Things to do in Denver this week, June 1-7

There’s plenty to do around town this week, with the Denver Fringe Festival now underway, “Phenomenomaly” opening tomorrow at Meow Wolf and the 60th annual Greek Festival coming right up.

This list is refreshed every Wednesday and Friday. Bookmark this page for weekly events in and around Denver.

On a budget? Check out our list of free things to do. But for now, stick around for events worth the price of admission in and around Denver:

This week

Studying the Old Masters
Wednesdays, 6 to 9 p.m. (June 3 through 17, June 20)
Alexander Soukas Fine Art, Studio Metaxu, 1450 Logan St.
In this four-week lecture and demonstration-centered course, taught by Alex Soukas, students will learn how to perceive and think in terms of masses. With a heavy emphasis on art history, students will be led through a series of paintings to train their eyes and process to work organically in masses and out of linear thinking. Sign up for the class here. Want to immerse yourself even more? Soukas, along with fellow Denver-based artist Cindy Parker, will each lead art retreats in France. The retreats, hosted by the La Napoule Art Foundation, are open to the public for the first time in their 74-year history, inviting creatives of all levels to immersive, place-based workshops at the historic Château de La Napoule in the South of France. Learn more and sign up here.

The Unteachables 
Wednesday, June 3, 7:30 p.m. 
Comedy Works South at the Landmark, 5345 Landmark Place, Greenwood Village
Known as the loud kids in the back of the classroom, Stephen Taylor and Lou Pharis are The Unteachables, a group of stand-up comedians who fell backwards into educating America’s youth. With over 85 million views on social media and appearances on The Breakfast Club and NBC, this comedic powerhouse delivers humor that transcends the teacher’s lounge. One was teacher of the year, the other got fired for posting jokes on TikTok. General admission is $20.

Neil deGrasse Tyson at Pikes Peak Center
Thursday, June 4, and Friday, June 5, 7:30 p.m.
Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs
Renowned author and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson returns to Colorado for two nights of scientific exploration. Thursday’s show, “Search for Life in the Universe,” traces the ongoing effort to find habitable planets, liquid water, and life in the cosmos, culminating in the search for intelligent life, whether or not it already exists on Earth. Friday’s “An Astrophysicist Goes to the Movies Part II” takes an entertaining look at the science of our favorite films got wrong and right, from “The Wizard of Oz” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” to “Harry Potter.” Don’t miss your chance to experience one of science’s most celebrated voices live. Tickets start at $85.

Cultural Caravan’s Fifth Annual June Festival 
Thursday, June 4 through Sunday, June 14 
Various locations across Boulder, Lafayette, and Erie
The Cultural Caravan’s Fifth Annual June Festival returns with more than a dozen concerts across ten days, including six mainstage performances and pop-up events all over the Boulder area. The festival celebrates the diverse creativity of the community through music, dance, and workshops spanning genres and cultures from around the world. Tickets start at $5.

“Phenomenomaly”
Friday, June 5, through Sunday, Aug. 9
Meow Wolf Convergence Station, 1338 1st St.
“Phenomenomaly,” an interactive experience filled with mysterious characters, glowing creatures, giant puppets, and custom music, returns to Meow Wolf Convergence Station for the summer, featuring various local performers on select dates. Learn more and get tickets here.

Shrikes and Bikes
Friday, June 5, 4:30 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, June 6, 8 a.m. 
Lincoln County
June 6 is Colorado Prairie Day, thanks to Gov. Jared Polis, and the main event is Shrikes and Bikes, a 40-mile (there’s a 22- mile option) gravel ride through the prairies of Lincoln County, where riders will meet ranchers, conservationists and other local leaders. It begins and ends at the recently reopened World’s Wonder View Tower, a state historic landmark in Genoa that’s now offering tours. And the afternoon before, the nearby town of Hugo is hosting an event at the historic Hugo Union Pacific Roundhouse, complete with a chuckwagon dinner, guided grassland bird walk, and tour of the roundhouse. The Hugo event is free; registration for the ride is $75 here.

60th Annual Denver Greek Festival 
Friday through Sunday, June 5 to June 7, Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 
Assumption of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 4610 E. Alameda Ave.
After last year’s record-breaking attendance, organizers have completely reimagined the experience for the festival’s 60th anniversary. One of Colorado’s longest-running cultural celebrations, the festival welcomes more than 30,000 attendees annually and returns with expanded grounds, faster food service, multiple gyro stations, a new indoor taverna, an expanded Greek Plaka marketplace, indoor dance performances and lessons, and improved parking with shuttle service and rideshare zones. Beyond the food, the festival offers one of the most immersive cultural experiences in Denver each summer, with live music, traditional dancing, church tours, cultural demonstrations, and family activities. Admission is $5 for an all-day pass, $3 for seniors and free for children under 12.

Moans and Groans: Amateur Comedy Night
Saturday, June 6, 9 to 11 p.m.
Sexploratorium, 1800 S. Broadway
Every first Saturday of the month, the Sexploratorium turns into Denver’s naughtiest comedy club, where brave (and slightly unhinged) amateurs take the stage. The winner gets the ultimate prize: a paid headlining spot in next month’s show. Tickets start at $10.

Denver Gay Men’s Chorus Pride Month concerts with Madam Hair
Sunday, June 7, 2 p.m.: Parsons Theatre, 1 E. Memorial Parkway Entrance, Northglenn
Friday, June 12, and Saturday, June 13, 7:30 p.m.: King Center, 855 Lawrence Way
Sunday, June 14, 3 p.m.: Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada
Centering on the legacy of hair entrepreneur A’Lelia Walker, daughter of Madame C.J. Walker and staunch advocate of Denver’s queer community, Madam Hair, celebrates the beauty and significance of hair – a vital part of gender expression, identity, and culture for many, especially within the LGBTQIA+ community – with the Denver Gay Men’s Chorus. Expect songs that celebrate hair, identity, culture, and the power of expression to shape and unite our diverse community. Get tickets here.

Ongoing Denver events and museum exhibitions

Lumonics Immersed
Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.
Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery, 800 East 73 Ave.
Lumonics is a multi-sensory environment intended to bring guests into a state of comfort and expanded awareness. It features interactive art, such as light sculptures, painting, music, water fountains and projection. General admission tickets are $25.

Rainforest Yoga
Saturdays and Sundays, 7:45 to 8:45 a.m.
Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 W. 104th Ave., Westminster
Get your yoga mat and a towel and head to the Butterfly Pavilion for rejuvenating yoga surrounded by butterflies and exotic plants. Registration, which is $18, is required before the class. Register here.

The Garden of Grief and Gladness
Select dates through June 14
3401 Blake St.
Explore ten immersive rooms designed to evoke the experience of ‘walking through’ the realities of grief. Some rooms are literal, some abstract. Select a date and get tickets here.

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience
Through Sunday, August 30
Exhibition Hub Art Center, 3900 Elati St.
Step into a Van Gogh painting at Exhibition Hub, which is currently staging Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, which has toured to 70 cities around the world since its creation in 2017. This version of Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience includes several newer additions, such as the Sunflower Room, the Letters Room, and a smaller immersive space that highlights Van Gogh’s life and his fascination with Japonisme. “Van Gogh’s work has a timeless and universal appeal,” says Exhibition Hub CEO Hamza El Azhar. “When you combine that with immersive storytelling and technology, it allows guests to step inside his world rather than simply observe it. This emotional and audiovisual connection is what makes the experience so impactful and widely loved.” The exhibition is designed for a wide audience, including children, adults, artists and non-artists alike. Select a date for your visit and get tickets here.

The World’s Largest Dinosaurs
Through Monday, September 7
Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd.
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s newest exhibit, The World’s Largest Dinosaurs, opens Friday, exploring “the biology and anatomy of sauropods — the largest land animals to ever walk the Earth.” The exhibit used to tell the story of sauropods includes a towering, life-sized model of a 60-foot-long Mamenchisauru. A special ticket is required in addition to general museum admission.

Conversation Pieces
Through October 11
Denver Art Museum, 100 West 14th Ave. Parkway
Conversation Pieces is a new fashion exhibition at the Denver Art Museum made up of never-before-seen garments from the museum’s fashion archive. It’s also an interesting window into Denver fashion history. “Designers across time utilize a shared lexicon and a shared history,” says Director and Curator of Avenir Institute of Textile Arts and Fashion at the DAM Jill D’Alessandro. “They’re in constant communication with each other, whether they’re contemporaries or separated by eras. There’s a functionality to fashion that means they have the same root problem to work from. They’re responding to the body, to cultural shifts.” Conversation Pieces is included in general museum admission.

Moments That Made Us
Through October 18
History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway
In honor of the U.S.’s 250th anniversary and Colorado’s 150th anniversary, History Colorado has collected fifty artifacts from defining moments in the country and state’s history, from George Washington’s spurs and a tape recorder from the Watergate investigation to historic documents and a firefighter’s helmet from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Get tickets here.

Do you know of a great event in Denver? We’ll update this list throughout the week; send information to editorial@westword.com.