🎁 A Pearl Street art hub fights to survive + 41 things to do

This week’s Culture Club is sponsored by the 2026 City of Boulder Climate Resilient Landscape Showcase. Celebrate local landscapes with a gallery walk, keynote and awards. Saturday, Sept. 12.

Hi there, Boulder, and welcome back to Culture Club! It’s Thursday, Sept. 3. I’m McKenzie, here with your weekly guide to arts, culture and things to do across Boulder County.

In today’s Spotlight, we continue our look at Pearl Street, where longtime local businesses and arts spaces are facing rising costs and shifting consumer habits as national brands move into prominent storefronts. After reporting on the closure of Boulder Bazaar and the end of a short-lived experiment in affordable space for artists, we turn to Bliss, a locally owned gift and art boutique that is fighting to stay open.

We also step inside BMoCA’s “Tres Voces, Un Corazón,” which brings together the work of artists Sylvia Montero, Tony Ortega and their son, Cipriano Ortega. The family exhibition explores how identity, cultural memory and artistic traditions are carried forward and transformed across generations. Rosanna Longo-Better reports.

Plus: three standout event picks, more than 40 things to do across Boulder County and a call for entries to a local horror film festival.

As always, you can submit your own event and check out more offerings on our community calendar.

See you out there,

McKenzie

Join us to celebrate the 2026 City of Boulder Climate Resilient Landscape Showcase! We are celebrating creative and inspiring landscapes in our community! View a gallery walk and enjoy light food and refreshments, which will be followed by a keynote speech and a presentation of awards to community members. Saturday, Sept. 12 • 6-8:30 p.m.

1. First Friday Art Walks

Friday, Sept. 4 • Downtown, 4-7 p.m.; North Boulder, 6-9 p.m.

First Friday Art Walks offer a chance to visit artists’ studios, take part in art activations and hear live music downtown and in North Boulder. As we reported last month, the new citywide format uses staggered hours and bus connections to help visitors experience both districts in one evening.

2. Colorado Pizza Festival

Saturday, Sept. 5 • 1-10 p.m. • 4th and Kimbark St., Longmont

The inaugural Colorado Pizza Festival is a one-day community block party featuring live music and more than 20 Colorado pizzerias. All proceeds benefit organizations working to alleviate food insecurity, and children 12 and younger get in free. In this week’s Nibbles, John Lehndorff explains how three Longmont pizza shops built the festival and why the city is staking a claim as Colorado’s pizza capital.

3. Boulder Art Festival

Saturday, Sept. 5-Sunday, Sept. 6 • 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday • Pearl Street Mall

Colorado Events presents the Boulder Art Festival, a free two-day celebration that transforms the heart of downtown Boulder into an outdoor gallery. The festival features 100 artists, makers and designers showcasing a broad selection of original artwork and handcrafted creations.

For 20 years, Bliss has brought Boulder artists and shoppers together. Now it’s fighting to stay open.

The locally owned gift and art boutique says rising costs and unpredictable spending threaten its future and the creative network it supports. Continue reading…

At BMoCA, three artists turn family history into a conversation across generations

“Tres Voces, Un Corazón” brings together Sylvia Montero, Tony Ortega and their son, Cipriano Ortega, as the museum raises money for a new home in North Boulder. Continue reading…

Submissions open for the sixth edition of Boulder’s “7th Annual,” a short horror film festival

The 7th Annual is a Boulder-based short horror film contest in which amateur filmmakers compete for a cash prize and the infamous Goblet of Woe. Selected films will be screened at Muenzinger Auditorium on Nov. 1. Films must run five minutes or less and be submitted by midnight on Halloween.

Want to see your art on the walls of a Boulder library?

The Boulder Public Library District is accepting proposals for exhibitions in six library spaces. Selected exhibitions will remain on view for two to three months, and artists are encouraged to experiment with innovative ways of presenting topics of community interest. The library offers honorariums to accepted applicants. Applications are open through Sept. 20.

Looking for more to do? Explore our community calendar for dozens more events happening around Boulder. It’s free to browse and free to post. Many of the events featured in Culture Club come from the calendar, so be sure to add yours.

Visual Arts & Literature

Thursday, Sept. 3, 4-6 p.m.: The CU Art Museum celebrates the opening of three new exhibitions and its 16th birthday. [free] [all ages]
Friday, Sept. 4, 4 p.m.: “Louisville Lens” is an art exhibition featuring film photography from 22 Louisville residents, on view at the Louisville Public Library. [free] [all ages]
Saturday, Sept. 5, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Kaleidoscope hosts First Saturdays with art, music and fun in Old Town Lafayette. [free] [family-friendly]
Sunday, Sept. 6, noon-6 p.m.: The 2026 National Fine Art Show & Sale is on view at the Louisville Center for the Arts. [free] [all ages]
Monday, Sept. 7, 5:30-7:30 p.m.: Collage Club takes place at the Crowd Collective. [free] [adult-oriented]
Tuesday, Sept. 8, 6-7:30 p.m.: Trident Author Series presents Michael Henry and Juan Morales of Lighthouse Writers Workshop. [free] [adult-oriented]
Wednesday, Sept. 9, 3-4:30 p.m.: The Boulder community knitting group meets at the Meadows Library and will work on a project for local children in need. [free] [adult-oriented]

Theater, Dance & Film

Thursday, Sept. 3, 6-8 p.m.: Pine Street Church, YWCA Boulder County, and Boulder’s Stand Up for Racial Justice host a screening of “The Elements of Mutual Aid.” [ticketed] [adult-oriented]
Friday, Sept. 4, 6:30-9:30 p.m.: Museum of Boulder hosts the season premiere of the 23rd annual Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema. [ticketed] [adult-oriented]
Saturday, Sept. 5, 7-9:30 p.m.: The Upstart Crow presents “Much Ado About Nothing” at the Dairy Arts Center. [ticketed] [all ages]
Sunday, Sept. 6, 2-4 p.m.: “The Marching Band” is a comic French film about long-lost brothers, playing at the Dairy Arts Center. [ticketed] [adult-oriented]
Monday, Sept. 7, noon-4:30 p.m.: Spoon Circus hosts a tie-dye fundraiser at Junkyard Social Club. [free] [all ages]
Wednesday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m.: Mont Alto Orchestra provides live accompaniment during a screening of the 1926 silent film, “The General,” at Chautauqua Auditorium. [ticketed] [adult-oriented]

Music & Nightlife

Thursday, Sept. 3, 10 p.m.-midnight: DJ shares performs a late-night set at Rosetta Hall. [ticketed] [adult-oriented]
Friday, Sept. 4, 6-9 p.m.: Groove Goddess plays at Bricks on Main in Longmont. [free] [all ages]
Saturday, Sept. 5, 8 p.m.: KGNU and Paradise Found present Black Flag at the Fox Theatre. [ticketed] [all ages]
Sunday, Sept. 6, 7:30 p.m.: Fight Club: The Drag Competition features live music and is hosted by Brendon Yaoi and Raven Luna Dick, at the Junkyard Social Club. [ticketed] [adults only]
Wednesday, Sept. 9, 5 p.m.: JD Simo and Ghalia Volt perform at the Velvet Elk Lounge. [ticketed] [adult-oriented]

Food & Drink

Thursday, Sept. 3, 4-6 p.m.: Public Wine hosts a free in-store wine tasting. [free] [adult-oriented]
Friday, Sept. 4, 5-8 p.m.: Nick Critchlow plays an intimate dinner and concert experience at Moxie Bread Company in Louisville. [ticketed] [all ages]
Saturday, Sept. 5, 1-5 p.m.: Twin Peaks Rotary hosts its annual Chile Roast Fest in the Garden at Left Hand Brewing. [free] [all ages]
Sunday, Sept. 6, noon-3 p.m.: Tea & Tarot at Day Day Up Tea involves a 15-minute tarot card reading and a cup of tea. [ticketed] [adult-oriented]
Monday, Sept. 7, 6-10 p.m.: Brasserie Ten Ten hosts a Xavier Blanc wine dinner, the first in a series of Monday wine dinners. [ticketed] [adult-oriented]
Tuesday, Sept. 8, 4:45-8 p.m.: Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts offers a course in cooking Mexican cuisine and mole. [ticketed] [adult-oriented]

Outdoors & Recreation

Thursday, Sept. 3, 4-8:30 p.m.: Flatirons Climbing Council and Open Space & Mountain Parks host the annual Flagstaff Trash Bash. [free] [adult-oriented]
Friday, Sept. 4, 12:15-12:45 p.m.: Feel Good Fridays Guided Meditation is a hybrid workshop and mindfulness practice at the CU Art Museum. [ticketed] [adult-oriented]
Saturday, Sept. 5, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Constance Wilde leads a foraging and natural dyeing workshop with wild plants. [ticketed] [adult-oriented]
Sunday, Sept. 6, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Volunteer naturalists lead a stroll through Caribou Ranch. [free, registration required] [all ages]
Monday, Sept. 7, 10 a.m.: Louisville’s annual Fall Festival brings local crafts, fine art, produce, baked goods, food trucks and a beer garden to Memory Square Park.
Tuesday, Sept. 8, 5:30 p.m.: Running club takes off from the Oskar Blues Brewery taproom in Longmont. [free] [all ages]

Family & Community

Thursday, Sept. 3, 4:30-5:30 p.m.: Code Club at the Erie Library is an opportunity for participants in grades three through eight to explore beginner-friendly coding tools. [free] [family-friendly]
Friday, Sept. 4, 7-8:30 p.m.: Learn about bats at Coal Creek Open Space during “Lafayette After Dark.” [free] [family-friendly]
Saturday, Sept. 5, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.: Vendors sell locally grown produce, prepared foods and other treats at the Boulder Farmers Market. [free] [family-friendly]
Sunday, Sept. 6, 6:30 a.m.-noon: The Sunday morning program at Eldorado Mountain Yoga Ashram offers yoga and meditation. [free] [all ages]
Monday, Sept. 7, 9-10 a.m.: The annual Children’s Pet Parade travels down Main Street in Louisville. [free] [family-friendly]
Tuesday, Sept. 8, 4:30-5:30 p.m.: The Girl Scouts of Colorado hosts an interest meeting at the Boulder Public Library. [free] [all ages]
Wednesday, Sept. 9, 3:30-4 p.m.: Preschool storytime takes place at the Gunbarrel Library. [free] [all ages]

Know about an exhibit, concert, festival or creative person we should feature? Reply to this email or submit it here. Culture Club exists to help people discover what’s happening across Boulder County, and we’d love your ideas. Thanks for reading, and if you make it out to something fun this weekend, let us know.

🎁 A longtime Pearl Street boutique fights to survive + 41 things to do