From wine to craft beer all the way to distilled spirits, there is something for everyone this weekend -- assuming you're of legal drinking age. But people of all ages can enjoy a free concert at TheBigWonderful food market in Sustainability Park on Saturday, or Meet in the Street downtown on Sunday. Keep reading for a taste of what's on this weekend's culinary calendar.
The action's in the alley behind the Rialto Cafe Saturday.
See also: Happy Hour at Charlie Brown's: Cheap Drinks and Secondhand Smoke
Friday, August 8
Summer Nights at the Museum continues at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science with Bacon, Beer, and OhHeckYeah! The night will feature video games with you as the controller on the museum's seventeen-foot-wide Art and Science Imagination Screen. There will also be bacon-inspired food including pork tacos, pork belly BLT, breakfast in a bacon cup, bacon cupcakes and chocolate-covered bacon; wash it all down with beer from Denver Beer Company. Bacon and beer will be served from 5 to 8 p.m.; tickets are $15 or $12 for museum members. Learn more here.
Frasca Food and Wine has been celebrating its tenth birthday this week, and the special anniversary menu is available through Saturday. The $78 menu is a kind of "greatest hits," four-course menu comprised of customers' favorite dishes. Call Frasca at 303-442-6966 to see if you can still snag a reservation.
The Steamboat Wine Festival continues through the weekend in Steamboat Springs with tastings, seminars, classes, dinners, excursions and more. Tickets vary in price depending on the event; you can find a schedule and purchase tickets at Steamboatwinefestival.com.
Saturday, August 9
The Golden Craft Beer Train gets under way today from noon to 4 p.m. Head to the Colorado Railroad Museum to sample beer from Golden-area craft breweries, grab a bite to eat from a local food truck, enjoy live bluegrass music and explore the Museum's fifteen-acre railyard as you celebrate the history and heritage of beer in Colorado. Tickets are free for museum members and $15 for guests.; learn more here.
As part of the Boulder County Fair, the first ever Craft Distillers Festival will take place at the Boulder County Fairgrounds today from 1 to 5 p.m. The festival will feature local artisan distilleries offerings samples and educational forums and more -- so that you can enjoy the craft distillers' products while learning what makes them so enjoyable. Tickets are $40; for tickets and more information, visit bouldercountyfair.org.
The fifth annual Solterra Wine Festival, benefiting the YMCA of Denver, will run from 2 to 7 p.m. today at the Solterra Retreat, where there will be live music, food and great Colorado wines all in an outdoor setting. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased here.
Sample dozens of beers from Colorado brewers accompanied by food pairings from Matt Mine, executive chef of the Rialto Cafe, at Brewers Alley. This sudsy side-street shindig will take place from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the alley way between Curtis and Champa off the 16th Street Mall. Participating breweries include Crooked Stave Artisian Beer Project, Crabtree Brewing Company, Rockyard Brewing Company, Strange Craft Beer Company,Tivoli Brewing Company, Grimm Brothers Brewhouse, Gravity Brewing, Aspen Brewing Company, Centennial Beer Company. Tickets are $25; you can pick yours up here.
The Cherry Creek North Food and Wine Festival takes over Cherry Creek's Fillmore Plaza today from 6 to 9:30 p.m. The culinary experience features open-bar wine and artisan spirits, live music and more. Admission is $80 for VIP early entrance at 5 p.m. and $60 for general admission. Find out more and grab your tickets at cherryarts.org.
The London Souls are playing a free concert at Denver's first food incubator market, TheBigWonderful, today at 5 p.m.; the fair opens in Sustainability Park at 11 a.m.
The annual Fermentation Festival at the Highlands Masonic Center, will highlight the roll of fermentation not only in the process of making beer, wine and spirits, but also in the preservation of food. The festival will feature classes, a pickle toss and unlimited tastings of food and drinks like pickles, sauerkraut, kombucha and kimchi. There will also be plenty of beer, wine and spirits. The festivities will run from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door; VIP tickets are $60 in advance and $65 at the door. Get more information at fermentationfestival.com.
Sunday, August 10
From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, the 16th Street Mall will be closed to all traffic (the free shuttles will be temporarily detoured onto 15th and 17th streets) to make more room for strolling, biking, ping pong, foosball, face painting, roaming musicians, entertainers, exercise classes -- and sitting on extended restaurant patios at Rialto Café, Marlowe's, Appaloosa and Paramount Cafe. Find more details here.
For information on dozens of culinary events around town, visit our online Food & Drink listings -- and if you have information for a culinary event you'd like included in our online calendar, send it to [email protected].
Follow @CafeWestword
