Free This Weekend in Denver · September 24, 2026
Free Things To Do in Denver This Weekend: September 25-27, 2026
Denver Oktoberfest takes the 2100 block of Larimer for free a second weekend, Morrison Ciderfest opens downtown Morrison on Saturday for nothing at the gate, and four Sunday markets close their seasons at once, September 25-27, 2026.
1. Denver Oktoberfest
Fifty-sixth year, free at the gate, and this is the second of the two weekends, so there is no third chance. Friday runs 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, then Sunday the Long Dog Derby goes at 12:30 with dachshund sign ups at 11 AM. All of it on the 2100 block of Larimer in the Ballpark District, free to walk in, with VIP packages around $200 a weekend if you would rather pay to sit down.
2. Civic Center EATS
Read the days before you drive: EATS runs Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11 AM to 2 PM, which puts it just ahead of this weekend rather than inside it. More than 50 food trucks set up on Bannock Street and the Civic Center meadow while the park is under construction, free to enter, pay per item. It runs through October 15, so there are only a handful of lunch windows left.
3. Arvada Farmers' Market
Sunday is the last market of the season in Olde Town Square, 9 AM to 1:30 PM on Olde Wadsworth Boulevard. Colorado growers plus local food and handmade makers, free to walk in. The G Line station sits a block off the square, which means this is the one Sunday market that does not require a parking plan.
4. People + Produce Farmers Market: Belleview Station
Sunday closes the season at Belleview Station in the DTC: Colorado farms, local makers, free to walk in. Gum Pop Presents runs this market and Gum Pop Presents runs this site, so weigh the recommendation with that sitting on the table. If you live south, it is the market that does not cost you a highway.
5. Orchard Farmers' Market
Sunday is the final one, 9 AM to 2 PM at Orchard Town Center, 14535 Delaware Street in Westminster. More than 50 local growers and food and craft makers, free entry, parking on site. It runs a half hour past the Arvada market, which matters to anyone who does not consider 9 AM a time.
6. Havana Street Night Market
Aurora runs this one on the last Saturday of the month, so Saturday September 26 is it for 2026. Free, 6 to 10 PM, near Havana and Yale at 2710 South Havana Street. Night market means you eat dinner there, so skip the pre-market plan.
7. 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 playing the last date. Local makers, free admission, free mall parking. A mall lot delivers two things no field market can promise in late September: shade and a real bathroom.
8. G-Scale Garden Railroad at Hudson Gardens
Saturday morning the trains run 9 AM to noon in the Railroad Garden at Hudson Gardens, 6115 South Santa Fe Drive in Littleton. Free, no ticket, no reservation, free parking on site. The 2026 season ends October 1, and nobody at the fence checks whether you brought a child.
9. pARTy and Rigsby Revisited: The Arvada Center Turns 50
Two free gallery shows at the Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Boulevard, up through November 8. pARTy fills the Main Gallery with 18 artists for the Center's 50th, and Rigsby Revisited fills the Upper Gallery with work from the Center's first solo exhibition back in 1977. Free either way, though check gallery hours before you make the drive. The free Walk and Talk with curator Collin Parson and the Rigsby family is October 10, 10 to 11 AM.
10. Doors Open Denver: Destination Downtown
Thursday through Sunday, dozens of downtown buildings unlock the parts you normally only see if you work there. Every open site is free; some of the guided tours are ticketed and they sell out, so sort that before Saturday. This year's theme is Destination Downtown, tied to Colorado's 150th, and it is the closest the city gets to letting you walk through its own house.
11. Morrison Ciderfest
Saturday, 10 AM to dark, all through downtown Morrison at 150 Spring Street. Free to attend, with live music and a market; the cider tasting is a separate $30 ticket run by the South Jeffco Rotary. Morrison parking is thin on a normal Saturday and this is not a normal Saturday, so get there early or plan to walk in.
Quick answers
- What is happening in Denver this weekend, September 25-27, 2026?
- Denver Oktoberfest runs all three days free on Larimer Street, with the Stein Hoisting Championship Saturday morning and the Long Dog Derby Sunday at 12:30. Saturday also brings Morrison Ciderfest in downtown Morrison, the Havana Street Night Market in Aurora from 6 to 10 PM, and the season finale of Mershop's Market Days. Sunday is the last day for the Arvada, Orchard and Belleview Station farmers markets, and Doors Open Denver runs downtown Thursday through Sunday.
- What free things are there to do in Denver this weekend?
- Friday: Denver Oktoberfest on Larimer and Doors Open Denver downtown. Saturday: Oktoberfest again, Morrison Ciderfest, the Havana Street Night Market in Aurora, Mershop's Market Days at Town Center Aurora, and the G-Scale Garden Railroad in Littleton from 9 to noon. Sunday: the Arvada Farmers' Market, the Orchard Farmers' Market and People + Produce at Belleview Station, all closing their seasons, plus the Long Dog Derby at Oktoberfest. The Arvada Center's two 50th-anniversary gallery shows are free any day they are open, and Civic Center EATS returns Wednesday and Thursday.
This runs every week. See this weekend's live feed for the always-current list.
Get the Drop every Thursday.
One email. The concerts, markets, and nights out worth leaving the house for.