25 Sep 2024
DENVER (Sept. 25, 2024) It is time to welcome fall in Colorado, with warm days and crisp nights, and of course all the beloved fall festivals and events across the Denver metro area. From blockbuster art exhibits to a weekend full of beer, Denver has something for everyone this season. Below is a list of activities and events you can't miss. For more information about fall in Denver, check out the VISIT DENVER website.
Can't Miss Events
Doors Open Denver, Sept. 26-29, 2024
Various Location Across Denver
Denver Architecture Foundation's signature event is exactly as it sounds, an opportunity to open the doors to the places and spaces that make the Mile High City such a special place in which to live, work, study and play. Events will kick off on Thursday Sept. 26 with a keynote lecture from Vishaan Chakrabarti, Founder of PAU Studio and author of the upcoming “The Architecture of Urbanity: Designing for Nature, Culture, and Joy”, at the Denver Art Museum. Tours and festivities will continue throughout the weekend, and end on Sunday Sept. 29 with the first-ever Doors Open Denver wrap party at the Posner Center for International Development.
DENVER WALLS, Oct. 3-5, 2024
River North Art District
Don't miss the return of DENVER WALLS, an incredibly diverse mural festival that is part of the globally renowned WORLD WIDE WALLS. Last fall, Denver became the 25th city to host a WORLD WIDE WALLS event, joining international cities such as Honolulu, Seoul and Tokyo, as part of an initiative launched by Jasper Wong in 2010 to beautify cities and foster connections between local artists and their communities.
Rodeo All-Star Weekend, Oct. 4-5, 2024
National Western Complex
Rodeo stars are returning to Denver for an action-packed weekend. Established in 2013 as the all-star event for rodeo athletes, the weekend includes three professional rodeo performances jam-packed with bronc riding, barrel racing, bull riding and fan-favorite, Mutton Bustin', a free all-star concert–with a Friday rodeo ticket–a special lunch with rodeo champions and two rodeo after parties.
Great American Beer Festival, Oct. 10-12, 2024
Colorado Convention Center
Explore the largest collection of U.S. beer ever served, in the format of a public tasting event plus a privately judged competition. Dubbed by Thrillist as “The One Beer Festival You Must Go to Before You Die,” GABF has topped beer lovers' bucket lists since 1982 and unites beer lovers and brewers from all corners of the country to celebrate the nation's ever-growing craft beer culture.
Denver Arts Week, Nov. 1-10, 2024
Explore vibrant art districts, check out museum exhibitions and outdoor sculptures, indulge in the performing arts, be inspired at film and literary events, and even buy some of the art! Denver Arts Week will kick off on Nov. 1, with expanded First Friday Art Walks across the city's creative neighborhoods, followed by the free Night at the Museums on Saturday, Nov. 2, when many of Denver's top cultural institutions will be open for free. All week long enjoy hundreds of events around the city, many of them free!
Denver Film Festival, Nov. 1-10, 2024
Various Location Across Denver
One of the premiere film festivals in the Rocky Mountain region, the 47th Denver Film Festival is a 10-day festival bringing international cinema, filmmakers, virtual reality, immersive experiences and creative conversations to Colorado. The Denver Film Festival takes place at four primary locations throughout the city of Denver, with dozens of locations hosting pop-up events to engage audiences in the Denver and Aurora metro areas as well as greater Colorado and its surrounding states.
Music and Performances
“I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter”, Sept. 27-Nov. 3, 2024
The Dorota & Kevin Kilstrom Theatre
This vibrant and poignant adaptation of Erika L. Sánchez's New York Times bestseller follows Júlia, a Chicago high schooler who is definitely not your perfect Mexican daughter. That's her older sister Olga's role. Everything in Júlia's life weighs heavier after Olga dies in a tragic accident, leaving Júlia to manage her family's grief and unravel the secret truth — that her sister may not have been so perfect after all.
“Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really”, Sept. 27-Nov. 3, 2024
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
One part horror, one part humor, playwright Kate Hamill upends the sexism in Bram Stoker's vampire classic in a thrilling, gory and funny new adaptation. Who are the real monsters, and who is actually in distress? Dracula's Victorian tropes of fainting ladies and evil villains get turned on their heads. Fierce, feminist and frightening, “Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really” drives a gleeful stake through the heart of the patriarchy itself.
“Hamilton”, Oct. 16-Nov. 24, 2024
Buell Theatre in the Denver Performing Arts Complex
"Hamilton” is the epic saga that follows the rise of founding father Alexander Hamilton as he fights for honor, love and a legacy that would shape the course of a nation. Based on Ron Chernow's acclaimed biography and set to a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway, "Hamilton” has had a profound impact on culture, politics and education.
“Monopoly Lifesized: Travel Edition”, October 27, 2024-January 5, 2025
DCPA Off-Center at Broadway Park®
Direct from one of London's most popular attractions, Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) brings Denver the highly anticipated international tour debut of “Monopoly Lifesized: Travel Edition” at a brand-new location, DCPA Off-Center at Broadway Park®! In this exhilarating, 60-minute experience, guests will be guided by their very own personified Monopoly token as they and their team solve escape room-style challenges on a giant Monopoly board for a chance to buy property, charge rent and break out of jail.
“Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson: The Cosmic Perspective”, November 12, 2024
Paramount Theatre
Explore the cosmic perspective and universe with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. Live at Paramount Theatre the renowned American astrophysicist presents “Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson: The Cosmic Perspective”.
Billie Eilish Presents “Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour”, Nov. 19-20, 2024
Ball Arena
Billie Eilish released her third album earlier this year, and now join her for two nights on her world tour. Check out the “Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour” live at Ball Arena.
Museum Exhibitions
“Movements Towards Freedom”, September 20, 2024-February 2, 2025
Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
Linking physical and social definitions of movement, “Movements Toward Freedom” examines how the articulation of bodies, collectively and singularly, informs and shapes a vital society. Showcasing recent work and new commissions that span genres of performance, sculpture, video, painting and installation, the exhibition considers the ways that physical movement plays an integral role in exercising personal and collective agency, as a means for community-building, civic change and liberation as well as serving as an antidote to strife and a vehicle for healing and care.
“Migrants, a Tale of Two Hearts”, October 10, 2024-January 26, 2025
Museo de las Americas
The journey of migrants to the U.S. is full of internal changes taking place in the physical body and mental state. This exhibit will explore the internal and external experiences of the immigrant who leaves home in search of a new and better life.
“Wild Things: The Art of Maurice Sendak”, October 13, 2024-February 17, 2025
Denver Art Museum
The Denver Art Museum (DAM) will welcome “Wild Things: The Art of Maurice Sendak”, for the 2024-25 holiday season. One of the most versatile artists of the 20th century, Maurice Sendak is best known for award-winning titles “Where the Wild Things Are”, “In the Night Kitchen”, “Outside Over There” and “Nutshell Library”. He also designed theater sets and collaborated on films. “Wild Things” will open at the DAM Oct. 13, 2024, and will be on view through Feb. 17, 2025, in the museum's Hamilton Building. The show will include a wide array of objects, drawings, paintings and mockups. It also includes sketches for the set designs of the “Where the Wild Things Are” opera and costumes for the live-action, feature-length film.
Halloween Fun
13th Floor Haunted House, Sept. 7-Nov. 9, 2024
3400 E. 52nd Ave., Denver, CO 80216
Hailed by Fangoria Magazine as the “#1 Scariest Haunted Attraction in the U.S.," the 13th Floor Haunted House takes guests through not one but three frightening tours of horror. This year's attractions include "Crimson Night" (where guests will come face to face with Sanguis Rex, loyal servant to the Blood Queen), "Macabre" (a secluded forest cabin where a twisted taxidermist creates horrifying human-animal hybrids that line the walls) and "Nautical Nightmare" (a watery world haunted by Captain Rust Hook, feared scourge of the seas). For more spooky fun, stop by The Sacred Skull: A Tiki Tarot Bar, The Attic Secret Bar or The Piggy Bank Shot Spot for themed cocktails and other drinks, experience the thrill of axe throwing, attack the undead at the Graveyard Shift Zombie Shooting Range and attempt to escape the clutches of an evil clown in a dark maze, No Name's Clown Chaos.
Spiders Around the World, Sept. 21-Oct. 31, 2024
Butterfly Pavillion, Westminster
Just in time for Halloween, spiders are arriving from around the globe this September for a limited-time engagement, Spiders Around the World, exclusively at Butterfly Pavilion. Engage with stunning, vibrant, and awe-inspiring tarantulas and walk amongst visually striking, exquisite and free-roaming Orb Weavers spinning their intricate webs in Spider Zone!
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show”, Sept. 21-Oct. 5, 2024
The People's Building, Aurora
Two Cent Lion, Aurora's premier LGBTQ+ theatre, presents Richard O'Brien's "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"! In this cult classic, sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named Rocky. Don't miss the live production of the cult classic musical, featuring audience props and call-and-response at interactive Midnight Madness performances (in collaboration with Colorado's Elusive Ingredient).
Fright Fest, Sept. 30-Nov. 5, 2024
Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park
Check out all the spooky fun happening for little ghouls and goblins! From noon to sundown, KiddieLand will be bursting at the seams with tricks and treats for all ages! Then prepare for what mayhem may arise when Fright by Night comes alive. Be careful … monsters and madness are lurking around every thrilling corner.
A Cheesman Park Ghost Tour, Nightly all October
Cheesman Park
What lurks beneath the surface of Denver's beautiful Cheesman Park? During this 1.5-hour walking ghost tour, guests can uncover the eerie history behind the park, Denver's first city cemetery. Hear haunting tales and hair-raising first accounts of paranormal activity, uncover the truth behind the spine-chilling process used to remove the bodies from the cemetery and determine if the park is truly haunted.
Outdoor Fun
Farmers' Markets April-November 2024
The Mile High City's more than 20 farmers' markets are not just about locally grown produce, delicious baked goods and prepared foods, each market is a festive, weekly street fair, many featuring live entertainment and family-friendly activities.
Denver Zoo
With over 3,500 animals on 84 gorgeous acres, Denver Zoo is an amazing experience, year-round. Proceeds help to provide world-class care for the lions, giraffes and elephants as well as other wild animals and wild places, from the Rockies to Mongolia.
Denver Botanic Gardens
One of the top five botanic gardens in the nation, Denver Botanic Gardens is an oasis in the city, offering year-round events, a children's garden, lifelong-learning opportunities and research to preserve Colorado's precious natural resources. Meanwhile, Chatfield Farms, in nearby Littleton, takes pride in its exemplary nature preserve and gardens. Located on 750 acres, this picturesque site includes display gardens and a historical farm with a rustic barn.
City Parks
Through Denver is a city, it is full of lush and relaxing green spaces. Fall is the perfect time to explore Denver's more than 5,000 acres of traditional parks and parkways as well as an additional 14,000 acres of spectacular mountain parks in neighboring counties that are maintained by the City and County of Denver.
Denver's Best Urban Hikes
Denver is a city with boundless outdoor fun and has an ideal location next to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. While The Mile High City is conveniently close to major peaks for hiking, there's no need to head into the mountains when Denver's regional trail system encompasses hundreds of miles for all ages and abilities to explore.
About VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau
Celebrating 115 years of promoting The Mile High City, VISIT DENVER is a nonprofit trade association that contracts with the City of Denver to market Denver as a convention and leisure destination, increasing economic development in the city, creating jobs and generating taxes. Denver welcomed more than 37.4 million visitors in 2023, generating $10.3 billion in spending, while supporting tens of thousands of jobs and making Tourism one of the city's largest industries. Learn more about Denver at VISIT DENVER or Tourism Pays Denver. Follow Denver's social media channels for up-to-the-minute updates on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.
With press or photo inquiries, please contact:
Taylor Shields, Director of PR & Communications
Caroline Campbell, PR & Communications Manager
Natalie St. Hilaire, PR & Communcations Coordinator
