Find your new favorite place in Colorado at a small town festival
By The Thirst Team
Dacono Music & Spirits Festival
It’s a good week to check out small towns you may have never visited. For example, the free Dacono Music & Spirits Festival on Saturday is a great reason to stop in the town between Denver and Longmont.
The Grammy-nominated husband-and-wife duo The War & Treaty will headline the festival at 8:30 p.m., and the lineup also includes longtime local favorites Chris Daniels & the Kings and Izcalli, plus Dreamboat Annie’s Heart and Led Zeppelin tribute show, award-winning blues musician Vince Converse and Americana act Mackenzie Rae & Buckshot Moon.
Local and national breweries and distilleries also will pour drinks in the beer garden and at the spirits tasting. The festival also includes food trucks and kids’ activities.
Steinley Cup Microbrew Festival
There is a chance you also haven’t visited Saratoga, Wyoming. We typically focus on Colorado, but we help sponsor the Steinley Cup Microbrew Festival every summer. And we would recommend it anyway. It’s a great, family-friendly beer festival in a gorgeous, riverside park with live music, kids activities and a coveted prize for the best brewery.
Tickets cost $35, with free entry for children under 12.
So you have probably heard of Del Norte, but may not have made the trek to the San Luis Valley. You have a great excuse this weekend. The Rhythms on the Rio Festival and Covered Wagon Days run from Friday through Sunday.
The music festival lineup includes the California Honeydrops and ALO (Friday), Shadowgrass and Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country (Saturday), and Diggin Dirt and Keller Williams (Sunday).
The event is a fundraiser for the South Fork Music Association, which hosts events and promotes music education for area children.
The Covered Wagon festival includes a pancake breakfast, parade, BBQ, 5K run, book sale, car show, ice cream social and more.
While you are in Del Norte, check out the Windsor Hotel and 1874 Distilling, which we profiled in our current print magazine.
Next stop: Woodland Park. The foothills town outside Colorado Springs hosts more than 20 Colorado wineries and a lineup of local musicians on Saturday for the Vino and Notes festival. The event also includes food vendors, artisans and more. Tickets start at $35, including unlimited tastings. Entry is free for children under 12. VIP tickets also are available.
Across the state, Hotchkiss and Paonia also are showcasing Colorado wine. Many wine (and peach) fans have visited Palisade, but haven’t taken the extra side trip to the North Fork Valley.
The West Elks Wine Trail includes three days of wine tastings at various wineries for $40, as well as ticketed dinners, guided tastings and more at The Storm Cellar, Stone Cottage Cellars, Clear Fork Cider, Qutori Wines, Alfred Eames Cellars, Mesa Winds and other locations. Check the website. Some events are already sold out, and others require advance reservations.
Moffat County Balloon Festival
Craig in northwest Colorado hosts the Moffat County Balloon Festival on Saturday, with a Colorado Cruisers car show, live music, cardboard regatta, family activities, duck races and more. The hot air balloon launches are at 6:30 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with a balloon glow at dusk on Saturday.
The 45th Aspen Filmfest brings new, independent feature films to the Aspen Film Isis Theatre from Sept. 17 to 22.
As always, please send us your events and announcements. We’re happy to share them. And enjoy your Colorado craft libations responsibly.