Five Things to Do for Free This Week, July 20 to July 24

Sticking close to home this week? An impressive lineup of online events will allow you to explore many topics virtually while stretching your mind..if not your legs. Here are five Colorado-focused programs and panels that are absolutely free.

In the Kitchen With Keith Rathbun
Wednesday, July 22, 5 p.m.
In this benefit for the American Heart Association, the Westword Virtual Social Club will take you In the Kitchen With Keith Rathbun, when the award-winning Texas chef shows you how to cook three dishes, including BBQ spiced pecan-crusted Colorado trout with a grilled tomato butter sauce. Sign up for the free class and you'll receive a link to the program and a shopping list.

UnRepresented
Wednesday, July 22, 5 to 6 p.m.
UnRepresented, a new, award-winning documentary about political corruption and reforms to end it, explores how special interests bankroll political campaigns and relentlessly lobby to rig the system in their favor, all while following the letter of the law. The film will be the subject of a free online panel discussion focusing on Colorado-specific issues, moderated by Unite America’s Nick Troiano with UnRepresented filmmakers Andrew Rodney and Daniel Falconer; Amber McReynolds from Vote at Home, and former Speaker of the Colorado House Terrance Carroll, executive director of Unite Colorado. The film will be available by July 21, so you can watch it in advance; the panel will take questions. Register here.

Amplifying Women of Color Incubator Showcase
Wednesday, July 22, 6 to 9 p.m.
Nine women of color in Colorado just completed six weeks of podcasting boot camp at House of Pod, and will present their pilot episode for a panel of industry judges and local funders....and a live audience at this free Zoom event. Get tickets here.

Mixed Taste: Keith Haring and Smog Meringues
Wednesday, July 22, 7 p.m.
Mixed Taste has returned; the second installment of the virtual tag-team series includes Nora Burnett Abrams, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, on Keith Haring, and Nicola Twilley, co-host of the Gastropod podcast, on smog meringues. Kenya Fashaw, aka Mahogany, co-founder and chief creative officer of 5280 Artist Co-Op, will offer a spoken-word performance. It's free to sign up here.

At the Heart of the Matter: Our Race Shapes Our Realities
Thursday, July 23, noon to 1:30 p.m.
Join Karen McNeil-Miller, president and CEO of the Colorado Health Foundation, for a discussion of the starkly different realities Coloradans experience across the state, the roots of those realities and impacts on health. She'll be joined by Harry Budisidharta, executive director of the Asian Pacific Development Center; Janina Fariñas, founder of La Cocina; Bill Fulton, founder of the Civic Canopy;  Ernest House Jr., senior policy director at the Keystone Policy Center; and Dr. Ryan Ross, CEO of the Urban Leadership Foundation of Colorado. This is a kickoff of a monthly series that will run through November. Sign up here.


Know of a great free event around town? Send information to [email protected].