Five Things to Do for Free In and Around Denver (and Online) This Weekend

March is finally here.  A year ago, Colorado had yet to register its first case of the mysterious novel coronavirus. The state's live-music scene was bustling, and the city was just wrapping up another successful Denver Restaurant Week. If looking back over the past twelve months is too depressing, look further back — to 1971, in fact, and the first successful save of a building by Historic Denver. You can celebrate that this month, and also get ready to welcome spring, as the prohibition of many live events seems to be thawing. And yes, another Denver Restaurant Week is coming, though not until late April.

In the meantime, there's plenty to do in and around Denver (and still online).

Historic Denver: 50 Actions for 50 Places
Through May 15, online
Fifty years ago, a group of Denver residents banded together to form Historic Denver Inc. and began saving buildings across the city, starting with the house once occupied by Margaret Brown, today the Molly Brown House Museum. To commemorate this anniversary, Historic Denver is launching its 50 Actions for 50 Places campaign: Right now, you can share the places you can't imagine Denver without through an online form and map at historicdenver.org. In May, Historic Denver will announce the fifty places that made the cut, then work with community members to develop fifty action strategies. In the meantime, watch for a new exhibit at the Molly Brown House Museum opening on March 19; find out more here. (And don't miss our story about fifty great moments in Historic Denver history.)

Denver Night Lights
Through March, Tuesday through Sunday, 6:30 to 11 p.m.
16th and Arapahoe streets
Haven't been downtown late? Here's a good reason to visit.  Denver Night Lights debuted before the pandemic hit, but it continues to invite artists to create illuminating works that light up the Clocktower on the 16th Street Mall Tuesdays through Sundays after sunset. The March lineup, which is devoted to the Month of Photography, has the theme "Reimagining Hope," and the work on display was created by members of Indigenous Photograph, a global community of visual storytellers who come from a diverse range of Indigenous communities across six continents. It debuted on March 2; find out more here.

Girls & Science
Through Saturday, March 20, online
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science and CBS4 are hosting the seventh annual Girls & Science program; this one is virtual and extended from one day to over two weeks. Activities are free and geared to children ages eight to eighteen; get the full schedule here.

To the Moon
Saturday, March 6, 2 p.m., online
Creede Repertory Theatre presents a live workshop presentation of Beth Kander's To the Moon, now in development as part of the Headwaters New Play Program. The docudrama is based on over 200 surveys and 20 in-person interviews with survivors of domestic violence, because "statistics are not the most powerful way to change someone’s mind; stories are," Kander says. Denver-based director Betty Hart helms the ensemble piece that includes CRT alumni Diana Dresser, Rachel Fowler and Kathryn Grody, along with faces new to CRT: Laura Chavez, Lynnette Freeman, Delia Kropp, Kat Peña and Kariana Sanchez. Register for the free online performance here.

Kantorei in Recital: How Can I Keep From Singing?
Saturday, March 6, 7:30 p.m., online
Kantorei has not been silenced by the pandemic, and during this free virtual concert, members of the group will perform some of their favorite songs. There will also be a virtual choir performance featuring Kantorei as a whole for the first time since March 2020. The online program is free; sign up here.

Know of a great free event this week? We'll be updating this list through the week; send information to [email protected].