Elitch Gardens is back, mostly
Saturday-Sunday. It wouldn’t be spring without the return of Elitch Gardens, Denver’s biggest theme park and one that’s chock full of roller coasters, kids’ attractions and water slides (maybe too early for those). Following a season pass-holder preview last week, the theme park just west of downtown Denver reopens to the public for limited dates starting Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19.
The Saturday-Sunday dates continue through late May, when the 135-year-old park is open daily. Still, the 10 a.m.-6 pm. April and May windows are great chances to beat the summer crowds and take advantage of short lines at the most popular rides. Season passes run $80-$110 while single-day tickets are $48, with prices going up on May 21. The park is located at 2000 Elitch Circle in Denver. Call 303-595-4386 or visit for more.
Record Store Day at Wax Trax
Saturday. The vinyl rarities sold exclusively during the annual Record Store Day in April run from Taylor Swift to the Grateful Dead and local indie acts, but much of the appeal is the joyous atmosphere that surrounds the industry promotion. Audiophiles of all ages and backgrounds gather at local brick-and-mortar stores to celebrate physical media, often standing in line for hours to get first crack at one of hundreds of live albums, singles and reissues.
Among the many metro-area record stores that are celebrating on Saturday, April 18, Wax Trax Records is activating its trio of locations, including its newly opened Highland neighborhood outpost, with free breakfast for the line, local bands (including a preview of the forthcoming Blucifer’s First Rodeo festival), DJs, ticket and turntable giveaways, and a limited edition beer collaboration with Cerebral dubbed First Pressing. Doors open at 8 a.m. at the locations in Capitol Hill, South Broadway and Northside locations. Free admission. Call 303-831-7246 or visit for more details.
A masterful Colorado Ballet
Friday-Sunday. Colorado’s best ballet company will bring back its MasterWorks program this weekend with a triple threat of titles, this year including a world premiere. In addition to George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco (set to Bach) and Glen Tetley’s The Rite of Spring (on stage for the first time since 2013), there’s the intriguing S. Rachmaninoff, a world premiere by choreographer Yoshihisa Arai, commissioned by Colorado Ballet following his acclaimed take on Boléro. “The new ballet traces Sergei Rachmaninoff’s emotional journey from crisis to creative triumph, embodying the healing power of art,” organizers wrote online.
Performances include live music from the Colorado Ballet Symphony Orchestras. They started last week and continue at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18, with a matinee at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 19, at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, 1385 Curtis St. in Denver. Tickets are $40-$160 at .
Fort Collins Book Fest
Friday-Saturday. Readers, take note: The Fort Collins Book Fest is wrapping up its second and final weekend at Foothills Mall, from Friday, April 17, to Saturday, April 18. The event features multiple panels and workshops with poets, children’s authors, sci-fi novelists, illustrators, comics artists and more, plus a marketplace showcasing dozens of Colorado writers.
This weekend’s cohort includes Denver Post reporter Meg Wingerter, whose new book, “The Silence that Remains” (Mission Point Press), is “a historical fiction novel with the sweep of ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ set against the full weight of Stalin’s reign of terror,” organizers wrote (see more at ). The marketplace is open 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, although all authors may not be present the whole time. Tickets are pay-what-you-can at . 215 E Foothills Parkway in Fort Collins.
