Ten Things to Do In and Around Denver This Weekend, November 27-29

It's Small Business Saturday, and never has there been a better time to support local businesses, which have taken such a hit this year. You can do your shopping online (see our local list of both in-person and online markets here), but if you get out on the town, you can also catch one of the many holiday displays illuminating the Front Range....all of them with strict social-distancing rules.

Artists need your support, too; while many are participating in Small Business Saturday events, many more are involved in Artists Sunday on November 29. Find out more about that here.

And there's plenty more to do this weekend, in and around Denver. Here are ten options:

Frida Kahlo
Now Available
Denver Film and the Denver Art Museum are presenting this in-depth look at the groundbreaking artist; it's the perfect complement to the DAM's current show, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. Your $13 ticket gives you 48 hours to watch the film; register here. You need an advance ticket to see the show, though; fortunately, the DAM will resume ticket sales on November 30. Find out more at denverartmuseum.org.

Olde Town Arvada Ice Skating Rink
Open daily, through December
Olde Town Square, 57th and Olde Wadsworth Boulevard
For the first time, Olde Town Arvada is hosting an outdoor ice rink right at Olde Town Square. This is just the latest move in the activation of downtown, which includes closed streets, outdoor cafes, holiday decor and a pop-up winter market with a dozen huts operated by local businesses. The rink, which costs $8 per person for a one-hour ice-skating slot, is now open Monday through Thursday from 2 to 8 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from noon to 9 p.m., through early January. Reservations are required here.

Winter in the City
Through December 31
The Downtown Denver Partnership has launched Winter in the City, a collection of experiences, sights and festivities designed to enliven downtown through the holidays. The celebration includes the reimagined 9News Parade of Lights, which features non-moving floats that you can walk around, as well as Winter Wonderlights, an artist-designed light show with projection mapping technology illuminating Union Station that opens on November 28 and will run from 5 to 10 p.m. nightly; see the show and grab a festive drink to go. And beginning Sunday, November 29, you can take a 1.5-hour Denver Lights & Sights Walking Tour of all the lights and sights downtown at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $24.99 and limited to just twenty a night; get them in advance here. The rest of Winter in the City is free; find out more here. And see all the downtown holiday shows and deals on this map.

Trail of Lights
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through December 18, then daily until January 3 (closed Christmas Day)
Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms, 8500 West Deer Creek Canyon Road, Littleton
The country cousin to Blossoms of Light at the Denver Botanic Gardens, Trail of Lights at Chatfield Farms pairs magnificent holiday lighting with attractions designed for family-friendly fun: a play area, illuminated antique tractors, singing Christmas trees and synchronized music. Two separate paths — one that goes straight to the playground and a longer route perfect for exploring the historic buildings preserved in the park — wind through the lighted areas, and somewhere in between it all, everyone can stop for a hot chocolate and kettle corn treat. Dress warmly, mask up and take your credit cards; find info and timed-entry tickets, free to $13.50, here.

Black Friday and Small Business Saturday at Larimer Square
Saturday, November 28
Larimer Square
The lights will be bright in Larimer Square, which has switched on its holiday display. You can simply stroll and take in the scene, including live music and complimentary cider and cocoa, or open your wallet: Adults can buy alcoholic beverages and snacks. And the shopping doesn't end there: The Family Christmas Trees lot will be open from noon to 8 p.m. through Christmas Eve (delivery offered), and in honor of shop-local weekend, many stores will be offering special deals on Saturday, November 28. Hours depend on the shops' schedules, but there should be action until last call at 8 p.m. There will also be more giveaways and contests; follow Larimer Square for details.

Latin Beats: Sonidos de las Américas
Saturday, November 28, and Sunday, November 29, 5 p.m
Celebrate Colorado's vibrant Hispanic community with Latin Beats: Sonidos de las Americas, a two-part news special and concert in partnership with the Mexican Cultural Center. Starring a prestigious collection of local Colorado artists, including Raquel Garcia, Emilia Zepeda Yanez, Jeanette Trujillo-Lucero, Rumbatea, ArtistiCO, Mariachi Champaña Nevin and the Colorado Symphony, this free concert will air on Noticiero Telemundo Denver and TelemundoDenver.com. Find out more here.

The Seasons
Saturday, November 28, through December 13
Heat up your holidays with The Seasons, a virtual tango theater performance from Parasol Arts that you can watch at home with a glass of wine and, in the best of all worlds, someone romantic. Set to music by Astor Piazzolla and performed by Argentine tango stars Diana Cruz and Donato Juarez, along with former Colorado Ballet principal Domenico Luciano, the story revolves around a trio of strangers who meet to dance in a gallery during pandemic times, with a requisite amount of passionate goings-on. Buy $15 tickets here; the show will be available to stream beginning November 28.

A Christmas Carol
Saturday, November 28, 7 p.m.
Tony Award-winning Jefferson Mays reprises his acclaimed performance in this adaptation of A Christmas Carol, which he co-wrote; he plays more than fifty roles. Catch the world premiere at 7 p.m. during a benefit for Miners Alley Playhouse; tickets are $50, and $20 will go to Miners Alley. Register here.

Goat Walkabout
Sunday, November 29, 8 to 11 a.m.
South Valley Park, 90 South Valley Road, Littleton
Goat yoga is all the rage, but it turns out that beyond a certain age, the goats stop being so cute as they gambol about. What happens to them? Goatherd Jim Naron of Rocky Mountain Goat Yoga turned half of his seventeen Nigerian Dwarf goats into companion hikers for a Goat Walkabout, which he calls therapeutic and educational. Join RMGY and some goats for a three-hour walk through Jefferson County Open Space. Learn more and reserve your space, $60, here.

Canine Christmas
Sunday, November 29, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Denver Christkindl Market, Civic Center Park, 101 West 14th Avenue
The dog days of winter: Canine Christmas at the Denver Christkindl Market is all about well-behaved, properly leashed pooches, who are invited to join their people for a perfect photo-op-and-shopping, costume-optional constitutional in Civic Center Park on November 29. Dogs don’t have to wear masks, but you do, and don’t stray from the one-way pathways through the market. Learn more here.

Do you know of a great event in Denver? We'll be updating this list through the weekend; send information to [email protected].