Seeing drones over downtown? Denver previews holiday show planned for 40 nights

DENVER ( KDVR ) — Are you ready for the holiday season? The city of Denver is: The city’s tourism bureau held a preview of the 15-minute drone show that’s planned for late November through New Year’s Eve on Wednesday night.

If you were outside in Denver at about 7:30 p.m., you were one of the lucky few to get a first-hand look at Visit Denver’s nightly holiday drone show, flown by Denver-based Brightflight Drone Shows.

The shows will begin on Nov. 22 and are expected to continue through Dec. 31, with the show kicking off at 7 p.m. each evening. Around 400 drones will create moving animations over downtown Denver for about 15 minutes each night.

On Wednesday, those shapes included various dinosaurs, a butterfly, Santa and his sleigh, and a gingerbread skier, among other patterns.

Special shows are planned for three nights throughout December. On Dec. 2, the show will be in honor of the Denver Broncos, who are scheduled to play that night at Empower Field against the Cleveland Browns . On Christmas Day, the show will honor the Denver Nuggets, which will play that night in Phoenix . And on New Year’s Eve, the show will be in honor of the Colorado Avalanche , which will play the Winnipeg Jets at Ball Arena.

The drone show is in addition to other holiday offerings Visit Denver has during November and December. The tourism bureau holds its annual Mile High Holidays as a promotional campaign.

The campaign, which has been ongoing for over 20 years, includes Denver’s Mile High Tree , which will be lit from Nov. 22 through Dec. 31 as well. Other notable Denver holiday events include Zoo Lights, Denver Botanic Garden’s Blossoms of Light , Luminova at Elitch Gardens , Cherry Creek North’s Winter Wanderland and other lights displays; and shows like Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ A Christmas Carol, Colorado Ballet’s Nutcracker, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance’s Granny Dances to a Holiday Drum, among others.

All of the scenes in the drone show were specially built for Denver. Viewers will see a variety of holiday-themed animations, in addition to Denver icons like the Blue Bear and renowned Colorado winter moments, mountain activities and animations.

Through a partnership with MSU Denver and the use of the university’s spaces, the show will be visible throughout downtown Denver and especially will be viewable from rooftop bars and restaurants “with a holiday cocktail in hand,” Visit Denver said in a release.

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