Butterfly Pavilion
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Shuck endless oysters in Boulder or experience the magic of monarch butterflies at the Butterfly Pavilion this week around Denver. Looking for Halloween-specific events? We got you. Many of them go through Sunday.
On a budget? Check out our list of free things to do. But for now, stick around for events worth the price of admission in and around Denver:
Things to Do in Denver This Weekend
Butterfly Pavilion
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Butterfly Pavilion’s Bug-A-Boo Trick-or-Treating
Friday, October 31, 5-7 p.m.
Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 West 104th Avenue, Westminster
Trick-or-treat with the bugs at the Butterfly Pavilion, where there will be candy, toys, butterflies, and a costume photo contest. Spider Zone, in which part of the butterfly conservatory is netted off and filled with hundreds of orb-weaving spiders, will also be activated. Get tickets here.
The Forbidden Five
Friday, October 31, and Saturday, November 1, 4-10 p.m.
The Velvet Cellar, 1500 Wynkoop Street
The Forbidden Five is a five-course dinner and drink experience at the Velvet Cellar, built for grown-ups who still love a good scare. The $85 event includes a drink and a five-course meal made up of dishes like Harvest Cauldron (roasted squash bisque served in a miniature pumpkin), Blood Moon Braise (red wine braised short rib, mole negro, bull’s blood, warm tortillas) and The Black Widow (black velvet tres leches cake with spider sprinkles). Make a reservation here.
MileHiCon
Friday, October 31, through Sunday, November 2
Hyatt Regency Aurora-Denver, 13200 East 14th Place, Aurora
Speculative fiction lovers won’t want to miss MileHiCon, which will feature authors, artists, speakers and programming on every aspect of the science fiction and fantasy genres. Register at the door, but see the prices here beforehand.
ASIFA International Animation Day
Saturday, November 1, 1-10 p.m.
Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, 1600 Pierce Street, Lakewood
Join a day-long celebration of animation at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, where the festivities include an all-ages Halloween screening, ASIFA animation showcase, a costume contest and an animation workshop. The event is free to attend, but a late-night screening of offbeat and adult-oriented animated shorts requires $10 tickets to attend. RSVP to the event here.
Monarch Magic
Saturday, November 1, through Sunday, November 30
Butterfly Pavilion , 6252 West 104th Avenue , Westminster
Walk among hundreds of monarch butterflies throughout the month of November during Monarch Magic, where guests can learn about the butterflies’ 3,000-mile migration and vital role as pollinators. General admission is $17.45 for adults, $15.45 for seniors and $12.45 for children.
Plan Ahead Things to Do in Denver
Civil Rights Awards
Wednesday, November 5, 5:30-9 p.m.
ReelWorks Denver, 1399 35th Street
NEWSED’s fundraising and community recognition event, the Civil Rights Awards, will recognize Colorado State Representative Brianna Titone, LGBTQIA+ advocate and community organizer Maya Blasingame and ACLU of Colorado Senior Policy Strategist and co-founder of the Transformative Freedom Fund Anaya Robinson. General admission tickets are $180.
Ongoing Things to Do in Denver
Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns
Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns China and silverware from the Titanic’s sister ship, the Olympic. “The Olympic went on until it was decommissioned after World War II, so lots more exists of it because it’s not at the bottom of the ocean,” Malcomb says. Kristen Fiore
Through Sunday, November 2
Hudson Gardens, 6115 South Santa Fe Drive, Littleton
This Friday, Magic of the Jack O’ Lanterns returns for a fifth year at Hudson Gardens, where guests will be able to enjoy a glowing pumpkin scene and a redesigned Enchanted Hollow Trail. The trail is filled with lighting, newly carved pumpkin designs and a Halloween-themed inflatable maze. Every thirty minutes, pumpkins across the gardens display a synchronized light show set to music. Tickets start at $14.99 for kids and $19.99 for adults on select nights.
See Justice Done: The Legacy of the Titanic Survivors’ Committee
Through Sunday, December 28
Molly Brown House Museum, 1340 Pennsylvania Street
The Molly Brown House’s new Titanic exhibit offers an intimate look at the aftermath of the Titanic for Margaret Brown and how she became known as the “Heroine of the Titanic.” The exhibit includes several newly acquired artifacts that tell the story of Brown’s role in forming and leading the Titanic Survivors’ Committee and helping those pulled to safety on the Carpathia – particularly the immigrants and Titanic crew members who lost everything with the sinking of the “Unsinkable Ship.” The exhibit is included with general museum admission and there are related event slated for those who want to dive deeper; learn more at mollybrown.org.
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The Secret World of Elephants
Through Sunday, January 25, 2026
Denver Museum of Nature and Science, 2001 Colorado Boulevard
The latest temporary exhibition at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, The Secret World of Elephants, opens this week, giving visitors the science behind the loveable giants. Through hands-on interactions, feel the low-frequency rumbles elephants use to communicate, explore how they reshape their environments and come face-to-face with some of their ancestors, including dwarf elephants. Get tickets and see pricing information here.
Do you know of a great event in Denver? We’ll update this list throughout the week; send information to editorial@westword.com.