MAIN
STREET
EVENTS
The Story
Growing up in a small town in southern Colorado, supporting local businesses wasn’t just a trend. It was a way of life.
My parents were both artists and entrepreneurs, and I saw firsthand how much heart and hard work goes into building something of your own. Our little community relied on each other, and local markets, fairs, and events weren’t just about shopping. They were about connection. They were places where neighbors became customers, customers became friends, small businesses turned into legacies, and everyone knew the story behind what they were buying.
That sense of community and entrepreneurship is what inspired me to start Main Street Events in Denver.
We create experience-driven markets and events that bring people together while giving Colorado artists, makers, and small businesses a place to be discovered. Our two signature events, the Denver Winter Market and Denver Spring Market, bring together 100+ local businesses in some of Denver’s most unique spaces.
At our events, it’s not just about what you buy. It’s about the experience of finding it.
We want you to grab a drink, explore the building, meet the person who actually made what you're buying, find a new favorite small business, and have a really good time doing it. Great vibes, craft drinks, incredible local businesses, unique venues, and a few surprises along the way.
Our goal is pretty simple. We hope to create events people genuinely look forward to, give small businesses an opportunity to grow, and make shopping local feel like something worth celebrating.
Everything here has a story. We just help you find it.
.png)
Meet the team.
Ben Hanson
Ben Hanson is the founder of Main Street Events and the creator of the Denver Winter Market and Denver Spring Market.
Before starting Main Street, Ben spent years on the other side of the booth. He and his dad participated in more than 200 markets, fairs, and events as vendors, which gave him a pretty good idea of what worked, what didn’t, and what he wished existed.
Main Street grew out of that experience. Ben wanted to create the kind of events he would actually want to attend, but also the kind of events he and his dad always wished they had as vendors. Events where the space, atmosphere, drinks, music, marketing, and little details all mattered, and where the businesses participating felt like an important part of the experience.
A lot of what matters to Ben comes back to people and community. He’s coached Special Olympics for the last 14 years, something that has been a huge part of his life and has shaped the way he thinks about bringing people together.
Main Street is still pretty new, and Ben is figuring out a lot of it as he goes. But the idea behind it hasn’t really changed. Put good people in a great space, give small businesses a real opportunity to succeed, and create something people are genuinely excited to be a part of.
Chad Gutierrez
Chad is a Denver native who has spent most of his career working in HR, so working with people has always been a big part of who he is.
At Main Street, Chad works closely with our small business owners from the time they apply all the way through market weekend. He handles a lot of the communication behind the scenes, answers a lot of questions, and gets to know the people and businesses that ultimately make our markets what they are.
That’s also the part of Main Street he loves most. The small business owners really do mean a lot to him. He loves hearing how someone got started, seeing what they’ve built, and then watching thousands of people walk through the doors and discover them for the first time. There’s nothing better than hearing from a vendor that they had an incredible weekend.
Chad was born and raised in Denver and genuinely loves getting to be part of something that supports the people and small businesses in his hometown. When he’s not working or helping put together a market, most of his time is spent with his family and kids. And if Phish is anywhere remotely close to Colorado, there’s a pretty good chance he’s trying to figure out how to get to the show.
Our Mission
Main Street Events exists to bring people together through great experiences and give small businesses a place to be discovered.
We create events where the space, atmosphere, and little details matter just as much as what’s being sold. Where small businesses have a real opportunity to grow, people can discover something new, and shopping local feels like something worth getting excited about.
OUR GOAL
Our goal is pretty simple: put on events that people genuinely want to be a part of.
For our small businesses, that means creating an environment where they can have a great weekend, meet new customers, tell their story, and grow. For everyone walking through the doors, it means creating something that feels like more than a market. Great spaces, great people, great drinks, and plenty to discover.
We want our vendors to be excited to come back, our guests to already be thinking about the next one, and every Main Street event to be better than the one before it.