Five Things to Do for Free in Denver This Weekend

Stop and smell the roses! Spring arrived in Denver at 5:24 p.m. on March 20, bringing with it a bouquet of free events ranging from concerts to exhibits to discussions with candidates in Denver's April 4 election.

Keep reading for five things to do this weekend for free:

Ruby Hill Rail Yard
Daily, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. (lights on until 9 p.m.)
Ruby Hill Park, South Platte Drive at West Florida Avenue
Denver Parks & Recreation and Winter Park Resort have again teamed up to offer free skiing and snowboarding at the urban terrain park at Ruby Hill, complete with rails, snow features and boxes of varying configurations and skill levels. The season will end soon — but in the meantime, admission is free, and on Thursdays (4 to 9 p.m.) and Saturdays (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.), equipment is free, too. Find out more here.

District 8 Candidates: Anti-Displacement United Neighborhood Forum
Saturday, March 25, 10 a.m. to noon
Ashley Elementary School, 1914 Syracuse Street
In 2022, leadership from North East Park Hill, East Colfax and Montbello came together to redraw the lines of District 8 in Denver’s redistricting process to elevate the neighborhoods’ mutual concerns; today, District 8 includes three Neighborhood Equity and Stabilization (NEST) neighborhoods that the city has identified as needing special interventions due to the pressures of gentrification and displacement. All of the District 8 Denver City Council candidates will be at this forum to discuss how they plan to fight displacement with the Registered Neighborhood Organizations and grassroots non-profits located in the three neighborhoods. Find out more here.

Colorado Women Authors: Book Signing
Saturday, March 25, 1 to 3 p.m.
Barnes & Noble, 960 South Colorado Boulevard
Authors from Denver’s National League of American Pen Women will be on hand for this reading and signing, including Andrea Antico, Eleanor Addy Binnings, Diane Lane Chambers, Sue Luxa, L.S. Popovich, Linda Reiss Volin and Adrian Voss. Find out more here.

And ongoing:

Night Lights Denver
Nightly through March 31 except Mondays) 6 p.m. to midnight
Clocktower, 1601 Arapahoe Street
This month's illuminating program is dedicated to the Month of Photography. Colorado Photographic Arts Center's Samantha Johnston has curated this display of work by sixty photographers that now shows after dark all month. Alert: Times will change next Sunday with Daylight Savings Time; find out more here.

"Reclaiming Denver’s Chinatown"
Online 24/7
To celebrate the Lunar New Year, Denver's Agency for Human Rights and Community Partnerships has released the #IAmDenver documentary “Reclaiming Denver’s Chinatown,” produced by the Denver Office of Storytelling. The documentary premiered to a sold-out audience at the Denver Film Festival in November, and plans are in the works for community screenings and talkback events. In the meantime, watch it online.

Do you know of a great free event in Denver? We'll be updating this list throughout the week; send information to [email protected].