East of downtown Denver, along a busy Colfax Avenue, construction fencing blocks store fronts. Some businesses are posting “we’re open” signs on the chain link fencing.

Taking that to heart is Denver local Jennifer Levine, who seeks to bring together businesses during hardship with her organization FirePower.

On Sunday, the longtime artist hosted the first Colfax “GALLOWEEN” event. 

With visions of it becoming an annual block party on Colfax, Levine said Galloween not only highlights woman-owned businesses and art work, but the struggles of operating through Colfax Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) construction.

The Galloween event featured local storefronts doing live demonstrations. Late into Sunday night, participants dressed up and explored some Colfax businesses. Businesses involved during the first Galloween event were Lion’s Lair, Purple Haze, Port of Call and High Level Health.

What all the businesses have in common: all create or display art work.

One demonstration featured the art of glass blowing for glass art.

And through local art work, Levine’s goal is to also provide businesses exposure.

“If we’re all under one umbrella, we bring each other up,” Levine said. “It’s not a co-op, it’s about us all being independent entrepreneurs … having the storefronts and stuff, and helping build that with all of our followings, and together, we’re here for it.”

“As far as the brick and mortar, we can really slam their social media and get them up and get them more traffic and business,” she added.

The vision, she said, is to draw more people to the Colfax corridor with more events.

But the focus, Levine said, is to bring businesses together during Colfax BRT construction.

The $280 million project began construction to reconstruct Colfax Avenue east of Yosemite to I-225. Upon expected completion in 2027, BRT plans to be a side-running route along mixed flow traffic, potentially reducing travel time by 15 to 30 minutes on the nation’s longest commercial road.

As for businesses, however, Lavine emphasized a need to support storefronts.

“The other reason I chose Colfax: it’s the counterculture. It is the personification of where things start, as far as creativity in this hub and counterculture in general,” Levine said. “What I want to see is Colfax represented.”