September 2027
What's on in Colorado: September
4 events with confirmed dates and 31 annual traditions that usually land in September.
Photo: tellurideblues.com
On the calendar
AUG27SeasonalPhoto: EcoNaturalist.com on UnsplashAug 27 to Sep 6 · Pueblo
Colorado State Fair
Eleven days of livestock judging, demolition derby, and fried-everything in Pueblo. The state's most honest, least curated event.
SEP3CulturalSep 3 to 6 · Telluride
Telluride Film Festival
An invitation-respecting cinephile pilgrimage whose program is kept secret until opening day. Many years' Oscar contenders premiere here first.
- SEP17MusicPhoto: tellurideblues.com
Sep 17 to 19 · Telluride
Telluride Blues & Brews Festival
Three-day festival at Telluride Town Park with about 60 brewers and a heavy blues-rock lineup. Saturday night is the headline slot.
SEP18Food & drinkPhoto: Jens Peter Olesen on UnsplashSat, Sep 18 · Palisade
Colorado Mountain Winefest
The state's flagship wine event, with tastings in Riverbend Park and grape stomps in the orchards. Cool nights, harvest light, and a much better wine region than the coasts admit.
Every year in September
Annual events that usually fall this month. Confirm dates on the official site before you go.
Second weekend of September · Arvada
Arvada Harvest Festival
Three days of parade, carnival, and small-town food court in Olde Town Arvada. The Saturday parade has run since 1925.
Seasonal · Photo: EcoNaturalist.com on Unsplash
Late September · Aspen
Aspen Filmfest
A focused, five-day program of independent narrative and documentary films at the Wheeler Opera House. Lower-key than Telluride and easier to get into.
Cultural
Mid-to-late September · Aspen
Maroon Bells Peak Foliage Season
Not an event so much as a window: the aspens around Maroon Bells, Kebler Pass, and Independence Pass turn for about ten days. Reservations to drive up to the Bells are required and sell out.
Outdoor
Early September · Aurora
Aurora Fox Arts Center Season Opener
Opening night for the Aurora Fox's regional theater season at the 1946 Fox movie house on East Colfax. The mainstage seats 245.
Art · Photo: Acton Crawford on Unsplash
Mid-September · Aurora
Stanley Marketplace Arts Festival
Two-day juried art fair inside the Stanley Marketplace and across its lawns. About 80 vendors; free admission.
Art · Photo: Acton Crawford on Unsplash
Late September · Aurora
Stanley Marketplace Oktoberfest
Cheluna Brewing's marketplace-wide Oktoberfest with a stein-hoisting contest and German-American food from the on-site restaurants.
Food & drink · Photo: Jens Peter Olesen on Unsplash
Late September · Boulder
Boulder Fall Fest
Three blocks of Pearl Street closed for a beer garden, two music stages, and a kids' carnival. Locals come for the Avery and Boulder Beer tents.
Seasonal
Late September · Boulder
Boulder Philharmonic Season Opener
Opening-night concert of the Boulder Philharmonic at CU's Macky Auditorium. The orchestra's resident season runs through May.
Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash
Mid-September, four days · Breckenridge
Breckenridge Film Festival
Independent film festival with screenings at the Riverwalk Center and the Speakeasy Theatre. Filmmaker Q&As after most evening shows.
Art · Photo: EcoNaturalist.com on Unsplash
Mid-September · Breckenridge
Breckenridge Oktoberfest
Three days of Paulaner on Main Street, a stein-hoisting contest, and yodelers in lederhosen. Free to wander; the chicken dance starts before you've decided whether you want to.
Seasonal · Photo: EcoNaturalist.com on Unsplash
Mid-September · Broomfield
Broomfield Days
Free city festival at Midway Park with about 200 vendors, a fishing derby, and a Saturday-night fireworks display.
Cultural · Photo: Jameson Berrios on Unsplash
Mid-September · Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs Philharmonic Season Opener
Opening-night gala concert at the Pikes Peak Center. The 2,000-seat hall is the orchestra's main house downtown.
Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash
Late September · Colorado Springs
Pikes Peak Regional Air Show
Two-day air show at Colorado Springs Airport with U.S. military demo teams and warbird flights. Free general admission; flight-line tickets sell.
Outdoor · Photo: Daniel Forster on Unsplash
Fall equinox · Crested Butte
Vinotok
A pagan harvest festival staged by Crested Butte's resident artists, complete with a Green Man, a Harvest Mother, and the burning of a grumpy effigy in the town park. Genuinely strange and genuinely beloved.
Cultural
Labor Day weekend · Denver
A Taste of Colorado
Civic Center fills with restaurant booths, beer tents, and stages of mid-tier touring bands. A reliable last-of-summer outing.
Food & drink
September through January · Denver
Denver Broncos Home Games
Eight or nine home Sundays at Empower Field at Mile High, plus the occasional Monday or Thursday. The South Stands tradition isn't quite what it was but still louder than most stadiums.
Sports
Late September · Denver
Denver Startup Week
Free week of talks and panels across about 30 LoDo venues with about 20,000 attendees. The opening party fills Wynkoop Plaza.
Cultural
Late September / early October · Denver
Great American Beer Festival
The country's largest professionally-judged beer festival, with more than 500 breweries pouring at the Colorado Convention Center. Wear comfortable shoes and pace yourself; this is not a sprint.
Food & drink
Mid-September · Denver
Levitt Pavilion Denver Closing Show
Final free Levitt show of the year at Ruby Hill Park. Lawn fills earlier than usual because it's the last one.
Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash
First Friday of September · Denver
RiNo First Friday: Crush Walls Edition
First Friday during the annual Crush Walls mural festival. About 70 artists paint live across the district through the weekend.
Art
Mid-September, three nights · Durango
Durango Blues Train
Three-hour evening blues concert riding the Durango & Silverton steam train. Bands in five cars; the engine turns around at Rockwood.
Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash
Late September · Estes Park
Estes Park Autumn Gold Festival
Free fall festival in Bond Park during peak aspen color. About 30 craft vendors; live music both days.
Seasonal
Weekend after Labor Day · Estes Park
Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival
Four days of bagpipes, caber tosses, and Highland dance in the shadow of Longs Peak. The opening tattoo at sunset, with the Rockies behind, is worth the drive on its own.
Cultural
Last Saturday of September · Fort Collins
Fortoberfest
Single-day Oktoberfest at Old Town Square with about 20 Colorado breweries and a polka band. About 5,000 attendees.
Food & drink · Photo: Acton Crawford on Unsplash
First Saturday of September · Fort Collins
Tour de Fat Fort Collins
New Belgium Brewing's costumed bike parade through Old Town. Free vaudeville show at City Park after; admission is a costume.
Cultural · Photo: Acton Crawford on Unsplash
Mid-September, two days · Lakewood
Festival Italiano at Belmar
Largest Italian festival in the region, held in Belmar's plaza. Bocce courts on the lawn, an opera-pop stage, and the grape stomp contest on Sunday.
Cultural · Photo: Jameson Berrios on Unsplash
Mid-September · Monte Vista
San Luis Valley Potato Festival
A harvest celebration of the high valley that quietly grows much of the country's potatoes. Tractor parade, mash-eating contest, and a 5K through the fields.
Food & drink · Photo: Jens Peter Olesen on Unsplash
Third weekend of September · Pueblo
Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival
Three days of roasting Pueblo chiles in giant drum roasters along Union Avenue downtown. Cook-offs, jalapeño-eating contest, and a Sunday morning chile run.
Food & drink · Photo: Jens Peter Olesen on Unsplash
Labor Day weekend · Snowmass
JAS Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Experience
A three-day, headliner-driven festival on Snowmass Town Park, with a lineup that runs from rock to hip-hop to legacy pop. The 'Jazz' in JAS is increasingly nominal, in the best way.
Music · Photo: Collin Wigger on Unsplash
Mid-September · Snowmass Village
Snowmass Balloon Festival
Forty or so hot-air balloons lift off from the Snowmass Town Park rodeo grounds at dawn for three days running. The Saturday-night Glow is the best photograph of the weekend.
Outdoor · Photo: Josh Hild on Unsplash
Second Saturday of September · Trinidad
ArtoCade Trinidad
About 60 art cars roll into downtown Trinidad for a Saturday parade and overnight street display. The Cano Castle in Antonito makes a regular appearance.
Art · Photo: Acton Crawford on Unsplash
The events worth circling, weekly.
One email a week. Free.