PRESS CONTACT
Luke Perkins, Manager of Communications and Public Relations 
303-866-3670 | luke.perkins@state.co.us 

Black History Month Music & Poetry Night | Pueblo, CO
El Pueblo History Museum | February 3, 4 - 7 p.m.
El Pueblo History Museum will continue its First Fridays program in conjunction with Pueblo Arts Alliance’s First Fridays Art Walk. Museum admission is free during this event which features local musicians, speakers, and poets who will present on Black History. Throughout the evening, museum staff will also provide guided tours through the recreated trading post that gives El Pueblo History Museum its name .  

The History of The Dry | Denver, CO
El Pueblo History Museum | February 16, 6 - 7:30 p.m.
El Pueblo History Museum, has partnered with Pueblo City-County Library District to learn about the history of an abandoned African-American homesteading community known as The Dry. Founded in 1916 south of Manzanola, CO, The Dry was one of only two Black homesteading settlements in the Centennial State, the other being Dearfield in northeast Colorado. This free event features Alice (Craig) McDonald who is one of the last descendants of the original settlers of The Dry and will talk about her time and experience living in this rural community. 

History Colorado Black Community Engagement | Denver, CO
Ford-Warren Library Branch | February 18, 1 - 3:30 p.m.
This event is hosted by Terri Gentry, third generation Denverite and History Colorado’s Engagement Manager for Black Communities, and presents a chance for community members to guide History Colorado as it expands its collection and programs to better represent the diversity of the Centennial State. This free event opens the door for the community to provide feedback and offer insight into the work that they would like History Colorado to achieve to better meet their needs.

Ongoing Black History and Heritage Efforts
In addition to its February programming History Colorado has a number of ongoing projects, programs, and exhibitions that help elevate Black voices year round. This includes the Buffalo Soldiers West exhibition at the Fort Garland Museum and Cultural Center and Mountain Haven: Lincoln Hills, 1925–1965, in Colorado Stories at the History Colorado Center. There are also a number of online resources available through History Colorado, including the Black History and Heritage Webpage, The Black History Trail on the History Colorado App, the digitized Klu Klux Klan Ledgers, and a number of online articles and digital exhibitions. Additional information about History Colorado’s resources related to Black History can be found here.

History Colorado also recently relaunched its Blaxplanation program which tells “Black History, From the Black Perspective, Beyond Slavery.” This year’s series features compelling events such as intimate conversations on gang violence in Northeast Denver, an exploration of the historic Five Points neighborhood, and a discussion of Black representation in pop culture.

New Exhibitions and Series:
Bold Women. Change History. Presents: Becky Hammon | Denver, CO
History Colorado Center and Online | February 28, 7 - 8 p.m.
Tickets ($10-15) and additional information available here.
History Colorado is excited to kick off season 3 of its Bold Women. Change History. Speaker Series with Basketball Star, WNBA Coach and Trailblazer Becky Harmon. This event will feature a conversation between Harmon and Dr. Angie Paccione, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education, about women in sports and the impact of Title IX over the last fifty years.In-person and livestream tickets are available with complimentary onsite childcare available for children ages 6-12 and a meet and greet will follow the presentation.

State Historical Fund Retrospective | Pueblo, CO
El Pueblo History Museum | Open through May 2023
Within every historic structure or project supported by the History Colorado’s State Historical Fund lies a vibrant community and an individual story. It’s been 30 years since voters approved a fund to flow dollars into preserving, restoring, and honoring our state’s historic fabric. And the results have been nothing short of amazing. 

The State Historical Fund Retrospective exhibition explores the rich contributions of History Colorado's State Historical Fund. Heartfelt testimonials and powerful photography show how preserving history has changed lives and strengthened communities. Discover the backstories behind Colorado’s treasured places in our colorful exhibition now on display at the El Pueblo History Museum.

The World in Denver: Photography by Robert Weinberg | Denver, CO
History Colorado Center | Open January2023 - January, 2024
Join the History Colorado Center in celebrating the opening of its newest exhibition, The World in Denver: Photography by Robert Weinberg. This exhibition features nine large scale reproductions of photographs taken by Robert Weinberg, Denver’s preeminent photojournalist of the 1980s and 90s and tells the history of how a variety of personal stories intertwined in Denver throughout his career and connected the city to the wider world. 

February Events:
Folklorico Community Dance Class | Blanca, CO
Fort Garland Museum & Cultural Center | Every Friday in February and March, 4 - 5 p.m.
Learn the art of Folklorico Dance through this fun and engaging class at the Fort Garland Museum & Cultural Center. This class is free and open to adults and students in grades 6-12. Class will take place every Friday in February and March from 4:00-5:00p.m.

Writing in the Museum | Denver, CO
History Colorado Center | February 9, 1 - 3 p.m.
Tickets ($15) and additional information available here. 
History Colorado, in partnership with Lighthouse Writers, will offer a series of writing workshops to begin the year. A professional writer will lead participants through writing exercises as they explore the four floors of exhibitions at History Colorado Center and draw inspiration from the displays. Cost of this event will cover admission to the museum and tickets can be purchased in advance here.

Valentine’s Day Themed Tea Offerings | Denver and Trinidad, CO
Two locations to choose from | February 11, 2023
The Center for Colorado Women’s History and the Trinidad History Museum will both be hosting Valentine’s Day themed tea parties on February 11. The Center for Colorado Women’s History will offer a tea party with seatings at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Guests will be able to tour the historic house museum, enjoy some of the signature Lady Evans Tea, and celebrate with a collage activity. Additional information and tickets are available here.

The Trinidad History Museum  will offer a themed tea party in the Bloom Mansion on February 11 from 2 - 4 p.m.  Teas from the Trinidad Tea Company will be served alongside traditional tea foods, and seasonal treats. You can reserve a spot by purchasing a ticket online, or contacting Millie at emily.duren@state.co.us or 719-846-7217.

Tours and Treks Presents: Lost Cities of Denver by Bus | Denver, CO
History Colorado Center | February 15, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Tickets ($65-85) and additional information available here.
Did you know many of Denver neighborhoods used to be cities on their own? History Colorado will take a bus tour of the cities that were, and those so small they often slip under our regional radar. Tickets are still available and cover coach transportation and guided interpretation for this historical tour of the cities that were.

Rosenberry Lecture Series- Come On In Dearie: Reclaiming the Stories of Sex Workers in 19th-Century Denver | Denver CO
History Colorado Center and Online | February 15, 1 - 2 p.m.
Tickets ($10-15) and additional information are available here.
The Rosenberry Lecture Series continues with an exploration of why from its beginnings as an unruly mining town, Denver was described as “most lively...in any and all kinds of wickedness.” Join Ann Sneesby-Koch, Assistant Curator of Serials at History Colorado, for this hybrid event that uncovers the historical context for sex work in the 19th-century American West and reclaims the stories of women who lived, loved, and died on Denver's Market Street. 

History Buff Day | Denver, CO
Center for Colorado Women’s History | February 18, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Join Billy the Bison and the membership team at the Center for Colorado Women’s History for a day full of family fun and museum exploration to celebrate the History Buffs 4th Grade Family Membership program. This program provides all Colorado fourth graders with a free family membership so they can learn about the history of the Centennial State! Sign up here to become a History Buff member.

2022 Indigenous Film Festival | Pueblo, CO
El Pueblo History Museum | February 18, 12-4 p.m.
The 2022 Indigenous Film Festival will be hosted at El Pueblo History Museum on February 18. The free event is open to the public and will feature two documentary screenings as well as a panel discussion. The two films being screened will explore the union of the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the City of Longmont as Sister Cities and the realities of Indigenous women who fight to vindicate and honor their missing and murdered relatives who have fallen victim to a growing epidemic across Indian country. The closing panel discussion will be on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives crisis and features Gina Lopez (Ute Mountain Ute), Monycka Snowbird (Anishinaabe) and Raven Payment (Kanien'kehá:ka/Anishinaabe). 

Day of Remembrance | Denver, CO
History Colorado Center | February 19, 1-4 p.m.
The Mile High Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, the oldest Asian American national civil rights organization, is sponsoring a Day of Remembrance event at the History Colorado Center. Designed to ensure the unjust incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II is not forgotten, this event will feature activist and journalist David Monkawa as its keynote speaker and allow participants to engage with this challenging chapter in our nation's history. This event is free and open to the public but RSVP is required.

About History Colorado
History Colorado is a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a 501(c)3 non-profit that has served more than 75,000 students and 500,000 people in Colorado each year. It is a 143-year-old institution that operates eleven museums and historic sites, a free public research center, the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, and the History Colorado State Historical Fund (SHF), which is one of the nation’s largest state funded preservation programs of its kind. More than 70% of SHF grants are allocated in rural areas of the state. Additionally, the offices of the State Archaeologist and the State Historic Preservation Officer are part of History Colorado.

History Colorado’s mission is to create a better future for Colorado by inspiring wonder in our past. We serve as the state’s memory, preserving and sharing the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through educational programs, historic preservation grants, collecting, outreach to Colorado communities, the History Colorado Center and Stephen H. Hart Research Center in Denver, and ten other museums and historic attractions statewide. History Colorado is one of only six Smithsonian Affiliates in Colorado. Visit HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY, for more information.