9 Things to do in Denver & Colorado this August 13-15 weekend

COLORADO, USA — America’s biggest unexpected, unscripted, and unforgettable family-friendly motorsport returns to Colorado this weekend. The racing, two-wheel skills, donuts and freestyle competitions of Monster Jam will set up at Ball Arena for four performances starting Friday.

Summer fair and festival season continues in Colorado this second weekend of August. There are outdoor celebrations in Wheat Ridge, Hugo, Lamar, La Veta, Keenesburg, Strasburg, Durango, Denver, Colorado Springs, Telluride, Vail, Frisco, Castle Rock and more.

> Have an event tip? Send it here.

DENVER — The “most action-packed live event on four wheels” makes its annual stop in Denver this weekend. The massive monster truck extravaganza Monster Jam will rock Ball Arena for four performances this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Monster Jam tour features 12,000-pound machines capable of doing backflips, vertical two-wheel skills and racing at speeds up to 70 miles per hour. Trucks scheduled to appear in Denver include Extreme Attitude, Jailbird, Jurassic Attack, Max-D, Soldier Fortune, Wrecking Machine and the legendary Grave Digger.

Get your Monster Jam tickets and pit passes at Ticketmaster.com. A complete Monster Jam tour schedule can be found at MonsterJam.com.

WHEAT RIDGE — The 52nd annual Wheat Ridge Carnation Festival will be held at Anderson Field on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The festival began as a promotion of the city’s 32 carnation nurseries but has evolved into a family celebration of everything Wheat Ridge with a carnival, vintage car show, parade, art show, live music and more.

Friday’s events include a spaghetti dinner, fireworks, carnival and live music. Saturday morning will begin with a pancake breakfast followed by the 52nd annual Carnation Festival Parade along 38th Avenue as well as live music, carnival and fireworks. The Big Wheels on the Farm vintage car show starts Sunday at 9 a.m. For a complete schedule, visit TheCarnationFestival.com.

HUGO — The Lincoln County Fair runs through Saturday, Aug. 14. Admission to the fair is free, plus there’s kids’ events, 4H shows, rodeo and camping. Check out the complete Lincoln County Fair and Rodeo schedule here.

KEENESBURG — The Southeast Weld County Fair is celebrating its 99th year this weekend. Two days of 4-H activities, horse, hog, poultry, beef, sheep, dairy and goat shows lead to rodeos at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The 2021 Fair Parade will step off at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Schey Park followed by a livestock sale, barbecue, kid’s rodeo, ranch rodeo and fair dance.

LAMAR — The Sand & Sage Round-Up in Lamar is turning 120 years old in 2021. The fair’s second weekend includes a chuck wagon barbecue at 6 p.m. Friday, followed by a PRCA Rodeo. A parade will step off at 10 a.m. Saturday. The Tough Enough to Wear Pink Night at the Sand & Sage Roundup is Saturday with a beer garden, PCRA rodeo, barbecue, junior livestock sale and 4-H/FFA Parade of Champions. See a full fair schedule here.

LA VETA — This year’s Huerfano County Fair is underway and runs until Sunday. Friday’s schedule begins with an FFA breakfast followed by a horse show. There will be a dance family fun night in the rodeo arena Saturday night. The Huerfano County Fair concludes Sunday with a Cowboy Church, dinner and livestock sale.

DURANGO — The La Plata County Fair is underway at the La Plata County Fairgrounds in Durango. In addition to a carnival, beer garden, 4-H and FFA exhibits, shows and sales, Friday night will feature a concert by Michael Martin Murphey. A demolition derby is set for noon Saturday and a fair family dance at 9 p.m. The 2021 fair ends Sunday.

STRASBURG — The 150+1 anniversary of Strasburg Hometown Days takes place Friday to Sunday. The celebration commemorates the joining of the first continuous railroad in the country which took place just east of the town in 1870 when the Kansas Pacific Railroads met.

This weekend’s festivities include a community barbeque, antique tractor shows, vendor fair, hay rides, old-time fiddling contest, vintage baseball game, family dinner, street dance, fireworks, 5K run, chili cook-off & watermelon feed, movies, pancake breakfast, and more. Visit StrasburgParks.org for a complete Hometown Days schedule.

CASTLE ROCK — Concert Under the Lights will take over Wilcox Street in Downtown Castle Rock this Friday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. In addition to live music from Grayson Little there will be food trucks and beer vendors. The fun, summer event will be situated around Festival Park. Parking is recommended in the Douglas County parking garage.

WESTMINSTER — The Orchard Town Center will have bubbles for kids of all ages at this one-of-a-kind event. Stop by the center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday for giant bubbles to step inside, smoky bubbles, bubble art and a giant foam pit. Disney princesses will be in attendance to join in all the fun.

PUEBLO — Mineral Palace Park is the site of the annual Pueblo Pride event. This weekend’s festival takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. The Pueblo Pride Parade will step off at 10:30 a.m. with a route through the park. There will be more than 60 vendors at the event as well as live entertainment, food and more.

DENVER —  The Parade of Homes, the hallmark event hosted by the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver, returns Thursday and runs through Sunday, Aug. 29. The largest showcase of the latest in architecture and home design along the Front Range will feature 39 newly-designed model, custom homes throughout the Denver area. 

Parade-goers will discover unique homes and floor plans, beautiful communities, the latest in interior design trends and home technology, exterior finishes and outdoor living, and landscaping that will inspire. Denver Parade of Homes is free and open to the public.

You can tour the homes when and where you want with options for on-demand virtual tours or in-person tours Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Download directions to participating homes at ParadeOfHomesDenver.com or download a print map here.

CRIPPLE CREEK — Cripple Creek’s most popular event returns this weekend for an 90th year. People from all over the world will descend on downtown Cripple Creek, drawn by a chance to watch a race inspired by the town’s resident donkey herd, believed to be distant relatives of the original donkeys used in the town’s Gold Rush days. Saturday and Sunday have pancake breakfasts, a parade, beer gardens, food vendors, kids’ activities, donkey photo-op and donkey races. Admission to Donkey Derby Days is free for all. To see a complete schedule, visit VisitCrippleCreek.com.

LARKSPUR — Take a magical tour through time and legend at the 44th annual Colorado Renaissance Festival. The festival’s village streets will have artisans selling original art, fresh-baked goods, roasted turkey legs, steak on a stake and much more. There will be jousting, comedy shows and a cast of hundreds walking and performing throughout the faire. The Renaissance Festival runs on weekends through Saturday, Aug. 22. Tickets are available at ColoradoRenaissance.com.

DENVER — The 2nd Taste of the Middle East Festival opens at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 14 at Denver’s Levitt Pavilion. The festival, which aims to bring people together with food, art, music, and dance, will have family-friendly activities, delicious food and live entertainers.

COLORADO SPRINGS — The 1st annual Brew & BBQ Festival will be hosted at the Soccer Haus in Colorado Springs this Saturday starting at 10 a.m. More than 40 restaurants, food trucks and chefs will be competing in battle for people’s choice awards and BBQ and brews. There will be live music, farmers market and more.

ESTES PARK — The 6th annual Estes Park Wine Festival will be held at Bond Park in downtown Estes Park. In addition to showcasing wines from over 20 Colorado wineries, there will be food and shopping vendors and live entertainment over the two-day festival from Song Sorcerer, Joe O’Bryan Duo, SFERE, Ryan Millard’s Electric Daydream, Distant Rivers Duo, and Funk It Up. The Estes Park Wine Festival runs Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are sold online.

VAIL — Wine makers and enthusiasts will be in Vail for the three-day Vail Wine Classic. The festival runs Thursday through Saturday with mountainside tasting of hundreds of high-end wines, spirits and food. The event schedule features grand tastings, wine dinners, lunches, workshops and more.

DENVER — Belleview Beer Fest is back in 2021 with more than 20 breweries and distilleries, food trucks, costume contest, live 80s music, lawn games, photo booth, themed swag and more. The beer fest opens at 3 p.m. Saturday at Belleview Station Dog Park in the Denver Tech Center.

CENTENNIAL — Hog Haven Farm, a 501C3 pig rescue and sanctuary in Deer Trail, is turning 7 this Saturday! Celebrate with craft beers at Resolute Brewing Company, meet some of the rescued pigs calling Hog Haven Farms their home and support a local nonprofit that provides a safe haven for potbellied pigs. The birthday bash takes place 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

TELLURIDE — The Telluride Jazz Festival is back for three days of world-class jazz, funk, soul, folk and gospel music. The event also has on-site camping, free yoga, cozy late–night club shows, interactive artist performances, children’s activities, outdoor recreation and more.

The 2021 lineup includes Galactic featuring Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph, Robert Glasper, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Hot Sardines, Tito Puente Jr, The Budos Band, The Dip, Christian Sands, Bonerama, Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom, Catherine Russell, The Harlem Gospel Travelers, The Crescent Super Bamd, Pete Muller & The Kindred Souls, Rico Jones Countercurrent, The Speakeasy Jazz Sextet, Deep Pocket and more.

The 45th annual Telluride Jazz Festival runs Friday to Sunday and tickets are at TellurideJazz.org. Proof of full vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test will be required for festival entry.

KEYSTONE — The Mountain Town Music Festival was so popular, it’s now a series. The free, open-air festivities return to Keystone’s River Run Village on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. There will be a live acrobatics act followed by a concert by Rocky Mountain Grateful Dead Revue at 3:30 p.m.

FRISCO — The 11th annual Frisco Bay Marina Kids’ Sandcastle Competition starts at 10 a.m. Sunday. Kids have until 11:30 a.m. to build their sandcastles and judging will commence. Summit County avalanche rescue dogs will make a special appearance to help judge the sandcastles. Online registration for different age groups can be completed at TownofFrisco.com.

ERIE — Kids of all ages can honk the horn, turn the wheel and touch the buttons at Saturday’s Touch-A-Truck event in Erie. Trucks, cars, vans and equipment of all sizes will be at the event. The free, family-friendly event runs from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday at Erie Community Center.

MORRISON — The 107.9 KBPI Rock and Roll Car Show goes down this Sunday with cars, trucks, bikes, hot rods, muscle cars, tuners and more. There will also be grudge runs, a burnout contest, live music and vendor midway. The KBPI Rock ‘n Roll Car Show begins at 7 a.m. Sunday at Bandimere Speedway.

PAGOSA SPRINGS — The 12th annual Pagosa Springs Car Show is set for Friday and Saturday on Lewis Street in downtown. The show begins Friday at 5 pm. with live music by The San Juan Mountain Boys, food and drinks and an 8 p.m. car cruise. Saturday’s show opens at 9 a.m. with live music will be provided from 10-3 pm by the Retro Cats.

FAIRPLAY — The annual Living History Days returns to Fairplay this weekend. The special event lets you revisit a restored 1880s mining town with miners, cowboys, mountain men, blacksmith and towns people all dressed in 1880s costumes. Guests will feel transported back in time when they see South Park City, which has over 40 restored historical buildings including a drugstore, bank, general store, saloon, court house, blacksmith shop, doctor and dentist office, barber shop, stagecoach inn, pioneer homes, mining exhibits, an old train and more than 60,000 artifacts. Living History Days takes place Saturday and Sunday and is organized by the South Park Historical Foundation.

BOULDER — The 17th annual Boulder Fringe Festival is back with over two dozen events scheduled through Sunday, Aug. 22. The 12-day festival brings artists from around the country in areas of dance, music, cinema, theater, spoken word and more. Boulder’s Pine Street Church is Fringe Central where you can get tickets, meet friends, network or meet artists. For more information about the artists, shows, venues, schedule, tickets and passes, visit BoulderFringe.com.

DENVER — Rob Proctor’s Garden is now open every Sunday morning from 8 a.m. to noon. The 9NEWS Garden Expert’s address is 3030 West 46th Avenue in Denver. No tickets are required — just show up! A $10 donation is requested to benefit Dumb Friends League.

RELATED: Tour Rob Proctor’s garden while helping pets in need

FRISCO — One of Colorado’s most beautiful races is back in Frisco this weekend. Saturday’s Run the Rockies Trail 10K and Half Marathon will lead runners through the Frisco Peninsula trails with views of Lake Dillon and the Ten Mile Range. Organizers say the course is great for a first-time half-marathoner or runner looking for a fun course that offers single track and dirt road trails. The 10K will start at 8:30 a.m. and Half Marathon will start at 8 a.m.

LEADVILLE — The Leadville 10K Run begins just after 12 p.m. Sunday at the corner of 6th and Harrison Avenue. Packet pickup will be available from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Courthouse Lawn. Registration can be completed online.

DENVER — The inaugural Mile High Women’s 10K is a women-only 10K. The race is set for 8 a.m. Sunday at Denver’s City Park.

LONGMONT — At 36 years strong, the Sunrise Stampede is a cornerstone community event in Longmont. This year’s Sunrise Stampede will be a 5K run/walk with a 1-mile fun run. In-person races begin at 8 a.m. Saturday at Silver Creek High School. Race registration is available at SunriseStampede.org.

DENVER — Cancer League of Colorado will present the 25th annual Race for Research, a 5K run/walk on Sunday in Denver’s Wash Park. The Race for Research is one of four annual fundraisers for the Cancer League of Colorado, a 100-percent volunteer-run non-profit organization that funnels all of its fundraising proceeds to cancer research and patient support organizations in Colorado. Runners and walkers will enjoy a timed 5K loop around Washington Park and post-race grab-and-go chicken wraps. Register today at Race4Research.com.

LITTLETON — Part of Littleton’s Western Welcome Week, Sunday’s Pancake Stampede 5K will be held before the annual pancake breakfast at Hudson Gardens & Event Center. Registration includes entry to the Western Welcome Week Pancake breakfast with all-you-can-eat pancakes and sausage, juice, milk, and coffee. The Pancake 5K runs along the Platte River on the Mary Carter Greenway with the start/finish in front of Hudson Gardens Event Center. Register now here.

BOULDER — The 11th annual Celestial Seasonings B Strong Ride on Saturday is a Celebration of Survivorship. Families and non-riders welcome at the event which features four bicycle rides including a 68-mile route, 38-mile route, 24-mile route, and Sleepytime Mini B one-mile route. To learn more or to register for the event, which raises money for Boulder Community Hospital and the George Karl Foundation, head to BStrongRide.com.

COLORADO SPRINGS — Colorado’s minor league baseball teams go head-to-head this weekend. The Rocky Mountain Vibes and Grand Junction Rockies play a five-game series from Wednesday through Sunday, Aug. 15 at UCHealth Park. Reserve your seats for a perfect weekend of baseball at MiLB.com.

MINNEAPOLIS — Are you ready for some football? Denver Broncos football is back! The Broncos and Minnesota Vikings will meet at 2 p.m. Saturday in the first preseason game of the season.

The game will air on KTVD Channel 20 (657 on Xfinity) as well as 9NEWS.com, 9NEWS mobile app and 9NEWS streaming apps. The online live stream is only available to people who are in the 9NEWS viewing area due to NFL regulations.

RELATED: Broncos preseason games to air on KTVD Ch. 20

RELATED: Drew Lock to start preseason opener vs. Vikings

• Wu-Tang Clan with the Colorado Symphony

• Slightly Stoopid

MORRISON — Wu-Tang Clan and the Colorado Symphony are set to team for a live concert performance on Friday. “The Wu-Tang Clan Experience with the Colorado Symphony” will take place at Colorado’s iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre at 7 p.m. Friday. The performance will also feature hip-hop star Big Boi and Chris Karns.

Slightly Stoopid will headline Red Rocks concerts on Saturday and Sunday. Pepper, Common Kings, and Don Carlos join Saturday’s show and Citizen Cope, Fortunate Youth, and The Hip Abduction open Sunday’s performance.

Red Rocks reopened April 22 with a capacity of 2,500 people. The venue will increase capacity to 6,300 on May 22. Concerts and events happening after June 21 are at full capacity, which is 9,545 people.

RELATED: Wu-Tang Clan, Colorado Symphony to team for Red Rocks concert

RELATED: Here’s the Red Rocks concert calendar in 2021

DENVER — Beloved classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” is returning to movie theaters in celebration of its 50th anniversary. The film, which stars Gene Wilder as eccentric candy man Willy Wonka, will play in movie houses nationwide on Sunday, Aug. 15 and Wednesday, Aug. 18.

Part of Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and Fathom Events’ Big Screen Classics series, the film will be presented with exclusive insights from TCM hosts. “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory ” tickets are available at fathomevents.com or at participating theater’s box offices.

RELATED: ‘Willy Wonka’ returns to theaters for 50th anniversary

Summer movies are flooding the cinema with “The Suicide Squad,” “Black Widow,” “Jungle Cruise,” “Old,” and “Stillwater” all competing for the August box office crown. Movie critics are raving about week’s leader “The Suicide Squad” which had a disappointing box office debut, but is also streaming on HBO Max.

Three new movies open this weekend including the Ryan Reynolds comedy “Free Guy,” the horror sequel “Don’t Breathe 2” and the Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect” starring Jennifer Hudson, which is sure to garner some award-season buzz later this year.

• Free Guy
• Respect
• Don’t Breathe 2

Last weekend’s box office

1. The Suicide Squad — $26.2 million
2. Jungle Cruise — $15.8 million
3. Old — $4.1 million
4. Black Widow — $3.9 million
5. Stillwater — $2.8 million

> Would you like to see your favorite Colorado festival, fair, expo, concert, drama, musical, ballet, run or event listed in 9Things? Send it to alexander.kirk@9news.com.

Have a great weekend!

SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Feature stories from 9NEWS

Subscribe to our daily 9NEWSLETTER

Download the 9NEWS KUSA APP
iTunes: http://on9news.tv/itunes
Google Play: http://on9news.tv/1lWnC5n

ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KUSA.

For both Apple TV and Fire TV, search for KUSA “9news” to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.