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

Are you ready to fall for autumn in the Rockies? Leaf-peepers are going for the gold…and the orange, as pumpkin patches and Halloween haunts open for the season, with Day of the Dead events coming right up.

This is also National Banned Books Week, and Anythink Libraries is offering full access to the Freedom to Read Collection at no cost; it’s open to anyone in Colorado, not just in the Adams County library district. Get the details here.

Check our weekly list for one-off activities worth the price of admission. Now keep reading for free things to do in Denver (and beyond) this week:

Ongoing

SCFD Free Days
Locations and dates vary
Thanks to the sales tax you pay into the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, many art institutions around the metro area offer occasional free days and programs. For example, there’s no admission fee at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science on October 12, and the Denver Art Museum is free on October 14. For more upcoming bargains, check the SCFD site.

Civic Center EATS
Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Civic Center Park
For over a decade, food trucks have rallied at Civic Center for lunchtime fun that often includes live entertainment. The fall session runs until October 16.

This Week

Connections & Community: Bridging the Digital Divide Together
Tuesday, October 7, 1-2 p.m., online
Join Colorado’s Digital Access Team for this virtual event celebrating digital inclusion partnerships in Colorado. The Digital Inclusion Week program includes a presentation on the Virtual Network Labs Report, followed by a panel discussion with partners making a difference in their communities across the state. Register here.

Community Health Fair
Tuesday, October 7, 5 to 8 p.m.
Planet Fitness, 1347 South Boulder Road, Louisville
Local vendors and wellness partners will meet at this free evening of resources, special offers and hands-on ways to kickstart a healthier lifestyle.

Bilingual Trivia Night at Raíces Brewing Company
Tuesday, October 7, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Raices Brewing Company, 2060 West Colfax Avenue
Join the Denver Public Library for a lively bilingual (Spanish and English) trivia game in celebration of Hispanic & Latino Heritage Month. 21+, please.

Greatest Crawl on Earth
Wednesday, October 8, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Museum of Natural History, 1035 Broadway, Boulder
CU Boulder Arts & Sciences is hosting its fifth annual Culture Crawl, this one a circus culture-themed event. Step right up and prepare to be amazed, informed and entertained by the incredible acts of invertebrates (slugs, spiders, and scorpions and more) from the CU Museum’s expansive collections, and some bizarre reproductive strategies of invertebrates in the ocean. Learn more at the CU Libraries website!

Drink Kindly Coalition With Breaking Silence
Wednesday, October 8, 4 to 8 p.m.
Bierstadt Lagerhaus, Our Mutual Friend Brewing Ratio Beerworks
Celebrate Denver’s craft beer scene — and the Great American Beerfest — while promoting kindness, safety and community connection at these three breweries. Activities include Kindness Bingo (with prizes), community tables and opportunities for audiences to engage with a movement focused on creating safer, more welcoming brewery spaces. Breaking Silence will have a table at each of the participating breweries.

The Great American Pre-Party
Wednesday, October 8, 6 to 10 p.m.
Outpost on Platte, 1635 Platte Street
The pre-parties continue for the Gret American Beer Festival. This one is a collaboration between Anderson Bros., maker of unique apparel and merchandise for brands and breweries, and Wilding, which will host the event at Outpost on Platte (the former Cerveceria). The event will feature specialty beers from Florida-based Tripping Animals and California-based Everywhere Beer, as well as speciality beers from Wilding’s Denver Beer Co., Great Divide, Station 26, Howdy, Stem Ciders and more.

Stephen Graham Jones: Earthdivers Omnibus
Wednesday, October 8, 6:30 p.m.
Boulder Book Store, 1117 Pearl Street, Boulder
The year is 2112, and it’s the apocalypse exactly as expected: rivers receding, oceans rising, civilization crumbling. Humanity has given up hope, except for a group of Indigenous outcasts who have discovered a time-travel portal and figured out where everything took a turn for the worst: America. Earthdivers Omnibus collects all three volumes of the time-hopping horror thriller by Stephen Graham Jones about far-future Indigenous outcasts into one omnibus. Admission to the reading is $5, but you get a $5 coupon for the first book you buy that day.

Opera Colorado Town Hall With Barbara Lynne Jamison
Thursday, October 9, 6 p.m., online
Get to know Barbara Lynne Jamison, Opera Colorado’s new Ellie Caulkins General Director & CEO. Dennis Robinson, the organization’s new director of Programs & Partnerships, will moderate a discussion of questions submitted by the Opera Colorado community. Register here.

University of Denver Livingston Lecture: Woodstock West
Thursday, October 9, 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Davis Auditorium, Sturm Hall, University of Denver
DU professor Sheila Shroeder had never heard of “Woodstock West” twenty-plus years ago when two students pitched a story about it for a video magazine class she was teaching. They said it was a University of Denver protest reacting against Nixon’s 1970 expansion of the Vietnam War and the deaths of four students at Kent State University. But the more she learned about the week-long incident that led to stand-offs with the administration, Denver Police and ultimately the National Guard, the more inspired she became to create a fictional feature film screenplay and a documentary podcast to bring the story to life. She’ll share parts of the project at this lecture.

Denver Public Art Dedication: Paula Castillo
Saturday, October 11, 10 a.m.
Garden Room, Denver Art Museum, 100 West 14th Avenue Parkway
Join the dedication of three new public artworks by Paula Castillo: “Glyph” and “Trestle” on the Denver Art Museum campus and “Equis” near the Broadway Boulevard entrance of the Denver Central Library. The sculptures celebrate the layered history and ecology of Denver, honoring the contributions of mestizaje cultures to the city’s contemporary identity. The morning will include an artist-led tour, as well as a poetry reading of “Under a Golden Star” by guest poet Terry Mulert at the library

Dia de Muertos Family Fiesta
Saturday, October 11, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Downtown Longmont
Day of the Dead celebrations start early in Longmont, where the Dia de Muertos Family Fiesta kicks off three weeks of activities, including Dia de Muertos: Portals , an exhibit at the Firehouse Art Center that includes workshops and story sharing. The traditional Gigantes Procession is at 2 p.m.; learn more here.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2025: “Breaking Barriers to Native Education For All”
Sunday, October 12, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut Street, Boulder
Right Relationship Boulder presents this daylong event supporting Native Education for All, with an art market, performances and programs.

FirePower Productions Presents: Galloween
East Colfax Avenue and Race Street
Sunday, October 12, 3 p.m.
Galloween kickstarts Denver Halloween events with a party at East Colfax Avenue and Race Street, featuring artists and vendors at Lion’s Lair, Purple Haze, Port of Call and High Level Health. The event is free and supports local businesses impacted by BRT construction. 

Plan Ahead

Biennial of the Americas
Wednesday, October 15, through October 26
Downtown Denver
The Biennial of the Americas Festival is a landmark cultural celebration uniting artists, innovators and thought leaders from across the Western Hemisphere. It returns to Denver with music, art and fashion events, as well as conversations about issues shaping the future of the Americas. Many events are free; learn more here.

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