Free This Weekend in Denver · October 22, 2026
Free Things To Do in Denver This Weekend: October 23-25, 2026
The Denver Wiesn gives away the gate on its final Oktoberfest weekend, Manitou Springs races coffins down Manitou Avenue for the thirty-second year, and two Arvada Center gallery shows stay free and still hanging, October 23-25, 2026.
1. pARTy and Rigsby Revisited: The Arvada Center Turns 50
Two free gallery shows under one roof, and the quieter one is the better story. pARTy hands the Main Gallery to 19 artists for the Center's 50th anniversary, Moe Gram among them, while Rigsby Revisited rehangs the Upper Gallery with work from the first solo exhibition the Center ever mounted, back in 1977. Free through November 8 at 6901 Wadsworth Boulevard in Arvada. Galleries keep shorter hours than the theater next door, so check posted times before you commit to the drive.
Arts2. 40 West Gallery Member Showcase (First Friday Opening)
The crowded night already happened, which is the entire pitch. The biannual Member Showcase hangs at The HUB at 40 West Arts, 6501 West Colfax Avenue in Lakewood, through November 1, and the names on the walls belong to district members who live along that stretch of Colfax. Free, run by the 40 West Arts District nonprofit. The 5 to 9 PM window was the First Friday opening, so confirm weekend hours before you go.
3. Oktoberfest: The Denver Wiesn at National Western Center
Last call on the free Oktoberfest. The Bavarian Guild closes out the Denver Wiesn's second weekend at the National Western Center with Saturday's stein hoisting, keg bowling and dachshund races, then a final Sunday run from 1 to 9 PM. General admission is free both days at 5185 National Western Drive in Elyria-Swansea. The gate costs nothing. The steins do not.
Festivals4. Fall Festival & Haunted House at The Arc Arapahoe
The Arc Arapahoe, Douglas and Elbert Counties runs this out of its own office address, which is a point in its favor. Pumpkin patch, trunk or treat and a haunted house, free, Saturday from 4 to 8 PM at 6538 South Racine Circle in Centennial. Four hours that start in daylight and end after dark means the haunted house stays survivable for kids who would not last ten seconds in a real one.
5. BOOMar at Belmar
Belmar's Halloween party is a daytime one, and for anyone hauling a four-year-old around that is the whole argument. Costumes, makers and trick or treating fill the plaza in downtown Lakewood starting at 11 AM Saturday, free. Eleven in the morning also means the costume survives to see Halloween.
6. Emma Crawford Coffin Races and Festival
Thirty-two years in, Manitou Springs still hands Manitou Avenue over to coffin racing the weekend before Halloween, and nobody down there has reconsidered. The Fan Zone opens at 10 AM Saturday, the parade goes at noon, the races start at 1 PM, and watching from the street costs nothing; racing entries register separately and in advance. It is about 70 miles south of Denver near Colorado Springs, and downtown parking fills early, so leave before mid-morning or plan on a long walk in.
Weird7. Halloween Monster Mash
Stanley Marketplace throws the neighborhood a costume party Saturday from 4 to 7 PM at 2501 Dallas Street in Aurora. Costumes, dancing and treats is all the venue promises, and parking is free and on site. Three hours, indoors, no ticket.
8. Goblin Give Out
The Sunday option, and the only pick here not competing with five other things for the same afternoon. Costumed kids trick or treat through the shops and restaurants of Historic Downtown Littleton, free, with the listing showing noon to 4 PM. Littleton has not published confirmed hours on its official calendar, so check the event page before you build the whole afternoon around a 4 PM finish.
Quick answers
- What is happening in Denver this weekend, October 23-25, 2026?
- Saturday carries this weekend. The Emma Crawford Coffin Races run down Manitou Avenue at 1 PM, BOOMar opens Belmar's plaza in Lakewood at 11 AM, Stanley Marketplace's Monster Mash goes 4 to 7 PM in Aurora, and The Arc Arapahoe's Fall Festival and haunted house runs 4 to 8 PM in Centennial. Sunday thins out to Goblin Give Out in Historic Downtown Littleton and the final day of the Denver Wiesn, 1 to 9 PM at the National Western Center. The Arvada Center and 40 West gallery shows are up all three days.
- What free things are there to do in Denver this weekend?
- All eight picks in this edition are free to walk into: pARTy and Rigsby Revisited at the Arvada Center, the 40 West Gallery Member Showcase in Lakewood, the Denver Wiesn Oktoberfest Saturday and Sunday, The Arc Arapahoe Fall Festival and Haunted House Saturday, BOOMar at Belmar Saturday, the Emma Crawford Coffin Races in Manitou Springs Saturday, the Halloween Monster Mash at Stanley Marketplace Saturday, and Goblin Give Out in Littleton Sunday. Free admission is not the same as a free day out, so bring a card for beer at the Wiesn, pumpkins at the festivals and anything a maker talks you into.
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