Both official (Earth Day) and unofficial (4/20) celebrations will be marked in Denver this week, and while there is no big smoke at Civic Center Park on April 20, smaller events of cannabis cultivation will be organized in the city. and online. And if you want to honor sustainability, you can’t beat the b’Earthday bash full of music and feelings for eTown’s 30th anniversary.

Read on to find out more, as well as eleven more great free events in the coming days:

FBomb Flash Fiction Reading Series: Stoner Bomb, with Teague Bohlen
Tuesday April 20, 7:30 p.m., online
FBomb, the monthly flash fiction reading series, lands on April 20 of this year, a subtle suggestion for unearthing those micro-stories, poems, or any original writing on the grass that can be read in five minutes or less. Since you just have to follow your own rules at home, feel free to light up while you enjoy flash fiction from star reader Teague Bohlen (yes, Westword contributor Teague Bohlen), which will be on the air to share short and short masterpieces from 2019 Flatland: stories and photographs. Connect to Zoom here (or use the Zoom code 422 396 1869); Email host Jamey Trotter in advance for an open mic slot at [email protected]

Keith Haring: Witness: AIDS and Activism
Wednesday, April 21, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., online
Step into AIDS-era New York City, when graffiti artist Keith Haring embraced artistry, elevating his familiar graphic works of dancers out of the underground subway to use as AIDS awareness tools. MCA Denver will be the gateway as it airs a discussion with filmmakers Sarah Schulman and Jim Hubbard, of the ACT-UP oral history project, and CU Boulder film teacher Jean Liotta, about the film and the art of this period. Find out more about the side event at the MCA exhibition Keith Haring: Grace House Mural and sign up for the links here; admission is free or paid ($ 5 to $ 15).

A Sentimental Thing: an exploration of what things mean to us
Wednesday, April 21, 7 to 8:30 p.m., online
Kiah Butcher, Union Hall’s Curator Object empathy, an art showcase imbued with memories, will facilitate a better understanding of the exhibition by hosting a free participatory show-and-tell. Connect to the discussion with a personal item in hand that tells a piece of your life; By the end of the evening, you might feel a little closer to the artwork – and the other people who have joined the program. Find information and RSVP here.

Colorado Book Awards Finalist Readings
Wednesday, April 21, 7 p.m., online
The 2021 Colorado Book Awards online finalist readings continue with authors in the General Documentaries and History categories reading and answering questions. General Nonfiction finalists: Lean & Strong: food skills, psychology and training, by Josh Hillis; Care Delivered Differently: A Common Sense Approach for Families, Caregivers and Seniors, by Loretta J. Gilbert and Nancy E. Walker; and Glitter Up the Dark: How pop music broke the binary, by Sasha Geffen. History finalists: Colorado’s tallest: the history of naming 14,000-foot peaks, written by Jeri Norgren with photographs by John Fielder; Yanks Behind the Lines: How the Belgian Relief Commission saved millions from starvation in WWI, by Jeffrey B. Miller; and The Bad Old Days of Colorado: Untold Stories of the Wild West, by Randi Samuelson-Brown. Register here.

NFT – WTF?
Thursday, April 22, 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., online
Where do you stand on the concept of non-fungible tokens as an artistic medium? And WTFs are NFTs, anyway? Amy Whitaker, blockchain researcher at New York University, and MCA director Nora Burnett Abrams, will discuss it for you on MCA’s YouTube channel (After the initial conversation on April 22, watch it on demand at anytime) as they discuss whether this is the next big thing in concept art. Admission is free or paid (in increments of $ 5 to $ 15); learn more and RSVP here.

ETown 30th Anniversary Celebration
Thursday, April 22, 6:30 p.m., online
How time flies when you have fun, play good music … and do good! Nick and Helen Forster launched eTown in Boulder in April 1991, and thirty years and almost a thousand performances later, it’s better than ever. To celebrate eTown’s 30th anniversary, this live event will feature eTown’s induction into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame, followed by music and conversations with artists including Lyle Lovett, Bob Weir, Nathaniel Rateliff, Black Pumas, Los Lobos, Sam Bush, Sarah Jarosz, City and Color, The War and Treaty, and Raquel Garcia. There will also be tours with some of eTown’s favorite guests, former US Senator Tim Wirth and US Congressman Joe Neguse, to talk about the issues eTown has long promoted: sustainability, energy efficiency, climate change and social responsibility. Admission is free to this must-see virtual event; Register here.

Seeing differently: the art of communicating about climate change
Thursday, April 22, 7 p.m., online
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s Earth Day celebration this spring is reasonably spared, but there’s plenty of information on how to maintain Earth’s delicate ecosystems wrapped up in “Seeing Differently: The Art of communicating climate change ”. Hosted by Denver7 meteorologist Mike Nelson, the virtual event employs filmmakers, artists and performers to give science a fun cultural twist. Register and find free event details here.

CSU Virtual Engineering Day
Friday, April 23, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., online
What makes a concrete canoe float? How do you design and produce a golf bag entirely on a 3D printer? Can you detect COVID-19 in someone’s breath? Learn about these and 100 more projects from engineering graduates at Colorado State University in the first virtual engineering days. Trent Sieg (2018), a CSU mechanical engineering alumnus who is the Las Vegas Raiders long snapper, will kick off the free programming; find out more here.

Friday night bazaar
Friday, April 23, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
2424 Larimer Street
The Friday Night Bazaar returns to the RiNo Art District with a full line of food, drink, and manufacturer vendors, including the Dream Stream Shop and Electric Dream Boutique fashion trucks. Admission is free, and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. there are $ 5 happy hour margins, mules, and spritzers. Learn more about the RiNo Bazaar as well as this season’s other events at denverbazaar.com.

ParadigmONE official opening
Saturday, April 24, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
16736 East Iliff Avenue, Aurora
MMA Fighter Geno Shvedov Celebrates Grand Opening of ParadigmONE, the Non-Profit Community Center He Founded to Help Recovering Addicts Develop Life Skills Through Fitness-Based Programming, With One Day Class of music and boxing, a live DJ, pop-up art, a silent auction, freebies and more. Entrance is free, but masks are compulsory; find out more here.

Pop-up hat shop with hat shop maves
Saturday, April 24, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Garbarini, 239 Detroit Street
The Kentucky Derby is back to its traditional date on the first Saturday in May through May 1, 2021. The Mavens of Millinery – local hat makers Victoria Regina and Vivian Blooms Millinery – are ready, filled with hats galore for party nights. derby observation and outdoor summer weddings. Milliners will be in the house on April 24 to discuss their hats and show how to wear one. And let’s go: find the details here.

Celebration of the Día del Niño
Sunday April 25
The Mexican Cultural Center, in collaboration with Telemundo Denver, is hosting the first virtual event “Día del Niño: Celebrating All Children” throughout the month. But on April 25, you can celebrate it in person with free admission to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Denver Art Museum from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Clyfford Still Museum from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. . , History Colorado from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Although entry is free, timed tickets are required; get them in museums and learn more about virtual programming here.

Know a big free event in town? We will update this list throughout the week; send the information to [email protected]