Things to Do in Brighton

LPGA teaching professional Lana Ortega is making her mark on the world of golf: she’s been named one of the 50 Best Women Teachers by Golf Digest on numerous occasions, works as an editor for Golf Tips Magazine, and contributes to a slew of other golf publications. Lana approaches lessons with the mentality that everyone has a unique swing, and she adapts her private and group lessons to help students develop a form best suited to their individual characteristics. An expert club fitter, Lana also ensures that her students are swinging with the right equipment, rather than subbing in a modified soup ladle for a sand wedge. Lana also embraces new golf technology such as video analysis and offers clinics for women.

Inspired by the idea that creativity should be not only about expression but also about having fun in the process, the staff at Whimsy Paint and Sip Art Studio shows groups how to make colorful works of art with easy-to-follow steps. Layering colorful paints on canvases provided by the studio, students build compositions ranging from re-creations of modern masterpieces to landscapes and still lifes. During painting events, guests can sip on signature martinis mixed behind the 40-foot stainless-steel bar or a variety of Colorado wines available by the glass or bottle. Beyond the weekly events, the staff maintains a selection of canvases and frames in their boutique and also hosts birthday parties where children have fun playing with paint and parents can figure out if the tuition to that preschool of the arts is paying off.

In October 1995, the Colorado Rapids were introduced as one of Major League Soccer’s 10 charter teams. As one of the league's longest tenured members, the organization has brought a number of landmark moments to Denver, highlighted by a MLS Cup victory in 2010. Three years before their championship campaign, the Rapids became the centerpiece of Dick’s Sporting Goods Park—a sprawling complex that features a total of 24 fully lit sports fields. During Rapids matches, fans get swept up in the park’s lively atmosphere driven by Centennial 38, the team's official supporters group. In their designated “Supporter’s Terrace”, C38 members lead raucous cheers and wave massive flags to inspire their side.

Breckenridge Bikebus's eponymous vehicle is, according to owner Curt Cavnar, the "Porsche" of its unique kind of transportation. Consisting of two rows of bar stools equipped with bike pedals, the custom-built craft combines the fun of a party bus with the easygoing workout of a tandem bicycle. Some partiers can sit back and enjoy the ride as 10 others sit at the bar and provide pedal power, with a staff driver manning the wheel to steer clear of oncoming paper boys. A canopy keeps passengers shaded while they sip beverages and listen to tunes on an iPod-ready Alpine sound system. Should the sun go down during trips, the bikebus's lighting system kicks on, making it easy to continue through black holes unencumbered.

Sprawling across 12,000 square feet of high-flying play areas, Mid-Air Adventures gets adrenaline pumping with a multitude of altitudinous activities. Ziplines span platforms reaching up to 11-feet high, their riders’ eventual descents cushioned by padded landing slopes covered in marshmallow-stuffed comforters. The safety-conscious staff members belay climbers at the 20-foot climbing wall, and a giant swing dangles from the highest ceiling to challenge the most daring of daredevils. Kids navigate a network of rope bridges that snake across the facility, and a toddler play area entertains young ones while keeping them close to Earth.

The screams reach out for the brave souls who venture into The Asylum Haunted House before they can see anything. Descending two levels into the darkness of Gordon Cottingham's Hospital for the Mentally Insane, they hear the tortured cries of patients who have been abused and drugged and held captive within decrepit walls and the dungeons of their own minds. Demented doctors with questionable motives and ultra-low OSHA ratings lurk throughout 15,000 square feet of damp, musty space infested with spiders, rats, and snakes. The graphic makeup and Hollywood-style effects couple with the realistic-looking environs to make the site one of the scariest haunted houses in America, according to the Discovery Channel and HauntWorld magazine. Even the seemingly fearless Bam Margera recommends it.

Those who survive The Asylum's insanity emerge into the postapocalyptic landscape of the adjacent Zombieland Haunted House. There, the living dead wander through the quarantined streets of a crumbling city, in and out of dilapidated buildings, searching for human flesh or half-eaten candy bars.