Hope everybody is enjoying this cooler weather like I am. Was out at Taste of Parker on Tuesday and it was perfect. This is the first one of these that Yelp has thrown in Parker. 500 people, almost 30 vendors passing out free food, beverages, and more. Blood sugar was high, stomach and heart were happy. Had a fantastic Bambino from Good Times, some nice pozole from Cencalli, caramel corn from Kilwins and of course some amazing jalapeño sausage from Woodhill. Even got to roast my own marshmallows thanks to S'mores Time, a pre-packaged s'mores operation that started just under a year ago…one of my marshmallows may or may not have caught on fire…I salvaged it though.
Another Parker spot I hit this past week was Downhill Brewing for the Broncos game (if you could call it that) on Monday night. Six of us from DougCo Social made it out. The Meat-Ya-Downhill pizza was top notch.
Hoping to continue to do these meetups to watch the game each week. We're planning on going to The Library (bar in Castle Rock, not DCL…) for Sunday's 2:05pm game against the Jags. Ping me if you want confirmation or just show up!
Halloween Brick Painting with Emma Paints
Sunday, September 27, 2-5pm at Max Taps in Highlands Ranch (don’t worry —Broncos play at 6:20pm that night). We're teaming up with Emma Paints for an afternoon of guided brick painting. You'll paint Halloween characters on a 12x5 inch scalloped brick, step by step, with Emma walking you through it. No experience necessary.
The brick, all the painting materials, and an apron are included. Beer from the 54 taps is on you.
Colorado Highland Games
The 62nd Colorado Highland Games are next weekend, Saturday, September 26 from 9am to 8pm and Sunday, September 27 from 9am to 5pm, at the Denver Polo Club in Sedalia. It's the longest-running Scottish Highland games in Colorado, and the whole thing happens on a polo field in our own county. People assume an event like this means a drive to Estes. It doesn't.
I went last year and it was one of the best days of my fall. I hung out with the Highland cows, watched rugby from the lawn, worked through a box of fish and chips, and spent an unreasonable amount of time at the British car show picking out my next car. I said then I'd be looking at kilts for this year. No promises.
What's on this year. The midday ceremonies hit at noon Saturday: massed pipes and drums and the Parade of Clans, which is the thing you want to be standing near when it happens. Heavy athletics run all weekend, caber toss, hammer throw, stone put, and this year's slate includes a Women's Lightweight World Championship. The Parade of British Dogs goes at 10am both days, with a Blessing of the Animals added Sunday. The Bonnie Knees contest is at 2pm both days (kilted men line up and have their knees judged). Sunday brings the rugby exhibition at noon and the British car show. Whisky seminars run on separate tickets, there's a kids' area from 9am to 4pm both days, and the living history camps do blacksmithing, weaving and spinning demos all weekend.
The concert. Seven Nations headlines Saturday night, 6:30pm to 8pm on the main stage. They've been playing Celtic rock for 30 years. Old Blind Dogs, a Scottish trad band, open at 5pm and play sets both days.
Know before you go. Day and weekend passes are at scottishgames.org, along with the full schedule. Parking is $5 per car per day in cash at the gate, or $6.20 with the fee if you prepay online. Sealed water bottles are allowed. No other outside food or drink, and dogs stay home unless they're registered for the British dogs event. If you're a merch person, the 2026 mug is $20 and comes with the first fill.
The county approved a five-year run at the Polo Club last fall, so the games aren't going anywhere. If you go, do the fish and chips on the lawn.
Wednesday, September 30. Two dinners, one night, both in Lone Tree.
Dinner Club is the one where you show up at 6:30pm and sit down with five neighbors you've never met. We do the matching and make the reservation, and the restaurant gets revealed the day of. You order off the menu and pay for your own food and drinks.
Grab a seat here and use code LT5 for $5 off.
Couples Dinner (55+) runs the same night if you'd rather bring your person. Same idea, different room. This one is at Cranelli's Italian Restaurant.
Grab a table here and use code TABLE10 for $10 off, good through September 30.
Help Wanted
Local jobs and opportunities across Douglas County.
If you're hiring, reach out at [email protected] for a free posting.
Saddle Up
Last Supper Club of the Season
We've been running these at KB Ranch all summer and the last one of the season is Tuesday, September 29, 6 to 8pm. Four courses, out on the ranch with the sun going down behind it. It's the last one scheduled for now.
Top Events This Week
Thu 9/17 - Elk Bugling Hike - Backcountry Wilderness Area, Highlands Ranch - 5pm - $12–$15
Thu 9/17 - Curtain Call at the Mansion: Jazz & Soul - Highlands Ranch Mansion - 6:30pm
Thu 9/17 - Freddy Jones Band - Studio@Mainstreet, Parker - 8pm
Fri 9/18 - Lone Tree Symphony: Fate and Future - Lone Tree Arts Center - 7:30pm - $10–$32
Sat 9/19 - Colorado Car Addicts Charity Car Show - Outlets at Castle Rock - 9:30am - Free
Sat 9/19 - Color Our Community - Entertainment District Plaza, Lone Tree - 11am - Free
Sat 9/19 - Three Oktoberfests - Living The Dream in Highlands Ranch with mini horses 12pm, Downtown Castle Rock 1pm, and Lyric at RidgeGate in Lone Tree 5pm
Sat 9/19 and Sun 9/20 - Autumn Arts & Crafts Fest - Larkspur Community Park - 10am both days - Free
Music & Concerts
Studio@Mainstreet - Freddy Jones Band - Thu 9/17, 8pm–10:30pm
Highlands Ranch Mansion - Curtain Call at the Mansion: An Evening of Jazz & Soul - Thu 9/17, 6:30pm–8pm
Miller Park Amphitheater - Tunes for Trails: Ninety Percent 90s - Thu 9/17, 6:30pm–9pm
The Groove at Lyric - Friday Night Live: Megan Burtt - Fri 9/18, 5pm–8pm
Prost Highlands Ranch - Live Music: Da' Polka Guy - Fri 9/18, 5:30pm–8:30pm
Lone Tree Arts Center - Lone Tree Symphony Orchestra: Fate and Future - Fri 9/18, 7:30pm–9:30pm - $10–$32
The Schoolhouse - Friday Night Jazz: Sass, Swing & Standards with Marion Powers - Fri 9/18, 7:30pm–9:30pm - $29–$34
Pines Bar and Grill - Live Band - Fri 9/18, 6pm–9pm
Wide Open Saloon - Kelsey Jo and The Wildcards - Fri 9/18, 7pm–10:30pm
The Stagecoach Saloon (Franktown) - Sarah P and the Hay Pullers - Fri 9/18, 6:30pm–10:30pm
Prost Highlands Ranch - Live Music: Vinyl Nation - Sat 9/19, 12:30pm–3:30pm
Lone Tree Golf Club - Music on the Patio: Josh Blackburn - Sat 9/19, 6pm–9pm
Max Taps Highlands Ranch - Live Music: Shire Band - Sat 9/19, 6pm–8pm
Prost Highlands Ranch - Live Music: Aftershock - Sat 9/19, 5:30pm–9pm
Prost Highlands Ranch - Live Music: The Hip Replacements - Sun 9/20, 1pm–5pm
PACE Center - Member Concert: Those Crazy Nights, Legends of the 80s - Sun 9/20, 6:30pm–8:30pm - $15
Food & Drink
KB Ranch - Cowabunga Cafe - Sat 9/19, 11am–12pm - $28
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Whiskey Tasting: Whiskies of the World - Sat 9/19, 6pm–9:15pm - $86.95
Alidade Brewing - Welcome Fall Cookie Class - Sun 9/20, 2pm–4pm - $85
Arts & Culture
Iron Mule Public House and Brewery - Spooky Swing Paint & Sip with Emma Paints - Fri 9/18, 6pm–9pm - $49.87
Parker Senior Center - Legendary Ladies: Unconventional Women of the West - Sat 9/19, 12pm–3pm - $25
PACE Center - Author Event: If Not You with Ellen O'Clover and Kayla Olson - Sat 9/19, 6pm–9pm - $30–$50
The Schoolhouse - The Comedy Zone: Adam Cayton-Holland - Sat 9/19, 7:30pm–9:30pm - $29–$34
Monk & Mongoose (High Note), Lone Tree - Mahjong 101 with Abeille - Sat 9/19, 5pm–8pm - $71.21
Douglas County Library, Highlands Ranch - DCL Author Event: Left Field Publishing Author Panel - Sun 9/20, 5pm–6:30pm - Free
Lone Tree Arts Center - SPARK! Armchair Travel: Iceland - Thu 9/17, 1:30pm–3pm - Free
Family
Douglas County Fairgrounds - Just Between Friends Children's Consignment Sale - Thu 9/17–Sun 9/20 - Free–$3 - half price from 3:30pm Saturday, discount day Sunday
Max Taps Highlands Ranch - Em's Pup Cuts Grand Opening - Sat 9/19, 2pm–7pm - Free
Fly'n B Park - Cops & Bobbers - Sat 9/19, 8am–11am - $17–$20
Schweiger Ranch - Guided Public Tour Fri 9/18, 6pm–7:30pm and Open Day Self-Guided Tour Sat 9/19, 12pm–4pm - Free
Peaky Peak Coffee & Charcuterie, Lone Tree - One Year Anniversary - Sun 9/20, 9am–2pm - Free
Outdoors
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Elk Bugling Sightings & Sounds - Tue 9/22, 5pm–7:30pm - $44 (also Thu 9/17)
Backcountry Base Camp - Nature Night Out - Sat 9/19, 4:30pm–6:30pm - $15 per car
Sandstone Ranch Open Space - Geology Tours - Sat 9/19, morning 9am–12pm and afternoon 1pm–4pm - Free
Dawson Butte Ranch Open Space - Autumn Equinox Hike - Tue 9/22, 9am–11am - Free, registration required
Markets
Highlands Ranch Town Center - Highlands Ranch Farmers' Market - Sun 9/20, 10am–2pm
Downtown Parker - Parker Farmers Market - Sun 9/20, 8am–1pm
Sterling Ranch - Sterling Ranch Farmers Market - Wed 9/23, 3pm–7pm
Festivals & Fairs
Three Oktoberfests land on Saturday 9/19:
Wilcox Square, Historic Downtown Castle Rock - Oktoberfest - 1pm–9pm - no ticket required
Living The Dream Brewing, Highlands Ranch - Oktoberfest Celebration with Mini Horses (Zuma Horse Rescue minis at 2pm) - 12pm–10pm
Lyric at RidgeGate, Lone Tree - Oktoberfest at Lyric - 5pm–8pm
Larkspur Community Park - Autumn Arts & Crafts Fest - Sat 9/19, 10am–5pm and Sun 9/20, 10am–4pm - Free
Entertainment District Plaza, Lone Tree - Color Our Community - Sat 9/19, 11am–3pm - Free
Community
Salisbury Regional Park, Parker - 6th Annual Mayor's Day of Service - Sat 9/19, 9am–12pm - Free
Lone Tree Brewing Parker - Chili Cook-Off - Sat 9/19, 12pm–3pm - Free
Arc 470, Highlands Ranch - Clear the Clutter Community Disposal Day - Sat 9/19, 8am–12pm - Free
Providence Park, Sterling Ranch - Miles 4 Madison 5K & 1K - Sat 9/19, 8:45am–11am - $30
There's live music somewhere in the county most nights of the week. The standing lineup, by venue, is at dougcosocial.com/live-music.
Trivia, bingo and game nights, sorted by day: dougcosocial.com/trivia.
Looking for more? Every Douglas County event we track lives on our events calendar: dougcosocial.com/events.
Heads up on events that are further out:
Saturday 9/26 is the big one:
Denver Polo Club, Sedalia - Colorado Highland Games - Sat 9/26, 9am–8pm and Sun 9/27, 9am–5pm (see above)
Highlands Ranch Town Center - Oktoberfest Highlands Ranch 2026 - Sat 9/26, 1pm–9pm - Free, with the HRCA Oktoberfest 5K that morning at 9am, $25–$45
Providence Park, Sterling Ranch - Sterling Ranch Oktoberfest - Sat 9/26 - Free
Sandstone Ranch Open Space - Douglas County Fall Festival - Sat 9/26, 10am–3pm - Free
CALF's Lowell Ranch, Castle Rock - Harvest Day - Sat 9/26, 10am–2pm - Free
O'Brien Park, Parker - Parker Fall Fest 2026 - Sat 9/26, 4pm–7:30pm - Free
Lost Canyon Ranch, Castle Rock - Public Lands Day volunteer morning - Sat 9/26, 9am–12pm - Free, registration required
And the rest of the month:
Downhill Brewing, Parker - Parker Friends & Neighbors Social Hour - Thu 9/24, 4pm–6pm - open to all, confirm with organizer Jacqueline Kennedy in the Parker Friends & Neighbors Facebook group
Downtown Parker - Parker Wine Walk - Fri 9/25, 4:30pm–7:30pm - $25–$30
Lone Creek Farms, Franktown - Fall Festival opens Fri 9/25, then Thursdays through Sundays to Nov 1 - $23.95–$27.95
Gilly's, Castle Rock - Gilly's Pumpkin Patch - weekends 9/25–26, 10/2–3 and 10/9–10, 10am to dark - $5, $20 per family
Highlands Ranch Mansion - Fête des Fables Gala 2026: Snow White - Fri 9/25, 6pm–10pm - $175
Backcountry Base Camp, Highlands Ranch - Fall Family Fun Day - Sat 10/3, 11am–3pm - $15 per vehicle
Schweiger Ranch, Lone Tree - City of Lone Tree's Oktoberfest - Sat 10/3, 2:30pm–6:30pm - Free
Downtown Castle Rock - Restaurant Week starts Fri 10/2
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Best of Douglas County
Don't forget to get your vote in. You can always change it or add more as you try new places.
Tons of categories. Best burger, best green chile, best cinnamon roll, etc. Takes a minute or two. No wrong answers.
Hometown Headlines
Lone Tree's police department and municipal court have a new home
TLDR: The city opened its new 37,324-square-foot Justice Center at 12707 High Note Avenue, putting the police department and municipal court under one roof as of Monday. The old setup had the court squeezed into the Civic Center, in a residential neighborhood that was never designed for it. The first court session in the new building is Oct. 8, and non-emergency police business now happens at High Note during regular business hours.
A new coffee spot is open in Highlands Ranch
TLDR: Black Rock Coffee Bar opened Monday at 9401 S University Blvd, its 22nd Colorado location. Grand-opening week is still going: a free signature sticker today, a free t-shirt Friday, and $2 off any size drink Saturday.
Parker's 25-year plan is one vote from adoption
TLDR: Parker 2050 cleared its Planning Commission hearing on Sept. 10 with a unanimous recommendation to adopt, so the only step left is Town Council's final vote this Monday at 7pm. It replaces Parker 2035 as the blueprint for what gets built where and how the roads and trails connect. The meeting is open to the public, and the full adoption draft is on the town's project page.
Castle Pines will now email you when someone wants to build near you
TLDR: The city launched a webpage that puts every land development application under review in one place, and you can register to get an email, with a chance to give feedback, each time a new one is submitted. There's already plenty to watch: 69 new single-family lots proposed off Canyon Forge Drive head to the Planning Commission on Sept. 24, and an Advance Auto Parts is under review at Castle Pines Parkway and Lagae Road.
A squirrel knocked out power for 4,400 customers in Castle Rock
TLDR: Tuesday's outage had a culprit: the town says a squirrel exploded at a CORE Electric substation off Ridge Road and took about 4,400 customers down with it. Not the Tuesday anyone had planned, least of all the squirrel.
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