Seven Things to Do This Weekend in and Around Denver

Get out and discover Denver...even if you never leave your home. Programs both in-person and virtual will cover everything from youth violence to the architecture of Denver.

Keep reading for six events in and around town this weekend.

Breckenridge Film Festival
Through October 4
As film festivals figure out how to continue amid a global pandemic, the Breckenridge Film Festival has is taking a unique approach, with first a drive-in option and then an online option through October 4. Supplementing the festival’s usual slate of world-class films, programmers have started the Black Lives Matter Initiative to celebrate movies by Black directors and to host conversations about race and cinema. Find out what's still on the boos at breckfilmfest.org.

Doors Open Denver
Through October 15
Building off the success of past events, the annual Doors Open Denver has also gone virtual in 2020. While the timing, duration and scope of this institution has changed, what hasn’t changed is its focus on offering insider tours that provide exclusive access to — and unique information about — historic buildings, new buildings and everything in between. This year's tours highlight a dozen spaces ranging from cultural to commercial to civic structures; one tour a day will be offered four days a week, each with a question-and-answer period with experts. Tours are $7 for Denver Architecture Foundation members and $9 for non-members; find all the details at denverarchitecture.org.

Live From Boulder: A Snapshot of Boulder's Musical History
Through December 1
Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder
COVID-19 might be keeping you far away from live-music venues, but the Museum of Boulder has opened a vault of Boulder music memories. Take a trip through time at this new exhibit filled with memorabilia, posters, community stories and other remembrances of amazing shows gone by. The museum is limiting the number of people in the gallery, but there is no timed ticketing; admission ranges from free to $10. Learn more here.

Boo at the Zoo: Storybook Safari
Through October 31
Denver Zoo, 2900 East 23rd Avenue
Boo at the Zoo will march on this year with masks and modifications, but also plenty of fun stuff scattered throughout the zoo: fantasy characters and mythical beasts, animal experiences, food and a LEGO Nature Connects Art exhibition. (The candy handouts will be missing, though.) Boo at the Zoo is free with gate admission; get all the details and reserve your timed-entry tickets online.

Project Playbox
Through October 14
Theater 29 and the Lulubird Project have set up a novel theatrical experience for these stay-at-home, virus-plagued times: The event comes to you in a box, and you get to interact with three local playwrights: Lisa Wagner Erickson, Ellen K. Graham and Tami Canaday. Here’s how it works: You register and receive artwork and instructions in your mailbox; an email containing audio and/or video files follows. Graham’s Against Sand provides an animated story enhanced by the cut-out renderings of the characters you received by mail. For A Shiny Quest, Wagner Erickson has created a fantasy game: Set up the pieces at home, turn on her audio, and let the challenge begin. Printed art for backdrops and character renderings come with Canaday’s Art of a Guest. The project is not only DIY and immersive; it’s also a testament to the creative ways that theater artists are finding to connect with the community. Tickets are $12 and available at theater29denver.com.

Chamber Music in the Galleria
Sunday, October 4, 11 and 2 p.m.
Denver Performing Arts Complex Galleria
The Colorado Symphony will present a set of open-air, outdoor chamber music concerts featuring varying lineups of musicians. At 11 a.m., a violin duo will perform; at 2 p.m. the act will be a harp, horn and flute trio. Seats are sold as socially distanced tables of two or four; there will also be a cash bar and limited grab-and-go snacks. Find out more and get tickets here.

Ofrendas de Esperanza/Offerings of Hope
Sunday, October 4, 3 p.m., Huston Lake Park, 850 South Bryant Street, west side
The Latino Cultural Arts Center, D3 Arts in Westwood, Lifeline and Denver RNOs are partnering for a weekend of community events responding to the recent rise in youth murders in Denver. After yesterday's group altar-building and a candlelight vigil, there will be a peace march to Kepner Park from Huston Lake Park, where there will be live performances and the unveiling of a new mural. The events are free; learn more here.

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