The worker bees at thrillist.com have spanned the nation to come up with “The one can’t miss event in all 50 states this year.”

The edgy website recommends that readers might be more successful in accomplishing the event attendance than in keeping a New Year’s resolution.

“Since the chances of keeping your New Year’s resolution to ‘work out’ are about as good as last year’s effort to ‘stop drinking,’ best make a resolution this go-around that you actually WANT to keep. Like ‘”travel more’, or ‘be more adventurous’, or ‘hit the most awesome event in every state,’ if you want to be weirdly specific,” according to Thrillist.

“And if you do (and, of course, you do), you’ll need to know what the best, coolest, most popular event in each state actually is. Which is why we’ve compiled this list. Good luck.”

Good luck is especially appropriate in the case of Colorado’s can’t-miss event pick: The Great American Beer Festival Sept. 24 to 26 in Denver. Tickets last year sold out in 32 minutes, so this can’t-miss may well be a can-miss if you aren’t a lucky ticket holder.

“This is like those little 250-brewer weekend festivals where you stroll around and sip beer until you can’t taste it anymore, but on really, really good B12 injections. Here, attendees dress in zany costumes and sample pretty much every beer (they’ve) ever heard of (and even more that they haven’t).

Check out the selections for other states at www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/best-event-in-every-state-the-kentucky-derby-iron-bowl-mardis-gras-and-more.

(Great American Beer Festival photo)

Eavesdropping on a bartender to a male customer at LoHi Steak Bar: “You want another drink?”

“I’m just drunk enough to start getting emotional.”

D Note, the venue that rocked Olde Town Arvada for 12 years, will play its last note on Saturday. Owners Dave and Mernie Rosenberg, who bought the family-friendly club from the DeGraff family in 2013, are calling it quits, according to Westword.

According to the story, “Dave Rosenberg says they fell behind on rent and told the landlord they’d catch up by the year (end), but the landlord ‘decided there were other people more interesting to have in there other than us,’ says Rosenberg. ‘So they pulled our lease. That’s the way it goes.’

“‘It’s a tough business,’ Rosenberg adds. ‘We tried to do right by the bands. It’s just that Olde Town is changing a little bit. I don’t know if it’s a good thing that we’re getting out but we’ll find out down the road.”

Rosenberg blamed in part the light rail construction which has all but wiped out parking in Olde Town. “‘Two years when construction’s all done when that train’s running I have a feeling it will be really nice, but for the next two years it’s going to be a tough time in Olde Town.’

“Rosenberg says he’s also trying to put together a fundraiser for the doorman, who’s been at the D Note since the beginning, but who is sick and has been basically bedridden for the last nine months.

“Since taking over the venue, Rosenberg says every weekend was a good memory and there’s nothing like live music at the D Note.

“‘…(D Note has) been like the heart of Olde Town for the last 12 years as far as bringing people in. People come from all over the city down to see shows there, and they’ve never even heard of Olde Town Arvada before. It’s kind of put the place on the map.'”

The club’s website says the final act will be Zyzzyx Road, a band that plays classic rock, blues and original songs band. For tickets, go to www.thednote.com.

The Children’s Museum of Denver is moving its Noon Year’s Eve celebration to the Butterfly Pavilion from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, while the museum is under expansion construction. Noon Year’s Eve will be back at the Children’s Museum of Denver next year when the $16 million campaign to double the size of the museum is completed.

Families can ring in 2015 with glittery balls drops, rainbows of confetti and bubble wrap “fireworks”. Members from both organizations will receive free admission to the event and to Butterfly Pavilion for the day. Non-members can purchase tickets at the regular Butterfly Pavilion admission prices.

Ball drops will take place on the half hour from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.The Butterfly Pavilion is located at 6252 W. 104th Ave., Westminster.

Guests are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance by visiting: www,mychildsmuseum.org/events/noon-years-eve.aspx.

Space for each drop is limited and all guests are encouraged to reserve their space online. Timed tickets can be purchased at Butterfly Pavilion’s website, www.butterflies.org.

The Colorado Symphony and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Colorado Holiday Commission invite you to a free annual celebration of Dr. King’s life and legacy as a leader, visionary, and pillar of the Civil Rights Movement, to be held Jan. 13 at Boettcher Concert Hall in The Denver Center for the Performing Arts Complex.

Now in its 25th year, this community concert recognizes individuals and organizations who embody King’s dream of equality, peace, service, and social justice. New this year, the Colorado Symphony will be joined by Denver’s Flobots, a hip-hop ensemble that uses music as a tool to ignite awareness, action, and positive change.

Hosted by TV personality Tamara Banks, the program will be conducted by Scott O’Neil and will include symphonic selections by Beethoven and Dvorak as well as African American composers Brian Keane and George Walker. In collaboration with the full orchestra, the Flobots will perform orchestral arrangements of their music, with original arrangements by Tom Hagerman of DeVotchKa, commissioned by the Colorado Symphony.

The winners of four Humanitarian awards, as well as the Menola Upshaw Lifetime Achievement Award winner, will be honored during the program; all honorees are nominated and selected by the community and overseen by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Colorado Holiday Commission. The concert is part of a week-long celebration of Dr. King’s work as well as a call to community action. For a complete list of events, visit www.drmartinlkingjrchc.org/.

Tickets to this free concert are available at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, 2401 Welton St., and the Colorado Symphony Box Office in the Boettcher Concert Hall at 14th and Curtis streets. For details, visit www.coloradosymphony.org. The Box Office is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday; noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, and two hours before every performance. Please note the box office will be closed Thursday and Friday.

A ticket is required for admission. All seating is general admission on a first come, first-served basis and a ticket does not guarantee a seat.

January marks the ninth year of operation for Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret, the charming nightclub in the basement of the historic D&F Clocktower, 1601 Arapahoe St., and if you haven’t been, go.

Lannie Garrett, our hometown chanteuse, hosts a variety of entertainment supporting diversity in our community and organizations raising money for worthy causes.

January highlights include:

• Garrett performs in her new show, “Swing Sets” featuring the After Midnight Band playing Benny, Basie and Beyond.  Opens at 8 p.m. Jan. 10 and continues on Saturdays.
• Burlesque on Broadway: Top Hats and Tassels Revue  opens at 8 p.m. Jan. 9.

Sneak peek to February:

• Lannie Garrett’s Valentine Show – Swingtime in the Rockies at 7 p.m. Feb. 14.
• The Vagina Monologues – fundraiser for The Gathering Place – Feb. 15 and 16.

Get your bacon on with Bourbon & Bacon Fest presented by the Colorado Pork Producers Council, Jan. 24 at the McNichols Civic Center Building, 144 W. Colfax.

It will be the second annual gathering of specialty bourbons and whiskeys from distilleries, both large and small, all paired with bacon. New this year is a First Taste Ticket, which gets you an extra half hour of savory treats and seductive bourbons.

Bourbon & Bacon Fest will showcase some of Colorado’s whiskeys and bourbons such as Buffalo Trace, Fireball and 1792. The event will also host samples from area restaurants including Kachina, Sunnyside Burgers and Gigis.

The Bourbon & Bacon Festival will have several ticket options. A VIP ticket at $95 will give you dibs on everything in the festival for a full hour prior to general admission and includes entrance to a catered VIP area with exclusive beverages and buffet. A First Taste ticket at $55 will allow entrance to the festival 30 minutes prior to General Admission. General Admission tickets are $45 for 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. tastings. Tickets available at www.getmyperks.com.

Bourbon & Bacon Fest, an Entercom Denver, event is being produced by hostess with the mostest Chris Chassen of Event Specialists, Inc. Bourbon & Bacon Fest is presented by The Colorado Pork Producers Council, 99.5 The Mountain and Buffalo Trace with a portion of the proceeds supporting Colorado Restaurant Association Education Foundation.

For more information about Bourbon & Bacon Fest visit www.bourbonandbaconfest.com and www.facebook.com/bourbonandbaconfest.

Eavesdropping on me: “Make a scene in 2015!”

The 13th Annual New Year’s Eve Fireworks Downtown, presented by the Downtown Denver Partnership and co-sponsored by Visit Denver and the Downtown Denver Business Improvement District, will take place at 9 p.m. and midnight New Years Eve.

With spectacular fireworks and live DJs, downtown Denver will dance its way into the New Year along the 16th Street Mall.

New Year’s Eve Fireworks will be launched simultaneously from two rooftops and proliferate across the downtown sky. Each show will run approximately eight minutes and can be viewed anywhere along the 16th Street Mall. DJs along the mall will play tunes from 8 p.m. to midnight.

The 9 p.m. show is fit for families and those who want to celebrate downtown and still make it home for the midnight countdown. The midnight show caters to the night owls partaking in the New Year’s festivities at Downtown restaurants and nightlife establishments.

There will be 10 musical selections paired with the production and nearly 75 sensory color changes and visual looks. Each song is introduced with an abrupt and dramatically stunning color effect. With an even bigger and brighter show this year, including a total of 15,000 sky hits and a 40-second grand finale, you don’t want to miss this citywide celebration.

“With two incredible displays, the Downtown Denver New Year’s Eve Fireworks provide the perfect atmosphere for all ages to ring in 2015,” said Tami Door, president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership. “Make a night of it! Come downtown with your family and friends to dine in one of our many fine restaurants and consider staying overnight at one of downtown Denver’s amazing hotels.”

For more information, visit www.downtowndenver.com or www.visitdenver.com.