Denver Botanic Gardens

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Memorial Day Weekend in Denver

Ready to celebrate? When Memorial Day weekend (May 24–27, 2024) rolls around in Denver, we go big. Enjoy Memorial Day events, live music, blockbuster museum exhibitions, outdoor activities and urban adventures like street artoutdoor and patio dining, and craft beer along the Denver Beer Trail. Also, Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park will be featuring fireworks at 9 p.m. (as the park closes for the day) on May 26.

Art & Museum Exhibitions | FestivalsMusic, Movies & Performing ArtsPro SportsOutdoor Activities

 

Art & Museum Exhibitions

Meandered

WHEN: Thru May 26, 2024
WHERE: 
MCA DENVER — Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
Meandered features recent painting, drawing, sculpture and video works by Denver-based artist Steven J. Yazzie, whose work often reflects on his shifting perception of and relationship with the landscape. He draws inspiration from revisiting sites in the northern region of Arizona and New Mexico’s Navajo reservation (where Yazzie grew up) and locations in Colorado. Yazzie likens his recent practice to meandering fieldwork, where he begins his artistic research in the natural environment, allowing days-long trips into rural areas to intuitively inform how his multimedia works will unfold and take shape. Meandered is both a metaphor for Yazzie’s artistic process and a framework for exploring organic patterns or phenomena in nature.

Good Vibrations

WHEN: Thru June 14, 2024
WHERE: Museum of Outdoor Arts, Greenwood Village

Nine emerging artist interns came together over the summer through MOA's annual Design and Build Summer Internship Program to collaboratively create several unique, site-specific installations for Marjorie Park.

Clarence Shivers: Experimenting with Form

WHEN: Thru July 6, 2024
WHERE: Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, Colorado Springs

Over the course of his career, Clarence Shivers demonstrated a commitment to artistic experimentation, working across different media—both two- and three-dimensional—and cultivating a range of stylistic approaches. A Tuskegee Airman—and career military person—one of Shivers’ most celebrated works is his statue dedicated to these pilots and their legacies, located at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Shivers often returned to forms of portraiture, whether images of friends, families, musicians, civil rights leaders or others, and he represented his subjects with poignant and expressive insight. Shivers also created abstract works that demonstrate his ongoing exploration into geometric form, color and movement. This exhibition presents more than 30 works, paintings, prints and sculptures that offer an expansive view of the artist’s prolific career.

Revolt 1680/2180: Runners + Gliders

WHEN: Thru July 14, 2024
WHERE: History Colorado Center

Transport yourself to the year 2180 at History Colorado Center's new multi-sensory exhibition. Created in partnership with world-renowned artist Virgil Ortiz, a visionary hailing from Cochiti Pueblo, this unprecedented experience brings Indigenous Futurism to The Mile High City through a combination of history, science fiction, art, fashion and fantasy.

Gio Ponti: Designer of a Thousand Talents

WHEN: Thru July 19, 2024
WHERE: Denver Art Museum

Gio Ponti was one of the most inventive Italian architects and designers of his time. For more than 60 years, Ponti’s exuberant approach found expression in public and private commissions from buildings, interiors and furniture to glass, ceramics and flatware, influencing international design for more than 50 years. 

Process Makes Perfect: Printmakers Explore the Natural World

WHEN: Thru July 28, 2024
WHERE: Denver Botanic Gardens

Learn about contemporary lithographic printmaking through artworks exploring the beauty of nature. Featuring color lithographs and process works from the University of Colorado Art Museum’s Sharkive, Process Makes Perfect presents works by Don Ed Hardy, Hung Liu, Emmi Whitehorse and Red Grooms. Through drawings, preparatory materials and test proofs displayed alongside the completed artworks, experience prints inspired by the natural world, and the unique artistic practices that went into creating them.

Mile High Magic

WHEN: Thru Aug. 15, 2024
WHERE: History Colorado Center

Focusing on the history of the Denver Broncos, this exhibition uses game-worn memorabilia from more than 60 years of Broncos history to explore fairytale seasons, epic comebacks, legendary players, and the heated rivalries of Colorado’s only National Football League franchise.

Hand in Nature

WHEN: Thru Sept. 1, 2024
WHERE: MCA DENVER — Museum of Contemporary Art Denver

Gala Porras-Kim is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work questions how knowledge is acquired and tests the potential for artworks and objects to function as meaning-makers outside of traditional museum contexts. For this exhibition, Porras-Kim extends lines of questioning into conservation, preservation and care within institutional contexts to the broader natural world and lived environment. The artworks on view distill natural processes into sculptures, paintings and drawings that will grow, evolve or degrade throughout the span of the exhibition. From sculptures rendered with salt-saturated concrete or copal resin wetted with local rainwater to paintings created from slow drips of water drawing from the museum’s humidity and projections from light refractions off of brass panels, Porras-Kim’s work imagines what might be possible if natural forces and phenomenon had the agency to self-determine. 

Fazal Sheikh: Thirst | Exposure | In Place

WHEN: Thru Oct. 20, 2024
WHERE: 
Denver Art Museum
This exhibition was created from three projects photographer Fazal Sheikh made on the Colorado Plateau from 2017 to early 2023. Sheikh’s portraits and landscapes of displaced communities and marginalized people shed light on the far-reaching consequences of extractive industry and climate change. Through this beautiful and sometimes frightening new work, Sheikh encourages viewers to witness the consequences of the past and imagine the shape of the future.

Have a Seat: Mexican Chair Design Today

WHEN: Thru Nov. 3, 2024
WHERE: Denver Art Museum

Have a Seat: Mexican Chair Design Today is an interactive exhibition featuring three historical artworks, 17 contemporary seats designed by 22 Mexican artists, and a site-specific art installation. Through their pioneering designs, the artists embark on a journey through history and traditions, exploring the enduring legacy of the cross-cultural world that emerged in Mexico following the Spanish conquest, which incorporated elements of Indigenous, Asian, African and European cultures and continues to inspire new types of objects and furniture for the 21st century. Have a Seat showcases furniture by contemporary Mexican designers represented in the museum’s permanent collection, including Andrés Lhima, Cecilia León de la Barra, Daniel Valero, Bárbara Sánchez-Kane, Jorge Diego Etienne and many more.

Get Involved: Civic Engagement in Lakewood

WHEN: Thru Dec. 1, 2024
WHERE: Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park, Lakewood

How do you interact with your community? Historic Lakewood residents got involved with their local schools, agricultural organizations, outdoor youth movements and many other special interest groups. Discover how making a difference in the quality of life in our city has evolved over the past century.

Lumonics Immersed

WHEN: Thru Dec. 28, 2024
WHERE: Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery

“Entering a performance at Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery is like stepping through a looking glass and into a sci-fi wonderland. The gallery’s Lumonics Immersed installation was originally created by the late Dorothy and Mel Tanner, pioneering light artists whose singular style fuses elements of light, music and sculptures to produce captivating experiences for the audience.” – Denver Westword

Museum of Illusions

WHEN: Thru Dec. 31, 2024
WHERE: Museum of Illusions

Discover a brilliant collection of perspective-changing rooms, enthralling installations, and spellbinding images. The mesmerizing exhibits will teach you that nothing is ever quite as it seems, especially in the Museum of Illusions Denver.

Danielle SeeWalker: But We Have Something to Say

WHEN: Thru Dec. 31, 2024
WHERE: History Colorado Center

Danielle SeeWalker is a Húŋkpapȟa Lakȟóta citizen from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. She is an artist, writer, activist and boy mom of two, based in Denver. This exhibition uses storytelling to explore a variety of issues important to Indigenous peoples and communities. Striking nineteenth-century hair ornaments, beaded spoons and moccasins are paired with SeeWalker’s art in ways that illuminate censored and erased histories. 

By Design: Stories and Ideas Behind Objects

WHEN: Thru Jan. 1, 2025
WHERE: Denver Art Museum

Design is all around us. Whether it takes the form of objects and spaces, images and interactions, or systems and processes, design shapes our lives in fundamental ways. But what shapes design? A series of thematic installations drawn primarily from the architecture and design collection, By Design: Stories and Ideas Behind Objects illustrates the abundance and versatility of approaches to design. 

Flow: On the River with John Fielder

WHEN: Thru Jan. 27, 2025
WHERE: History Colorado Center

This exhibition focuses on the many uses and importance of the Colorado River, taking visitors inside majestic canyons and atop the most awe-inspiring vistas along the Yampa, Gunnison and Dolores Rivers as they flow toward their confluence with the Colorado. Flow: On the River with John Fielder features a number of iconic large-format Fielder prints, as well as quotes from the renowned landscape photographer gathered carefully from his publications and interviews over the years.

Espiritu Hermosx/Beautiful Spirit

WHEN: March 28–July 14, 2024
WHERE: Museo de las Americas

Museo de las Americas is honored to present this innovative exploration into contemporary LGBTQ+ Latinx artists' diverse experiences. Through novel and traditional practices, 10 artists highlight the breadth and possibility of identity stemming from their experiences of double marginalization as Latinx and queer individuals. 

Biophilia

WHEN: May 5–Aug. 11, 2024
WHERE: Denver Art Museum

Biophilia: Nature Reimagined brings together more than 70 imaginative works, including architectural models and photographs, objects, fashion, digital installations, and immersive art experiences that collectively highlight the transformative power of nature. "Biophilia" is a term popularized by American biologist and author Edward O. Wilson to describe his theory that, as humans have evolved as a species, they have been intricately intertwined with the natural world. Organized by Darrin Alfred, Curator of Architecture and Design, Biophilia provides a space for leading architects, artists, and designers to re-examine and reanimate our intrinsic bond with the natural world.

Dialogue and Defiance: Clyfford Still and the Abstract Expressionists

WHEN: May 10, 2024–Jan. 12, 2025
WHERE: Clyfford Still Museum

Clyfford Still withdrew his paintings from the Betty Parsons Gallery in 1951, refusing to participate in a market prioritizing the fame of an artist and the price of their artworks. The following year, he surprised many by agreeing to participate in a group show at the Museum of Modern Art. His rationale for doing so was because the curator, Dorothy Miller, agreed to show Still’s works together in their own gallery. As Still saw it, his work could be viewed on its own terms and not in direct comparison to other artists—but visitors could still see the scope of American painting in the mid-century. Even with his turn away from the art world, Still saw himself participating in something larger and remained in dialogue with his contemporaries. This exhibition considers the nuanced ways in which Clyfford Still was part of an artists’ community in the late 1940s and early 1950s, despite his protestations to the contrary, and how his paintings, through their scale and composition, promote ideas of community.

Coalescing Connections

WHEN: May 21–July 6, 2024
WHERE: Walker Fine Art

As a species, we are constantly evolving, but we never retract from our instinctive need for nature. These fascinations with nature stem from an innate biologically driven need to interact with other forms of life, such as animals and plants. This group exhibition features seven artists (Julie Anderson, Mark Penner Howell, Sara Sanderson, Brian Comber, Cara Enteles, Sharon Strasburg, and Norman Epp) who work with unique combinations of mediums to explore and project their deep connections to the natural world around us. Utilizing watercolor, ceramic, oil, wood, silkscreen and more, Coalescing Connections showcases collaborative efforts between artistic styles, mediums and, of course, nature.

Festivals 

Boulder Creek Festival

WHEN: May 24–27, 2024
WHERE: 1212 Canyon Blvd., Boulder

Taking place annually over Memorial Day Weekend, the Boulder Creek Festival is a can’t-miss festival brought to Boulder by and for the community. Hosted annually for more than 30 years, the free event is the unofficial kickoff to summer and features three days and four nights of festivities. 30+ bands play across three stages throughout the festival, along with local performers and children’s concerts. The weekend starts with a Friday-night kickoff concert. Be sure to snag your tickets to the Creekside Beer Festival for an all-inclusive tasting of beers from 20+ Colorado breweries. Throughout the festival there are a plethora of food and beverage options, ranging from food trucks to healthy vegetarian eats to traditional carnival fare. Shop around the curated marketplace, which showcases 200+ local makers, fine artists and businesses. Bring the whole family to Creekside for Kids – a portion of the festival dedicated to family fun and featuring concerts for kids, games, face painters and pay-to-play rides.

 

Music, Movies & Performing Arts

'Secrets of the Sea 3D'

WHEN: Thru June 4, 2024
WHERE: Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Dive into the fascinating ocean world in "Secrets of the Sea." This film takes you on an underwater journey with an incredible variety of enchanting marine creatures, from pygmy seahorses and dazzling opalescent squid to majestic manta rays, tiger sharks and even a clever coconut octopus. This extraordinary film showcases the indispensable role of marine biodiversity in maintaining the well-being of our oceans. Filmed in 16 stunning locations, including Tahiti, Mexico, the Philippines and California.

'Where Did We Sit on the Bus?'

WHEN: April 19–June 2, 2024
WHERE: Singleton Theatre

What follows is a theatrical mixtape of Bee’s life. It’s a one-person show that immerses the audience in elaborate, layered soundscapes by fusing Latin rhythms, hip-hop, and spoken word poetry. And it’s all made, in-person, in real time, through the magic of live music and storytelling. "Where Did We Sit on the Bus?" captures both the innocence of youth and the pressures that come with being the child of immigrants and asks, “What is my place? Where do I fit in?”

Pro Sports

Colorado Rockies vs. Philadelphia Phillies

WHEN: May 24–26, 2024
WHERE: 
Coors Field - Home of the Colorado Rockies
Come cheer on the Rockies at Coors Field as they take on the Philadelphia Phillies!

Colorado Rapids vs. Minnesota United FC

WHEN: May 25, 2024
WHERE: Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City

Soccer fans won't want to miss the Colorado Rapids playing Minnesota United FC!

Colorado Rockies vs. Cleveland Guardians

WHEN: May 27–29, 2024
WHERE: 
Coors Field - Home of the Colorado Rockies
Head to Coors Field as the Colorado Rockies battle the Cleveland Guardians in a three-game series.


 

Outdoor Activities

Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park

Head to the only downtown theme and water park in the country for roller coasters, water slides, family entertainment and much more! Look for fireworks at 9 p.m. (as the park closes for the day) on May 26, 2024.

Water World

Beat the heat, relax in the park's beautifully landscaped 64 acres — and ride some serious waterslides. Water World is opening just in time for Memorial Day weekend fun!

Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre

Carved from towering red rock monuments, Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre in Morrison is one of the world's most renowned concert venues. The surrounding park has hiking trails that weave in, around and over the colorful red rocks.

Farmers' Markets

The Mile High City's more than 20 farmers' markets aren't just about locally grown produce, delicious baked goods and prepared foods — though you'll find those in abundance! Each market is a festive, weekly street fair, many with live entertainment and family-friendly activities. 

Denver Zoo

With over 3,500 animals on 84 gorgeous acres, Denver Zoo is an amazing experience year-round. Your donation helps to provide world-class care for the lions, giraffes and elephants, as well as other wild animals and wild places, from the Rockies to Mongolia.

Denver Botanic Gardens

One of the top five botanic gardens in the nation, Denver Botanic Gardens is an oasis in the city, offering year-round events, a children’s garden, lifelong-learning opportunities and research to preserve Colorado’s precious natural resources. Meanwhile, Chatfield Farms, located in nearby Littleton, takes pride in its exemplary nature preserve and gardens. Located on 750 acres, this picturesque site includes display gardens and a historical farm with a rustic barn.

Hudson Gardens

Enjoy thirty acres of natural beauty offering recreational, educational, and social opportunities for all ages. 

Museum of Outdoor Arts

Despite the name, MOA's Englewood collection includes both outdoor sculptures as well as indoor exhibits, including the always-popular Cabinet of Curiosities.

Outdoor Movies

From classic drive-in theaters to movies in the park. 

Spring Tours at Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary

A tour of Erie-based Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary is much more than a fun day spent getting to know our amazing family of rescued animals. In fact, it is nearly impossible to leave without developing a deeper understanding of the unique personalities and complex emotional lives that all animals lead.

City Parks

No matter where you find yourself in The Mile High City, you’re likely only a few steps away from a lush and relaxing green space. Memorial Day weekend is the perfect time to explore Denver's more than 5,000 acres of traditional parks and parkways, as well as an additional 14,000 acres of spectacular mountain parks in neighboring counties that are maintained by the City and County of Denver.

Lesser-Known, Hidden-Gem Parks

If you’re looking for a quiet spot to have a picnic, take in great views or experience a different side of the city, check out these lesser-known Denver parks.

How to Explore the South Platte River by Bike

Take a two-wheeled tour through the heart of the city along this beautiful river. You'll cruise by some of the city's biggest attractions. 

Denver's Best Urban Hikes

Denver is a city with boundless outdoor fun and has an ideal location next to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. While The Mile High City is conveniently close to major peaks for hiking, there's actually no need to head into the mountains when Denver's regional trail system encompasses hundreds of miles for all ages and abilities to explore. 

How to Explore the Colorado Trail in Waterton Canyon

Many people think that Denver’s prettiest, closest and most accessible bit of mountain scenery is Waterton Canyon. This is the start of the famous Colorado Trail, one of the great long-distance hikes (or mountain bike rides) of the Rocky Mountains.   

Pet-Friendly Denver

Denver is home to dozens of pet-friendly activities and destinations, including dog-friendly hotels and dog parks. Find the best on-leash and off-leash fun for your best friend. 

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