What is WeekendBoulder?
WeekendBoulder lists upcoming events in Boulder, Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette, Superior, Erie, Broomfield, and the mountain and plains towns around them, from Niwot and Lyons up to Nederland. Concerts, theater, games, markets, festivals, library programs, classes, races, auctions and estate sales: if a public calendar lists it, it shows up here.
Every night at midnight Boulder time, the site reads 0+ public calendars, feeds, and APIs (see the sources), merges events that more than one source lists, and drops events that are over. Every listing links to the organizer's own page, which has the full details and the final word on times, tickets, and changes.
The site stores only what the list needs: title, times, venue, city, category, and a short description. It keeps no ticket prices, photos, or contact details, and it never works around a site that asks not to be read.
How it started
WeekendBoulder is the sister site of WeekendBoise, which Richard Hundhausen built so he could see what was happening around Boise without hunting through dozens of separate websites. WeekendBoulder runs on the same engine, pointed at Boulder County's public calendars, and is refreshed every night.
Legend
Size
An estimate of the crowd, not a count or a capacity. It is a guess, worked out from the first of these that applies:
- A small-format event (a workshop, cooking class, tour, meetup, board game night, or library program) is Small, even at a big venue.
- The venue's usual crowd, for the venues we know, from approximate capacities.
- The kind of event: a rodeo or a race is usually Large, an air show Extra Large.
- The category's usual size.
| Size | Means |
|---|---|
| S Small | Under 100 people |
| M Medium | 100 to 999 people |
| L Large | 1,000 to 4,999 people |
| XL Extra Large | 5,000 or more people |
Cost
The cheapest adult ticket at face value, before fees, sorted into a tier. Only the tier is kept, never the price. It comes from the source's own price data, or from a price written in the event's description. Kids, senior, student, and member prices are ignored; for a range, the low end counts. A suggested donation, or free entry with paid parking or food, is Free.
| Cost | Cheapest adult ticket |
|---|---|
| Free | No charge |
| $ | Under $15 |
| $$ | $15 to under $40 |
| $$$ | $40 or more |
| Blank | Unknown: the source gives no price. Check the event's page |
Category
Each event has one category, from its source (a theater's events are Performing Arts) or, for sources that mix many kinds, from words in its title and the source's own labels. A holiday concert is Holiday and Seasonal first.
| Category | Includes |
|---|---|
| Arts and Culture | galleries and First Thursday, art walks, museum exhibits, film, author events, lectures and panels, craft exhibitions |
| Auctions and Estate Sales | estate sales, live onsite auctions, estate auctions |
| Community and Civic | parades, public meetings, neighborhood events, volunteer days, fundraisers and galas, ribbon cuttings, faith community events, health fairs, blood drives, charity walks |
| Festivals | fairs, street fairs, cultural and heritage, food and drink fests, harvest, pumpkin, and corn maze, ren faires and cons, balloon, air, and car shows |
| Food and Drink | restaurant weeks, brewery, winery, and distillery events, food truck rallies, cooking classes, trivia, bingo, and karaoke |
| Holiday and Seasonal | light displays and tours, tree lightings, holiday markets, holiday parades, Nutcracker-type shows, Halloween, Fourth of July, New Year's Eve, Easter, Veterans and Memorial Day |
| Learning and Business | classes and workshops, university lectures, tech meetups, conferences, library programs, chamber events, job fairs, trade shows, startup events |
| Markets and Shopping | farmers markets, makers markets, flea and antique, pop-ups, home, garden, boat, RV, and gun shows, plant and book sales |
| Music | concerts, club shows, symphony and opera, choral, open mics, DJ nights, music festivals |
| bar and club nights, themed parties, silent discos, burlesque, hobby and interest group meetups (board games, car meets, collector shows, pet adoption) | |
| Outdoors and Recreation | guided hikes, nature programs, creek path and open space trails, Eldora, fishing and hunting, stargazing, Parks and Rec, tours and experiences |
| Performing Arts | theater, musicals, dance, comedy, magic, variety, and drag, spoken word, puppetry and youth theater |
| Sports | college, pro and semi-pro, rodeo, motorsports, combat sports, races (run, bike, tri), youth and high school, rec and participatory, winter sports, esports |
City
Where the event is, from its address or venue. Gunbarrel counts as Boulder. Other means the source did not say and the event's page did not settle it. The City list shows only cities with upcoming events, and its counts follow the other filters you pick.
Meetup events
Meetup group events are hidden until you check Include Meetups, because many groups are only partly public. The events are posted publicly, but some groups let only members RSVP or see the exact location. You may need a free Meetup account, and to join the group, before you can go.
Library events
Library events are hidden until you check Include Libraries, because the libraries list so many programs (story times, crafts, clubs, and classes) that they would crowd out everything else. An event counts as a library event when it is held at a library or listed on a library's own calendar. Searching for "library" shows them without checking the box.
Suggestions
Spot a wrong listing, miss an event, or have an idea? Create a GitHub issue (it needs a free GitHub account). Run a listed site and want it left out? Say so in an issue.