Saturday. Business leaders continue to host events along East Colfax Avenue to boost the morale (and sales) of restaurants and boutiques impaired by ongoing construction of the Bus Rapid Transit line. The Bluebird District, which is in one of the areas most directly impacted by construction, is putting on one such festivity on Saturday, Sept. 27, from 2 to 6 p.m. The Super Colfax Block Party will occupy nine blocks of Colfax starting on St. Paul Street.

A $20 ticket ($30 the day of) covers food samples, live music and first-come, first-served access to an afterparty that night at Lost Lake Lounge. The first 500 people at the block party will get a tote bag, too. Tickets are available at . — Miguel Otárola

Shop ‘n sip

Saturday-Sunday. Picture this: You’re shopping al fresco at a local flea market, pondering the vendors’ wares and sipping a cold libation. Well, that can be your reality this weekend when Michelada Fest comes to the Mile High Flea Market. The event will serve up specialty and classic micheladas to satisfy those who like the drink con or sin clamato, as well as street tacos, live music, wrestling and more. The best part may be that all those perks are included with the market’s regular $3-$4 admission price.

Admission is free this Saturday at national parks in Colorado

The market is 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27 and Sunday, Sept. 28, at 7007 E. 88th Ave. in Henderson. Entry to the market costs $3 on Saturday and $4 on Sunday; Michelada Fest is no additional cost. Find more information at . -- Tiney Ricciardi

Under the bridge (downtown)

Tuesday. Ever the expansionist, Denver promoter AEG Presents Rocky Mountains has begun booking concerts under Interstate 70 at an ad-hoc venue called Project 70. Its Tuesday, Sept. 30, concert is a particular doozy, with hardcore/pop-punk heavyweight Turnstile supported by the similarly ferocious Mannequin Pussy, Speed and Jane Remover.

The concert starts at 7 p.m. at 4600 Humboldt St. in Denver, between the Denver Coliseum and the National Western Center. General admission tickets for the all-ages show are still available for $102.90 via . -- John Wenzel

An exhibit with legs. Lots of them.

Friday-Oct. 31. It's creepy-crawly season, and that means spiders galore at The Butterfly Pavilion, Westminster's singular invertebrate zoo. "This year’s Halloween-inspired spider collection showcases dozens of spider species to encourage guests to face their fears, and fall in love with these incredible arachnids," organizers wrote. "Some of the featured spiders you’ll get to see this year are the Colombian Pumpkin Patch Tarantula, Skeleton Leg Tarantula, Brazilian Fire Red Bird Eater, and more!"

"Spiders Around the World" opens Friday, Sept. 26, and runs through Oct. 31. Included with admission; $12.45 for kids (2-12), $17.45 for adults, and free for children under 2. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily at 6252 W. 104th Ave. in Westminster. Call 303-469-5441 or visit for more details. -- John Wenzel

Limited details were available about the early-stage partnership between Westminster and the invertebrate zoo, but both parties signed a letter of intent to keep the Butterfly Pavilion at its current Westminster home, according to a news release from the organization.

Zoo officials hope to begin a multi-stage renovation and expansion project in the near future, but no dates have been set, spokesperson Jennifer Quermann said in an email to The Denver Post.

“Together, we’re not just building a new campus — we’re investing in curiosity, conservation and community,” Butterfly Pavilion President and CEO Ryan Welch said in the release.

Representatives from the Butterfly Pavilion canceled plans to expand the zoo to Broomfield earlier this year, according to reporting from the Broomfield Enterprise.

That transition, which would have included a new , was first proposed in 2018. The axed Broomfield campus would have been more than double the size of the Butterfly Pavilion’s current 30,000-square-foot building in Westminster.

But zoo officials said in February that the move is “no longer feasible in today’s economy,” citing a changing business landscape, the Enterprise reported.

In a 2022 interview with Broomfield Enterprise, the former CEO of the pavilion said the new space would become “the global hub for invertebrate research, conservation and education.”

That goal remains the same, even as the invertebrate zoo looks to expand its Westminster footprint instead of moving elsewhere, according to Monday’s news release.

The Butterfly Pavilion has been part of the Westminster community for more than three decades. It celebrated its 30th anniversary in July.

“This new chapter ensures that families who live, work and play in Westminster will continue to have access to one of the most unique, inspiring places in the country, right in their own backyard,” Westminster Mayor Nancy McNally stated in the release.

Westminster has committed to providing land for expansion and long-term support for the zoo’s growing education and conservation plans, .

The current plan is to enhance the current site and also develop an expanded, state-of-the-art campus on adjacent city-owned land at 104th Avenue and Westminster Boulevard, zoo officials wrote on the webpage.

Future expansion will bring new immersive exhibits, cutting-edge research labs, expanded educational programs and open community spaces, Quermann said.

“This is the first step in a larger journey,” she said, referring to the letter of intent’s signing.

Planning is underway to for growth, funding opportunities and a shared vision that serves the community while advancing invertebrate conservation efforts, Quermann said.

Rosie the Tarantula, arachnid star of the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, is retiring

Children bounced on their feet and pulled on their parents’ arms as Calais LeJeune, an educator and tarantula handler at the Butterfly Pavilion, carried Rosie past the line to the corner exhibit, where people can sit and welcome the spider to walk across their hand. For now.

LeJeune, who has worked nearly 8 years with Rosie, said she’s seen someone terrified of the spiders every hour she’s been in the tarantula exhibit. From toddlers to retirees, the guests stare at her from across the room as she coaxes Rosie and Goldie to walk on people’s hands. The timid guests walk in and out of the room, and at times have yelped, before eventually building up their bravery and getting in line.

Rosie, a Denver star and a household name across Colorado, has introduced millions of guests to the world of invertebrates since she arrived at the Butterfly Pavilion in 1995. Now, nearly three decades later, she’s taking eight steps back from the spotlight and into a new burrow.

“Her role might be changing, but she’s still going to be here,” LeJeune said. “She’s still going to be inspiring all of us in the same ways, just not from the palm of our hands.”

Starting Sept. 7, the Butterfly Pavilion will be sunsetting its tarantula-handling program and Rosie, the famous Chilean Rose Hair tarantula, will transition into a new home behind glass.

“Rosie and the tarantulas have been wonderful ambassadors for years and have done a lot of incredible work, but there are so many incredible invertebrate stories and other animals that have never gotten the opportunity to shine because we’ve always had this really bright star,” Director of Animal Collections Sara Stevens said.

Instead of the current meet-and-greet setup, Rosie’s corner in the will be converted into a glass enclosure where visitors can see her engage with her natural environment, Stevens said.

Butterfly Pavilion President and CEO Ryan Welch said the decision was a “no-brainer.”

“We want to be a leader in invertebrate research,” Welch said. “It’s … a core piece of who we are as an organization, and this is how that comes to life, right? Nobody is looking at the care of tarantulas in the same way that we are.”

Staff began “taking a hard look” at the tarantula handling experience two years ago, Stevens said. It started with introducing alternative species, like , and looking for younger specimens to ease the burden on the tarantulas playing Rosie.

That����ap one not-so-secret fact at the Butterfly Pavilion, Stevens said — roughly 120 tarantulas have played the iconic role of Rosie before retiring and being swapped out.

The Butterfly Pavilion currently houses 98 Rosies, but only 37 of those are old enough to be handled, and they don’t all have the personality for it. That doesn’t mean they’re aggressive, Stevens said, but that they’re not as adaptable to the experience and can be flighty, which isn’t a good trait for a public exhibit.

Tarantulas need to be at least 10 years old to be handled, so rearing a new cohort of Rosies could take up to a decade. And finding adult spiders ready to go on display is difficult — they’re highly coveted and expensive, Stevens said.

Tarantulas get nervous, just like the guests, and tell their handler when they want to be done for the day, Stevens said. Some stop walking on hands or turn lethargic. Others kick hairs onto the awaiting hands like porcupines. None of them bite.

When the spiders start transitioning out too quickly and too often, they’re retired.

A handful are transferred to other programs or exhibits in the Butterfly Pavilion, but more are sent to other zoos and collections across the country.

“What we were finding with our aging tarantulas is they were telling us more and more frequently that they didn’t want to be handled,” Stevens said.”Over time, even with getting the new Goldies into the rotation, there just wasn’t a way for us to continue the experience as is.”

Butterfly Pavilion staff spent years creating their own metrics and data to track the impact of the meet-and-greets on the tarantulas, Stevens said. There was no pre-existing research they could rely on to inform their decision.

“We’ve had to use brand new science and data and really do the work ourselves, because it just doesn’t exist,” Stevens said. “Invertebrate welfare is vastly understudied, despite making up 97% of all animal species.”

Guests are invited to visit Rosie in her new exhibit starting Sept. 8 and celebrate their favorite Rosie memories online using #ThanksRosie.

Saturday-Aug. 17. The sprawling lot outside Ball Arena will again host the familiar Cirque du Soleil Big Top as it rises for its latest touring, neo-circus extravaganza. This time it’s called “Echo,” and focuses on high-flying acrobatics as much as artistic choreography and stagecraft. That includes feathery aerial work, bungee jumping, flying props, live music, juggling, animal costumes and mind-bending physical feats.

Loosely based around a young woman’s journey of connection and discovery, the show — Cirque’s first original since the pandemic — runs Saturday, July 12, through Aug. 17 at Ball Arena’s 4Runner West Lot, at Fifth and Walnut streets. Performances take place Wednesday-Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday-Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. (Saturdays also offer a noon show).

Tickets: Starting at $54-$243, with VIP upgrades available. All ages.

WeldWerks goes to the dogs

Saturday. If you’re headed to the Juicy Summer Music Market at Weldwerks Brewing Co. on Saturday, July 12, you’ll get a true taste of the dog days of summer. That’s because the 10-year-old brewery’s community event, which features live music, local wares, and craft beer, has a canine component this year in Big Bones Canine Rescue’s on-site adoptions.

Between beer releases — this year’s include Strawberry Guava Green Tea, Nectaron Extra Extra Juicy Bits, and Flipped-turned Upside Down — you can check out adoptable puppies and adult dogs from 4-7 p.m., and even “leave with your new best friend.” It takes place from 3 to 7 p.m. at 508 Eighth Ave. in Greeley. Free admission. All ages. (21 and up for alcohol purchases.) Call 970-460-6345 or visit .

Butterfly Pavilion’s buzzy 30th

Saturday-Sunday. To celebrate three decades of invertebrate goodness, Westminster’s Butterfly Pavilion will hold a two-day Insectival — or festival of insects — on  Saturday, July 12, and Sunday, July 13. The 30th Anniversary Bug Bash, as they’re calling it, includes meet-and-greets with tarantulas, beetles and other critters, plus live music and entertainment, food vendors, a “buzzing beer garden,” kids activities (face painting, games and crafts) and cockroach races (yeah, we know).

It takes place 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday at 6252 W. 104th Ave. in Westminster. All ages. Tickets: $22.45 for adults, $18.45 for children ($12.45 for kids 2-12), and $20.45 for seniors. Call 303-469-5441 or visit for more information.

B-side Music Fridays

Friday. It’s easy to feel cool simply stepping into the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, but if you really want to boost your credibility (and have an enjoyable evening), check out MCA Denver’s B-Side Music Fridays, which returned with regular live performances last month.

The series, which takes place on the roof of the downtown institution, offers views, drinks and sweet sounds, with the Friday, July 11, session featuring Denver jazz-rap explorers iies. (pronounced “eyes”) and chilled-out R&B singer/opener Los Lady. The series, programmed by Demetria Gallegos, continues through Aug. 15.

Shows run 7 to 9 p.m. at 1485 Delgany St. in Denver; tickets are $22.28. Call 303-298-7554 or visit and for more information.

, a lepidopterist at the Westminster-based Butterfly Pavilion who’s leading the Saturday morning training, ushers the group outside to watch the mourning cloak butterfly as it settles on a blooming tree.

It lightly beats its wings until someone shuffles too close, startling it back into the sky.

Now, more than ever, scientists are calling for volunteers to help gather data on butterflies so organizations know where to focus resources to save the rapidly disappearing insects, Hershcovich said. Some volunteers undergo official training, but anyone can contribute just by posting photos online.

North American butterfly populations have declined by more than 22% over the last two decades, according to a study . Colorado saw roughly the same levels of loss, Hershcovich said.

The national study combined 20 years of data from 35 community science programs across the country, including the Butterfly Pavilion’s .

An average loss of 1% each year might not sound like a lot, but it dramatically affects butterfly populations, Hershcovich said.

“The results were pretty grim,” she said. “We’re really at a critical point where we can either work hard to turn those numbers around or lose our butterflies.”

People-powered science

The first step is knowing where to direct resources and action, Hershcovich said. That����ap where volunteers come in.

Cindy Cain, a nurse practitioner at the University of Colorado, was hiking in Jefferson County’s Reynolds Park five years ago when she saw a woman with a clipboard looking around. One conversation, one year and one training later, Cain had her own clipboard and was officially part of the Colorado Butterfly Monitoring Network.

She said she started with one trail but “just kept on accumulating routes.” She now monitors more than a dozen different routes for the network throughout the season.

“I know that it����ap not everyone’s jam, but it makes my heart sing,” Cain said.

The monitoring network started with five volunteers in 2013. It reached nearly 100 volunteers across 12 Colorado counties in 2024 and it trained another 71 in 2025.

As of October 2024, the end of that year’s monitoring season, the network of Colorado volunteers had spent nearly 4,900 hours on trails across the state and documented more than 144,000 butterflies since its 2013 kickoff.

Change happens when everyone becomes involved in the conversation, Hershcovich said. It’s not limited to entomologists and other scientists — everyone has a stake in the game and the power to help.

“There’s a growing sense of ‘What can I do? How can I make a change?’, which is really empowering,” Hershcovich said. “(Volunteers) help us gather data and inform those collective pictures of what’s going on with the butterflies.”

Butterflies at risk — both in Colorado and nationally

The mountain-prairie region that encompasses Colorado is seeing the second-most severe annual butterfly declines and some of the most rapidly warming climate, according to the national study in Science.

“Places like Colorado are already dry,” said , an evolutionary biologist and entomologist at the University of Colorado Boulder. “With increased droughts that we’re seeing with climate change, it����ap exacerbating the existing problems that we’re already having with butterfly decline.”

The impacts of widespread butterfly loss and other invertebrate insects are almost unthinkable, St Laurent said.

“They pollinate plants, and they basically fill every ecological role you can imagine in terrestrial environments,” St Laurent said. “When you’re seeing declines, even if it’s a percentage here, a percentage there, … we are going to be feeling the impact of that in ways that we probably don’t even realize yet.”

The extent of the loss varies across both butterfly species and regions, but the overall theme is the same: butterflies are in danger, Hershcovich said.

“It’s a complex picture of ups and downs, but what we do know for certain is that, overall, we are losing more butterflies than we are gaining,” she said. “It����ap a pretty scary picture.”

��DZ��ǰ������’s are home to more than 250 types of butterflies, roughly a third of the species found in North America.

The Colorado Butterfly Monitoring Network has captured data on 173 of those, Hershcovich said.

Most of ��DZ��ǰ������’s butterfly monitors are concentrated in the Front Range, so the network’s data on butterflies native to ��DZ��ǰ������’s Eastern Plains or high mountains is sparse, she said.

But the network will never turn away a volunteer, no matter where they’re based, Hershcovich said. More eyes are always needed, including across the Front Range.

“We need to know what’s going on with butterflies everywhere, not just in the high mountains, but … in our neighborhoods and in our backyards and in our gardens and in our community spaces,” Hershcovich said.

The other barrier to fully understanding ��DZ��ǰ������’s butterfly populations is the difficulty of accurately surveying the pollinators, said , a wildlife biologist and ecologist with Colorado State University.

“Data is dependent on what people perceive and record,” Bowser said. “We see monarchs and we value monarchs, but we often fail to perceive blue butterflies because they’re so small. … We have huge data gaps.”

Butterflies are active for very short, dynamic periods, she said. If scientists aren’t consistently surveying butterfly populations from early spring to late fall, they miss the entire lifespans of multiple species.

The combination of staffing, timing and difficulty spotting certain butterflies means scientists have solid trend data on less than half of known butterfly populations, Bowser said.

“There’s just not enough people out there collecting data,” St Laurent said.

But data collection isn’t just limited to scientists or formally trained volunteers — it����ap as easy as snapping a photo and posting it on social media or a community science platform like iNaturalist, Bowser said.

Scientists use photos from social media and other platforms to track butterfly populations across the state, see how early or late they’re appearing in the season, determine if they’re shifting habitats and more, Bowser said.

“Engaging nonexpert participants in butterfly data is probably more critical than almost anything else,” she said. “Everybody’s got a cellphone and everybody has access to the internet. You can take a picture and post it somewhere, and that’s … really good data.”

The public needs to be engaged, Bowser said. There are so many species to track that it takes the entire community’s help.

“Glimmers of hope”

It����ap still possible for butterflies to completely recover and flourish, St Laurent said, noting that even the national butterfly decline study provided some “glimmers of hope” for the future.

“Insects are some of the most resilient animals on this planet and, should they have the right conditions, they can once more thrive,” Hershcovich said. “It will require some work. It will require a lot of action. It really is an all-hands-on-deck moment.”

The good news is that scientists know what butterflies need and how to help, she said. The monitoring network helps scientists know where to focus their efforts and if they’re moving in the right direction.

It starts with planting native vegetation and pollinator gardens, reducing pesticide use and protecting open spaces.

“As soon as our natural spaces are degraded or damaged, butterflies are going to be one of the first things that respond to those changes,” Hershcovich said. “That’s why it’s so important to study them, track them, understand them and see how they fluctuate year after year, because they’re an important piece in getting a holistic picture of how Colorado is doing overall.”

Miller moths, infamous in Denver for their large numbers and ability to find their way into homes, are critical for Colorado’s environment, lepidopterist and entomologist Shiran Hershcovich said.

As they travel from one plant to the next, transferring pollen while following the blooms across the state, moths help sustain Colorado’s environment, Hershcovich said.

“As they come into our spaces, just approach them with curiosity and respect,” she said. “They’re not coming into our living rooms, we’ve built our home in theirs.”

When is miller moth season in Colorado?

Miller moths typically swarm across Colorado from mid-May to mid-June, Hershcovich said.

Moths metamorphose from army cutworm caterpillars on the Great Plains in March and take off for western ��DZ��ǰ������’s mountains in late spring, making pit stops on the Front Range during their journey, according to the .

The moths come in waves as they emerge from their cocoons, said Genevieve Anderegg, assistant collections manager of invertebrate zoology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

They travel west across the state for the cooler weather and to feed on the vast pollen and nectar that ��DZ��ǰ������’s diverse environments offer, Anderegg said. They do the same thing on the other side of the mountain, but the population is smaller and less noticeable, she said.

The number of miller moths can vary dramatically each year and is largely unpredictable, Hershcovich said.

“Even though they visit our backyards each year, we know next to nothing about them,” Hershcovich said. “They’re so essential to life as we know it, but they’ve only recently begun to gain visibility in terms of research.”

The climate and the number of flowers in bloom have the biggest impact on the moth population.

How long do miller moths live?

Miller moths live about a year — just long enough to emerge from their cocoons on the Great Plains, migrate west to ��DZ��ǰ������’s mountains and return to the grasslands in the fall to lay their eggs, Anderegg said. That is, if they don’t die during the migration.

The moths get confused by urban lights and often end up finding their way into Colorado homes, Hershcovich said, adding that miller moths use light from celestial objects like stars and the moon to orient themselves.

Once the moths start to appear in Denver, depending on the year and weather conditions, the peak will last from two to four weeks, Hershcovich said.

How can people control the number of miller moths in their home?

To prevent miller moths from making a home inside human spaces, Coloradans should seal any obvious openings, especially around windows and doors; reduce the number of lights in and around the home; or substitute yellow lights, according to the CSU Extension.

Miller moths may concentrate around buildings with more plants and increased humidity, the CSU Extension’s article stated. This effect is seen particularly during drought years when there are fewer flowering plants at lower elevations.

If they do make it inside, residents should carry them outside in a cup or their hands, Hershcovich said.

What happens if your pet eats a moth (or several dozen)?

“Miller moths are not dangerous in any way to us, our pets or our kids,” Hershcovich said. “They’re not venomous or poisonous.”

Many animals in Colorado — including birds, lizards and bears — rely on the moth population for food and as a key source of protein, she said.

“Your cat could eat cupfuls of moths and still be safe,” she said. “Honestly, the moths have the short end of the stick on this one.”

Friday-Sunday. Since moving to Estes Park in 2023, the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival has been “reborn,” programmers wrote online, with “national and regional touring bands and quirky, good fun all weekend long.” That bolsters an event already known for its weirdness, founded as it was around a cryogenically frozen corpse in a shed in Nederland — where the event was held for the previous two decades.

This year again features Frozen Dead Bar Crawl, the Royal Blue Ball (a dance and costume party), live music at various Estes Park bars and restaurants, Coffin Races, and the Polar Plunge. The Friday, March 14-Sunday, March 16 fun will be held at the Estes Park Events Complex and The Stanley Hotel, with satellite events occurring around town, producers said. Prices vary per event, with a full-fest pass costing $55. Daytime events are kid-friendly. 1125 Rooftop Way in Estes Park. Call 970-231-3777 or visit for more.

Butterfly Pavilion’s Mexican exhibit

Opens Saturday. The new Butterfly Pavilion exhibit, “Legacies: Invertebrates of Mexico,” replaces its “Origins: Building Life” exhibit this weekend to celebrate “the vital role invertebrates in Mexican culture and biodiversity,” as the museum said. The all-ages, conservation-minded offering includes millipedes, scorpions, tarantulas, and other invertebrates along with sensory elements (soundscapes, natural scents), live feeing displays and interactive educational activities.

It opens Saturday, March 15, at 6252 W. 104th Ave. in Westminster, and runs daily hours  (9 a.m.-5 p.m.). It’s included with general admission, $17.45 for adults, $12.45 for kids 2-12, and free for 1 and under (with discounts available). Call 303-469-5441 or visit for more.

St. Patrick’s Day pups

Saturday. While downtown Denver’s huge St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday is undoubtedly the biggest green event in the city this weekend (see for more), there’s also Boulder’s adorable St. Patrick’s Day Puppy Parade. Held at Boulder Social, 1600 38th St., it features dozens of doggos dressed in their finest tiny hats, bandanas, beads and other festive gear.

Last year’s event at 38th Street and Arapahoe Avenue drew 150 parade-goers and 60 dogs, and organizers expect an even bigger crowd this year. Registration and activities begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 15, with the parade starting at 1 p.m. Adoptable dogs from POSO Dog Rescue will be on site along with sponsor booths, a dog-friendly patio and pup cups, and Irish food and drink specials for the humans.

Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival

Friday-Sunday. This film event focused on Asian American and Pacific Islander movies typically precedes the outdoor Dragon Boat Festival — although the latter’s 2025 dates haven’t yet been announced. This weekend, however, you can check out the full Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival, which explores diverse facets of Asian American culture — from opening night title “New Wave” and the animated “Pigsy” to community conversations, an Asian Marketplace, and a Sunday, March 16, culinary experience with tastings from Pho King Rapidos, Sweet Rice Flour, RiceBoxx Denver, Die Die Must Try, Spice Room and more ($27.31 per ticket).

All events at Denver Film’s Sie FilmCenter, 1520 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver. An all-access pass to the 10th festival is $90.40, with individual screenings for $17.84.

The transition was first proposed in 2018, , located at the intersection of Interstate 25 and Colorado 7.

The zoo announced Thursday that since the business landscape has changed significantly in the seven years, the move is “no longer feasible in today’s economy,” a release stated.

“While Butterfly Pavilion’s new facility project has changed direction for site selection, we remain energized and optimistic about the future as we continue to expand our efforts to protect and conserve invertebrates, which are the foundation of all life on earth,” said Nathalie Brochu, interim CEO.

The Baseline development is a large mixed-use development project led by real estate investment and development firm McWhinney. Butterfly Pavilion had plans to break ground for its new location in 2024, with a full move-in by 2025. Its current Westminster facility is 30,000 square feet, so this new location would have more than doubled the zoo’s space.

, the former CEO of the pavilion said the new space would become “the global hub for invertebrate research, conservation and education.”

“Although we are saddened by this change in direction, we understand the challenges they faced and respect their decision,” said Kyle Harris, the Baseline general manager at McWhinney in the press release.

According to the McWhinney website, Baseline plans to have residential, educational and business facilities in close quarters.

Despite backing out of the project, Brochu said the pavilion will continue to work with cities like Broomfield on the Urban Prairies Project. Neighboring Westminster and Broomfield have more than 8,000 acres of open space and this project will help maintain habitat restoration, Brochu said, and will increase pollinator populations by integrating conservation into everyday spaces.

, Butterfly Pavilion certified Broomfield’s Baseline development as the first Pollinator District in the world.

According to the press release, the pavilion is working towards plans for future expansion elsewhere.

“Our Board of Directors is actively exploring new locations, and we are fully committed to finding the perfect site that will enable us to amplify our impact in invertebrate research, conservation, and education,” Brochu said. “We are excited about the opportunities ahead and look forward to continuing to inspire and connect future generations with nature’s small wonders.”

Saturday-Oct. 31. Most visitors to Westminster’s Butterfly Pavilion know of the lovable (er, mostly) mascot Rosie the Tarantula. But if she’s not enough for you, check out the Sept. 21-Oct. 31 return of “Spiders Around the World.” The limited-time programming leads up to Halloween with a stunning diversity of spiders sprinkled throughout the facility.

No, they’re not all in captivity. The exhibition features not just 20-plus tarantula species, but an 80-foot Spider Zone of free-roaming Orb Weaving spiders — some the size of a human hand — baby tarantulas, and more. Like any zoo, it dovetails nicely with Butterfly Pavilion’s ecological research and conservation efforts. (And for anyone who loves creepy-crawlies.)

Included with general admission, $11-$16. Kids 2 and under are free. 6252 W. 104th Ave. in Westminster. 303-469-5441 or .

Far East Center’s free Mid-Autumn Fest

Saturday. Westwood’s historic, multicultural mini-mall known as the Far East Center is this weekend hosting its 4th Mid-Autumn Festival. The sleepy name belies a variety of delights at the event, which takes place 2-8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, at 333 S. Federal Blvd. in the Little Saigon Business District in Denver.

Expect live music and dance from diverse Southeast Asian cultures, contests (pho eating, K-Pop Dance Battles, karaoke), a kid’s fashion show focused on traditional cultural wear, lantern-making for kids, international street food, a night market, and more. It’s free and family-friendly, but reserve your tickets now at .

Newman Center Presents’ new season

Sunday. The latest season of the Newman Center Presents series kicks off this week with the dazzling Cécile McLorin Salvant, a triple Grammy winner who brings a narrative flair to her vast musical interpretations. The Miami, Fla., native is known best for her vocal and jazz recordings, but tackles 12th-century music with the same skill and subtlety as one of her original compositions.

Her 7:30 p.m. show on Sunday, Sept. 22, show takes place at Gates Concert Hall, 2344 E. Iliff Ave. Tickets are $42-$86, fees included. Call 303-871-7720 or visit .

A really big “Last Splash”

Thursday. Alt-rock band The Breeders, which hit fame in the ’90s with its album “Last Splash” and sugar-shocked single “Cannonball,” has lately been championed by massive pop stars like Olivia Rodrigo, helping set the quartet’s legacy for younger generations.

The Dayton, Ohio, act, led by sisters Kim and Kelley Deal, will make good on that on Thursday, Sept. 26, as it plays the “Last Splash” and “Pod” albums in their entirety for Mission Ballroom. 8 p.m. at 4242 Wynkoop St. in Denver. Tickets for the 16-and-up concert, with opener Man on Man, are $67-$112 at .

A warm and dry winter and spring created perfect conditions for grasshoppers to flourish this year, according to entomology experts with Colorado State University and the Butterfly Pavilion.

“Some of the farmers I work with remark it����ap been the worst year they’ve ever experienced,” said Karim Gharbi, horticulture and entomology specialist with “A big part of that is climate change… the grasshoppers and the plants they’re feeding on are coming out of dormancy sooner and going into dormancy later.”

Parasites that normally limit grasshopper populations, including fungi and nematodes, prefer overcast, cool and moist weather and will die easily in dry conditions, Gharbi said.

His advice for people hoping to fight back against the insects?

“Just pray,” Gharbi said, laughing.

For backyard gardeners, grasshoppers might be a nuisance but are largely harmless, said Cori Brant, entomology manager at

“They’re mainly going to be a food source for other animals and are great for the rest of the ecosystem, including birds and reptiles,” she said. “I put an extra bird feeder in my backyard and have seen a lot more birds that I’ve never seen before that are down in the grass, eating grasshoppers.”

Folks worried about protecting their gardens can take a few steps like planting “trap crops” that the grasshoppers will go for instead – things like leafy greens, zinnias, cereal crops, beans, corn, carrots and onions, Gharbi said.

But when there are so many insects, they might eat the trap crops and still be hungry for more, he said. Planting grasshoppers’ least favorite meals – plants in the cucurbit and nightshade families, like summer and winter squash, gourds, melons, tomatoes and peppers – is also an option.

Grasshoppers have cyclical populations and often increase for a few years before dropping to lower levels, Gharbi and Brant said. But climate change makes that trend more uncertain.

“We’re not really sure, because climate change is happening and our ecosystems are changing,” Brant said. “While I suspect next year will be more of a typical grasshopper year because that����ap how their life cycles go, I can’t say that 100% for certain.”

Gardeners can take preventative measures by tilling their soil in the fall to get rid of grasshopper eggs and planting aromatic plants, like catnip or garlic, to keep them away, Brant said.

“Natural remedies are a great way to support the ecosystem and also protect your fruits and vegetables,” she said.