Ten Things to Do for Free in Denver (and Beyond) This Weekend

This is another busy weekend, with another round of St. Patrick’s Day, lectures, markets and more.

Keep reading for ten things to do for free in and around Denver:

Pat Pascoe on A Dream of Justice: The Story of Keyes v. Denver Public Schools, Part Two
Saturday, March 18, 11 a.m. to noon
Park Hill Branch Library, 4705 Montview Boulevard
Denver author Pat Pascoe’s latest book, A Dream of Justice: The Story of Keyes v. Denver Public Schools, tells the complicated story of activist, teacher and school board member Rachel Noel’s battle to end de facto segregation in Denver schools in the late ’60s. Those efforts led to a community-led court case that went all the way to U.S. Supreme Court, opening the door to mandatory busing at Denver Public Schools. Now Pascoe is unpacking the story in person during a three-part lecture series at the Park Hill Branch Library. The event is free; find details here.

Return of the Corn Mother
Saturday, March 18, 11 a.m. to noon
History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway Center
Photographer Todd Pierson traveled the Southwest, taking photographs of strong women in what became the Return of the Corn Mother exhibit. In this event honoring both Women’s History Month and the Month of Photography, he’ll talk about the history of the projects and the technical and logistical challenges of working on location at this free talk. Find out more here.

Hops ‘n Hash St. Patrick’s Day Party
Saturday, March 18, 1 to 5 p.m.
Rocky Mountain Tap & Garden, 1071 Courtesy Road, Louisville
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a Hops ‘n Hash party at this Louisville community beer garden. The event will include live Irish music, a chef-driven Irish-crafted menu, festive drink deals, games, contests and more! Admission is free; reserve a spot here.

Pop-Up Makers Market
Saturday, March 18, 4 to 7 p.m.
The Source Hotel and Market Hall, 3330 Brighton Boulevard
The Source Hotel and Market Hall acknowledges the slow arrival of spring with Makers Market, a free evening pop-up with nearly twenty vendors to browse in the Source’s Market Hall 2…with more to come in the coming months. Find delicious food items, including baked goods, chocolates, bitters and fresh small-batch Colorado honey, as well as artisan jewelry, candles, leatherwork and other handmades. RSVP at Eventbrite.

Alpaca Show
Sunday, March 19, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
National Western Complex, 4655 Humboldt Street
The National Alpaca presented by Eagle Eye Farm is at National Western Complex through today. And admission is free! Get details here.

A History of Lowry Air Force Base
Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Aurora History Museum, 15051 East Alameda Parkway, Aurora
Over 85 years ago, the Army Air Corps established an airfield at the old Agnes C. Phipps Memorial Sanitorium on the border of Aurora and Denver, which later became home to many of the Air Force’s most important training programs. A show devoted to Lowry Air Force Base opened March 14 at the Aurora History Museum, where it will run through July 9. The museums open every day but Monday; find out more here.

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. Admission is always free, but on Thursdays (4 to 9 p.m.) and Saturdays (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.), equipment is free, too. Find out more here.

Gift of Jazz
Sunday, March 19, 3 to 5 p.m.
Dazzle at Baur’s, 1512 Curtis Street
The Saturday Adult Education Students present a showcase that includes a professional jazz ensemble with Vlad Girshevich, piano; Donna Wickham, vocals; Adam Gang, tenor sax; Bill McCrossen, bass, and Kevin Matthews, drums. The program includes new works by students in this semester’s composition class, as well as performances by students in theJ azz Piano class. Admission is free!

and three ongoing events:

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.

Dr. King Jr. and the Radical Roots at the Heart of Justice
Online 24/7
Motus Theater is sharing the Martin Luther King Jr. performance from January 16, which featured nationally acclaimed and regionally loved singers The ReMINDers; Dr. Reiland Rabaka, director of the CU Boulder Center for African and African American Studies; and Motus monologist Colette Payne, director at the Women’s Justice Institute. You can watch the full event here for free 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.