Eight Things to Do for Free in Denver This Weekend

The temperature may have dropped this last week of March, but the cultural scene is heating up. Boulder Arts Week continues with a jam-packed schedule through April 2. That's when Bigfoot will make an appearance in Estes Park, while Art Cartopia revs up in Trinidad.

In between are celebrations of America's Mountain, NFTs, and plenty more. Keep reading for a dozen of the best events in and around Denver this weekend:
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Bigfoot Days
Saturday, April 2, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Bond Park, Estes Park
Estes Park is going big for Bigfoot this weekend, with a ticketed Bigfoot BBQ on Friday, April 1, and then a free festival on April 2. That event will include talks from the cast of the Travel Channel hit Mountain Monsters, as well as Animal Planet’s Finding Bigfoot. There will also be live music from the one and only That Damn Sasquatch, outdoor activities for families, craft and food vendors, a Bigfoot calling contest (!!!), area Bigfoot tours, and much more. Find out more here.
Art Cartopia Grand Reopening
Art Cartopia Museum, 2702 Freedom Road, Trinidad
Saturday, April 2, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sad but true: Rodney Wood has left the building. The founder of Trinidad’s Art Cartopia Museum, an offshoot of the southern Colorado hipster haven’s annual Artocade Art Car Festival, has moved on from Trinidad, leaving the year-round museum in the hands of Trinidad's Amanda Palmer. To celebrate the new regime, a grand reopening (after a grand re-cleaning) will entertain visitors with music by Robbie and the Reckless, eats by the Sisters Fry Bread Company food truck, and 35 spotless art cars. Find more info here.

Colfax Art Jams
Fletcher Plaza, 9800 East Colfax Avenue, Aurora
Saturday, April 2, noon to 4 p.m.
Festivals have returned, and the Aurora Cultural Arts District is giving back to a community tired of staying home with the first-Saturday Colfax Art Jam series, which will run from April to October at Fletcher Plaza. Packed with local music, local performers, local artisans and makers and a selection of food trucks, the mini-fests should be a great kickoff to the weekend for all ages. Admission is free; learn more here.

TheBigWonderful Beerfest and Bluegrass
Winter Park Resort, 85 Parsenn Road, Winter Park
Saturday, April 2, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
TheBigWonderful gains altitude this weekend in Winter Park with a spring fling of live bluegrass and free shopping in the thirty-booth Craft Vendor Village during the resort’s splash-and-bash season. There's a ticketed Beer Fest option for samples from twenty Colorado breweries; if you’re up for some brewskis, that will cost you $35 in advance or $40 at the gate. Find more info here.

Picture It! A Free Community Event
Saturday, April 2, 1 to 4 p.m.
Firefly Autism, 2001 Hoyt Street, Lakewood
Firefly Autism is hosting this family-friendly event with food trucks, drinks and dessert, as well as a special showing of Temple Grandin: A biopic of Temple Grandin, which follows the autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock-handling industry. Firefly will also be open for tours. Everyone who registers will be entered to win two tickets to Firefly Autism’s annual Laugh Yourself Blue gala, on April 14. Register here.

Boulder Arts Week at House of Serein: Ukraine Benefit Event
Saturday, April 2, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
House of Serein, 103 Canyon Boulevard, Boulder
Boulder’s House of Serein, a communal art space with private studios, invites the public to have a peek as Boulder Arts Week draws to a close. It's hosting a benefit art sale of works by studio residents for a charity offering services for refugee children fleeing Ukraine; Boulder violinist Sandra Wong will play Ukrainian songs in the background. Admission is free; email [email protected] to RSVP.

Helanius J. Wilkins: The Dance of Social Justice
Sunday, April 3, 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Lafayette Public Library, 775 West Baseline Road, Lafayette
CU Boulder dance educator and choreographer Helanius Wilkins took steps over the last year to kickstart his community project “The Conversation Series: Stitching the Geopolitical Quilt to Re-Body Belonging,” but he still has miles to go. It’s a slow process, but the scope of the series demands travel, talking and dance-making at sites in every state to eventually stitch together a performative quilt of stories empowering overlooked BIPOC groups. He’ll be in Lafayette Sunday to give a talk about the project and spur interest in participation. Learn more here.
and an ongoing bonus:

Boulder Walking Mural Tour
Through April 2 (and beyond)
Assorted locations in Boulder
The Boulder Walking Mural Tour has rolled out as part of Boulder Arts Week, which runs through April 2. Street Wise Arts is hosting a self-guided walking mural tour centered on the downtown/Pearl Street center. Using a written and printed pamphlet and online Google map, take a free "do it yourself" tour. Hear from the featured artists about their work, and stop along the way for some treats and shopping at Boulder's favorite Pearl Street shops. Find out more here.

Know of a great free event around Denver? We'll be updating this list through the week; send information to [email protected].