Arvada Late Winter Fun Activities

 With the winter season winding down there are a number of excellent outdoor activities for Candelas residents to get out and enjoy before the chilly weather finally comes to an end. Here are just a few options coming up in the next month:

Getting Ready to Grow

This multi-part series offered by the Pioneer Farmsteaders will help you plan your vegetable garden to get a great start for successful summer growth. The first session on March 7 will cover garden planning like plant selection, planting density options, crop rotation and garden design tools. The second session on March 21 will cover how to tend the soil delving into techniques for preparing and enhancing the soil for the optimal growth results. The final session on March 28 covers wise watering methods from irrigation design methods to prevent wasting water and effort in your garden. This session also delves into how to minimize disease issues like powdery mildew.

Getting Ready to Grow takes place at Majestic View Nature Center on 7030 Garrison St. from 1-2:30 p.m. and cost $10 per session or $24 for all three.

SaintPatrick’s Day Festival 2015

This annual festival continues this year on March 14 from 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. in the Historic Olde Town Arvada on Grandview Avenue. This year’s festival will feature arts and crafts, live music, food stands, kid’s entertainment, as well as wine and beer sales. This is a free event so make sure and get there fairly early so that you aren’t too swamped by the crowds.

The entertainment schedule goes as follows:

Noon - 12:45 p.m. - Soho Band

1:00 - 1:30 p.m. – Bennett School of Irish Dance

1:50 – 2:45 p.m. – Calder’s Revolvers

2:45 – 3:15 – Centennial State Pipes and Drums

3:15 – 4:15 – The Morph Tones

4:45 – 6:00 – Angus Mohr

Arvada Winter Morning Hikes

All outdoors men, women and children should consider attending the Arvada Winter Morning Hikes on March 21 from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. at the Standley Lake Open Space trailhead on 86^th Avenue at Simms Street. This is a great opportunity to join Mayor Pro Tem Mark McGoff for a beautifully scenic hike right here in Arvada. Meet and converse with other fellow Arvada outdoor enthusiast, take in the wonderful scenery and deepen your appreciation of Arvada’s natural features. Make sure and wear suitable hiking shoes or boots , plenty of water, as well as sunscreen for this three plus mile hike. You can find more infomation on the Candelas Rocky Flats Tumblr

Fall Festivities in Arvada, CO

Come October, Arvada is bustling with activities and celebrations. From Fall to Halloween, Arvada has an event for every autumn occasion. No matter if you have kids or pets, or if you’re a young couple looking for a fun date, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Arvada’s Festival of Scarecrows

A decorative scarecrow from the festival. Source: The Arvada Examiner

                Equal parts a celebration of fall and Halloween, Arvada’s Festival of Scarecrows usually occurs around the middle of October. The festivals sprawls across Olde Town Arvada, but a majority of events happen at Olde Town Square. The festival takes its name from the scarecrow contest. For this contest, groups and individuals create and decorate their own scarecrows, and judges pick the best ones. The top scarecrows receive cash prizes or gift cards.

                There are plenty of other contests for your consideration as well. For the decorated pumpkin contest, residents deck out their pumpkins with everything from streamer hair and makeup to hats and boots. Judges award prizes based on originality and creativity. Foodies and kitchen masters can take part in the pumpkin dish contest. Contestants can enter up to three items where pumpkin is a main ingredient. Judges will award prizes for the top three dishes in each of the five categories. Other competitions include a pumpkin pie eating contests and a pumpkin seed spitting contest.

                For the less competitive, there are plenty of other attractions to enjoy at the Festival of Scarecrows. Parents can proudly watch their children march in a kid’s costume parade. There’s also a maze for kids where the course boundaries are made using non-perishable food donations. Add in games, karaoke, hayrides and music, and you’ve got an event that’s a ton of fun for the whole family!

Arvada Harvest Festival

A banner at the beginning of the festival’s parade. Source: City of Arvada website

                At the beginning of September, Arvada commemorates the paving of the first road from Denver to Arvada with the Arvada Harvest Festival. Because of its historic origins-the first celebration dates back to 1925-this festival is the oldest and largest celebration in Arvada.

The main attraction is the Harvest Festival Parade. The parade is composed of several marching bands, plus floats from various school organizations, service clubs, and local businesses. Another unique event is the Teddy Bear Picnic. Perfect for kids and their favorite stuffed friend, the picnic allows children to bring their favorite stuffed animal to dine on a picnic lunch.

The list of other activities for the Harvest Festival is massive: music performances, a carnival complete with games, vendor booths, movies in the park, a garden harvest contest, a beer garden, ice cream social, and bingo, among others.                                

Other Halloween Festivities

                Some other smaller Halloween events can be found below:

               

-“Trick or Treat” Stage Performance is a horror story themed play that runs Fridays and Saturdays in October. It’s great for those who enjoy scary movies.

-The Apex Halloween Carnival is a great family-friendly festival. It has everything from games and bounce houses to hay rides and ghost stories.

-Trick or Treat Street happens in Olde Town Arvada. Here, businesses create a trick or treat environment for kids.

-Pet Howl-oween is a costume contest for dogs. Prizes are available for the most creative and frightening outfits, and all proceeds from the event go to charity. It’s a perfect night to bond with your favorite pooch!

                Additionally, you can find plenty of local haunted houses and other parties, or enjoy the crisp fall weather with other outdoor activities around Candelas.

What are your favorite fall activites?

                 

Beyond Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge: The Outdoors Surrounding Candelas

The most notable fixture of the Candelas scenery is the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge. Over 300 species of animals called this six-thousand-acre sanctuary home. Currently several miles of trails are being created to connect to existing hiking and biking paths. Soon enough residents will be able to enjoy a run or a bike ride in the fresh air while watching all sorts of fascinating creatures frolic through the grass and trees. Thankfully, there are plenty of other open parks in or near by Candelas for its homeowners to explore before Rocky Flats opens.

Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge         Photo: US Department of Energy

Coal Creek Canyon Park houses plenty of wildlife habitats for elk, bobcats and plenty of other animals. Residents can even feed bears in designated areas around the park. Campers will gravitate towards White Ranch Park. Along with camp grounds, the park offers 20 miles of hiking trails, lots of open fields and rolling foothills. Finally, for those who feel most at home on the water, there’s Standley Lake Regional Park. Here, one can enjoy boat rides and fishing on the lake, camp out on the shores, or take in some wildlife watching with the park’s various critters.

Standley Lake         Photo: colorado-hiking.net

For the most dedicated outdoorsmen, Candelas can be your gateway to a whole other span of awe-inspiring natural space. Plans are in place for a trail to run from Candelas into the Rocky Mountain National Park. Residents will enjoy access to some of the most majestic mountain scenery in the entire nation. In nearby Arvada, animal lovers of all ages can take in the trails and wetlands of the Majestic View Nature Center and Community Park.

Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park         Photo: Wikipedia

Finally, we would be remiss to not mention the activities available at Denver, the heart of a sprawling metropolitan area of which Candelas is a part. Fishermen can enjoy excellent fly fishing not far from the city’s center. Chatfied State Recreation Area has attractions for the whole family, from horseback rides and biking to swimming and sailing and everything in between. For those who just want to take a peaceful stroll through nature, look no further than the Castlewood Canyon State Park.

Castlewood Canyon State Park                      Photo: Examiner.com

Even beyond the Rocky Flats Wildlife Reserve, residents of Candelas enjoy some of the richest natural amenities in the country. What are your favorite things to do outside?

You can learn more about the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge wildlife and vegitation on the Candelas Rocky Flats Tumblr.