What's on in Colorado: August

Mid-August · Aspen

Aspen Music Festival Closing Weekend

The Aspen Festival Orchestra plays Mahler or similar large-scale repertoire to close the season at the Benedict Music Tent. Single most-attended concert of the summer.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

Mid-August · Aurora

Aurora Global Fest

Single-day celebration of the city's immigrant communities at the Aurora Municipal Center. Twenty-plus food stalls; performances on two stages.

Cultural · Photo: Jameson Berrios on Unsplash

Mid-August, ten days · Boulder

Boulder International Fringe Festival

Independent theater festival across about a dozen Boulder venues. Shows uncurated; tickets are pay-what-you-can after a $5 button.

Art

Late August · Boulder

Pearl Street Stampede Football Pep Rally

Pre-CU football season pep rally on Pearl Street with the Buffalo marching band. The team and Ralphie come down the mall around 6:30.

Cultural

Mid-August, ten days · Breckenridge

Breckenridge International Festival of Arts

BIFA. Outdoor installations along Main Street, dance and theater inside the Riverwalk Center, art-bike rides up Boreas Pass. Many events free.

Art · Photo: EcoNaturalist.com on Unsplash

Mid-August · Buena Vista

Buena Vista Gold Rush Days

A small-town heritage weekend with a burro race, parade, and pie social. The Arkansas River churns through town a block away.

Seasonal · Photo: EcoNaturalist.com on Unsplash

Labor Day weekend · Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs Labor Day Lift Off

About 70 hot-air balloons launch from Memorial Park over Prospect Lake. Saturday's balloon glow after dark is the most-photographed part.

Outdoor · Photo: Daniel Forster on Unsplash

Mid-August · Denver

Cherry Creek North Food & Wine

One-night strolling food event with about 50 restaurants and wineries setting tables along Fillmore Street. Tickets cap at 1,500.

Food & drink

Late August · Denver

Denver Modernism Show

Mid-century modern furniture, fashion, and design fair at the National Western Complex. About 200 dealers; a tiki bar tent serves all weekend.

Art

Late August · Englewood

Sounds of Summer Englewood Finale

Final show in the free Friday-night summer series at Englewood Civic Center plaza. About 1,500 in lawn chairs.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

Late August · Grand Junction

Downtown Grand Junction Thursday Night Concert Finale

Final show of the free outdoor concert series in downtown Grand Junction. Main Street closed for blocks; the headliner is announced in May.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

First weekend of August · Leadville

Leadville Boom Days & Burro Race

Pack-burro race over Mosquito Pass and back, plus mining competitions on Harrison Avenue. The 22-mile burro race tops 13,000 feet at the pass.

Cultural · Photo: Andres Molina on Unsplash

Mid-August · Leadville

Leadville Trail 100 MTB

The high-altitude mountain bike century that helped invent the modern mass-start endurance race. Lottery entry, brutal climbing, and a finish chute that has made grown men cry on camera.

Outdoor · Photo: Andres Molina on Unsplash

Mid-August, ten days · Littleton

Littleton Western Welcome Week

Two-week stretch of small events ending with a Saturday parade down Main Street. Has run since 1928.

Cultural · Photo: Jameson Berrios on Unsplash

Late August · Lone Tree

Lone Tree Arts Center Summer Sounds Finale

Final free summer concert on the Lone Tree Arts Center lawn. The center programs a regional Americana headliner.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

Mid-August · Lyons

Rocky Mountain Folks Festival

A three-day singer-songwriter festival on the banks of the St. Vrain in Lyons, run by Planet Bluegrass. Smaller and quieter than its bluegrass sibling, intentionally so.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

Third weekend of August · Manitou Springs

Pikes Peak Marathon & Ascent

Ascent on Saturday up the Barr Trail; full marathon Sunday up and back. About 1,800 finishers across the two days. Has run since 1956.

Sports · Photo: Lexi Laginess on Unsplash

Mid-August · Monument

Monument Hill Country Jam

Single-day country music festival at Limbach Park. Three bands; food trucks; the town's bingo tent for non-music years.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

Mid-August · Morrison

Morrison Day Festival

Bear Creek Avenue closed all day for a small-town parade, a pancake breakfast, and live music in the park. The Red Rocks shuttle still runs that night.

Cultural · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

Third weekend of August · Palisade

Palisade Peach Festival

A weekend celebration of the Western Slope's most famous fruit, with cobbler contests, orchard tours, and the year's juiciest peach run. Best timed with a swing through the wine country next door.

Food & drink · Photo: Jens Peter Olesen on Unsplash

Third weekend of August · Rocky Ford

Rocky Ford Watermelon Days

Has run since 1878. Free watermelon distributed Saturday morning at Babcock Memorial Park; about 30 tons given out.

Food & drink · Photo: Jens Peter Olesen on Unsplash

Mid-August · Salida

Salida Riverside Fine Arts Festival

Juried fine-art festival along Salida's riverwalk and Centennial Park. About 90 artists; the river beach across the Arkansas fills with swimmers.

Art

Mid-August · Telluride

Telluride Jazz Festival

A more intimate companion to the bluegrass crowd, with main-stage sets in Town Park and after-hours shows in the Sheridan Opera House.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

Mid-August, four days · Telluride

Telluride Mushroom Festival

Mycology-focused festival running since 1981. Foraging walks in the morning, lectures in the afternoon, fungus parade through town on Saturday.

Cultural