Seven Things to Do for Free in Denver This Weekend

The weather is warming up, and so is this week’s entertainment calendar. The Conference on World Affairs is back in Boulder for a 75th-anniversary celebration focusing on the environment, while Boulder Arts Week continues through April 15 (get details here). But there’s plenty of action in Denver, too, with the RiNo Art District’s annual meeting on Thursday and plenty of poems on the range.

Keep reading for ten of the best free things to do in metro Denver this week, and watch for updates:

Conference on World Affairs: Right Here, Right Now Boulder Impact Forum
Through Friday, April 14, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
University Memorial Center, 1669 Euclid Avenue, CU Boulder
The Conference on World Affairs celebrates 75 years with a three-day lineup of in-person and livestreamed events focused on the global climate crisis. Building on the momentum of the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit co-hosted by CU Boulder and United Nations Human Rights in December, CWA will offer panels on issues ranging from the Colorado River crisis to designing more sustainable cities to the keynight “Right Here, Right Now Boulder Impact Forum” at 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 14. Among the presenters are Rose Marcario, former CEO of Patagonia; James Balog, global environmental photographer and mountaineer; U.S. Representative Joe Neguse; and Benjamin Schachter, Human Rights officer at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. All events are free; get the full schedule here.

CSI: Regis University, Inside the Trial of “Toybox Killer” David Parker Ray
Friday, April 14, 6 to 9 p.m.
Mountain View Room, St. Peter Claver, S.J. Hall, Regis University
Now in its 21st year, the Regis University Crime Scene Investigation Conference will present Jim Yontz, former deputy district attorney for New Mexico’s Sierra County, discussing his role prosecuting serial rapist and suspected serial killer David Parker Ray. Ray and his girlfriend, Cindy Hendy, were arrested in March 1999; he was sentenced to 223 years in prison in 2001 for kidnapping and sexually abusing two women, but his records and personal confessions indicate that he may have abducted and tortured more than forty women over multiple decades at his home in Elephant Butte, New Mexico. Admission is free (and for adults only); find out more here.

The Dry: Black Women’s Legacy in a Farming Community
Friday, April 14, 6 to 8 p.m.
History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway
The story of Dearfield, a long-lost African-American settlement on the eastern plains of Weld County, has become a better-known part of Colorado’s history in recent years. Now, it’s time for Dearfield’s southeastern Colorado counterpart, The Dry, to be remembered. African-American settlers arrived in the Rocky Ford area around 1916 or 1917, certain they would find rich farming land there. But the name says it all: The Dry was just that. History Colorado’s new exhibit, opening with a reception on April 14, tells the story of the town’s rise and fall; admission to the opening is free, but an RSVP is required here.

Spring Swap N’Sip, Fruits of Our Labor
Saturday, April 15, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Zeppelin Station, 3501 Wazee Street
It’s spring, time to clean out your closets to make room for wardrobe updates. Jes Leffler and Tara Forman, the crafty women of Taxi’s Fruits of Our Labor Maker Space, are here to help. They’re hosting a Spring Swap N’Sip clothing exchange at Zeppelin Station. It’s free with a bag of new or gently worn closet cast-offs (or pay $10 at the door, but why?); drop off your clothing contribution at the Maker Space at Taxi Freight, 3515 Ringsby Court, Friday from 1 to 8 p.m. or on event day. RSVP at Eventbrite.

Colorado Shiners, BIPOC Bowl
Saturday, April 15, and Sunday, April 16, noon to 8 p.m.
Rollerdome, 2375 South Delaware Street
Colorado-based roller derby’s most unique team, the all-BIPOC, mixed-gender Colorado Shiners, have been around long enough to now mount their second annual BIPOC Bowl, an anything-goes weekend of fierce competition in the gender-fluid category. Tournaments go down at the Rollerdome track in Overland, with a variety of sideshows for spectators between matches, including vendor booths, food trucks and an art auction. Admission is free; don’t forget the goth-themed after party at Blush & Blu, 1526 East Colfax Avenue, on Sunday, April 16, from 9 p.m. to close. It’s free, too, but there’s a two-drink minimum. Details on Facebook and Instagram.

Earthmade at Stanley
Saturday, April 15, and Sunday, 16, noon to 5 p.m.
Stanley Marketplace, 2501 Dallas Street, Aurora
Stanley Marketplace has a knack for building community around holidays and other observances like Earth Day, which will be handled for a second year by Bonfire Events. Earth-conscious families will find plenty of activities, along with vendors of products inspired by the natural world and plant growers, including a Pop-Up Plant Sale by the Ecuadorean propagators at Ecuagenera Araceae, known for growing rainforest exotics. Details here.

Stiles African American Heritage Gardens Saturday Afternoon Tea
Saturday, April 15, 2 to 4 p.m.
Stiles Center, 2607 Glenarm Place
The Stiles Center received funding from the Denver Arts & Venues PS You Are Here program and is establishing no-water, stone crevice gardens that explore historical plant relationships held by African Americans, celebrating the work with themed Saturday Afternoon Teas. At these events, community members, storytellers and makers will share seeds, knowledge and insights. The first tea will focus on medicinal plants and the life and work of Aunt Clara Brown, a freed slave who helped African Americans get a footing socially and economically as they arrived in the Rocky Mountains. Admission is free; find out more here.

Frequent Flyers Boulder Arts Week Open House
Saturday, April 15, 2 to 5 p.m.
Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance Studios, 3022 East Sterling Circle, Suite 150, Boulder
Start at the beginning and learn what Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance is all about at a Boulder Arts Week Open House at the dance studio. Try some moves with your five-and-up child during free all-ages mini-lessons; watch in awe when faculty members give hourly demonstrations at 3 and 4 p.m. and/or get a 10 percent discount if you’re moved to sign up for an upcoming session 3 class. Go and fly high (or at least try) for free. Learn more here.

Arvada Kite Festival

Sunday, April 16, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Stenger Sports Complex, 11200 West 58th Avenue, Arvada
That nursery rhyme about March winds and April showers doesn’t entirely run on Colorado time, where mid-April might be more appropriate for kite-flying than a snow-heavy March. That’s why the Arvada Kite Festival comes at a perfect time. Bring your own kite or buy one there; if the air goes calm, head for the vendor booths, food trucks, face painters and kite demos. Parking is first-come, first-served; find more information here.

Live Poetry Music Jam Podcast Celebration
Sunday, April 16, 4 to 8 p.m.
Mercury Cafe, 2199 California Street
Blue Pearl Production has launched a new podcast series in honor of National Poetry Month that honors the live, improvised spoken word and music event Jam B4 the Slam, which has been going weekly for 22 years at the Mercury Cafe. This eighth episode is “A Tribute to Marilyn Megenity,” the longtime owner of the Merc, and begins with a celebration at 4 p.m., followed by a recording of the podcast with host poet SETH, along with guest hosts Rosanne Frechette, Ted Vaca and co-host Racine Frank. Admission is free; find out more here.

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