Things to Do West of Denver This Weekend

Saturday, September 12 and Sunday, September 13 is one of the busiest festival stretches of the Front Range fall: Olde Town Arvada's annual Shindig takes over the historic district, Golden City Brewery throws its annual Goldenfest, and two more taproom festivals round out the day — while breweries across the nine towns pack in live music, food trucks, game nights and a Sunday that's made for lingering. Everything below is pulled from our verified listings, and our this-weekend page is the always-current list if plans change mid-day. For the whole month in one place, our September events guide has the season.

Festivals and all-day events: Saturday, September 12

This is the festival Saturday of the month — four verified all-day celebrations within an easy drive:

• Olde Town Shindig — Arvada's annual Shindig fills Olde Town with a day of music and community, noon to 8 PM Saturday.
• Goldenfest — Golden City Brewery's annual September celebration, all day Saturday at 920 12th St in Golden.
• 14th Anniversary Party — Gravity Brewing turns 14 with a noon-to-10 PM party at 1150 Pine St in Louisville.
• Pepper-Palooza — Cannonball Creek Brewing's Saturday festival at 393 N Washington Ave in Golden, noon–7 PM.

Live music and food trucks: Saturday afternoon and evening

After the festivals wind down — or between sets — the taproom circuit has live music and food running all afternoon and evening:

• Jackson Rohlf plays live acoustic 4–8 PM at 6 & 40 Brewery in Lakewood, with the 2nd Son Kitchen pop-up on site 3–8 PM.
• Live Music! — 5–7 PM at Holidaily Brewing Company's Golden taproom (801 Brickyard Cir).
• Music Mike plays 2–4 PM at SomePlace Else Brewery in Arvada, and the taproom's monthly Arvada Kings of Bingo runs 7–9 PM.
• Chill in a Box is Coda Brewing's Saturday food-truck slot, 2–8 PM in Golden; El Mal Del Puerco serves 1–9 PM at Resolute Brewing Tap & Cellar in Arvada.
• Live Music on the Patio — The Post Brewing Company's summer patio series is on this weekend in Lafayette.
• Hands-on instead: Pottery Every Second Saturday runs 1–5 PM at Odd13 Brewing in Lafayette.

Sunday, September 13: music, games and a slower pace

Sunday is the classic Front Range wind-down: acoustic sets, board games and football at the taprooms, plus food trucks and a chance to give back:

• Sunday Music Series — rotating local acoustic, folk and blues acts, 3–6 PM at Odd13 in Lafayette.
• Open Mic Sunday in Lakewood starts at 5 PM, and Boulder's Fancy Sundays at VisionQuest run from 7 PM.
• Game day, every which way: NFL Sundays at Gravity in Louisville (11 AM–7 PM during football season), Board Game Night at Mountain Toad in Golden (4–9 PM), Sunday Game Night at Twisted Pine in Boulder (3 PM), and Beer & Board Game Days at Avery in Boulder all day.
• Food trucks: Mama 6 and 40 Hotdogs at 6 & 40 Brewery in Lakewood, 1–5 PM; Filipino Eats at Resolute in Arvada, noon–7 PM; and Basic Kneads at Cannonball Creek in Golden, noon–8:30 PM.
• Bends & Brews starts Sunday morning at 11 AM at LandLocked Ales in Lakewood, and a Blood Drive with Vitalant runs noon–4 PM at Colorado Tap House in Arvada.
• Craft with Lindsay — the Y2K Hair Dangles workshop — is 3–5 PM Sunday at SomePlace Else Brewery in Arvada.

Free, family-friendly and the weeks ahead

This weekend's verified calendar leans festival and taproom; the family-friendly and no-cost picks cluster just ahead — Belmar's BARKtember Fest lands next Saturday, September 19, a free dog market with wiener-dog races, games and crafts in Lakewood. For everything kid-friendly and no-cost, our family events page and free events page carry the full verified lists; the live music page tracks the whole concert slate; the farmers markets page keeps every confirmed market date; and our fall events page shows what the rest of the season brings. Bookmark the this-weekend page, and we'll see you out there.