Crystal Valley Blog

Mid-summer is the perfect time to relax and look at the lighter side of life! With a variety of comedy shows in town, you have a number of choices! Outdoor summer concerts continue to rock the Castle Rock area as well, so take a look at the listings, and enjoy some fun events for the entire family!

TODAY/TONIGHT, Thursday, July 5

FREE PHILHARMONIC WOODLAND PARK CONCERT!
In case you somehow missed Independence Day celebrations, the spirit of the Fourth continues in this Symphony Above the Clouds! Just a short drive away to Woodland Park, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic performs a free concert under a cool mountain breeze, complete with fireworks!

The patriotic theme of the program includes The Star-Spangled Banner, March of the Resistance (from The Force Awakens), Fanfare for the Common, Grand Canyon Fanfare, The Magnificent Seven, America the Beautiful, and 1812 Overture.

402 N. West St., Woodland Park
5:00 p.m.
Tickets: FREE
Phone:  719-520-SHOW

GET A SLICE OF HOME-GROWN MUSIC!
Parker’s Discovery Park Summer Concert Series continues with a band that will have you on your feet and dancing! Home Slice is a local high-energy, nine-piece vocal and horn musical powerhouse band! With their enthusiastic and animated performances, you’re sure to be singing and dancing right along! From funk to soul, jazz to rock, jump-swing to ballads, old-school to modern, and with originals and covers that all ages will love, Home Slice delivers!

Feel free to bring your picnic baskets, lawn chairs, and beach blankets to enjoy the open green space and soak in the sounds of summer! Food trucks will also be on-site during the concerts.

Discovery Park, 20115 Mainstreet, Parker
6:00 p.m.
Tickets: FREE

FREE HIGHLANDS RANCH CONCERT WITH SOUL SCHOOL
Outdoor summer music concerts were made for the kind of music that Soul School performs! Their vast repertoire of music from golden oldies to Motown to jazz, rock, funk, rhythm and blues, and maybe even some beach or country music, promises to engage everyone in the family! Don’t miss this free concert as Soul School turns Highlands Ranch into a dance party! 

Highland Heritage Regional Park, 9651 Quebec Street, Highlands Ranch
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Tickets: FREE

THE FUNNY SIDE OF BEING AN ANIMAL WHISPERER
What happens when a 25-year-veteran veterinarian decides to tell the funny stories that come from pets? You won’t want to miss the answers that come from Kevin Fitzgerald, a stand-up comedian whose material comes from his love of creatures great and small. Best known for his 10 seasons on Animal Planet’s Emergency Vets, Kevin’s passion for making people laugh is surpassed only by his unwavering dedication to animals.

With a background that ranges from touring as a bouncer with the Rolling Stones and The Who, in addition to his career in veterinary medicine along with performing stand-up on almost a nightly basis, Kevin Fitzgerald is a true renaissance man. He has opened for such diverse and legendary performers such as Bob Hope, Diana Ross, The Temptations, and The Neville Brothers. He believes that laughter is an incredibly important part of everyday life, and that nobody can ever laugh too much. 

Comedy Works-South, 5345 Landmark Place, Greenwood Village
7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $14
Phone: 720-274-6800

Thursday-Sunday, July 5-8

THE AMAZON IN 3D!
If you loved The Flight of the Butterflies 3D, you won’t want to miss the newest chapter of nature-come-to-life, this time in the amazing Amazon! The film tells the epic, true story of explorer Henry Bates’ fascinating 11-year journey through the visually stunning and biodiverse Amazon rainforest as a young man who risks his life for science in the 1850’s.

Told like a classic detective story, this IMAX film presents the compelling clues Bates unearths in his major discovery of the phenomenon of mimicry, where certain animals adopt the look of others that helps them deceive predators and gain an advantage to survive. While not nearly as well-known as other scientists, Bates’ mimicry theory was a major influence in Darwin’s theories of Natural Selection!

CU South Denver, 10035 S. Peoria St., Lone Tree
11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m.
Tickets: $8-$12
Phone: 303-315-9444

Friday, July 6

HAPPY HOUR STAND-UP
What do you get when you cross happy hour with stand-up comedy? A great time! If you are attending the free First Friday Art Party, why not stay and catch the hilarious, innovative comedy of Big Al? 

Comedian Big Al connects with his audiences and gets them to appreciate the lighter side of their own lives by relating his observations and experiences. As a winner on America’s Funniest People, Big Al has been interviewed on The Billy Bush Show and has appeared in several PBS commercials. If you haven’t experienced a Big Al performance, put this on your “must do” list…and bring some friends along!

Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs
6:00 p.m.
Tickets: $12
Phone: 719-634-5581

DENVER’S 17TH AVENUE ALLSTARS
The National A Cappella Champions, direct from the Mile-High city, bring their renowned family-friendly show to Lone Tree’s outdoor venue! The concert will feature comedy, choreography and incredible vocals with tunes from the ’50s to the present. The 17^th Avenue Allstars have been named the official anthem singers of the Denver Broncos and are celebrating their 29th year as one of Colorado’s top-shelf acts. 

You will hear amazing acappella versions of chart toppers such as Human, Usher’s Without You, and Uptown Funk, among the top-40 pop tunes in their repertoire. The Allstars bring elements of soul and vocal harmony to their music, creating a sound that is fresh and new, but resonating with a reverence for what has come before. 

Lone Tree Arts Center, Terrace Theater, 10075 Commons St., Lone Tree
8:00 p.m.
Tickets: $27-$32
Phone: 720-509-1000

Friday-Saturday, July 6-7

COMEDIAN JOSH BLUE ON STAGE!
Best known as the comedian who puts the “cerebral” in Cerebral Palsy, Josh Blue centers much of his self-deprecating act around his disability. Possessed with an undeniable likability and impeccable comedic timing, he breaks down stereotypes of people with disabilities one laugh at a time. 

As a winner of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, Josh Blue has been making America laugh ever since. He starred in Comedy Central Presents: Josh Blue and debuted a one-hour special on Showtime, Sticky Change. He has appeared twice on White’s Comedy Salute to the Troops on CMT and made his late-night television debut on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Josh most recently appeared on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC.

Comedy Works-South, 5345 Landmark Place, Greenwood Village
7:15 p.m.
Tickets: $25
Phone: 720-274-6800

30 PLAYS IN 60 MINUTES!
An experimental theatre experience which presents a series of two-minute plays in random order, this ensemble performance is never boring! The original first opened in 1988 and is still playing today as the longest-running show in Chicago history! 

Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind is an interactive theatre experience, with an onstage timer to keep everyone honest. This is a witty collection of comic, tragic, political, personal and abstract plays. “The most clever, most urgent show in town” (Chicago Theatre) is recommended for ages 18+.

Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs
8:30 p.m.
Tickets: $18-$20
Phone: 719-634-5581

Sunday, July 8

FUN VEGGIE FACTS AT HIGHLANDS RANCH FARMERS’ MARKET

Did you know that a love of asparagus inspired an ancient Latin saying? The emperor Caesar Augustus coined the phrase “Velocius quam asparagi conquantur!” or “Faster than cooking asparagus,” which can be loosely translated as, “Get going already!” 

Augustus was such a connoisseur of the elegant vegetable that he organized elite military units to procure it for him. The famed Asparagus Fleets made rounds in the empire to import the best varietals back to Rome, while the fastest runners were employed to carry fresh spears high in the Alps, where it could be frozen for later use (Modern Farmer). Get your own asparagus (and other veggies) at the bountiful Highlands Ranch Farmers’ Market!

Town Center South, 9288 Dorchester St., Highlands Ranch 
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Cost: FREE

OLDIES BUT GOODIES CONCERT
An outdoor summer concert is the perfect setting to sway and sing along to the greatest hits of yesteryear, played by the original artists! Tommy James & The Shondells are best known for such hits as Crimson and Clover, Crystal Blue Persuasion, and Draggin’ the Line. Appearing along with them is Herman’s Hermits, starring Peter Noone, who mesmerized teenagers in the 1960s with hits like A Kind of Hush, Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter, and I’m Into Something Good.

Hudson Gardens, 6115 S. Santa Fe Dr., Littleton
7:00 p.m.
Tickets: $29-$39
Phone: 303-797-8565

All Good in Crystal Valley 

You don’t need to venture far from the Crystal Valley area to find fun things to do, fit for the entire family! From downtown Castle Rock with boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants, to the Outlets less than 10 minutes away, check out the new homes offered by D.R. Horton, Kauffman Homes, and Richmond American Homes. Crystal Valley designs are available in ranch and two-story models and priced from the high $300s.