Your Denver love stories 💘
Denver love stories 💕
Hello City Casters! Today is Valentine’s Day 💘 and in the spirit of the holiday, we want to share something extra sweet. We asked you, our listeners and readers, to share your Denver love stories — stories about special people, places, and pets with a Denver connection. And wow, did you answer. I’ve picked out some of my favorites to share right here, but you can hear some of these fabulous love stories (and others!) read aloud by their actual authors on today’s podcast. Enjoy!
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Books n’ Barracuda’s
“I met the woman who would become my wife when we were working at the Tattered Cover in Cherry Creek in 2002. I left Denver not long after that, but we kept in touch. And I would always look her up when I was coming back through the city. She would send me music she made in Denver and scenes documenting the Denver underground music scene. And when I was on the other side of the world, and I needed images of Denver for the cover of my Denver novel, I commissioned her to make the photographs. We reconnected in 2010, courted each other at Barracuda’s and Gabor’s, and got married at the Mercury Cafe. We moved away for a short time. But when we were ready to start a family, this was the city we chose to return to. So much of our shared identity is wrapped up in Denver. A lot of those institutions have disappeared. But our love remains.” — William D.
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Northside Love Por Vida
“I am from the Northside, a neighborhood more commonly referred to now as Jefferson Park. I was born and raised here. This neighborhood has nurtured my family since the early 1900s. We have been here a very long time. And being on the Northside is something that just brings my heart a lot of joy. And more than I want to say my love story to the Northside, I want to say it to the Northsiders. Our community is strong. And for the rest of my life, I will deeply love and honor and respect the Northside for providing my community of Northsiders and people that I love. So that’s my Denver love story. To all my Northsiders out there, I love you.” — Maura
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Have Love, Will Travel
“I was living in St. Louis, Missouri and had just broken up with a long-time boyfriend. My girlfriends and I decided to take a road trip to a swing dancing event in Tulsa, Oklahoma (stay with me, this all ends up in Denver!). Well, at the main dance on Friday night, I lock eyes with this cutie across the dance floor. He came right over and asked me to dance, and then asked for another, and another, and you get it. We became inseparable that weekend. He lived in Denver and I was about to move back in with my mother, in Florida. He told me I might like it better in Colorado. So, I planned a visit. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I was agog on that bus ride from the airport. Miles of mountains in the distance and, something I had never seen, tumbleweeds! I really felt like I was in the wild west.
Well, he lived in Cap Hill, and so we had a great launch point for seeing the iconic sites. One of the highlights was swing dancing at the Mercury Cafe. I was smitten. So, we had a big talk and spent the last couple days of my trip looking at apartments for me. In hindsight, we really just should have immediately shacked up, but we both had to play it cool, you know? I got a nifty industrial loft in Lowry (back when a solo person could afford rent on their own) and he just spent pretty much all of his free time there. Fast forward to him moving in, us getting engaged, and then married in 2007. We bought our first house in Aurora (mistake) and so we moved back to Denver a few years later. We’ve been living in Wash Park West for 6 years now and have been together for 18! We have one kiddo and three adopted cats from the Dumb Friends League and are living our best lives.” — Reese D.
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Meet Me in the Red Booth
“I want him to give a shoutout to Gabor’s on 13th. For many, many years Gabor’s was my go-to first date place. It had the best jukebox, and over the course of years, I had so many friends who worked there or hung out there. It was like a real cool safe space. Then on the day after Christmas in 2011, I invited a first date there. We got along really well. It was a good first date. And then a few weeks later, news came that Gabor’s was closing, and I was horrified. My first date spot was gone. And I said at that moment: that last first date there was going to have to be my last first date. And we have been married for seven years now. So Gabor’s has always meant a lot to me. I miss it immensely. But I appreciate that it got me through all my first dates and my very last first date.” — Lexi
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Mutual Aid & Mutual Love
“I work at a bookstore on S. Broadway and this past summer we hosted a weekly mutual aid fair. One of the organizations that had a table on our sidewalk was Little Read Books, a group here in town that runs a free book stand as well as offering other resources to unhoused folks. I loved the idea of getting involved with them in tandem with working in the bookstore. I love working with books and loved the idea of giving back to the community through books as well. But there may have been another reason I wanted to work with LRB — the girl working the table at the mutual aid fair was very cute and I thought she was so cool. I wanted to become friends with her the moment I saw her. And that’s how I met Michelle. From our first date at the Botanic Gardens to working out together at the Carla Madison Rec Center every week, I get butterflies in my stomach every time I see her. She makes me want to be a better person every day. She builds me up and we support each other every step of the way.” — Maxx Z.
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Love Beyond Space and Time
“My love story is about a couple of older Denver natives that found unexpected love with an unexpected person. I met Evean at York Street Junior High in Thornton; he was the coolest kid that all the girls had crushes on. In high school, he started dating a friend of mine and I started dating a friend of his. Then graduation came and life moved on. Over 25 years later when I was adding a pergola to my back patio, I reached out to a friend that I heard did home construction projects and to my surprise there was Evean! We caught up all night, sharing stories of losing our mothers and going through divorces.
We didn’t run into each other again until one Valentine’s Day a couple years later. I was at a Subway restaurant on 16th Street Mall, and I heard someone calling my name. I turned around to see my friend Evean! Our paths kept crossing all over metro Denver and another year later Evean noticed on my Facebook page that I was working down the street from a job he was on in Boulder. Evean asked me to lunch and to join him at Herman’s Hideaway for a Prince Tribute band, but I was a little hesitant — I wasn’t sure if we were only spending time together as just friends. And Evean would keep me guessing for several more weeks as we continued to have lunches in Boulder and weekend dinners in Denver. Finally, one night as we walked from downtown Lafayette back to my place, talking and laughing (so much laughing!) he kissed me! And really, we haven’t spent a day apart since! Evean showed me that you can find love at any age with even the most unexpected person!” — Tara G.
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*These submissions have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
And lastly, all of MY love to all of YOU! Thank you for supporting the City Cast Denver team in our work here, doing what we love for a city we love, and making a product that is both useful and enjoyable. We love you! Happy Valentine’s Day.
— Peyton Garcia, City Cast Denver Newsletter Writer and Total Sap
FROM OUR SPONSORS, THE DEMOCRACY GROUP
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Denver, are you worried about our democracy in America? If you read the City Cast newsletter then you’re most likely a very engaged citizen. Democracy is in danger and needs your help now more than ever. That’s why The Democracy Group has created a community and network of 16 podcasts united around the goal of helping listeners understand what’s broken in our democracy, and how people are working together to fix it. Subscribe to their newsletter for podcast recommendations, deep dives, and information about how to become an engaged citizen in saving our democracy.
OTHER SWEET ODDS AND ENDS 💝
⛷️ “Mountain Meet-Cutes”: Meet three Colorado couples who found true love in the most Colorado way — on a ski lift!
⚾ A love for the game: The Colorado Rockies have welcomed their first ever female scout, 28-year-old Emily Glass, who has fostered a passion for the sport since she was just a kid.
👐 Local veterans help resettle Afghan refugees: Team Rubicon is a national nonprofit founded by U.S. military veterans. Recently, the Colorado chapter has gathered thousands of local volunteers to help collect furniture for refugee families getting settled in metro Denver.
- 💬 Navy vet Jordan Daniel with the Colorado chapter of Team Rubicon told Denverite: “It’s providing that sense of service, that sense of purpose and camaraderie, while at the same time making a tremendous impact in our local communities.”
🍰 A little sugar and a whole lot of love: Husband-wife duo, Diana and Manuel Guzman, have finally realized (and completely self funded) their longtime dream of opening a bakery in Jefferson Park.
🎢 Denver’s longtime love affair with Lakeside: Denverite reporters took a deep dive into the history of arguably Denver’s most cherished amusement park. (And they found A LOT of really cool photos.)
FROM OUR SPONSORS, THE JCC MIZEL ARTS AND CULTURE CENTER’S DENVER JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL
Watch Films From Across the Globe, February 14-March 1:
The 26th Annual JCC Mizel Arts and Culture Center’s Denver Jewish Film Festival powered by The Chotin Foundation will be held virtually and in-person from February 14 through March 1. The festival includes 34 films and shorts showcasing cinema from 14 countries from Jewish and Israeli directors and filmmakers.
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