Denver, CO
Review — Immersive Nostalgia at Meow Wolf’s Emo Nite Halloween Takeover in Denver – 303 Magazine
On October 26th, Meow Wolf Denver hosted the second night of its Halloween Danceportation series, the theme of which was “Emo Nite Halloween Takeover.” Known for blending interactive art installations with surreal storytelling, Meow Wolf’s venue is a labyrinth of strange landscapes, alien cities, and mind-bending rooms — the perfect setting for a costume party that pulls guests into a night of classic emo hits, immersive art, and live music.
READ: Meow Wolf Denver’s Danceportation Featuring J.Worra was a Night of Hidden Magic
As the party began, approaching the building felt like stepping into another dimension. In every direction, people dressed as favorite characters and nostalgic icons — from Shrek and Fiona to obscure pop culture figures — gathered, making it feel like a massive costume-themed festival before you even entered the building. With each step, reality started to bend away, preparing visitors for the world awaiting them inside.
Once inside, it was clear this was no ordinary Halloween party. Everywhere you looked, costumed figures roamed in all directions, and the opening chords of Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” echoed through the main hall. This song would kick off a playlist filled with hits that defined an entire generation and set the tone for the night ahead. Characters on stilts wove through the crowd, interacting with guests, while friends gathered to sing along, laughing and reminiscing over the familiar lyrics. It was surreal but fitting, a sense of nostalgia amplified by the strange, dreamlike surroundings.
One of the early highlights of the evening involved the elevator — but this was no typical ride. Guests were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with figures dressed as both beloved and fearsome characters. As the elevator climbed, the excitement grew, almost like it was transporting everyone to another world. When the doors finally opened, they revealed a fully immersive experience: a gritty, graffiti-covered cityscape filled with interactive games and alien influences. The first sight upon stepping out was a “Rat Battler” arena, where partygoers could face off in a head-to-head showdown controlling their own warrior rats. Fueled by the backdrop of My Chemical Romance, it felt like an edgy, underground competition, the perfect embodiment of the night’s throwback vibe.
Moving beyond this gritty world, guests were drawn deeper into Meow Wolf’s surreal maze, with the angsty emo anthems serving as a siren call. Each room in Meow Wolf has multiple pathways and countless hidden corridors, allowing people to pick their own adventure and discover something new at every turn. For those who followed the sound of music, a spiral walkway led to a stunning area hidden within a giant tree. Emerging into this open room, guests found themselves surrounded by glowing plants and intricately painted walls, with shadowed, alien-like insects crawling along the walls. The surreal environment felt like a dreamscape, perfectly blending eerie Halloween ambiance with emo nostalgia.
Nestled within the forested setting was a DJ stage, where a crowd gathered to shout along to their favorite emo songs. Above them, the venue stretched multiple stories high, with faces peering down from balconies that felt like they had reached the sky. It created a layered, almost otherworldly experience, as if guests wandered through a strange, organic festival within an alien planet. Nearby, friends gathered in cozy, cocooned conversation pits, laughing and taking photos, while others moved between levels, exploring the layered jungle-like room.
Throughout the night, each new corner revealed a different environment, each room its own unique theme and detail. Smaller side rooms held DJs spinning tracks for intimate crowds, and the alien movie theater became a fan favorite. Here, the 2002 Scooby-Doo movie played on a big screen, creating a moment of comfort amidst the night’s high-energy chaos. The dim lighting and quirky atmosphere offered a cozy retreat where people could sit, relax, and relive a childhood favorite before diving back into the party.
Another standout room was the “Glass Church,” an enormous, stained-glass-inspired installation designed to feel like a surreal, cathedral-like dance hall. Here, another DJ took over, creating an ethereal, otherworldly vibe that was mesmerizing and slightly eerie, perfectly fitting the Halloween theme. Each room in Meow Wolf’s labyrinth seemed crafted to resonate with different tastes, and the attention to detail made each environment a visual feast. From cityscapes to alien jungles, there was no shortage of fascinating spaces to wander through and explore.
The night’s music roster was packed with crowd-pleasers. Alongside a lineup of DJs, live performances from bands like Bury Mia, Astral Planes, Caroline Reilly and Thurston provided moments of raw, live energy. The crowd went wild when special guests like Kellin Quinn from Sleeping with Sirens and Forrest Kline from Hellogoodbye created moments of excitement that were all the more amplified by the themed setting. Decadon and High Zombie closed out the evening with “Grave Sets” that served as the night’s final thrill. The music felt like the heartbeat of the night, pulsating throughout the rooms, tying everything together in a festival-like vibe. It was easy to get lost in the art and let the music serve as a soundtrack for the night’s adventure.
The crowd itself was a massive part of the experience. Seeing so many people embrace the immersive atmosphere and come dressed in intricate costumes added an infectious energy to the space. Characters from every genre mingled, laughed and shared drinks, creating a sense of camaraderie that’s hard to find outside such an event. At one point, guests dressed as the “Green Monkeys” from Legends of the Hidden Temple gathered for an emo karaoke session and belted out “Dirty Little Secret” by The All-American Rejects. These spontaneous moments brought the party’s playful energy to life and made it feel like a community gathering as much as a Halloween celebration.
As the night wore on, it became clear that Meow Wolf’s Emo Nite Halloween Takeover was a truly unique experience. Each detail, from the music selection to the intricately designed rooms, created a space where people could lose themselves in the past and present at once. The combination of familiar emo tunes and eerie, surreal surroundings made it a one-of-a-kind Halloween event, perfect for fans of both alternative music and immersive art. For anyone in Denver looking for a Halloween celebration that blends nostalgia, art and otherworldly experiences, Meow Wolf’s Danceportation nights are not to be missed. It’s a place where the strange and familiar meet and where stepping outside reality feels as natural as the music itself.
All photographs courtesy of Zack Hartman
Denver, CO
Slow start dooms shorthanded Avalanche in loss to Lightning
For 54 minutes Wednesday night, the severely shorthanded Colorado Avalanche played about as well as expected, considering the circumstances.
That, however, came after the first six minutes went about as poorly as someone could imagine. The big guns on the Tampa Bay Lightning had a huge night, and the Avs’ pushback was met by one of the best goalies in the world in a 5-2 loss at Ball Arena.
Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel combined for three goals and seven points for the Lightning. After allowing three goals on the first five shots, new Colorado goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen did find his way and finished with 16 saves.
“Against teams like that with that high-end skill, you expect them to make those plays, but it’s still not easy to make the saves on those plays,” Kahkonen said. “Especially early like that. But it’s … what are you going to do? You just play. You try to stop the next puck and you try to get into a rhythm.”
The Avs have been without Artturi Lehkonen (shoulder), Valeri Nichushkin (suspension) and Gabe Landeskog (knee) all season and Jonathan Drouin (upper body) joined them after getting hurt in the opener against Vegas. The situation got worse for Colorado before this game.
Ross Colton is out 6-to-8 weeks with a broken foot after blocking a shot Monday night against Chicago, Avs coach Jared Bednar said Wednesday morning. Miles Wood is also out for 7-to-10 days with an upper-body injury that he’s been trying to play through.
“Our (missing) payroll is outrageous,” Nathan MacKinnon said. It’s not excuses. It’s just facts. I do like how we’re playing overall. When guys come back, I feel like if just keep with this, we’ll have better results, but that’s not the point right now.”
While there were some positives to build from for a team missing six of its top-10 forwards, the Avs were down 3-0 before the first TV timeout.
Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper gets an assist on each of the first two Lightning goals. Both times, the play began with his third line against Colorado’s makeshift third line, which included defenseman Oliver Kylington.
The Lightning gained control of the puck and made an on-the-fly change to its top line, and then quickly scored in similar fashion. Point took the puck behind the Colorado net and found Kucherov wide open in the slot for a one-timer 61 seconds in.
Kucherov collected the puck behind his own net at the start of his next shift and went coast-to-coast. He went behind the net like Point did, but sent a reverse pass back to where he came from. Guentzel was waiting near the right post for an easy one at 3:36 for a 2-0 lead.
“It’s awareness mistakes,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “Young players just not reading it quick enough and not getting in quite the right spots.
“Overall, I thought we were engaged in the game. We played pretty hard, played pretty well. Definitely had a better second than the first, and the third was pretty good again. It didn’t come easy for us on the offensive side of it, either.”
Sam Malinski fell near the offensive blue line and tried to swipe at the puck, but the end result was a 3-on-1 the other way and a highlight-reel goal for Tampa Bay. Conor Geekie started the passing play and then finished it at 5:32 of the first after all three forwards touched the puck in quick succession.
The Avs did settle into the game after the opening flurry. Ivan Ivan scored his second career goal to cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 3-1 at at 14:56 of the first.
Ivan tipped a point shot from Cale Makar past Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy from the high slot. He has been the replacement for Ross Colton in that spot, and both of his goals have come with PP1.
Colorado’s first six minutes of the second period went very well, except the Avs couldn’t beat Vasilevskiy. Then, with a jumbled Avs line on the ice after a Colorado power play ended, Tampa Bay’s big guns feasted again.
Point got by Josh Manson in the neutral zone, which led to a 2-on-1. The first shot from Point hit the left post, but caromed right to Guentzel for a tap-in and a 4-1 lead at 6:28 of the second.
Matt Stienburg drew a penalty with a big hit early in the second, but he drew an early end to his night later in the period. He launched himself into Tampa Bay defenseman Erik Cernak and was assessed a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct.
While the Avs did threaten, including a Makar goal midway through the third period, Vasilevskiy also made sure there would be no miracle comeback.
“We had a big meeting today and (Bednar) wanted a good process,” MacKinnon said. “We did that, but it would be nice to have some shooting luck eventually. I think we were pretty cold (tonight).”
FOOTNOTES: Bednar said the Avs are shooting for Lehkonen to make his season debut Tuesday against Seattle. He also said Drouin has taken some controlled contact, but is still sore and remains day-to-day with an unclearl timeline for a return.
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Originally Published:
Denver, CO
Denver police target expired license plates, vehicle registration starting Nov. 1
Denver police will begin another one-month period of targeted enforcement of expired vehicle registration and expired temporary license plate violations on Nov. 1. The special enforcement is similar to the one conducted in July.
Police encourage drivers to register their vehicles to avoid the $95 fine from a Denver Municipal Code citation in addition to registration/renewal costs.
For reference, police in Denver filed 64 cases of expired/fictitious license plates during one week of a non-enforcement period, Sept. 9 through Sept. 16. Compare that to 339 citations during the enforcement week of Sept. 23.
According to Denver Motor Vehicle, registration of newly purchased or acquired vehicles must be done in person at DMV offices, and registration renewals must be done online or at a kiosk. Vehicle owners are reminded that while vehicle registrations have a 30-day grace period after expiration, temporary license plates do not have a grace period after expiration. For more information about registering or renewing the registration for a vehicle, locating a branch and kiosk, utilizing online services and more, please visit denvergov.org/dmv.
Police said that this is an opportunity for Denver police officers to address and take action on the community’s vocalized frustrations over drivers with expired license plate tags and expired temporary plates.
Additional Information from the Denver Police Department:
To allow for enforcement of expired vehicle registrations and expired temporary license plates during this one-month period, the Denver Police Department is temporarily exercising a clause in its low-level traffic stops policy. Outside this special enforcement period, DPD officers may still stop drivers who have expired plates or temporary plates if there are additional concerns. Also, missing license plates remain a priority for the Denver Police Department and do not fall within the low-level traffic stop policy.
Denver, CO
Three Thoughts from the Brooklyn Nets’ Loss to the Denver Nuggets
Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernández’s first game against one of his former teams, the Denver Nuggets, ended in an overtime loss which showed the ups and downs a rebuild entails.
“The fact that we fought against a team like this, to me, it means a lot to our group … So proud of our guys,” Fernández said. The first-year head coach was an assistant under Mike Malone with the Nuggets for six seasons from 2016-2022.
Brooklyn is now 1-3 for the season. Dennis Schröder led the team in scoring and assists with 28 and 14, respectively. Cam Thomas added 26 points. Four Nuggets players scored more than 20 points: Nikola Jokić, Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook.
In terms of injuries, Trendon Watford and Day’Ron Sharpe (left hamstrings) remained out for the Nets. Cui Yongxi was on assignment with Long Island in the G League, having been listed on their training camp roster. Ben Simmons is not playing back-to-backs for now, per Fernández, so he will be available Wednesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies since he did not play versus Denver in the front end of this two-night series.
Noah Clowney received his first start of the season — and the fifth of his NBA career — as the main in the middle alongside Dennis Schröder, Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith. Nic Claxton continued to come off the bench.
Here are three takeaways from the Nets’ fourth game of the regular season:
Ziaire Williams finished with 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting, while also pitching in four assists, three rebounds and one block.
Williams “has things that you can’t teach,” per Nets general manager Sean Marks, but his shooting might actually say the opposite of that. After scoring four of his five attempted three-pointers versus Denver, the Brooklyn wing is 8-of-12 from deep to start the season. He wasn’t just taking easy spot-up looks either, as he was moving and relocating into threes.
Williams explained that his shooting improvement started taking shape last year: “[Assistant coach] Anthony Carter from Memphis was the first person who taught me how to hop into a shot instead of one-two. That’s allowed me to get a lot more momentum and flow.”
But Ziaire wasn’t just shooting threes. He was also cutting and catching a lob, running out in transition and crashing the boards. All of Williams’ shots came from three, curiously on the right side of the floor, or at the rim.
The former tenth overall pick seems aware that this opportunity with the Nets is a do-over of sorts in the NBA. In Memphis, Williams was ultimately usurped in the pecking order by newer, healthier and, at times, more productive wings. So far this season with the Nets, he’s been solid if unspectacular.
Williams is in the final year of his contract ($6.1 million this season) and will be a restricted free agent next summer, not having come to terms with Brooklyn prior to the extension deadline. More games like this will help the Nets prioritize him or, alternatively, other teams covet him.
The Nets are being careful with Nic Claxton, continuing to bring him off the bench as he works his way back from missing all of preseason with hamstring soreness. But he is evidently the team’s best center and, potentially, their best player.
In 26 minutes, Claxton accrued his second double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds. His three blocks also reflect his two-way impact, and his two assists display the more expansive touches Jordi Fernández is giving the Brooklyn big.
On a night when Noah Clowney got his first start, the contrast between the second-year forward and the experienced Claxton was noticeable. Clowney continues to flash promise, but he needs to close out possessions better. In 15 minutes, he missed both of his attempted shots and only secured three rebounds. Claxton, on the other hand, is much more of an event creator and play-finisher near the basket.
That said, the Georgia product couldn’t do anything — and neither could any other Net — against Jokic, who finished with an absurd triple-double: 29 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists. Posting up the three-time and reigning MVP was effectively a cheat code for the Nuggets, particularly down the stretch of the second half.
“What they do is put the ball in Nikola’s hands and he controls the game,” Fernández said. He called Jokic “an unbelievable player that put up an unbelievable performance.”
Claxton will not play on the second night of the Nets’ back-to-back against Memphis so that the team can manage his hamstring. It will be interesting to see whether Fernández tweaks his front court rotation or if he largely alternates between Clowney and Ben Simmons, who will be available, as was the case in preseason.
The Brooklyn Nets are already one of the youngest teams in the NBA, but it seems like the buzz for any player who’s over 25 years old leans towards being traded elsewhere. GM Sean Marks and the organization is seemingly keeping their veterans updated on any talks that might happen but, for now, Brooklyn does not appear in a rush to move its more established players.
Against Denver, it was those players — Dennis Schröder, Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith — who propelled a lot of the Nets’ performance. The three vets combined for 65 points, with Schröder in particular having a great game. By half-time, the German point guard had the most points and assists he’d ever racked up over two NBA quarters.
Cam Johnson was typically hot from three, making six of his ten attempted shots from downtown. The 28-year-old also continues to put the ball on the floor and make smart decisions. Finney-Smith was active on both ends, although he was cold from deep (7-of-27 in the season’s first four games) and missed a wide-open corner three that would’ve won the game for Brooklyn. Fans rooting for the Nets’ draft lottery odds to improve won’t hold that against him, though.
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