AROUND TOWN
Light Their Way Home 5-8 p.m., Dec. 1, 2 & 3, Colorado Freedom Memorial, 756 Telluride St. Free. Visit cfmf.net or call 303-248-3990 for more information.
A typically tepid lawn in east Aurora is getting a bit more spotlight this weekend. OK, a lot more spotlight. On Dec. 1, 2 and 3, local radio host Rick Crandall and a rotating group of volunteers will be lighting more than 6,000 LED luminarias on the grounds surrounding the Colorado Freedom Memorial to honor the thousands of Coloradans who have been killed in action or gone missing in action since the Spanish-American War in 1898. Deemed “Light Their Way Home,” the annual event provides a venue to earn a few moments of solace during a time of year often wrought with chaos and capitalism.
Holiday Art Event at Jubilee Roasting Co. 5-9 p.m. Dec. 2; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 3, Jubilee Roasting Co. 1452 Kenton St. Entry is free. Visit the Jubilee Facebook page for more information.
Ah, they grow up so fast. It feels like just two cups of coffee ago that we were writing about Jubilee’s first-ever holiday art show, which also just so happened to be one of the bohemian shop’s first-ever events. Now, thousands of cups of Joe, several backyard concerts and at least one engagement later (congrats, Peter!), one of East Colfax’s buzziest hives is inviting everyone back for round two. The event will feature art by several of Jubilee’s resident artists, and probably some visitors, too. If local art isn’t enough to drag your sorry tookus out to Kenton Street this Friday or Saturday, the Jubilee crew will be serving up tasty hors d’oevures on Friday night, and keeping the coffee bar open all day Saturday. Can you say, “yum?” Yes, yes you can.
Downtown Aurora Visual Arts Show and Sale 4-7:30 p.m., Dec. 1, Downtown Aurora Visual Arts, 1405 Florence St. Entry is free. Visit the DAVA Facebook page or website, or call 303-367-5886 for more information.
All that Black Friday hullabaloo may be over, but that doesn’t mean the gift buying season is kaput just yet. The annual holiday show and sale at Downtown Aurora Visual Arts may just be the best place in town to nab some local gifts for a fair price — all while benefiting one of the neatest nonprofits in the region. This year’s pieces were created by DAVA students, visiting artists and select students from the Community College of Aurora, and include a bevy of media, including paint, ceramics, fiber and more. All of the proceeds from the show will go toward funding DAVA programming year-round. And even if you can’t miss the exhibit debut this Thursday, the gallery will be open, and pieces will remain on sale, throughout December. The gallery is open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit will be on display through Jan. 13.
9News Parade of Lights 8 p.m. Dec. 2, 6 p.m. Dec. 3, 16th Street Mall, Denver. Free. Visit denverparadeoflights.com for more information.
This is really more of a public service announcement than it is an event listing. Don’t — that’s a contraction for do not — go in, near or toward Downtown Denver this Friday or Saturday night, folks. If you do, you’re unlikely to make it out in time to catch the donkeys on the gridiron on Sunday. Still, being a holiday curmudgeon aside, no other holiday celebration in Denver can hold a candle — or strand of twinkling lights — to the grandeur that is the Denver Parade of Lights. Arrive early — seriously, super earlier — so you can claim your corner to watch the impressive floats, festive marching bands, diverse dancing groups and local celebrities take over the streets of downtown. In case you’re not up for the cold or the crowds, this one is broadcast live on 9NEWS.
ONSTAGE
Santa’s Big Red Sack 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 &3; 4 p.m Dec. 4, Avenue Theater, 417 E. 17th Ave., Denver. Tickets start at $27.50. Information: Avenuetheater.com or 303-321-5925. The show runs through Dec. 24.
Now this is what we’re talking about. Billed as “the holiday show you shouldn’t take your kids to,” this raunchy series of sketches pokes fun of every painful holiday cliché – from White Elephant to the Whos of Whoville. Picture holiday-themed SNL. For the eighth consecutive year this production is storming into Denver and leaving no reindeer un-rustled and no carol uncooked. Some may say that the show unnecessarily fills our moral stockings with coal, but those are definitely the same people who have seen “The Nutcracker” every year since the Johnson administration and frown at the thought of a “kegnog.”
Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 & 3; 2:30 p.m. Dec. 4. The Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St. Tickets are $24 in advance or $28 at the door. Call 303-856-7830 for more information.
Aurora’s Vintage Theatre is digging deep into the holiday repertoire once again this year with an alternate take on Chuckie D’s tiniest, Timmiest tale. Penned by Tom Mula, “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol,” is a bit of a fan faction-y dive into the famous story, analyzed not through the lens of one Ben Scrooge, but of his crusty business partner/partner in Grinchly crime, Jacob Marley. The show finds Marley in an endless, tormented hell, and focuses on his journey of redeeming his former partner, seeking reptenence, climbing out of the carvass to the moral mountain top, and all the trimmings that come with that brand of redemption story. The cast of Joey Wishnia (Scrooge), James O’hagan-Murphy (Marley), Darcy Kennedy (Record Keeper) and Gina Walker (Bogle) will all be reprising their roles from the same production last year. Tickets are $24 in advance or $28 at the door.