Revolutionizing · Modernizing · Simplifying
Revolutionizing · Modernizing · Simplifying
Look at the calendar for the weekend of October 16 through 18. It is almost rude.
One arena. One stretch of Broadway. One historic park full of pumpkins. And somehow all of it is happening at the same time. This is the weekend the Front Range crams in before the cold shuts the outdoor stuff down for the year, so you are going to have to make some real choices. You cannot do all of it. Hayley and I tried to map a route once for a weekend like this and ended up just eating a soft pretzel in a parking lot, which, honestly, was fine.
Here is how I would plan it.
Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle. Runs October 16 through 18, then comes back for a second round October 22 through 25.
So Ball Arena is doing a full Bavarian beer hall takeover, two weekends of it. If you miss the first one you get a second swing, which is smart planning on their part because this is the kind of thing that fills up. Lederhosen, steins, the whole bit. The move here is to go the first weekend because the rest of your Saturday is already stacked and you will want this close to downtown.
Same building, Sunday, October 18 at 7:00 p.m. The Mountain Tour.
This is the one I would not miss. Gorillaz with Little Simz and Deltron 3030 opening is a genuinely loaded bill, and Deltron 3030 showing up is the detail most people are sleeping on. Resale listings I am seeing start somewhere around
Boettcher Concert Hall, 1000 14th St. October 16 and 17, both nights at 7:30 p.m.
Here is the part people miss. The guy who wrote the music for basically every Studio Ghibli movie you have ever cried at is conducting the Colorado Symphony, in person, and it is his Boettcher debut. Joe Hisaishi. He is leading his new Concerto for Orchestra. If you have a kid who grew up on those films, or you are just a person with a working heart, this is the quietest huge thing happening all weekend. Two nights only. When a composer of that level makes his first appearance at a hall, that is not a thing that comes back around every October.
Four Mile Historic Park, 715 S. Forest St. October 17 and 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This is the daytime family anchor. Pumpkin patch, local vendors, food trucks, live entertainment, all on the grounds of the oldest standing structure in Denver. Tickets run
Broadway between 5th and Alameda. Saturday, October 17.
Forty thousand people. That is where this parade is now. What started as a scrappy South Broadway thing has turned into one of the biggest single gatherings on this whole list, and it rolls right down the spine of one of Denver's best retail and bar corridors. This is the real story on South Broadway, by the way. The foot traffic a free event like this pulls in is exactly why that stretch has held its value while other commercial strips wobbled. Costumes, crowds, the works. Get there early, park once, walk everywhere.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Pkwy., Morrison. October 17 at 7:30 p.m.
The Weight of the Woods Tour, with Jonah Kagen opening. And honestly, this is the last gasp of outdoor concert season at Red Rocks. Once these October dates close, that venue goes quiet until spring. Dermot Kennedy up on those rocks in mid-October, cold air, that voice, it is a specific kind of magic that you do not get in July. Bring every layer you own. Seriously. People underestimate how cold that amphitheatre gets after dark and regret it every single time.
Larimer Square. Saturday, October 17, 3 to 8 p.m.
This is the final third-Saturday market of the year, and that word final is doing a lot of work. The Denver BAZAAR shuts it down for the season after this one. It is free, it is dog-friendly, and it is parked on the oldest commercial block in the city. Local makers, a drink, your dog on a leash, late afternoon light on Larimer. This is the low-stakes, high-payoff stop. Swing through after the parade, grab something handmade before the holidays, and that is the market put to bed until next year.
Ball Arena, October 16.
The Colorado Avalanche host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night to kick the weekend off. Yes, same building as Oktoberfest and Gorillaz, which means Ball Arena is basically running a three-event marathon across these days. If you are a hockey person, this is your Friday. If you are trying to stack the whole weekend into one neighborhood, this is how it starts.
Centennial Stadium. Saturday, October 17.
Denver Summit FC takes on Angel City FC on Saturday. Pro women's soccer in the metro is still new enough that getting in now, while you can still get a good seat without a fight, is the smart play. This is the kind of thing that will be harder to walk into in a couple of years.
Molly Brown House Museum, 1340 Pennsylvania St. October 15 through 17, and again October 22 through 24. Entry every 15 minutes, 6 to 9 p.m.
Most people do not realize the Molly Brown House does a full Victorian wake experience in October. This is the mansion of the unsinkable Molly Brown herself, staged as a period mourning scene, with timed entry every 15 minutes in the evening. It is spooky in the actual historical sense, not the fog-machine sense. Capitol Hill, a real Gilded Age mansion, after dark. If you want the Halloween thing without a 40,000-person crowd, this is your answer.
Tennyson Street. Saturday, October 17, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tenth year for this one. Tennyson Fall Fest takes over the street up in Berkeley with live music and food all day. And here is a little side note that matters if you are watching this part of town. Tennyson is one of the strongest small-business corridors on the north side, and a festival hitting its tenth year tells you the foot traffic is real and durable. Good shops, good food, easy to wander. If you want a quieter northwest Denver version of the Broadway chaos, go here instead.
Paramount Theatre. October 16, 17 and 18.
Three nights of Nikki Glaser on The Stunning Tour. She is coming off about the biggest run of her career, and she booked three straight nights at the Paramount, which tells you how fast these are going to move. If your weekend needs a late indoor stop that does not involve a stein or a costume, this is it.
You cannot win all of these. So pick a lane.
Friday is hockey and Nikki Glaser downtown, or Hisaishi at Boettcher if you want the softer night. Saturday is the heavy one. Four Mile in the morning for pumpkins, Broadway for the parade in the afternoon, the Denver BAZAAR at Larimer to close it out, and if you have anything left, Red Rocks for Dermot Kennedy at night. Sunday you recover, then Gorillaz at Ball Arena to send the weekend off.
That is a legitimate three-day Radically Colorado adventure without ever leaving the metro. Buckle up, layer up, and park once wherever you can. After this weekend the outdoor stuff goes dark for the season, so this is the one to spend your energy on.