DENVER – Every weekend, Denver7 compiles a list of some fun events you might enjoy. Here are our picks for the 7 best things to do in the Denver metro area and beyond this weekend.
1. It’s the last weekend to enjoy the 116th National Western Stock Show & Rodeo
After a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the National Western Stock Show, the nationally recognized western heritage and entertainment event with one of the world's richest regular season professional rodeos, one of the country's largest horse shows and a western trade show, is returning to the Mile High City. It'll all take place until Jan. 23 at the Denver Coliseum, located at 4600 Humboldt Street.
2. The X Games Aspen return this weekend for some winter sports craziness
X Games Aspen, a free three-day event showcasing some of the world's best skiers and snowboarders, will return Friday through Sunday. Spectators can watch more than 100 athletes compete in Ski and Snowboard SuperPipe, Slopestyle, Big Air, and Knuckle Huck at Buttermilk Ski Resort in Aspen. Due to the pandemic, there are no ticketed concerts for this event, though DJs will perform. You can also watch the X Games live on Denver7 and through ESPN's online streaming service (ESPN3, WatchESPN). It will be partially streamed on TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
3. Ice climbing is a sport? You bet, and you can see it at the Ouray Ice Festival
The annual Ouray Ice Festival and competitions are back and welcoming spectators for 2022, with events starting Thursday and running through Sunday. The three-day, four-night festival attracts ice climbers and enthusiasts from all over the world to celebrate the growing sport. This year marks the 27th Ouray Ice Festival. It will include clinics, vendor exhibitions, competitions, evening celebrations and more. The clinics require registration. Masks are mandatory at all evening events in the Wright Opera House. They are strongly encouraged at the Vendor Village.
4. Head to Pagosa Springs this weekend for their annual Winterfest
Pagosa Springs Winterfest will be full of fun events for the whole family, including hot air balloon shows, skijoring, sled races, the cross-country ski clinic, a fat bike race, a bb gun biathlon, the ever-popular Penguin Plunge and much more. The event takes place Saturday and Sunday. More info here.
5. If you’re into birdwatching, check out the Winter Bird Festival
Celebrate Colorado’s winter birds this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Starsmore Visitor and Nature Center at North Cheyenne Cañon Park. Enjoy crafts, a scavenger hunt, guided birding walks, and family fun while learning about our feathered friends! The event is free, though a $5 donation per family is appreciated.
6. Run to support families affected by the Marshall Fire
Boulder Running Company x Fleet Feet is proud to host live and virtual 5K runs across the country to support the Wildfire Relief efforts underway. (Runs will not be timed). We hope to bring much-needed funding to help those who lost everything by engaging our communities locally and nationally. If you'd like to participate, head to any Boulder Running Company location in Colorado (the main event will be in Boulder), or virtually from wherever you may be, starting at 9:30 a.m.
7. Looking to stay warm? Head to Museo de las Americas for an art exhibit from the Chicano/a Murals of Colorado Project
Resilience challenges viewers to bear witness and embrace the transformative power of the dualism of light meeting dark as represented by Indigenous North America’s resistance to European colonization. Inspired by the Nahuatl mythology of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, this exhibition curated by Chicano/a Murals of Colorado Project at Museo de las Americas features paintings and three-dimensional works of art created by twenty-four of Colorado and New Mexico’s muralists and artists who narrativize histories of resistance and resilience from the moments of contact up to current abolitionist and decolonization social movements. The exhibit is happening until Feb. 26. Find tickets here.
