March is here, bringing with it International Women's Month celebrations, nitro beer...and grilled cheese!

Find details on twelve free events here; keep reading for seven events worth the price of admission (or a coloring book):


2023 Mile High Grilled Cheese & Mac Festival
Saturday, March 4, 12:30 to 8 p.m.
Stockyard Events Center, 5004 National Western Drive
Sample tasty and creative gourmet grilled cheese and mac and cheese bites made by local chefs and participating restaurants in an array of styles. Between bites, sample a variety of beers from local breweries; other alcohol vendors will be on site. The first session is sold out, but tickets are still available for the event that runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Find out more here.

Coloring With Cleo
Saturday, March 4, 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Tattered Cover Colfax, 2526 East Colfax
Join dancer and troupe leader Cleo Parker Robinson in celebrating her first published book on the legacy of African American modern dance in Denver. Illustrated by Adri Norris of AfroTriangleDesigns.com, the book shares the story of Parker Robinson's life in Denver, and the birth of Cleo Parker Robinson Dance. Copies are $12, with $2 benefiting CPRD scholarship programs; there will be stations where kids can color. Find out more here.

Nitro Fest
Saturday, March 4, 4 p.m.
Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street
The biggest world's biggest celebration of nitro beer features an invite-only list of U.S. and international breweries as well as circus performers, aerialists and more! The theme is "Cosmic Masquerade," and guests are encouraged to dress to impress in their finest space and alien garb. After the imbibing, there will be performances by Ott, as well as Mark Farina, Random Rab and Tone Ranger. Tickets start at $85 (show only $35); VIP gets you into the event at 3:30 p.m. Find out more here.

Boulder International Film Festival Honors F. Murray Abraham
Saturday, March 4, 5:45 p.m.
Boulder Theater, 2032 14th Street, Boulder
Academy Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham will receive the Boulder International Film Festival’s Outstanding Performer of the Year award for The White Lotus. The presentation will be followed by an interview with Scott Feinberg, columnist with the Hollywood Reporter. Tickets are available for $20; admission is free for passholders. The fest continues through March 5; get details here.

RESPECT! Benefit Concert
Saturday, March 4, 7 p.m.
Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theater, 119 Park Ave West
This benefit is a concert with a cause. The evening starts with a silent auction and cocktail hour in the lobby of the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theater; music begins with the RESPECT! House Band, and continues with a headline performance from Denver's Sia & the Lovelies (part of the Decades of Love band). All ticket proceeds, as well as other funds raised through bar sales and the silent auction, will go to support Family Tree. Get tickets, $30, here.

Kantorei, The Lost Birds: An Extinction Elegy 
Saturday, March 4, 7:30 p.m.
Wellshire Presbyterian Church, 2999 South Colorado Boulevard
Sunday, March 5, 3 p.m.
First Plymouth Congregational Church, 3501 South Colorado Boulevard, Cherry Hills Village
The Denver choral ensemble Kantorei will host two performances of Grammy Award-winning composer Christopher Tin’s work, The Lost Birds: An Extinction Elegy. Inspired by stories of bird species that once darkened the sky in mass flyovers until they were hunted into extinction by man, the concert-length song cycle intimates earth’s larger problems being caused by human intervention, through the texts of poets Emily Dickenson, Christina Rossetti, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Sara Teasdale and others. Admission to either show is $20 to $25 ($3 more at the door), and free for children and students with ID here.

Women's History Month: Through the Lens of Jazz, With Monique Brooks Roberts
Saturday, March 4, 7 and 9:30 p.m.
Dazzle Denver, 1512 Curtis Street
Dazzle celebrates women in jazz throughout March as part of a Women’s History Month concert series, bringing national fusion violinist Monique Brooks Roberts, a master of jazz, soul and R&B to the stage. Roberts will play two shows with her combo during an evening of standards and original music from her album, Free. Tickets are $15 to $25 in advance here or here, plus a minimum food or drink purchase. Up next: Denver pianist Tenia Nelson will play and deconstruct the parts of a song by the late Denver composer, trumpeter and cornetist Ron Miles before settling in to a set with her trio. Details here.

Do you know of a great event around Denver? Send information to [email protected]