Sunday, December 7, 2008

DENVER'S PARADE OF LIGHTS

Went to the Parade of Lights in Downtown Denver Saturday night with my wife and two daughters. What an event!

Joined by nearly 175,000 fellow Denver-ites on a positively balmy 55 degree December night, we watched floats, marching bands, dancers and giant character balloons make their way through the downtown district in a parade that lasted nearly 90 minutes.

(Sign of the times: Victoria, below on the left - and Elizabeth, perched atop the shoulders of a local real estate broker who shall remain nameless - had absolutely no frame of reference for Dennis the Menace when his character balloon passed by during the parade. In a related note, the Rocky Mountain News announced this week that it will be shutting down in January if a buyer can't be found for the struggling newspaper in the next 30 days.)

The best thing about the parade - it really made Denver feel like a community, with so many people from such diverse backgrounds joining together to celebrate the season.

The second best thing - watching THOUSANDS of people board light rail trains heading home after the event. (For the relevance of this, see my Fastracks POSTING from October 30)

The completion of Denver's light rail system is going to be huge economic winner for the region - and for property values along the newly added routes - as the final spokes of the grid come online over the next few years. It will also provide the infrastructure for events like last night's Parade of Lights to become even larger as our region becomes better connected.

Last night was a great night to be in Denver. Kudos to Mayor Hickenlooper, the city and the thousands of volunteers who put together a fabulous community event!