Western Welcome Week, Littleton (Aug 8-17, 2014)
Western Welcome Week is a festival in Littleton Colorado that celebrates our western tradition of community cooperation. This is the premier event in the Denver area for clubs, charities, and other non-profit organizations. Instead of the typical endless line of vendor booths, you will find tents set up to gain your interest and participation in various non-profit organizations. Finding a new hobby or charitable cause to get involved with is one of the rewarding things to do at Western Welcome Week.
Louisville Street Faire
The downtown Louisville Street Faire in Louisville, Colorado brings great music to the Front Range every summer Friday from mid-June to mid-August. This fair's last performance of the year is usually the biggest with internationally known headliners.
In addition to the concert, the fair features excellent food and drink vendors, and children's activities such as arts and crafts.
When:
Summer Fridays from 5 to 10pm.
Music is typically 6:30 - 9.
Where:
Downtown Main Street in Louisville.
Schedule:
The 2013 Louisville Street Faire schedule is as follows:
June 14: CJ Chenier
June 21: Young Dubliners
June 28: Richie Furay
July 12: BoDeans
July 19: The Samples
July 26: Samantha Fish
August 2: Tab Benoit
August 9: Fireball
August 16: Dickey Betts and Great Southern (CANCELLED DUE TO ILLNESS)
I was really looking forward to seeing Dickey Betts again and hope he gets well soon and can come back to Colorado.
Chris Daniels and Freddi will be stepping in at the last minute for this concert.
More Info from the downtown Louisville web site: 
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
A Taste of Colorado (Labor Day Weekend)
A Taste of Colorado is Colorado's largest Labor Day Weekend festival. This festival highlights diverse cuisine from Colorado restaurants, offering bite size tastes to full meals.
Bluff Lake Nature Center, Aurora (always free)
Bluff Lake Nature Center is a free wildlife and nature center park in Aurora in the Stapleton area. Hiking trails wind their way through the park, passing a seasonal lake and overlooks. This is an excellent Denver area attraction for nature watchers.
Boulder Hometown Fair (Labor Day Weekend)
Each year the free Boulder Hometown Fair celebrates labor day weekend and the coming end of summer along Boulder Creek.
Mountain Fest
Mountain Fest. It’s as fun as it sounds.
Enjoy an afternoon of mountain-centric activities and discover all the exciting benefits of Colorado Mountain Club membership from noon to 4pm Saturday, March 25. This FREE event will be held at the American Mountaineering Center, 710 10th Street in Golden, Colorado. The festivities will kick off at noon featuring your 1st drink free from Upslope Brewing Company and Stem Ciders. Mountain Fest is the perfect way to get motivated and learn new skills and for spring and summer mountain adventures. This year’s event will feature, outdoor skills clinics, tours and a Beacon clinic in the American Mountaineering Museum, gear demos, open climbing , and CMC membership deals.
The highlight of the afternoon will be an expo featuring the CMC’s schools and courses: Wilderness Trekking School (WTS), Basic Mountaineering School (BMS), Fly Fishing School, Advanced Crevasse Rescue, Alpine Scrambling School, Intro to Hiking Safety, and Backpacking School. Volunteers will be on hand to give personal accounts about participating in CMC’s educational activities. Expo booths will also showcase CMC’s programs and initiatives: CMC’s Adventure Travel Program, Conservation, Youth Education Program (YEP), CMC Press, Denver Trails and how to get started Volunteering in the CMC. The membership booth will feature membership deals.
Free presentations and clinics will include: How to Properly Fit and Purchase Footwear by Adidas- Mountain Fest lead sponsor; Compass demo and clinic presented by Brunton- Mountain Fest sponsor; Climbing the 14ers; Rock Self Rescue; Avalanche Education; Wilderness First Aid; Ten Outdoor Essentials and Mountain Safety; Know Before You Go Avalanche Education; and a Highlight of the CMC’s Adventure Travel Trips from all over the world!
For a full schedule, please visit the CMC website at www.cmc.org/mountainfest
Don't miss this opportunity to experience the CMC for yourself or introduce friends and family to all the adventure the Club has to offer.
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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:
University of Colorado Museum of Natural History at Boulder (always free)
The University of Colorado Museum of Natural History is a free natural history museum on the CU Boulder campus. They have excellent changing exhibits, a dinosaur section, and an extensive bird display. A small donation is requested to help keep the museum open and free. This is a fun small natural history museum for adults and curious kids.
When:
Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm
Where:
The Henderson Building on the CU-Boulder campus, between 15th and 16th streets east of Broadway.
For details check their web site:
Colorado Ski Museum & Snowboard Museum at Vail (always free)
The Colorado Ski Museum & Snowboard Museum in Vail Village celebrates Colorado's rich ski history with a huge collection of artifacts and exhibits covering the whole of ski and snowboard history in Colorado.
Smithsonian Free Museum Day
Every year some of the best museums in the USA take part in the Smithsonian Museum Day.
Coors Tour: Golden, Colorado (always free)
The Coors tour is one of Colorado's most famous free tours, and one of the top Colorado attractions. If you are in the Denver area, try to make the trip west to the Coors tour in downtown Golden.
After parking, you will be picked up by a small bus and taken on a short tour of downtown Golden. The driver will provide information about Golden and Coors along the way.
After exiting the bus, you go into the Coors tour center, where you will receive an audio device that you listen to as you follow the self-guided tour.
The Coors tour is very in depth, taking you through the history of Coors and the stages of brewing and packaging. You will see the huge brewing vats and other facilities critical to the process. The packaging area is one of the most dramatic aspects when it is in full operation.
In the middle of the Coors tour you enter a room which serves a small sample of the freshest beer you will likely ever taste, recently off of the production line. At the end of the tour you enter the bar area where you receive three free drinks of your choice! And don't worry, they have root beer and other drinks for the designated driver and the children.
The Coors tour is so popular that it can be very crowded with long wait times at the bus and bar. Consider attending earlier in the day or on a weekday.
When:
Winter Hours:
Thursday 10-4
Friday 10-4
Saturday 10-4
Sunday noon-4
Monday 10-4
Closed Tuesday, Wednesday and all major holidays.
Summer Hours (May 29 through Labor Day):
Monday - Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 12noon - 4pm
Closed on all major holidays.
Specific Closure Dates:
April 20th.
May 26, 27, 28.
July 4th.
September 1, 2, 3.
November 28-29.
December 24-25.
December 31-January 1.
Where:
The Coors tour is located in the middle of downtown Golden. The gigantic concrete buildings are impossible to miss.
Parking for the tours is in a large lot at the intersection of 13th street and Ford Street. The line for the Coors tour bus forms near this intersection.
Information about the Coors tour from the MillerCoors site:
Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum in Golden (always free)
If you are spending a day in Golden and looking for free attractions, The Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum has a large display of rare gemstones, and their mining display downstairs should not be missed! One of the main attractions at the School of Mines Geology Museum is a moon rock collected during the Apollo 17 lunar mission!
When:
Monday - Saturday 9am - 4pm
Sunday 1pm - 4pm
Where:
1310 Maple St., Golden, CO 80401
The Museum is located in downtown Golden on the Colorado School of Mines campus, in the General Research Library building.
Check their web site for details:
Colorado State Capitol Free Tours (Weekdays)
The Colorado State Capital is one of the popular Denver Attractions, not only for the well known '5280 step' but also for the free tours inside.
Why take a Colorado State Capitol tour? I'll give you three reasons:
- The Colorado State Capital building in downtown Denver allows you to watch our state Legislature in action. As more people take an interest in the workings of our government, this is a great opportunity to see firsthand how the system works. The Colorado State Legislature is in session from early January to early May.
- The capitol building itself is awash in history and amazing architecture. It was built using Colorado materials as much as possible, such as Colorado gold for the dome, granite walls from Granite, Colorado, and Colorado's distinctive red onyx throughout the interior.
- The views from the Dome tour are some of the best in Denver!
Location:
Just head for downtown Denver and the 16th Street Mall, you can't miss the gold domed building beyond the southern end of 16th street mall. The steps on the western side are the most popular area to enter as the "1 mile above sea level" markers are there. The civic center park area has become very sketchy, expect to encounter quite a few homeless if you walk through the park.
Visitors to the state capitol are allowed to wander the public areas on their own, or you can take one of several guided tours:
Historical Tours:
All about construction of the building and early Colorado history, as well as some of the more interesting artifacts on display within the building. Reservations are not required unless you have a group of 10 or more. Tours are 45 minutes long and are available weekdays except holidays.
Historical Tour Hours:
10am - 3pm every Monday - Friday
Legislative Tours:
Legislative tours are a popular field trip for Colorado grade school students. When possible, you will make stops in the House and Senate galleries to see the legislature in action. This tour is only for school groups and reservations are required.
Legislative Tour Schedule:
Annually, early January through early May. Reservations are required.
Dome Tours (currently closed):
This tour climbs a long spiral staircase to an indoor observation area with amazing views of Denver.
Dome Tour Hours:
Daily from 9am to 2:30pm. Reservations are required.
Dome tours are currently closed until further notice due to dome renovations.
Mr. Brown's Attic:
This exhibit area illustrates Colorado's history and the legislative process, and includes a hands-on children's area. The attic is open 9am to 3pm on weekdays and reservations are not necessary.
For more information about Colorado State Capitol Tours, visit the Colorado Legislative Council Site: