Where and when to buy art, sample food and drinks, see live music and more

By the Thirst Team

Get Out of Town is usually a weekly roundup of recommended events across Colorado. But it is warming up, and we know a lot of readers are making early summer plans. So here are some events through the end of July that we are excited to attend.

For more happenings, check out our events calendar.

Black Hawk beer garden opens

The town of Black Hawk is about more than gaming (although that’s fun, too). There is mountain biking, entertainment, shopping and it’s a great stop on the way back from Golden Gate Canyon State Park.

It also is now home to the Richman Beer Garden at the Ameristar Black Hawk casino. It opens for its first full season on Friday, May 23, with “hoppy hour” specials, giveaways, live music from David Lawrence and The Spoonfuls and more. The beer garden will be open Friday to Sunday for the rest of the summer, with live music on Saturdays and many more events. Check here for updates.

Denver Arts Festival

Artists from around Colorado and the nation will display and sell their work May 24 and 25 at the Denver Arts Festival in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood.

The event also includes drinks, music, a kids art zone and more.

Taste of the West

The Taste of the West culinary festival is coming to the Foothills Fieldhouse on Thursday, June 5.

More than 80 restaurants, breweries, distilleries, wineries, specialty foodmakers and more will offer unlimited samples. Attendees can then vote for their favorites in eight award categories.

Taste of Louisville and SummerFest

The Taste of Louisville comes to Main Street June 6 and 7. The famed Dinner on Main is sold out, but make plans for next year to dine at a table for more than 300 people. There also is a Best Tastes Competition, First Friday art and shopping experience, silent disco and more on Friday.

Saturday's events include a 5K Fun Run & Dog Jog, and live music, vintage car show, spaghetti-eating contest and more at Summerfest.

Lafayette Brew Fest

Keep the party going in the north metro area at the Lafayette Brew Fest, also on June 7. The event runs from 3 to 8 p.m., with tokens available for each sample of beer, cider, wine, liquor and more. Registration and pre-sale tokens are available now at a discount. The event also includes live music and food trucks.

Feast of Saint Arnold

The Feast of Saint Arnold returns to the Chapel of Our Savior in Colorado Springs on June 14. The event includes live music, craft drinks and more, all in honor of the patron saint of beer, who said “from man’s sweat and God’s love, beer came into the world.” Amen to that.

It's also a fundraiser for Westside CARES.

Edgewater Music Festival

The Edgewater Music Festival (formerly known as Blues & BBQ for Better Housing) brings live music, BBQ food trucks, a kids zone, 20-plus art and craft vendors and more to Citizen’s Park in Edgewater on June 21.

This year’s headliner is legendary Denver mainstay Chris Daniels and the Kings. The lineup also includes May Be Fern, Hand Turkey, Wild Love Tigress and The Duke Street Kings.

Blues from the Top Festival

The Blues from the Top Music Festival returns to the Rendezvous Event Center in Winter Park June 27-29. Headliners include JJ Grey & Mofro, Little Feat and Christone "Kingfish" Ingram.

The Grand County Blues Society, which hosts the event, is a nonprofit that promotes blues and roots music through live performances, music outreach and education

Green Box Arts Festival

The Green Box Arts Festival runs from June 27 to July 12 in Green Mountain Falls, a town in the southern Colorado foothills northwest of Manitou Springs. The event includes performances, installations and events featuring renowned Colorado artists alongside diverse national and international talent.

Taste of Arvada

More than 50 restaurants, breweries, distilleries and other vendors from across the Arvada and Denver metro areas will offer bites and sips during the Taste of Arvada festival on July 10 at the Apex Center in Arvada. The event also includes live performances, and attendees can choose winners of coveted prizes in several categories.

Pours on the Plains

What could be better than sampling great Colorado craft beer, then riding carnival rides and watching fireworks?

The Pours on the Plains beer festival on July 25 may be the only opportunity to do all three in one night. It is part of the Arapahoe County Fair at the fairgrounds in east Aurora.

This year’s edition also includes live music, a photo bus, golf simulator, a roaming magician, temporary tattoo and henna artists, food and more.

Logan County Fair and Rodeo

For more old-fashioned Colorado culture and fun, head to Sterling for the Logan County Fair and Rodeo, running July 24 to Aug. 3.

The fair includes carnival rides, mutton bustin’, youth and adult rodeo, parade, demolition derby and more. Jo Dee Messina and Clare Dunn will perform on Aug. 2.

Crafts, Cocktails & Corks

A new event comes to Winter Park on July 26. The Rendezvous Event Center hosts food vendors, live music and tastings from Colorado wineries, breweries and distilleries. There will be a “best of” contest for participating wineries, breweries, and distilleries, and the event is a fundraiser for Grand Foundation’s G.A.P. Fund for Youth.

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.