🔥 We now know what caused the Marshall Fire

🔥 The Perfect Storm Caused the Marshall Fire

For the last year and a half, speculations have been flying about what caused the costliest, most catastrophic wildfire in state history. The two most prominent theories were 1) an improperly handled fire on a local religious group’s compound, or 2) a downed Xcel power line. Officials, who have finally completed their investigation, say it was actually both things compounded with wildly high wind speeds. No criminal charges have been pressed. [CPR]

🥾 South By Southwest — for Outdoor Enthusiasts!

After the Outdoor Retailer trade show announced it was dumping Denver for Salt Lake City last year, city officials promised to mend our broken hearts with something bigger and better for the local outdoor industry. The result? The Big Gear Show, happening this weekend! The event is being teased as “South By Southwest”-level big. It will also have a component for the public, unlike Outdoor Retailer, which only catered to vendors. [Denver Post 🔒]

• 🗓️ Event details: The public-facing part of The Big Gear Show and its sister e-bike event are taking place this weekend, Saturday, June 10, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, June 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. [Colorado Convention Center; $15]

🇲🇽 A Peek Inside the Pink Palace Renovation

In an interview with the New York Times, Matt Stone and Trey Parker report they spent upwards of $40 million on Casa Bonita renovations. Stone said, “We could have rebuilt this twice as big, for half as much money, but we spent so much restoring it, like a piece of art.” [NYT 🔒]

• 👀 What’s changed? I got a sneak preview of the new and improved Casa Bonita. Hear all about what I saw. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

⭐⭐⭐ = The official City Cast Denver ‘Maybe’ of the weekend, as in maybe you’ll see us there! Listen to today’s podcast for more deets.

🖋️ Lighthouse Writers Workshop Grand Opening | Friday | 5-8 p.m.

The literary arts center is celebrating the construction of its brand new building with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony, plus tours of the new space, refreshments, and a pop-up bookstore from The Bookies. [Clayton; Free]

🇬🇷 Denver Greek Festival | Friday-Sunday | Times Vary

A Denver summer staple for more than 50 years, this celebration of Greek culture features authentic food, art, entertainment, and vendors selling specialty wares directly from Greece! [Glendale; $5]

🧑‍🌾 Summer Farm Fest | Saturday | Noon-2 p.m.

Take a tour of Sprout City Farms while enjoying local food and drinks, art projects, music, and more. [Lakewood; Free]

🎵 YOR Block Party | Saturday | 1-7 p.m.

The music-focused youth empowerment organization takes over neighborhood streets with live music, workshops, food, and even an instrument “petting zoo.” [La Alma-Lincoln Park; Free]

🌎 Immigrant Heritage Month Performance | Saturday | 7:30-9:30 p.m.

See theatrical performances from creatives in the undocumented community who share the stage with the transformative hip hop and soul of Colorado’s The ReMINDers. [Boulder; Free; Donations encouraged]

🥓 Out to Brunch | Saturday | 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Check out Westword’s inaugural food fest celebrating all things brunch! A ticket gets you unlimited booze, beers, and bites of Denver’s best breakfast cuisine. [Clayton; $30-$65]

🏳️‍🌈 Big Gay Beer Day | Saturday | Noon-4 p.m.

Celebrate and support queer families with this big brewery bash featuring pints from more than a dozen local brewers while dancing to the jams of DJ Jen. 100% of ticket proceeds go to the Transformative Freedom Fund. [Berkeley; $30]

🎤 The Taylor Party | Saturday | 8-11 p.m.

Celebrate the phenomenon that is T-Swift at Elitch Gardens with this singalong, dancealong, partyalong night devoted to the reigning queen of pop. [Auraria; $45 GA; $110 VIP]

⭐⭐⭐ Five Points Jazz | Saturday | Noon-8 p.m.

Situated in the heart of Five Points, this celebration of jazz highlights Colorado’s contributions to the genre with performances by Wellington Bullings, Rico Jones, and more. [Five Points; Free]

🍷 Rosé Patio Party | Saturday | 2-4 p.m.

Sample 15 types of rosé while soaking up the patio vibes and snacking on seafood specialties from Stoic & Genuine. Guests are invited to get fun and festive by wearing pink. [Union Station; $59]

🎨 Denver Chalk Art Festival | Saturday-Sunday | 10 a.m.

Master artists take over the Golden Triangle and use the street-level canvas to create out-of-this-world illustrations in chalk. [Civic Center; Free]

Last week’s answer: Molly Brown House Museum

• Denver’s famous Molly Brown House Museum celebrates the life and legacy of “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” a philanthropist, suffragist, actress, and (most famously) a survivor of the Titanic who spent a large part of her life right here in Denver.

Big claps for our correct guessers:

• 🎉 Leah J. was the first to write in with the correct answer!
• 👏 But Tom G., Orie T., Nikki G., Miki S., and Dave M. weren’t far behind!

This Week’s Photo:

🕵️ Do YOU recognize this intricately designed restaurant interior? Be among the first to respond with the right answer and you’ll get a special shoutout in next Friday’s newsletter!

What Will Define the Johnston Era? Plus, the NYT takes on Casa Bonita and Cows Attack!

It’s Friday, so today on the City Cast Denver podcast host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi are looking back at the news stories that caught their attention this week — Denver’s new mayor, Gov. Polis’ latest legislative veto, and more Casa Bonita. They’re joined by none other than David Sirota, founder of investigative news outlet The Lever and former Bernie Sanders speech writer.