With Halloween fast approaching, this weekend's cultural offerings include numerous opportunities to get in the mood, from Sweeny Todd in Grand Junction to a haunted history tour in Central City and a Halloween carnival in Windsor. Plus there are plenty of theater, art and music options for all tastes.
Arts and culture news
A post-pandemic symphony
Colorado composer Gustav Hoyer's new "Symphony No. 1.” is set for release Oct. 25. This album is conducted by Miran Vaupotić with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Hoyer notes the piece emphasizes hope after the global pandemic. The Denver native's symphonic works combine classical and modern themes and his music has appeared in films and on radio worldwide.
Dia de los Muertos with History Colorado
Throughout October, the History Colorado Center and a number of its sister museums, El Pueblo History Museum, Center for Colorado Women's History, Trinidad History Museum, and Fort Garland Museum & Cultural Center, are hosting Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) community altars. Visitors are welcome to leave tributes to their own departed loved ones.
Arts and culture events around the state
Front Range
Art: Tracey Russell “These Inner Landscapes” (Oct. 25 - Nov. 24, 931 Gallery, Denver)
The 931 Gallery in Denver's Sante Fe Arts Districts latest exhibition features the abstract landscapes of local artist Tracey Russell. Russell's creative process is rooted in kinetic memory, capturing the essence of her connection to nature. With an opening reception Friday.
Art: Decades: Fashion Photography from the Archives (Oct. 26-Nov. 16, Seidel City, Boulder)
This photography exhibition features works from Natascha Seideneck with photographs spanning from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. The show also includes “A Denver Icon: A Tribute to Steve Trujillo.”
Art: Día De Los Muertos Community Exhibition (Oct. 27 - Nov. 3, BMoCA, Boulder)
This exhibition features ofrendas, altars honoring deceased loved ones during the Day of the Dead, created by a range of community groups. The exhibition kicks off with a celebration on Sunday.
Music: Adam Swanson feat. Wende Harston (Oct. 24, The Savoy Denver, Denver)
Pianists Adam Swanson and Wende Harston perform a variety of vintage American popular music. Their set list includes ragtime, early blues, jazz, and boogie-woogie, among other genres.
Music: Beethoven, Brahms, & Brittany (Oct. 26, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, Denver)
The Symphony of the Rockies, formerly the Arapahoe Philharmonic, presents a concert featuring internationally renowned pianist Lorraine Min.
Music: Bewitching | Halloween Extravaganza (Oct. 30, Macky Auditorium, Boulder)
The Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra performs Halloween-themed music from Harry Potter, Beauty and the Beast, and other popular sources. Concertgoers are encouraged to wear their costumes.
History: An Evening Remembering the Holocaust (Oct. 27, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, Arvada)
This event features a Holocaust remembrance presentation and Q&A with survivor Osi Sladek. the Rocky Mountain String Quartet will perform a selection of Holocaust-era melodies.
Theater: Wheat Ridge Theatre Company's “Mind Game” (Oct. 25 - Nov. 10, WRTC Playhouse, Wheat Ridge)
WRTC’s latest production is a psychological thriller about a writer visiting a mental institution to interview a serial killer. The show is rated PG-13 and may contain material not suitable for young children.
Theater: The Man Who Came to Dinner (Oct. 25 - Nov. 10, Dairy Arts Center, Boulder)
VIVA Theater presents “The Man Who Came to Dinner” about an overbearing radio personality who disrupts a family’s life after an injury forces him to stay at their house.
Other Fun: Calaveras Masquerade Ball (Oct. 25, RDG Project Gallery, Denver)
People are invited to dress up and celebrate the Day of the Dead with live music and dancing, as well as face painting and storytelling. The event is a fundraiser for the BRDG Project gallery.
Other Fun: Mysto REALLY BIG Magic Show (Oct. 24, Lakewood Cultural Center, Lakewood)
This magic show features vaudeville-style magic, stage illusions, and circus arts. The performance includes special Halloween-themed magic.
Other Fun: Sleightly Impossible (Oct. 26, Wonder’s HUB Stage at 40 West, Lakewood)
This Halloween-themed magic show features magicians Matthew C. Brandt and Gene R. Gordon. The show is appropriate for all ages and promises mysterious — but not scary — tricks.
Other fun: Harvest Hoot (Oct. 25 - 27, Children's Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus, Denver)
This family-friendly festival invites guests to dress up and participate in carnival games, crafts, storytelling and a variety of other fall-themed activities.
Northern Colorado
Theater: Nevermore: An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe (Oct. 25 - 27, Bas Bleu Theatre Co, Fort Collins)
This reader’s theater production features three works by Edgar Allan Poe, including "The Raven," "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Cask of Amontillado." A candlelit ambiance adds to the scary nature of the stories.
Theater: The Fall of the House of Usher (Oct. 25 - 26, The Lincoln Center, Fort Collins)
The Debut Theatre Company presents a production of Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Fall of the House of Usher" geared toward children, featuring a cast of young actors.
Music: Boldly Brahms (Oct. 26, Union Colony Civic Center, Greeley)
The Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra's first concert in the 2024–2025 season includes works by Brahms, von Suppé, and Ginastera, as well as a modern interpretation of a Sousa march. There is also a pre-concert Sip & Savor event.
Festival: The Windsor Halloween Carnival (Oct. 26, Boardwalk Community Park, Windsor)
This Halloween carnival features trick-or-treating, a Zombie Dash Fun Run and a Howl-o-ween Yappy Hour. The event provides fun for both people and their dogs.
Other Fun: Dracula's Disco (Oct. 25, Forge Event Center, Loveland)
This disco-themed event for Canyon Concert Ballet includes a live DJ, hand-crafted cocktails, and light appetizers. Participants are encouraged to dress up in their most creative costumes for a fun night of dancing.
Southern Colorado
Film: Center of Southwest Studies presents "Given Time" (Oct. 24 - April 24, Fort Lewis College, Durango)
The new exhibit, "Given Time: Sensory Aesthetics of Reclamation" features four films by Indigenous artists and items from the Center’s museum collections. The exhibition examines the connection between Indigenous people and their land.
Western Slope
Lit: Western Colorado Writers' Forum Monthly Spoken Word Open Mic (Oct. 25, Carboy Winery, Palisade)
This open mic event lets attendees share their work and listen to others. All skill levels of poetry, prose, storytelling, and slam are welcome. A five to seven minute time limit allows everyone a chance to read.
Theater: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Oct. 25 - Nov. 3, The Art Center of Western Colorado, Grand Junction)
Just in time for Halloween, the Theatre Project presents Stephen Sondheim’s musical thriller, featuring a combination of drama, music, and dark humor.
High Country
Other Fun: Central City Opera Haunted History Tour (Oct. 25, the Teller House, Central City)
This tour includes access to restricted areas of the 1896 Teller House and other haunted landmarks in Central City. Participants will also get to experience a séance and tarot card reading.
Theater: Ghostlight (Oct. 25, Thunder River Theatre Company, Carbondale)
This production features six ghost stories written by Michael R. Duran, based on his long career working in various Colorado theaters. The stories feature frightening spirits and the supernatural. The play's title refers to the single bulb left burning in theaters when they are dark, for mischievous spirits and ghosts thought to inhabit those spaces.
Other arts and culture events around Colorado
- Denverite Things to do in Denver this weekend
- KRCC community calendar for Southern Colorado
- CPR Classical directory of Colorado classical performance groups
- Indie 102.3 calendar
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.
