Denver is well known for its green space, but every April it gets even greener with the arrival of 4/20.
The signature local event is, of course, the Mile High 420 Fest, which will bring Gucci Mane, Afroman, Big Boss Vette and a smattering of other musicians to Civic Center park. Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison will also be ablaze with tunes from Wiz Khalifa and Flatbush Zombies.
But 4/20 is as much about food as it is about cannabis and music. That’s why restaurants around the Front Range offer specials that often revolve around mind-bending flavor combinations. We’ve collected some of the more interesting items and discounts to satisfy your munchies.
Also check out this guide to Denver’s best stoner eats, curated by the guys from “Stoned Appetit” podcast.
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Chill at the Alamo Dankhouse
This month, Alamo Drafthouse movie theaters on the Front Range show throwback flicks guaranteed to make you giggle. Through April 26, moviegoers can catch “The Big Lebowski,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” “Friday,” “Mallrats” and more on the big screen, while noshing on a special menu of munchies. Snacks include loaded mac-and-cheese topped with pulled pork and Funyuns; a chocolate parfait sprinkled with Cocoa Puffs cereal; and a “munchie crunch” that includes popcorn, cheese balls and Chex cereal seasoned with cool ranch flavoring.
Alamo Drafthouse has three local locations in Denver (4255 W. Colfax Ave.), Littleton (7301 S. Santa Fe. Dr., Unit #850) and Westminster (8905 Westminster Blvd.). Movies and showtimes/dates vary by location.
Ike’s THC sandwich
There are myriad ways to infuse your food with weed, but Ike’s Love & Sandwiches isn’t doing that to celebrate the high holiday. Instead, the local shops are rolling up turkey, honey and Cheetos sandwiches for their THC – get it? – special. Available now through May, the item features Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, cheddar cheese and your favorite veggies, and the turkey can be substituted for a vegan version of the deli meat. Even better, reward members get a $4.20 discount on their purchase.
The THC sandwich, created in partnership with WeedMaps, is available at Ike’s Love & Sandwiches in Denver (1512 Larimer St., Unit 40R and 8300 E. 36th Ave., Unit 130) and Highlands Ranch (1525 Park Central Dr., Suite 400).
Hit a bowl of ramen
All ramen bowls at Osaka Ramen will be discounted to .20 to celebrate 4/20. (Provided by Osaka Ramen)
Osaka Ramen, which was just crowned the Front Range’s best local ramen shop by readers of The Denver Post, is promoting a “loaded bowl” special for the holidaze. On Saturday, all ramen will be discounted to $14.20 and diners can add a side of mochi doughnuts or a can of IKEZO’s sparkling Sake “Jelly Shot” for an additional $4.20. Your choice on whether or not they go in your ramen or get consumed separately.
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Light up a Baklava Blunt
Steuben’s (523 E. 17th Ave, Denver) will prepare a menu of munchies on Saturday that you might need to be in the right headspace to eat. We’re talking dill pickle chicken wings, pizza grilled cheese, baklava blunts, and Froot Loop martinis to name a few items.
A Cheba Hut collab with Cypress Hill
Cheba Hut sandwich shop embraces the stoner lifestyle year-round, so it’s no surprise the company is offering a 4/20 special. This year, it’s getting insane in the brain with help from hip-hop group Cypress Hill, which designed a cocktail for the occasion. The Low Rider cocktail ($7) is a twist on a spicy margarita featuring tequila, lime juice simple syrup, jalapenos, salt and lime. According to a Cheba Hut spokesperson, Cypress Hill wanted to design a drink they’d have before hitting the stage on tour. (I guess they got sick of the tequila sunrise.)
Pair the beverage with a Nug-size sub for just $4.20 on Saturday at Cheba Hut’s 17 locations along the Front Range. Additionally, Cypress Hill travels to Red Rocks Amphitheatre on April 27 as the supporting act for Sublime with Rome.
Colorado Harvest from New Image Brewing Co. is a West Coast-style IPA made with dank hops and terpenes, offering the same aromatic punch as opening a jar of weed. (Provided by Chris Sammons/New Image Brewing Co.)
Dank beer releases from New Image Brewing Co.
New Image Brewing Co. has two lit beer offerings to celebrate 420 and depending on how you prefer to consume, you might gravitate towards one or the other. The first, Colorado Harvest, is for old-school flower heads. This West Coast-style IPA is made with dank hops and terpenes, offering the same aromatic punch as opening a jar of weed. The second beer, Sour Diesel Peachra, attempts to capture the essence of weed gummies. It starts with a sour beer base that’s then loaded with apricot and peach, Citra hops and a dose of sweet Gelato terpenes.
Both beers are available on draft ($8.50 per pint) and in four-packs ($17-$18) at New Image’s Arvada (5622 Yukon St.) and Wheat Ridge (9505 W. 44th Ave.) taprooms.
Grab bagels and beer in the high country
Coloradans headed to the high country – emphasis on high – should stop by Outer Range Brewing Co. (182 Lusher Ct., Frisco) for a pungent beer release paired with a nostalgic snack. The brewery will release Shrubby DIPA at 11 a.m. along with special themed merch. And then from 3 to 6 p.m., the soon-to-open Odell’s Bagels will pop up to serve pizza bagels. Yes, just like the kind you used to microwave in your youth, but probably better since they’re made fresh. At 4:20 p.m., the brewery will offer samples of the new beer to patrons onsite.
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Get that Blue Dream ‘shake
On Saturday, plant-based eatery Meta Burgers will serve a Blue Dream milkshake ($8) inspired by the popular cannabis strain. The flavor is blueberry cheesecake made with oat milk and topped with green sprinkles. It’ll be available at both locations in Edgewater (5505 W. 20th Ave.) and Boulder (1905 29th St., #1174) while supplies last.
Weed chocolates (but not that kind)
Pineapple Express and Munchies are two new bonbon flavors from Temper Chocolates and Confections (2669 Larimer St., Denver). Don’t be fooled, there’s no cannabis in these sweets, but we can’t promise they won’t get you sugar high. The Pineapple Express includes pineapple, sage, caramelized white chocolate ganache in a milk chocolate shell, while the Munchies features milk chocolate, Nutella ganache with a soft brownie layer in a dark chocolate shell.
If you’re more of a Beyonce fan, try the “Cowboy Carter” inspired recipes, available through April.
More green beer
Briar Common Brewery & Eatery (2298 Clay St., Denver) makes a dank twist to its flagship Hoptimist IPA by adding cannabis and hop terpenes that “non-psychotropic but carry the full flavor and aroma of both sources’ shared genetics,” said head brewer Jacob Sabo. Its release is slated for Saturday.
Online deal from Mellow Mushroom
So you’re planning to order a pizza for dinner on 4/20? If you order from Mellow Mushroom, you can add a side of pretzel bites for $4.20. The bites feature the pizza joint’s signature dough tossed in garlic and cheese and each order comes with a side of PBR beer cheese (regular or spicy). Use the code MEL420 at checkout to get a piece of this deal.
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The Los Angeles Lakers fight to keep their season alive yet again against the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 tonight. There are some new names listed on the report and a very important one for Denver.
The Denver Nuggets have three players listed on their injury report: Jamal Murray, Reggie Jackson, and Vlatko Cancar. Jamal Murray is questionable due to a left calf strain, he has never been listed on an injury report throughout the entire series until now. Reggie Jackson is probable with a left ankle sprain. Vlatko Cancar is out due to left knee surgery. Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon are both listed as available against the Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers have five players listed on their injury report: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Cam Reddish, and Jarred Vanderbilt. LeBron James is probable with left ankle peroneal tendinopathy, Anthony Davis is probable with a left wrist sprain, Jalen Hood-Schifino is out due to lumbar disc surgery, Cam Reddish is out due to a right ankle sprain, and Jarred Vanderbilt is questionable with a right midfoot sprain. Christian Wood has been upgraded from out to available, and Jarred Vanderbilt has been upgraded from out to questionable.
The sooner that the Nuggets can finish this series, the better – especially, with Jamal Murray’s new and sudden calf strain.
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The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers face off at 10:00 p.m. EST tonight.
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Randi Kleiner felt like an 8-year-old at her birthday party as she fretted inside the Sie FilmCenter. It was 2015, the opening year of the SeriesFest TV festival and, as with a birthday party, there was no guarantee people were going to show up.
” ‘Is anyone actually coming?’ ” the festival co-creator recalled wondering as she unlocked the doors at the theater on East Colfax Avenue. “I was anxious.”
Not only did people show up that first year, they’ve also continued to blow past her expectations. Now in its 10th year, the nonprofit SeriesFest draws more than 12,000 attendees annually and commands a $2.7 million budget. Kleiner expects attendance to grow by another 2,000 this year, based on current ticket sales for the public event.
SeriesFest, co-created by Kleiner and Kaily Smith, returns for Season 10 May 1-5, with dozens of screenings, panels, awards and even a “Cowboy Carter”-themed Beyoncé dance party at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on May 5, featuring Grammy-winning Young Guru (Jay-Z’s tour DJ). Past SeriesFest events there have featured performances from Stevie Wonder, Lady Antebellum (now Lady A), Chelsea Handler, En Vogue and Common.
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SeriesFest co-founders Randi Kleiner (left) and Kaily Smith pose for a photo at the 2018 event. (Provided by FerenComm)
This year’s anniversary event takes place mostly at the Sie, with another high-profile slate of guests and programming, including its first-ever gala and honors for actor Minnie Driver, SAG-AFTRA, Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland company, and a celebration of 20 years of “Grey’s Anatomy” (with cast members James Pickens Jr., Kevin McKidd, Caterina Scorsone and Kim Raver).
The fundraising soirée bolsters SeriesFest’s reputation as a reliable, innovative spot to gather in an industry beset by head-snapping change. As prestige TV continues to move almost entirely to streaming, and the industry grapples with the staggering effects of the pandemic, last year’s Hollywood strikes and artificial intelligence, SeriesFest continues to look smart by marching boldly into a complicated, uncertain future.
“Certainly since the strikes last year, and with the IATSE (film-crew union) strikes looming on the horizon, there’s been a slightly pervasive sense of doom and gloom in my industry,” said British-Nigerian actor Chiké Okonkwo, who returns this year for a live table read of “Grave Affairs” and as a juror in the Drama category of the Independent Pilot Competition. He’s lately been seen in the last three seasons of NBC’s “La Brea,” and is a past award winner at both SeriesFest and the Denver Film Festival.
“I for one don’t subscribe to that doom and gloom,” he said. “We always need stories in a communal setting, but we also love to dig into stories at home and on TV, so this offers different ways of seeing those stories. I’m in awe of the drive and creativity to get these things made against all odds. It makes me optimistic that these people can find audiences.”
Streaming networks and production companies have snapped up independent pilots that premiered at SeriesFest, including “Cooper’s Bar” (AMC+); “Everyone Is Doing Great” (Apple TV+); “Dreaming Whilst Black” (BBC and Showtime); and “Generation Por Qué” (acquired as a short on Max). Creator Emil Pinnock, for example, also signed a blind-script deal with Blumhouse Television and has been tapped to pen an untitled Daymond John project (he’s one of the sharks on “Shark Tank”), Kleiner said.
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That’s the result of hard work and a commitment to support new and diverse voices, SeriesFest veterans say. Even with the annual celebs and major title launches — the Paramount+ hit “Yellowstone,” starring Kevin Costner, officially premiered at a SeriesFest screening at Red Rocks Amphitheatre — SeriesFest is a nonprofit that supports young and upcoming women, BIPOC and other directors with mentorships and education.
John Leyba, Denver Post file
Chike Okonkwo pauses for a photo on the red carpet on opening night of the Denver Film Festival, Nov. 2, 2016, in Denver.
Kleiner praised the Shondaland production company for taking on SeriesFest luminaries such as Tamika Miller. She won SeriesFest’s highly competitive Women Directing Mentorship with Shondaland and went on to direct three episodes of the acclaimed “Station 19.”
Alysia Reiner is a SeriesFest veteran who’s returning this year for “The Methods of Multi-Hyphenates” panel, along with actors Christy Carlson Romano (“Kim Possible”) and Michelle Hurd (“Star Trek: Picard”). For other veterans of the industry, the festival is essential for reaching new creatives and executives, given that it draws from a fast-growing, global pool of talent flowing from India, China, South Korea, Mexico and other U.S.-crossover markets, she said.
“You have a spectacular mix of people in front of and behind the camera,” said Reiner, who has appeared in seminal prestige-TV shows and streaming hits such as “Orange Is the New Black,” “Better Things,” and the Disney+ series “Ms. Marvel.” Her instantly recognizable face joins Jane Seymour (“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”); Mark Duplass (“The Morning Show”); Jocko Sims (“New Amsterdam”); closing-night comic Hasan Minhaj (“Patriot Act”); Patrick Macmanus (“Dr. Death”) and many more.
Alysia Reiner, who has co-starred in shows such as “Orange is the New Black” and “Ms. Marvel,” will take part in SeriesFest Season 10, May 1-5 in Denver. (Provided by SeriesFest)
“The truth is, our industry has contracted a little bit post-COVID and post-strike,” Reiner said. “Less is being made on that big-budget level … we’re in a real reshuffle of streamers and networks. So it’s deeply empowering when artists are reminded by SeriesFest that they don’t have to wait to create. They can make their own content. … It wasn’t like that when I was a baby artist.”
Plenty of film festivals now offer TV sidebars, Kleiner said, but SeriesFest was one of the first and only to focus exclusively on television. She’s seen the lines between TV, film and various digital media get thinner in the last decade. But her event isn’t just “the Sundance of TV,” as SeriesFest boosters have called it over the years, but an industry leader whose example is increasingly followed (including at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, and Sundance Film Fest in Park City, Utah).
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And yet SeriesFest remains one of the only places to see new TV pilots — network or independently produced — and mingle with industry types ranging from actors to soundtrack supervisors, costumers and directors, said Britta Erickson, a SeriesFest board member and film producer who formerly directed the Denver Film Festival.
“I’m proud of the fact that it came to Denver,” she said, noting that the co-founders shopped around before deciding on the Mile High City. “It was something that was missing in this market, and it felt like the right place, since we’ve been called the cable capital of the world. Now there’s this TV development pipeline that never existed and it’s launching careers and exposing new talent. The ecosystem really does start here.”
“Many networks have moved away from the traditional pilot season, so this is an incredible platform to discover new talent,” Kleiner said. “We’re showing 45 independently produced pilots, and with an audience in attendance, you can really do that litmus test right away.”
Kleiner said charitable giving is down, presenting a challenge for the festival’s continued growth, since it makes up a good portion of the budget. Resources are constantly being divided between fast-growing concerns, such as emerging crossover TV markets in Asia and Spain, prestigious competitions, and live events. But the emphasis remains on new and untested talent that proves itself worthy of national-level attention.
“We’re a small staff of six full-timers, though it grows to many more during the festival, so any programs we do always have an underlying thought to diversity, participation and social initiatives,” she said. “Most executives in industry leadership are white men, and that’s just the way it’s been. SeriesFest can’t change that, but we can show people some other ways of doing things, because we’re not just a festival. We’re a year-round arts organization now.”
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The Denver Nuggets welcome the Los Angeles Lakers to Ball Arena for Game 5 of the Western Conference 1st-round series Monday. Tip in the best-of-7 series, which the Nuggets lead 3-1, is set for 10 p.m. ET (TNT). Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Lakers vs. Nuggets odds and make our expert NBA picks and predictions.
The Nuggets are 2-2 against the spread (ATS) after losing 119-108 on the road in Game 4 Saturday, closing as a 3.5-point road favorite. Denver was 3-0 ATS and straight up against the Lakers during the regular season. C Nikola Jokic has averaged a triple-double throughout the 4 games, notching 29 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 10 assists per game.
The Lakers started their postseason with a 110-106 win over the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament. The Lakers are 3-2 ATS in their 5 postseason games this season and ended the regular season 38-44 ATS. F Anthony Davis is averaging 30.5 points and 15.8 rebounds per game.
Lakers at Nuggets odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:05 a.m. ET.
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Moneyline (ML): Lakers +245 (bet $100 to win $245) | Nuggets -300 (bet $300 to win $100)
Against the spread (ATS): Lakers +7.5 (-114) | Nuggets -7.5 (-106)
Over/Under (O/U): 217 (O: -108 | U: -112)
Lakers at Nuggets key injuries
Nuggets
G Jamal Murray (calf) questionable
Lakers
F Anthony Davis (wrist) probable
F LeBron James (ankle) probable
For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.
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Lakers at Nuggets picks and predictions
Prediction
Nuggets 110, Lakers 106
Moneyline
PASS.
The Nuggets (-300) are 6-1 against the Lakers (+245) this season and 3-0 against them at home. Expect Denver to come out on top and close out the series, but there’s no value in betting the Nuggets to win.
Against the spread
BET LAKERS +7.5 (-114).
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Los Angeles has the talent to keep this close and has impressed when its back is against the wall. In the in-season tournament final against the Indiana Pacers, the Lakers won by 14, closing as a 3.5-point favorite. They also beat the Pelicans to get into the playoffs.
Both of those could’ve been seen as must-win games, much like this one. Los Angeles has had multiple quarters in which it has outscored the Nuggets by double figures. The Nuggets are 2-2 ATS in the series and are 1-2 ATS as a favorite.
Expect the Lakers, given their experience and close-game performances, to keep things close. Back LAKERS +7.5 (-114).
Over/Under
LEAN UNDER 217 (-112).
The Under has been hot in this series, going 3-1, and there has yet to be a game in which both teams have scored more than 108 points.
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The Nuggets play at one of the slowest paces in the NBA, ranking 26th in the league during the regular season. On the other side, the Lakers sat 29th in offensive rebounding rate.
There aren’t going to be a lot of 2nd-chance opportunities coupled with a slow pace of play. The regular season series was 1-2 O/U as well, making the entire season series 2-5 O/U. Put it all together and back UNDER 217 (-112).
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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