This Saturday, April 20, you'll see lines outside of dispensaries, concerts and comedy shows with a skunky flair, and thousands of people creating one big smoke cloud at Civic Center Park.
As always, please be safe behind the wheel (the Colorado Department of Transportation has a THC intoxication safety guide if you need help) and dress warmly as the temperature falls this weekend — and for anyone attending the Denver 4/20 festival, please act like you've been there before.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, here's our handy list of dispensary discounts, cannabis-friendly events and lounges, restaurant promotions and delivery services to help you max out 4/20 fun:
Dispensary Deals and Giveaways
You might have to wait in line at dispensaries on 4/20, but you'll come away with some of the best discounts all year. The one-ounce buying limit at Colorado dispensaries eliminates the shop-till-you-drop concept, but those who can figure out how to stock up should do just that. All product categories and brands, cheap and esteemed, are on sale somewhere, and many of these deals run throughout the week.The cannabis section of the latest Westword has dozens of Denver area 4/20 deals at dispensaries and head shops, and we've compiled a list of the fifteen best dispensary promotions in Boulder and Denver, several of which include giveaways, raffles and free munchies. Just about every store is having a walk-in special, too. (Some of these deals might require a physical copy of a coupon, so confirm what you've heard before the dispensaries run dry.)
4/20 Events
There are over twenty 4/20 events incorporating music, comedy, art, food or cannabis use this weekend, all of which you can find in our 4/20 Event Calendar. We've shared a handful of favorites below, including a cannabis-friendly brunch, genitalia pipe-making class and the annual 4/20 festival at Civic Center Park.Brunch N Blunts
Saturday, April 20, 11:20 to 4:20 p.m.
Metro location shared upon registration
Have a smoke and a pancake — or a bong and a blintz, perhaps — at Brunch N Blunts, a private cannabis-friendly party on 4/20. Entry and drinks are included with your ticket, with food trucks on-site and a bring-your-own cannabis policy for anyone who wants to light up. There will also be DJs, art vendors, giveaways and more. Get a ticket (21+) for $60.
420 BBQ Bash
Saturday, April 20, noon to 6 p.m.
Headed West
4811 South Broadway, Englewood
Head down to Headed West, the 2024 Best of Denver winner for Best Head Shop, and celebrate the high holiday with Mohawk Bob and the Headed West crew. Rollin Eats Catering will provide the barbeque, with music, raffles and more all part of the party. Find out more by calling Headed West at 303-422-2120.
4/20 Creepatorium Market and Chronic Carnival
Saturday, April 20, noon to 10 p.m.
HORRID
1974 South Acoma Street
Horror, metal, burlesque and the 4/20 holiday will blend together all day at the 4/20 Creepatorium and Chronic Carnival. From noon to 5 p.m., check out an intensely curated 4/20 horror market. After that, stick around for a metal concert featuring local bands Honey Bunches of Death, Condemned to Burn and Dropout, with each performance accompanied by a live go-go burlesque show from Blassphemy. Once the music is over, Consensual Circus takes the stage with its Sinister & Smoke Cabaret. Attendance at the market is free, with tickets to the concert, burlesque and circus show $30 each.
JARS Mile High 420 Festival
Saturday, April 20, 1 p.m.
Civic Center Park
Denver's most famous 4/20 event returns on the big day, with a musical lineup that includes Gucci Mane, Ohgeesy, Afroman, Big Boss Vette, Murs, Tommy Genesis, Dro Kenji, Lexy Panterra and Fedd the Godd. As in previous years, the Mile High 420 Festival will be free to attend, but this marks the second year that no one under 21 will be allowed in. Although cannabis is officially banned in the event's listed policy, organizers say enforcement will be the same as last year — when zero public consumption citations were cited despite rampant pot use. Register for a free ticket and learn more about the event at the festival website.
Rolling Papers Screening
Saturday, April 20, 3:45 to 7 p.m.
SIE Film Center
2510 East Colfax Avenue
Celebrate the tenth anniversary of Rolling Papers by screening the documentary with the people who made it. The documentary follows Ricardo Baca, the first marijuana editor for the Denver Post, during the early days of recreational legalization as he and his team begin covering the plant for a major daily newspaper. The afternoon starts with a panel discussion at 3:45 p.m. moderated by Stoned Appetit host Kip Wilson, which includes Baca, Rolling Papers director Mitch Dickman, producer Britta Erickson and more. The screening begins at 4:20 p.m., with a nightcap gathering afterward at SIE. Tickets start at $12 each.
Dry Mouth, Wet Pussy: Cannabis and Sexuality
Saturday, April 20, 6 to 9 p.m.
Sexploratorium
1800 South Broadway
Fans of oral, rejoice: The Sexploratorium wants to help you make vulva and penis pipes. Denver's new sexual education and art venue is hosting another sexual ceramics class that will include a discussion of the plant's impact on sensuality and intercourse. The class, dubbed "Dry Mouth, Wet Pussy: Cannabis & Sexuality," is part of the Sexploratorium's ongoing curriculum to make sex talk more approachable, with the pipe-making class taking place after a brief lecture. Tickets (18+) start at $50.
Cannabis Lounges
You can light up at one of over a dozen cannabis-friendly events around town, but several licensed establishments allow guests to consume, as well.Colorado Cannabis Tours
Mobile lounge
303-420-8687
Colorado Cannabis tours is a pot-friendly tour service licensed to operate within the City of Denver. Guests can light up inside one of two sprinter vans as a driver visits various dispensaries and popular hangouts across Denver; Colorado Cannabis Tours will also park the lounges outside of classes, enabling participants to consume inside the van before entering Colorado Cannabis Tours headquarters.
The Cannabis Experience
Mobile lounge
720-840-7476
Like Colorado Cannabis Tours, the Cannabis Experience offers cannabis-friendly tours and rides across Denver, including tours to see RiNo murals, taco eateries and local landmarks, as well as rides to and from Denver International Airport.
JAD's Mile High Smoke
7667 Washington Street
303-993-5760
At Colorado's only licensed cannabis bar, people 21 and up can hang out and purchase from a full menu of cannabis products for on-site consumption. On top of offering video games, TVs and a snack and refreshment menu, JAD's Mile High Smoke is putting on several events on 4/20 and throughout the week, including a cannabis-friendly drag show, comedy show, paint class, arts and craft session, brunch and product showcase. Entry to JAD's is free, but admission into special events may cost extra, and no outside cannabis products are allowed.
The Coffee Joint
1130 Yuma Court
720-583-4657
The Coffee Joint is Denver's only licensed and open cannabis lounge on 4/20. Adults 21 and up can enter for a small fee or get in for free by showing a receipt from the dispensary next door. Cannabis products aren't for sale at the Coffee Joint, but you can bring your own products (and food) to consume. Smoking isn't allowed, either, but edibles and electronic vaping and dabbing are okay. The Coffee Joint is hosting a lot of pot-friendly events on 4/20 and into next week, too, including a cookie-decorating class, planting party, bong-pong tournament, drag and trivia nights, and a painting class.
High Dining and the Munchies
Eating may be the best part of 4/20, and Westword Food & Drink Editor Molly Martin does a proper deep dive into your best stoner banquet options in Denver this year. From classic staples providing affordable eats — like Crown Burger and its combo of four quarter-pound burgers with cheese or grilled ham and cheese sandos for $15.99 — to dependable chains like Cheba Hut and Illegal Pete's, there is no shortage of restaurants that consider themselves friends of the plant.After filling up on Martin's burger, sandwich, burrito, taco and pizza, head down to Right Cream in south Denver for a scoop or pint. Heavy on the mix-ins with sweet and salty (and stoner-friendly) combinations like Cheez-It streusel toffee and Party Animal, which incorporates chunks of pink and white circus animal cookies and globs of delicious lemon curd. If you want to get even weirder, try the Spaghettieis, or spaghetti ice cream, at High Point Creamery in Capitol Hill. Check out Martin's description below, and try to eat a vegetable before driving over there:
"Here it's made with Bavarian Cream ice cream that's pressed through a potato ricer to create a noodle effect, then topped with strawberry sauce and shaved white chocolate to mimic Parmesan cheese.," Martin writes. "Dude."
