Dozens of things to do in Colorado this weekend

COLORADO, USA — It's another packed weekend of spectacular events in Colorado.

From festivals and fairs to expos and runs, there's lots to do, see and explore in Colorado this September weekend. This weekend features potato, Scottish-Irish, Native American, home, fossil, mineral, harvest, beer and wine festivals across the Centennial State.

Check out one of these awesome events happening across the Centennial State this late-summer weekend. Remember to share your weekend photos with the "Near Me" feature on the 9NEWS app.

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Friendship Powwow

DENVER — One of the Denver Art Museum's longest-running events returns this Saturday. The 35th annual Friendship Powwow and Native American Cultural Celebration begins at 10 a.m. with music and dance performances, artmaking opportunities, food, and artists and vendors showcasing jewelry, art, crafts and clothing. The Grand Entry begins at 11 a.m. inside the Denver Art Museum's Sie Welcome Center and Sturm Grand Pavilion. General admission at the museum is free Saturday.

Denver Mineral, Fossil, Gem & Jewelry Show

DENVER — The Denver Mineral, Fossil, Gem & Jewelry Show at the National Western Center is the largest single mineral, fossil, gem and jewelry show in the country with 12 miles of tables and 600,000 square feet of selling space. More than 500 dealers will be selling mineral specimens, fossils, dinosaurs, gems, gemstones, lapidary, cabochons, artisan and antique jewelry, beads, crystals, meteorites, metaphysical, gold, silver, turquoise, Native American items, art, miner’s rough, tools and supplies. The event and parking are free. This show will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Sunday, Sept. 15.

Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival

ESTES PARK — The Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival has celebrated Celtic culture in the "Celtic Capital of North America" Estes Park for 48 years. This festival has Scottish athletics, Celtic rock and folk music and live field performances. This year's Festival Field will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday to Sunday with food, drink, jousting, hurling, Irish and Highland dancing and strongman competitions. See the event schedule and get your tickets at ScotFest.com.

Frisco Fall Fest

FRISCO — Frisco's Fall Fest is scheduled for Saturday at the Frisco Historic Park and Main Street between 2nd Avenue and 1st Avenue from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. The fest will have live music, a beer garden, pretzels and sausage. Local and regional art will be available at the Arts at Altitude art show in the Frisco Historic Park on Friday and Saturday.

Castle Rock Artfest

CASTLE ROCK — The 35th annual Castle Rock Artfest returns to downtown Castle Rock this weekend. This weekend's festival features more than 110 artists from across the country and live main stage entertainment. There will also be interactive exhibits for the kids, delicious food and beverage vendors and more. Colorado Artfest at Castle Rock runs Saturday and Sunday at Perry Street and Festival Park with free admission each day.

Brighton Art in the Park

BRIGHTON — The annual City of Brighton Art in the Park festival will be held Saturday at Carmichael Park. This one-day festival gives attendees the opportunity to meet with local, regional, and international artists showcasing their best work, enjoy live musical performances, artist demonstrations and entertain children with interactive art activities.

Denver Food and Wine Festival

DENVER — The Denver Food + Wine Festival runs from Wednesday through Saturday. The festival offers a variety of tasting and educational events showcasing Colorado's culinary offerings. The Shake + Brake Showdown food truck-and-cocktail competition is set for Thursday and the Grand Tasting takes place Saturday with more than 50 restaurants and hundreds of wines and spirits at the Tivoli Quad.

Pints in the Park

LOUISVILLE — Louisville's annual beer festival Pints in the Park is Saturday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Louisville Community Park. Attendees will enjoy craft brews and spirits from local Colorado breweries and distilleries with food and live music. General admission tickets include unlimited 3 oz. pours at the festival.

Superior Chili and Beer Fest

SUPERIOR — The Superior Chili & Beer Fest is set for Saturday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Superior's Community Park. There will be various chili recipes, craft beers, ciders, wines and spirits. The festival will also have live music by Face Vocal Band and 5280s Band, kids and adult games and activities and local vendors. The Rotary Club of Boulder Valley hosts the Beer Fest with proceeds supporting local nonprofit projects and programs.

San Luis Valley Potato Festival

MONTE VISTA — Scenic Monte Vista is the site of the annual San Luis Valley Potato Festival. The event is a fun day of activities that celebrates the harvest of Colorado Potatoes in the San Luis Valley. Saturday's festival includes food and craft vendors, a farm and field show, truck and semi-truck show, kids' games, mashed potato dunk tank, chef demonstrations and the 5K Tater Tot/Spud Run.

Tomato Festival & Market at Trapper Days

FORT LUPTON — Citizens, businesses and organizations will come together in Fort Lupton this weekend for the annual Tomato Festival & Market at Trapper Days. Held in downtown Fort Lupton on Saturday, this year’s Trapper Days features food trucks, live music, beer garden, car show, game zone, cooking contest and vendors. The Trapper Days Parade begins at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Rist Canyon Mountain Festival

BELLVUE — Rist Canyon Mountain Festival is the annual fundraiser for the Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department. This one-day event returns Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. across from Fire Station No. 1 with live entertainment, used book sale, silent auction, bake sale, plant sale, firefighter dunk tank, craft and art vendors, food trucks and car show. This weekend's musicians are Liz Barnez, Wendy Woo, Also Known As, and Choice City Trio. All proceeds benefit the volunteer-based, donation-funded Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department (RCVFD). The festival location is 14 miles from downtown Fort Collins and 27 miles from Loveland.

Taste of the Middle East

AURORA — The 5th annual Taste of the Middle East Festival will be held Saturday at the Aurora Municipal Center's Great Lawn. The festival showcases the food, music, art and dance of Middle Eastern cultures in Colorado. Festival admission is free and VIP tickets are available online.

New American Arts Festival

AURORA — The 4th annual New American Arts Festival is an 16-day event that celebrates diversity and inclusivity in the performing arts. The free festival, which begins Saturday, will have dozens of performances of theatre, dance, storytelling, magic, music and spoken word at various venues.

Nick's Chilefest

AURORA — Nick's Garden Center will hold its annual Chilefest on Saturday. Grab a bushel (or half) of Pueblo green chiles and soak in the smells of flame-roasted chiles. Nick's Café will be serving fresh pork green chile food items and the festival will also have food trucks, kettle corn and funnel cakes. There will also be live music on Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Already have the fall feels? The first pumpkins of fall have also arrived at Nick's Garden Center.

Vail Oktoberfest

VAIL — With a gorgeous mountain backdrop and "European flair," Vail Oktoberfest has been named one of the ten greatest Oktoberfest celebrations in the United States by "USA Today." The festival, which runs Friday to Sunday at the Lionshead Village, will have Bavarian fare including brats, schnitzel sandwiches and pretzels. On the schedule this weekend are stein-lifting competitions, adult keg-bowling contests, bratwurst-eating contests, Bavarian costume contest and live music.

International Heritage Festival

WHEAT RIDGE — The Colorado Folk Arts Council is celebrating 48 years of honoring folk dancing in Colorado with their annual International Heritage Festival on Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the 40 West Arts District. The celebration offers live music, crafts, food and dancing. The event is free and open to the public.

Coors Field concerts

The summer concert season comes to an unofficial end this weekend as Colorado's biggest ballpark hosts three concerts. Kane Brown, Green Day, The Smashing Pumpkins, Journey, Def Leppard, Rancid, and Cheap Trick are among the acts set to perform at Coors Field this weekend. The three concerts are the last of four concerts that were scheduled at home of the Colorado Rockies this summer. The "Piano Man" Billy Joel performed at the 54,000-seat outdoor Denver venue in July.

Kane Brown

DENVER — Country music star Kane Brown has been taking his "In the Air" tour to 29 cities over the summer. Brown's tour consists of mainly arenas, but ends with five stadium shows including a stop at Coors Field on Friday. Brown will be joined by Bailey Zimmerman, LOCASH and RaeLynn at the Colorado concert.

Green Day

DENVER — Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool will bring Green Day to Coors Field on Saturday. The North American leg of Green Day's tour features The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and The Linda Lindas.

Def Leppard and Journey

DENVER — Journey and Def Leppard are reuniting after six years to co-headline a stadium tour. The trek includes a performance at Coors Field in Denver on Sunday with special guest Cheap Trick. Def Leppard and Journey previously co-headlined a tour in 2018.

13th Floor Haunted House

DENVER — Denver's largest haunted house opens for the 2024 season on Saturday. Celebrating 17 years of scares in the Mile High, 13th Floor Haunted House has new twists, turns, characters and  add-on attractions that are sure to thrill. There are three brand new attractions this year, a new layout, new mini games, a new FrightFilm feature as well as two new hidden bars. Enter if you date — at 3400 East 52nd Avenue.

BananasFest 

DENVER  — The first-ever BananasFest takes place Saturday at Denver's Larimer Square. Join the Banana Boys — screenwriter Scotty Landes and comedian Kurt Braunohler — for a day packed with non-stop fun, including dog parades, friendship speed dating with Laurel Bristow, an inflatable obstacle course, dunk tank, drag king bingo, and setting weird world records. There will also be food trucks, craft vendors, a live DJ and comedic performances throughout the day. Attendees are encouraged to wear their wackiest banana gear.

Goodguys Car Show

LOVELAND — The Goodguys 26th Colorado Nationals is a giant car show at Loveland’s The Ranch Events Complex. The event will feature thousands of custom hot rods, muscle cars, restored classics and trucks up to 1997, a Specialty Auto Auction, autocross racing, live entertainment, food and vendors. Tickets to the main weekend event can be purchased at the gate or online at good-guys.com. The show runs Friday through Sunday.

Bow Wow Beach Doggie Day

FEDERAL HEIGHTS — Water World is closed for the season and it has officially gone to the dogs. Water World hosts its annual Bow Wow Beach Doggie Day where the park is open for your pup's water enjoyment. Thunder Bay, Cowabunga Beach, Turtle Bay and Wally World will be ready for canines to play. Only dogs are permitted in the water, humans are not permitted in the water at any time. 

Wag 'n' Romp

LONE TREE — Lone Tree is hosting its annual Wag 'n' Romp this Saturday at Cook Creek Pool.  There will be 200 (400 total) dogs each session; first session is from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., and second session is 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Northern Colorado vs. Colorado State

• Saturday, Sept. 7 at 5 p.m.
• Canvas Stadium, Fort Collins
• Tickets at CSURams.com

San Jose State vs. Air Force

• Saturday, Sept. 7 at 5 p.m.
• Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs
• Tickets at GoAirForceFalcons.com

West Texas A&M vs. Colorado School of Mines

• Thursday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m.
• Alumni Field at Marv Kay Stadium, Golden
• Tickets at MinesAthletics.com

Western New Mexico vs. Adams State

• Saturday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m.
• Rex Stadium, Alamosa
• Tickets at ASUGrizzlies.com

UT-Permian Basin vs. CSU Pueblo

• Saturday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m.
• CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl, Pueblo
• Tickets at GoThunderWolves.com

Midwestern State vs. Western Colorado

• Saturday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m.
• Mountaineer Bowl, Gunnison
• Tickets at GoMountaineers.com

ONE 168

DENVER — The world's largest martial arts organization will hold an event at Colorado's biggest sports arena. ONE Championship (ONE) is back in the United States for two World Championship super-fights in Colorado. "ONE 168: Denver" will be held Friday at Ball Arena. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster.com.

Union Peak Festival

COPPER MOUNTAIN — Union Peak Festival is a two-day festival happening Friday and Saturday at Copper Mountain celebrating the convergence of music, community and art. GROUPLOVE, Winnetka Bowling League, flipturn, Violent Femmes and more local bands and musicians will perform free concerts throughout the weekend in Copper’s Center Village. Fans can upgrade their experience with a VIP Pass for exclusive concert viewing and lounge space, food and drink perks and more.

Hello Kitty Cafe Truck

LONE TREE — The Hello Kitty Cafe Truck, now in its 10th year, continues its 2024 tour of the with a visit to Colorado. As part of the celebration of Hello Kitty's 50th Anniversary this year, Hello Kitty Cafe Truck is rolling out a collection of new merchandise and treats. The truck will be at Park Meadows on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at The Vistas near Evereve.

Meeker Classic Sheepdog Championship Trials

MEEKER — The 37th annual Meeker Classic, a five-day sheep herding competition, continues through Sunday. The object of the sheepdog trials is to test the dog’s ability to manage/maneuver sheep in a calm, controlled manner. On the Meeker course, dogs are sent 600 yards to fetch the sheep and then bring them into the infield while working them quietly and safely through a set of obstacles. The event also offers an art show, craft and fiber vendors, food, weaving, felting, pottery, painting and leatherwork demonstrations, Celtic music, flyball and dog agility demonstrations.

Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End

DENVER — "Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End" opens Wednesday at the Garner Galleria Theatre in Denver. An uplifting story recounting the life of America columnist and humorist Erma Bombeck, the heart-warming and humorous biographical play stars film, television and stage actress Pam Sherman. Equal parts wife, mother, daughter, "domestic demigoddess," and one of America's most beloved humorists, Bombeck was known as "the woman who made women laugh." "Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End" plays at the Denver Performing Arts Complex through Sunday, Sept. 22. Tickets are sold at DenverCenter.org.

Paranormal Cirque

GREELEY — Paranormal Cirque is coming to Greeley from Friday through Sunday. Paranormal Cirque will be under the Big Top outside Greeley Mall and will expose audiences to a unique creation of combined theatre, circus and cabaret with a new European style flare. Tickets can be purchased starting at $20 depending on availability. No one under the age of 13 will be admitted to the show and guests aged 13-17 must be accompanied by an adult.

Walk to End Alzheimer's

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Held annually in towns across the country, the Alzheimer's Association's Walk to End Alzheimer's aims to raise funds and awareness for Alzheimer's care, support and research. Steamboat Springs' West Lincoln Park will be home to a walk on Saturday. On-site registration will begin at 9 a.m., followed by a ceremony at 10 a.m. You can register online at Act.Alz.org.

STOMP Out Epilepsy and SUDEP Awareness Walk

LITTLETON — The 15th annual STOMP – Shining Light on Epilepsy and SUDEP Awareness Walk/Run will be held Saturday at Hudson Gardens. The family friendly event features food trucks, face painting, hamster balls, a dove release to honor those lost and a 5K/Family Fun Walk. The event will conclude with a purple lantern walk at dusk.

Creed

GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Creed is on tour for the first time in more than a decade. The 2000s-era rock band is performing at Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre on Saturday with 3 Doors Down and Finger Eleven.

Red Rocks

DENVER — There is no better venue for live music in the country than Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The Red Rocks 2024 concert schedule is actually still growing with new shows being added in October and November. This summer looks to be one for the record books.

• Wednesday, Sept. 4 - Glass Animals
• Thursday, Sept. 5 - Wallows
• Friday, Sept. 6 - Brandi Carlile with Colorado Symphony
• Saturday, Sept. 7 - Brandi Carlile with Colorado Symphony
• Sunday, Sept. 8 - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
• Monday, Sept. 9 - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

RELATED: Red Rocks concert season: Here's the 2024 lineup

Bright Nights at Four Mile Historic Park

DENVER — Four Mile Historic Park has transformed into a glowing landscape that immerses visitors with larger-than-life lantern installations that include a mythical dragon that blows smoke, Colorado wildlife and flowers, a crystal forest with unicorns, and creatures from Chinese mythology. The Bright Nights series will be open until Sept. 29. Proceeds from the installation go to help pay for animal care at the park, as well as maintain the historic museum, the oldest standing structure in Denver.

The North Pole: Santa's Workshop

CASCADE — Colorado's favorite Christmas-themed amusement park is open for the season. Home to Santa's village and the jolly old elf himself, The North Pole: Santa’s Workshop, located at 7,500 feet at the foot of Pikes Peak west of Colorado Springs, traditionally opens the weekend before Memorial Day and remains open through Christmas. With vintage rides and sweet treats, the park as been spreading Christmas cheer since 1956.

The Power of Poison

DENVER — A new temporary exhibition at Denver Museum of Nature and Science, "The Power of Poison" explores the captivating and often paradoxical world of nature's toxic arsenal. Through live performances and interactive dioramas, this exhibition will take you into familiar and novel tales of illness, enchantment and death by poison. Whether used as a defense against predators, a source of magical strength or a lifesaving medical treatment, "The Power of Poison" is sure to surprise.

Movies this weekend

Just like in the movies, Deadpool can’t be killed. “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the defining movies of the summer, ruled the box office last weekend as the summer movie season came to an anticlimactic close.

The summer movie season, which runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day, proved to be full of overperformers with “Deadpool,” “Despicable Me 4,” “Inside Out 2,” and “Twisters” bringing in impressive earnings.

New movies this weekend

• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
• The Front Room

Last weekend's box office

1. “Deadpool & Wolverine,” $15.2 million.
2. “Alien: Romulus,” $9.3 million.
3. “It Ends With Us,” $7.4 million.
4. “Reagan,” $7.4 million.
5. “Twisters,” $7.2 million.
6. “Blink Twice,” $4.7 million.
7. “The Forge,” $4.6 million.
8. “Despicable Me 4,” $4.1 million.
9. “Afraid,” $3.7 million.
10. “Inside Out 2,” $2.8 million.

> Would you like to see your favorite Colorado festival, fair, expo, concert, drama, musical, ballet, run or event listed in 9Things? Send it to alexander.kirk@9news.com.