This week's working hypothesis on Coloradoans: They'll show up in droves for any event, as long as it's not indoors. Even on opening weekends, we've never been in a sold-out movie theater. The two times we've been to the Colorado Symphony, there have been many empty seats, even for the rave-reviewed performance of Handel's "Messiah" ten days ago. (It was so gloriously done that Jim was crying at the end. We've seen "The Messiah" several times, including a performance in Brussels last year, and he's never wept before.)

Outdoor events are altogether another matter. The Rocky Mountain Balloon Festival in August began its Sunday morning schedule with a dawn launch of all the hot air balloons in attendance. When we arrived in semi-darkness, the state park where the Festival was held was packed with people. Judging from their attire, some had stopped for the launch on their way to church.

This past Sunday was the 29th annual Tuba Christmas Concert, held outside in a public square in downtown Denver. Anyone who plays a tuba or related instrument was invited to join the ensemble; as many as 400 musicians have showed up in the past. It was a mere 3 degrees outside Sunday, but musicians of all ages and attire, from members of the University of Colorado marching band to an elegant woman in a full-length fur coat to a trio of old men in the front row, braved the cold. (Admittedly, it was a rather fluid ensemble, because musicians kept dashing in and out of the nearby bakery to unfreeze their valves.)

A big crowd of people (and the ubiquitous assortment of Colorado canines; sometimes I think that the state motto is "Don't leave home without your dog") alternated between wildly cheering the performers and singing along in the bone-numbing cold. It took over an hour and a Starbucks hot chocolate to thaw out afterwards, but I suspect that the Tuba Christmas Concert will become an annual event on our calendar.