Introduction (by Rida Vaquas)
...
There were three core strands to Luxemburg’s opposition to national self-determination. Firstly, it was materially unviable given that no new nation could achieve economic independence owing to the spread of capitalism. Secondly, pursuing national self-determination in the form of supporting independence struggles did not make strategic sense for socialists as it inhibited them from placing political demands upon existing states. Finally, and most saliently for socialists today, even if national self-determination was politically and economically more than a utopian pipe-dream, it would still be against the interests of the working class to pursue it.
...
National self-determination, in Luxemburg’s words, “gives no practical guidelines for the day to day politics of the proletariat, nor any practical solution of nationality problems”.11 As we can observe from Lenin’s policies on nationalities, there is no consistent conclusion that comes from the acknowledgment of this “right”. The only real conclusion is that affairs must be settled by the relevant nationality, which is presented as a homogeneous socio-political entity, as opposed to a site of class struggle in itself. The impracticality of this formula was not only resisted by Luxemburg, but also by Fritz Rozins, a Latvian socialist. Rozins, criticizing the position of Lenin in 1902, made the argument that several nations can occupy the same territory which problematized the demand for national self-determination.12
When examining contemporary manifestations of the national problem, these issues are thrown into sharper focus. In the case of Israel and Palestine, the framework of two competing claims of national self-determination which need to be reconciled with each other ultimately leads to endorsing an indefinite political and economic subordination of one nation by another. One way some sections of the modern Left attempt to address this is by rendering one nation’s claim (Israel’s) as inherently illegitimate, on account of its annexationist political project and racist domestic policy, and hence dismissing Hebrew Jewish people as constituting a national people with particular rights. However, making the right of national self-determination contingent upon the political project of its claimants would leave very few nations, if any, with this “right” at all, as its claimants tend to be an aspirational national bourgeoisie, whose class interests are tied to the continuation of the subjugation of the working class peoples within a territory, including working-class national minorities. The best way forward is to abandon such a “right” altogether, which assumes a basic unity between the interests of the oppressor and oppressed as part of the same nation. The question should instead be examined from the perspective of the common interests of the Israeli and Palestinian working classes against the Israeli state.
...
What fundamentally determined Rosa Luxemburg’s attitude was understanding that nationalism was not an empty vessel in which socialists could pour in proletarian content. The ideology of nationhood intrinsically demands temporary class collaboration, at the very least, to the advantage of the ruling classes. An article she penned in January 1918, intended as friendly criticism of the early Soviet government’s policy on nationalities, most clearly articulates this perspective:
“The “right of nations to self-determination” is a hollow phrase which in practice always delivers the masses of people to the ruling classes.
Of course, it is the task of the revolutionary proletariat to implement the most expansive political democracy and equality of nationalities, but it is the least of our concerns to delight the world with freshly baked national class states. Only the bourgeoisie in every nation is interested in the apparatus of state independence, which has nothing to do with democracy. After all, state independence itself is a dazzling thing which is often used to cover up the slaughter of people.”16
This has been vindicated by historical experience. When we look at Poland today, a right-wing government is installing “Independence Benches” that play nationalist speeches.17 The speeches were delivered by none other than Józef Piłsudski, a former leader of the PPS who later abandoned socialism altogether. The warning of the Polish Communist Party, published in 1919, a year after Polish independence, that bourgeois “independence” in reality meant “the brutal dictatorship of the bourgeoisie over the proletariat” has proven more correct than any fantasy about the achievement of independence offering a permanent resolution to the national question, opening up the battlefield of class struggle.18 The formation of new class states does not resolve national oppression, so much as redistribute it.
Revolutionary internationalism, or the so-called “international proletariat fundamentalism”, stands as a rejoinder to those who seek shortcuts to social revolution by the construction of nation-states. Yet it also allows for a more positive assessment of nationalities. Rather than being bound to the political form of territorial states responsible for the oppression of millions across centuries, the traditions, institutions, and languages associated with nationalities can become part of a universal cultural legacy and human inheritance that requires neither the violence of borders nor of class rule. We can be moved by the words of the poet Adam Mickiewicz without scrambling to statehood. Capitalist development has made the endgame of the exercise of national self-determination, the nation-state, a dead-end for socialists. It is now necessary to pose the national question once more and seek different answers.
...
Fragment on War, National Questions and Revolution (by Rosa Luxemburg)
When hatred of the proletariat and the imminent social revolution is absolutely decisive for the bourgeoisie in all their deeds and activities, in their peace programme and in their policies for the future: what is the international proletariat doing? Completely blind to the lessons of the Russian Revolution, forgetting the ABCs of socialism, it pursues the same peace programme as the bourgeoisie, it elevates it to its own programme! Hail Wilson and the League of Nations! Hail national self-determination and disarmament! This is now the banner that suddenly socialists of all countries are uniting under — together with the imperialist governments of the Entente, with the most reactionary parties, the government socialist boot-lickers, the ‘true in principle’ oppositional swamp socialists, bourgeois pacifists, petty-bourgeois utopians, nationalist upstart states, bankrupt German imperialists, the Pope, the Finnish executioners of the revolutionary proletariat, the Ukrainian sugar babies of German militarism.
...
Nationalism is an instant trump card. From all sides, nations and nationettes stake out a claim for their right to state formation. Rotted corpses rise out of hundred-year-old graves, filled with fresh spring shoots, and “historyless” peoples, who never formed an independent state entity up until now, feel a violent urge towards state formation. Poland, Ukraine, Belarussians, Lithuanians, Czechs, Yugoslavia, ten new nations of the Caucasus. Zionists are already erecting their Palestine Ghetto, provisionally in Philadelphia. It’s Walpurgis Night at Blockula today!
Broom and pitch-fork, goat and prong… To-night who flies not, never flies.
But nationalism is only a formula. The core, the historical content that is planted in it, is as manifold and rich in connections as the formula of ‘national self-determination’, under which it is veiled, is hollow and sparse.
...
In Russian Ukraine, up until the October uprising in 1917, nationalism was nothing, a bubble, the arrogance of roughly a dozen professors and lawyers who mostly couldn’t speak Ukrainian themselves. Since the Bolshevik Revolution it has become the very real expression of the petty-bourgeois counterrevolution, whose head is directed against the socialist working class. In India, nationalism is the expression of an emerging domestic bourgeoisie, which aims for independent exploitation of the country on its account instead of only serving as an object for English capital to leech. This nationalism, therefore, corresponds with its social content and its historical stage like the emancipation struggles of the United States of America at the outset of the 18th century.
So nationalism reflects back all conceivable interests, nuances, historical situations. It shines in all colors. It is everything and nothing, a mere shell. Everything hangs on it to assert its own particular social core.
So the universal, immediate world explosion of nationalism brings with it the most colorful confusion of special interests and tendencies in its bosom. But there is an axis that gives all these special interests a direction, a universal interest created by the particular historical situation: the apex against the threatening world revolution of the proletariat.
...
The Russian Revolution has awakened a fuming, foaming, trembling fear and hatred of the threatening spectre of proletarian dictatorship in the entirety of the possessing classes in every single nation. It can only be compared with the sentiments of the Paris bourgeoisie during the June slaughters and the butchery of the Commune. ‘Bolshevism’ has become the catchword for practical, revolutionary socialism, for all endeavors of the working class to conquer power. In this rupturing of the social abyss within bourgeois society, in the international deepening and sharpening of class antagonism is the historical achievement of Bolshevism, and in this work — like in all great historical contexts — all errors and mistakes of Bolshevism vanish without a trace.
These sentiments are now the deepest heart of the nationalist delirium in which the capitalist world has seemingly fallen, they are the objective historical content to which the many-colored cards of announced nationalisms are reduced. These small, young bourgeoisie that are now striving for independent existence, are not merely trembling with the desire for winning unrestricted and untrammeled class rule but also for the long-awaited delight of the single-handed strangling of their mortal enemy: the revolutionary proletariat. This is a function they had to concede up until now to the disjointed state apparatus of foreign rule. Hate, like love, is only grudgingly left to a third wheel. Mannerheim’s blood orgies, the Finnish Gallifet, show how much that the blazing heat of hate that has sprouted up in the hearts of all small nations in the last few years, all the Poles, Lithuanians, Romanians, Ukrainians, Czechs, Croats, etc., only waited for the opportunity to finally disembowel the proletariat with ‘national’ means. From all these young nations, which like white and innocent lambs hopped along in the grassy meadows of world history, the carbuncle-like eyes of the grim tiger are already looking out and waiting to “settle the accounts” with the first stirrings of “Bolshevism”. Behind all of the idyllic banquets, the roaring festivals of brotherhood in Vienna, in Prague, in Zagreb, in Warsaw, Mannerheim’s open graves are already yawning and the Red Guards have to dig them themselves! The gallows of Charkow shimmer like faint silhouettes and the Lubinskys and Holubowitsches invited the German ‘liberators’ to Ukraine for their erection.
...
The ruling classes once again show their unerring instinct for their class interests, their wonderfully fine sensitivity for the dangers surrounding them. Whilst on the surface, the bourgeoisie are enjoying the loveliest weather and the proletarians of all countries are getting drunk on nationalist and ‘League of Nations’ spring breezes, bourgeois society is being torn limb from limb which heralds the impending change of seasons as the historical barometer falls. Whilst socialists are foolishly eager to pull their chestnuts of peace out of the fire of world war, as ‘national ministers’, they can’t help but see the inevitable, imminent fate behind their backs: the terrible rising spectre of social world revolution that has already silently stepped onto the back of the stage.
It is the objective insolvability of the tasks bourgeois society faces that makes socialism a historical necessity and world revolution unavoidable.
No one can predict how long this final period will last and what forms it will take. History has already left the well-trodden path and the comfortable routine. Every new step, every new turn of the road opens up new perspectives and new scenery.
What is important is to understand the real problem of the period. The problem is called: the dictatorship of the proletariat, the realization of socialism. The difficulties of the task do not lie in the strength of the opponent, the resistance of bourgeois society. Its ultima ratio: the army is useless for the suppression of the proletariat as a result of the war, it has even become revolutionary itself. Its material basis for existence: the maintenance of society has been shattered by the war. Its moral basis for existence: tradition, routine, and authority have all been blown away by the wind. The whole structure has become loosened, fluid, movable. The conditions for struggle have never been so favourable for any emergent class in world history. It can fall into the lap of the proletariat like a ripe fruit. The difficulty lies in the proletariat itself, in its lack of maturity, or rather, the immaturity of its leaders, the socialist parties. The working class balks, it recoils before the uncertain enormity of its duty again and again. But it must, it must. History takes away all of its excuses: to lead us out of the night and horror of oppressed humanity into the light of liberation.

Music Festivals

• Saturdays 05/25-08/31 Swingin Under the Stars - 7:30PM-10PM FREE All Ages Swing Dancing, Lessons, Ice Cream, Live Music Little Man Ice Cream, 2620 16th Street Denver, CO 80211
  
• 06/01-06/02 Outside Festival – 11:30AM-8:30PM $59/Day, $79 / Weekend Music Festival with Emphasis on Outdoor Activities; Performers Include: Thundercat, Lettuce, Say She She, Fleet Foxes, Andrew Bird, the Heavy Heavy, and More! Civic Center Park
  
• 06/07-06/08 Regenerate - Fr 5PM-??; Sa 3PM-?? $99/day 18+ EDM Festival, Performers Include: John Summit, Eric Prydz, Gorgon City, Ben Bohmer, Purple Disco Machine, and many more! Civic Center Park, Denver
  
• 06/08 Five Points Jazz Festival - 12PM-11PM FREE All Ages 140+ Jazz Performances Five Points, Denver
  
• 06/15 Denver Ska Fest - 1PM-11PM $60 All Ages All Things Ska; Performances Include: Goldfinger, Less Than Jake, Five Iron Frenzy, and More! DFA Sculpture Park, 1736 Speer Blvd #1848, Denver, CO 80204
  
• 06/22 Edgewater Music Festival – 2PM-10PM $10 All Ages Live Blues Music and BBQ Citizen’s Park, 5560 W 24th Ave, Edgewater, CO 80214
  
• 07/12-0714 Compost Heap Music Festival - Times TBA FREE (Suggested Donations) Underground Music of Various Genres Seventh Circle Music Collective, 2935 W 7th Ave, Denver CO
  
• 07/05 Beethoven and Brews – 4PM-8:10PM Concert $80 Beer then Classical Music then Beer then Classical Music Denver Performing Arts Complex
  
• 07/16 Sad Summer Festival – 4PM-8:10PM Concert $59 Indie Rock; Performers Include: Mayday Parade, The Main, The Wonder Years, and We the Kings Mission Ballroom
  
• 07/21-07/22 Global Dance Festival – 5PM-1AM $99/Day All Ages *EDM, Art Installations, Circus Performers, Silent Disco. Performers Include: The Chainsmokers, Duke Dumont, Fisher, Gryffin, Kaytranada, and many more Stockyard Event Center Grounds, 5004 National Western Dr, Denver, CO 80216
  
• 07/26-07/28 Underground Music Showcase - 3PM-12AM $90-125 Weekend Pass *Independent Music of Various Genres. Performers Include: Beach Fossils, Tkay Maidza, Amyl and the Sniffers, and many others Broadway // 6th Ave to Alameda, 21 S Broadway, Denver, CO 80209
  
• 07/26-07/28 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival – 10am-12AM $50 21+ * Bluegrass Festival; Camping Available* Lyons Colorado
  
• 08/09-08/11 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival– 10am-12AM $50 21+ Folk and Bluegrass Festival; Camping Available Lyons Colorado
  
• 08/23-08/25 Ghost Canyon Fest – 6PM-12AM $50 21+ Noise, Punk, and Post Punk Bands Skylark Lounge // Mutiny Information Café, Denver CO
  
• 09/14 Sunnyside Music Festival – 12PM-7:15PM FREE All Ages Local Bands, Food, Vendos Chaffe Park near 2001 W 44th Ave, Denver, CO 80211
  

Culture Festivals

• 06/07-06/09 Denver Greek Festival - F 11AM-11PM; Sa 11AM-12AM; Su 11AM-7PM $5 All Ages Celebration of Greek Heritage with Food, Music, Vendors, and Art Assumption of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 4610 E Alameda Ave, Denver, CO 80246
  
• 06/16 Juneteenth Festival - 12PM-8PM FREE All Ages Celebration of Black Culture and Liberation with a Parade, Live Music, Vendors, Headline Performance from Bow Wow Five Points, Denver
  
• 06/22-06/24 Cherry Blossom Festival - 5k Sa 8AM; Parade Sa 9:30AM FREE All Ages Celebration of Japanese Heritage with Taiko Drumming, Teriyaki Chicken, Sake, Japanese Art Sakura Square, Denver
  
• 06/22-06/23 Denver Pridefest - Sa 11AM-7PM; Su 11AM-6PM FREE All Ages Celebration of LGBTQ+ Culture with 5k Run, Parade, Venors, Concerts, Drag Events Civic Center Park, 101 W 14th Ave, Denver, CO 80202 (Parade Starts at Cheeseman Park)
  
• 07/12 -07/14 Colorado Black Arts Festival - F 1PM-8PM; Sa 11AM-8PM; Su 11AM-7PM FREE All Ages * Celebration of Black Culture with Performances, Visual Art, Scavenger Hunts, Food, Parade, Vendors* City Park, 2001 Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80205
  
• 06/29-06/30 Mile High Global Bazaar – 12PM-6PM FREE All Ages Cultural Exhibits and Vendors from around the World Wynkoop Plaza at Union Station
  
• 07/27-07/28 Colorado Dragon Boat Festival – Races Start 8AM; Festival Sa 10AM-7PM. Su 10AM-5PM FREE All Ages *Dragon Boat Races, Food, Vendors, Performances Sloan's Lake Park W Bryon Pl, Denver, CO 80212
  
• 08/03-08/04 Taste of Ethiopia Festival – Time TBD FREE All Ages Celebration of Ethiopian Culture, Food, and Music Location TBD
  

Food / Drink Festivals

• W-Th 05/08-10/16 Civic Center Eats - 11AM-2PM Free All Ages 10-20 Food Trucks of Various Cuisines Civic Center Park, 101 W 14th Ave, Denver, CO 80202
  
• 06/15 - Summer Brewfest - 1PM-10PM Last Year: $55 Advance, $60 Day of Only Allowed Half of Time) 21+ *Unlimited Tastings of Local Beer Brews Mile High Station, 2027 West Colfax Avenue, Denver Co 80204
  
• 07/18 The Big Eat - 6PM-9PM $93 21+ 50+ Restaurants All You Can Eat, Live Music; Live Performances from Namebackwards Trio and Cereus* Denver Performing Arts Complex, 1400 Curtis St, Denver, CO 80204
  
• 08/01 Denver Burger Battle - $90 21+ 20+ Restaurants Best Burger Competition; Unlimited Drinks and Burgers* Tivoli Quad, 1000 Larimer St, Denver CO 80204?
  
• 08/24 [Denver Summer Whiskey Tasting Festival] https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2024-denver-summer-whiskey-tasting-festival-august-24-tickets-756396691867) - 2:30PM-6PM $35 21+ Tasting of 20+ Whiskey, Tasting Lessons, Live Music, Food Location TBA
  
• 09/04-09/07 Denver Food and Wine Festivals 11AM-8PM $60-$95 21+ * Food and Wine Showcase, Tastings, Seminars, Cocktail Competition* Tivoli Quad on the Auraria Campus, 1000 Larimer St, Denver
  
• 09/07 Whiskies of the World 6:45 PM-9:30PM $99 21+ Global Whiskey Tasting, Light Bites, Free Glass Four Seasons Hotel, 1111 14th St, Denver
  
• Date TBD BBQ Fest - Time TBD Last Year: $35 Under 20; $109 Adult All Ages * All You Can Eat BBQ, All You Can Drink, Cooking Demos, Live Music* Location TBD
  

Art / Crafts / Shopping Festival

• 06/07, 07/05, 08/02, 09/06 Sante Fe First Friday Art Walks - 5:30PM-9PM FREE All Ages Galleries , Vendors, Food Trucks, Music Sante Fe // 5th Ave to 11th Ave, Denver, CO 80204
  
• 06/07, 07/05, 08/02, 09/06 RiNo First Friday Art Walks - 5:30PM-9PM FREE All Ages Art,Vendors Larimer St // Broadway to Downing
  
• 06/07, 07/05, 08/02, 09/06 Lakewood First Friday Art Walks - 6PM-9PM FREE All Ages Galleries, Drinks, Music 6501 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood, CO 80214
  
• 06/06-06/09 Denver Fringe Festival - Hours Vary Prices Vary, $75 All Inclusive All Ages 60+ Shows of Performance Art, Music Plays, Comedy, Improv, Cabaret, Magic, Dance, Aerial, Immersive Experiences, & More Across 12 Venues All Across RiNo and Five Points Denver
  
• 06/01-06/02 Denver Chalk Art Festival - 10AM-8PM FREE All Ages Chalk Art on the Street 123 W. 12th Avenue, Denver, CO 80204
  
• 06/08-06/09 Highlands Art Festival - 10AM-5PM FREE All Ages Art Vendors and Food Trucks 3550 Federal Blvd, Denver, CO 80211
  
• 06/15 RINO Summer Art Market – 12PM-4PM FREE All Ages *55+ Local Artists, Live Musical Performances 1900 35th St, Denver
  
• 07/05-07/07 Cherry Creek Arts Festival - Hours Vary 9AM-8PM FREE All Ages Art Vendors Cherry Creek North, 2401 E 2nd Ave #150, Denver, CO 80206
  
• 07/27-07/28 Cheeseman Park Art Festival – 9AM-5PM FREE All Ages 150+ Artists, Live Music, Food & Drinks Cheeseman Park, 1599 East 8th Avenue, Denver CO 80218
  

Other Festivals

• 06/01-06/02 Big Gear Show – 12PM-8PM FREE Outdoor Goods Consumer Show Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St, Denver, CO 80202
  
• 06/08-06/09 Unicorn Festival – 10AM-5PM $25 All Things Fairy and Unicorn Including the Unicorns Themselves Clement Park, 7306 W Bowles Ave, Littleton, CO 80123
  
• 07/04-07/07 Fan Expo – F 4PM-9PM; Sa 10AM-7PM; Su 10AM-5PM $29 / Day; $109 4-Day Pass All Ages Convention for Fans of Comics, Sci F, Horror, Anime, Gaming Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St, Denver, CO 80202
  
• 07/20-07/21 Lavender Festival – 9AM-5PM $15 Adults, $13 Seniors, $9 Children All Ages Lavender Fields, Artists, Live Music, Demonstrations of Dye Garden and Blacksmith Shop Denver Botanic Gardens* Chatfield Farms, 8500 W Deer Creek Canyon Road, Littleton, CO 80128
  

Farmers Markets

• Select Saturdays & Sundays 06/01-08/18 Urban Market at Union Station – 12PM-6PM 1701 Wynkoop, Denver, CO 80202
  
• Sundays 06/02-09/29 Arvada Farmer’s Market – 9AM-1:30PM Olde Town Square, 5702 Olde Wadsworth Blvd. Arvada, CO 80002
  
• Sundays 05/??-10/?? Parker – 8AM-1PM – 19565 Mainstreet, Parker, CO 80138
  
• Sundays 05/19-10/13 HighlandsSquare – 9AM-1PM 3600 W 32nd Ave, Denver, CO 80211
  
  • Sundays 06/23-10/13 Central Park – 8:30AM-12:30 PM Founders Green at Central Park
• Sundays 05/26-10/13 Festival Park – 9AM-2PM – 300 2nd St, Castle Rock, CO 80104
  
• Sundays 06/02-10/13 People + Produce – (Food Trucks Beer Garden Live Music) - 9AM-1PM – Bellview Station, Glendale, 6785 E Chenango Ave, Denver, CO 80237
  
• Sundays 04/05-10/27 Metro Denver Famers Market - Highlands Ranch – 10AM-2PM 9288 Dorchester St, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126
  
• Sundays 05/05-11/10 South Pearl Street – 9AM-1PM 1527 S Pearl St, Denver, CO 80210
  

• Tuesdays 06/04-09/24 Evergreene – 10AM-2PM 1036 El Rancho Road, Evergreen, CO 80439

• Wednesdays 06/05-08/28 Green Valley Ranch – 5PM-8PM Green Valley Ranch Town Center Park, 4890 Argonne St., Denver, CO 80249
  
  • Wednesdays 06/19-09/25 Metro Denver Farmers Market – Aspen Grove – 10AM-2PM Green Valley Ranch Town Center Park, 4890 Argonne St., Denver, CO 802497301 S Santa Fe Dr., Littleton
  • Wednesdays 05/01-10/02 Boulder County Farmer’s Market – 13:30PM-7:30PM 13th St between Arapahoe Ave & Canyon Blvd

• Thursdays 05/9-09/26 Real Farmers Market - Erie – 5PM-8PM – Briggs Street // Wells and Moffatt, Erie 80516

• Select Saturdays & Sundays 06/01-08/18 Urban Market at Union Station – 12PM-6PM 1701 Wynkoop, Denver, CO 80202
  
• 1st and 3rd Saturdays 5/11-08/31 Rebels in the Garden - 9PM-1PM Activist Group Rebel Marketplace, S Del Mar Park, Aurora, CO, USA
  
• Saturdays 05/04-10/28 Southwest Plaza – 8AM-2PM 8501 W Bowles Ave, Littleton, CO 80123
  
• Saturdays 05/11-09/28* Southland – 8AM-1PM – 6155 S Main St, Aurora, CO 80016
  
• Saturdays 06/15-09/30 Lakewood – 10AM-2PM Mile Hi Church. 9077 W Alameda Ave, Denver, CO 80226
  
• Saturdays 06/01-10/05 Golden 8AM-1PM 1019 10th St, Golden, CO 80401
  
• Saturday 05/02-10/12 Cherry Creek Fresh Market – 9AM-2PM Cherry Creek Shopping Center, 3000 E 1st Ave, Denver, CO 80206
  
• Saturdays 5/13-10/14 Real Farmer’s Market - Louisville – 9AM-1PM 824 Front Street, Louisville, CO 80027
  
• Saturdays 5/04-10/26 City Park – 8AM-1PM 2551 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80206
  
  • Saturdays 05/11-10/26 University Hills – 9AM-1PM – 2500 S Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80222
• Saturdays 4/06-11/23 Boulder County Farmers Market - Longmont – 8AM-1PM Boulder County Fairgrounds, 9595 Nelson Rd, Longmont, CO
  

Concerts

• Sundays 06/02-08/04 City Park Jazz - 6PM-8PM FREE All Ages Jazz, Blues, Brass, and More City Park Pavilion, Denver, CO
  
  • Dates Vary 05/17-10/05Levitt Pavilion Free Concerts Series - Times Vary FREE All Ages Free Concerts, Various Genres Levitt Pavilion, 1380 W Florida Ave, Denver, CO 80223
• 06/20, 07/18, 08/15 Riverfront Park Summer Sessions - 5PM-9PM FREE All Ages Riverfront Park, Denver, CO
  
• ** 08/10** Opera on the Green - 6PM or 8 PM FREE All Ages Central Park, Denver, CO
  
  • ** Dates Vary 06/01-08.08** Concerts in Central Park - 6PM or 6:30 PM FREE All Ages Central Park, Denver, CO
• 06/19-08/21 Green Valley Ranch Sunday Concerts in the Park - 5:30PM-7:30PM FREE All Ages Green Valley Ranch Town Center Park, 5050 Argonne St, Denver, CO 80249
  
• Highlands Ranch Community Association Summer Concert Series - 6:30PM-8:00PM FREE All Ages Highland Heritage Regional Park, 9651 S Quebec, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129
  
• ** Select Saturdays 06/01-008/08** MCA Concerts and Jazz Series - 6PM FREE Founders Green, 7601 29th Ave, Denver, CO 80238
  
  • ** Select Thursdays 06/03-07/27** MCA MoJaBlu Concert Series - 6:30PM FREE Jazz Conservatory Green, Denver, CO 80238

• Red Rocks Event Schedule 303-319 CO-8, Morrison, CO 80465
  
• Empower Field Event Schedule 1701 Bryant St, Denver, CO 80204
  
• Fiddler’s Green Event Schedule 6350 Greenwood Plaza Blvd, Greenwood Village, CO 80111
  
  • Every Other Wednesday 06/12-07/31 [Lakewood Summer Concert Series](h https://www.lakewood.org/Government/Departments/Community-Resources/Arts-and-Culture/Arts-and-Culture-Events/Sounds-Exciting-Summer-Concert-Series) - Doors 5PM, Headliners 7:15 $10 All Ages Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park
• Denver Botanical Gardens Music at the Gardens Schedule Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St, Denver, CO 80206
  
• Evenings El Pastor at the Denver Botanic Gardens Small Ensembles Hidden Throughout the Gardens Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St, Denver, CO 80206
  
• Civic Center Park Concert Schedule Civic Center Park, 101 W 14th Ave, Denver, CO 80202
  
• Dick’s Sporting Goods Park Concert Schedule Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, 6000 Victory Way, Commerce City, CO 80022
  
• Arvada Center Outdoor Amphitheater & Front Porch Concerts Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd, Arvada, CO 80003
  
• Wednesdays 06/05-07/17 Shady Grove Concert Series at Four Mile Historic Park - 6:30PM $20 Four Mile Historic Park, 715 S Forest St, Denver, CO 80246
  

• List of Venus in Denver

• Songkick
  
• Concertfix
  
• Concertful
  

Parks / Nature

• Rocky Mountain National Park $15-$35; $70 Annual; $80 Interagency All Ages 415 Square Miles of Mountain Environments FREE DAYS: 08/04, 09/24, 11/11
  
• Mesa Verde National Park $15-$30; $55 Annual; $80 Interagency World Heritage Site of Pueblo Ruins FREE DAYS: 08/04, 09/24, 11/11
  
• Great Sand Dunes National Park $25; $40 Annual; $80 INteragencyFREE DAYS: 08/04, 09/24, 11/11
  
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park $15-$30; $55 Annual; $80 Interagency FREE DAYS: 08/04, 09/24, 11/11
  

• Barr Lake
  
• Cheyenne Mountain
  
• Crawford
  
• Eleven Mile
  
• Jackson Lake
  
• John Martin
  
• Lake Pueblo
  
• Mancos
  
• Ridgway
  
• St. Vrain
  
• Staunton
  
• Steamboat Lake
  
• Trinidad Lake
  
  • Roxborough State Park

• City Park Lake, Science Museum, Zoo, Golf 17th and York, Denver, CO
  
• Skyline Park * Beer Garden, Ice Skating Rink in Winter* 16th and Arapaho, Denver, CO
  
• Civic Center Park * Lots of Festivals, Art Museum, Library, Government Buildings* 101 W 14th Ave Pkwy, Denver, CO, 80203
  
• Confluence Park Aquarium, Children’s Museum, Elitch Gardens, S Platte River 2250 15th St, Denver, CO
  
• Centennial Flower Gardens Gardens, S Platte River, Elitch Gardens 1101 Little Raven St, Denver, CO
  
• Commons Park S Platte River, Sand Prairie 17th and York, Denver, CO
  
• Sloans Lake Park Lake, Festival 1700 Sheridan Blvd, Denver, CO
  
• Washington Park Lakes, Boat Rentals, Gardens, Playgrounds, Sports, Tennis Courts, Soccer Field Virginia Ave and Downing St, Denver, CO
  
• Cheeseman Park Paths, Playgrounds 1599 E 8th St, Denver, CO
  
• Bear Creek Park 2,600 Acres, Hiking, Biking, Horseback Riding, Swim Beach, Boat Rentals 15600 W Morrison Rd, Lakewood, CO
  
• Paco Sanchez Park Hilly expanse with unique playgrounds 1290 Knox Court, 3240 W 14th Ave, Denver, CO 80204
  
• Ruby Hill Bike Park 7 Acre Park for Bike Riders with Ramps and Tracks W Jewell Ave, Denver, CO 80223
  
• Smaller / More Distant City Parks include: Berkeley Lake Park, Rocky Mountain Lake Park. McDonough Park, City of Cuernavaca Park, Benedict Fountain (Triangle) Park AND MANY MORE…
  

• Day Hikes Near Denver

Water Activities

• Cherry Creek State Park Swim Beach Smoky Hill Trail, Aurora, CO 80015
  
• Aurora Reservoir Swimming Beach S Powhaton Rd, Aurora, CO 80016
  
• Aurora Reservoir SCUBA Beach E Reservoir Dam Rd, Aurora, CO 80016
  
• Platte River Highlands Bridge and Swimming in Confluence Park 2250 15th St, Denver, CO 80202
  
• Soda Lake Beach in Bear Creek Lake Park Near 15600 W Morrison Rd, Lakewood, CO 80228
  
• Chatfield Park Swim Beach Near Perimeter Rd, Littleton, CO 80128
  

• List of Public Denver Outdoor Pools - $50 Summer Pass
  
• List of Public Denver Indoor Pools - $50 Summer Pas
  

• List of Splash Parks in the Denver Metro Area May be out of date

• List of Water Parks in the Denver Metro Area May be out of date
  
• 05/25-09/02 Island Kingdom Waterpark at Elitch Gardens - Varies between 9AM and 8:30PM (Closes at Dusk) $50/Day, $77/Season All Ages Water Park with Thrill Slides, Family Slides, Wave Pool, and Lazy River; Attached to Theme Park (No extra cost) 2000 Elitch Cir, Denver, CO 80204
  
• 05/25-09/07 Water World - Varies between 10AM and 7:30PM $45-$50 Adults; $30-$45 Kids All Ages Water Park with Thrill Slides, Family Slides, Wave Pool, Lazy River, and Surf Wave 8801 N Pecos St, Federal Heights, CO 80260
  
• 05/25-08/11 The Splash at Fossil Trace - 10AM-6PM Park; 10AM-5:30PM Pools $13 Day Pass, $195 Season Pass All Ages Pools and Water Slides 3151 Illinois St, Golden, CO 80401
  
• 05/25-09/02 Pirate’s Cove - 10AM-5:30PM $19Day Pass; $133Season Pass All Ages Pools and Water Slides 1225 W Belleview Ave, Littleton, CO 80120
  

Amusement

• Year Round, Dates Vary Elitch Gardens - Times vary between 9AM and 9PM $35-$70/Day, $78-$150/Season All Ages Theme Park and Water Park 2000 Elitch Cir, Denver, CO 80204
  
• 05/13-09/10 Lakeside Amusement Park - Varies between 1PM and 11:30PM $25-$35 All Ages Classic Theme Park Built in 1908 4601 Sheridan Boulevard, Lakeside, CO 80212
  

• Saturdays & Sundays, 06/15-08/04 Colorado Renaissance Festival - 10:30AM-6:30PM $28 Adult, $12 Child All Ages Renaissance Themed Food, Drink, And Entertainment including Comedy, Sword Swallowing, Fire Breathing, Music, Jousting, and More 650 Perry Park Ave, Larkspur, CO 80118

Outdoor Movies

• Denver.org List Mostly not announced yet List of Outdoor Movie Showings in and around Denver Including: Red Rocks, Avanti, Town Center Park Auditorium, Ironton Distillery & Crafthouse, Elitch Gardens (in the Wave Pool) and many others
  
  • 07/09-08/18 MCA Outdoor Film Movie Series - Dusk Contemporary Blockbusters and Popular Films South Green, 7601 29th Ave, Denver, CO 80238

• 88 Drive In - 7PM $10 Double Features Drive in Theatre, Film Schedule 5 Days in Advance 8780 Rosemary Street, Commerce City, CO 80022

Theatre / Opera / Symphony / Dance / Burlesque Shows

• 06/04-06/16 & Juliet – Buell Theatre
  
• 07/08-07/20 Some Like It Hot- Buell Theatre
  

• 04/26-06/02 The Full Monty
  
• 05/04-06/01 The Emperor’s New Clothes
  
  • 05/04-06/01 The Emperor’s New Clothes

• 06/01-08/10 Murder at the Forbidden Cavern (Adult Show)
  
  • 06/05-08/08 Mystery at the Campground (Kids Show)
• 08/15-09/14 Murder in the Royal Court
  

• ** 08/30-10/13** Waitress

• 05/03-06/09 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
  
• 05/31-07/17-07/30 The Hombres
  
  • 08/23-09/22 Della Doucet

• 05/11-06/08 These Shining Lives
  
  • 06/29-07/28 Othello

• 05/18-06/15 Cullud Wattah

• 06/08-08/11 Macbeth
  
• 07/06-08/11 The Merry Wives of Windsor
  
• 07/28 Arden of Faversham
  

Museums / Exhibits / Gardens

• Denver Art Museum - 10AM-5PM $22 ALL AGES Daily 10AM-5PM General Art Museum 100 W. 14th Avenue Pkwy Denver, CO 80204 - FREE DAYS: 06/11, 07/09, 07/21, 08/13, 09/07, 09/10, 10/08, 11/02, 11/12, 12/10
  
• Museum of Contemporary Art Denver - T-F 12PM-7PM; Sa-Su 10AM-5PM $12, $5 after 5PM T-Th All Ages Contemporary and Modern Art 1485 Delgany St Denver, CO 80202 - $0.01 DAYS: 06/01, 07/06, 08/03, 09/07, 10/12, 11/16, 12/07
  
• Meow Wolf - Hours Vary 12PM-10PM $45-$55 ALL AGES Psychedelic Immersive Alien Art Experience 1338 1st St, Denver, CO 80204
  
• Spectra Art Space: Nova Ita: Propagation - 11AM-9PM $20-$32 ALL AGES * Psychedelic, Immersive Local Art Experience* 1836 S Broadway Denver, CO 80210
  
• Clyfford Still Museum - 10AM-5PM $10-$15 ALL AGES Art by the Artist Clyfford Still 1250 Bannock St Denver, CO 80204 – PAY WHAT YOU WISH DAYS: 05/29, 06/01, 06/22, 08/16, 09/04, 10/03, 12/03
  
• Museo de las Americas - 12PM-5/6PM $8 ALL AGES Latin American Art 861 Santa Fe Dr, CO 80204 - FREE DAYS: 06/07, 07/05, 08/02, 09/06, 10/04, 11/01
  
• American Museum of Western Art 10AM-4:30PM $5 All Ages Art Depicting the American West from 1800s to Present 1727 Tremont Place, Denver, CO 80202
  
• Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art- T-Sa 11AM-5PM; Su12PM-5PM $10-$12 All Ages Fine and Decorative Art 1201 Bannock St Denver, CO 80204
  

• History Colorado Center - 10AM-5PM $15 ALL AGES General History Museum with Emphasis on Colorado History 1200 Broadway Denver, CO 80203 – FREE DAYS: 08/04, 11/02
  
• Four Mile Historic Park 10AM-4PM $6-$8 ALL AGES Celebration of Denver’s Western Heritage 715 S Forest St, Denver, CO 80246 - FREE DAYS: 06/28, 07/26, 08/23, 09/27, 10/25, 11/22
  
• Black American West Museum - 10AM-2PM $15 All Ages History of Black and African American in the Wild West 3091 California St Denver, CO 80205
  

• Denver Museum of Nature and Science - 9AM-5PM $25 All Ages Nature, Science, Technology, and History; Planetarium; Laser Fantasy 2001 Colorado Blvd Denver, CO 80205 - FREE DAYS: 06/04, 06/19, 08/21, 09/10, 09/30, 10/20, 11/03, 11/18, 12/08
  
• Botanical Gardens - York St (Downtown) - 9AM-8PM $16 Gardens with Plants from All Over the World 1007 York St, Denver, CO 80206 - FREE DAYS: 06/05, 07/03, 08/28, 11/29
  
• Botanical Gardens - Chatfield Farms) - 9AM-4PM $12 Gardens and a Full Working Farm 8500 W Deer Creek Canyon Rd, Littleton, CO 80128 - FREE DAYS: 06/05, 07/03, 08/28, 11/29
  
• Plains Conservation Center M-F 6:30AM-4:30PM; Sa 8AM-4:30PM $10 All Ages Prairie Conservation Center / Activities / Educational Experiences 21901 E Hampden Ave Aurora, CO 80013
  

• Denver Zoo - 10AM-5PM $26 Adults, $19 Kids All Ages Animals, Conversation, Education 2300 Steele St, Denver, CO 80205 - FREE DAYS: 11/03, 11/09, 11/12
  
• Butterfly Pavillion - 9AM-5PM $16 Adults, $11 Kids All Ages Butterfly Garden, Insect Exhibits, Tarantula Holdings, Education 6252 W 104th Ave, Westminster, CO 80020
  
• Denver Downtown Aquarium - M-Th 10AM-8:30PM; F-S 10AM-10PM; Su 10AM-8PM $28 All Ages Aquarium / Restaurant / 4D Theatre / Mermaid Shows 700 Water Street Denver, CO 80211
  
• Wild Animal Sanctuary - 10AM-5PM $50 Adults, $30 Kids All Ages Learn About Wildlife Rescue and See Animals from Elevated Platforms - Stresses It's Not a Zoo but you can see many "zoo" animals 2999 Co Rd 53, Keenesburg, CO 80643
  

Things to Do Year Round

• WIP of Places to Eat, Drink, and Have Fun Around Downtown I'm still building this. Please let me know if you have anything to add or change!
  
• Eat Around the World in Denver Join us over at /denverfood where we're trying to make a list of restaurants that represent each of the world's countries all in the larger Denver area!
  

Other Resources

• Mile High on the Cheap
  
• 303 Magazine Events Calendar
  
• Colorado.com Events Schedule
  
• Denver-Co Events
  
• Vesta Events
  
• AllEvents
  
• Metro Denver
  
• Dairy Block Event Calendar 1800 Wazee St, Denver, CO 80202
  

COMBO BREAKER 2024 May 24th — 26th Schaumburg, Illinois