Five Things to Do for Free in Denver This Weekend

The last of the lights.

January 1, 2022

ARTcade is open at Understudy. Understudy

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The new year is here, but there are still a few holiday events around.

Keep reading for six of the best free events in and around Denver this weekend.

Mile-High MFA Winter Residency Readings
January 2, 3, 4 and 6, 5 to 6 p.m. nightly, online
Mile-High MFA Book Celebration Reading
January 7, 5 to 6 p.m., online
Regis University’s low-residency Mile-High MFA program, which boasts a diverse and pro-local faculty, is turning out polished and professional writers with nuts-and-bolts know-how. Find out just how great they are when the department jump-starts 2022 with a week of free virtual readings by current students, faculty and alumni. Find Zoom links, a complete schedule and reading rosters here and here.

IV Día de los Reyes Family Day
Sunday, January 2, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder
Día de los Reyes, the Hispanic counterpart to Epiphany, commemorates the day the Magi brought gifts to the baby Jesus, traditionally on January 6. In Mexico, it’s a day of parades, festivities and food, specifically tamales, King’s Cake and champurrado, a variety of spiced hot chocolate that’s thickened with pinole, a maize flour. The Museum of Boulder will replicate the holiday on a smaller scale on January 2 for live and virtual audiences alike, with free dance and music performances, artists and filmmakers, hands-on crafts and workshops. The show will be available online anytime from January 2 through 6; learn more here.

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ARTcade is open at Understudy.

Understudy

ARTcade
Sunday, January 2, noon to 8 p.m.
Understudy, 890 C 14th Street
If you’re downtown checking out the holiday lights, don’t miss the Denver Theatre District’s cozy arts incubator space, Understudy, which is currently hosting ARTcade. It has all the fixings of a traditional arcade — except that they’ve been souped up by a long list of participating local artists. Even the prizes are artist-made: Grab a masterpiece from a claw machine, or redeem coupons for enamel pins, coloring books, miniature paintings, jewelry, tea towels, art prints, small sculptures and more. ARTcade will be open Wednesdays through Sundays through the end of January to accommodate Stock Show visitors, but it will close on New Year's Eve and Day. Find out more here.

Light the Lights
Through January 23, 4:45 and 5:45 p.m., daily
City and County Building, 1437 Bannock Street
The Denver City and County Building got lit on November 24, and while the lights will stay on through the National Western Stock Show, it will put on its own show at 4:45 and 5:45 p.m. daily. Find details here.

Downtown Denver Rink
Through February 20, daily
Skyline Park, 1601 Arapahoe Street
There’s nothing quite like winter ice skating in the frosty outdoors, somewhere like the Downtown Denver Rink, a big-city experience that’s perfect for families, greenhorns, romantic couples and outdoorsy folks of all ages. Admission is free when you bring your own skates; if you don’t, skate rentals are $7 to $9. Find a schedule and learn more here.

Know of a great free event around town? Send information to [email protected].

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