This weekend, among other Fourth of July activities, is the annual Cherry Creek arts Festival! Held in Cherry Creek North this is a pretty good gathering of arts in Denver and has been around for quite some time. Unlike some of the smaller festivals held downtown that don’t have a lot of variety or top of the line artists, if you are serious about art, you’ll find some good stuff here. If you just enjoying browsing but don’t have the pockets for art collecting - don’t worry there’ll plenty for you, too.

Arts Festival Hours:
Thursday, July 3 7:00pm to 10:00pm: Artist Preview Event: Clayton St Only
Friday, July 4 10:00am to 8:00pm
Saturday, July 5 10:00am to 8:00pm (Fireworks night)
Sunday, July 6 10:00am to 6:00pm

Last night, we went Putt Putt Golfing, but this was unlike any Putt Putt course I have ever been to before. Adventure Golf and Raceway, part of Hyland Hills Park and Rec, a little bit of a hike from Denver (located in Westminster, 9650 N. Sheridan Blvd), has some intense courses, mostly due to their entertaining theme - including music, exploding volcanoes that made me jump every single time there was an explosion, and best of all is the 18th hole.  All I can say is, watch out for this guy:

On the fax this week, Super Fresh Block Party. 6pm to 12am, local shops will open plus live music, fashion shows, roller derby girls, and food:

Thanks, Leslie.

The DDP is running a program called “Get Downtown Unconventionally” during the month of August (DNC timeframe) encouraging people to leave their cars at home and join in the mass transit, walking, biking and carpooling crowd.  You get a $100 VISA gift card if you complete the program and log your transits, and you must currently drive solo (not with others) to work 4 days a week and be a downtown employee within the 80202 zip code. Apply now to see if you make it into the program!

Similarly, a great program I’ve participated in in the past is Drive Less Denver. It doesn’t look like they ran it in 08 (probably this program is in place of that one) - but check on the DDP site for similar opportunities to get free schwag and go green.

Headed over to the Garden Spot Cafe on Larimer & 32nd today to check it out. Located just up the street from the Walnut Room in a bright orange building, it was pretty quiet but still looked inviting. We didn’t make it over until around noon and it’s only open until 2 pm on Saturdays/Sundays.  We had the stuffed French Toast (just okay) and Smothered Burrito (which was really good) along with a pretty decent cup a joe.

All in all, I’d recommend checking the place out. It has great potential, a ton of space & tables, wireless internet supporting the coffee shop feel, and an adorable little garden patio area to get some sun and enjoy your meal - all in a developing part of town that could use your support! Regardless, beats waiting in the line at Snooze for an hour or more!

Stop by the SoCo Music Experience this Saturday at the Coors Field Central Parking Lot (Wazee and Park Ave) starting at 2 p.m. to see headliner Gnarls Barkley and other bands including Blonde Redhead, Bassnectar, Dead Confederate and Eagle Seagull.

Check it out!

There is a cool site called 43places.com that I want to recommend checking out. It’s been around for quite some time, but you could use it to find new places to check out in Denver. It lists pictures of places, user’s descriptions, stories and reviews of places, and allows you to ask other users questions about those places.

See something missing? Add your place!

Denver has not one, but TWO music festivals this year that are packed full of great bands:
Mile High Music Festival
July 19th and 20th, 2008, Dick’s Stadium
2-day tickets: $150
5 stages, sponsored by SanDisk and put on with AEG.
Lineup includes Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, O.A.R. (Of A Revolution), Spoon, Jason Mraz, Citizen Cope, Lupe Fiasco, Gavin Degraw, Josh Ritter, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Black Crowes, Flogging Molly, Colbie Caillat, OneRepublic, The Roots, Flobots, Rose Hill Drive, and more!

Monolith Festival
September 13th and 14th, 2008, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 50 artists on 5 stages, 2-day tickets: $110
Featuring Devotchka, Silversun Pickups, Vampire Weekend, Mickey Avalon, Atmosphere, CSS, The Kills, etc.

Monolith founders Matt Fecher (South Park Music Festival) and Josh Baker (Midwest Music Summit) are co-producing the event with AEG Live. Last year’s inaugural Monolith Festival featured the Flaming Lips, the Decemberists, Kings Of Leon, Cake and Spoon, among others.
Check out the Festival blog also.

Top 3 No Fail Restaurants

1. Le Central - Affordable French! Great atmosphere, and you can’t go wrong with the pots of muscles.

2. Tamayo - I love Tamayo because I love their sauces, and they do an interesting take on nuvo Mexican - unique flavors that always please.

3. Pasquini’s - Best pizza in town, not to mention breadsticks with garlic butter makes it worth the trip.

1. Proto’s - Always a crowd pleaser

2. Le Central - Great place that company always likes

3. Tommy’s Thai - Just really, really good.

1. Tommy’s Thai - when you just want something delicious, head to Tommy’s Thai, you’ll find it always worth the trip. Plus, who doesn’t love their water in metal camping cups!?

2. Lola - It’s a great fallback because it’s never bad. I have had stuff at Lola that isn’t the MOST amazing, but it’s always at least good, and the ambiance is great too. Plus, the menu changes seasonly so you don’t get sick of the place. It simply qualifies as a no fail in every way possible.

3. Z Cuisine - (Also check out Z Cuisine Parisian Wine Bar À Côté next door!) This is perhaps my favorite restaurant in Denver. Menu changes weekly. Everything is always deliciously worth it. As far as price, it’s not no fail - it’s actually quite pricey (but worth it). And in fact it’s quite a long experience to go to Z Cuisine as well. But, that is precisely why I like it - provided you enjoy the company of people you are dining with and like to drink (lots) of yummy wine and eat dessert and follow that with some coffee. If that sounds good to you, then Z Cuisine will be a no fail for you, too.