Golden Clear Creek Kayak festival (Wednesdays in June)
The "Golden Community Rodeo" is a weekly kayak competition in downtown Golden along Clear Creek at the Golden kayak park. You can sit or stand along the creek and watch the competition. It's pretty amazing what these kayakers can do, and definitely worth taking some time to watch. Can you think of a better thing to do on a warm spring Wednesday?
Competitors are arranged according to class. This year the classes are:
Juniors
Masters
Men: Sport, Intermediate, and Expert
Women: Sport, Intermediate, and Expert
Denver Center for the Performing Arts ($10 tickets)
The Denver Center for the Performing Arts offers a limited number of $10 tickets, every Tuesday morning, for shows coming later in the week.
Copper Country Music Festival (Labor Day Weekend)
Each year over Labor Day Weekend, Copper Mountain Ski Resort hosts the free Copper Country festival, with two full days of country, blues, and folk music from top name performers.
Creek at the Peak Rafting Festival
The Creek at the Peak raft and kayak race takes place on June 23rd, 2012 and provides a great opportunity to watch rafters and kayakers compete for prizes while supporting a great cause. Come check out the race and the after race festival in Idaho Springs on Saturday June 23rd. The festival takes place on the east side of the Springs at the ball fields. The race finishes just west of Idaho Springs and begins in Lawson.
The festival begins at noon and will feature live music, food from local restaurants, and Idaho Springs' famous Tommyknocker beer!
When: Saturday June 23rd, 2012.
The festival begins around noon and continues through the evening.
The races begin at 5pm and will probably finish around 7:30pm.
Where: Idaho Springs at the ball fields on the east side of town.
For all the details, check the Creek at the Peak site: 
Parker Oktoberfest
The 8th Annual Parker Oktoberfest will be held in O'Brien Park in Old Town Parker Colorado on September 14th & 15th, 2013.
Colorado Free Fishing Weekend (First Weekend in June)
On the first weekend of June each year, Colorado waives fishing license requirements. This is a great chance to grab your gear out of storage and take the family to a nearby lake or stream for some serious trout fishing!
Old Globeville Days and the Orthodox Food Festival (annually in July)
The Old Globeville Days Orthodox Food Festival celebrates Denver's international immigrant heritage with a diverse selection of free entertainment and international food. The music features outstanding performers of diverse folk heritage including an amazing Celtic performance. The incredible food selection is sample sized and you purchase tickets to try the samples. One of the best things to do in Denver on a warm mid-July weekend.
Deprecated: Methods with the same name as their class will not be constructors in a future version of PHP; Zebra_Image has a deprecated constructor in /home/ec2-user/www/public_html/freeindenver/components/com_jem/classes/Zebra_Image.php on line 46
Colorado Sports Hall of Fame (always free)
The free Museum at the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame at Invesco Field showcases the accomplishments of Colorado's finest athletes across many sports disciplines from the most popular spectator sports to little-known gems.
There are exhibits featuring many of the greatest triumphs in Colorado sports history, from the Broncos to Golf to women in sports, as well as an interactive Kid's Zone. There is also an exhibit honoring the National Sports Center for the Disabled and the Special Olympics.
Hours
September thru May: Thursday -- Saturday 10am to 3pm
June, July, August: Tuesday -- Saturday 10am to 3pm
Beware of special hours and closures before or during Broncos home games, contact the Museum to confirm hours.
Location
Invesco Field Gate #1 (western side)
For the latest info, check the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame web site:
Golden History Center and Astor House (free days)
The Golden History Center, along Clear Creek next to the Golden Library, and the Astor House Museum, offer free days from time to time. The next free day is during the winter Candlelight Walk, December 5th, 2014.
Details from the Golden History Museums web site:
Loveland Ski Hooky Days (Second Thursday Monthly)
For the 2019 ski season, Loveland Ski Area and 95.7 The Party FM are offering $25 lift tickets on the second Thursday of each winter month.
They also offer a 2 for 1 ticket for the following week if you can't attend on Thursday. To get the $25 price, or the 2 for 1, you have to go to the "95.7 The Party" web site and sign up as a "Party VIP", then print the coupon.
When:
Thursday, February 14th, 2019
Thursday, March 14th, 2019
Where:
Loveland Ski Area is located off of I-70 just before Eisenhower Tunnel. Take the Route 6 exit (Exit 216) and you can't miss the ski area. Loveland is broken up into 2 distinct areas with a shuttle bus that runs between them. Loveland Valley (left off the exit) is considered the learning and training area and Loveland Basin (right off the exit) is the main ski area. A shuttle bus runs between both.
Shell Gas Two For One Ski Ticket
For 2014, Shell gas stations are offering 2 for 1 vouchers at several ski areas with a 10 gallon gas fill up. This means that if you buy at least 10 gallons of gas, you get a coupon good for a free lift ticket if you purchase one full price adult lift ticket. The deal is good at several ski areas.
Unfortunately, full price adult lift tickets have become so expensive that this isn't much of a "deal". But if you just want to ski one day at a participating resort this year, this will get you on the slopes for less than full price.
In Colorado, 2014's participating resorts are:
Copper Mountain
Crested Butte
Loveland
Monarch
Powderhorn
The SkiFreeDeals.com web site has a full list of participating Shell stations and ski resorts.
Learn more at skifreedeals.Com:
Olympic Training Center Tours in Colorado Springs (always free)
The United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs is the home of a huge Olympic visitor's center, the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, and serves as the training center for many of our country's top athletes. A free tour of the Olympic Complex is one of the best things to do in Colorado Springs.
Boulder History Museum (free first Sunday monthly)
The Boulder History Museum offers free admission on the first Sunday of every month. This is a great deal and a chance for the rest of us to check out the museum's permanent displays, changing exhibits, and kids activities.
Table Mountain Inn (Golden)
Table Mountain Inn in Golden is one of my favorite happy hour restaurants to visit when I'm hungry for traditional pub fare at a decent price. Unlike most Denver happy hours, this menu offers meal size food options in addition to their drink specials.