This Weekend in Denver · September 24, 2026
Things To Do in Denver This Weekend: September 25-27, 2026
Denver Oktoberfest closes out its second free weekend on Larimer, The Room screens at midnight twice at the Bug, and Changing Landscapes keeps the museum honest about climate at three World Heritage sites, September 25-27, 2026.
1. Denver Oktoberfest
Second and final weekend of the 56th annual, free at the gate on the 2100 block of Larimer in the Ballpark District. Friday has costume and yodeling contests at 4:30 and a silent disco at 9, Saturday is the Stein Hoisting Championship at 9:15 and brat eating at 4, and Sunday the Long Dog Derby runs at 12:30 with dachshund sign ups at 11 AM. Founded in 1969, which makes it the longest-running Oktoberfest in the country. VIP is around $200 a weekend; general admission stays free.
2. The Room at The Bug Theatre
Tommy Wiseau's masterpiece of everything going wrong plays 11 PM Friday and Saturday at the Bug, doors 10:30. Nine dollars online, ten at the door, which is the rare case where the internet saves you a dollar at eleven at night. It is a participation screening, spoons encouraged, rated R and listed 17 and over with a parent or guardian for anyone under. The Bug is at 3654 Navajo Street on a residential block with street parking only, so leave the extra ten minutes.
3. Changing Landscapes: Inside Venice, Mesa Verde and Rapa Nui at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Three World Heritage sites, Venice, Mesa Verde and Rapa Nui, rebuilt as photogrammetry projections you can walk into, with hands-on stations between them. Open 9 AM to 5 PM in City Park and included with museum admission, no separate exhibition ticket. It runs through January 3, 2027, so this is the one thing on the list with no deadline pressure. Parking is on site off Colorado Boulevard.
4. People + Produce Farmers Market: Belleview Station
Sunday is the last one of the season at Belleview Station in the DTC, free to walk in, with Colorado farms and local makers. Gum Pop Presents runs this market and also runs this site, so factor that into the recommendation. For anyone south of the city, it is the Sunday market that does not involve a highway.
5. Civic Center EATS
Wednesdays and Thursdays only, 11 AM to 2 PM, so it sits just before this weekend instead of in it. More than 50 food trucks on Bannock Street and the Civic Center meadow during park construction, free to enter, pay per item. Through October 15, and after that the trucks scatter for the winter.
6. SHEEP Pop-Up by Chef Kelly Whitaker
Kelly Whitaker is Colorado's only two-Michelin-star chef, and SHEEP is his fire and ember rooftop run on the Clayton Hotel at 233 Clayton Street in Cherry Creek. Four courses around $95 with a 5 PM seating. It ends October 4, so this is one of the last handful of nights for it. Rooftop in late September means bring the jacket you would bring to Red Rocks.
7. Arvada Farmers' Market
Sunday closes the season in Olde Town Square, 9 AM to 1:30 PM on Olde Wadsworth Boulevard, free to enter. Colorado growers plus local food and handmade makers. The G Line drops you a block away, which is the whole argument for choosing this market over the others.
8. Orchard Farmers' Market
Sunday, 9 AM to 2 PM at Orchard Town Center, 14535 Delaware Street in Westminster, and it is the last market of the year. More than 50 local growers and food and craft makers, free entry, parking in the Town Center lot. The extra hour on the back end makes it the forgiving option.
9. Havana Street Night Market
Last Saturday of the month, which makes September 26 the last one of 2026. Free, 6 to 10 PM, near Havana and Yale at 2710 South Havana Street in Aurora. Come hungry, because this is a dinner shaped as a market.
10. Bright Nights at Four Mile Historic Park
Illuminated lantern displays you walk through after dark, Wednesdays through Sundays, 7 to 11 PM, at Four Mile Historic Park near Cherry Creek. The 2026 theme goes insect-scale, so the flora and fauna are built to loom. Adults are $28 in advance or $30 at the walk-up window, youth $21 or $23, members $20, and the two dollars is the price of indecision. Weekend timed slots sell first, so buy the Saturday slot on Thursday.
11. Mershop's Market Days at Town Center Aurora
Saturday is the season finale at Town Center at Aurora, listed 11 AM to 2 PM with the Jacob Larson Trio on the last date. Free admission, free mall parking, local makers. Live band plus a paved lot plus indoor bathrooms is a combination no field market can match in the last week of September.
Quick answers
- What is happening in Denver this weekend, September 25-27, 2026?
- Denver Oktoberfest runs Friday through Sunday free on the 2100 block of Larimer, closing with the Long Dog Derby at 12:30 Sunday. Friday and Saturday night The Room screens at 11 PM at the Bug Theatre, and Saturday brings the Havana Street Night Market in Aurora from 6 to 10 PM plus the Mershop's Market Days finale. Sunday is the last day for the Belleview Station, Arvada and Orchard farmers markets, and Bright Nights at Four Mile runs after dark all three nights.
- What free things are there to do in Denver this weekend?
- Denver Oktoberfest is free at the gate Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Larimer Street. Saturday adds the Havana Street Night Market in Aurora and Mershop's Market Days at Town Center Aurora, both free with free parking. Sunday the Arvada Farmers' Market, the Orchard Farmers' Market in Westminster and People + Produce at Belleview Station all close their seasons free to walk in, and Civic Center EATS returns free to enter on Wednesday and Thursday.
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