The first weekend after the election is a quiet one on the town calendars and a full one on Wilcox Street. Veterans Day is Wednesday, and Douglas County holds its tribute the Saturday before: an 11 a.m. ceremony at the Veterans Monument Plaza, then a 1 p.m. groundbreaking at the Fairgrounds where a piece of World Trade Center steel will be dedicated at the future site of Heroes Hall. The 34th Craft Show Extraordinaire fills the Events Center on the same grounds all day, so one parking spot covers two of the three.
The weather holds. The National Weather Service forecast for Castle Rock, read Thursday morning, has Friday "Mostly cloudy," with a high near 57 that falls to around 49 in the afternoon, then a mostly clear night with a low around 33. Saturday is "Sunny, with a high near 61," Sunday "Sunny, with a high near 66," and Monday 68. Friday night's clear sky matters for the one event that depends on it.
Friday
Friday's headline is after dark. Douglas County Open Space holds a Stargazing Party at Sandstone Ranch, 8309 S. Perry Park Road in Larkspur, listed 6 to 11:30 p.m. The county's page is specific about how it works. The gate opens for check-in at 6:45 and closes promptly at 8:15, and because that part of the ranch is guided access only, nobody gets in after that; the page says in capitals that if you cannot arrive before 8:15, do not sign up. Set up your telescope while it is light, hear a talk as it gets dark, then observe from a patio with power outlets. You can bring food, snacks and non-alcoholic drinks (the Gathering Place house has a kitchen and an indoor restroom), pack out your trash, dress in layers, and leave the dog at home. Registration is through the Denver Astronomical Society's members site, each person in your party registers separately, and the organizers email the guest list an address, driving directions and a waiver before the night. It is a one-night event: if Friday's weather fails, the county moves it to Saturday rather than running it twice. The forecast says Friday night is mostly clear and 33, so expect it to go, and bring the heavy coat.
Lone Tree has the concert. Symphony of the Rockies presents America at 250 at 7:30 at the Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St., a program built around the country's 250th birthday and its veterans. The centerpiece is Peter Boyer's Rhapsody in Red, White & Blue with pianist Jeffrey Biegel, who commissioned it as a companion to Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. The emcee is Brig. Gen. Kristin Goodwin, USAF (Ret.), a B-2 pilot and the first woman in the Air Force to command a bomb wing, and the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame has a lobby exhibition before the show. No price is printed on the event page; the box office is 720-509-1000.
Two more Friday listings. Phamaly Theatre Company's Pericles, an adaptive performance for people with cognitive disabilities built on Flute Theatre's Hunter Heartbeat Method, runs at the Arts Center at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Thursday through Sunday; the page says all ages are welcome, reservations go through Phamaly's own site, and every showtime was listed as unavailable Thursday, so check there. At the PACE Center in Parker, Lutheran High School's one-act showcases run at 2 and 7:30, group one Friday and Saturday and group two Saturday and Sunday, a theater rental with tickets through Parker Arts.
Our pick, Friday: Sandstone Ranch if you are on the list; the symphony if you are not.
Stargazing Party at Sandstone Ranch
Symphony of the Rockies: America at 250
Phamaly Theatre Company: Pericles, an adaptive performance for people with cognitive disabilities
Saturday
Start at the Fairgrounds. The 34th Annual Castle Rock Craft Show Extraordinaire runs 9 to 4 in the Douglas County Events Center, 500 Fairgrounds Drive: handmade crafts, gifts, home decor, artwork and seasonal items from local and regional crafters, with proceeds going to programs for older adults in the Castle Rock area. Admission is free. The organizer is the Castle Rock Senior Activity Center, 303-688-9498.
At 11, the Veterans Day Tribute at the Veterans Monument Plaza, 301 Wilcox St. The county has posted the program, and it runs in this order: colors presented by Harry C. Miller American Legion Post 1187, the anthem from Michael MacFarlane, an invocation from David Mooney, chaplain of Max W. Donahue VFW Post 12230, a moment of silence into Amazing Grace from the Castle Rock Fire Department Pipes & Drums, the pledge led by Gary Weston of the county's Veterans Service Office, a Wreaths Across America note from Katherine Bretz of American Heritage Girls Troop 8909, opening remarks from Col. Sean Pechon, USMC (Ret.) of the Veterans Monument Foundation, welcomes from Commissioners George Teal, Abe Laydon and Kevin Van Winkle, and the keynote from Sheriff Darren Weekly, who has been with the sheriff's office since 1993 and took office as sheriff in January 2023. Lt. Col. Michael McNairy, USAF (Ret.), speaks for the Heroes Hall Foundation, Command Sgt. Maj. Chris Maes, US Army (Ret.), the county's veterans service officer, closes, and the pipes and drums play Taps.
Then back to the Fairgrounds at 1 for the ceremonial groundbreaking for Heroes Hall and the dedication of a piece of World Trade Center steel at its future site, listed 1 to 3 p.m. at 500 Fairgrounds Road. The county's release says only that elected leaders, veterans and families are invited; we have not found a plan, a budget or even a description of Heroes Hall on the county's site, and we will write it up when one appears. For the rest of the week the county's buildings on Wilcox Street, the Justice Center and the Lansing Point facility in Meridian are lit green for Operation Green Light, a National Association of Counties program the county says recognizes its roughly 27,000 veterans, and county offices close Wednesday, Nov. 11, for the holiday.
Castle Pines residents have a Saturday chore. The city's leaf and pumpkin composting runs 9 to 2 at Elk Ridge Park, 7005 Mira Vista Lane: dump the leaves out of the bags (no bags accepted), nothing woody and no garden waste, free to residents.
Saturday night is John McEuen. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band co-founder brings The Circle Band to the PACE Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Ave., at 7:30 for "Will The Circle Be Unbroken," the songs and stories behind the 1971 album he set in motion by inviting Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson to record with the band. Les Thompson, a fellow founding member, is on the bill with Byran McDowell and Colorado players Jim Ratts, Warren Floyd and Jim Christie. $54 and $49, all ages, box office 303-805-6800.
One closure to know: the Highlands Ranch Mansion's lawn, grounds and house are closed to the public from 1 p.m. Saturday for a private event.
Our pick, Saturday: the tribute at 11, the craft show after, the groundbreaking at 1, a short drive apart.
Castle Rock Craft Show Extraordinaire
Veterans Day Tribute
World Trade Center steel dedication and ceremonial groundbreaking at Heroes Hall
Castle Pines Leaf and Pumpkin Composting
John McEuen & The Circle Band: Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Sunday
Sunday is for the kids. Parker Arts brings back Science Night at the PACE Center 2 to 5, free with an RSVP and two entry times, 2 to 3:30 and 3:30 to 5. Wings Over the Rockies, Playground Ensemble and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo are among the groups running hands-on activities in the classrooms and booths, and it is pitched at elementary-age children and their families. Pericles plays its last two performances at 10 and 2, and the one-acts close at 2 and 7:30. The forecast is 66 and sunny, the warmest day of the three, which is the other option.
Our pick, Sunday: Science Night at 2, RSVP first.
Where nothing is happening
For the record: Castle Rock's and Parker's town calendars list nothing public Friday through Sunday (meetings only, both weeks), HRCA's next listings are Monday, Nov. 9 (a pottery sale, a board working session and a Veterans concert), Lone Tree's city calendar is meetings, Parker Recreation's next event is Nov. 10, the Outlets at Castle Rock's next event is the tree lighting on Nov. 14, Park Meadows lists none, and Castle Pines' only listing is the composting. The Fairgrounds calendar after the craft show jumps to the Tanner Gun Show on Nov. 14.
Next week's one to circle: the county's open house on Zebulon, the regional sports complex planned for about 46 acres in northern Douglas County with ice rinks, indoor courts, outdoor fields, a four-field baseball complex and the county's first 50-meter pool, runs 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, in the Commissioners' Hearing Room at 100 Third St. in Castle Rock. There is no formal presentation, so stop in when it suits. The county says site work is underway and the complex is expected to open in late 2028.
After the election
The counting is nearly done. The county's dashboard showed 209,696 ballots returned as of Thursday morning, against 199,476 counted in the U.S. Senate race in the county's last update Wednesday evening, so roughly 10,200 returned ballots were still to be added, some of them signature problems that cannot be counted until they are cured. The deadline to fix a signature or ID issue is 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12; the clerk mails a letter, and the county's track-your-ballot page shows your status. The 4th Congressional District is still uncalled: Eileen Laubacher led Lauren Boebert by 2,513 votes district-wide Thursday morning, 176,162 to 173,649 on 361,480 counted, after Weld County's Wednesday batch cut into the lead. Commissioner District 1 is Jake Bockenfeld by 4,090 in the county's count. Every race is on the results page, and the morning-after piece holds every call we made to its number.
We'll see you out there. If we missed something that belongs in next week's drop, the address is on the About page.
