Whether you're into teas or fleas, there's an event for you this weekend. Get glammed up or go thrifting, buy from a bake sale or your bubbe — it's up to you. Here are five of our favorite food and drink happenings from Friday, April 13, through Sunday, April 15.
Friday, April 13
If you prefer to get your caffeine from tea instead of coffee, you know that the flavor of tea leaves can be much more delicate and temperamental than that of the coffee bean. And since brewing a perfect cup of tea is a bit less automated than flipping a switch on your coffee maker, the Boulder Tea Shop is hosting a meetup in Boulder Public Library's Flagstaff Room, 1001 Arapahoe Avenue, on Friday, April 13, to teach you how to brew your tea. Bring your own tea cup and learn how to steep your leaves in a gaiwan, a lidded Chinese bowl without handles traditionally used for preparing green and white teas, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Find out more about this free event at the Tea Shop's Facebook page.
Saturday, April 14
The biannual orgy of hipster and DIY culture that is the Denver Flea is back with its spring edition on Saturday, April 14. This time, the handmade market is popping up at Denver Rock Drill, 1717 East 39th Avenue, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 15. New vendors are constantly being added to the lineup; the end result is 200 quirky stalls poised to capture your attention with their Insta-aesthetic. Along with plenty of clothing and home-decor options, check out Sex & Ice Cream (selling, confusingly, neither sex nor frozen dairy products), Yampa Valley Sauce Co., Baba & Pop's Pierogi, Brewed Food, Hinman's Bakery and much more. Also new this year is a beer garden, so you can soak up the sun while contemplating your purchases with a Great Divide brew. Tickets are just $5 and will get you in the door both days; snag yours at the Flea's website.
Tickets for Uncorked, the Denver Art Museum's spring fundraiser, start at a cool $650, and we're pretty sure you aren't in the market for a four-figure date night. But if you'd still like to support the DAM's programming without breaking the bank, a ticket to Uncorked AFTERGLO is a relative bargain at just $70. Held inside the Gallagher Gallery at the museum, 100 West 14th Avenue, from 9 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, April 14, the after-party will include live music, an open bar, bites and interactive art, plus a chance to get all glammed up in a town that values its casual civvies almost as much as its pot (the dress code is "vivid cocktail"). Details and tickets are up at denverartmuseum.org, along with info about the pre-party (aka tailgating, if you're more into the Broncos than Basquiat), if you do decide to splurge.
There's nothing more bipartisan than a good old-fashioned bake sale.
Flickr/tannaz
If you don't know your tzimmes from your teiglach, get your tuches over to the Colorado Jewish Food Fest on Sunday, April 15. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Boulder Jewish Community Center, 6007 Oreg Avenue, will host the Colorado Jewish Food Fest, an exploration of how Jews eat in the 21st century. Admission, $5, includes workshops on making butter, tortillas and pickles, composting, and determining which foods are worth buying organic; a kugel contest; tours of Milk and Honey Farm; and a screening of the documentary Hugs and Knishes: A Celebration of Our Jewish Food and Traditions. Additional workshops start at $10 and cover a range of topics from candy-making to aquaponics. And, of course, there will be plenty of food for purchase (all vegetarian!) : bagels and shmears, deconstructed cholent (stew), rugelach and latkes. Find out more and get your tickets at the fest's website.
Bake sales are proof that we Americans still love each other and will happily fork over cash for someone else's brownies, cookies, pies and Rice Krispies treats. Vegans know it, too, and that's why Nooch Vegan Market, at 10 East Ellsworth Avenue, is hosting its seventh Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale, an event entirely free of animal products. Denver businesses and home bakers alike will be turning out sweet and savory goodies, so come to the market between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 15, to stock up and to enjoy food from area vegan food trucks. All proceeds will be donated to the Rooster Sanctuary at Danzig’s Roost. Organizers are still looking for volunteers, sponsors and donations, so send a message to [email protected] if you want to help out. Find out more on the event's Facebook page.
Keep reading for future food and drink events.
Thursday, April 26
The 24th annual Dining Out for Life is just around the corner. On Thursday, April 26, more than 230 Denver and Boulder restaurants and breweries will donate 25 percent of their sales to Project Angel Heart, an organization that prepares and delivers medically tailored meals to people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, heart disease and other life-threatening illnesses, so you can enjoy a great meal while doing a good deed. Plan ahead by making a reservation at one of the participating eateries, some of which will donate a percentage of bar sales as well as food sales. Visit the Dining Out for Life website for a list of all restaurants taking part.
Friday, September 14, through Sunday, September 16
You've got to be wildly optimistic to make plans for a weekend six months away, but sometimes the event merits the commitment. Such is the case with the Telluride Blues and Brews Festival. There's beer, blues and incredible views, yes, but there's also the six-hour drive from Denver, not to mention the challenge of finding accommodations that won't have you wailing like an old drunk who's out of hooch and whose woman took his dog and left. The festival runs from Friday, September 14, through Sunday, September 16, with the more than fifty breweries pouring at the Grand Tasting on Saturday, September 15. Three-day festival, camping and late-night show passes are on sale now ($30 to $200), and single-day tickets ($70 to $75) go on sale June 13 on the festival's website. Don't wait to make your purchase: VIP and RV camping passes are already sold out.
Watch for our weekend culinary calendar on Friday. If you know of a date that should be on these calendars, send information to [email protected].
