Olde Town Arvada's Holiday Season Is a Handoff Between Gathering Places

Starting Thursday, Nov. 19, a heated tent at 5715 Upham Street, the address of the historic Smith-Houston House, will hold new books, bookish gifts, drinks for all ages, local artists and author pop-ups. It is the first public home of My Book Cellar, the bookstore, café and bar that Olde Town neighbors Kim Beaumund and Kate Otto have been working to open inside the house.

A few minutes' walk away at 7509 Grandview Avenue, Silver Vines Winery is in its last December. The Chayer family opened it in December 2011, and it closes at the end of 2026. Those two places hold up this year's Olde Town holiday season. One gathering spot is leaving and another is just arriving, and on several weekends between now and Christmas you can visit both on the same afternoon.

A fall of long goodbyes on Grandview

Two other long-running Olde Town spots wound down this fall. The Bluegrass Coffee and Bourbon Lounge at 7415 Grandview Ave. announced it would close at the end of October, after 11 years in Olde Town. Drew and Sheena Gordon founded it in 2015, drawing on their Kentucky roots. It was a coffee bar by day, a bourbon bar by night, and a place for live music and pizza. Longtime General Manager Josh Schwartz told the Arvada Press that the goal had always been a "third space" where people could find community, a place where "people be known by name, and their drink."

Hunter Bay Coffee Roasters set Nov. 6 as the last day for its café at 5600 Olde Wadsworth Blvd., which opened in 2016. Owner Rob Young told the Arvada Press that the company's wholesale coffee will continue and that it plans to open another café somewhere in the Denver metro once it finds the right space.

That puts Silver Vines' final month in context. The winery announced its closing on Facebook on June 29 and said the Arvada location would stay open through December. Kristin Chayer, who owns the business with her husband Jeff, described it to the Arvada Press as something larger than a winery:

"What started as a winery became a gathering place — for birthdays and anniversaries, for first dates and last toasts, for Tuesday-night regulars who became some of our closest friends."

The tasting room pours white, red and dessert wines, with charcuterie boards, bruschetta and desserts to go with them. December is also the winery's anniversary month. The 15th Anniversary Party is Sunday, Dec. 6, from 2 to 6 p.m.

The bookstore that started because Olde Town needed a place to sit

My Book Cellar grew out of the same need these closings leave behind. The Arvada Press reported that Beaumund and Otto are best friends who settled in Olde Town and started their families there. After thinking about how few third spaces the historic district had, they decided to build one. Otto described the room they have in mind:

"If you want to come here and just read by yourself and enjoy a cup of tea, that's the place for you. Or if you want to meet your friends, if you want to have a book club here and have a glass of wine, this is the space for you. If you're young parents looking for community, this is a space for you."

Until the doors of the house open, the Winter Book Nook tent is where you'll find them. It runs Thursday through Sunday on a weekly cycle, with a longer stretch right before Christmas:

• Nov. 19 to 22
• Nov. 27 to 29
• Dec. 3 to 6
• Dec. 10 to 13
• Dec. 17 to 20
• Dec. 21 to 24, from 11 a.m. on the 21st through 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve

Hours are 3 to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The Visit Arvada holiday guide also lists the tent as a holiday market with its own hours for the final stretch, so check the bookstore's events page before making a special trip.

The bookstore also has two off-site events before the tent opens. On Sunday, Nov. 15, from noon to 4 p.m., it hosts an adult book fair at Rails End Beer Company, 11625 Reed Court in Broomfield. On Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 4 to 5 p.m., there's a Kid's Story Hour at Mad Macks Brewery, 1921 Youngfield Street #210 in Golden.

Thanksgiving weekend, when the season switches on

The tent and the winery first overlap the weekend of Nov. 19 to 22. Thanksgiving weekend, the tent's second run, is when the rest of Arvada's holiday calendar starts too. Here's how it lines up:

The tree lighting is Olde Town's own event. The march leaves from in front of Eli Ashby and Carly's Boutique at 7401 Grandview, so you can join it from there. Parking is free across Olde Town, including more than 600 covered spaces at the Olde Town parking hub at 5575 Vance St. The G Line is the other way in. In the pedestrian zone you can ask your server for a to-go drink and carry it under the lights.

The Yule Night Holiday Market at Sage Spade runs the same evening, with local vendors, Santa visits, its own tree lighting and festive drinks.

Sunday, Dec. 6, the overlap in one afternoon

Dec. 6 is the clearest version of the handoff. It's the last day of the tent's Dec. 3 to 6 run, it's Silver Vines' anniversary party, and it falls on one of Olde Town's Shop Small Sundays. A Sunday afternoon in Olde Town that day could look like this:

1. Start at the Winter Book Nook on Upham Street, open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
2. Walk over to Silver Vines at 7509 Grandview for the 15th Anniversary Party, which starts at 2 p.m. and runs until 6.
3. Fill in the gaps at Olde Town shops taking part in Shop Small Sundays, which run every Sunday in December.

The rest of December's Olde Town promotions run on a weekly rhythm. The Holiday Art Drop is on Thursdays, Dec. 3, 10 and 17. Freebie Friday runs every Friday in December. Spend $100 at two Olde Town businesses, then redeem your receipts from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Santa Hut in the Square. Both Thursday Art Drops on Dec. 10 and 17 fall on days the Book Nook is open in the afternoon.

Up the road at the Arvada Center

The Arvada Center on Wadsworth runs its own season alongside Olde Town's. Two of its holiday shopping events have long histories of their own:

• 40th Annual Fine Art Market, Nov. 27 to Dec. 13. More than 100 Colorado artists sell jewelry, ceramics, ornaments, paintings and cards, and admission is free.
• 50th Annual Holiday Pottery Sale, Nov. 27 to Dec. 13. The pottery comes from instructors and students in the Center's own ceramics studio. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Nov. 20 to Jan. 3, with previews Nov. 18 and 19.
• Winter Dance Concert, "Renaissance in Motion," Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. The Saturday matinee will also be livestreamed.
• Hazel Miller and the Collective, "Christmas with Soul," Dec. 12 at 6 and 8 p.m.

The Center lists the market and pottery dates as provisional until ticketing comes back online, so check arvadacenter.org before you go. If you want first pick, the opening reception for both sales is Friday, Nov. 27, from 5 to 9 p.m., and the Center asks guests to RSVP.

One more thing to carry around town

Starting Friday, Nov. 13, Community Table is putting its giant "can of peas" collection barrels at participating locations across Arvada, Westminster and Wheat Ridge. The 25×25 Community Food Drive runs through Dec. 25. It takes nonperishable food and personal care items, and residents, businesses and community groups can also host their own drives through Community Table.

Silver Vines pours its last glasses at the end of December. The Winter Book Nook's final stretch closes at 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

If you're catching Silver Vines' anniversary party or picking up a book at the tent on Upham Street this month, we'd love to hear which Olde Town spots are on your list. The Fox Group keeps track of the places that make Arvada feel like home, so reach out anytime.