Free Things to Do in Denver (and Beyond) This Week

The cultural calendar is heating up. Boulder Arts Week is offering deals and programs through April 12, and Anythink Libraries is celebrating National Poetry Month through the end of April, with a program with slam poet Suzi Q. Smith on Tuesday.

For more options, check our list of activities worth the price of admission. Now keep reading for free things to do in Denver (and beyond).

Easter Sunrise Service at Red Rocks
Sunday, April 5, 5:30 a.m. (gates at 4:45 a.m.)
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison
The Colorado Council of Churches — a statewide, ecumenical and social justice organization that represents thirteen Christian denominations and over 600 churches across Colorado — is hosting its 79th Easter Sunrise Service at Red Rocks. Musical worship begins at 5:30 a.m., and the worship service at 6 a.m. The preacher will be Pastor Kathy Escobar, co-founder of The Refuge, a hub for healing community, social action, and creative collaboration in north Denver; additional worship leaders are Rev. Fernando Rodriguez, assistant presbyter of the Presbytery of Denver, and Michelle Ferrigno Warren, part of the Westside Church Internacional. The musical worship leaders are Emerson Rose and the Cherokee Trail High School Choir. The service will also be streamed online. Learn more here.

Earth Day Colorado 2026: The Walls Project
Monday, April 6, through the month
Around Colorado
Although Earth Day is officially April 22, Earth Day Colorado 2026 is a three-week Aurora initiative designed by The Walls Project to engage thousands of area youth, students, educators, families and community volunteers through hands-on environmental education, school garden and food forest expansion, public art initiatives, and community stewardship activities. Learn how you can participate here.

Last Lecture Series: Dr. Peter Kerr
Monday, 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
Great Hall, Colorado Christian University, 8787 West Alameda Avenue, Lakewood
Dr. Dean Keer, dean of the School of Business and Leadership at Colorado Christian University, will offer a Last Lecture that’s a heartfelt manifesto—an invitation to see God as holy-love, embrace life as preparation for eternity, and live with fearless purpose in our rapidly changing world.

Dyngus Day 2026
Monday, April 6, 4 to 7 p.m.
105 West Brewing Company, Castle Rock
Join the Futa Home Team for its sixth annual celebration of Dyngus Day, a Polish and Eastern European tradition that marks the end of Lent with feasting, dancing and music. This year, there will be live polka music from the Polkanauts, pierogies from Provisions Pierogies served by the Pierogi Daddy food truck, and plenty of beer. RSVP and your first beer is free.

Every Martyr Is a Universe: Vigil for the Children of Iran
Monday, April 6, 6 p.m.
Scott Carpenter Park, Boulder
A coalition of Boulder community membersiis hosting a vigil to honor the lives of children killed in the February 28 strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Girls’ Elementary School in Minab, Iran. There will be speakers, poetry and a silent vigil.

National Poetry Month: Suzi Q. Smith at Anythink Bennet
Tuesday, April 7, 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Anythink, 495 7th Street, Bennet
Throughout April, Anythink Libraries’ seven locations in Adams County will offer a range of poetry-focused experiences led by Aerik Francis, Adams County poet laureate. “Poetry invites us to slow down, listen closely and discover new ways of seeing the world,” says Francis. “Through these workshops and events, we hope to create spaces where people feel inspired to experiment with language, share their stories and build community through creative expression.” On Tuesday, Suzi Q Smith will present Writing to Music, playing instrumental music and exploring poetic approaches to generate lyrical concepts and ideas in relation to rhythm, rhyme, lines, literary devices and narrative. Feel free to bring headphones and a song of your choosing.

National Poetry Month: Adams County Poet Laureate Open Mic with Aerik Francis
Thursday, April 9, 6 to 8 p.m.
Anythink Huron Street, Riddle Room
Join Adams County Poet Laureate Aerik Francis fora quarterly open mic. Sign up starts at 6 p.m., open mic at 6:30; you can perform in any language.

Ongoing

SCFD Free Days
Locations and dates vary
Thanks to the sales tax you pay into the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, many arts institutions around the metro area offer occasional free days and programs. For example, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science will host its next free day on Monday, April 13. For more bargains, check the SCFD site.

Colorado State Capitol Tours
Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
200 East Colfax Avenue|
The Capitol is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free guided tours are available, but limited to thirty people on a first come, first served basis. Check in at the Visitor Information Desk, which opens at 9 a.m.

America 250 – Colorado 150
Through 2026
Around the state
Happy 150th birthday, Colorado! On August 1, 1876, Colorado became a state, and there will be celebrations all year — at the same time this country is celebrating its 250th anniversary. You can find a full list of the activities at Am250CO150.org, but don’t miss the already-open exhibits at the History Colorado Center: Moments That Made US, 38th Star: Colorado Becomes the Centennial State, and the new John Fielder show, Majestic Mountains.

“We Are the Land”
Denver’s YouTube
On February 7, Landmark Preservation staff and the American Indian community celebrated the culmination of more than three years of work to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of Denver’s current American Indian population, as well as Tribal Nations with cultural and historic ties to the land that is now Denver, with the oral history project “We are the Land: American Indian Life, Legacy and Future in Denver.” The project includes an accompanying documentary produced by Off the Road Productions, “We Are the Land,” which is now available on Denver’s YouTube channel.

Beyond the Western Horizon
Through July 31, Tuesday through Thursdasy, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Madden Gallery at Museum of Outdoor Arts, 6363 South Fiddlers Green Circle, Suite 110, Greenwood Village
The Museum of Outdoor Arts just opened Beyond the Western Horizon, an exhibit featuring 21 artists and 60 artworks depicting aspects of the American West — people, animals, landscapes and objects — in paintings as well as sculptures and mixed-media artworks. The artists include Edward Aldrich, Raj Chaudhuri, Lorenzo Chavez, Maeve Eichelberger, Ian Fisher, Bruce A. Gómez, David Kammerzell, Buffalo Kaplinski, Andrea Kemp, Corbett Kesler, Crystal Latimer, Amy Laugesen, Michael Magrin, William Matthews, Patrick Oates, David Sherwin Parker, Craig Marshall Smith, Robert Spooner, Daniel Sprick, Clyde Steadman and David Uhl. “Our exhibition will display a range of artworks from nostalgic, romantic cowboys to contemporary cityscapes executed in Realism or Expressionism. We’re exhibiting an array of sculptures: glazed clay horses, Plexiglass saddles and cast longhorn skulls encrusted in thousands of tiny glass beads,” says MOA founder Cindy Madden Leitner. “We invite visitors into Madden Gallery to drift and to dream among inspired and inspiring artworks branded by the aesthetic of American West.” 

Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways
Through April 19, Fridays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sangres Art Guild’s 3rd Street Gallery, 59000 Highway 69, Westcliffe
Ready for a road trip? Celebrte Colorado’s sesquicentennial with a visit to Westcliffe, where 3rd Street Gallery has a traveling show of 52 photographs taken along Colorado’s Scenic and Historic Byways.

Plan ahead

Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles Super Saturday Sprint
Saturday, April 18, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
DMV offices in Aurora, Centennial, Westgate and Westminster
Tired of waiting to get your driver’s license? The DMV is offering four Saturday service dates this spring, starting today (the others are May 2 and May 16). According to Driver Services Director Benjamin Mitchell, “By expanding service locations, we are bringing these essential services closer to where people live and work. While we are thrilled to offer this additional capacity, appointments remain limited, and we encourage everyone to book as soon as the windows open.” Appointments are required; learn more here.

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