What's on in Colorado: July

July 4 · Aspen

Aspen Fourth of July Parade

Quirky parade down Main Street with the famed Hotel Jerome firetruck and the local plumbers' brass band. Fireworks over Aspen Mountain at dusk.

Seasonal

July 4 · Aspen

Aspen Music Festival: Fourth of July Concert

Free outdoor concert at Harris Hall paired with the town's fireworks over Aspen Mountain. Bring a blanket for the lawn.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

Mid-July · Aurora

Cherry Creek SUP Cup

Single-day stand-up paddleboard race at Cherry Creek State Park. Recreational two-miler in the morning, racing six-miler in the afternoon.

Outdoor · Photo: brian pelton on Unsplash

Mid-July · Aurora

Stanley Marketplace Summer Festival

All-day block party in the courtyards of the former aviation factory. Beer garden from Cheluna and Annette's open-fire tasting menu pop-up.

Cultural · Photo: Jameson Berrios on Unsplash

July 4 · Boulder

Boulder Independence Day Fireworks at Folsom Field

Free Boulder Concert Band performance inside Folsom Field followed by fireworks above the stadium rim. Stadium gates open at 6.

Seasonal

Late July · Breckenridge

Riverwalk Center: Breckenridge Music Festival

Featured orchestral evening at the open-walled Riverwalk Center, part of the seven-week Breckenridge Music Festival. Lawn tickets are about $20.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

Last full weekend of July · Carbondale

Carbondale Mountain Fair

A free, three-day arts and music fair in Sopris Park that locals describe as a family reunion that strangers crashed and stayed at.

Cultural · Photo: Jameson Berrios on Unsplash

Mid-July · Centennial

Centennial Under the Stars

Free outdoor concert at Centennial Center Park. The southeast metro's biggest single-night summer concert; lawn opens at 5.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

July through early August · Central City

Central City Opera Festival

Productions in a restored 1878 opera house in a former mining town. The walk up Eureka Street alone is worth the ticket.

Cultural · Photo: Jameson Berrios on Unsplash

July 4 · Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs Fourth of July at Memorial Park

All-day picnic in Memorial Park with bands on two stages and fireworks above Prospect Lake at dusk. Free; the lawn east of the lake gets best sightlines.

Seasonal · Photo: Daniel Forster on Unsplash

Mid-July · Colorado Springs

Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo

A four-night PRCA rodeo at the Norris-Penrose Event Center, running since 1937. One of the largest stops on the pro circuit between Cheyenne and Denver.

Sports · Photo: Daniel Forster on Unsplash

Mid-July · Crested Butte

Crested Butte Wildflower Festival

Ten days of guided hikes, photography workshops, and botanical drawing classes in the official wildflower capital of Colorado. Time it right and the meadows above town look unreal.

Outdoor

Mid-July · Denver

Cherry Creek North Sidewalk Sale

Four-day sale across the Cherry Creek shopping district. Many retailers move racks to the sidewalk; the Bayou Bob's gator-on-a-stick tent returns.

Cultural

Last weekend of July · Denver

Colorado Dragon Boat Festival

About 80 boat teams race the 250-meter course at Sloan's Lake. Three stages and an Asian-American food court line the south shore.

Cultural

Late July, three days · Denver

Denver County Fair

Urban county fair at the National Western Complex with home-brew judging, drag queen bingo, and a dog stunt show. Started in 2011.

Cultural

Early July, three days · Denver

Denver Pop Culture Con

Comic and pop-culture convention at the Colorado Convention Center, formerly Denver Comic Con. About 100,000 attendees; cosplay parade on Saturday.

Cultural

July 3 · Denver

Independence Eve at Civic Center Park

Free concert at Civic Center followed by fireworks over the City and County Building. The crowd is densest on the lawn between the Capitol and the Greek amphitheater.

Seasonal

July 4 · Denver

Levitt Pavilion: Fourth of July Show

Free Fourth of July concert at the Levitt Pavilion with the Ruby Hill fireworks visible over the stage. Lawn fills by 6pm.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

Mid-July · Denver

Slow Food Nations

Three days of taste workshops, panels, and a Larimer Square street market run by Slow Food USA. Most workshops cost; the market is free.

Food & drink

Late July · Denver

Underground Music Showcase

Three days, dozens of bands, and a takeover of South Broadway's bars and clubs. Denver's best chance to see acts on the verge before they're priced out.

Music · Photo: undergroundmusicshowcase.com

Last weekend of July · Golden

Buffalo Bill Days Golden

Three days in Parfet Park honoring the showman buried atop Lookout Mountain. Burro race up Lookout, parade through downtown, free mainstage concerts.

Cultural · Photo: Jameson Berrios on Unsplash

Late July · Keystone

Keystone Bacon & Bourbon Festival

Two-day festival in River Run Village. About 25 bourbon distillers, bacon dishes from local restaurants, and a bourbon-pairing dinner on Saturday.

Food & drink · Photo: Jens Peter Olesen on Unsplash

Mid-July · Keystone

Keystone Mountain Town Music Festival

Free outdoor concert series finale in River Run Village. Anchored by a Saturday-night Americana or bluegrass headliner.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

Third weekend of July, three nights · Morrison

Global Dance Festival

Three-night EDM run at Red Rocks. The Friday and Saturday nights are the headliner slots; Sunday tends toward bass and dubstep.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

Late July · Morrison

KS107.5 Summer Jam

Denver Top 40 station's annual hip-hop and pop revue at Red Rocks. Five to seven acts, doors at 4.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

Saturday mornings in July · Morrison

Yoga on the Rocks

Two thousand mats on the amphitheatre's tiered benches at sunrise, with a live DJ and a single instructor on the stage. Tickets sell out the day they release each spring.

Outdoor · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

Third weekend of July · Telluride

Telluride Nothing Festival

The town's tongue-in-cheek non-festival weekend with no scheduled programming. Locals stay home; many restaurants offer locals' discounts.

Cultural

Mid-July · Vail

Bravo! Vail: New York Philharmonic Opening Night

Single concert that kicks off the New York Philharmonic's annual residency at Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. Generally the festival's most-photographed night.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash

July 4 · Vail

Vail America Days Parade

Morning parade through Vail Village and Lionshead with about 60 floats. Free concert at Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater after.

Seasonal

Late July through early August · Vail

Vail Dance Festival

Two weeks of ballet and contemporary dance at the Gerald Ford Amphitheater and Vilar Center. The free lawn shows are the best deal in the valley.

Cultural

Mid-July · Winter Park

Winter Park Big Mountain Enduro

Three-day stop on the Big Mountain Enduro series at Trestle Bike Park. Pro and amateur classes; spectating from the chairlift is the trick.

Sports · Photo: Knopka Ivy on Unsplash

Mid-July weekend · Winter Park

Winter Park Jazz Festival

An outdoor jazz weekend at the base of Winter Park Resort, with a lineup that consistently punches above the town's size. Lawn chairs, picnics, mountain light.

Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash