transports audiences to sunny Florida, where a cast of eclectic characters collides. This darkly witty tale weaves together the eccentric aesthetics of Wes Anderson, the brilliance of the Coen Brothers, and the unsettling edge of David Lynch. This is not your typical holiday getaway.
EVENTS
THRU JANUARY 11: Blossoms of Light – Denver Botanic Gardens A stroll through the Denver Botanic Gardens is a delightful way to celebrate the holiday season. The Blossoms of Light extravaganza is a twinkling and breathtaking twist on the already beautiful gardens, especially on a December evening. For over 30 years, lights have transformed this cultural pocket of Denver and become an annual tradition for many local families and friends. Enjoy warm drinks and holiday treats amongst the most festive lights, blossoms, and pathways in Colorado. It’s the perfect location to gather with friends for some holiday cheer or maybe even propose to the one under the stars. Don’t miss the lights at Denver Botanic Gardens this holiday season.
DECEMBER 22-24: Annie Booth Trio: Charlie Brown Christmas – Dazzle Acclaimed jazz pianist and bandleader Annie Booth returns to Dazzle for the 12th anniversary of her beloved Denver holiday tradition: a live performance of the iconic A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack. This year, Booth and her longtime trio—Patrick McDevitt (bass) and Alejandro Castaño (drums)—will present 25 festive performances of the show at Dazzle Denver at the Arts Complex. Joining the trio is a stellar lineup of engaging jazz vocalists—Marion Powers, Jenna McLean, Kathryn Cruz, Hannah Rodriguez, and Bailey Hinkley Grogan—bringing fresh sparkle to Vince Guaraldi’s timeless music. Audiences of all ages will delight in this dynamic, family-friendly show, featuring both the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack and the Annie Booth Trio’s swinging takes on holiday favorites.
THRU JANUARY 4: Elitch Holidays – Elitch Gardens Coloradans of all ages will be dazzled by millions of lights and entertainment to transform Elitch Gardens into a winter wonderland of Mile High Magic with more rides, more lights, and more holiday cheer!
Stroll through the Park with over 400,000 square feet of larger-than-life light displays, a 65-ft. tree, twinkling snowmen who never melt, 300-ft. candy cane tunnel, photo ops galore, and more! See the lights from high above on the Ferris Wheel while sipping hot cocoa and enjoy some of your favorite Elitch Gardens rides.*
THRU JANUARY 4: Giving Machine in Cherry Creek North – Cherry Creek North Each year, Giving Machine Denver benefits five local and two global nonprofit organizations. In 2017 the Giving Machine was born in response to the question, “What if giving to someone in need was as easy as buying a snack from a vending machine?” Located in Cherry Creek North Pole’s Winter Wanderland, these unique vending machines make donating to charity as simple as buying a snack. Choose from local charities like the African Community Center, Colorado National Guard Foundation, Project C.U.R.E., The Action Center, and WeeCycle, or make a global impact by supporting international organizations like CARE and Splash. Simply select an item, swipe your card, and watch your gift drop into the bin. It’s a fun, interactive way to make a difference this holiday season!
THRU MARCH 22: Agave Symbol and Spirit – Denver Botanic Gardens Discover the spirit of agave, a succulent plant with a storied role in the religion, culture and economies of Mexico. Agave: Symbol and Spirit tells the story of the plant’s many practical and spiritual uses past and present, revealing its deep roots in Mexican culture. From fiber for clothing, building materials and paper, to fermented drinks for ritual (and recreational) purposes, the many uses of agave span millennia—immerse yourself in the surprising influences of this versatile plant. Artworks in the exhibit are on loan from the Museo de las Americas. Located in Denver, Colorado, Museo de Las Americas is dedicated to educating the community through collecting, preserving, interpreting and exhibiting the diverse Latin American arts and cultures, from ancient to contemporary. Through collaboration with public institutions, Museo brings their collection into new and unexpected spaces, presenting a rich tapestry of Latin American experience and creativity.