Starting Friday, Boulder Arts Week will sweep through town with a wide variety of cultural events. Also starting this week, the Sie FilmCenter in Denver kicked off a new “tearjerker” film series. And looking forward, the Arvada Center just announced three major concerts that will join its Summer Concert Series lineup.
Read on for your weekly arts and culture recap, plus find things to do and places to be.
Boulder Arts Week, April 4-12
For nine days, the city of Boulder will celebrate the artists, theaters, galleries, nonprofits and businesses that bring the arts to life throughout the city.
This year’s schedule features 134 events, including: art shows and classes, walking tours, live music, art markets, dance and yoga workshops, cooking classes and poetry readings.
This is also the inaugural year of the Boulder Arts Week Awards. These awards, funded through the Community Vitality Department’s Office of Arts and Culture, recognize individuals and organizations that have a positive impact on the local arts community.
Winners will receive a $1,000 stipend to support their work or donate to an arts organization.
“By recognizing these changemakers, the city hopes to inspire continued creativity and collaboration in Boulder’s arts ecosystem,” the city said in a statement.
Arvada Center announces summer concert lineup
Summer concert season at the Arvada Center begins in June. Thirteen performances have been announced, and there are more to come.
The Arvada Center’s outdoor amphitheater seats 1,500 — with 600 reserved seats in a covered section and the rest general admission on the lawn. GA seating is a blanket or legless chair only.
Though no outside picnic supplies are permitted, President and CEO Philip Sneed lauded the food and beverage service offered by the center.
“Although the menu is not set yet for the summer, it typically features everything from really good burgers with fresh ingredients to salads and other things like that.”
He said the beer and wine selection is “not just the lowest level of beer and wine,” either.
The outdoor amphitheater season begins on June 18, with one indoor show preceding it.
“We're starting off on June 13 with an indoor concert by the Denver Gay Men's Chorus and Denver Feminist Chorus, a concert called’ Leather and Lace,’” Sneed said. “We've been bringing them here as part of Pride Month every year.”
Sneed said the Arvada Center considers two main aspects when programming its Summer Concert Series: offering “something for everybody” and “what’s affordable.”
This year’s Arvada Center 2025 Summer Concert Series lineup includes:
- Denver Gay Men's Chorus & Denver Feminist Chorus present: “Leather and Lace “ (indoors on the Main Stage), Sunday, June 15
- Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Wednesday, June 18
- Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra presents: “Blue Eyes & Beyond” with Tony DeSare, Saturday, June 28
- Digable Planets, Wednesday, July 9
- Colorado Symphony presents: “A Tribute to Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops,” Saturday, July 12
- Denver Brass, Saturday, July 19
- Colorado Symphony presents: “Mozart Under Moonlight,” Friday, Aug. 1
- Cleo Parker Robinson Dance (indoors on the Main Stage), Saturday, Aug. 2
- The Robert Cray Band, Wednesday, Aug. 6
- The Wallflowers, Tuesday, Aug. 12
- FACE, Saturday, Aug. 16
- Five For Fighting and Vertical Horizon, Tuesday, Aug. 19
- Keb’ Mo’ and Shawn Colvin, Friday, Aug. 29
Find information on ticket prices, showtimes and more here.
‘April Showers,’ an ‘Ultimate Tearjerkers’ lineup at Denver’s Sie FilmCenter
Denver’s Sie FilmCenter on East Colfax brings “April Showers: The Ultimate Tearjerkers” to the big screen throughout the month of April.
“In times of duress, there is nothing more cathartic than a big ol' cry,” said Artistic Director Keith Garcia. “So we've gathered 15 of the best films whose strength is their ability to help you just let it all out.”
Garcia said the series includes everything from “Douglas Sirk to Lars Von Trier, melodramas to neorealism, animation to devastation — and even an emotional zombie movie, too.”
“You bring the tears, and we’ll provide the tissues,” Garcia said. And he means that literally. The box office has “April Showers”-themed tissues.
The upcoming “April Showers” lineup includes:
- “Dancer in the Dark” (2000), Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5
- “My Girl” (1991), Saturday, April 5
- “Moonlight” (2016), Sunday, April 6
- “Imitation of Life” (1959), Tuesday, April 8
- “Grave of the Fireflies” (1988), Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12
- “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale” (2009), Saturday, April 12
- “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994), Sunday, April 13
- “The Iron Giant” (1999), Tuesday, April 15
- “Train to Busan” (2016), Friday, April 18 and Saturday, April 19
- “The Rose” (1979), Saturday, April 19
- “Aftersun” (2022), Sunday, April 20
- “The Florida Project” (2017), Tuesday, April 22
- “Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father” (2008), Saturday, April 26
- “Titanic” (1997), Sunday, April 27
Other special programming at the Sie includes these tried-and-true series:
- “Denz-ember,” the films of actor Denzel Washington
- “Janus for January,” restored classics from Janus Films
- “Almodovar-a-go-go,” the films of Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar
- “Thick As Thieves,” exploring the art of the heist movie in cinema
As well as these new series:
- A tribute to the late great Bruce Lee in May for AAPI awareness month
- Queer science-fiction for June
Things to do in Colorado this weekend
Thursday
- Reel Rock 19, a rock-climbing film festival, takes a one-night residence at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. The lineup includes three adventure films. Doors at 6 p.m., screenings at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $20.
Friday
- Opening reception of “Botanical Bonds” a group exhibition at Alto Gallery in Denver. 6 - 10 p.m. Free and open to the public, refreshments provided. “Botanical Bonds” will be on view through April 26.
Saturday
- Denver Ramen Festival at the Stockyards Event Center in Denver’s National Western Complex. Admission includes sample-sized ramen from local chefs, an open bar with beer, sake and more, live cultural performances and a Japanese street car show. Tickets start at $117.85.
Multiple dates
- “Après at The Amp” music festival at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail. Single-day tickets starting at $142.05, 2-day passes starting at $199.90. The lineup includes:
- Jungle (DJ set), L'Impératrice and Amba on Friday, April 4
- Sammy Virji, Goth Babe, Interplanetary Criminal and Don Fuego on Saturday, April 5
- Rocky Mountain Record Show, bringing over 150,000 records and 75 vendors to the Denver Sports Castle. The event also includes posters, live vinyl DJs, a full bar, food trucks and more. Early entry tickets, providing a two-hour head start, are $30.72 ($35 day of). GA tickets range from $6.49 to $15.
Next week
- Altrusa Art Fair at the Art Center of Western Colorado in Grand Junction. The fair showcases works by District 51 middle and high school students. Free and open to the public. On view Tuesday, April 8 through Friday, April 25.
- Tony Award-winning musical, “The Wiz,” opens at the Denver Center for Performing Arts. This twist on “The Wizard of Oz” is packed with soul, gospel, rock, and 70s funk, telling a modern-day story of Dorothy’s journey to find her place in the world. “The Wiz” is at the DCPA from April 8 through 20. Tickets start at $46.
Some groups mentioned in the CO Arts Spotlight may be financial supporters of CPR News. Financial supporters have no editorial influence.
How we pick our events: CO Arts Spotlight highlights events around the state to give readers a sense of the breadth of Colorado’s arts and cultural happenings, it is not — and can not possibly be — a comprehensive list of all weekly events. Entries are not endorsements or reviews. Each week’s list is published on Thursday and is not updated.
