Monster Battle is Meow Wolf’s latest attempt to import a wacky Santa Fe event to Denver

Get your pitchforks and torches ready, because a monster battle is headed for Cheesman Park.

Well, not that kind of monster battle, but an epic face-off of the weirdest costumes and best dancing, all in the spirit of family fun. Meow Wolf, the Santa Fe-based interactive entertainment company that runs Meow Wolf Denver’s Convergence Station, is importing its popular Monster Battle event from Santa Fe for an Aug. 10 Colorado debut.

The event, which will run from 4 to 9 p.m. at Denver’s Cheesman Park (1900 E. 11th Ave.), will feature music from Meow Wolf’s DJ Snaggy and other artists to be announced. It’s the rare, all-ages acctivity at which people can simply show up, regardless of skill level or background. A community party, in other words.

“No tickets, no RSVPs, no lines — just you, the ghouls and your best dance moves,” officials said in a press statement, noting that the event began in 2008 as a spontaneous dance-off in Santa Fe Plaza.

Past events in Santa Fe have drawn hundreds of attendees, according to the company.

If you don’t have a costume, Meow Wolf is offering a $7 workshop from 2 to 5 p.m. on Aug. 5 at Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace, where “professional monster-maker Kate Major” is setting up at Factory Fashion with free materials like cardboard, bubble wrap, packing materials, yarn, pipe cleaners, paint and glue. (tickets.meowwolf.com/events/denver)

The move is another attempt to expand popular programming from Meow Wolf’s Santa Fe home base to a growing market with young spenders — in this case Denver, where the company’s Vortex Music Festival debuted in Denver last summer after a three-year hiatus from Santa Fe. The event, staged at Live Nation’s Junk Yard venue and touring itself as an interactive, psychedelic music, art and culture experience, has seen consistent crowds ever since, according to Meow Wolf officials.

Meanwhile, the Meow Wolf Workers Collective (MWWC) on June 15 said members ratified their first contract with Meow Wolf leadership. The Denver Bargaining Unit pact agreed upon by the company and MWWC includes positions such as box office, retail, creative operators, wardrobe, custodial, food and beverage, facilities and security teams, according to a press statement from MWWC.

“The outpouring of support from our community and supporters in Denver, Santa Fe and beyond has been overwhelmingly positive and helped enormously in the face of opposition and anti-union tactics throughout the process,” union leaders wrote.

The move follows years of attempts to work out what union officials and members see as standard-practice considerations for a fast-growing company like Meow Wolf, which expanded in recent years from Santa Fe to include outposts in Denver and Las Vegas. Its three flagships will be joined in 2024 by locations in Houston and Grapevine, Texas.

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