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The Martha Graham Dance Company said on Friday that it would not perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts this spring as part of the troupe’s centennial tour across the United States.

“The Martha Graham Dance Company regrets that we are unable to perform at the Kennedy Center in April,” it said in a statement. “We hope to perform at the center in the future.”

The company did not give a reason for the withdrawal, but several artists and groups have pulled out of Kennedy Center events since its board of trustees voted last month to add President Trump’s name to the building.

In his second term, the president has named himself chairman of the Kennedy Center, installed a political ally as its executive director and filled its board with supporters. In December, he hosted the Kennedy Center Honors; Martha Graham, the dance troupe’s founder, was an honoree in 1979.

The troupe, which is based in New York and is the oldest in the United States, is celebrating its centennial with a tour that includes stops in Chicago; Sarasota, Fla.; and Chapel Hill, N.C. It had been scheduled to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington four times from April 2 to 4.

The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Martha Graham Dance Company is the latest group or artist to withdraw from Kennedy Center events. Béla Fleck, an 18-time Grammy Award winner, pulled out from performances with the National Symphony Orchestra, and jazz musicians canceled Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve concerts at the center.

The Washington National Opera, which had performed at the center since 1971, announced last week that it would permanently move out. The opera said on Friday that it would perform “Treemonisha” and “The Crucible” in March at George Washington University.

’Tis the season! Every year, zoos, gardens, parks, and even private homes throughout the Denver metro area deck the halls with elaborate displays of holiday lights that would make Clark Griswold cry tears of joy (and jealousy).

Below, we’ve rounded up a list of the best residential and public spots where you can stroll through spectacular setups, drive by flashy facades, and pose for the perfect family photo op.

Residential Displays

This sparkly scene, which features 20,000 LEDs outlining nearly every edge of Walter Hazard’s home, is beloved by those near (neighborhood kids were the ones who named it “The Gingerbread House”) and far (German magazine Der Spiegel featured it in a roundup of the best holiday displays in America). “It’s so orderly,” Hazard says. “The Germans love that.”

Ron DePoty’s love for Christmas lights started as a child, when his family would adorn his grandmother’s house each Thanksgiving. Since then, he’s decorated every college dorm room, apartment balcony, and home he’s called his own. In 2014, DePoty and his wife, Megan, bought a Star Wars inflatable for their growing display, prompting the DePotys to transform their Highlands Ranch house into one of the most colorful attractions in the galaxy.

Ron, Megan, and their three children spend a couple of weeks setting up 50 inflatables and 20,000-plus lights. New this year, the family added an animated R2-D2 model and true-to-size Chewbacca, and on select nights, they’ll open the gate to allow onlookers access to their backyard to peep even more lights. Catch Yoda, C-3PO, and giant inflatable starships before the plug is pulled on the DePoty display on January 1.

Corey Christiansen’s decorating theory is pretty straightforward: “I want my display to be as dense as possible.” For 2025’s show, Christiansen is adorning his Aurora home with more than 200,000 bulbs, which he starts hanging the day after Halloween. This year, he’s introducing the “Tree Tree,” an 11-foot-tall Tannenbaum made from 25 mini trees. With the help of a pal, Christiansen spent three months building the structure.

Visitors are encouraged to donate to the Autism Society of Colorado, an organization Christiansen is passionate about because his two children were both diagnosed with autism.

When Mike and Jenn Onstott met more than a decade ago, they immediately bonded over their love of Christmas decorations. Now, they share their affection for all that twinkles with the rest of us via a massive display of 35,000 LED lights and colorful arches set to Christmas tunes. This year, the Onstotts are spreading their holiday cheer by hosting a virtual fundraiser for Food Bank of the Rockies.

The Rohr family has been decorating their Highlands Ranch home since 2012—and not just for Christmas. Each year, they host a ticketed haunted house event complete with live actors and jump scares, then they trade in gore for garlands once November rolls around. (But you can still catch their love for Halloween in their spooky Jack Frost and Ebenezer Scrooge animatronics!)

This year, the family is adding even more lights to their display of more than 100,000 LEDs, including a giant propeller plane inflatable on the roof.

Arvada Light Show

It’s still unclear whether the wise men followed a star or the glow of this home on 66th Avenue. Nestled on a hilltop, it shines like a beacon across the burbs. Although its elevated location gives passersby a great show even from afar, the owners allow visitors to walk up their driveway and around the yard to see it closer, which means you’ll catch a gazebo aglow with blue lights and filled with snowmen, an illuminated koi pond with a waterfall, plenty of characters like a yeti and Minnie Mouse.

Stricker’s Winter Wonderland

Joe Stricker and his family are no strangers to the holiday decorating game (swing by around Halloween to catch their aptly named Haunted Yard, filled with skeletons and jack-o’-lanterns) but their annual Christmas light display is particularly showstopping. With holiday music, a Christmas countdown, Santa and his elves working hard in the window, and a life-size Clark Griswold cutout, this whimsical wonderland is a Centennial staple.

Littles can sit on the home’s front steps to watch movies like Frosty the Snowman projected by the front door.

Greeley Holidaze House

Headed north for the holidays? Visit Adam and Jessica Artz’s Greeley home to glimpse over-the-top decorating that’s been in the family for more than 60 years (and also a selection on ABC’s last year). Characters crowd their lawn (including caroling mice and Charlie Brown and his friends), a giant Jack Skellington prop stands near the front door, and light-up birds perch on the main tree.

Public Displays

No list of Denver holiday lights would be complete without Zoo Lights, which has been spreading Christmas cheer for more than 30 years. In 2025, more than 3 million lights and 300 sculptures will illuminate the Denver Zoo’s 80 acres—a feat that requires months of preparation (staffers begin decking the halls as early as August).

While the Zoo Lights masterminds typically stick to tried-and-true displays (elephant silhouettes with moving trunks, a bright-blue whale, flashy fluorescent peacocks), they introduce something new each year. In 2025, visitors will get to see new animated light sculptures, including macaws near the Tropical Discovery indoor rainforest.

Elitch Gardens Elitch Holidays

If you’re looking for a light show that’s both theatrical and a little thrilling, this sprawling seasonal display at Elitch Gardens might even spark a smile from the Grinches in the group. At Elitch Holidays, more than 4 million lights illuminate tunnels, a 65-foot-tall Christmas tree, and a giant snowman that you can stroll through. Take a photo in front of the 300-foot-long wall of lights, and then tell Santa, who is on-site nightly, exactly what you’ll be expecting in your stocking.

This year’s fest includes more rides with your ticket than ever, so hit the Tower of Doom, Boomerang, or the Big Wheel to take in the twinkling from a new perspective.

Hudson Gardens Hudson Holidays

At Littleton’s Hudson Gardens, stroll the trails to catch plenty of lit-up trees, projections, holiday mazes, and scenes from Santa’s workshop. Visit on special theme nights throughout the season for extra activities, like a sleigh ride pulled by Clydesdales on December 4 and 14, or the invitation to dress your crew up in Christmas garb on Ugly Sweater Night on December 19.

Adults can grab cocktails at the on-site bar, and hot chocolate and food concessions are also available for purchase.

Ride your sleigh up north for the annual Garden of Lights—a half-mile stretch at the Gardens on Spring Creek in Fort Collins where nearly every square inch is covered in Christmas lights. Santa Claus touches down nightly, and you can sip on a holiday cocktail from the on-site bar. Check the online calendar for additional entertainment like a cappella carolers and the Sugar Plum Furries Dog Troupe.

For more than 40 years, locals have flocked to Denver Botanic Gardens each holiday season to see 1 million LED lights illuminate the property’s 23 acres. From the glowing snowflakes that appear to float on the water or the innovative show where glowing rods of light change color in sync across a massive lawn, it certainly seems like Santa sprinkled some extra magic here in the Mile High City.

And don’t forget to grab a cup of loaded hot chocolate—a warm cup of cocoa topped with marshmallows, whipped cream, and drizzled chocolate—to keep you cozy as you stroll.

In these two over-the-top creations, you can stay warm and cozy while enjoying holiday lights from your vehicle. Drive the mile-long corridor through light-up tunnels, singing Christmas trees, and waving reindeer—all of which sync to music you stream through a radio station.

To keep the 1.5 million lights bright and colorful, the crew replaces about 40 percent of the LEDs each year. But new technology has allowed Christmas in Color to push the boundaries even further. “The ability to control every bulb really makes it into a screen like your TV, where each bulb is a pixel,” says Todd Glover, CEO of Christmas in Color.

Although the Mile High Tree was honored with Denver’s nickname, the tree itself was built an ocean away. The Denver-commissioned, seven-story-tall wonder was created by 75-year-old ILMEX Illumination in the small southern city of Puente Genil, Córdoba, Spain, but now it stands as the seasonal crown jewel of Tivoli Quad on the Auraria Campus. Adorned with 110 feet of lights and set to a medley of classic holiday tunes, it turns on nightly this month for free shows. Visitors can even sprawl out on the ground inside the tree to catch the show from a different perspective.

Stop by on New Year’s Eve (9 p.m.) for a New York City–style ball drop to ring in 2025 and to say farewell to the tree for another year.

Denver’s holiday drone show returns for a second year, this time casting 600 machines into the sky for 41 nights. Created by Denver-based Brightflight Drone Shows, the nightly performance features 15-minute animations of everything from Santa riding his sleigh to an aerial version of the Mile High Tree. Select nights feature tributes to Colorado’s professional sports teams.

The show is free to watch and can be seen above the sky just west of downtown, although top viewing spots include the Tivoli Quad on Auraria Campus, Sculpture Park at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, and the 54thirty Rooftop.

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