Thirteen Tastiest Events on Denver's Culinary Calendar, October 7-9

With the Great American Beer Festival in full swing, Denver will be brimming with brews this weekend — from special tappings to beery concerts and beyond. But there are plenty of other tasty events around town; keep reading for the details on thirteen events that will help keep your belly full and your buzz cool.   

Friday, October 7 

Great Divide Brewing Company and Jameson Caskmates are teaming up for a fundraising concert at 8 p.m. at Summit Music Hall. You can groove to music from 2016 The Voice finalist Laith Al-Saadi, Colorado’s own Brent Cowles, and Garrett Lebeau. Great Divide is one of only five American breweries selected to partner with Jameson for its Caskmates Drinking Buddies program. Tickets to the concert are $25, and 100 percent of ticket sales will benefit Levitt Pavilion Denver. Each ticket includes Jameson Caskmates Irish Whiskey, Great Divide Brewing Company beer and small bites; purchase your ticket here. 

Don't put your Hawaiian shirts away for the winter just yet: RiNo Yacht Club and Ballast Point Brewing are teaming up to put on an island-themed event featuring tropical and fruited beers. The event will also include a pig roast, tiki cocktails, a DJ and old island movies showing on the big screen. You can set sail from 4 to 7 p.m. today. 

Ginger Johnson, author of How to Market Beer to Women: Don't Sell Me a Pink Hammer, is holding a free "Beer Marketing to Women 101” class, where she will read excerpts from her book and discuss its findings. The class starts at 1 p.m. at the Clocktower Cabaret; call 303-293-0075 for reservations and more information. 

Four Boulder chefs will work to create the best school-lunch recipe that follows USDA healthy-meal guidelines and stays within the average budget that schools have to spend on food — a meager $1.25 per meal — during today's Chef Ann Foundation's Real School Food Challenge. Your $75 ticket will put you in a judge's seat, where you can sample school-food culinary creations and help pick a winner. The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at Food Lab Boulder, 1825 Pearl Street, and all proceeds will fund healthy school-food programming through the Chef Ann Foundation. Grab tickets and learn more here. 

Shmaltz Brewing Company will celebrate its twentieth anniversary with a Class of '96 Reunion party at Falling Rock Tap House at 11 p.m. tonight. During the party, Shmaltz will release its limited-edition barrel-aged barleywine, Genesis 20:20, and an early preview of Chanukah: Hanukkah — Pass the Beer. Shmaltz will be joined by Bear Republic Brewing, Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits and Coronado Brewing, which will each be adding to the tap selection.  Get all the details at shmaltzbrewing.com. 

Oskar Blues Homemade Liquids and Solids will start your weekend right with the GABF ORDEAL: Gospel Brunch starting at 9 a.m. The brunch will feature live music courtesy of the Jonny Barber Gospel Review with Erica Brown, as well as the full brewery experience. Your $30 ticket includes admission, a buffet-style brunch and four beers; for $60, you'll also get transportation from the Hyatt Regency and back. Grab tickets and learn more here.  

 
Saturday, October 8 

Aurora hosts the nineteenth annual Punkin Chunkin today and tomorrow at the Arapahoe Park racetrack, 26000 East Quincy Avenue. Contestants will use everything from catapults to cannons to see who can chuck a pumpkin the farthest. In addition to the competition, there will be a pumpkin patch, live music, food vendors, a beer garden, a car show and more. Admission is $5 per day for adults, and free for children twelve and younger. Get all the details here. 

A Sky Full of Stars, a fundraiser for Colorado Youth at Risk, will feature food from some of Denver's top chefs, beer from Bull & Bush, and wine from Infinite Monkey Theorem, as well as music, a silent auction and more. The gala runs from 6 to 10 p.m. tonight at the History Colorado Center. Tickets are $125; purchase them here.

The Jefferson Park Farm & Flea wraps up its 2016 season from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today. The free market features produce and products from many of Denver's urban homesteaders; you can donate produce to area food pantries and receive Bounty Bucks (coupons good for discounts at vendor booths). Get more information at jpfleamarket.com.

CiderGrass, a celebration of craft cider, the harvest season and bluegrass music, will take over Stem Ciders from 11 a.m. to midnight tonight. There will be six live bluegrass bands, BBQ and plenty of cider. Tickets are $10; grab yours and get all the details here.  


Sunday, October 9 

The third annual bRUNch Run will take off from Stapleton Central Park today at 8 a.m. Start your morning off on the right foot with a timed 5K or 10K run, followed by brunch and booze from some of Denver's favorite spots. Register for the bRUNch Run, an annual fundraiser for Metro Caring, here; prices vary based on age and whether you want to run the 5K or 10K or plan to skip the run and head straight for brunch. Get all the details at brunchrunning.com.    

The bakers from Bang! are back and using Denver's Cottage Food Sales Act to launch a semi-regular backyard bake sale. The first sale will be today, starting at 11 a.m., at 2555 West 36th Avenue. Check out the Facebook page for more information.  

A Notte Denver hosts Notte Tea Party in the Park today, from 2 to 5 p.m. You can enjoy tea and hors d'oeuvres in the park for $20 per person. The exact location of the tea party will be released to ticket-holders on the day of the event; purchase tickets and learn more here. 

For more Food & Drink events, go to our online calendar. If you know of an event that should be included in that calendar, send information to [email protected].