The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. For locals, by locals. Sign up today!
1. Sip It: Tour Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory
- Why you should go: Our consumption of tea increases as the temperature decreases. Embrace the leaf (no, not that kind of leaf) during a tour of Celestial Seasonings, one of our favorite tourist traps.
- Details: Monday to Sunday, Boulder
2. Get Involved: Resolve to be nicer this year and volunteer with a nonprofit
- Why you should go: Every week, 5280.com features ways for you to “Get Involved” in your community. This month, pick at least one. (One of our favorites: PLAY Denver is a group that helps rethink community spaces and “play.”)
- Details: Your choice, Colorado
3. Stay Cool: Pick your favorite at the Budweiser International Snow Sculpture Championships
- Why you should go: If your idea of snow sculpture is sticking a carrot on a lopsided snowman in the front yard, prepare to be amazed at what these artists can do with chainsaws and frozen water.
- Details: January 19 to February 8, Breckenridge
4. Take Action: March in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Colorado Holiday Commission’s “Marade”
- Why you should go: This annual event honors a man whose message of peace and civil rights advancement is still so important today. Help continue his legacy by walking from City Park to Civic Center Park as part of the “Marade.”
- Details: January 19, Denver
5. Eat Right: Get Advice from a Nutrtionist at Athleta
- Why you should go: If you’ve vowed to eat healthier in 2015, but aren’t sure how to do just that, swing by Cherry Creek Shopping Center’s Athleta store from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to hear from nutritionist Elizabeth Crosby. (Bonus: The store has free fitness classes in January, too.)
- Details: January 24, Denver
6. Cross it Off: Tackle something on the Colorado Bucket List
- Why you should go: This month, 5280 published the ultimate list of things to try before you, well, expire. The good news? There are plenty of cheap things to do, like cruising Colfax Avenue to look for vintage signs and taking a dip in remote hot springs. Our free pick for January, though, is to get a Denver Public Library card and tackle the Colorado Syllabus.
- Details: Your choice, Colorado
7. Go West: Watch the 41st Annual Bud Light Cowboy Downhill
- Why you should go: Come winter, a classic Colorado experience is watching cowboy-hat-clad skiers romp at Steamboat. Bonus: There is a free concert at Gondola square.
- Details: January 19, Steamboat Ski Area
8. Watch and Learn: Visit “One November Morning: Art on Sand Creek” by Cheyenne and Arapaho artists
- Why you should go: More than 150 years ago, on November 29, 1864, U.S. militia at Sand Creek murdered approximately 160 people from the Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes. Now, descendants and artists of those killed or injured at the massacre have created art to celebrate their culture and commemorate what happened that day. See the emotional exhibit at the University of Denver now.
- Details: Until March 6, Denver
9. Settle In: Take in a flick at Environmental Film Night
- Why you should go: We can get behind the idea of supporting the environment and relaxing to watch a movie at the Morrison Nature Center at Star K Ranch.
- Details: January 9, Aurora
10. Line up: Watch the annual National Western Stock Show parade
- Why you should go: We don’t tire of watching livestock parade through downtown’s streets instead of cars.
- Details: January 8, Downtown
Follow senior editor Natasha Gardner on Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.
