A "Whatever Floats Your Boat" Kind Of Weekend

There were a lot of different events taking place around Denver this past weekend, including the Englewood Block Party, the Handmade in Colorado Expo in Skyline Park, just off downtown's 16th Street Mall, and Oktoberfest, which is located on Larimer Street, near Coors Field, and which drew the largest crowd by far. I was worried I would not be able to attend, since this year they are requiring people to buy an $8 online ticket, which loads onto your phone and gives you $8 credit toward food and drink. To me the process seemed very complicated, and besides, I didn't want to eat or drink anything, just walk around. However, when I got there, the sidewalks were still open to allow people access to the bars and restaurants along the street, and I was able to enjoy the festival from there. And I was very happy to see that such traditional German foods as Das Turkey Leg, as seen in the photograph on the left, were still being served.

Meanwhile, over in McGregor Square, just across from Coors Field and where I have watched a number of Colorado Rockies games on the big screen this year, it appeared that football fans had taken over the place, and it was packed. I assumed they had all come to watch the Denver Broncos game, and stayed afterwards to watch the LA Chargers play (no doubt there were many California transplants in the crowd. I can tell). It is not surprising that football has replaced baseball in McGregor Square, at least on Sundays. Denver is crazy about the Broncos, and the team gets coverage 365 days a year, even during the heart of baseball season.  Who will be the quarterback, draft day prospects, spring football camp, the regular training camp, it goes on and on and on. I often think the entire state needs professional help to deal with this obsession.

And if you are interested in fighting for the freedom to avoid vaccinations and be able to spread COVID-19 to one and all, in addition to protesting the 2020 election that was stolen from Donald Trump at the same time, this past Saturday was the day for you. As I was biking home, I ran across a protest in front of the state capitol and seen in the photograph on the left. There were lots of impassioned speeches, and demands that our precious freedoms (avoiding vaccinations) be defended at all costs. A lot of the cars driving on Lincoln Street honked enthusiastically as they passed by, and a good time was had by all. Talk about obsession, not to mention flat out crazy. On the bright side, I think both the Oktoberfest crowd and the football fans outnumbered them by a large margin.