Summer festivals in Colorado

Held June 16-19, the Sonic Bloom Festival takes place in beautiful Hummingbird Ranch, 732 Co. Rd. 653, in Spanish Peaks Country,. The three-day festival includes plenty to do while enjoying nature’s bounty. You can camp out, do Yoga, dance and enjoy other workshops. There will be art and music, and plenty of opportunities to learn about science, the environment and more. They partner with several groups that deal with sustainability, and have a food and clothing drive.  Vibe out listening to the rhythms of many different musical talents. Slated to appear are bands like Tipper, Lettuce, Lab Group, Detox Unit, Yheti, Of the Trees, Chali2na & Cut Chemist, Chee, Daily Bread, Desert Dwellers, Inzo, Kll Smth, Mize and many more. Bands subject to change. There is also a Kids Zone hosted by Rainbow Lighting. Before the festival, they are having Sonic Bloom Academy, which includes an online archive of previous festival’s performances and workshops back it the beginning. For more information, visit https://sonicbloomfestival.com.

The 49th annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival will be held from Thursday, June 16 to Sunday, June 19. Nestled in the rugged San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado, the festival features Bluegrass and music from related genres. On Thursday, enjoy bands like Tenacious D, Watchouse, Bela Fleck, Chris Thile, Aoife O’Donovan, Peter Rowan’s Bluegrass Band, AJ Lee & Blue Summit. Friday brings out Greensky Bluegrass, Tyler Childers, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, The Lil Smokies, Tim O’Brien Band, Rising Appalachia, Kitchen Dwellers and others. Saturday settles in with The Infamous Stringdusters, Sam Bush Band, Punch Brothers, The Jerry Douglas Band, Big Richard, Le Vent Du Nord. Finally, Sunday brings Phil Lesh & Friends, The Turnpike Troubadours, Telluride House Band, Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi, Drepung Loseling Monks of the Mystical Arts of Tibet and Twisted Pine, as well as the band festival awards. Also, enjoy workshops on everything from fiddles to mandolins, songwriting to musicians’ stories. Find out more at https://bluegrass.com/telluride.

If you love craft beer, you will love the Colorado Brewer’s Festival in Denver. The fourth longest-running beer event in the country (in their 31st year!), this three-day event brings about a hundred breweries out to offer pours of their finest brews. This Colorado Brewers Guild fundraiser will be held this year in June at the Fillmore Auditorium (located at 1510 N. Clarkson Street in Denver). It is presented by On Tap Credit Union. What’s new this year is that there will also be authors of books about beer. Come out and meet Joshua M. Bernstein, Michael Casey, John Frank, Ed Sealover and Jonathan Shikes. They will all be there to sell their books and sign their autograph. Look for discounted tickets now in advance at certain local breweries. Guests must be over 21 years old. Don’t forget to pick up some merch on your way out! For more information, visit https://collaborationbeerfest.com.

Whether you want to get involved and compete or see what others are presenting, the Colorado State Fair & Rodeo  (at 1001 Beulah Ave. in Pueblo) can be a lot of fun for the whole family. Begun in 1872, it celebrates the agricultural aspect of Colorado and a great way to have some fun. It is held this year from August 26 to September 5. Have the thrill of being on a carnival ride and grab some fun fare like fried snickers or cotton candy, or the popular green chile. Get involved in one of the competitions, whether it is showing off your prize pumpkin or your well-bred livestock, or showing off your culinary skills or arts and crafts. They also get the kids involved through 4-H. They even have beer and wine competitions. Of course, there is the rodeo– a chance to see bucking broncos and fearless cowboys ride and rope. For more information, visit https://coloradostatefair.com. 

The oldest rodeo in Colorado, the Meeker Range Call started on the Fourth of July in 1885 and has continued since. This year, they welcome back the Cowboys Professional Rodeo Association with two rodeos plus and additional ranch rodeo. At the event, you can also immerse yourself in the old west as you watch a bank robbery reenactment.You can even take a tour of the site where the Battle of Milk Creek took place in 1879, a major military engagement during the Ute War, and see a reenactment of the massacre that happened there. There will be a parade, a 3 on 3 basketball tournament, a 5K race, live music, barn dances, fireworks, pancake breakfast and more. The event will be held from July 1 through 4 and take place at the Rio Blanco County Fairgrounds (700 Sulphur Creek Rd, Meeker, CO 81641 ). For more information, visit https://meekerrangecall.com

Held May 27-30, the Arise Music Festival, located in The Cradle, a 1,000-acre organic farm and ranch in Boone, CO, is a wonderful retreat away from the daily grind. They offer a healing village where you can take a breath, relax and recenter yourself with Yoga, Tibetan Bowl healings, breath work, classes, workshops and more. Their wisdom village focuses on community with singing, engaging and co-creating. Children also have a village of their own to express themselves and create. There also is plenty of art installations to see, dance, theater and other performances, as well as three stages of live music featuring over 65 performances. Whether you camp, glamp or drive in, you are sure to find plenty to do at this four day event during Memorial Day Weekend. Focused on sustainability, they are planting a tree for every ticket sold. For more information, visit https://arisefestival.com.

Just outside of Grand Junction in a place called Mack, there might be a lot of Boot-Scoot Boogying and Texas Two Stepping happening this summer. This will be hallowed ground for all those who love Country music because some heavy hitters in the industry will be gracing the stage for a special event called Country Jam, which is taking place this year from June 23 to 25. Tim McGraw, Miranda Lambert, Jo Dee Messina, Eric Church, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Blanco Brown and others are slated to perform. Wear your cowboy hat and put on your boots for a foot stomping three-day fest that is sure to put a smile on your face. The event takes place at 1065 Highway 6 & 50 surrounded by the beautiful backdrop of the state’s awe-inspiring red rock landscape. You can also camp out for more of an adventure. For more information, visit https://countryjam.com.