BY PEYTON GARCIA | @CITYCASTDENVER

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XANDRA’S BUCKET LIST 🪣 📋

If you haven’t heard the sad news yet, let me rip off the Band-Aid… City Cast Audio Producer Xandra McMahon is leaving the team. [Cue card: Awww!]

The good news: She’s staying with City Cast. In fact, she’s launching a brand new podcast and newsletter in Philadelphia! [Cue card: Yay!]

But before she hits the dusty highway, Xandra wanted to check some stuff off her Colorado bucket list, like going to Keensberg’s Wild Animal Sanctuary. (You can listen to today’s podcast episode to hear how she liked it 👇)

“I don’t want to, like, crap all over the Denver Zoo, but it is difficult when you see the animals in this kind of environment, and then think about how small the habitats are at the zoo…”

Turns out, there’s a lot of things YOU all thought Xandra should add to that bucket list. Here are a few of y’all’s suggestions that got me excited:

Listener Maura H. says: “A visit to the Lake Steam Baths on W. Colfax is something worth trying… I won’t say more so you can have your own opinion. But check it out!”

Listener Jillian recommends the National Ice Core Lab: “It is THE spot in the country for ice cores. … They give you a full run-down of why the research is important, the implications of climate change, and what they’re doing in the facilities. Then you get to go into one of their incredibly cold freezers for about 60 seconds.”

Jillian also recommends Bishop Castle: “It’s just a totally wild place in Colorado. This man decided he needed to build himself a castle, and you can just roll up and wander around, and it is like 14 stories tall. It’s totally insane.”

Listener Hannah suggests the Elf Scavenger Hunt at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science: “It is my favorite thing to do, hunt down all of the gnomes in the exhibits. And it’s a great way to make sure that you see the entire Museum!”

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We love tips!

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MORE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

🏆 The Joker crowned again: It’s unofficially official — The Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić will be named MVP of the NBA for the second year in a row. ESPN, USA Today, and The Associated Press report that inside sources have confirmed that Jokić will formally receive the honor later this week. [9News]

🚩 Another day, another red flag warning: Our favorite local meteorologist and former City Cast Denver guest, Andy Stein, reports that this week will bring high winds and low humidity, thrusting much of Colorado into high fire danger status. [Denver Post]

• 🔥 What you can do: Keep those grilling, smoking, and other fire-related activities to a responsible minimum. 

🦅 Sorry, you’re not an eagle expert: There’s no denying the adoration we have for our local eagle population (case-in-point: the “Real Eagles of Standley Lake,” as we at City Cast Denver have affectionately named the popular bird family in Westminster). So if a baby eaglet falls out of its tree, should you save it? The Colorado Sun interviewed experts about when it’s OK to intervene with the course of nature, and when we need to let “survival of the fittest” play out. [CO Sun] 

• 🤔 My thoughts: As a bird-watching noob, I’m not sure I would know what to do if I stumbled upon a de-nested baby bird. So I’m calling on all the local birding experts out there to share your thoughts on the subject by replying to this email. 📧

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THIS WEEK’S THINGS TO DO

🍔 TODAY: Get your tickets for unlimited burgers!
Tickets to the Denver Burger Battle — one of my personal favorite food festivals of the summer — go on sale today at 10 a.m. This year, attendees will sample from 18 contenting restaurants to name the champ. YUM!

📚 TONIGHT: Meet Peter Heller
Acclaimed local author Peter Heller will be at the Tattered Cover on Colfax tonight at 6 p.m. to discuss his latest novel, “The Guide.” (Psst! I interviewed Heller about the book when it first debuted last year. Check it out!)

🦐 WEDNESDAY: Go elbow-deep in a Cajun Crawfish Boil
Remember when you were sucking down crawfish in New Orleans last month? 🤤 Oh wait, that was me. Well, come relive my delicious experience at Stoic & Genuine’s patio crawfish boil this Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

🤣 WEDNESDAY: Get your laugh on
Laugh the week’s stresses away at Avanti F+B’s Loco Local’s Comedy Extravaganza. Listen to sets from five local comics for guaranteed LOLs. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and cover is $10.

🎸 THURSDAY: Get excited for UMS 2022
The musicians booked for this summer’s Underground Music Showcase will be announced at this Lineup Drop Party at Illegal Pete’s on Broadway from 4 to 7 p.m. 

🇮🇸 THURSDAY: Visit Iceland
… With your taste buds, that is. This three-day Icelandic culture festival will spotlight food, drinks, music, and film from the Land of Ice and Fire at participating locations across Denver.

👉 Stay tuned for more: Don’t miss Friday’s newsletter for our regularly scheduled weekend event roundup!  

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