4 OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 5, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® DEAD ZONE Make your own Dia de los Muertos mask for Halloween! 8 HOME IS WHERE THE HEART WAS Denver Water has purchased a historic ranch for nearly $6 mllion. BY THOMAS MITCHELL 10 FUN, FANS AND FLICKS The 48th Denver Film Festival brings a slew of stars and screen spectacles to the Mile High City. BY MICHAEL ROBERTS 12 GOING NUTS This south suburban strip is Denver’s doughnut district. BY ANTONY BRUNO 15 DENVER OR BUSK Meet Insipidus, the metal band taking the city by storm. BY EMILY FERGUSON 10 Culture 12 Cafe 15 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 16 21 Marijuana CANNABIS CALENDAR ............................ 21 HIGH NOTES ............................................. XX VOLUME 49 NUMBER 9 OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 5, 2025 E D I T O R I A L Editor Patricia Calhoun News Editor Thomas Mitchell Food and Drink Editor Molly Martin Music Editor Emily Ferguson Culture Editor Kristen Fiore Social Media Editor Katrina Leibee Staff Writers Bennito L. Kelty, Hannah Metzger Senior Contributors Brendan Joel Kelley, Alan Prendergast, Michael Roberts Contributors Gil Asakawa, Teague Bohlen, Hyde Chrastina, Jacqueline Collins, Justin Criado, Audrey Ferrer, John Flathman, Susan Froyd, Jason Heller, Nick Hutchinson, Danielle Krolewicz, Karl Christian Krumpholz, Kristen Kuchar, Skyler McKinley, Abi- gail Nueve, Ryan Pachmayer, Kristin Pazulski, Adam Perry, Evan Semón, Amber Taufen, Toni Tresca, Kastle Waserman, Helen Xu Music Listings Matthew Jones Cover Designer Monika Swiderski P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager Michael Wilson Assistant Production Manager Erin Kirk Graphic Designers Kami Miller, Tori O’Connor C R E A T I V E S E R V I C E S Senior Graphic Designer Allie Seidel A D V E R T I S I N G Senior Multimedia Account Executives Amy Camera, Aaron Lembke Multimedia Account Executives Remy Diamond, Nate Easley, Trey Konsella, Kirby Quick, Christian Sanders, Allison Wissink Operations Manager Carver Hodgkiss Digital Sales Coordinator Anne-Grace Hartman Director of Digital Sales Alan Heath Advertising Director Teri Driskell C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Ty Koepke B U S I N E S S Director of Business and Operations Russell Breiter Financial Accountant Robert Scribner AR Coordinator Stacy Phillips IT Systems Manager Kris Robinson Receptionist Cindy Perez Associate Publisher Tracy Kontrelos Publisher Scott Tobias V O I C E M E D I A G R O U P Editorial Director Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek Editorial Operations Director Bridget Thomason Director of Membership and Community Development Jennifer Robinson Digital Operations & Audience Strategist Allison Stephenson Audience Strategist Dallon Adams Corporate Controller Beth Cook Legal Counsel Steve Suskin Chief Financial Offi cer Jeff Mars Chief Executive Offi cer Scott Tobias V M G N A T I O N A L National Advertising: 1-888-278-9866, www.voicemediagroup.com Senior Vice President of Sales Operations Joe Larkin D I S T R I B U T I O N Westword is available free of charge. Additional copies of the current issue may be purchased for $1, payable in advance at the Westword offi ce. Westword may be distributed only by authorized Westword distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of Westword, take more than one copy of each issue. C O P Y R I G H T The entire contents of Westword are copyright 2025 by Denver Westword LLC. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, with- out the express written permission of the Publisher, Westword, P.O. Box 5970, Denver CO 80217. Back issues may be purchased for $2 each plus postage from the Westword offi ce (issues older than six weeks subject to availability). The Best of Denver 2023 is $6 plus postage. Story reprints are available for $1 plus post- age; call 303-296-7744 to place an order, or check our archives at www.westword.com. Westword (USPS478230) is published weekly by Denver Westword LLC, 1278 Lincoln Street, Denver CO 80203. Peri- odicals postage paid in Denver. Domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $100/year or $50/six months. Postmaster: Send address changes to Westword, P.O. Box 5970, Denver CO 80217. Mailing address: P.O. Box 5970, Denver, CO 80217 Street address: 1278 Lincoln Street, Denver, CO 80203 For general information, call: 303-296-7744 For Editorial, email: [email protected] ON THE COVER DESIGN BY MONIKA SWIDERSKI LETTERS T O T H E E D I T O R YOU CAN COMMENT ON ANY STORY AT WESTWORD.COM; SEND LETTERS TO [email protected] Don’t miss a word! The stories in this print edition are just a fraction of the pieces we publish every week on westword.com. For a cheat sheet on all that content, subscribe to our daily newsletter at westword.com/profi le. You can also follow @denverwestword on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. And it’s all free! DESIGN BY MONIKA SWIDERSKI “A SPIRITED COMEBACK,” PATRICIA CALHOUN, OCTOBER 23 A B R O W N S T U D Y Thank you to Patricia Calhoun for her story on the changes at the Brown Palace. We are losing so many traditions and aspects of our history, and it was sad to see the Brown Palace slide. When I joined visiting family members there for a meal last year, the experience was very disappointing. I hope the place continues to improve, and remains a Mile High City landmark worth honoring. George Lloyd Littleton Good to read the update on the Brown Palace. After your stories last year about the bellman and the homeless man who committed suicide, I was worried that out- of-town management had royally screwed up this onetime “crown jewel.” But now I’m ready to give it another try...just in time for the holidays. Syl Frankel Denver “FOOD FOR THOUGHT,” LAURA SHUNK, OCTOBER 16 C H E W O N T H I S ! In fi ve years there will only be handfuls of lo- cal and old-school restaurants. There will be tons more chains serving homogenous items from monopoly food distributors, and all the dishes will be even more salty than they are now. You will order at a kiosk, your food will be delivered by a robot, and no one will care if you enjoyed your meal. French fries will be $14 everywhere because Governor Jared Polis and the legislature were too dumb to understand how to effectively regulate the AI-driven dynamic pricing model that will make every meal a test of your pain points. Michael Lustig Denver Hopefully the scene will be better than it is now. There are some really good places, but overall it lacks. Eric Hulme Arvada This nearly made me cry. Owning a restau- rant is so hard, and when it is your passion and love to provide for others and it feels impossible to sustain, it hurts to the core. I hope we can do the things Laura Shunk mentioned mov- ing forward to survive and one day THRIVE! Alicia Davey Englewood It’s interesting in the south metro area and Castle Rock, I see places opening, places packed and fl ourishing. I lived downtown for twenty years. I still hit up my fave Brewery Bar II for green chile, but not much else is worth the hassle, what with plenty of great options in the ‘burbs around with easy, free parking. Jason Maybee Littleton The cost of running a place downtown is astronomical. It’s a tremendous challenge to make enough money to survive the slow times caused by construction, construction, construction, weather, pandemics, economic malaise and everything else. Dusty Tran Arvada “UNBEARABLY GOOD,” MOLLY MARTIN, OCTOBER 2 G R E E N W I T H E N V Y Loved the cover for your green chile list. “Unbearably” cute idea, having the Big Blue Bear prefer chile to Winnie the Pooh’s honey. Jaymi Mills Denver Nobody here has any idea what pork green chile is. When I go back to Denver, I have to get my fi ll of it because there’s none to be had here, other than when I make my own. John Fischer South Carolina If you’re a local, you know that green chile goes with your eggs in the morning, in your hamburger at lunch and on your burrito for dinner. (That order is subject to change depending on work schedule and funds.) Chica Rod Denver
