Free for All: The Five Best Free Events This Week

The season of giving is fully under way, and our gift to you is five free events you won't want to miss. Since this week includes Colorado Gives Day — which falls on Tuesday, December 4 —  several of our picks have decidedly magnanimous intentions, as well as plenty of entertainment potential. Celebrate private and public art, enjoy a charitable chuckle or two, and support vital local institutions during the days ahead. Here are the five best ways to do it:

#DenverPublicArt30 Opening Reception
Monday, December 3, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Buell Theatre
Party down in arty town at the #DenverPublicArt30 Opening Reception, a thirtieth-anniversary celebration for a program dedicated to beautifying the Mile High City. Founded in response to a 1988 executive order by Mayor Federico Peña, Denver’s Public Art program subsequently fostered the creation of some of the city's most Instagram-able icons, including Lawrence Argent's "I See What You Mean," aka "the Big Blue Bear." In preparation for this municipal milestone, Denver Arts & Venues issued a challenge to local photographers to share their favorite arty snaps under the #DenverPublicArt30 hashtag for the chance to be put on display in a staff-selected exhibit of the best thirty shots. Visit Denver Arts & Venues' Eventbrite page to register for this free reception and find out more. 

Conduit Art Opening
Monday, December 3, 7 to 9 p.m.
Watercourse Foods
A veritable menagerie of lovingly sketched cryptids awaits at Conduit, an exhibition of the pyrography and illustrations of local artist and tattooist Melanie Steinway. Distinguished by her fondness for obscure mythological beasts as well as a mastery of sharp lines and spooky shading that evoke her tattoo parlor-hewn precision, Steinway's work befits the animal-loving whimsy of Watercourse Foods, a vegetarian eatery and reliable patron of the arts. Marvel at Steinway's latest creations, shop for take-home prints or merely nosh, sip and mingle through an opening reception for an installation that remains on display throughout December. Visit Watercourse Foods' Facebook events page for more details.

Taco Tuesday Dinner
Tuesday, December 4, 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center
Feeling philanthropic? Contribute to one of your most cherished local institutions in honor of Colorado Gives Day, an annual orgy of charitable giving. While the full list of participating nonprofit organizations is too large to supply here, only Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center is plying donors with a steady supply of toothsome tacos. Showing support for Su Teatro's theater season as well as popular annual events like the Chicano Music Festival and the XIcanIndie Film Festival never tasted so good. Admission is free, but the whole mission of the day is giving. Visit Su Teatro's Facebook events page to learn more.


Power Move: Comedy in Action
Thursday, December 6, 8 to 10 p.m.
Image Brew
The charitable chuckles continue when Power Move: Comedy in Action returns to Image Brew Studios for another round of funny fundraising. Produced by Karen Wachtel and co-hosted by Aaron Urist and Nathan Lund — who will unfortunately be absent from December's proceedings — Power Move pays it forward by exchanging a tightly curated presentation of some of the city's best comedians for donations to a different do-gooding organization each month. December's show boasts a crush-crusading lineup consisting of Mitch Jones, Kate Strobel, Natalia Kvalem, Patrick Richardson, Matt Monroe and headliner Steve Gillespie, as well as ice -old draughts and cans courtesy of sponsors Ratio Beerworks and Stem Ciders. Admission is free with a minimum $5 suggested contribution to benefit the Harm Reduction Action Center. Miserable misers can attempt to watch the show without donating, but Wachtel will glare at them disdainfully until they cry, so just pay up, okay? Find out more on Image Brew's Facebook events page.


Open Music Sessions: Kayla Marque
Friday, December 7, 6 to 10 p.m.
Denver Open Media
It's difficult to imagine Colorado's creative landscape without the steady presence of Denver Open Media's First Friday Open Music Sessions, but as the city's cable-access contract with Open Media Foundation is ready to expire on December 18 with scant hope of renewal, the unimaginable possibility is likely to become an unfortunate reality. In the meantime, you can enjoy what may well be the local media institution's final free presentation of comedy, music and civic engagement presented in Denver Open Media's Studio A and to Channel 57 viewers alike. Wash down complimentary Sexy Pizza slices with equally free beverages while giggling and wiggling along with comedians Brandt Tobler and Brandy Bryant; they'll be followed by a set from headlining singer-songwriter Kayla Marque. The live-taped broadcast also includes a community spotlight on Denver Foundation Nonprofits. Visit the Denver Open Media Facebook events page to learn more.

Know of an event that belongs here? Send information to [email protected].