Wine, film, music, bigfoot and more to be celebrated across the state

By the Thirst Team

Welcome to our roundup of the best events across Colorado for the next couple of weeks. Check out our April performing arts preview here, and read on for other happenings all over the state. For more, check out our events calendar.

Climate Film Festival in Leadville today

Leadville hosts a film festival today (Wednesday, April 22). The Climate Future Film Festival includes 10 short films from four continents about human responses to climate change. The free event is at the Colorado Mountain College Library.

Adventure film festival continues in Carbondale

5Point is a traveling film festival “dedicated to uplifting diverse storytellers and stories that allow us to better understand the world around us.” The flagship event for the Colorado-based series is in Carbondale through Sunday.

Westminster Restaurant Week continues through Sunday

The City of Westminster is currently hosting its first “Westy Restaurant Week,” with special menus and deals at restaurants all over the Denver suburb.

Pricing levels range from $15 to $55, and include breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner options. A digital passport also is available to collect points and win gift cards.

Sprawling music festival in Fort Collins Friday and Saturday

The Fort Collins Music Experiment (FoCoMX) hosts performances by more than 450 Colorado artists, taking over nearly any Fort Collins space with a stage. Beloved local singer-songwriter Michael Kirkpatrick starts the party at 3 p.m. Friday at Equinox Brewing. The music continues until rap collective Write Minded plays Sound Bar at 1 a.m. Saturday’s sessions start with DJ sets at 10 a.m. at the FoCo Breckenridge Brewery taproom, and ends with rock band Los Toms at Sound Bar at 1 a.m.

Bigfoot Days stomp into Estes Friday and Saturday

Sasquatch. Bigfoot. Whatever you want to call the hairy and elusive beasts, this festival takes them seriously (but not too seriously). Bigfoot experts and celebrities share stories and films, but there is also live music, outdoor activities, a Bigfoot calling contest and more. Like any good Colorado event, it also includes a half marathon and 5K run (costumes optional).

Durango Wine Experience set for Friday and Saturday

The Durango Wine Experience opens Friday with wine and food pairings throughout downtown Durango. Saturday brings the grand tasting with Durango’s top restaurants alongside Colorado wine and spirits. There also are other tastings, seminars and showcases around Durango starting today.

Women+Film Festival Friday to Sunday

The Women+Film Festival is a live event screening features, shorts, and documentaries that include female filmmakers behind the camera and women’s stories on screen.

All the films will be at the Sie FilmCenter in Denver, with live musical accompaniment. Festival passes cost $75 for Denver Film members, and $85 for non-members.

Sunsation at Copper Mountain Friday to Sunday

Copper closes out the ski season with its free annual Sunsation music festival. DJ Trizz and Party Pupils open the event on Friday. The Record Company and Moon Taxi will perform on Saturday. And Don Fuego will play a DJ set on Sunday, after the Skimmy Dippers Dual Pond Skim at 11:30 a.m.

Mountain Plover Festival coming Friday to Sunday

The mountain plover is a small bird that nests in the shortgrass prairies of eastern Colorado each April. The Mountain Plover Festival in Karval (45 miles southeast of Limon) allows birders to tour private ranchland and see plovers and other wildlife. The festival also includes antiques, history and a chuckwagon dinner with Western entertainment.

Brews for Rescues coming Saturday

The Brews for Rescues Beer Festival is coming to the Archuleta County Fairgrounds in Pagosa Springs on Saturday, with unlimited tastings of more than 80 beers and other libations. The event benefits Rugby’s Rescue House, a local non-profit dedicated to saving dogs in need.

Tico Time Festival season starts Saturday

The Tico Time River Resort in Aztec, N.M., is so close to Durango and so cool that we are calling it an honorary Colorado music venue.

The festival season kicks off Saturday and Sunday with the Under One Moon Festival, bringing together music, dance, theater, and visual art. Music festivals continue through the summer and fall. All season, the resort offers tent and RV camping, glamping, tubing, paddleboarding, disc golf, beach volleyball and other activities.

The Colorado Wine Walk returns to the Dairy Block in Denver on Sunday. | Photo provided

Colorado Wine Walk in Denver Sunday

The first Colorado Wine Walk of 2026 is on Sunday at the Dairy Block in downtown Denver. Tickets include unlimited samples of a wide variety of Colorado wines, a commemorative wine glass, wine tote, opportunities for wine purchases, conversations with winemakers and live music. VIP tickets also include a seminar about wine tasting etiquette.

Tickets for two sessions are still on sale. General admission is $50, and VIP tickets are available for $90, including a VIP lounge, live music and discounted purchases.

Mile High Asian Food Week opens with Saturday preview event

Mile High Asian Food Week officially opens Sunday and runs through May 3. It features exclusive specials and deals from 73 Asian and Pacific Islander-owned restaurants, food trucks, pop-ups, and beverage makers from Aurora to Colorado Springs.

Before the week officially starts, there also is a free night market from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Clayton Quad, 3840 York St. Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) high school students will host cultural arts and crafts booths, and Asian food and beverages will be sold.

iAM MUSIC Fest in Durango April 30 to May 3

The iAM MUSIC Fest brings more than 25 artists to eight stages across downtown Durango. The multi-venue festival moves between indoor sets, outdoor performances, and late-night shows. The lineup that spans jamtronica, bluegrass, indie and soul. Performers include Sunsquabi, Jeremy Garrett, Taylor Scott Band, Desiderata and Halle Tomlinson.

Hestival in Hotchkiss May 1 to 3

The 5th annual Hestival is coming to Big B's Delicious Orchards in Hotchkiss Friday to Sunday, May 1 to 3. It is a family-friendly and dog-friendly weekend of adventures, live music and camping. Performers include Mama Lingua, John Craigie and Gertie and the Ghost Peppers. The Friday and Sunday concerts are free, but Saturday is a ticketed show benefiting the Conservation Alliance.

Horses and bikes in northwest Colorado May 2 and 3

The 40th annual “Where the Hell’s Maybell” bike ride runs from Craig to Maybell (in the northwest corner of Colorado) on Saturday, May 2. The ride starts at 7 a.m. in Craig, and shuttles from Maybell back to Craig begin running at 10:30.

Also, every spring since 1959, Sombrero Ranches has moved a horse herd across northwestern Colorado sagebrush from winter pasture to ranch headquarters. The horse drive is expected to travel through Maybell on Sunday, May 3.

Barrel Into Spring returns May 8 and 9

A few tickets remain for the May 8 and 9 Barrel Into Spring tour, hosted by the Colorado Association for Viticulture & Enology. The Barrel Into Spring is a self-guided tour of wineries across the Grand Valley in western Colorado, with barrel tastings and food pairings.

Save the Date: Blues From the Top Music Festival

The Blues from the Top music festival returns to Winter Park June 26-28. It brings another great lineup to one of Colorado's most beautiful summer destinations. The Friday lineup is the Wood Brothers and Marc Broussard. Saturday’s performers include Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jimmie Vaughan and North Mississippi Allstars. Los Lobos headlines on Sunday, and Southern Hospitality, Blind Boys of Alabama and Vanessa Collier also are on the bill.

As always, please send us your events and announcements. We’re happy to share them. If they don’t fit in this events roundup, we will add them to our events calendar.