With Independence Day upon us, there are plenty of fun events to keep us busy! Here are our top picks and be sure to see our event calendar for additional details and also our free concert and movie guide.
July 4th Events
Independence Eve at Civic Center Park
July 3, 8:00 pm – 11:30 pm
Join us for Independence Eve presented by Anadarko, the seventh-annual free community celebration featuring a concert, light show and fireworks display on Monday, July 3, 2018, in Denver’s Civic Center Park (Colfax & Broadway) beginning at 8:00 p.m.
4th of July Spectacular at the Aurora Municipal Center Great Lawn
The city of Aurora, Colorado will celebrate the 4th of July Spectacular and Independence Day with a fireworks show that will lit up the night sky. The Aurora Municipal Center Great Lawn will feature dance worthy live music, delicious food and a fireworks display revered as one of the best in Colorado. The event opens to the public at 6:00PM with live entertainment. Fireworks start at 9:30PM.
Evergreen Music Festival 2018
July 4, 10:00 am – 10:00 pm
The 2018 Evergreen Music Festival presents 15 performing groups including FACE Vocal Band and soul band The Burroughs! In addition to the performing artists on Independence Stage, the Evergreen Scene stage will feature some of Evergreen’s most popular bands. Honoring military personnel, the festival includes free children’s activities, a Civil War cannon, and a British car shine and show! Free admission for children, active military and veterans.
Park Hill 4th of July Parade
July 4, 1:30 – 3:00 pm
The Park Hill 4th of July Parade is Denver’s largest Independence Day march. It’s a traditional parade with everything you’d expect, including marching bands, floats, classic cars, costumed characters and much more!
Colorado Rapids vs. Seattle Sounders FC at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
July 4, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Come and see the exciting match between the Colorado Rapids and the Seattle Sounders FC at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
Denver Outlaws vs. Boston Cannons at Sports Authority Field at Mile High
July 4, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Don’t miss the thrill and excitement of Major League Lacrosse at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Family-friendly and affordable, the non-stop action will have you on the edge of your seat.
July 4th is our annual Mile High 4th of July celebration featuring the best post-game fireworks in Denver!
Colorado Symphony’s Family friendly Fourth of July at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
July 4, 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Celebrate the stars and stripes of the good ol’ U.S. of A with your Colorado Symphony this Independence Day! It’s the return of the Family Friendly Fourth of July with even more surprises and star-studded talent. This family-friendly program features your favorite contemporary scores and the best fireworks the Front Range has to offer! Celebrate America with the Armed Forces Salute, Stars and Stripes Forever, the Overture of 1812, God Bless America and a slew of your favorite hits from stage and screen.
Fireworks – Independence Day at Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park
July 4, 10:00 pm – 11:45 pm
Don’t miss as we light up the Downtown Denver skyline with our fireworks extravaganza! Shows start at park closing time.
Other Events
Final Friday 2018 Summer Series at 31st and Blake in RiNo
June 29, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
The Final Friday 2018 Summer Series returns for its sixth consecutive year, with live music acts and local businesses creating an urban block party in the RiNo Arts District. Dozens of breweries, restaurants and businesses will also be offering great deals on food and drinks.
Dive-In Movie – Despicable Me 3 at Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park
June 29, 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Dive-In Movies are shown in Island Kingdom Water Park every Friday night June 29 – August 3. The Water Park closes at 6 p.m. with the exception of the Wave Pool, movies beginning around 7:30 p.m. Movies are free with any park admission or Season Pass.
Colorado Renaissance Festival
June 30– July 1
Flash back to the 16th Century and journey through a medieval city. Enjoy full-armor jousting, tasty turkey legs, music and a marketplace featuring more than 200 artisans.
Colorado Music Festival: Family Fun Concert “Meet the Strings”
June 30, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Family Fun Concerts give younger children a chance to meet different sections of the orchestra. Small ensemble perform short, informal, musical programs. Meet the musicians and their instruments following each performance.
The Colorado Horse Park Grand Prix Series at the Colorado Horse Park
June 30, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Looking for something new to do with your family this summer? Come on down to the Colorado Horse Park, Colorado’s premier equestrian facility, located in Parker, Colorado. Watch the nation’s top equestrians compete in the weekly Summer in the Rockies Grand Prix. Gates open at 4, with competition commencing at 5 PM each Saturday, June 9 – July 21. Parking and general admission are free. Bring a blanket to sit on the grass and enjoy our cash bar, hospitality, vendors, and views
The Ninjago Movie
June 30, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
The Athmar Park Neighborhood Association (APNA) is excited to announce the Fourth Annual APNA Movies in the Park series, a free summer activity for families and friends. During three evenings in the summer, APNA will set up the big screen in Huston Lake Park and invite the community to enjoy great films under the stars.
Free Day at Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield Farms
July 3, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Free Days occur throughout the year at both York Street and Chatfield Farms, thanks to funding from the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). No tickets are needed for admission to Free Days. Free Days are for regular Gardens hours only and do not include ticketed events.
Target Tuesday Night at Children’s Museum of Denver
July 3, 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Target is committed to giving back to the communities where their guests and team members live and work. Through their generous sponsorship of the Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus, families can play for FREE the first Tuesday of each month from 4 – 8 pm.
Ongoing Events and Exhibits
Summer in the City
June 1-August 1
The city of Aurora, Colorado invites you to join us this summer for some FREE, fun entertainment. It’s a great way to get the kids outside this summer. This event just for kids offers fun throughout the summer. There will be free, healthy snacks, inflatables, board and field games, an opportunity to try your hand at golf and the gymnastics team will be onsite as well. The library will be there with fun crafts as well as the Aurora History Museum. Come discover all the other programs that the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Department offers.
“Happy City: Art for the People” is a six-week (May 18-June 30) citywide art intervention produced by The Denver Theatre District at Denver Union Station’s Plaza and Great Hall. The art instillation sites are located throughout Denver and includes streets, alleyways, billboards, video screens and Union Station, among other locations.
Play Ball! at the History Colorado Center
April 7-September 30, 2018
See classic baseball artifacts—from Babe Ruth to the Blake Street Bombers. Treasured memorabilia and iconic photographs bring the past to life through stories that begin on the ball field and echo through American history. Size up your hand against Babe Ruth’s. Find the nails Ty Cobb used to hold his favorite bat together, and admire the glove flashed by Willie Mays to make some of the game’s most memorable catches. See the uniform Joe DiMaggio wore in his final World Series and a receipt for roses he sent to Marilyn Monroe. historycolorado.org/exhibit/play-ball
Dead Sea Scrolls at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
March 16-Sept. 3
Dead Sea Scrolls is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see authentic Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient manuscripts that include the oldest known biblical documents dating back over 2,000 years. The scrolls will be dramatically presented within a massive exhibit case featuring carefully regulated individual chambers, along with the full English translation. dmns.org/dead-sea-scrolls
Denver Puzzling Adventure at Civic Center Park
Puzzling Adventures™ are a cross between a scavenger hunt, an informative self-guided tour, and The Amazing Race®. Each adventure consists of a series of locations that you are guided to where you are required to answer questions or solve puzzles to receive your next instruction. http://puzzlingadventures.com
Eyes On at Denver Art Museum
December 3, 2017 – July 8, 2018, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Xiaoze Xie has a lifelong passion for books. In his worldview, books are conveyers of prestige and signifiers of collective cultural knowledge: repositories of historical meaning, cultural conflict, and political strife. For Eyes On: Xiaoze Xie, the artist has created still-life paintings of books, videos, and installations based on banned and forbidden books in China. http://denverartmuseum.org/exhibitions/eyes-on-xiaoze-xie
Past the Tangled Present at the Denver Art Museum
November 14, 2017 – October 28, 2018, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
This interactive and immersive installation by Denver artist Jaime Molina was born of imagination and the joy of discovery. Step into a different world where the paintings on the wall flow into 3-D objects that Molina created for the space. Sit on boxes painted with faces and play in a garden of fabricated cacti. http://denverartmuseum.org/exhibitions/past-tangled-present
Creatures of Light at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
February 23- June 10, 2018
They light up our lives, but have you ever wondered how? Delve into the world of living things that blink, glow, flash, and flicker, from tiny fireflies to strange creatures in the ocean depths. The new exhibition Creatures of Light explores the mysterious world of bioluminescence and biofluorescence, visible light emitted by living things. This enlightening experience features larger-than-life models, engaging immersive environments, fun activities, and real animals, fungi, and minerals that get their glow on. http://www.dmns.org
Colors of East Africa
Jan. 20-May 19, 2018
Colors of East Africa, an exceptional showcase of eight countries along the Great Rift Valley, continues through May 19 at the Global Village Museum of Arts and Cultures. The exhibit features art and artifacts on loan from over 40 collectors and international travelers in Northern Colorado. Many items reflect the intersection between the wildlife and the indigenous cultures, such as a loin cloth fashioned from fish vertebrae and a Maasai shield & weaponry. http://globalvillagemuseum.org/upcoming-main-gallery/
AI Weiwei: Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads
Oct. 18, 2017–Oct. 17, 2018
The 12 bronze heads of Ai Weiwei’s Circle of Animals represent the 12 animals of the traditional Chinese zodiac. See it for free at Civic Center Park! https://www.denver.org
Zoom In: The Centennial State in 100 Objects
Nov. 21, 2017–Dec. 31, 2018
History Colorado created a brand-new space, the Tim Schultz Gallery, to house this 3,700-square-foot exhibit of 100 objects, each of which had a role in shaping the history and culture of Colorado. https://www.historycolorado.org/venue/history-colorado-center
Pixelated: Sculpture by Mike Whiting
April 28–Sept. 23, 2018
Mike Whiting’s geometric sculptures at the Denver Botanic Gardens also represent the intersection of two distinct visual styles: 8-bit pixel graphics—which have enjoyed a recent resurgence in games like Minecraft—and minimalist sculpture. Technological limitations in early video games like Pac-Man and Space Invaders reduced the graphics to simplified shapes, while the minimalist art movement created artworks that purposely lacked detail. Pixelated investigates the opposite intents of these two artistic approaches that result in a strikingly similar visual outcome. https://www.botanicgardens.org/exhibits/pixelated-sculpture-mike-whiting
Peak-A-Boo Play
Peak-A-Boo Play launched in spring 2018 in The Hangar at Stanley Marketplace. The space is a clean, safe, pop-up experience offering drop-in, open play for kiddos three years of age and under. Parents/caretakers must be present and will have opportunities to socialize, grab coffee and take a breather while kids explore over 500-square-feet of mats, plush tumbling gear, sensory toys, bubbles, music and more. Summer admission is $10 per child with sibling discounts available. Hours of operation are Monday and Thursday mornings, 9 to noon; however, schedule is subject to change/expand and will be regularly posted to website and social channels.
Author: Amber Johnson
Amber is the founder and editor of Mile High Mamas, travel writer and former columnist for The Denver Post. She is a passionate community builder and loves the outdoors. She has two awesome teens and is happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin.
