MyDenver November 2026
BELCARO & BONNIE BRAE
GAME OF HOMES
INSIDE TRUE COMPANIONS’ ANNUAL GALA
MAKE A SPLASH
COLORADO SCUBA DIVING
A Changing Landscape REIMAGINING BONNIE BRAE
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Helping clients build and enjoy their wealth … Make Life Count.
Wealth Management & Financial Advising (720) 593-9861
lgadvisors.com
1005 South Gaylord Street, Denver, CO
LotusGroup Advisors, LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser. This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute personalized investment advice. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. No strategy can guarantee results. For more information about our services, including our Form ADV, please visit lgadvisors.com.
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Contents NOVEMBER 2026
18
12 F EATU RES
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Open and Close
With struggling local businesses next to surging urban development, how do we reenvision the foundation of Bonnie Brae? 18
Game of Homes
Inside True Companions’ annual gala, where animals and people are celebrated. 22
8
Make a Splash
Colorado might not have oceans to boast, but you can still get a scuba diving certification right here in the Mile High City.
28
I N TH I S I S SU E
22
4
EDITOR’S NOTE Happy November
8
LOCAL PULSE Community Calendar
28
LOCAL SOCIAL First Edition
30
BOOK NOOK November Reads to Curl up With
32
PHOTO OP Serenity
COVER
Intersection of University Boulevard and Bonnie Brae Boulevard Photograph by Sawyer Matz
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EDITOR’S NOTE
MyDenver BELCARO & BONNIE BRAE EDITION
T
HELLO, NEIGHBORS, AND HAPPY NOVEMBER This issue covers a lot of ground, from a neighborhood laid out in the 1920s to the bottom of a Colorado reservoir, but I want to start with the story closest to our hearts Last month, I had the honor of attending the True Companions annual gala, in a room full of the staff, volunteers, and supporters who carry that work all year. True Companions exists so that every animal who comes through its doors gets a lasting and second chance, and that mission is one we
hold close here at MyDenver. I hope their story moves you the way it moved us. Our cover story walks the winding streets of Bonnie Brae, looking at how the neighborhood took shape and where it’s headed. We also dug into one of Colorado’s odder obsessions: For a state without an inch of coastline, we take scuba diving very seriously. Little Blue Pigeon threw its first Blue Book Festival on Larimer Square, and we got to be a part of it. Plus, founder Paige Dungan has picks for the long evenings ahead in our Book Nook. That same commitment runs through the partners in these pages. Every business and organization you see here, from the contractors and designers to the shop down the street, chose to invest in a magazine made for this community. That choice is the reason MyDenver lands in your mailbox each month. They’re your neighbors too, so when you need what they offer, support them as they support us. With gratitude,
Sawyer Matz
Publisher, MyDenver sawyer.matz@wainscotmedia.com mydenvermag.com @mydenvermag
Publisher Sawyer Matz sawyer.matz@wainscotmedia.com Writers Ashley Kay Mauer Paige Dungan Sophia Guerriero Photographer Connor Dillon Photography Sawyer Matz WAINSCOT MEDIA Chairman Carroll V. Dowden President and CEO Mark Dowden SVP, Group Publisher Thomas Flannery VP, Content Strategy Maria Regan VP, Director of Digital Media Nigel Edelshain Creative Director Kijoo Kim Art Director Rosemary O’Connell Associate Editor Sophia Carlisle Advertising Services Director Jacquelynn Fischer Operations Director Catherine Rosario Production Designer Chris Ferrante Circulation Manager Kathy Wenzler Advertising Production Associate Griff Dowden
MyDenver magazine is published by Wainscot Media. Serving residents of Bonnie Brae and Belcaro, the magazine is distributed monthly via U.S. mail. Articles and advertisements contained herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publishers. Copyright 2026 by Wainscot Media LLC. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written consent.
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DIRECTORY OF SPONSORS Many thanks to our committed sponsors, who make it possible for us to bring you high-quality local stories each month. Shopping and doing business close to home are excellent ways to support our community. When you visit our sponsors, please tell them MyDenver magazine sent you!
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Integrative Psychiatry: Beyond Just Medication We live in a time when everyone is juggling
different roles and responsibilities. Feeling out of balance, unfortunately, has become the norm for high performers. Whether you are an executive, an athlete, or busy parent managing a household and family, your brain and body are burning through nutrients to keep you going. What happens when those nutrients aren’t replaced? Mood, energy and attention issues can arise, making it increasingly difficult to sustain your mental and physical momentum. You are not alone.
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My approach includes an in-depth, comprehensive integrative assessment
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Ascend Integrative Psychiatry is an exclusive, in-home concierge practice which guarantees complete confidentiality and ensures that for every minute of our time together, you have my undivided clinical attention. On your schedule.
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LOCAL PULSE
Community CALENDAR
Blossoms of Light at Denver Botanic Gardens
November is Denver’s hinge month. The last farmers market tomatoes give way to the first strings of holiday lights, and the lantern fields go dark just as the Botanic Gardens begin to glow. Here’s how to spend every week of it.
November 1 and 8
November 1 to 8
The neighborhood’s favorite Sunday ritual has two mornings left before it hibernates for the winter. More than 150 local vendors line the 1400 and 1500 blocks of South Pearl Street with late-harvest Colorado produce, fresh pastries, coffee, cut flowers, and plenty to snack on while a local musician serenades the block. Stock the pantry for Thanksgiving while you still can, then linger at one of the street’s shops or restaurants. The market runs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., is free to attend, and welcomes all ages, though pets are not allowed. More info at southpearlstreet.com.
Denver’s original lantern festival has one week of glow left in it. This year’s theme bends space and time across Four Mile Historic Park, home to Denver’s oldest standing structure, where visitors wander past oversized wildflowers, a human-sized praying mantis, luminous African wildlife and enormous ocean creatures that seem to swim through the cold night air. Open Wednesday through Sunday, 7 to 11 p.m., rain or shine. Details at fourmilepark.org.
Last Call at the South Pearl Street Farmers Market
Final Week of Bright Nights at Four Mile
November 6 to 15 Denver Arts Week
Denver spends 10 days showing off. Arts Week kicks off with expanded First Friday art walks on November 6, then rolls through gallery openings, live music, dance, comedy, film, and handson workshops in every corner of town. The headliner is Night at the Museums on Saturday, Nov. 7, when cultural institutions across the city open late with free admission. The Denver Art Museum joins in and stays open until 10 p.m., though its ticketed DIVA exhibition is not included in free entry. Find the full lineup at visitdenver. com/denver-arts-week.
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Cherry Creek Holiday Market
November 7, 10, 13 and 15
November 14
Opera Colorado opens its 20262027 season with prophecies, witches and a crown that costs far more than it’s worth. Verdi’s take on Shakespeare’s tragedy plays at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House for the very first time, with baritone Norman Garrett and soprano Marcy Stonikas as the doomed couple. Patrick Summers, Music Director Emeritus of Houston Grand Opera, makes his Opera Colorado debut at the podium. Sung in Italian with English and Spanish captions, with a free pre-performance lecture one hour before every curtain. Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday’s is a 2 p.m. matinee. Tickets start at $39, with pay-what-you-wish options available. Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver Performing Arts Complex. Visit operacolorado.org.
Lace up for the 17th annual Denver Veterans Day Run, a memorial 5K and 10K through City Park benefiting the Colorado Veterans Project. Runners, walkers, kids, and dogs are all welcome. The hardiest can take on the 10K Rippetoe Rucksack Challenge at 8:30 a.m., carrying 25 pounds in honor of Army Captain Russell Brian Rippetoe. The 10K starts at 9 a.m. and the 5K at 9:15 a.m. Stick around afterward for a parade and festival in the park with marching bands, car and motorcycle clubs, military vehicles, local vendors, kids’ activities, and a beer garden. Register at denverveteransday. com.
Verdi’s Macbeth at the Ellie
Denver Veterans Day Run & Festival
November 19 to December 24
November 20 to January 10
Fillmore Plaza closes to traffic between 1st and 2nd Avenues and fills with local makers, designers, and creators for the seventh annual Cherry Creek Holiday Market. Vendors rotate through the season, so the gift you passed on last weekend might be replaced by a better one this weekend. Warm up with something festive at the Mistletoe Lounge pop-up bar, then wander the rest of Cherry Creek North under the holiday lights. Free, all ages, and dogfriendly. Open Monday to Wednesday, noon to 7 p.m., Thursday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with shortened hours on Thanksgiving. Details at cherrycreeknorth.com.
Denver’s most beloved holiday light show returns to York Street, turning the dormant winter gardens into a glowing, evershifting landscape of color. Give yourself an hour or so to walk the full path, and dress for it, because the show goes on rain, snow, or shine. The Gardens’ own advice is to brave the cold on a night with fresh snowfall, when the lights are at their most magical. Warm drinks and treats are available at Offshoots Café and the Hive Garden Bistro. Open nightly 4:30 to 9 p.m., closed Nov. 26 and Dec. 25. Tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at the door. Tickets at botanicgardens.org.
Cherry Creek Holiday Market
Blossoms of Light at Denver Botanic Gardens
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LOCAL PULSE
November 20 to December 23
November 25 to December 27
November 26
A slice of Bavaria lands back on the Auraria Campus as the city’s only authentic German holiday market returns to the Tivoli Quad. Produced by the German American Chamber of Commerce – Colorado Chapter, this year’s market brings more vendors, more cozy wooden huts and an expanded layout, plus all the pretzels, handmade gifts and steaming Glühwein you can carry. Snag this year’s limited-edition mug or stein before they vanish. The 110-foot Mile High Tree lights up right next door, and the free Mile High Drone Shows fill the sky every evening at 7 p.m. Free to attend. More at christkindlmarketdenver. com.
Ebenezer Scrooge returns to the Wolf Theatre for his annual overnight reckoning, and Denver keeps showing up to watch him crack. The Denver Center Theatre Company’s musical take on Dickens’ classic, adapted by Richard Hellesen with music and lyrics by David de Berry, is a family-friendly tradition with live music, period detail and enough holiday warmth to thaw the iciest heart in your household. Wolf Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex. Tickets at denvercenter.org.
Earn your second helping. Denver’s favorite Thanksgiving tradition takes over Washington Park for the 53rd year, a relatively flat four-mile course that drew nearly 11,600 runners last year, plenty of them dressed as turkeys, cornbread or pats of butter. Waves start at 9, 9:30 and 10 a.m., followed by the onemile Lil’ Gobbler Fun Run at 10:15 a.m. The Lil’ Gobbler Kids Zone keeps young trotters busy with games, face painting, and photos with Gobbles the Turkey. Every registration supports Mile High United Way’s work with metro Denver families. Parking at South High School and around the park. Register at unitedwaydenver.org.
Denver Christkindlmarket
“A Christmas Carol”
Mile High United Way Turkey Trot
November 28
Small Business Saturday The day after Black Friday belongs to the shops that actually live here. Spend it close to home: browse Bonnie Brae, Old South Gaylord and Old South Pearl, or head to Cherry Creek North for its Small Business Weekend and a lap through the Holiday Market on Fillmore Plaza. Every dollar spent at a neighborhood shop, café, or gallery stays a little closer to the block it came from, and the person ringing you up probably knows the owner. Some days, they are the owner. Buy the gift, then stay for the conversation. That part’s free.
2024 Mile High United Way Turkey Trot
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Open and Close
With struggling local businesses next to surging urban development, how do we reimagine the foundation of Bonnie Brae?
PHOTOGRAPH BY EB PIXS
BY SOPHIA GUERRIERO
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ANY DENVER LOCAL will know the name “Olinger” well, from the several coined mortuary locations peppered throughout the city. Even one renowned location in the Lower Highlands was transformed into the bustling restaurant and rooftop bar scene, “Linger Eatuaries,” with its unmistakable neon sign illuminating the night sky. In the early 1920’s, that very same George Olinger founded the Bonnie Brae neighborhood in Denver, affectionately named in the Gaelic phrase, “Pleasant Hill.” He commissioned landscape architect S. R. DeBoer to construct the characteristic serpentine, tree-lined roads that helped forge its architecturally distinct reputation. This continued over the next 70 years, and by the late 1980s, the desire for more spacious housing developments ushered in a period of new residential design, growing beyond the existing pitched-roof Tudor style homes. Jean Day Maschinot, president of Bonnie Brae Travel, recounts how it initially set the tone for social tensions that persist today.
Opposite page: Campus Lounge at 701 South University Boulevard. This page, above: Historian Dan Danbom
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Eugene Field Branch of the Denver Public Library undergoing renovations
“Bonnie Brae continues to balance growth with preservation, maintaining its status as one of Denver’s most treasured and desirable neighborhoods even with steep, premium-priced homes,” Maschinot says. Many original Bonnie Brae houses were scraped and replaced, often with much larger homes beside the smaller ones, thereby blocking sunlight to the older homes beside them, she says. To some neighbors’ lament, demolition continued and the fears of loss of character steeped in the community, she says. Those fears of the unknown soon became well documented by Denver historian and long-time Bonnie Brae resident, Dan Danbom. He recalled a once-flourishing neighborhood business presence wiped out by a fire in the ’80s, while changes to the residential side only persisted. Since
then, few of the beloved, landmark businesses have survived. “It’s undergoing what I would call a super gentrification,” Danbom says. “Technically, as far as businesses in the area go, Bonnie Brae Conoco is the only one [still standing]. It’s on its third generation, and even it’s up for sale now.” A CHANGING LANDSCAPE He notes how significantly the businesses along South University Boulevard have changed due to rising property taxes, an effect of the area’s valuation assessments on custom luxury home builds, and the expiration of tax relief programs like the Gallagher Amendment. It imposed a brake on residential taxes until the early 2020s, when it was repealed. Directly across Bonnie Brae Ice Cream, the area’s most charming
and classically preserved namesake business, a luxury apartment highrise, Akin, is being erected. “It will be the only multi-family residence in Bonnie Brae,” says Danbom. “There aren’t even any duplexes here as far as I know.” He confirmed with Conoco owner and operator, Ken Wilson, that the construction site for the Akin apartment homes was raided by ICE agents in early October. The incident may serve as a reflection of changes some longtime residents have witnessed for more than 40 years of urban development: The working-class individuals, those uplifting and quite literally building what will cater to the area’s wealthy, modernized clientele, are the ones suffering from so-called growing pains. This widening economic gap was one of many reasons for the
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The Bonnie Brae Akin apartment development
commercial shifts that contributed to the closure of Bonnie Brae Tavern, a local landmark hub that buzzed with business, but lost steam as generations cycled out of the neighborhood. It created an atmosphere Danbom describes as “the quality of a public square, where everyone knew everyone.” Once considered a “third-space” for both the blue-collar community members and multi-millionaires alike, economic challenges overpowered its working-class owners, Carl and Sue Dire, since opening in 1934. Danbom worked closely with the Dires for an essay on its closure in 2022. He wondered why it wasn’t the recipient of any government support offered to many historic businesses in the District 6 today, through initiatives like The Denver Legacy Business Program. It NOVEMBER 2026 |
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The Wilson Family Conoco at 724 South University Boulevard
seeks to “celebrate and accelerate support” for businesses granted ‘Legacy Status,’ according to the Denver government website. But this opportunity didn’t arise in time to save the Tavern, no matter how cherished it was. “I’ll put it this way,” Danbom says, “If the Tavern wasn’t historic, then there were no historic structures in Bonnie Brae.” STILL SERVING THE COMMUNITY Today, he argues that changes to the character of the neighborhood endure, and for better or worse, affect the neighborhood’s social fabric. “I think it’s a lot different now,” says Danbom, “but it’s the same virtually everywhere in Denver. It’s not just physical or architectural, but social. Suddenly you’ve got a tech executive who lives next to someone who owns a drycleaner. When you have newcomers
who are much more affluent than those who’ve lived there for years, I think there’s a natural tension.” Still, not every local or independent business has been undermined by the area’s development. Bonnie Brae Ice Cream has operated for the last 40 years off the corner of South University Boulevard and East Ohio Avenue, with enough success that their only adaptations to the historic storefront were to accommodate more customers than ever before. Adrian Simon, director of operations at Bonnie Brae Ice Cream, disagreed with some of the negative criticism of the changing times. “All of the shops on the street are independent businesses, and we serve the people,” says Simon. “Maybe it’s a different clientele than it was 20 or 30 years ago, but we serve the neighborhood as small businesses.”
That sentiment, Simon says, is part of the lifeblood and identity of their establishments. She stood behind the idea that while some of the neighborhood’s locale may appear more modern, the heart and integrity behind locally-owned businesses serving its immediate community members is robust, alive, and well. She also says the anecdotes she hears from businesses and residents are more positive or neutral than anything else. “We’re all committed to that neighborhood feel. Between us and the newer storefronts, we’re focused on serving the neighborhood as much as possible, because that’s really our bread and butter.” As of October 2026, efforts by local government and city-planning officials extend a helping hand to those historic businesses that residents want to
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Bottom right: Jean Maschinot, president of Bonnie Brae Travel
see strengthened amid modern developments in the Bonnie Brae area. The Denver Legacy Business Program, supported by the District 6 Councilman, Paul Kashmann, accepted applications for businesses to receive legacy status through September. It would afford those accepted support in marketing and branding, resource referrals, networking, and promotion in their business registry. Kashmann had gone on record in 2020 during talks about Bonnie Brae Tavern’s closure, telling Denverite that he expected the University Boulevard strip to “pop” earlier than it had in comparison to the nearby residential developments. He addressed how the discomfort associated with novelty could feel jarring to some, but shared interest in seeing how other
local businesses would respond to the inertia surging throughout the neighborhood. Despite conflicting opinions on what is an invigorating, albeit polarizing, conversation about the future of the Bonnie Brae area, the ever-changing communities are acutely aware of how it impacts their own lives. Key players continue seeking harmony between the preservation of beloved institutions and the excitement around the booming development seen today. Sophia Guerriero is a writer and communications professional. Trained at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. She currently works as a nonprofit media manager and freelance writer for various U.S. publications. NOVEMBER 2026 |
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Game of Homes Inside True Companions’ annual gala, where animals and people are celebrated. BY MYDENVER STAFF
Y Photograph by Connor Dillon Photography
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YOU COULD PICK out the guests long before the Four Seasons Hotel Denver came into view. Somewhere between the valet stand and the lobby doors, downtown had been overtaken by crowns, capes, and the occasional jingle of chain mail. Everyone was dressed to the nines, or more accurately, to the Middle Ages. The occasion was the annual gala for True Companions Animal Shelter & Clinic, and this year’s theme, “Game of Homes: Whiskers Are Coming,” was a nod to Game of Thrones that the crowd took to heart, and to the tailor. In Westeros, winter is coming. In Denver on Oct. 17, it was the whiskers. The name on the invitation is new, but the cause behind it goes back to 1987, when veterinarian Dr. William Suro and his wife, Nanci, took up a collection for a dog brought into his clinic after being hit by a car. They called him Max, and the jar on the
Four Seasons Denver Ballroom
front counter read “The Max Fund.” A year later, it was a nonprofit, and for almost four decades Denver knew it as MaxFund. This March it became True Companions, a name meant to honor the relationships that hold the whole operation together: people and their animals, and a shelter and the community that keeps its doors open. The promise didn’t change with the signage. Colorado’s largest nonprofit No Kill shelter takes in every animal it has room for and keeps it until it finds a home, whether that takes a week or a year. The gala, now running for close to 40 years, is the shelter’s biggest fundraiser, and every dollar goes straight to the care of its adoptable animals. Last fall’s gala, also at the Four Seasons, was the most successful in the organization’s history, and this year’s crowd arrived looking every bit like it intended to defend the crown.
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER After check-in came cocktail hour, and with it the silent auction: dog- and cat-adorned quilts, decorative plates, a boozy basket for every combination of spirits imaginable, and activity packages for bowling, Jeep tours, and paint-and-sips. The real attraction, though, was the menagerie of adoptable cats and dogs making their rounds between the auction tables and the regalia. They had dressed for the occasion too, in flower collars, many of them already stuffed with a few dollar bills from admirers. If money could be raised by tail wags alone, this crew would have funded the next year before the first round of drinks was finished. Before dinner, the adoptables went on parade, a gala tradition, each one introduced to the room like nobility. Two of the dogs had already been adopted, including Shayla Jane, a NOVEMBER 2026 |
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Top right: Photograph by Connor Dillon Photography
3-month-old pit bull/Lab mix you may remember from MyDenver’s September issue. For the ones still waiting, it was the best audition a shelter animal could ask for: a ballroom full of people who already love animals, and every reason to fall for one more. When the program began, Kathy Gaines, True Companions CEO, took the microphone first took the microphone first with some genuinely inspiring words, and Tory Schulman, host of 9News’ Colorado & Company, followed with her fair share of both inspiration and jokes. Then came the moment that sent more than a few napkins to the corners of more than a few eyes. John Moore, the longtime Colorado arts journalist now with the Denver Gazette, took the stage to talk about LunaStar, the companion he found at this very shelter after she had spent months waiting for him. Under the No Kill mission, the length of that wait never mattered; she only had to be there when the right person walked in, and she was. She spent the next 12-plus
years by his side, and from the way he spoke about her, her little paw prints have left a permanent mark. It’s safe to say we all went home and gave our animals a hug they did not ask for. “The purpose of this event is, of course, to celebrate our mission, but also to keep the animals’ needs top of mind. The generosity of our attendees, sponsors, and donors directly translates into a second chance at life for some of Colorado’s most vulnerable dogs and cats. When they have nowhere else to turn, we open our doors. It’s hard to put a price on the significance of that—permitting a life to continue, as John so eloquently put it—so that its future has a fighting chance,” says Sophia Guerriero, media and communications manager at True Companions. Once the napkins were put away, the paddles went up. Auctioneer Kevin Rutter worked the live auction and the paddle-raise donations with the kind of cheerful pressure that makes people forget their budgets, reminding the ballroom more than once, “It’s only
money!” He meant it. Every winning bid, he pointed out again and again, was a gift that kept on giving. The high bidder went home with a getaway or an experience, and back at the shelter, that same money became a vet visit, a surgery, or a few more months of patience for an animal still waiting on its person. The vacation was just the receipt; the real purchase was the graciousness of knowing exactly where the money was headed. The tables had stayed loyal to the theme all night, each one topped with a dragon egg or a sword centerpiece, so it was only fitting that dessert arrived as more dragon eggs, these pink and green and very much edible, resting on a bed of golden chocolate nuggets. Most tables managed a second of collective hesitation before the first spoon went in, and then no hesitation at all. The evening closed with a performance from Paul Borillo Entertainment that leaned all the way into the theme. In proper Westeros fashion, the story’s dogs and cats
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HOW TO HELP Whether you have a few dollars, a few hours, or a spare room, there’s a place for you at True Companions. GIVE $250 feeds 10 healthy shelter dogs for seven and a half days and 10 healthy shelter cats for 17. Donations are accepted year-round as a onetime gift or a monthly one, online at truecompanions.org or by mail. FOSTER Who fosters help: animals healing from surgery or working through medical or behavioral challenges, nursing moms, bottle-fed kittens and puppies, pets in hospice care, and long-term residents who’d simply do better in a home than a kennel. What’s covered: the vet care, from vaccines and medications to prescription diets, plus emergency care with a coordinator’s OK. Beds, blankets, and kennels come along too, when they’re available. What you bring: the food, the litter box, the toys, and a safe place to land. The fine print: you’ll need to live within 30 minutes of the shelter, everyone under your roof meets the animal first, and there’s a home inspection once a year. To apply: head to truecompanions. org, or send questions to fostering@ truecompanions.org. VOLUNTEER Who can help: anyone 9 and up at the cat shelter, and 14 and up at the dog shelter. Volunteers 9 to 15 bring a parent or guardian along, and that adult goes through the application and orientation too. The commitment: six hours a month for at least six months in a row. Getting started: a $50 fee covers the paperwork, background check, and your badge, followed by a reference check and one two-and-a-half-hour training session. To apply: truecompanions.org/Volunteer VISIT Cat Shelter: 720 W. 10th Ave. Dog Shelter: 1005 Galapago St. Veterinary Clinic: 1000 Inca St. SAVE THE DATE Fore the Animals Golf Tournament: May 17, 2027, Cherry Creek Country Club
squared off for a duel to the death, an idea swiftly dismissed (this is a No Kill house, after all) in favor of each side performing tricks to settle their differences. Lighthearted, sure, but beneath the costumes was the creed True Companions has lived by since the first jar on the front counter: Nobody in this story is expendable, whether they bark, purr, or bid. True Companions doesn’t publicly share its gala totals, but the room was generous, which fits this city’s track record with the shelter. When 9News’ Next with Kyle Clark featured it in the show’s Word of Thanks campaign last year, viewers donated more than $100,000. Still, the need doesn’t clock out when the ballroom empties, and the gala is only one way in. Plenty of supporters simply give monthly. Others give time instead of money, walking dogs and keeping the cats company a few hours a month, and if your partner or roommate is allergic, that’s the way to get your fix and leave most of the fur at the shelter.
Then there are the fosters, who turn a spare room into a recovery ward for a dog on the mend from surgery, a nursery for a bottle-fed kitten, or a soft landing for an old-timer who just needs somewhere better than a kennel to spend his days. If golf is more your speed than ballgowns, True Companions will host its second annual Fore the Animals Golf Tournament on May 17, 2027, at Cherry Creek Country Club. The inaugural round this past spring, presented by Academy Bank, played straight through a rainstorm. The gala will be back next fall, too. MyDenver was proud to be among this year’s sponsors. It all started with one injured dog and a jar on a front counter. Nearly 40 years later, the name on the door has changed, and the knights hang up their capes at the end of the night, but the idea that started with Max is still the same: every animal that comes through the door gets its chance at a home. That’s a house worth pledging your sword to. NOVEMBER 2026 |
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Students practicing sharing air.
Make a
Splash
Colorado might not have oceans to boast, but you can still get a scuba diving certification right here in the Mile High City. BY ASHLEY KAY MAUER
C
COLORADO IS KNOWN for outdoor activities, the Rocky Mountains, and…scuba diving? Okay, maybe scuba diving doesn’t really come to mind with Colorado, but it wouldn’t be out of place if it did. Despite being landlocked, Colorado ranks among the top three states for certified divers per capita, according to PADI. Not having an ocean at home makes diving a more appealing pastime when traveling, and Colorado is also well known for having outdoorsy people, which goes hand in hand with wanting to really see the ocean when given the opportunity. Many people start their certification in Colorado and then finish it on a trip.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ASHLEY KAY MAUER
Photograph courtesy of Flatirons Scuba
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Blue Hole Surface
Diving inside the Blue Hole.
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From left: Divemaster Lydia Kerr, instructor Mark Haden, and divemaster Jordan Pfingsten at Homestead Crater. A fake skeleton diver at the bottom of the Blue Hole. Knickknacks in the Blue Hole.
TAKING THE PLUNGE What does it take to become a certified diver? The first level of certification is called Open Water Diver. You will read and watch videos to learn about dive equipment, what it is for, and how to maintain it. Then you’ll get into safety topics like surfacing slowly to avoid decompression sickness (commonly known as the bends), how to share air with a buddy should you or they run out, and diving within your nodecompression limits. All of these scenarios sound scary, and they should be treated with a healthy respect, but the point of the class is to prepare you for scenarios you will hopefully never experience so you are prepared if you do. Once you have completed the academic portion, you will need to do confined water dives. In Colorado, this pretty much exclusively means a swimming pool. There is a brief swim test—a 200-yard swim (or 300-yard swim with a mask, snorkel, and fins) and a 10-minute tread (floating counts). You’ll set up and tear down your equipment multiple times until you are comfortable with it. Then you’ll learn how to enter the water with your gear
on. From a pool’s edge, you will usually be taught to enter via a giant stride. This is a fancy way of saying you’ll take a big step to get your body away from the edge before gravity takes over so that you don’t hit your scuba tank on the edge of the pool. You’ll get used to breathing through a regulator and obeying the number one rule of scuba diving: Never hold your breath. You’ll take your first steps to achieving neutral buoyancy, which is when you have the right ratio of weight to keep you underwater and the right amount of air in your BCD to maintain your position in the water without swimming, floating up, or sinking down. You will demonstrate skills to your instructor, like clearing water out of your mask if it floods, how to ditch your weight, and sharing air with a buddy. The thought of these might make you nervous, but you will be shown how to do these skills beforehand so there are no surprises, and if you don’t get it quite right the first time, you can try again. After you have succeeded in the pool, you have to demonstrate your skills during four open water dives. In Colorado, this is certainly trickier than in coastal areas where the ocean is an obvious choice. If you want
to stay local, open water dives can be completed in Aurora Reservoir, Chatfield Reservoir, or Coral Key Sea during the summer. They are cold, and the visibility isn’t very good, but if you can master diving in those conditions, you will be a much better diver in easier conditions. If you’re lucky, you might even glimpse a sunken plane in Aurora Reservoir or parts of an underwater navigation course. If a reservoir doesn’t sound appealing to you, you’re not alone. Most Colorado shops offer trips to Homestead Crater in Midway, Utah, or the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. The crater is thermal, so it is nice and toasty all year round at an average of 90 to 96 degrees, and it is protected from the elements in a manmade cavern. While the Blue Hole cannot boast warm water, the visibility is stunning. When people haven’t stirred up silt, you can see all the way down to the 85-foot bottom from the surface. The Blue Hole is reminiscent of Ariel’s collection of human artifacts because people have decorated the bottom and sides with knick-knacks. Odds are that if you’re learning to dive in Colorado, you plan to do most of your diving outside of Colorado,
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PADI SHOPS Concierge Scuba - They come to you! 303-960-6496 info@conciergescuba.com
Right: A shark at the Denver Aquarium.
and you can jump right into it if you take referral paperwork with you on a trip. Complete your academics and confined water dives at home and hit two birds with one stone by doing your open water dives in the ocean where you were planning to dive anyway. Just be sure to align the teaching program you start with and the shop you plan to finish with. Colorado has an abundance of dive shops teaching both PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) and SSI (Scuba Schools International) programs. Both associations offer lifelong certifications, but if you’re out of the water for a while, it is always best to refresh your skills before getting back into it. Both programs are widely accepted, and you can switch back and forth between them if you so desire (Example: You can be an SSI-certified Open Water Diver and then do a PADI Nitrox class.) There are other diving associations out there, like NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) or GUE (Global Underwater Explorers), but PADI and SSI are the most common in Colorado. If you are already an Open Water diver, or if you fall in love with it after taking your Open Water class, there
are continuing education classes to hone your skills, like buoyancy, and to expand the type of diving you can do, like the depth you can go to. As an Open Water Diver, you will be certified to dive to 60 feet; as an Advanced Open Water Diver, you are certified to 100 feet. The typical track after Open Water Diver is Advanced Open Water Diver, Rescue Diver, Divemaster, and Instructor. There are specialty courses that can be taken at any time, like Nitrox or Enriched Air Diving, Dry Suit Diving, Altitude Diving, Deep Diving, Peak Performance Buoyancy, and so many more. If becoming a professional isn’t of interest to you, being a Rescue Diver with 5 specialties will earn you a Master Scuba Diver rating. Even if continuing education isn’t on your itinerary, there are dive opportunities in Denver proper after you’re certified at the Denver Aquarium. They offer a shark dive and a fish dive with moray eels, rays, groupers, and more. What better conversation starter than, “I dove with sharks at a mile high?” Ashley Kay Mauer was born and raised north of Denver and took to writing after coming to terms with being unable to get a job reading sci-fi and fantasy novels.
Flatirons Scuba & Travel - Broomfield 303-469-4477 info@flatironsscuba.com Underwater Phantaseas Scuba & Travel Center - Lakewood 303-988-6725 staff@uwphantaseas.com SSI Shops A-1 Scuba and Travel Aquatics Center Littleton 303-789-2450 divers@a1scuba.com Coral Key Scuba & Travel - Arvada 303-431-5911 dive@coralkeyscuba.com Denver Divers & Swim School - Denver 303-399-2877 scuba@denverdivers.com Ocean First - Boulder 303-444-7234 info@oceanfirst.blue One World Dive & Travel - Greenwood Village 303-220-8282 info@oneworlddive.com Planet Scuba - Castle Rock 303-688-1551 dive@planetscubatravel.com
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Come find your next great read. ONE OF AMERICA’S BEST INDIE BOOKSTORES IS RIGHT HERE IN DENVER.
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Named one of “25 Independent Bookstores We Love” by Frommer’s
Meet Little Blue Pigeon Books
— a woman-owned independent bookstore in the heart of historic Larimer Square, where every shelf is thoughtfully curated for readers of all kinds.
CURATED FOR EVERYONE Books | Events | Community Little Blue Pigeon Books 1413 Larimer Street • Larimer Square
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LOCAL SOC IAL
Top left: The welcome signs at the festival entrance on Larimer Square. Top right: 1st Annual Blue Book Festival
First Edition The Blue Book Festival takes flight on Larimer Square. BY MYDENVER STAFF ON OCT. 10, hundreds gathered in Larimer Square for the very first Blue Book Festival, put on by Little Blue Pigeon Bookstore. Paige Dungan opened the independent bookstore’s doors in April of this year, and she hopes to turn the Blue Book Festival into an annual gathering downtown. So do we. The all-day festival celebrated authors, books, readers, stories, the store’s first months in business, and the incredible community that surrounds us. From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Denver’s most historic block filled shoulder to shoulder with readers; its usual bustle turned up a notch and turned toward the page. Author booths dotted the Square, Colorado writers met the people who read them, and conversation and signings filled the afternoon.
Over at Apollo Hall, two headline conversations gave the day its marquee. James Beard Award-winning author Alexis Nikole Nelson, the Black Forager, talked wild food and her bestselling cookbook, “Happy Snacking, Don’t Die!”. New York Times bestselling humorist Jenny Lawson brought her trademark candor, finding the funny in mental health and the beautifully absurd. Every ticket came with a hardcover and a spot in the signing line. The festival carried a little Denver history in its name, too. “Little Blue Pigeon” comes from Eugene Field’s “Japanese Lullaby,” and Field called Denver home before Chicago made him famous. He edited the Denver Tribune from 1881 to 1883, and his cottage still stands in Washington Park, a stone’s throw from the marble
Wynken, Blynken and Nod. A children’s poet lending his pigeon to a new bookstore on Larimer feels less like a name and more like an inheritance. Dungan spent more than 20 years in book marketing, and wrote a children’s book of her own before building a permanent home for the stories she’d spent a career championing. That home gives back, too: through the store’s Book Forward program, one book goes to a Denver literacy organization for every five sold. The shop itself sits in the storefront that, for most of the last century, was Fred Mueller Saddles & Ranchwear. Where saddles once hung, the shelves now offer other ways to ride off somewhere. A pigeon, after all, is a homing bird. This one has found its roost. Here’s to the second edition.
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Authors, booksellers and readers fill Larimer Square for the first Blue Book Festival.
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B O OK NO OK
November Reads to Curl up With These cozy-season picks from bookstore owner Paige Dungan will warm you up, break your heart a little, and keep you up past bedtime.
AT LITTLE BLUE Pigeon Books, November is our favorite reading season: first snow, early sunsets, and a book you can’t put down. This month’s list brings two of fall’s most anticipated Irish novels, a snowbound Colorado thriller, an essential history for the Thanksgiving table, and a laughout-loud picture book for little readers. Pull up a chair. The season’s best reads are here.
WHALE HARBOR
By Mary Beth Keane (On sale Nov. 3) From the bestselling author of “Ask Again, Yes” comes a sweeping family saga that begins in 1960s Ireland. When Rian, who was supposed to follow his brother to America, vanishes without a trace, eleven brothers are left carrying one family mystery across generations. Big-hearted, absorbing, and built for long November nights.
STATIONS
By Louise Kennedy (On sale Nov. 3) The author of the prize-winning “Trespasses” returns with a novel about the love that never quite lets go. In 1982 Ireland, outcast teenagers Róisín and Red form a fierce bond. Then trouble drives Red to England, and their lives pull apart. Tender, wrenching, and impossible to shake, this is a book about the choices we make young and how long they echo.
WHEN THEY FIND ME
By Carter Wilson (On sale Nov. 10) In Expanse, Colorado, a town of just 313 people, Annie Wolfe and her daughter have built a life that’s nearly off the grid. Then, during a blizzard, a stranger knocks on her door, and the past Annie has been running from finally catches up. Tense, twisty, and steeped in Colorado snow, this is your next sleepless night.
THIS LAND IS THEIR LAND: THE WAMPANOAG INDIANS, PLYMOUTH COLONY, AND THE TROUBLED HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING
By David J. Silverman Just in time for Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Month, historian David J. Silverman tells the real story behind the 1621 harvest feast, centered on the Wampanoag people who lived it. Riveting, deeply researched, and eyeopening, it will change the conversation at your holiday table in the best way.
HELP! I’M BEING EATEN BY A BEAR!
By Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat (On sale Nov. 3) From the wildly funny team behind “Don’t Trust Fish” comes a guide to everything you should not do when you meet a bear. Clever, silly, and made for reading aloud (with voices), it’s a guaranteed giggle and the perfect early holiday gift. As the holidays approach, remember that a book is one of the most personal gifts you can give: a whole world, wrapped and handed to someone you love. Whether you’re reading by the fire on a snowy night, sharing a story with a little one at bedtime, or bringing a new perspective to the Thanksgiving table, we hope these picks bring you comfort, connection, and a few great conversations. Happy reading, Denver, and happy Thanksgiving. Paige Dungan is a Denver-based book publicist with 22 years of experience and a lifelong love of great stories. She opened Little Blue Pigeon Books, an independent bookstore on Denver’s historic Larimer Square, on April 1, 2026.
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MyDenver
PREMIERE ISSUE February 2026
BELCARO & BONNIE BRAE
AGING IN PLACE
WITH A LITTLE HELP
A NEW CHAPTER
FOR THE EUGENE FIELD BRANCH LIBRARY
Local Storyteller CYNTHIA SWANSON
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More Than an Ad. When you become a partner—you’re more than an advertiser. Learn more about our sponsorship program. Contact Sawyer Matz at Sawyer.Matz@wainscotmedia.com or 720-951-1111.
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PHOTOGRAPH BY DANIEL BRENNER
PHOTO OP
SERENITY LANDSCAPE SHOT OF Dillon Reservoir in Summit County, Colorado submitted by Daniel Brenner. Daniel Brenner is a Denver-based photographer who puts a deep emphasis on storytelling and intimacy in his photography. Daniel’s professional work has been published by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, NPR, and more. This particular photo was previously published in a New York Times article surrounding last summer’s proposal to auction off millions of acres of Western public lands. The proposal was firmly rejected by Summit County locals who preferred preserving their pristine mountain wilderness. Learn more about Daniel and his work at danielbrennerphoto.com.
Have a great image for Photo Op?
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Submit your high-resolution shot to sawyer.matz@ wainscotmedia.com.
10/22/26 4:13 PM
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BeautifulBegin Homes at Lorton’s
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