Denver Arts Week opens this weekend, which means the one Saturday night a year when most of the city’s museums are free at once, and the first holiday markets open their doors while the last Halloween-season lights are still on. Everything below links to our own listing, each one checked against the organizer’s page on the date shown there. We refresh this post Thursday and Friday as organizers confirm details.
Friday, Nov. 6
- Dia de los Muertos First Friday at Denver Art Society, Santa Fe Drive, Denver: a procession along the Art District on Denver Arts Week’s opening night, 4 to 10 p.m.
- First Friday at Museo de las Americas, Denver: free admission for Dia de los Muertos, 5 to 9:30 p.m.
- Denver Christmas Show at the National Western Center: 300-plus holiday vendors Friday through Sunday; kids 13 and under free.
- Winter Artist Market at the Center for Visual Art, MSU Denver: opens Friday on Santa Fe Drive with handmade gifts from more than 40 local artists, through Dec. 12.
Saturday, Nov. 7
- Night at the Museums, Denver: 18 museums free from 5 to 10 p.m. with free shuttles between them. The Denver Art Museum is free all day and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science is free that night.
- Littleton Symphony Free Family Concert, Littleton United Methodist Church: doors 2 p.m., music 2:30, with violinist Rocco Parada and a program of short movements from Mozart, Schubert and Liszt. Free.
- Turkey Shootout at the Anderson Building, Wheat Ridge: a $5 free-throw contest for teens, 10 a.m. to noon.
- Bible and Bacon men’s breakfast at Abiding Word Lutheran Church, Highlands Ranch: first Saturdays, 8:30 to 10 a.m.
- Colorado Avalanche vs. Detroit Red Wings at Ball Arena, Denver, 7 p.m.
- Saturday worship at Christ Lutheran Church, Highlands Ranch, 5 p.m., for anyone who wants Sunday morning free.
Sunday, Nov. 8
- Bright Nights at Four Mile Historic Park, Denver: the lantern walk’s final night is Sunday, 6 to 11 p.m.; tickets are sold by date and are nonrefundable.
- ‘Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical!’ at the Denver Center: the one-hour show for pre-K through third grade continues; Sunday, Nov. 8, at 1:30 p.m. is the ASL-interpreted and audio-described performance.
- Winter Clothing Drive at Saint John’s Cathedral, Denver: Sunday is the last day to drop off coats, boots and winter accessories for St. Francis Center and St. Clare’s Ministries.
Heading up I-70 instead?
Keystone and Arapahoe Basin are open, and this is the first weekend many Front Range skiers make the drive; our guide to which ski areas are open and what the I-70 traction law requires has the details. Before the first run, it is worth reading Lakeside Spine and Injury Center’s Wheat Ridge post on the most common ski and snowboard injuries and how to avoid them, which walks through knee ligament sprains, snowboarders’ wrist and shoulder injuries and the leg-strength, binding-check and warm-up habits that lower the odds. Disclosure: Lakeside Spine and Injury Center is a Holland Health Marketing client.
More like this: This weekend · Free things to do · Kids + Family · Denver · Littleton · Highlands Ranch · Wheat Ridge · Thanksgiving week and turkey trots, 2026
