What's on in Colorado: October

Mid-October · Aurora

Punkin Chunkin Aurora

Catapult and trebuchet competition at the Aurora Reservoir launching pumpkins for distance. The reservoir's east shore is the spectator zone.

Seasonal · Photo: EcoNaturalist.com on Unsplash

First two weekends of October · Boulder

Open Studios Boulder

Self-guided art tour of about 100 working studios across Boulder and Gunbarrel. The October mountain light is the unspoken reason most artists schedule for these weekends.

Art

October through April · Denver

Colorado Avalanche Home Games

Mountain-time hockey at Ball Arena, sharing the building with the Nuggets all winter. The fanbase is quieter than Toronto's but more knowledgeable than people give it credit for.

Sports

October through April · Denver

Denver Nuggets Home Games

Forty-one regular-season nights at Ball Arena, plus playoff runs that have lately gone long. The 2023 championship made the upper deck mean something again.

Sports

Halloween weekend · Denver

DMNS Spooky Science

Halloween-themed adults-only evening at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science with mad science demos, a haunted gem and mineral hall walk, and a planetarium horror show.

Cultural

Mid-October · Denver

Rock 'n' Roll Denver Half Marathon

Half marathon and 10K through downtown Denver and Cap Hill, ending in Civic Center Park. Bands at every mile marker on the half.

Sports

First weekend of October · Estes Park

Elk Fest

Estes Park leans into rutting season with bugling contests, guided wildlife tours, and Native American storytellers in Bond Park. The elk themselves do not RSVP but reliably attend.

Seasonal

Halloween weekend · Estes Park

Stanley Hotel Shining Ball

Costume ball at the Stanley Hotel where Stephen King wrote The Shining. Tickets sell out months ahead; a Hedge Maze contest on Saturday afternoon.

Seasonal

First weekend of October · Lakewood

Lakewood Cider Days

Apple-pressing demonstrations at the Lakewood Heritage Center, a Victorian farm site on Wadsworth. Live blacksmithing and a vintage tractor pull.

Seasonal · Photo: EcoNaturalist.com on Unsplash

Late October · Longmont

Longmont Pumpkin Pie Days

Heritage festival at the Longmont Museum complex featuring 1880s baking demos and an apple-cider press. Free pie samples Saturday afternoon.

Seasonal · Photo: EcoNaturalist.com on Unsplash

Sat, Oct 30 · Manitou Springs

Emma Crawford Coffin Races

Teams race decorated coffins down Manitou Avenue in honor of Emma Crawford, buried atop Red Mountain in 1891. Parade of hearses precedes the races.

Seasonal · Photo: emmacrawford.coffinraces.com

Mid-October · Snowmass Village

Snowmass Mammoth Day

Free festival in Base Village marking the 2010 Ziegler Reservoir mammoth dig. Ice Age fossil casts on display; lectures from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Cultural · Photo: Josh Hild on Unsplash

Mid-October, three days · Telluride

Telluride Horror Show

Genre-film festival at the Sheridan Opera House and the Nugget Theatre. Half-price weekend passes to Coloradans; sells out by August.

Art