ELK Family & Community Potluck: A Celebratory Tradition
Last weekend, we gathered at our Education Center for one of our favorite year-end traditions: The ELK Family & Community Potluck.
We shared homemade dishes, relaxed with friends and family, and reminisced about this year’s greatest ELK moments. We bonded over the trials and tribulations of 2024, and kids and adults alike channeled their inner child and played games, painted, and explored the Montbello Open Space Park. Sharing a meal and celebrating our uniquely wonderful Northeast Denver community is a tradition like no other.
While we ate, ELK staff, youth, and family members offered some insight into some of their other cherished holiday traditions.
My favorite tradition is the first day of Kwanzaa at the Cleo Parker Robinson Theater. So many people, specifically Black people, show up, and there’s singing and dancing. There’s so much energy and so many people. It’s just a vibe. — ELK Urban Ranger
A tradition I really like in our family is that, for all of our cousins, every year, the first Christmas gift is a pair of pajamas. — ELK Full-Time Staff
Our favorite holiday tradition is that we have this big, wooden box with our surname branded into it. It’s our Christmas Eve box. Inside that box is a new pair of Christmas pajamas for each of us, a Christmas movie, a Christmas book, hot chocolate, popcorn, and our favorite snacks. We open it at 4 P.M. on Christmas Eve. — ELK Full-Time Staff
On Christmas, we go to church, and we usually do speeches or performances and praise dances. We usually have Christmas parties after that. — ELK Youth
Whenever it gets really cold, I like to hole up at coffee shops and read while listening to Christmassy jazz. — ELK Full-Time Staff
On Christmas, we go to a coffee and donut place, and then we go to a light-up Christmas tree downtown. — ELK Youth
Connecting over these varied traditions is a special thing. With many holidays and the end of the year approaching, let’s remember to spend time with our loved ones and reflect on the things that matter to us most. If you’re looking for new ways to do this, it’s also the perfect time to reach out to friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, or even someone you don’t know as well to ask how they celebrate their values and the people in their lives.
You might find your new favorite tradition and become closer than ever to your community.
From all of us here at ELK, Merry Everything & Happy Always, and we hope to see you at next year’s Potluck!
About Environmental Learning for Kids: Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK) is a local nonprofit that creates a sense of belonging, self-discovery, and adventure in the outdoors for underrepresented young people of color and their families, transforming youth into environmental stewards and trailblazers that promote equitable outdoor access, sustainable practices, and community uplift. Learn more at elkkkids.org.
About the Author: Lauren Keller is ELK’s Events & Marketing Coordinator. She was born and raised in Miami, Florida but has done meaningful work in Colorado since graduating from Colorado College with a BA in Environmental Studies in 2021. Lauren is passionate about harnessing visual media to share the wonder of the natural world with everyone. She is currently pursuing an MA in Biology with a focus on conservation communications. In her free time, you can find Lauren reading, playing games, cooking new foods, or searching for wild animals to photograph.
