Coloradans love to get together.
We gather each summer in Cherry Creek for the largest fine-arts festival in the country and the biggest 5K footrace. Every January, we march in the biggest MLK marade and then gather in May for the largest Cinco de Mayo celebration in the U.S.
It’s surprising we don’t get a little fatigued. But for 30-odd years, we’ve flocked to Estes Park to watch Scottish clans tattoo and to Larkspur to jest and joust at the Renaissance Festival.
Of course, it takes more than a perfectly roasted turkey leg to leave festival participants feeling like they want to come back year after year.
The best confabs are those that make you feel like you’ve been part of something extraordinary or that you’ve learned something, even if you didn’t intend to.
“They leave you feeling like you’re not going to get the chance to experience something like that again,” says Shannon Dexheimer, the Denver Convention & Visitors Bureau’s communications coordinator.
The festival season is waning, but there are still a few exceptional stops left before the snow flies. – Dana Coffield
HOP TO IT
What: Great American Beer Festival.
When: 5:30-10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
Where: Colorado Convention Center, 15th and Stout streets.
Potentially amazing moment: Meet the biggest names in beer at the annual Sensory Analysis Seminar on Friday, when attendees pay good money ($110) to taste bad beer.
Tickets: $35 in advance, $40 at the door, Thursday; $40 in advance; $45 at the door, Friday and Saturday; $50 for Connoisseur Tasting on Saturday; designated drivers $15. Through Ticketmaster and the Association of Brewers 303-447-0816.
Info: beertown.org.
MEXICO VIVE!
What: Fifth-annual Denver Mariachi Festival.
When: Mexican Mercado, 3-5 p.m. Concert, 5-9:30 p.m. Oct. 8. Mariachi and ballet folklorico workshops Oct. 4-6.
Where: Colorado Convention Center, 15th and Stout streets, Denver.
Potentially amazing moment: The top mariachi group in the world, Mexico City-based El Mariachi Vargas Tecalitlán, in concert with Denver’s Mariachi Vásquez and Grupo Folklórico Sabor Latino, as well as Mariachi Los Toros.
Tickets: $35 adult general admission; $10, children 3-12; Available at all King Soopers stores and Tickets West. Info: mariachivasquez.com/festival05.
THE BIG PICTURE
What: Denver Indigenous Film & Arts Festival.
When: Oct. 6-9.
Where: Starz FilmCenter, 900 Auraria Parkway,
Denver.
Potentially amazing moment: Screening of Maori Shakespearean actor and filmmaker Don C. Selwyn’s “The Maori Merchant of Venice – Tangata Whai Rawa o Weniti.” Selwyn will be at the theater for a Q&A period after the film.
Tickets: $10 per screening; $75 Patron Pass gets you in to all films, as well as the opening and closing night receptions.
Info: iiirm.org.
CELTIC GLORY
What: Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music
Festival.
When: Oct. 7-9.
Where: Venues in Walsenburg, Gardner, La Veta and Cuchara.
Potentially amazing moment: World-class harpists Gráinne Hambly, William Jackson and Park Stickney at the historic Fox Theater, 715 Main St., in Walsenburg, 7 p.m. Oct. 8, $20 at the door.
Tickets: $80 festival pass gets you into all concerts; $45, Saturday only; $35, Sunday only. Festival office, 128 E. Ryus Ave. in La Veta.
Info: celtic-musicfest-colorado.com or 719-742-5410.
