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Town of Parker Holiday Lighting Event O’Brien Parker

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Ruth Chapel Mainstreet Parker Colorado

A Town of Parker Signature Event

Celebrate the Season when Parker Lights the LIGHTS!

Bundle up and bring your family and friends to kick-off the holiday season at Parker’s Holiday Tree Lighting on Friday, Nov. 26, 2021, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. in O’Brien Park.

2021 Mayor’s Holiday Lighting
presented by Xfinity 

O’Brien Park comes alive for the holidays! Join the Town of Parker for an enchanted evening in O’Brien Park. Gather around the Town Tree and join the Mayor and the Parker Chorale in a Sing-Along to Silent Night to kick off the event. Following Silent Night, the Mayor and Town Council will count down to the Town Tree and Grand Park Lighting. You will love the look and feel as our Town Tree lights up and the park sparkles in white elegance!

Once the park is lit up, it’s time for the fun to begin! Stroll around O’Brien Park and take in the sights of the fun holiday ice sculpture displays following a path to each of the displays.

Along the way, you are bound to run into some holiday characters all of whom will have some sort of story to tell or an activity to show you. Santa and Mrs. Claus will also be in town for this festive evening, as will Elsa and Olaf, and you may even spot the “Elf in a Tree!” While you stroll through the park, you can enjoy tasty food from holiday food vendors.

The O’Brien Park Gazebo will come to life with the sounds of the holidays as the Parker Chorale and our local high school choirs sing some of our favorite holiday carols. The Colorado School of Dance performers will showcase one of their dances on stage as well.

This evening is sure to be filled with wonderful holiday memories.

Event Timeline

5:30 p.m. Welcome by Mayor Jeff Toborg and Town Council with a sing-along to Silent Night led by the Parker Chorale, followed by the Grand Park and Town Tree Lighting and an evening of holiday fun!  

Gazebo Entertainment Lineup

  • 5:30 p.m. Parker Chorale opens the evening with Silent Night
  • 5:50 to 6 p.m. Ponderosa Choir 
  • 6:00 to 6:15 p.m. Colorado School of Dance – Nutcracker 
  • 6:20 to 6:30 p.m. Chaparral High School Choir
  • 6:35 to 6:45 p.m. Lutheran High School Choir
  • 6:50 to 7 p.m. Legend High School Choir 
  • 7 p.m. Closing remarks and drawing for 50 inch Big Screen TV 

Activities 

  • Ice holiday ice sculpture displays stationed throughout the park
  • Meet and greet with Elsa and Olaf
  • Holiday walk-around entertainment featuring magical elves, a winter wizard, a dancing holiday tree and a toy soldier, all of whom have a story to tell or an activity to show you. 
  • Santa and Mrs. Claus will also be in Town for the evening!
  • New this year….the community has the chance to decide what our amazing ice sculpture vendor will create during his live ice carving demonstration!  Keep an eye on the Town’s Facebook page (@TownofParkerCO) to vote for your favorite and then come to the event to see if your favorite won! 

Tasty Treats

  • Archies Dog House 
  • Bloom & Grow Kitchen
  • Cyndy’s Food-Lish-Us
  • Comforts of Home – soups, sandwiches, coffee and hot chocolate
  • Kettle Corn

Parking

West Victorian Drive and the O’Brien Park parking lot will be unavailable for event parking and Victorian Drive from Longs Way to Mainstreet will be closed from 3:30 p.m. through 8 p.m. Event attendees can seek other public parking opportunities throughout the Downtown area. 

Public parking is just a short walking distance from the park. Parking at Parker Town Hall, PACE Center, Discovery Park or the Schoolhouse parking lot is a great way to stroll through Downtown on your way to and from the event.  Or, you can park west of Parker road and walk through Kieffer’s Crossing, an underground tunnel that helps pedestrians avoid crossing South Parker Road. The tunnel is between Taco Bell/Long John Silver’s and Colorado State Bank and Trust. 

Contact Us For more information, please email Special Events & Sponsorship Coordinator Brooke Spain or call 303.805.3253.

Parker’s Holiday Events

Turkey Day 5K Fun Run/Walk Parker CO 2021

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Get a healthy start to the holidays with Parker Recreation’s Turkey Day 5K and Kick off a happy Thanksgiving with friends, family, and a great workout!

Come and celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday while getting a workout! The course for runners is a loop through the community, while the walkers’ course is an out-and-back on Cherry Creek Regional Trail.

turkey trot 5 k parker co Thanksgiving Day 5K family friendly race.

A scaled-down version of the Town of Parker’s 5K race series, this non-sanctioned event is unofficially timed, however, all participants will receive a giveaway and chance to win prizes. 

Part of the Parker Parks and Recreation Run Series, this fun community event is not timed. The first 2,000 registered participants will receive a commemorative knit beanie. All registered participants have the chance to win prizes. Strollers are welcome but for safety reasons, please leave dogs, bikes, and scooters at home.

Turkey Trot November 25, 2021

Date: Nov. 25, 2021
Start Time: 8-8:15 a.m.; based on mile time
Location: Parker Recreation Center, 17301 E. Lincoln Ave.
5K Cost: $30

Registration for this year’s event will be limited to 1,000 participants. Registration closes Nov. 24 at noon; if space allows, event-day registration is available for an additional $10 per person. 		Turkey Day 5K Mittens

Part of the Parks and Recreation Run Series, this fun community event is not timed. Registered participants will receive commemorative fleece mittens, race bib and hot cocoa, cider or coffee. 

Race Course

The course map will be posted soon. 

Race Packet Pickup

Packet pick up will be available at Parker RNK Running & Walking, 13019 S. Parker Rd., Nov. 19 through 24 during regular business hours or at the event beginning at 7 a.m.

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteer opportunities are available. Visit www.VolunteerConnectDC.org and choose Town of Parker as your organization.

Additional Event and Sponsorship Information

Register here. This event is held rain, snow or shine. Refunds will not be issued. Strollers are welcome but for safety reasons, please leave dogs, bikes and scooters at home. Parking is limited, please carpool. Any proceeds from the event will benefit the Town of Parker Scholarship Program, which helps Parker families and/or individuals with limited financial resources participate in Town Recreation programs and facilities. For event registration questions, please email Sarah Armsbury at sarmsbury@parkeronline.org or call 303.805.3273. For sponsorship information, please email Jaime Vollertsen at jvollertsen@parkeronline.org or call 303.805.3267.

Get Social

Share your photos from the event on Facebook and Instagram using #ParkerRec and #ParkerTurkeyDay5K! Don’t forget to tag us @ParkerRec. Enjoy photos from past events on the Parks and Recreation Facebook page.

View the video to see how much fun this event is.
17301 E. Lincoln Ave.
Parker, CO 80134
Ph: 303.841.4500

Don’t forget Thanksgiving weekend kicks off the holiday season in downtown Parker.

Parker Tree Lighting

Parker Holiday Events

Community Messiah

Art in the Park O’Brien Park Parker CO 2021

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Art in the Park sponsored by the Parker Artists Guild is back for 2021

August 28 from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm

August 29 from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.

O’Brien Park
Parker & Mainstreet
Parker CO, 80134

Admission is FREE!

art in Parker

Many art forms will be represented including:

  • painting in a wide variety of media,
  • drawing,
  • pastels,
  • pottery,
  • jewelry,
  • photography,
  • woodworking,
  • glass,
  • sculpture and more.

This is a family-friendly event with things for the kids to do including a face painting booth (for a small charge)  and a children’s art station where kids can create their own art projects. There will also be music and food.

The art show is sponsored by the Parker Artists Guild (PAG), a registered 501c(3) non-profit organization

PAG was formed in 2001 and has grown to about 200 members this year. The mission of the Parker Artist Guild is to advance the development of fine arts in the community. To accomplish this the Guild offers instructional demonstrations, workshops, and opportunities to promote all forms of fine art.

PAG sponsors a variety of art education workshops, exhibits, events, and scholarships. PAG members are from Parker, Castle Rock, Aurora, Highlands Ranch, Douglas and Elbert Counties and the south metro area. Membership is open to all media artists.

The art show is sponsored by the Parker Artists Guild (PAG) of Parker. PAG membership includes artists from Parker, Castle Rock, Aurora, Highlands Ranch, Douglas and Elbert County and the south metro area.

Membership is open to all media. PAG was formed in 2001 and has grown to about 200 members this year. Our mission is to promote the visual arts and raise awareness of local artists in the community. PAG sponsors a variety of art education workshops, exhibits, culture events and Kid’s Kulture. For more information about PAG and Art in the Park visit www.ParkerArtistsGuild.com.

For more information about the event and the Parker Artists Guild, please visit www.parkerartistsguild.com

4th of July Stars and Stripes Celebration

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Parker Colorado stars and stripes celebration 4th of july fka let freedom sing

 July 4, 2021
Salisbury Park
12010 S. Motsenbocker Road
6 to 10 p.m.

The Town of Parker is really excited to share that staff is working with Tri-County Health on multiple planning options for a scaled back July 4 event.  The Independence Day Celebration planning is currently underway and we are hoping to bring some sort of activity or event to our community for July 4, 2021.  

However, there is no indication, from state and local health authorities or the governor’s office, when mass gatherings of the size that attends the Parker Stars and Stripes Celebration will be allowed.  An event of this nature takes a lot of advance planning and coordination and many of the final plans need to be locked into place three to six months in advance.  Because of the uncertainly of what July will bring, we do not believe it will be possible to have the full-scale Parker Stars and Stripes Celebration our community is accustomed to so staff is hard at work on alternative plans. 

More updates will be given as we begin to get closer to the event and are able to finalize details. 

Mardi Gras Celebration coming to Parker in 2022

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Mardi Gras also called Shrove Tuesday, or Fat Tuesday refers to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday”, reflecting the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season.

February marks the start of Mardi Gras celebrations nationwide and the Infamous “Fat Tuesday” falls early this month.

bethany mardi gras parker colorado

Parker Mardi Gras
Coming 2022

Why is Mardi Gras Celebrated?

Why do they Throw Beads?

Mardi Gras parades began in New Orleans in the 1830s and during that time, inexpensive necklaces made of glass beads were popular and parade krewes began to be tossing them into the crowds. The beads were an instant hit among the crowds of New Orleans residents and visiting Mardi Gras tourists and that tradition continues today.

Visit the website for more information

Learn more about CASC Here