See spiders, stomp grapes, celebrate the harvest and more
By the Thirst Team
Get Out of Town is our weekly roundup of recommended events across Colorado, mostly focusing outside of Denver, to help everyone enjoy the entire state. For more happenings, check out our events calendar.
The Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster has one famous and charismatic tarantula, but the town of La Junta sees many more of the large spiders. Every fall, an impressive number of male tarantulas perform a mating ritual on the Comanche National Grassland and across southeast Colorado.
Looking for spiders on the “Tarantula Trek” is an option anytime in September and October, but La Junta celebrates the season on Friday and Saturday at its free Tarantula Fest, including a parade, food trucks and merchants. There are also tarantula habitat tours, but they are sold out for this year. You can sign up for the La Junta newsletter and get updates for next year’s festival.
Cha Wa
Paonia hosts the free Mountain Harvest Festival Friday through Sunday, with live music, food, drinks and farm tours. Performers include New Orleans brass band Cha Wa, Swedish folk group Fränder and Grand Junction rockers Peach Street Revival.
The festival also includes a chili cookoff, pub crawl, theater, bike parade, farmers market and more.
Wheatstock Grain and Music Festival
The Colorado Grain Chain, a nonprofit organization that supports Colorado’s grain economy, hosts a grain and music festival Saturday at Spirit Hound Distillery in Lyons. The community event celebrates Andy Clark, the late co-founder of the Grain Chain. Trace Bundy and Lucy Moore and Friends will perform, followed by an open banjo jam. Spirit Hound will sample and sell its new limited release of Barrel Fire Whiskey Legacy Edition ‘24.
Vino Salida Winery in Poncha Springs hosts a free grape stomp from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. Help close out the harvest and stomp grapes for upcoming wines. Wine, beer, charcuterie, cheese plates and other food will be available for purchase. There also will be live music on the patio from noon to 7 p.m., including jazz by David Tipton & Rob Teegarden from 12 to 2 p.m.; The Sad Hands from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.; and Blue Recluse from 5 to 7 p.m.
Bring a change of clothes, as grape stomping gets messy.
Once a year, Upslope gets out of Boulder and sets up a makeshift mountain taproom up on the slopes of Winter Park. The hike-in taproom will be open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. A $31 ticket includes hike access and four drink tickets. Lunch also can be pre-ordered and picked up at the top of the hike.
The trail is on a loose gravel 4x4 road, and the backcountry taproom has steep and rocky spots.
The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey hosts a harvest festival on Saturday and Sunday, with wine, art, food, and entertainment.
Performers include Wayne Hammerstadt, Deja Bluz, Gentle Rain and Deep Blue Sea. Food selections include local produce and cheeses, wood-fired pizzas, roasted chilies, and freshly baked breads.
The event is free, and the wine tasting costs $12, including a commemorative wine glass and five tasting tickets. The winery also is releasing a limited edition riesling for the event.
As always, please send us your events and announcements. We’re happy to share them. If they don’t fit in the Get Out of Town column, we will add them to our events calendar. And enjoy your Colorado craft libations responsibly.