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What's Happening in Golden - Tuesday, Dec. 16th, 2025

News and events in Golden, Colorado. Tuesday, Dec. 16th, 2025

,   and  Barb Warden
14 min read
Click to enlarge

Bambi Checking the Count on the M

Photo by Meg Van Ness
Click to enlarge

What's happening in Golden today?

Events for Tuesday, Dec. 16th

Golden History Tours
Team Trivia Tuesday

For more information, click the item above or visit the Golden Today Calendar

Tomorrow Night - A Holiday Evening with the Symphony


Join us for an enchanting evening of music and fine dining at the Buffalo Rose in historic downtown Golden, Colorado on Wednesday, December 17, 2025.

Now in its 73rd season, the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra—under the inspired direction of J. Arturo González—will fill the beautifully restored Buffalo Rose Event Venue with the joyous sounds of the season. Audiences will enjoy a rich two-set program of contemporary holiday favorites and timeless classics performed by the orchestra’s ensemble of celebrated woodwind and string musicians.

This elegant dinner concert pairs extraordinary music with a festive culinary experience curated by the Buffalo Rose’s award-winning chef, Chris Zekos, who is recognized in the Colorado culinary scene for crafting innovative seasonal menus. Guests will enjoy a specially prepared 3-course holiday dinner in one of Golden’s most iconic venues, blending the warmth of community with the magic of live symphonic music all for a charitable cause.

All ticket proceeds directly support the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra, helping to sustain its future performances, educational programs, and community outreach.

Seating is limited—reserve your place now for a truly special night in Golden. Ticket pricing is includes the music and the 3-course meal. All beverages are provided on a “cash basis”, meaning all drinks are sold separately. Meal selections are made a ticket check-out.

In order to balance out the seating at each table, all tickets purchases require 2 seats minimum. Please email information@buffalorose.net if you wish to purchase a single seat.

Learn more and purchase tickets

Location:

The Buffalo Rose
1119 Washington Avenue   (Map)

8-9AM What's Brewing Golden @ Golden Welcome Center

This monthly meeting will be on the 3rd Tuesday of each month from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m.  Each month you will hear an update from City Council, DDA, City of Golden Police, and the Chamber, along with a business spotlight. We hope to see you there! 

This meeting is open to all businesses within the Golden area but with a focus on small businesses and restaurants within the City limits of Golden. This meeting is provided as a service by the Golden Chamber of Commerce. Chamber membership is highly encouraged but is not required to attend. Guests are welcome. More information

Location:

Golden Welcome Center
1010 Washington Avenue   (Map)

9AM Golden Seniors - KaffeeKlatsch @ Golden Welcome Center

Hey, Golden Seniors!  Join your friends at the Welcome Center for coffee and conversation!  We meet on the Creekside Patio or the Heritage Community Boardroom.  Sponsored by the Golden Welcome Center, Golden Pond Retirement Community and the Rotary Club of Golden.

Location:

Golden Welcome Center
1010 Washington Avenue   (Map)

11:30AM Lunch Bunch - Friends of the Front Porch @ Golden Community Center

Photo by Joyce Davell

Holiday potluck at the Front Porch. Bring a dish to share and enjoy live holiday entertainment.

Location:

Golden Community Center
1470 10th Street   (Map)

6-7:45PM Golden Beer Talks @ Buffalo Rose

Topic: Serving as the People’s Lawyer
Speaker: Attorney General Phil Weiser
Brewery: Westbound and Down Brewing Company

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser joins us for an engaging evening of conversation, offering insights from his career in public service and his current work leading the Colorado Department of Law. From protecting consumers and promoting youth mental health to addressing the opioid crisis and safeguarding Colorado’s land, air, and water, Weiser will share how his office is working to uphold justice and defend the laws, programs, and communities that shape our state.

Weiser will also reflect on the importance of bipartisanship, collaboration, and mutual respect in tackling the state’s most pressing challenges. Whether it’s standing up for Coloradans in court or working with local leaders on important issues, he believes in showing up to listen and work together to solve problems.

Whether you’re passionate about public policy or simply curious about how Colorado is navigating today’s legal and political challenges, this talk promises to be both informative and inspiring.

Golden Beer Talks
An evening hosted by Golden Beer Talks centers around a brief, informative and entertaining presentation by an expert on an irresistibly enticing topic. Each event features beer for sale from one of our local breweries, along with a variety of delicious food and drink offerings from the Buffalo Rose kitchen and bar.

It's Golden's own grassroots version of TED talks for the benefit of our own local community--and just for the fun of it. Golden Beer Talks is a nonprofit venture focused on three favorite local things--Golden and Beer and Talking! Learn more at www.goldenbeertalks.org.

Location:

Buffalo Rose
1119 Washington Avenue   (Map)

6:30-9PM City Council Regular Business Meeting @ City Hall Council Chambers

Public Comment

The meeting begins with public comment. If you want to address Council, you will have three minutes to speak. Any public comments received by email before 3PM will be posted in the meeting packet after 3 (so check back then!).

Items on the Consent Agenda are considered non-controversial, not needing discussion. Everything in this section will be approved at once, with one vote.

Any councilor wishing to discuss one of the issues can request that it be removed from the consent agenda and discussed and voted on separately.

These are the items on the Consent Agenda:

Public Hearings

Indoor Art for the New City Hall
  • Approve a budget of $200,000 for an indoor art installation at the new City Hall. More.
Outdoor Art for the New City Hall
  • Approve a budget of $200,000 for an outdoor art installation at the new City Hall. More.
  • Approve a change order on construction costs for the new City Hall. This one is a little hard to follow, in that the numbers on the staff memo differ from the ones shown on the construction company's memo.

    Initial Guaranteed Maximum Price Release (7/22/25)
    Constr'n Co (p.4): $21,576,566
    City Staff (p. 1): $49,862,440
    Final Guaranteed Maximum Price (10/28/25)
    Constr'n Co (p.4): $27,437,916
    City Staff (p. 2): $49,696,966

    The Change Order Description (p. 2) includes
    • Audio-visual equipment and systems
    • Security camera and access control equipment and systems
    • Life safety and cell phone distributed antenna (booster systems)
    The total for these additions is $1,359,000.

    See the staff memo for more information about construction costs.
  • Raising the hourly rate for deputy municipal court judges from $85/hr to $100/hr and $125 per hour for review of the probable cause warrants and other non-routine work performed outside of regular business hours. More.
  • The Housing Authority, which owns Canyon Gate Apartments (map), plans to upgrade the building and is borrowing $2.5 million for that purpose. The City of Golden owns the land under the building, so the lending bank is requesting that the City agree to being second in line in case of a loan default. More.
  • Approve a contract for $250,000 for streetlight maintenance during 2026. More.
  • Establish Council's meeting and study session schedule for 2026 (more)
  • Accept conveyance of a parcel of land in Mesa Meadows in exchange for payment of $105,000 (more). This would prevent the current landowner from building on that parcel, which is currently used for drainage.

Proclamation

Staff Updates:

Community Engagement
Meredith Ritchie, the City's Community Engagement & Communications Director, will describe the City's efforts to gather public input and keep residents informed about City business. (No attachment included in the meeting packet.)

Strategic Plan
Carly Lorentz, the Deputy City Manager, will provide the status of several Council-directed initiatives, including

  • Net-Zero Energy Codes
  • Park & Rec Plans
  • Comprehensive Plan Update
  • State Land Use Mandates
  • Affordable Housing Trust Fund
  • Regional Homelessness Projects
  • Federal Policy Impacts
  • Enhancing Community Engagement
  • Creek Corridor Projects, including the new City Hall, Ford Street underpass, Lions Park improvements & redesign, strengthening Community Marketing (Visit Golden)

See the meeting memo for more information about these projects.

Public Hearings

Proposed Junction Annexation
  • Delaying annexation of the property north of the City, which will be called "Junction." (More)
  • Delaying the rezoning of that property (More)

Location:

City Hall Council Chambers
911 10th Street   (Map)

Golden History: Feeling Good in 1937

Colorado Transcript – December 16, 1937
Click to enlarge

88 Years Ago
The editors of the Colorado Transcript were feeling pretty good in December of 1937. As the headline said, the weather was good and we weren’t at war.

Most important, in the view of the stalwartly Democratic newspaper, Franklin Roosevelt was in his second term, and the New Deal was making a real difference in people’s lives. Government-funded projects were improving the infrastructure while providing paychecks for millions. The new Social Security system meant that old people weren’t starving. After several years of economic Depression, things were finally looking up.

…the streets and markets are filled with happy throngs, intent on making this one of their most cheerful and merriest Christmases, for nothing can stop the American people from responding to the spirit of good will, peace and confidence that prevails in this country.

The Transcript was full of praise for their advertisers.

It is a good thing too, that the weather changed and the croakers lost out, for otherwise it would almost have ruined the merchants. For they had laid in a stock of goods this year, especially designed to please holiday shoppers, the like of which, with respect to price, quantity and quality.

12-16-1937 Foss Drug Ad – click to enlarge

Heinie Foss says he never worked so hard in all of his life, as he has been during the last couple of weeks. In this short time he has just about made over his store in order to display the large variety of Christmas merchandise for all members of the family described in the full page display advertisement found on page 10 of the Transcript.

12-16-1937 Ads for Linder Hardware, O.T. Ellis Dry Goods, and Robinson’s Book Store – click to enlarge

For many years Coors pottery, because of its attractiveness and because its manufacture has contributed so much to the prosperity of Golden, has been in demand as Christmas gifts. Every year hundreds of Coors vases and dishes are mailed to all parts of the country from Golden, even as far as the Philippine Islands. J. H. Linder Hardware store, Fred Robinson’s Book store and O. T. Ellis Dry Goods company all handle Coors clay products.

12-16-1937 Ad for The Fair – click to enlarge

The Fair is well stocked with Christmas gifts and candies. This store is particularly attractive to shoppers who are in search of gifts for tiny tots. The Mayor of Toy Town, Ralph Middlemiss, will be on hand to show you about his miniature city as usual.

12-16-1937 Ad for the Oasis Service Station – click to enlarge

“For him, for her, for it.” That “it” means your automobile, which has become an almost indispensable part of every family. Al Thuet, of the Oasis Service station, in this issue of the paper, calls your attention to a few of the things that will greatly add to your comfort.

12-16-1937 Ads for Several Grocery Stores – click to enlarge

Golden is particularly well equipped with grocery stores. There is no delicacy from anywhere on earth but can be supplied from these local pantries of good things to eat. Just to walk through these stores is enough to whet one’s appetite and assure you there will be no trouble in organizing a most complete Christmas menu by simply stepping to your telephone.

Weather

Overnight's Weather

Overnight: Partly cloudy. Low around 45, with temperatures rising to around 47 overnight. West wind around 13 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

Tuesday's Weather

Tuesday: Mostly sunny. High near 65, with temperatures falling to around 58 in the afternoon. West wind 9 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.

Tuesday Night's Weather

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy. Low around 43, with temperatures rising to around 45 overnight. West southwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.

Tuesday Night: Partly Cloudy, 43°F

Wednesday: Sunny then Slight Chance Light Rain, 64°F

Wednesday Night: Slight Chance Light Snow, 34°F

Thursday: Mostly Sunny, 51°F

Thursday Night: Partly Cloudy, 41°F

Friday: Mostly Sunny, 66°F

Friday Night: Partly Cloudy then Slight Chance Light Rain, 48°F

Saturday: Slight Chance Light Rain then Mostly Sunny, 63°F

Saturday Night: Partly Cloudy, 41°F

Sunday: Mostly Sunny, 59°F

Sunday Night: Partly Cloudy, 41°F

Monday: Mostly Sunny, 65°F

News About Golden - December 16, 2025

Click to enlarge

Public Safety Power Shutoff likely as we prepare for high winds and dry conditions in Colorado on Wednesday, Dec. 17.

Xcel Energy

We continue to closely monitor and prepare for a strong wind event and likely Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) in Colorado forecast to start Wednesday, Dec. 17, along the Front Range. Very dry conditions over the last several weeks and a recent stretch of 10 days of near-record warm temperatures will create the potential for a critical wildfire weather environment.  

Wildfire risk is expected to increase, and strong winds heighten risk of damage to our power lines and may result in outages... Read more...

Golden holiday parade fills streets with tinsel-town magic

By Corinne Westeman
Golden Transcript

On Dec. 13, thousands of locals and visitors alike packed the sidewalks along and near Washington Avenue for a glimpse of the Big Guy himself and to celebrate the winter holidays with a little bit of movie magic... Read more...

2025 Midyear Commencement honors new Mines graduates Dec. 19

By Emilie Rusch
Colorado School of Mines Newsroom

Colorado School of Mines will celebrate 2025 Midyear Commencement with two ceremonies on Dec. 19.

Undergraduate Commencement will kick off the day of festivities at 9 a.m. in Lockridge Arena. Graduate Commencement will follow at 2 p.m... Read more...

City of Golden Police Blotter

Supporters

Many thanks to the people and organizations who support What’s Happening in Golden?  If you would like to support local news, please CLICK HERE!

Sponsors:
($100/month and up)
Buffalo Rose, Buglet Solar, Foothills Art Center, Golden Cultural Alliance, Miners Alley Performing Arts Center, The Golden Mill, Golden Chamber of Commerce, Golden History Tours, Miners Saloon, Golden Hayride Outpost, Unite Fitness, Clothilde Elingbow, Michael Mason, Goosetown Station, and Earth Sweet Boutique

Friends:
($50-99.99/month or $550/yr)
Tall Pines Painting, Baby Doe’s Clothing, Goozell Yogurt & Coffee Paul Haseman, Donna Anderson, Carol & Doug Harwood, Stephanie Painter, Greg Poulos, Ann Norton & Jonathan Storer, Mary & Don Parker, Saré Merrigan, The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, and Vic DeMaria

Supporters:
($25-49.99/month or $250/yr)
Laura King and Scott Wilson, Bobby German and Alison McNally, Forrest Jones, Barry & Liz Bettis, Cheryl & Tom Schweich, Marjorie Sloan, Chris and Joyce Davell, Rick Flint, Forrest Jones, Cynthia Merrill Tamny, Stephen Pero, Meg Van Ness & Steve Kalasz, Steve & Karla Schaefer, Bud Rockhill, Steve Enger, Kristie Brice & Mike Schwartz, The Golden Hotel, Kurt & Janet Siegfried, Ella Lyons & Jeanne Fritch, Robert Thresher, Tonie Mattox, Centennial State Wealth Advisors, and Steve & M.L. Richardson

Members:
($10-24.99/month or $110/yr)
Brad Miller & Julie Bartos, Holly Thomas, Jim and LouAnne Dale, Ann Pattison, Thomas Hoffman, Carol Abel, Brian Quarnstrom, Sandra Curran, Bobby German and Alison McNally, Kathy Smith, Karen Smith, Carlos & Nancy Bernal, Robert Storrs, Michele Sannes, Elaine Marolla, Dixie Termin & Ron Miller, E Tom Hughes, Crystal M Culbert, Patrick A. Madison, Alice Madison & Jim Kalivas, Deb Goeldner, Christopher Ball, 6th Chair Home Services, Dot & Eric Brownson, Rosemary Coffman, Emeline Paulson, Sandy Schneider, Mark and Cathy Pattridge, Cheryl G Leidich, Jen Rutter, Frani R Bickart, Jennings and Litz, Bill Sedgeley, Nancy Hughes, Justin L Wade, Kathi Eggers, Traci Case, Donna Owen, Leslie D Lutz, Karen Oxman, Catherine Skokan, Ross Fraser & KC Gilliland, Lynne Haigh, Elizabeth Hilliard, Frank Young & Terre Deegan-Young, Kathy Hirons & Jack Markin, Jess & Anthony Monasterio, Heather Duncan, Lee Ann & Pete Horneck, Carol Cameron, Cheryl Williamson, San Daugherty, Jim Garner, John and Carol McEncroe, the Golden Welcome Center, the Golden Transcript, Koshare Eagle, Ken and Colleen Krantz, Traci Neuman Lacey, Jo Barber, Jamie Cookinham, Kermit Shields, Meridee Cecil, Vicki Olson, Colleen & Michael Ramey, Nancy & Pete Torpey, Jax Baker, Simon Maybury, Rose McLaughlin, Cameron Chambers, Joyce Gravina, Patrick Klein, Barb Robie, Richard Caldwell, Janice Waring, Sam & Marilyn Baron, Carmen Johnson, Mary Eiberger, Kevin Nichols, Ed & Carol Freza, Laura and Curtis Moore, Ruth Hund, Shelley & Jerry Devitt, Eileen Masterson, Kate Olivier, Amy Korengut, Pam Logan, Clare Shier, and Wendy Weiman

Followers:
($5-9.99/month)
Golden Community Garden, Lora Haimes, Mariane Erickson, J.J. Fraser, Mel Perkins, Bob Hamilton, Steve Stevens, Vicki Olson, Emily Kurzinski, Nanette Johnson, Peyton Gibson, Sally Berger, Kristen Morgan, Joyce Sutton, Mary Rains, Craig Champlin, Stan Swisher, Bill Way

Highlights