Metro Denver News

Welcome Shelli Smith, Denver’s new Chapter Coordinator! What a great welcoming party she had in September! Thanks to everyone who attended! The company was delightful, the food plentiful and the vegan chocolate cake divine!

The Denver Chapter is off to a great new beginning, with a ton of great suggestions and plenty of exciting events! In September, the group joined RMAD for a totally outrageous Labor Day party at Bob Rose’s house! Thanks to everyone who attended! On another night, Stephanie Janard’s invited everyone out at Comedy Works. What a blast!! Next time, everyone will get seats in the front row and wear red! Later in the month, many of our members joined RMAD once again for Walk for Farm Animals, a special event hosted by Ann Swissdorf. Thanks to everyone’s efforts, quite a lot of money was raised for Farm Animal Sanctuary.

The excitement continued in October making for an very exciting Fall for the VSC!! The Great Pumpkin Harvest Festival was delightful! Everyone enjoyed roaming through the gigantic pumpkin patch, racing through the park in gunny sacks, and listening to lively local music! Mark your calendars now for next year, because this is annual event is one not to be missed! Halloween was an especially thrilling event this Fall! How creative and original all the costumes were! The bountiful food was fantastic and the children’s pumpkin paintings were quite a hit!! If you didn’t attend this year, join us next year and continue this fun VSC tradition!

Upcoming Denver Chapter Events:

Saturday November 16^th: Dinner and a Play Taki’s is one of Denver’s best Japanese restaurants, offering a variety of spectacular vegetarian and vegan dinners at a very good cost! Voted Denver’s Best Cheap Eats by City Search 2001, Taki’s is the place to be this evening! Meet at Taki’s located at 241 E. Colfax Ave (corner of Logan and E. Colfax) at 6:00pm to enjoy a wonderful feast of good food and great company. At 7:30pm, following dinner, everyone will head to Garner Galleria Theatre in LoDo, located at 14^th and Curtis St, to catch the smash hit performance of the play I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change! Discounted Front Row (!!) tickets for this play are available for VSC members at only $29 (regularly $35). For tickets and to RSVP for dinner, please contact Jason Smith at jason.smith@eljebelshrine.org or (303) 738-9917 by Tuesday November 12^th.

Thursday November 28^th: Thanksgiving! Everyone is invited to the VSC’s 25^th annual Thanksgiving Potluck bash! This event is HUGE!!! Over 200+ people are expected to attend! The Thanksgiving potluck is a long time tradition with the VSC. There will be hundreds of unique and creative vegetarian dishes to sample, guest entertainers and speakers, raffles, live music, and a Turkey! Gather at Denver’s Washington Park United Methodist Church located at 1955 E Arizona Ave. Festivities begin at 12:00 noon, dinner at 1:00pm. Children and welcome so bring the whole family! Call Stephanie to RSVP at (303) 258-7467.

Friday December 6^th: Parade of Lights Join the VSC for Colorado’s brightest holiday tradition, the Xcel Energy Parade of Lights, appearing in LoDo Denver on Friday, December 6 at 8 p.m. The holiday extravaganza parade winds its way through two miles of Downtown Denver and is the Rocky Mountain region’s most popular holiday tradition. The Parade of Lights has spectacularly lit theme floats, festive giant balloons, marching bands, and special performers. For parade information, call the Downtown Denver Events Hotline at 303.478.7878, or visit the parade website at www.denverparadeoflights.com. Park ‘n Ride is the advised way of commuting to Denver for this event. Boulder VSC members will meet at the RTD Table Mesa station at 6:30pm. Once in LoDo, VSC parade attendees will meet on the Parade Route to watch the festivities at the SW corner of the intersection of Arapahoe and 15^th St.

Sunday December 15^th: White Elephant Holiday Party! Join the Wildbunch for an exciting evening of fun and food this holiday season! Everyone is invited to Joysa Winter’s Denver home for a "Recycled White Elephant" party! In addition to bringing a spectacular holiday vegetarian dish, for this party everyone also brings one pre-wrapped gift to be exchanged in the traditional "White Elephant" way. The theme of the gift exchange is one of a recycled nature, meaning the gifts don’t need to be new but instead can be something "used," still in good condition. In other words, bring an item that you have enjoyed for years in your home and would like to pass on to someone new. The idea is to pass on your own happiness and good cheer to others through whatever item has created this for you. The party begins at 5:00pm at Joysa’s home located at 321 Newark St (near 6^th Ave and Havana) in Aurora . Directions: Take Alameda East, Turn North (left) on Havana, get into the right hand lane and turn East (right) onto 4^th Way, Turn North ( left) onto Newark St. The house is on your left at 321 Newark. For more information or better directions you may contact Joysa at (303) 360-7419 or joysa@aol.com. If you plan to attend this event please RSVP to Shelli Smith, the Denver Coordinator, at shelli@vsc.org or (303) 742-4036 by Wednesday December 11^th.

Saturday December 21- Ski Trip!!! Everyone in the VSC is invited to a day of cross-country ski or snowshoe at Colorado's best-groomed Nordic ski area on Saturday December 21^st! Devil's Thumb Ranch Cross-Country Ski Center offers cross-country and skate skiing for ALL levels, as well as rental equipment and instruction! You can also snow shoe, ice skate, and take a horse-drawn sleigh ride! Dogs are permitted on-leash on some of the trails for a small fee. Kid sleds and skis are also available to rent. They also have lodging and a restaurant with entertainment. Driving to Winter Park is another dinner option.

In order to beat the I-70 ski traffic and gets the best snow conditions, an early start is best. Therefore groups will be leaving from Denver and Boulder at 6AM and meeting at I-70 West Exit 256 at "Kermitts." Be sure to dress in lots of light and moderate layers (as if hiking or jogging in the winter), bring a change of clothes/shoes, plenty of water, sunscreen, and a camera! Feel free to pack a lunch. There are many nice warming huts available.

To RSVP for this event or for carpool information/questions, call Jill Yarger between Dec 8th and 19^th at 303 541 9481 or 303 939 5151 or send an email jill.yarger@prodigy.net Sign Up really early to qualify for a group discount rate!

For those who want to stay and play on Sunday, the Lodge is the nicest but priciest, Winter Park has some moderately priced hotels, and group bunk-room lodging is available at "YMCA of Rockies" for budget rates. Those who choose to pamper themselves and stay at the Lodge, can also melt the day away in the hot tub!

For further information:www.devilsthumbranch.com or http://www.colorado-xc.org/devils-thumb-ranch.htm