Head out across the state for music, libations and comedy festivals, and plenty more

By the Thirst Team

Welcome to our roundup of the best events across Colorado for the next couple of weeks. It’s going to be a fun and busy Memorial Day weekend all over Colorado, and the events don’t slow down heading toward June. Check out our May performing arts preview here, and read on for other happenings all over the state. For more, check out our events calendar.

The Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival Friday to Sunday

Beaver Creek hosts a weekend of BBQ competitions, beer, spirits and blues music. Larry McCray and George Porter Jr. play on Friday night. Jontavious Willis and Tommy Castro & The Painkillers get top billing on Saturday. Tab Benoit and Kevin Burt & The Big Medicine close the festival on Sunday.

Vail Comedy Festival Friday to Sunday

More than 20 comedy, cinema and street magic shows are coming to Vail on Memorial Day weekend. A variety of ticketing options are available, including one- and three-day passes, as well as individual tickets for some events. Mark Masters Comedy will also offer free family entertainment.

Meadowgrass music and yoga festival in Colorado Springs Friday to Sunday

The MeadowGrass Music Festival returns to the LaForet Conference Center outside Colorado Springs Friday through Sunday. The festival brings bluegrass musicians from around the world, and also includes kids’ activities, guided hikes, workshops, yoga and more.

Banshee Tree headlines on Friday, ALO closes out Saturday’s sets, and the Kyle Hollingsworth Band gets top billing on Sunday.

Folk N' Roots Rendezvous festival in Hotchkiss Friday to Sunday

Big B’s Delicious Orchards in Hotchkiss hosts its free annual music festival this weekend. The lineup includes Broken Compass Bluegrass, Hard Pressed, FY5 and Foggy Mountain Spaceship.

Camping is available in the orchard, and there also will be smoked BBQ, kids activities and, of course, cider and apple juice.

Grand Old West Days in Craig Friday to Monday

Tyce Delk, Kalyn Beasley and Brennan Scott Greene will perform at Grand Old West Days in Craig on Saturday. The festival also includes rodeo events, a carnival, tractor pulls, food, crafts and more Friday through Monday.

Boulder Creek Festival and Sundance screenings Friday to Monday

The Sundance Film Festival is celebrating its imminent arrival in Boulder with a pair of free Creekside Movie Nights during the Boulder Creek Festival. “Napoleon Dynamite” will be on Saturday night, followed by “Zootopia 2” on Sunday night.

The Boulder Creek Festival runs from Friday through Monday, and also brings a beer festival, food, shopping and plenty of live music, including a Magic Beans super jam, a Bob Dylan tribute band and Gasoline Lollipops.

Denver Arts Festival Saturday and Sunday

Conservatory Green in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood hosts the Denver Arts Festival, a showcase for Colorado artists and a select group of national artists, on Memorial Day weekend. The event also includes wine, beer and spirits, a kids’ art zone and live music by the Denver Concert Band, Dotsero, Wendy Woo, the Jacob Larson Band and more.

Pack burro races in Georgetown and Idaho Springs Saturday and Sunday

The Colorado pack burro racing season kicks into high gear in Georgetown on May 23 and Idaho Springs May 24. Races are open to the public, and burros are available for rent (although you’ll probably need to join a waitlist at this point).

Goldengrass music festival in Golden May 28-31

New Terrain Brewing in Golden hosts four days of free, live bluegrass shows. Broken Compass Bluegrass plays on Thursday. Magoo and Silas Herman and the Tone Unit get top billing on Friday. Arkansauce headlines on Saturday. And Rapidgrass closes out Sunday.

Yampa River Festival May 28-31

The 46th annual Yampa River Festival is coming to Steamboat Springs. The event includes kayak, pack raft and standup paddleboard race and rodeos, as well as a gear swap and other events. Yampa Valley Brewing Co. and Storm Peak Brewing Co. will pour beers.

Mike the Headless Chicken Festival May 29 and 30

In the 1940s, one of the biggest celebrities from Colorado was Mike, a chicken that apparently ran around with its head cut off for 18 months. Fruita still celebrates Mike with a large statue and a spring festival that includes a 5K run, live music, chicken show, community chicken dance and Peep- and wing-eating contests.

Red Rocks Yoga season opens May 30

Pre-registration is open now for the popular Yoga on the Rocks series at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, which runs from May 30 to Aug. 29. Fans are required to pre-register this week before tickets go on sale May 14. The first five sessions, through June 27, are hosted by The River Yoga. The other season presenters are Better Buzz Yoga and Rooted Heart Yoga & Wellness. A single session cost $23, and a six-pack of tickets costs $138.

Summer concerts at Four Mile Historic Park start June 3

Swallow Hill hosts tribute bands all summer at Four Mile Historic Park in southeast Denver. The first show is The Other Brothers, a tribute to the Allman Brothers, on June 3. Other Wednesday night shows through the summer include tributes to the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, John Prine, Bruce Springsteen, The Grateful Dead and the Traveling Wilburys.

Swallow Hill also presents the Indiewood Street Festival in downtown Englewood on Saturday, June 6, and the Denver Botanic Gardens summer concert series, beginning with John Craigie and Blind Pilot June 23.

Taste of the West June 4

The Taste of the West culinary festival is coming back to the Foothills Fieldhouse in southwest Denver.

Top restaurants, breweries, distilleries, wineries, specialty foodmakers and more will offer unlimited samples. Attendees can then vote for their favorites in eight award categories.

Thirst Colorado is a proud media partner of the event. Come say hello and pick up our new print issue.

GoPro Mountain Games and concerts in Vail June 4 to 7

The GoPro Mountain Games have everything from bike and kayak races to disc golf and dog agility contests. There are also free daytime live music and ticketed evening concerts.

Mountain Grass Unit will headline Thursday. Wilderado & Michael Marcagi headline Friday, and Allman Betts Family Revival in the Rockies closes out Saturday.

Taste of Louisville June 5-6

The Taste of Louisville is a two-day celebration that kicks off summer. The headline event is Friday’s Dinner on Main, a feast for 300 on one long table on Main Street. That is followed by a free silent disco dance party on Friday night. Revelers can burn off all the calories during Saturday’s 5K and dog jog. The rest of Saturday brings Louisville’s first Pride festival and the free Summerfest, with live music, a farmers market, craft market, car show and spaghetti eating contest.

Lafayette Brew Fest June 7

Sometimes you just want to catch live music, get food truck grub and only taste 2 or 3 drinks. The Lafayette Brew Fest is for that kind of day. There is no entrance fee, just individual pour tokens for as few or as many beers, spirits or wine as you want.

Lander Brewfest in Wyoming June 12-13

There is always plenty to do in Colorado, but our neighboring states can be pretty cool, too. For example, Lander is a beautiful town just east of the Wind River Range in Wyoming, and not far from the Colorado border. The town hosts the Lander Brewfest June 12 and 13.

In addition to unlimited samples from regional breweries and distilleries, the festival also includes food trucks and live music. John Roberts y Pan Blanco play on Friday, and Tris Munsick and the Innocents is on tap for Saturday.

Feast of Saint Arnold beer festival in Colorado Springs June 13

The Feast of Saint Arnold returns to the Chapel of Our Savior in Colorado Springs. The event includes live music, craft drinks and more, all in honor of the patron saint of beer, who said “from man’s sweat and God’s love, beer came into the world.” Amen to that.

It's also a fundraiser for Westside CARES.

Save the Date: Fairplay Burro Days July 24 and 25

For more than 75 years, the central Colorado town of Fairplay has celebrated the role of burros in Colorado’s mining heritage. Athletes compete to “Get Yur Ass Up the Pass” in 29-mile World Championship Pack Burro Races. Meanwhile, festivalgoers in town enjoy a parade, outhouse races, art, activities, cowboy church and live music. For more racing action, the Western Pack Burro Ass-ociation also hosts several other Colorado events.

Win tickets to these upcoming events

Finally, we’ve got tickets. And they could be yours. Sign up for our weekly newsletter and you will be the first to learn about these upcoming giveaways:

The Vail Craft Beer Festival June 13
The Edgewater Music Festival June 20
The Tico Time Country Festival June 26 to 28
The Steinley Cup Microbrew Festival Aug. 15 (includes hotel room)

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.