From Bread to Beer, Eighteen Tastiest Events on the Culinary Calendar

Although you might not be able to tell from the weather Denver has been having lately, October is here and Fall is in full swing. The temperatures may not be falling just yet but the leaves are changing and the fall harvest is in high gear, which means some delicious comfort food is on the menu for this weekend. From Oktoberfest celebrations to a Grateful Bread charity party, to Harvest Week, fall into a few of these tasty events this weekend.   

Friday, October 2 

Rocky Mountain Oktoberfest will take over the Pepsi Center parking lot starting at 5 p.m. today and running through the weekend. Alongside beers from over fifty breweries in the West, attendees can enjoy traditional German oom-pah bands, live entertainment from local musicians, German fare to pair with a full stein, and the largest cornhole tournament in the Rockies. Teams will be competing for a top prize of $10,000, $5,000 for second place, and other great prizes. There are special events for kids, too. General admission is $15 per day, children under 12 are free. Special packages range from $60 to $200; you can find tickets and all the details here.  

As a part of First Friday in RiNo ,the Chocolate Crisis Center will be throwing a free, Limited Edition Chocolate Release Party today from 5 to 9 p.m. The center will be releasing four new test flavors for you to try — and then vote on which one to keep around. For more information, click here. 

The Cherry Cricket is turning seventy today and will be celebrating from 2 to 4 p.m. with throwback prices on burgers ($1.90), fries ($.45), and Coors Banquet beers ($.72). Happy hour will run from 4 to 6 p.m., and at 9 p.m.  the restaurant will serve cake and champagne. Call the Cricket at 303-322-7666 for reservations and more details.

The Marczyk Fine Foods fourteenth annual Pig Roast will take place today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The store will be dishing up plenty of slow-roasted Niman Ranch pork with market-made sauces, plus baked beans, coleslaw, Pete’s Mom’s potato salad and freshly baked cornbread. For more information, visit marczykfinefoods.com. 

Whole Foods Market's Belmar store, will host The Republic of Tea's first pop-up shop starting today and running through Sunday. The specialty tea purveyor's entire collection of 300 premium teas will be available for purchase, and customers can learn all about the tea brand. For more information click here.  

BookBar is expanding and celebrating with a Grand Expand Party today starting at 6 p.m. There will be passed hors d'oeuvres at 6 p.m. followed by a champagne toast and cake. There will also be fire-side literary trivia at 8 p.m. The event is free to attend. For more information click here.  

Saturday, October 3 


Pumpkins, wagon rides, caramel apples, and cider: visitors to Four Mile Historic Park’s Pumpkin Harvest Festival, will enjoy an old-time fall celebration without even having to leave the city. The event will feature wagon rides, a scarecrow building station, live music, pie-eating contest, crafts, seasonal fare, county fair amusements, food trucks and a beer garden sponsored by Copper Kettle Brewing Company. You can get a taste of Fall today and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to the event is free but you'll want some cash for food and beverages. For more information click here. 

LUPEC's Heart and Soul Social, the 8th annual social dance themed benefit for The Prom Dress Exchange, will be rolling from 6 to 9 p.m. today. The social will offer guest all the dancing they can handle, drinks, a silent auction, photo booth, prizes and more. Attendees are asked to raid their closets for unneeded ladies formal wear (and accessories/shoes/jewelry) and bring it down to The Syntax Physic Opera for the evening of dancing, cocktail specials, and fun. There is a $10 suggested donation for the adult prom. The Prom Dress Exchange is a local non-profit that offers hope to needy high school kids in the form of ball gowns: they provide gently used formal wear to kids who otherwise would not be able to afford to attend prom. For more details visit lupecdenver.org.

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, so you may as well head to Lakewood today for Cider Days. This two day festival will feature  cider pressing, historic demonstrations, exhibitors, vendors, a magic show, pie eating contests, trick pigs, a cider garden, live music and Colorado’s largest antique and vintage tractor pull. Tickets to the event are $7 for adults and $4 for children ages 3 to 12. To join in the fun, head down to Lakewood's Heritage Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and tomorrow. For more information click here.

Grateful Bread is celebrating their 10 year anniversary today by teaming up with over twenty of Denver's best restaurants for a charity party to benefit Project Angel Heart. Grateful Bread provides artisan bread to top Denver restaurants, many of which will offer tastings at the event.The party starts at at 11 a.m. to purchase bread, go on a bakery tour and bid on silent auction items, and the tasting tent will open at 11:30. Tickets to the charity event are $10. To purchase your tickets, and to see a complete list of participating restaurants, as well as the dishes the will be offering, visit gratefulbread.com. All proceeds from the party will benefit Project Angel Heart and their efforts to provide meals to those suffering from life-threatening illnesses.

The last of five seasonal food festivals this season, the Boulder Carrot Fest will feature a carrot tasting, Largest Carrot Contest, Power of Produce children’s activity, carrot face-painting, cooking demonstrations with The Kitchen restaurant, and more carrot-inspired activities. A Carrot Fest Scavenger Hunt at the Info Booth will help shoppers discover different carrot varieties, carrot art, local farms who grow carrots, and fun facts about the fall bounty. Additionally, local farms will harvest white, orange, purple, and yellow carrot varieties for the festival and vendors will showcase carrot-inspired dishes. Get in on the fun from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, at the Boulder County Farmers Market. For more on the Carrot Festival check out bcfm.org.

The first annual MassRoots Munchie Crawl will take stoners on a tasty tour though Broadway, where they'll partake in some of the best munchies the Baker neighborhood has to offer. The munchies offered on the crawl will include both infused edibles non-medicated food. Get rolling from 1 to 6 p.m. today for $35. Your ticket will get you deals at the participating dispensaries, and samples of foods from participating restaurants. If you're still vertical after the crawl you can head to 3 Kings Tavern for an after party. For tickets and more information click here.  

Skip the lines and learn to cook a great brunch for yourself during the Cook Street School of Culinary Arts', brunch cooking class series. Today from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. you can learn all about whipping up Bacon and Bloodies. The course is $75 per person; you can register here.  
October 3, 2015 ~ Saturday
René Heredia & Mila Popovich
“Rene & Mila entwine Gypsy
Flamenco guitar and dance”
Tapas d'Jerez
8236 S Holly St
Centennial CO 80122
Two Dinner Shows 6:30 or 8:00 pm
No Cover charge
303-488-0101
Tapas d'Jerez Web Site



Sunday, October 4  

Join Don Q Rum and some of Colorado’s best bartenders for a team tiki competition to create the best swizzle cocktail. The swizzle is a tropical Tiki cocktail that uses a swizzle stick and crushed iced to achieve dilution. FO’ Swizzle will bring together teams of bartenders that will get creative as they crush their ice, mix their cocktails and compete to create insane tiki garnishes for their competition cocktails. Teams will be judged on their drink, how they crush ice, and creativity of the tiki garnish.The competition will run from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. A $20 donation includes cocktails at the event, and the chance to vote for your favorite FO’ Swizzle team.  All proceeds benefit local independent film production of “Leech," a Matt Jensen film. For all the details, check out the event's Facebook page.

Harvest Week has arrived, dig into six days of delicious, local fare at Grow Haus starting today. The week long event will showcase over 35 independent Denver restaurants, who will host a series of pop-up dinner parties, each with a unique theme. Each night a group of chefs and restaurants will come together to create pop-up dinner parties that include a full bar, copious amounts of food, and more. Today you can Praise the Lard, during the first party of the week. From 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. you can enjoy a brunch brought to you buy Lola Mexican Fish House, Central Bistro, D Bar, The Lobby, Bacon Social House and Snooze. Tickets for the brunch are $50. This year’s edition will feature the brunch and five dinners.  Ticket prices range from $50 to $85. Learn more and purchase tickets here. 
Sunday, October 4
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Praise The Lard Brunch

Brunch is always a good idea. Close your eyes and dream of a delightful morning libation, coffee, sweet treats like pancakes, French toast, perfectly poached eggs and of course bacon. Eat Denver wants you to end the weekend in style and with a cocktail in hand. Participating restaurants include: Lola Mexican Fish House, Central Bistro, dBar, The Lobby, Bacon Social House and Snooze.

$50
http://www.harvestweek.com/sunday/




DADA Art Bar will host Sculpture Brunch 2 today from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Bring your appetite and your creativity for this brunch where participants will eat, drink and sculpt. The brunch is $45 per person, and includes art materials, full brunch and two cocktails. You can register in teams of two to six people here.  

  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]. And watch for our full weekend calendar Friday, as well as beer updates all week.