October 2027
What's on in Colorado: October
1 event with confirmed dates and 12 annual traditions that usually land in October.
Photo: emmacrawford.coffinraces.com
On the calendar
Every year in October
Annual events that usually fall this month. Confirm dates on the official site before you go.
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
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
The events worth circling, weekly.
One email a week. Free.