The free Day of Rock event is coming back to downtown Denver for the seventh year this month, with bands including Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Denver's Tracksuit Wedding and Bestie from Vancouver, British Columbia.
The huge party, running along a six-block stretch of the 16th Street Mall area, will feature 25 rock bands performing on five stages — and it's all free admission. It runs from 2:30-9:30 p.m. May 23, with stages on Arapahoe, Curtis, Champa and Welton streets between 15th and 17th streets, including Skyline Park 1 and Skyline Park 2. There will be food trucks and a beer garden along Arapahoe Street.
Go online to denverdayofrock.com for more information, and click on the “event flyer” tab for a map.
During the long Memorial Day weekend, there also will be two art festivals and people in costumes from Denver Comic Con, and The Big Wonderful, an outdoor sustainable lifestyle market, will help make for an exciting mix. Families may want to ride the light rail downtown on more than one day.
● The Downtown Denver Art Festival, May 22-24, is also free and staged at the Denver Center for Performing Arts Complex at 14th and Curtis streets. It features 150 Colorado artists.
● ArtStir Denver, May 23-24, is an art marketplace featuring art, music and style at the Denver Pavilions on the 16th Street Mall at Glenarm Place. Free.
● The Big Wonderful on May 23 is at 2500 Lawrence St. It blends food and flea market, craft beer and cocktail garden built out of storage containers, beach volleyball, an urban farm and a full entertainment stage. It's family-oriented.
● Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants May 22-24 at Coors Field. Ticket cost varies.
● Colorado Remembers at the Colorado Freedom Memorial, Springhill Community Park, 756 Telluride St., Aurora. Free public concert by Denver Brass with the Sound of the Rockies Chorus, 7 p.m. May 23.
Also open around Denver:
● “Diamonds in the Daytime” exhibit at the Molly Brown House Museum, 1340 Pennsylvania St., through Aug. 30.
● “Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns and Mermaids” at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd., through Sept. 7.
● “Deborah Butterfield: The Nature of Horses” sculpture exhibit opens May 23 at Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St.
