Fourteen Tastiest Events on Denver's Culinary Calendar, March 18-20

March Madness is in full swing, and now there is "Beer Madness." Starting today, all three locations of the Kitchen Next Door (Boulder, Union Station and Glendale) are offering beer enthusiasts a chance to get in on the madness as sixteen Colorado breweries compete for the top spot in the restaurant group's Beer Madness bracket.  All you have to do is head to the Kitchen Next Door nearest you and enjoy a $3 pint of one of the beers in that day’s bracket; the brewery with the most pours each weekend wins. The tournament of the taps will run through the finals on April 4; for more information, visit thekitchen.com.
But that's just an appetizer for the tasty events happening over the next few days; keep reading for all the details.

Friday, March 18 

RNDZVS, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art's new 21+ pop-up party concept, will brighten up Boulder with immersive art experiences that take art, culture and music outside the museum walls. The first one-night-only pop-up party will be at 1420 Pearl Street, a currently vacant property on the Pearl Street Mall, from 9 p.m. to midnight today. RNDZVS will feature a glam-rock theme and include a makeup and hair-coloring station, live screen-printing of "band" T-shirts, a DJ and dance floor, specialty cocktails, a beer garden, a photo booth, and curated glam-rock video works. Tickets to the party are $8 per person; for more information, check out bmoca.org. 

Get weird at MCA Denver's Black Sheep Fridays. From 6 to 8 p.m. most Fridays, the museum will be serving up beverages and "sophisticated nonsense" that ranges from lip-syncing competitions to bingo with go-go dancers to this week's Poetry Spam, with poetic readings of your spam e-mails. You can join in on the fun for $5; the weirdness changes every week, so check out mcadenver.org to see the full schedule of shenanigans.

Extreme Community Makeover, a movement of volunteers working in partnership with residents of specific Denver neighborhoods to complete home and local improvement projects, is holding its annual Spring Kick-Off at 6 p.m. today at Converge Denver. The event will get started with a happy hour featuring margaritas from Coyote Gold, followed by dinner from Jim 'N Nick's BBQ and desserts provided by Extreme Community Makeover. For more information, visit extremecommunitymakeover.org. 
 
The third annual Northwest Beer Fest pours into the Oriental Theater tonight. From 7:30 p.m. until midnight, beer enthusiasts can sample beers from over fifteen local breweries and wineries and enjoy a live battle of the bands. The winning band will earn a spot performing at this summer's Highlands Street Fair. Tickets are $30 per person; get all the details here. Proceeds will benefit North High School and Skinner Middle School, both DPS schools located in northwest Denver. 

Keep reading for more events on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday, March 19 

Get ready for Easter at Stir Cooking School's Easter Brunch class today. Students will learn to cook baked eggs with bacon and a tomato-parmesan sauce; apple, sage and fennel breakfast sausage; chicken and waffles; banana and fromage blanc grilled cheese, coffee streusel bundt cake; and mimosas. Tuition is $75; register and learn more at stirtolearn.com.  

Living the Dream Brewing Company and Strange Craft Beer Company are donating $1 to the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) for every pint of their chosen IPA sold at their tap rooms during Colorado Craft Beer Week, which starts today and runs though March 30. It's part of the IPA Throw Down, and you can help choose the winner by downing pints of either Living the Dream’s Easy Trophy Case IPA or Strange Craft’s Breakfast Grapefruit IPA. The brewery that sells the most of its IPA will be crowned IPA king and will win a special wrestling-sized belt. For more information, check out the event's Facebook page. 

New Belgium Brewing Company's Mountain Adventure series roars into Winter Park today. During the beery scavenger hunt, skiers and snowboarders can don their favorite costume and scour the mountain for clues. The festivities end with an awards ceremony for most clues gathered, and for those 21+, the after-party includes New Belgium beer. Teams can consist of one to four people; it costs $10 per person to join, plus a lift ticket. Once signed up, each team gets a list of clues and the games begin. Registration at Winter Park begins at 9 a.m.; register in advance and learn more here.  

St. Baldrick's continues its battle against childhood cancer with a head-shaving event at Lincoln's Road House starting at 1 p.m. today. For more information on how you can join the fight against cancer, visit stbaldricks.org. 

Collaboration Fest is sold out, but you can still head to the after-party at the Mercury Cafe at 8 p.m. For the event, Greater Than Collective, the Merc and Two Parts have collaborated on a one-of-a-kind concert featuring members of the Still Tide, Porlolo, Strange Americans and many more. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door; find more information here.  

Parallel Pairings offers guests a chance to indulge in a five-course gourmet dinner paired with specially selected wines while learning about the pairings they are enjoying. The wine dinner takes place at the Liniger Building at CU Denver South from 6 to 8:30 p.m. tonight, when you can enjoy exclusive after-hours access to the building's museum and art galleries. Tickets are $85 per person or $150 per couple; grab yours and check out the evening's menu at southdenver.cu.edu. 

Warm Cookies of the Revolution presents the Stompin' Ground Games at Swansea Park Rec Center today. The event celebrates the history of the neighborhoods of Globeville, Elyria and Swansea through storytelling, poetry, music, dance, art, conversation and food. There will be a cooking competition for which contestants must include one ingredient that adheres to each of the following rules: something that is the color green, something borrowed, and something that has historical/cultural/personal significance to you. The event runs from noon to 2:30 p.m., and there is a $5 suggested donation, or you can bring old letters, photos, newspaper clippings or memorabilia, which Historic Denver will scan on site for its collection. For more information, check out warmcookiesoftherevolution.com.   

Sunday, March 20 

Squeaky Bean Farm + Table is launching a new dinner series at the restaurant's collaboratively run farm, Bean Acres. With the help of Warren Tech High School students and staff, the Squeaky Bean operates the farm, which includes two 6,000-square-foot year-round greenhouses. Starting at 5:30 p.m. today (which happens to be the first day of spring), the Bean will offer farm dinners every couple of months, featuring produce grown just a few feet away at Bean Acres. In line with the school’s mission “to marry industry and education,” Warren Tech culinary students will help cook and serve. The dinners are $70 per person, which includes four courses and paired mocktails created by bar manager Jack Bethel. Proceeds will benefit Warren Tech. For more information or to reserve your spot at the table, call the restaurant at 303-623-2665.

MaxFund, Denver’s no-kill animal shelter and adoption center, will host its 22nd annual Chili Cook-Off today at The Celtic Tavern. Top chefs and amateur chili cooks alike will battle for the title of best chili in red, green, white, vegetarian and celebrity chef categories. The event will feature door prizes, a raffle, drink specials and more. The contest will heat up from 1 to 3:30 p.m., followed by the chili winners reveal at 4 p.m. You can pre-register to taste and vote at the event here for $10, or register at the door for $15 ($5 for children twelve and younger). If you think you have what it takes to nab a top prize, you can enter your chili for $30. All proceeds benefit the animals at MaxFund.

 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].