Happy Friday, Bucket Listers! Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Spice Kitchen, a laid-back and welcoming restaurant in Sunnyside, Parker and Thornton, serving bold Indian and Nepalese flavors.
This week, our journalists covered the dwindling number of Black-owned barbecue restaurants in Denver, the surprising reason some reservoirs are still ready for summer, why Denver Pride feels especially urgent this year, what’s going on at Denver’s Broken Bow Bar and Dance Hall two months in, how a children’s game evolved into a serious bar competition and how the Creatives Club fosters an artist community.
Here are this week’s top stories from across the Denver metro area and beyond.
Who Is Keeping Denver’s Black Barbecue History Alive?
Denver once had a much deeper Black barbecue scene. Today, only a few Black-owned barbecue businesses remain, and Mississippi Boy Catfish & Ribs is carrying a lot of that history. Reporter Wyatt Duesenberg spoke with owner Ty Allen and culinary historian Adrian Miller about barbecue, legacy and what it takes to keep a tradition alive.
How Horsetooth Reservoir Is Still Ready for Summer
Low snowpack and drought have raised questions about water recreation across Colorado. But Horsetooth Reservoir is expected to have a mostly normal summer, even as other Front Range reservoirs face more pressure. Reporter Abby Dalrymple explains why the answer has a lot to do with decades of water planning.
Why Denver Pride Feels Different This Year
Denver Pride is entering its 52nd year of celebrations with some major changes. “We went from 22 hours over the last weekend in June,” said Kim Salvaggio, CEO of The Center on Colfax, the organizer of Denver Pride. “Now we’re up to over 100 hours of Pride programming this month.” Trinity Schermerhorn spoke with Salvaggio and other community leaders to learn more about the importance of Pride amid political tension.
19 Year Old Runs New Western Dance Hall Near Coors Field
Broken Bow Bar and Dance Hall has been open for just over two months, but the Western bar and dance hall is already drawing line dancers, barhoppers, musicians and people looking for something different downtown. Reporter Laurel Vose visited the Lawrence Street venue to find out whether Denver really needed another place to two-step.
Rock, Paper, Scissors Gets Weirdly Serious
At Lincoln’s, a cash-only speakeasy in LoDo, adults are paying $5 to compete in weekly rock-paper-scissors tournaments. There is a referee. There is a bracket. There are actual stakes. Michael McAndrews dives into the bar game that has somehow become a scene.
A Club for Creatives Who Need to Get Out of the House
The Creatives Club started as a way for people to work on projects they kept putting off. Now, the group has chapters in Denver, Boulder and Washington, D.C., bringing together artists, writers, knitters, coders, tattoo artists and anyone else looking for a low-pressure place to make something. Vittorio Bongioanni explores how it grew and is connecting neighbors.
Stuff We Noticed
City Park bandstand is coming back. After a fire destroyed the historic City Park bandstand, Denver plans to tear down the damaged landmark and there’s a fundraiser to help build a new stage here. The goal is to have the new structure ready in time for the 2027 City Park Jazz season. This leaves this year’s City Park Jazz without a stage or power for the season, so the event’s nonprofit organizer is hoping to raise $30,000 to cover the costs of a mobile stage and power supply. Donate for that here.
The Montbello Rec Center reopened this week. The Montbello Recreation Center reopened this week after closing for more than two weeks following the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Mikail Nasir Khalid Payne in May. City officials say the center remains an important gathering place for the neighborhood.
DPS approves bell-to-bell phone ban. Denver Public Schools students will have to keep cellphones and other personal devices put away throughout the school day starting in August. District officials say the policy is intended to reduce distractions and improve social connection. We recently started using SeeGov, a tool for covering city council and school board meetings. You can watch part of the meeting here.
That’s all for this week’s newsletter. As you prepare for the June 30 primary election, be sure to check out Bucket List’s 2026 Ballot Builder. And keep an eye on your inbox Sunday for the next edition of Bucket List on the Street, our new series asking five Coloradans the same question. This week, we’ll hear what residents are thinking about the race for governor. Thank you so much for reading and supporting local news. We’ll see you back here next Friday.
Warmest Regards,
Iris Serrano
Editorial Intern/Bucket List Community News
KEEP UP WITH US!
Follow our daily news feeds on Facebook and Instagram
Listen to our Podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify
Got a story idea? Contact us!
