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

Brrrrrr…Monday’s starting out cold, but this week is looking hot. Although the major St. Patrick’s Day events were this past weekend, the celebrations will continue. And spring will arrive on Friday (although it feels like we’ve barely had winter).

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) this week.

This Week

Ireland in Motion
Daily through March 31, dusk until midnight
Daniels & Fisher Tower, 1601 Arapahoe Street
Night Lights Denver is projecting Ireland in Motion every night this month on the D&F Clock Tower. Ireland in Motion weaves together seven motion works by artists with a connection to Ireland; curator Rian Kerrane is a native of Ireland who immigrated to the U.S. over thirty years ago and teaches art at the University of Colorado Denver. “March is a time when everyone is Irish,” Kerrane explains. “There is a celebratory spirit that overtakes people with St. Patrick’s Day.”

Lab Dog: An Evening with Melanie Kaplan and John Ramer
Monday, March 16, 4 to 7 p.m.
University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Room 165, 2255 East Evans Avenue
John Ramer, executive director of Wyoming’s Kindness Ranch, a nonprofit sanctuary that rehabilitates animals used in laboratory research, will lead a discussion about animal testing with Melanie Kaplan, the author of Lab Dog, a memoir about a former research beagle named Hammy and an investigative account of how and why animals — particularly dogs — are used in biomedical research. Books will be available for purchase and there will be dinner after a meet and greet; admission is free, but an RSVP is required here.

Issue Monday: The Border, Posse Comitatus and the Insurrection Act
Monday, March 16, 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Great Hall, Colorado Christian University 8787 West Alameda Avenue, Lakewood
The enforcement of immigration law, predominantly through the mobilization of ICE forces, has dominated headlines over the past few months.  Ken Cuccinelli, a senior fellow for Homeland Security and Immigration for the Center for Renewing America, will discuss why the president has the legal authority to conduct such actions, counter to arguments that this use of federal forces is an abuse of power. 

Boulder County Recycling Center 25th Anniversary Celebration
Tuesday, March 17, 9 a.m. to noon
BCRC Education Room, 1901 63rd Street, Boulder
The Boulder County Recycling Center is celebrating 25-years of operations with several events, including this open house with a free showing of the movie The Lorax starting at 10:30 a.m. You’ll be able to take self-guided tours, visit educational booths and enjoy hot chocolate and coffee, too.

Intro to Kink for Seniors
Tuesday, March 17, 2 to 3 p.m.
The Sexploratorium, 1800 South Broadway
Designed specifically for older adults, this workshop acknowledges changing mobility, sensitivity,and stamina while celebrating the depth of experience that comes with age. The class will discuss how to adapt intensity, prioritize comfort and negotiate play, practical safety considerations and techniques for temperature play, light impact, restraint improvisation,and teasing anticipation — all using items you likely already own.

Colorado Democratic Party Fireside Chat
Tuesday, March 17, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., online
The Colorado Democratic Party is hosting a virtual fireside chat with Colorado gubernatorial candidates Michael Bennet, Phil Weiser and Erik Underwood, as well as U.S. Senate candidates John Hickenlooper and Julie Gonzales. RSVP here.

St. Patrick’s Day with Caitirona and Ré Nua Irish Dance
Tuesday, March 17, 7 to 10 p.m.
Roxy on Broadway, 554 South Broadway
Two dance schools come together in a modern showing of this traditional Irish art form. Admission is free; dinner and drinks will be available.

Caravan of Hope: Free Legal Services for the LGBTQ+ Community
Wednesday, March 18, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Center, 1301 East Colfax Avenue
The Caravan of Hope team will be at the Center on Colfax to provide free legal services for the LGBTQ+ community, whether it’s name changes, estate planning, simple divorces, legal questions or SAVE Act OD compliance help.

Beyond the Western Horizon
Thursday, March 19, 5 to 8 p.m.
Madden Gallery at Museum of Outdoor Arts, 6363 South Fiddlers Green Circle, Suite 110, Greenwood Village
The Museum of Outdoor Arts is hosting an opening reception for 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 long 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.” 

Entre Espacios Student Installation Show
Thursday, March 19, 6 to 8 p.m.
Latino Cultural Arts Center, 1420 Ogden Street Suite G2
For two years, the Latino Cultural Arts Center has been working with students to create immersive, full-environment installations designed to be entered and experienced — not purchased, not hung on a wall — for a one-night-only show.

Colorado Black Round Table Women’s History Month Celebration
Saturday, March 21, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Zion Senior Center, 5151 East 33rd Avenue
Join the Colorado Black Round Table with a reception, recognition ceremony and panel discussion on “Black Women’s Perspectatives and Intergenerational Issues.” There will also be a candidates’forum.

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. On Friday, March 20, you can visit the CELL for free; there’s no admission charge at the Denver Botanic Gardens Plains Conservation Center in Aurora on Saturday, March 21. And mark your calendar for a free day at the Carousel of Happiness in Nederland on Monday, March 23. 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.

Thornton Yesterday, Thornton Today, Thornton Tomorrow
Daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thornton Arts & Culture Center Annex, 9211 Dorothy Boulevard
When Sam Hoffman purchased the land that would one day become the City of Thornton and began building homes in 1954, he envisioned a thriving community that could stand on its own — a dream realized just two years later when Thornton officially became a city in 1956. Thornton is celebrating its seventieth anniversary with Thornton Yesterday, Thornton Today, Thornton Tomorrow, an exhibit that opened January 5 and runs through the year.

Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways Photography Exhibit 
Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sangres Art Guild’s 3^rd Street Gallery, 59000 Highway 69, Westcliffe
Start your celebration of Colorado’s sesquicentennial with a visit to Westcliffe, which just opened a show of 52 photographs taken along Colorado’s Scenic and Historic Byways. Frontier Pathways, Custer County Tourism and the Sangres Art Guild are hosting the Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways exhibition through April 19, with a Welcome Spring reception on March 21. Learn more at visitwetmountainvalley.com.

“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.

Plan ahead

Songwriters at the Speakeasy
Tuesday, March 24, 7 to 9:30 p.m.
Roxy on Broadway, 554 South Broadway
Longtime musician (and sometime Westword contributor) Marty Jones has started a songwriter speakeasy with Baggs Patrick, who ran the famed open-mic at Cricket on the Hill for three decades. Next up: Patrick will host songwriters Evan VK and Sarah Moranville. The evening is held twice monthly in the intimate basement space at the Roxy, and there’s no cover.

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