Events & Entertainment

A variety of musical performances are scheduled for the month of December at Colorado College, and most are free and open to the public!  Check out the CC calendar for the complete schedule, but here are a few that caught my eye:

• Concert Band Recital on December 4
• Bluegrass Ensemble on December 6
• Winter Songs and Dances on December 9
• Festival of Lessons and Carols on December 9
• Chamber Orchestra Concert on December 11
• Tiger Jazz Ensemble on December 13
• Gamelan Ensemble on December 16

Thanks to Money Saving Mom for this tip: the Apple Store is offering free coding workshops for kids in December!  These hour-long workshops are designed for ages 12 and up, but it looks like they also have some other things going on for younger kids – check out the schedule and sign up here.

The new Gaylord Rockies Hotel and Convention Center near DIA is opening on December 18th and they’re offering a special rate starting at $119 for Colorado residents!  For information on that rate, you can go here.  (Lois, who let me know about this deal, did also share that the $119 rate is about $166 after taxes.)

The hotel is also decking itself out for Christmas, with a “spectacular interactive holiday experience that immerses you in color, fanciful patterns, and wondrous light as you walk through indoor and outdoor paths of magical illumination and music.”

The holiday magic begins the moment you approach the resort. A forest of fully-lit, color-changing trees, colorful lights and dancing snowflakes light up the resort’s soaring Alpine exterior and pave your way to excitement. Once at the resort you can explore numerous breathtaking interactive lighting displays throughout the resort, both indoors and outdoors.

Want to take the family to a performance of the Nutcracker ballet this Christmas?  There’s a lot options in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, with prices ranging from free to $68 per ticket.  (Yes, really – a free one!  There’s a condensed version at the library that is free.  I’m sure it will be really popular!)

Here’s a list of Nutcracker ballet options for this year, with performances as soon as November 12th, 2018.

The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center offers free admission on the second Saturday and third Friday of each month – that means they have free days coming up on November 10th, November 16th, December 8th, and December 21st.  You can see their current exhibition lineup here.

Colorado kids in grades 5th and 6th can get an amazing deal on lift tickets through the Ski Passport program: fifth graders can get three free days of skiing at 22 Colorado resorts (that’s sixty-six total), and sixth graders get four days x 22 resorts for $105!  There are also special perks like free lessons and other discounts.

Get more info and sign up your kids for this program here.