Craftsmanship and curation combine for an unparalleled season of offerings in Denver this summer, rich with top athletes and musicians, history's best artists and most notable work, and an incredible variety of craft beer and on-trend restaurants.

"The Mile High City is an active, adventurous place, so it's no wonder it attracts travelers intentionally seeking the outdoor and cultural offerings we provide on a daily basis," said Richard Scharf, president and CEO, VISIT DENVER. "Denver really is a four-season destination, but if I had to pick a favorite time of year, looking at how much is happening in our great city over the next few months, right now I would say summer. Ask me again this fall when there's a new season of sports, beer brewers promoting their craft, and artists are showcasing their creations."

Here are ten ways to get inspired by art and music this summer in the mile high.

1. Denver Botanic Gardens Deborah Butterfield: The Nature of Horses May 23 - Oct. 18, 2015 Throughout 2015, the Denver Botanic Gardens celebrates the Great Plains and similar steppe ecosystems around the world. Deborah Butterfield captures the essence of the horse with her contemporary sculpture - characters of strength, spirit and grace. Explore the American artist's use of minimalistic line and powerful form amid the Gardens' outdoor environment. The Nature of Horses provides a dynamic and organic complement to the varying landscapes and sparks the imagination of the attendees.

2. Pepsi Center Grand Chapiteau KURIOSTM - Cabinet of Curiosities from Cirque du Soleil� June 11 - July 26, 2015 The show immerses guests into a mysterious and fascinating realm that disorients the senses and challenges perceptions. Guests are invited to step into the curio cabinet of an ambitious inventor who defies the laws of time, space and dimension in order to reinvent everything around him. Suddenly, the visible becomes invisible, perspectives are transformed, and the world is literally turned upside down in a place that's as beautiful as it is mysterious. KURIOS - Cabinet of Curiosities is an ingenious blend of unusual curiosity acts and stunning acrobatic prowess from Cirque du Soleil.

3. History Colorado Center Toys of the �50s, �60s and �70s June 13 - October 4, 2015 Gumby. Barbie. Slinky. Spirograph. Hot Wheels. The names capture the craziness, the joy, the sheer fun of being a kid. Beneath those nutty names are rich veins of nostalgia, memory and history. Travelers can experience the toys and their stories through three imagined living rooms that bring the decades back to life.

4. Denver Museum of Nature & Science: Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns and Mermaids Now - Sept. 9, 2015

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Dragons, Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, unicorns, and mermaids. For centuries these legendary creatures have captured imaginations and inspired stories, music, art, and many theories about their origins and existence. They are all around - hiding beneath the waves, running silently through the trees and soaring above the clouds. At the Denver Museum of Nature & Science's Mythic Creatures, the world's most enduring myths from Asia, Europe, the Americas, and beyond come to life. The captivating exhibition features eye-popping, "life-size" models, paintings, preserved specimens, and fossils that spotlight the fascinating relationship between the realms of real and imaginary creatures.

5. Denver Art Museum: Joan Miro: Instinct & Imagination Now - June 28, 2015 Joan Miro: Instinct & Imagination at the Denver Art Museum focuses on artworks the Spanish artist created during the last two decades of his career, from 1963-1981. Joan Miro's imagination and creativity extended well into his old age. Later in life, he continued the inventive forms for which he is known and began exploring new materials, including

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bronze. This exhibition features bronze sculptures-including Woman and Bird, which have rarely been seen outside Europe.

6. The Downtown Aquarium puts on daily swims with its sharks and MERMAIDS.

7. Music Fills the Air. Coming up on its 75th anniversary in 2016, Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre annually churns out a lineup of sell-out-worthy performances, securing every genre from blues and country to rock and electronica, and 2015 is no different with more than 100 concerts. Yoga, fitness and film events fill nearly every day in between live performances, so visitors have a daily reason to visit the 70-million-year-old monoliths that flank the amphitheatre stage.

8. The Westword Music Showcase, June 20, 2015, welcomes Flume, The Black Angels, MisterWives, Robert DeLong, Wave Racer, Roadkill Ghost Choir plus more than 100 local bands and artists still to be announced. The showcase is a celebration of Colorado's vibrant music scene, home to internationally renowned experimental bands, pioneering folk artists, Grammy winners and more.

9. Ushering in the July Fourth weekend, three-time Grammy winner and multi-Platinum artist, the Zac Brown Band, will play the first-ever Coors Field concert. The country music group brings its "Jekyll + Hyde" tour to Denver on Friday, July 3, 2015, for one show only.

10. July 23-26, 2015, plays host to the Underground Music Showcase (UMS), Denver's premier indie music festival, now in its 15th year. The UMS is known not only for its focus on local talent and the local community, but also for the diversity and high-energy performances. This year's incarnation showcases more than 400 local and national act performances, across four days, in nearly 20 venues.

To learn more about Denver's robust summer offerings, go to VISITDENVER.com.

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