Annual Events & Festivals
Love a lively parade or jumpin’ jazz fest? Denver and its surrounding communities offer enough parades, concerts, rodeos, art shows, and ethnic celebrations—pick a reason, we’ve got a festival—to keep your calendar full year-round. And we’ve included as many as possible, from those with instantaneous name recognition, like the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, which draws more than a quarter-million people every July Fourth weekend, to the lesser-known ones like the Olde Golden Christmas, held in December in downtown Golden.
Our listings include events that happen every year. Some, such as the Bolder Boulder 10K run, are one-shot deals. Others, such as the World’s Largest Christmas Lighting Display at the Denver City and County Building, may stretch out over weeks. For the most part these entries are confined to the Metro Denver area, but you’ll notice that we’ve also covered events during the year at nearby ski areas and mountain communities. This list goes far afield: Cheyenne, Wyoming; Estes Park; and Colorado Springs—all easy day trips.
Our list should be viewed as a practical guide to those festivals and events with a designated date and location, but a few words of warning: Dates can change from year to year, so an event listed in September, for example, may actually turn out to be in October. A good source of last-minute information about special outdoor events is the calendar of events at denvergov.org (look for “Events & Attractions”). Also check the Friday weekend sections of the Denver Post and Boulder’s Daily Camera, where the goings-on are listed in considerable detail, as well as Westword, Denver’s leading weekly. Another reliable source for upcoming events is at visitdenver.org.
1. Colorado RV Adventure Travel Show
City: Denver, CO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (303) 892-6800, (800) 848-6247
Description: This is Metro Denver’s version of hog heaven for the recreational vehicle enthusiast. Admire and wander through the 100 to 200 state-of-the-art recreational vehicles, see the latest in RV accessories, and meet exhibitors from lodges and resorts that cater to the RV crowd. This event is held in early January.
2. Denver Boat Show
City: Denver, CO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: This is boat-head heaven in early January. The year’s biggest boat show usually lasts 4 days, spanning a weekend and jammed with aquatic craft, rubber rafts, and gear and accessories fore and aft. It’s great fun to ogle at the huge luxury boats.
3. International Snow Sculpture Championships
City: Denver, CO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (970) 547-3100
Description: In late January the city of Breckenridge lends its front-end loaders to fill wooden forms with 20-ton blocks of snow. Four-person sculpting teams from around the world climb on top and tromp and stomp until the snow is packed tight. The forms are removed, and what happens to each big block of snow is up to the contestants, who use only hand tools. Sculptures run the gamut from geometric to free-form to recognizable shapes and scenes. The sculptures can last up to 10 days, depending on the weather. The event is free whether you participate or just watch.
4. International Sportsmen’s Exposition
City: Denver, CO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (800) 545-6100
Description: This 4-day hunting and fishing show sometime in late January features products and services related to archery, firearms, and fishing. This is a how-to show with a lot of demonstrations designed to improve your hunting and fishing skills. You can sit in a U-shaped theater-seating section, for example, to watch a presenter onstage explain how he ties flies or wraps fishing rods. Video monitors allow you to see the small work. Top-name seminar speakers from magazines such as Field and Stream and Outdoor Life will be here. Expect around 350 exhibitors and crowds in the low 30,000s.
City: Denver, CO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Address: 4655 Humboldt St. (Brighton Boulevard ex
6. Ullr Fest
City: Denver, CO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (970) 453-5579, (800) 936-5573
Description: Helmets with horns on them are the height of fashion at this free weeklong festival in honor of Ullr (pronounced “ooler”), the Norse god of snow. If you don’t have a horned helmet, you will most certainly be able to find someone willing to sell you one. (They are also handed out free at the parade.) Ullr Fest starts on a Friday and runs for a week in early January. It includes a parade, kids’ activities, and a variety of different events daily. Other activities include a version of The Dating Game, an ice-skating party, children’s concert, and Ullympics competitions such as Broom Ball and volleyball with snowshoes.
7. Denver Restaurant Week
City: Denver, CO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Insider Pick:
Description: For 2 weeks each winter from late February through early March, more than 300 area restaurants celebrate the local culinary scene. For a fixed “mile-high” price of $52.80 for two people, or $26.40 for one (tax and tip not included), diners enjoy a special 3-course, prix-fixe dinner. It’s a great way to try new restaurants or return to favorites.
8. Registration for Ride the Rockies
City: Denver, CO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (303) 954-6700
Description: February is when you need to register if you’re interested in taking part in Ride the Rockies. It’s a lottery, and you need to get on the stick if you want in. The Denver Post, sponsor of the ride, usually makes applications available in the first week of February, and they’re due by the last week of February.
9. Denver Home Show
City: Denver, CO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (800) 395-1350
Address: 4655 Humboldt St. (take the Brighton Bou
Description: There’s nothing like a nice trade show in late March to get you ready for spring. This one showcases more than 500 experts willing to talk about home decor and home remodeling.
City: Denver, CO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Address: 4600 Humboldt St. (take the Brighton Bou
11. St. Patrick’s Day Parade
City: Denver, CO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (303) 368-9861
Description: This is big, folks, the second-largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the country (New York City is first). The devil, you say. Yes, it’s true. It never seems to end. Past parades have taken more than 4 hours for 250 floats, bands, and other colorful entrants to pass as clowns, leprechauns, and vendors ply the awesome crowds of spectators. There are ancillary events during the entire week, including the Running of the Green, a 5-kilometer race, and Irish entertainment at various pubs throughout town. Watch for complete details in the Denver Post or at denverpost.com.
City: Denver, CO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
13. Spring Splash/Closing Day
City: Denver, CO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (970) 726-1564
Description: This is one of those events that public relations people love because they get to use the word “zany.” In most years the sun is out, everybody wears sunglasses, and ski-babes in bikinis and ski-bozos in goofy costumes come barreling down the hill trying to hydroplane across a puddle of ice water. Most belly flop at the bottom with a big splash. The event is always held on the closing Sunday of the season (typically mid-April). It has become one of the quintessential Colorado outdoor spectacles, with viewers jockeying for position on the balconies of the base lodge. Spectating is free; participating will cost you a lift ticket plus an entry fee.
14. Boulder Creek Festival
City: Denver, CO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (303) 449-3137
Description: In 1984 a group of volunteers agreed to meet along the banks of Boulder Creek over Memorial Day weekend to pick up trash along the 5.5-mile corridor from Eben G. Fine Park to the intersection of Pearl and 55th Streets. Their reward was an after-party that became so popular it turned into the Boulder Creek Festival. Now the trash cleanup is held the Saturday before Memorial Day weekend and is followed by a 3-day festival that attracts more than 400 exhibitors and 150,000 participants. Booths display arts and crafts, outdoor equipment and services, health alternatives, and technology. Performers dance and play music, and food and beverage vendors sell a wide range of edible treats. Admission and entertainment are free.
City: Denver, CO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals