Camp Christmas is back

The Denver Center holiday tradition returns to its outdoor spot at Lakewood Bel Mar Park

After its move outdoors last year following the pandemic, the Denver Center’s Off Center team is back at Belmar Park in Lakewood for another explosion of Christmas-y things. Created by Lonnie Hanzon and put together by a band of elves, the installation makes us of the park’s heritage center, with a number of historic buildings serving as part of the interactive displays or simply as backdrops.

Camp Christmas is best experienced once the sun goes down, although right now if you go at the earliest slot at 4 p.m. it should be pretty close to dark. Filled with a zillion lights, a great variety of curiosities and displays, Camp Christmas is a fun and welcome holiday event that doesn’t rely on many traditional tropes. Sure, Santa has his spot, but much of Camp Christmas is geared around a sense of wonder at the world both real and imagined. It’s a really nice event that will get you out of the house and that’s appropriate for all ages.

Older kids and adults will have fun using their phones to decipher “pun trees” placed around the park, and everyone can keep an eye out for Merry Badges you collect by scanning a QR code.

The best way to show it is through photos, so here’s a few below. Click to view larger images.