Ten More Things to Do in Denver This Weekend

It’s a big weekend in Denver, with sports teams in the playoffs, final Cities Summit of the Americas events (the Sunday night concert has been cancelled, however), and new theater and music shows all over town.

Get a grip on arty events in the latest Art Attack, and find info on ten free things to do here. Now keep reading for ten events worth the price of admission:

Local Lab 12
Through Sunday, April 30
Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut Street, Boulder
Boulder’s Local Theater Company brings back its biggest event of the year, the four-day Local Lab, for a twelfth year of readings, panels and parties that let you be part of the play-making process. Readings are offered daily at the Dairy Arts Center; find a complete schedule and guide here. Daily passes are $35 to $50, and single event tickets are $30 at the Dairy’s online box office. Read our story here.

Third Annual Nordic Nights: A Beltane Celebration
Saturday, April 29, 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.
The King Room, 6100 East 39th Avenue
It’s nearly May Day, time to let out your inner pagan and take to the dance floor in costume. It is, after all, a long way between the spring equinox and opening day at the Ren Fest. Also known as Beltane, the Gaelic May Day festival will be celebrated locally at Nordic Nights, an evening of live music, tarot reading, quaint vendors, dancing and good old ax-tossing. Put on your fairy suits, wench-wear, peasant rags and Robin Hood capes for an anachronistic night to remember. Admission ranges from $15 to $75 at Eventbrite.

11 Minutes Theatre Company, Elizabeth Rex
Saturday, April 28, 7:30 p.m.; runs through May 13 Thursdays through Saturdays; Industry Night, Monday, May 8, 7:30 p.m.
People’s Building, 9995 East Colfax Avenue, Aurora
11 Minutes Theatre Company deals with some provocative, gender-bending ideas in Elizabeth Rex, a play by Timothy Findley in which a troupe of Shakespearean actors – and the playwright himself – are visited by Queen Elizabeth on the eve of the Earl of Sussex’s execution. In a time when men perform male and female roles alike, the backstage banter takes on some serious undertones. Elizabeth Rex runs for three weekends; tickets are $22 to $25, and $10 on a Monday industry night at Ticketleap.

Frequent Flyers, Tethered: Earth to Sky / Human to Human
Saturday, April 29, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, April 30, 2 p.m.
Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut Street, Boulder
The high-flying aerial dancers of Frequent Flyers get poetic this weekend withTethered: Earth to Sky / Human to Human, an up-in-the-air performance accompanied by local poet Brice Maiurro’s spoken-word text and violinist Robyn Julyan. In turn, professional aerialists Laurel Johnson, Valerie Morris, Nancy Smith and Anastasia Timina interpret Maiurro’s words through movement and spectacular beauty. Tickets are $24 to $28 at the Dairy’s online box office.

Colorado Poetry Rodeo 2023
Sunday, April 30, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Mercury Cafe, 2199 California Street
There was a time when the Colorado Poetry Rodeo, fondly referred to as the “Podeo,” ran marathon-style for 24 hours. But over its 34 years, organizers have tried different things, including a truncated pandemic version. This year, it runs from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., with each hour hosted by a rotating crew and chances for every poet in town to have a turn at the mic. Find a complete schedule and learn who’s hosting at what time for a perfectly planned arrival; a $5 donation for the Merc is requested at the door. Find out more here.

LEAF2023: Morton Subotnick and Lillevan, As I Live and Breathe
Sunday, April 30, 7 p.m.
The Arts Hub, 420 Courtney Way, Lafayette
The Lafayette Electronic Arts Festival 2023, new-media maven David Fodel’s Boulder County multimedia showcase, saves the best for last this year, with a live quadraphonic performance, As I Live and Breathe, by electronic music trailblazer Morton Subotnick and German visual artist Lillevan. It’s a high point in ninety-year-old Subotnick’s career, and certainly one of his last live shows, that is centered around the sound and rhythm of his own exhaling breath, well worth the $45 ticket price. Learn more and reserve a spot at Ticketleap.

THIS EVENT IS CANCELLED
Cities Summit of the Americas Closing Concert: Bomba Estéreo and Gabito Ballesteros
Sunday, April 30, 6:30 (doors), show at 7:30 p.m.
Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street
The Cities Summit of the Americas won’t bow out without a last pan-American hurrah party at the Mission Ballroom, with the cumbia ensemble Bomba Estéreo from Bogotá. The combo brings the centuries-old Colombian music genre well into the 21st century with an electronic beat that won’t stop, so come equipped with high energy and your dancing shoes. Sonoran musician Gabito Ballesteros, who does the same for the Mexican corridos, narrative ballads that began as a folk tradition, opens. Tickets start at $59.95; get them here. THIS EVENT IS CANCELLED

Plan ahead:

“Vaqueros y Charros, Waddies and Buckaroos: The African Roots of Cowboydom”
Tuesday, May 2, 6 to 7 p.m.
Sharp Auditorium, Hamilton Building, Denver Art Museum, 100 West 14th Avenue Parkway
Our collective vision of the American cowboy is a white man handy with a six-shooter who wears a big hat and disappears into the sunset. In truth, it’s a lot more complicated than that, but how much does the silver screen leave out? Michael R. Grauer, McCasland chair of Cowboy Culture and curator of cowboy collections and Western art at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, will set you straight during his talk at the Denver Art Museum. “Vaqueros y Charros, Waddies and Buckaroos” will unwrap the unexpected African roots of true cowboy culture for a much-needed historical update. Buy tickets, $5 to $20, and find details here.

Wonderbound, The Sandman
Opening Wednesday, May 3, 7:30 p.m.; performances continue Wednesdays through Saturdays through May 13
3824 Dahlia Street
Wonderbound’s collaborative work with local bands moved up another notch when artistic director Garrett Ammon teamed up with Clay Rose of the Gasoline Lollipops. The resulting evening-long, Western-themed show with a cast of questionable newfangled characters snatched from Rose’s song lyrics will be presented in Wonderbound’s new home. The Sandman, like all Wonderbound performances, is selling fast (some dates, including both Sunday matinees, are sold out), but there are still a few seats left if you work fast. Tickets are $65 here.

Do you know of a great event in Denver? We’ll be updating this list through the weekend; send information to editorial@westword.com.