Rock the block
Saturday. Join Woods Boss Brewing, which is a bright spot downtown, as it shuts down the 2200 block of California Street for its fourth annual Block Party. There will be outdoor games, live music, special beer releases and collaboration beers, and a marketplace with more than 50 local arts and food vendors. Several neighboring businesses will also be participating.
The event “aims to bring together the incredible community in this rapidly growing and changing area of Denver and remind folks that there are some great businesses in Denver’s Ballpark District,” the brewery said. The party runs from noon to 10 p.m. at 2210 California St. It is free to attend and open to all ages. woodsbossbrewing.com.
Choctoberfest’s sweet bounty
Saturday. It just wouldn’t be Colorado culture without a beer: this year’s Choctoberfest, the toothsome celebration of all things dark and sweet, is back with samples and to-go boxes from dozens of regional and national vendors, organizers said.
That means chocolate candy, cakes and pastries, truffles, cookies, drinks, toffees, macrons and more will be available, along with (of course) a beer garden, chocolate martini bar, and chocolate fountain, beer garden. As you sample, check out the kids activities, competitions, costumes and “chocolate bingo.” (We’re game.)
Admission: $10 for adults, free for kids 12 and under. Taste Tickets (sampler passes) are another $10 per dozen. The event runs 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6 at Arapahoe County Fairgrounds, 25690 E. Quincy Ave. in Aurora. Parking is free. cochocolatefests.com
Virtual doors, swinging wide
Friday-Oct. 16. Alliteration alacrity looms large in Doors Open Denver — often your best chance of the year to check out Denver’s architectural and historical gems from the inside out. This year, however, Doors Open Denver is a virtual affair due to producer Denver Architectural Foundation’s search for a new executive director, with 24 featured video tours made available from its archives.
That also means it’s entirely free, along with a pair of new audio tours in the form of Five Points Fortitude, which “showcases the architecture and cultural history of Five Points, the seat of African-American history in Denver. The tour comes in two versions: one for adults and another made especially for families to enjoy together.”
They’re all available for free starting Friday, Oct. 6, at denverarchitecture.org, and running through Oct. 16.
There’s a bRUNch Run for that
Sunday. If you couldn’t tell by the cheeky capitalization, The bRUNch Run is here to both challenge and feed you — in that order. The Sunday, Oct. 8 event — for which registration is still open — offers a 5K, 10K or 15K followed by brunch menu items ranging from French toast and bacon flights to juice and chia bowls, courtesy of Postino 9CO, MyFitFoods, Morning Story, We Knead Donuts, Blackbird and more.
The event is the annual fundraiser for Metro Caring, a hunger resource center that meets people’s immediate food needs, organizers said. If you’re swayed by the swag that comes with registration, there’s plenty: a coffee-scented finisher’s medal, a commemorative YETI tumbler, a brim hat from For the Run, and “unlimited brunch bites and beverages.”
The races take place along the flat paths of Central Park Denver, 8801 Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd., which make it stroller, wheelchair and dog-friendly. Race waves start at 8:30 a.m., with a Kids Fun Run at 11 a.m. $60-$80 per person. runsignup.com/race/co/denver/thebrunchrun
