Things to do in Denver this weekend, May 29-31

There’s plenty to do around Denver this week, from the Whale of a Used Book Sale to FAN EXPO Denver and Outside Days.

This list is refreshed every Wednesday and Friday. Bookmark this page for weekly events in and around Denver.

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:

This weekend

FAN EXPO Denver
Through Sunday, May 31
Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St.
Attend panels, meet-and-greet, interact with cosplayers and browse comics and other goods at Denver’s largest fan convention. Purchase tickets and see the schedule here.

Outside Days
Through Sunday, May 31
Auraria Campus, 1201 Fifth St.
The Outside Festival, now dubbed Outside Days, returns for a third year, this time at the Auraria Campus due to Civic Center construction. In addition to a lineup of music (including headliners Death Cab for Cutie, My Morning Jacket, and Cage the Elephant), speakers and other activities, the festival also includes an outdoor industry conference. See the schedule and get tickets here.

Whale of a Used Book Sale 
Friday through Saturday, May 29 to May 30, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, May 31, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 
Jeffco Fairgrounds, 15200 W. 6th Ave., Golden
The Jefferson County Library Foundation’s semi-annual sale returns for its 24th year with three exhibit halls packed with 90,000 gently used books, CDs, DVDs, vinyl records, comic books, puzzles, games, and rare collectibles. The sale opens May 28 with a Friends-Only Preview Night, followed by three days open to the public. Each day offers something different: early bird entry Friday, half-price day for educators and Jeffco employees Saturday, and a $12 bag day Sunday. Entry is $5 per day for adults; children under 18 and SNAP recipients are free.

“BLKNWS Terms & Conditions” film screening
Friday, May 29, 5:30 to 9 p.m.
MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater, 2644 W. 32nd Ave.
Biennial of the Americas, MATTER, MCA Denver and Sundance Film Festival are partnering together for a special screening of “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” at the MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater. The film is a cinematic work that interweaves fiction and history through cultural figures, artists and digital voices in a vision of Black consciousness. The evening includes a social hour, bookstore pop-up and a post-film conversation featuring Lisa Kennedy, Shari Frilot, Julian Bleecker, Rick Griffith and Kahlil Joseph. General admission is $15.

13th Floor Blackout: Halfway to Halloween 
Friday through Saturday, May 29 to May 30, 8 to 10:45 p.m.
13th Floor Haunted House, 3400 E. 52nd Ave.
13th Floor Haunted House kicks off the countdown to Halloween with Blackout, a fully immersive haunted experience in complete darkness. Each group receives one glow stick to navigate through the attraction, but be careful, the monsters may steal your only light. Beyond the main haunt, guests can enjoy themed food and drinks, specialty photo ops, mini escape games, axe throwing, a Tiki Tarot Bar, and VIP cabanas. Tickets start at $29.99.

HearseCon 2026
Saturday, May 30, 11 a.m.
Stampede Mesquite Grill & Dance Emporium, 2430 S. Havana St., E. Hampden Avenue, Aurora
Head to Aurora for HearseCon, where there will be a classic/custom hearse show with live music, vendors, seminars and more. Tickets are $23.18.

Unite to Fight X 
Saturday, May 30, 5 p.m.
Boulder Theater, 2032 14^th St., Boulder
In its 10th anniversary, this nonprofit event transforms the historic Boulder Theater into a battleground where everyday people, including professionals, students, parents, and artists step into the ring after 10 weeks of training. The evening opens with a USA Boxing-sanctioned undercard featuring experienced amateur boxers, followed by the main card. Unite to Fight X has raised over $1 million in the past decade. Main card tickets start at $71; undercard tickets are sold the day of.

13th Annual Whiskey Throwdown & Doughnut Showdown 
Saturday, May 30, 6:30 to 9 p.m. 
Denargo Market, 3800 Denargo St.
Presented by LaMar’s Donuts & Coffee, this sold-out-every-year event pairs local distilleries with Front Range doughnut vendors for an evening of unlimited whiskey and doughnut sampling, a live DJ, giveaways, a doughnut stacking competition, costume contest, and a cocktail competition where you’re the judge. All tickets are all-inclusive with no additional purchases required once inside. GA, Early Entry, and VIP options available. Ages 21+ only. Tickets start at $95.36.

Strip Long and Prosper: A Star Trek Burlesque/Drag Show
Saturday, May 30, 9 to 11 p.m.
Sexploratorium, 1800 S. Broadway
Awaken your inner space cadet and be transported to a universe where glamour, camp, and cosmic seduction collide in “Strip Long and Prosper: A Star Trek Burlesque/Drag Show” at the Sexploratorium. Tickets start at $20.

Spring into Summer Festival
Sunday, May 31, 2 to 5 p.m.
Planet Bluegrass, 500 W. Main St., Lyons
Kick off your summer at Planet Bluegrass with Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra’s Spring into Summer Festival, a relaxed afternoon of live music, games, food trucks and drinks. Local businesses and organizations will also be on site with activities and prizes. General admission is $35, kids’ tickets are half off, and meal plans are available for purchase.

Plan ahead

Neil deGrasse Tyson at Pikes Peak Center
Thursday, June 8, and Friday, June 9, 7:30 p.m.
Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs
Renowned author and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson returns to Colorado for two nights of scientific exploration. Thursday’s show, “Search for Life in the Universe,” traces the ongoing effort to find habitable planets, liquid water, and life in the cosmos, culminating in the search for intelligent life, whether or not it already exists on Earth. Friday’s “An Astrophysicist Goes to the Movies Part II” takes an entertaining look at the science of our favorite films got wrong and right, from “The Wizard of Oz” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” to “Harry Potter.” Don’t miss your chance to experience one of science’s most celebrated voices live. Tickets start at $85.

Ongoing Denver events and museum exhibitions

Lumonics Immersed
Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.
Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery, 800 East 73 Ave.
Lumonics is a multi-sensory environment intended to bring guests into a state of comfort and expanded awareness. It features interactive art, such as light sculptures, painting, music, water fountains and projection. General admission tickets are $25.

Rainforest Yoga
Saturdays and Sundays, 7:45 to 8:45 a.m.
Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 W. 104th Ave., Westminster
Get your yoga mat and a towel and head to the Butterfly Pavilion for rejuvenating yoga surrounded by butterflies and exotic plants. Registration, which is $18, is required before the class. Register here.

The Garden of Grief and Gladness
Select dates through June 14
3401 Blake St.
Explore ten immersive rooms designed to evoke the experience of ‘walking through’ the realities of grief. Some rooms are literal, some abstract. Select a date and get tickets here.

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience
Through Sunday, August 30
Exhibition Hub Art Center, 3900 Elati St.
Step into a Van Gogh painting at Exhibition Hub, which is currently staging Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, which has toured to 70 cities around the world since its creation in 2017. This version of Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience includes several newer additions, such as the Sunflower Room, the Letters Room, and a smaller immersive space that highlights Van Gogh’s life and his fascination with Japonisme. “Van Gogh’s work has a timeless and universal appeal,” says Exhibition Hub CEO Hamza El Azhar. “When you combine that with immersive storytelling and technology, it allows guests to step inside his world rather than simply observe it. This emotional and audiovisual connection is what makes the experience so impactful and widely loved.” The exhibition is designed for a wide audience, including children, adults, artists and non-artists alike. Select a date for your visit and get tickets here.

The World’s Largest Dinosaurs
Through Monday, September 7
Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd.
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s newest exhibit, The World’s Largest Dinosaurs, opens Friday, exploring “the biology and anatomy of sauropods — the largest land animals to ever walk the Earth.” The exhibit used to tell the story of sauropods includes a towering, life-sized model of a 60-foot-long Mamenchisauru. A special ticket is required in addition to general museum admission.

Conversation Pieces
Through October 11
Denver Art Museum, 100 West 14th Ave. Parkway
Conversation Pieces is a new fashion exhibition at the Denver Art Museum made up of never-before-seen garments from the museum’s fashion archive. It’s also an interesting window into Denver fashion history. “Designers across time utilize a shared lexicon and a shared history,” says Director and Curator of Avenir Institute of Textile Arts and Fashion at the DAM Jill D’Alessandro. “They’re in constant communication with each other, whether they’re contemporaries or separated by eras. There’s a functionality to fashion that means they have the same root problem to work from. They’re responding to the body, to cultural shifts.” Conversation Pieces is included in general museum admission.

Moments That Made Us
Through October 18
History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway
In honor of the U.S.’s 250th anniversary and Colorado’s 150th anniversary, History Colorado has collected fifty artifacts from defining moments in the country and state’s history, from George Washington’s spurs and a tape recorder from the Watergate investigation to historic documents and a firefighter’s helmet from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Get tickets here.

Do you know of a great event in Denver? We’ll update this list throughout the week; send information to editorial@westword.com.