DENVER — If you’re heading to the Denver Botanic Gardens or Denver Zoo to see the holiday lights, it’s bringing valuable money to one of the few sectors in our state’s economy that’s growing.

The Colorado Business Committee for the Arts recently released a report showing the seven counties that make up the Denver metro contributed $3.12 billion to Colorado’s GDP through arts in 2024 — the most ever. That's also a 20% increase from 2022.

It comes as our state faces real recession fears. State economists said there’s a 50% chance Colorado slips into a recession in 2026 as the job and housing markets are largely stagnant.

“The arts are critical, not only to our economy, but really to our society,” Crampton Day said. “I mean, they really are the heart and soul of our communities. We're

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