Top 5 Things to Do in Denver When You’re High: A Local’s Guide
When you live in Denver, Colorado, the great weather, extraordinary restaurants, and bountiful events are always beckoning you to go on awesome urban adventures. In fact, sometimes it is a bit too awesome and I wish it would rain so that I can stay inside and watch Netflix without feeling guilty. (I know, first-world problems). This awesomeness is only compounded with the fact that you can embark on these dope (pun intended) urban adventures before, after, or whilst smoking the world’s finest cannabis. In fact, you can walk into your local dispensary and get your favorite strain rolled into the most perfect portable party package and be on your merry way. If you’re a Denver local and think you might have exhausted your high adventures, think again.
5. A movie at the Mayan Theater
The Mayan Theater is a museum, vintage bar, and cinema experience all in one. Built in 1930, the theater was designed in the “Art Deco Mayan Revival style,” which pretty much means that if you are even the least bit high, you will ogle at the strange sculptures, captivating colors, and the overall trippy ambiance. To boot, the theater has a full bar upstairs and gives out buckets of free popcorn on your way out of the theater (just when your edibles have kicked in). But, most importantly the Mayan picks the movies it plays with the kind of taste and intellect only found at theaters run by people who actually care about cinema. All in all, if you are looking for an experience to match the chillness of the indica strain you smoked earlier, the Mayan Theater is your jam.
4. Top Taco Festival
Most Denver locals (and East Coast transplants) know that what the city lacks in pizza, Chinese food, or bagels, it makes up for in tacos. This year, Top Taco is happening on June 23rd when more than 40 restaurants compete head to head for the Top Taco title. Basically, if you are high this summer and want to get tacos, but also partake in a celebratory taco competition, this is your event. Your entry fee includes UNLIMITED taco tastings, margaritas, beer, and tequila. After you have crushed as many tacos as you can physically consume, you can dance away the evening to live Salsa/Samba music. That is, if you aren’t passed out in bed by 8PM.
3. Flow Class at Warrior Academy Yoga
I have been to A LOT of yoga studios around the world. My general experience has been that I always leave these studios more stressed about my appearance, practice, or general existence than when I entered. This is where Warrior Academy truly breaks the proverbial mold. If you are a Denver local looking for a true community of incredibly grounded, like-minded yogis who aren’t afraid to swear and get high before class, then this is the place to be. If you have just smoked a sativa strain and feel the need to get off your ass and do something physical, the Flow Class is just the right amount of activity. If nothing else, the Dharma words of wisdom before the class will pretty much blow your mind and cause you to reconsider your entire existence, or just smoke another joint.
2. Ice cream at Sweet Cow
I consider myself an ice cream connoisseur and while I have never met ice cream I did not enjoy, nothing compares to the rich, creamy goodness that is Sweet Cow. In fact, you know when you have just smoked and your inner six-year-old possesses you to NEED a bucket of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch with whole milk? Well look no further because Sweet Cow has made your stoney cereal dreams come true with their rotating cereal flavored ice cream. Or maybe you’re thinking that that a cup of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch ice cream is simply not enough to meet your munchies. Instead, you want an entire ice cream cake with a script message to yourself reading, “No Excuses.” At Sweet Cow you can shamelessly and casually buy yourself ready-to-eat ice cream cakes and ice cream sandwiches whenever you get the high hankering.
1. My 420 Tours
I swear this is not a shameless plug. As a Denver local, I had the honor of experiencing the My 420 Tour’s Cannabis Foodie Tour last week. A group of about 30 people of all ages, races, occupations, and geographic origins congregated at a 420 friendly hotel downtown where we met out cannabis tour guides, Mike and Brie. The group seemed tamed and unassuming, until we entered the luxurious party bus. Then it became a full-blown 420 party. Since the majority of the people on the tour were from states without legalized cannabis, it was like releasing a bunch of heady hyena hostages out of the confines of their state cages. It was like being transported to an adult Narnia, except instead of a wardrobe, we entered via a hot-boxed party on wheels. In lieu of centaurs and lions, we toured a 44,000 square foot grow house for Mindful Dispensary; purchased premium strains at Mindful Dispensary; and took free dabs “Dabs R Us.” (Ingeniously named, I might add). By the time we went to dinner at Avanti F&B and ice cream at Union Station, I had made friends with a New York Times reporter, a middle-aged mom from Boston, a cattle farmer from Kansas and a gaggle of awesome Texans. One of the woman on the tour said it was, “the most fun she has had since going to Senegal.” At first I was not sure how much fun Senegal was, but she insisted this was one of the most fun experiences of her life. I couldn’t agree more. Better yet, World Cannabis Week (April 15th – 21st) is quickly approaching and I cannot wait to see what is in store. More to come!