Our favorite moments, portraits and animal photos of the year
There’s a lot going on in here (because there’s a lot going on out there).
Tea time at Simon Kaganov's and Alla Sheherbi's home at Windsor Gardens, Nov. 16, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Welcome back to year-in-review season, dearest Denverite readers. Let’s celebrate another revolution around the sun with this look back at the news, moments, faces and (crucially) animals we came across in the city. There’s a lot going on here, and that’s a pretty good reflection of Denver itself.
Moments we encountered:
Canada geese fill a temporary enclosure as USDA biologists cull them from City Park, July 1, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
A pho eating contest at the Little Saigon Night Market. Federal Boulevard, June 21, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Armando Peniche-Cruz's granddaughter, Athena, plays with a rubber-glove balloon as he undergoes radiation treatment down the hall. July 18, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Mike Coffman prepares to make a victory speech for his run at the Aurora mayor's office on the steps of the city's municipal building. Nov. 14, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Alexander Hamilton, aka FranziaMan, does his thing in the parking lot behind The Gin Mill before the Denver Cruiser Ride on July 31, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Aurora Police officers make a line in the street as immigration activists march on the home of Johnny Choate, warden of GEO Group's contract immigration jail in Aurora. Sept. 19, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
A protester who asked not to be named rips apart a flag with GEO's logo on it, the contractor operating Aurora's private immigration detention facility, June 14, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Autumn Lawrence speaks during a community meeting concerning violence in Montbello after her son was shot to death. Sept. 18, 2019. (Esteban L. Hernandez/Denverite)
Walt Collins speaks to a reporter along the South Platte River, June 6, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
A dress rehearsal of "Northside" by Bobby LeFebre at Su Teatro on Santa Fe Drive, June 10, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Someone hangs out near a fan and a window on a hot summer night inside the Newhouse Hotel on West Colfax Avenue, Aug. 4, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Pigeons on a cold Monday evening on Colfax Avenue. Nov. 25, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Cruz Ortega and Aryel Ramos fly off a jump at Ruby Hill Park on a small sled on a snow day, Oct. 29, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Danette Hollowell and the Old Souls play the Rossonian Hotel during the Five Points Jazz Festival, May 18, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Construction workers inside the Denver Art Museum's north building watch the 2019 Womxn's March, Jan. 19, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
City Council District 9 candidate Candi Cdebaca (right to left), Kerrie Joy, Elisabeth Epps and Jessica Campbell-Swanson pore over election results at her shared watch party with mayoral candidate Lisa Calderón, May 7, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Mayor Michael Hancock walks on stage as he claims victory in the Denver mayoral race and celebrates at his election night party. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Terry Knight, representing the Ute Mountain Ute tribe, smudges Jared Polis before he is inaugurated as Colorado's 43rd governor, Jan. 8, 2018. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Lemons tattooed by Amanda Wachob in her exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Feb. 15, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Rodrido Rodriguez and Juan Fernandez ride their mounts through a field in Aurora that's across the street from a recent housing development. Dec. 20, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
People we met:
Most of the people we met at Suave Fest, by the future site of Raices Brewing, Sept. 14, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Kim Ramos sits in a chair adorned with tulle before her quinceañera ceremony began. Ministerio Hispano Presbyterian Church, Dec 14, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Everyone we met on Brighton Boulevard in two hours. Oct. 3, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
"Accidental developer" Bernard Hurley shows a photo of what he looked like before he went to prison. Sept. 24, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Portraits of Chef Angela Ray of Taste the Love Catering (clockwise from top left), Chef Garret Simpson of Bella's Gourmet Sausage Company, Chef Lorrie Gonzalez of Two Feathers Native American Cuisine and Ahmed Hmoud of Marrakech Moroccan Cuisine, May 17, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Loring Wirbel poses for a portrait near his home in Colorado Springs, March 8, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Thomas "Detour" Evans speaks to a reporter during the installation of his "5 Pointers Museum" at the Redline Contemporary Art Center, Oct. 31, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Everyone we met at the Underground Music Showcase in two hours. July 28, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Raad Altaee speaks to a reporter inside his Montbello home as his kids – daughter Rasha, son Idrees and puppy Benji – hang out on the couch behind him. Nov. 21, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Kids roar for the camera inside the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, May 9, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Some of the items left inside Gary Johnson's home west of Washington Park, July 25, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Hedy Red Dexter gives a tour of her magical pink loft in City Park West, April 5, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
A sampling of the crowd at a meeting for Denver's East Area Plan at Johnson and Wales' campus in South Park Hill, Nov. 23, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Luis Sanchez walks part of his daily route in Denver's Goldsmith neighborhood during a "bomb cyclone" snowstorm, March 13, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Gertie Grant poses for a portrait in her home in Denver's Speer neighborhood, Jan. 11, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Animals we met:
Canelo's human William Hernandez holds him up to view a pho eating context during the Little Saigon Night Market. Federal Boulevard, June 21, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Luna Raine and her cat, Alexios, at her place in the Beloved Community tiny home village, March 21, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Annabelle (left) and Sven pose for a portrait inside Sen. Lois Court's Capitol office, April 30, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Billy hangs outside of Denver Elections Division headquarters on a rainy election day, May 7, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Some of the dogs we met at City Park Jazz, July 14, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Baby grackle cheep in a knit nest inside the Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, June 29, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Samson, Barbara Dodge's foster-turned-full-time dog, in her Westminster home, April 23, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Denver Zoo's new baby lion is revealed to the public. Sept. 18, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Newly-adopted Archer and his human, Marlena Sacks, frolic in Civic Center Park. May 31, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Some pigeonoid residents of the Cherry Creek Trail, March 26, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Osho the dog meets a photographer at the Co-Op at 1st in Barnum West, Nov. 20, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Say hello to Gumbo, who lives at 2283 N. Ogden St., the old New Hope Baptist Church. Aug. 20, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Charlie the cat poses for a photo at an adoption event at the Governor's Mansion, March 9, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Developer Norbert Klebl's weed-eating goats on site at his Geos Neighborhood in Arvada, March 26, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Bully the bulldog poses for a portrait at Englewood's Cushing Park, Feb. 2, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
LOOK: Juneteenth, now a federal holiday, has long been a big deal in Denver
"All citizens need to know its historical significance," Wilma Webb wrote in 1986.
Things to do in Denver this weekend, June 18-20
Juneteenth festivities, Father's Day pig roasts, and more!
We asked passengers of the 15L, Denver’s most interesting bus route, what they want from the transit system
Denver's head of transportation is leaving this summer, so we thought it was the perfect time to gather some community feedback.
Cut down trees at the Loretto Heights campus catch fire
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Denver City Council’s flexing a new law designed with transparency in mind to consider Mayor Hancock’s pick for DIA CEO
Remember when you gave City Council more power over positions usually appointed by the mayor? We’re about to see that law in action.
Juneteenth is back with in-person festivities this year. Here’s how you can celebrate in Denver
The day, which was just this year recognized as a Denver city holiday, is one step from becoming a national holiday.
City opens “cooling stations” at 10 rec centers to help Denverites beat the heat
Did you know about this cool option?
A more contagious variant of COVID-19 has been identified in Denver
City officials say your best protection against the variant is to get vaccinated.
RTD’s University of Colorado A Line won’t be called that starting next year
Maybe it'll just be the A Line.
Library peer navigator Carla Respects Nothing is creating space to heal and protect unhoused people from COVID-19
Respects Nothing is particularly focused on helping others in Indigenous communities.
Denver skies may be impacted by wildfire smoke today
The extreme heat certainly isn't helping!
“This is Five Points”: A new mural project hopes to bring color and light to the Welton Street corridor
"For me to be working in a historically Black district, to come outside and to see Black artists using their talents to support this district. That speaks volumes."
A developer could get another crack at building housing along a busy corner near Sloan’s Lake
Developers want to build a multi-building complex with 60 units and add sidewalks.
Civic Center Park is…a little lost. Here’s how you can guide it into a new future.
The plans may be long-term, but your opinions matter now.
Dancing is back at that massive dance hall with German roots in North Cap Hill
And it just so happens to be the Denver Turnverein dance hall's 100th birthday this year.
Denver has a new plan to keep residents cool — without wrecking the climate
The city is doing the Electric Slide into sustainable energy... hopefully.
Tree cutting at Loretto Heights campus in Harvey Park prompts yells and yawns
Some folks knew it would happen, others did not.
Colorado Symphony will return with a live, indoor, in-person season
It’s the orchestra’s first regular season since the pandemic began last year.
Cleo Parker Robinson’s theatre program gives young people of color an opportunity in a field where some saw none
It continues a long tradition of the dance studio opening up opportunities for future generations.