From Spirits to the Stanley, Fourteen Tastiest Events on the Culinary Calendar

This pre-Halloween weekend will be a festive one, with Whatever your poison — beer, wine, food — there's a fest for it, so get out and indulge. This weekend also brings with it wine dinners, restaurant re-openings, art events and the #sourcepopup Fall Market. Keep reading for more details on these tasty events.  

Friday, October 23

Butcher's Bistro is celebrating its one-year anniversary tonight and tomorrow night with Joshua-Peter Smith, a veteran of the Colorado restaurant scene who's worked at Twelve (the restaurant where Butcher’s Bistro is now located) as well as TAG, Williams & Graham and Justice Snow’s (in Aspen); he's now at Bourbon and Branch in San Francisco. Smith is back in Denver this weekend with a list of cocktails to pay homage to one year of Butcher’s Bistro and to Twelve; Tyson Holzhiemer (executive chef/owner of Butcher’s Bistro) will be making dishes to compliment the cocktails. The celebration starts at 5:30 p.m. each evening; to make reservations, go to thebutchersbistro.com.

The CherryArts Festival at Stanley will run through the weekend at the in-the-works Stanley Marketplace. From 6 to 9 p.m. today, guests can enjoy a Grand Tasting event focusing on chefs who will have restaurants at the Stanley, as well as other Denver restaurants. Admission is $65 and includes live music by Winehouse, culinary demos, Jen Lewin's interactive sculpture “Chandelier Harp,” and more. Admission is free on Saturday and Sunday; find out more at cherryartsstanley.org.   

Boulder Wine Merchant presents the Boulder Burgundy Festival, which got under way Thursday and will continue through the weekend. The wine-centric festivities today include a Best Value Burgundy Wines Lunch, at Oak at Fourteenth; an Old and Rare Burgundy Seminar with Master Sommeliers Jay Fletcher, Brett Zimmerman, and Sean Razeeat at the St. Julien, and more. Tickets prices vary by event; for a complete schedule of events, go to boulderburgundyfestival.com.   

The Boulder Blind Cafe is offering an evening of dinner, music and community-building in the dark. The cafe will pop up twice a night, at 6 and 8:30 p.m., at the Wesley Chapel, 290 Folsom Street in Boulder, today and Saturday. Tickets range from $55 to $195. Learn all about this one-of-a-kind experience and grab tickets at theblindcafe.org.  

The Breckenridge Craft Spirits Festival will be raising spirits in the mountains this weekend. The festival features small-batch distillers from all over the country, artisan spirit seminars, fine local cuisine and, of course, plenty of sampling. You can imbibe in the festival today through Sunday. For details, lodging and tickets, check out gobreck.com. 

The Flatirons Food Film Festival, which got rolling earlier this week, continues through October 25 in Boulder with documentaries, narrative films, special events, talks from James Beard Award-winning chefs, Q&As with filmmakers and much more. For a complete list of events, visit flatironsfoodfilmfest.org.

Join Art Spa and Settembre Cellars for an evening of art, wine, food and fun as you paint your own wine glass while enjoying the wines of Settembre Cellars. Tickets are $40 and include materials, instruction, light snacks and your first glass of wine. The fun starts at 6:30 p.m. at Settembre Cellars; grab your tickets and learn more here. 

Saturday, October 24

The newly-renovated Denny’s at 12090 East 40th Avenue will officially unveil its all-new, locally-inspired design and updated features. To kick off the festivities, Denny’s will offer select diner classics at a reduced price (from $2.99 to $5.99) from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. today. 

The Source will be popping this weekend. As the seasons change and fall seeps into Denver, the #sourcepopup fall market will take over The Source from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring vendors such as Colleen Heineman, Valentich Bags, Simply Guapa, Cure Organic Farm, PB Love, Craft Boner, Pure Source Alchemy, and more. Check out thesourcedenver.com for more information.

As a part of the Boulder Burgundy Festival, Frasca Food and Wine is holding an evening with Jean-Charles le Bault de la Morinière, featuring a vertical tasting of wines from Domaine Bonneau de Martray. The dinner starts at 6 p.m. and reservations are $435; proceeds will go to the Family Learning Center. For reservations, click here. 

Platteforum unveiled its new exhibition by Jennifer Stratton, Soil City: soil-based portraits of the city through film, dirt, food and community, earlier this week. Today there will be a free "Soil Social" from noon to 3 p.m.; for more information visit platteforum.org. 

The Jefferson County Fairgrounds will offer over eighty craft beers, bull-riding, games, vendors, bluegrass and country music at the Country Beer Fest today. There will be two sessions, from 1 to 4 p.m. and from 7 to 10 p.m.. Tickets to each are $39 for general admission and $75 for VIP, which will get you an extra hour of beer tasting; get tickets and details here.  Proceeds from the Country Beer Fest will benefit We Don't Waste. 

Sunday, October 25


The Oceanaire Oyster Bash will make a splash from 3 to 9 p.m. today, with oyster varieties, local spirits, craft beers, wine and oysters, of course: fresh on the half shell, fried or served Rockefeller-style. There will also be live music, and a full menu of seafood standards. You can grab a $20 general admission ticket, which includes three tasting tokens, or go for the $75 all-inclusive; find more info here. 

The final class in the Cook Street School of Culinary Arts Brunch Series takes place from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. today; this class will focus on seafood and sangria. Tuition for the course is $75; register and learn more at cookstreet.com.  

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].