Free for All: The Five Best Free Events in Denver This Week

October is halfway over, and winter is looming. Nonetheless, Denver's entertainment calendar is heating up, and there's plenty to do without shelling out a penny. With no cover charge at any of the following five events, paupers and princes alike can enjoy two free concerts, meet a local author, guffaw at local standups while supporting hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico, or brush up on ballot measures at a community forum hosted by All in Denver and A+ Colorado.


CU Faculty Tuesdays: Wind Camerata
Tuesday, October 17, 7:30 p.m.
Grusin Music Hall
The Faculty Tuesdays Presents concert series at the University of Colorado Boulder spotlights talented musicians in the CU Performing Arts orbit; the free concerts are as grand as they are intimate. This week's program is called Wind Camerata, and includes performances by Yoshiyuki (Yoshi) Ishikawa on the bassoon, Christina Jennings on the flute, Peter Cooper on the oboe, Daniel Silver on the clarinet, Terry Sawchuk on the trumpet, Justin Bartels on the trumpet, and Bill Stanley on the trombone. The musicians will be performing "Serenade," by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Igor Stravinsky's "Octet." Want to see the show but can't make it to Grusin on Tuesday? Check out a live-stream of the full concert on the CU Presents events page, where you'll also find more information.

Denver Ballot Issues Discussion Forum
Wednesday, October 18, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The Corner Coffee Bakery
While they seldom command even a sliver of the media attention afforded to national campaigns, local elections can have a vastly more dramatic impact on citizens' day-to-day lives, with school-board elections and a number of important initiatives that could affect parks, transportation and housing in Denver for years to come. Join All in Denver and A+ Colorado at the Denver Ballot Issues Discussion Forum for light refreshments and eye-opening discussions about the multiple measures including the GO Bond and the five-year plan for "Housing an Inclusive Denver." Ideal for civically minded locals who have trouble parsing through legalese, the forum will also focus on the ten candidates running for seats on the Denver School Board. Ballots for the November 7 election should be arriving in local mailboxes this week. Visit the Denver Ballot Issues Discussion Forum's Eventbrite page to register and learn more.


Randi Samuelson-Brown book talk and signing
Wednesday, October 18, 7 p.m.
Tattered Cover Historic LoDo
Set in Denver during an era when the downtown district was lousy with gaming parlors, saloons, brothels and various other dens of iniquity, The Beaten Territory drips with the intrigue of what was still considered the Wild West, back in the 1890s. The latest novel by local author Randi Samuelson-Brown tells the story of Annie Ryan, a Market Street madam who gets swept up in Denver's seedy underworld when she meets laudanum-addled socialite Lydia Chambers. Soon enough, a shocking murder shakes this world of booze-besotted good-time girls to its very core. Join Samuelson-Brown at the historic LoDo outpost of Denver's Tattered Cover bookstore franchise for a reading and discussion of The Beaten Territory ($25.95, Five Star Publishing), a true page-turner that thrillingly flouts the sometimes stodgy conventions of historical fiction. Visit the Tattered Cover's events calendar to learn more.

Concert at the Cube: Dotsero
Thursday, October 19, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
The Cube Stapleton MCA
For music-lovers whose tastes skew a bit more modern than Mozart, the Master Community Association of Stapleton is hosting a series of free concerts throughout the fall at the Community Cultural Center, affectionately known as the Cube. The Stapleton MCA is kicking off the series on Thursday, October 19, with an early evening performance from Colorado-based quintet Dotsero. Named for a mountain hamlet in Eagle County, Dotsero is on the cutting edge of contemporary jazz. This show is one of many events planned at the burgeoning creative hub; visit Stapleton MCA's Concerts at the Cube events page for more details.

Nighttime Tonight
Thursday, October 19, 9:30 p.m.
Deer Pile
Brian Flynn, a local comedian and co-host of The Revisionists podcast, has continued quiet but steadfast work on Nighttime Tonight for months now, assembling a team of eager locals to write jokes and pitch segments for a new showcase modeled after late-night staples like Conan and The Daily Show, along with just a dash of Shandling-esque internecine struggle. Mostly, however, Nighttime Tonight is intended to be a place where members of the Denver comedy community can gather and indulge their creative whims. The show has an altruistic component, as well: Flynn and company collect donations for a different charitable organization each month, and the October 19 show will benefit the Hispanic Federation: UNIDOS' hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. The lineup includes local favorites Meghan DePonceau and Zach Reinert, along with visiting Chicago smashers Tyler Fowler and Vikram Pandya. Visit the Nighttime Tonight Facebook events page for more details.

Looking for more to do? Visit Westword's calendar.