DENVER — Denver's summertime staple Elitch Gardens is looking to fill around 1,500 positions ahead of the 2024 season.
This weekend, Elitch Gardens is hosting hiring fairs to fill those jobs. They are available to anyone 16 and over.
"The demand for jobs this year has been extremely high. So we're expecting 700 or so people to show up over the first two days of this job fair," said David Dorman, general manager of Elitch Gardens.
The jobs are open for rides, aquatics, food service, retail, security, maintenance, internships and more.
Luis Daniel from Venezuela said he's been in Denver for about two months. Daniel said he just obtained his work permit at the end of February.
"Now I can look for jobs," he said in Spanish.
Daniel tells Denver7 he was recently living in a tent at an encampment that's been set up near Elitch's for a few weeks.
But he said he was thankful that he was able to find shelter less than a week ago.
“We’re here wanting to work," Daniel said. “We’re not wanting to bother anyone.”
Denver7 asked Elitch Gardens if they expected more newcomers like Daniel to attend the job fairs and how they would handle the language barrier.
"As long as someone is legal to work in the United States, and we have positions available, we're going to consider that applicant," Dorman said. "You know, we have a lot of a lot of Spanish-speaking employees already. And so any language barrier, we could work with, and we could put them in maybe in positions that may not require English to be their first language."
Denver7 reached out to a spokesperson for Denver Human Services who said there is no time frame for when the encampment near Elitch's will be cleared but said they are working with the park and with nonprofits.
"We just know it's a temporary situation," Dorman said.
The hiring fairs will take place again on Sunday from noon to 4:00 p.m.
These will be held in the Front Entry Pavilion located at 2000 Elitch Circle. Candidate interviews and job offers will take place on-site.
You can also apply for jobs at Elitch Gardens online.
The park opens for Season Pass Appreciation on April 20 and to the public on April 27.
