See our list of free things to do here, and the latest on art shows in Art Attack. Now keep reading for eight events worth the price of admission:
Denver Boutique Week
Through Saturday, August 6
Participating Black businesses in Denver
Denver Boutique Week is a week-long event that’s all about shopping and introducing you to a group of local, Black-owned small businesses. That list includes everything from a yarn shop to Matter: a book, stationery and gift shop that serves as the retail wing of Matter, a business co-owned by printer/ designer/activists Rick Griffith and Deborah Johnson. Save business cards and receipts from stores you visit to enter a drawing; find details and a complete list of participating businesses here.
Mariachi Tardeada
Sunday, July 31, 1 p.m.
Su Teatro, 721 Santa Fe Drive
Celebrate Chicano music and culture at Su Teatro’s annual Chicano Music Festival and Auction, which runs through July 31. The fest wraps up on Sunday with Mariachi Tardeada at 1 p.m. Get all the details and tickets here.
An acrobat shimmers through fountains of water at the Cirque Italia Water Circus.
Courtesy of Cirque Italia
Sunday, July 31, 1:30 and 4:30 p.m.
Thornton Outlet Stores, 13801 Grant Street, Thornton
The circus is swimming to town — Cirque Italia’s Water Circus, that is, bringing its blue-and-white tent and spectacular acrobatics performed amid rainbow-hued water fountains to the Thornton Outlet Stores parking lot for a four-day, seven-performance run. Anchored by a 35,000-gallon water-filled stage, most of the circus’s action happens aboveground, but don’t be surprised if a bevy of mermaids rises gracefully out of the water, or the acrobats fly through sheets of rain or floating bubbles — it’s just another day at Cirque Italia. Tickets range from $10 to $50 here.
From On High
Sunday, July 31, 2 p.m.
IMAC Building, 2550 Larimer Street
After several extensions, the run of From On High, the immersive show from Oddknock Productions that takes you inside an office stranger than anything on The Office (read Emily Ferguson's take here), is really going to end July 31. But you still have a chance to catch it; get tickets, $50, here.
Vail Dance Festival
Through August 29
Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, 530 South Frontage Road East, Vail; Vilar Performing Arts Center, 68 Avondale Lane, Beaver Creek; and other Vail Valley locations
For a full month every summer, the Vail Dance Festival brings a roster of dance performances to audiences in the high country, with a range that stretches, leaps, spins and stands on its toes, with everything from classic ballet positions to hip-hop moves—sometimes all in one evening. Admission ranges from free to $150 per event, or you can choose from special show packages and deals. See the schedule and get tickets here.
Griot: An African Storytelling Experience
Sunday, July 31, 5 to 7 p.m.
Understudy, 890 C 14th Street
Multidisciplinary dynamo Brenton Sizwe Zola is a seasoned storyteller, reaching back into his Congolese heritage with the voice of a griot to weave transformative tales. He will be wrapping up his month-long visual-arts installation Persona at the Understudy artist incubator with three weekend performances aimed at guiding audiences to seek their true selves. Zola conceived and first performed the show, called Griot: An African Storytelling Experience, during his travels in Morocco; the Berlin-based improvisational trio Steigreif will be providing the sonics for its Denver debut. Find details and tickets, $20, at Eventbrite.
Wall to Wall Boulder eBike Mural Rides
Ongoing
2030 17th Street (in the alley behind Dojo4)
JD’s Joyrides and Street Wise Arts, the Boulder nonprofit that brings you the Street Wise Boulder Mural Festival every September, are teaming up to host friendly e-bike tours to see the best murals around town, with discussion of the work by JD himself at each stop. Tours are $89 for a two-hour ride or $109 for a three-hour ride; both guided mural tours include use of a power bike, along with a helmet, water and snacks. If you book rides here, a portion of your fee will benefit Street Wise’s mission to bring new murals to Boulder streets.
Plan ahead:
Golda Meir House Museum “The Only Woman in the Room” Symposium
Monday, August 1, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
King Center, 855 Lawrence Way
Learn the history of former Denver resident Golda Meir, Israel’s first female prime minister, at “The Only Woman in the Room,” a symposium hosted by Lena Fishman, executive director of the Golda Meir House Museum on the Auraria campus. To collect information for a new exhibit, Fishman is bringing together authors, museum professionals, relatives and friends of Meir to discuss her life and how house museums in Denver can honor women. A kosher lunch will be hosted at St. Cajetan’s Catholic Church. Registration is $75, or $20 for students; find out more and register here.
Do you know of a great event in Denver? We'll be updating this list through the weekend; send information to [email protected].
