Memorial Day Weekend is upon us! Rejoice! Our family thrives on free events and this weekend boasts two of our favorites! Here are my top recommendations in order of priority:

The Boulder Creek Festival is the quintessential event in Boulder County! For over twenty years, the Boulder Creek Festival has been the unofficial kickoff to summer in Boulder. I think this is about the 8th year in row that we will have been. Widely considered Boulder County’s favorite event, the Boulder Creek Festival includes three days of festivities featuring a large variety of events, activities, food and entertainment unique to the Boulder community. Not to mention FREE samples galore! Every year they have a giant tent of organic and natural food samples ranging from Annie's Bunny Crackers to Luna Bars to Santa Cruz Juices. Sometimes the samples are full size containers.

The highlight is the rubber duck race, every year on Monday afternoon. Are you familiar with the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder? It is always alive with activity and an outstanding place to people watch. On Memorial Day weekend it virtually pulsates with excitement - street musicians, buskers, vendors,... Make a day of it!

Not only does it have the longest name of any festival in the metro area, it is "One of Denver's premier block festivals, The Old South Gaylord Memorial Day Weekend Festival is now in its 30th year. The festival features "World Class Music" on the Center Stage. Guests and attendees will find many booths of fine art, handmade pottery, fine jewelry, designer clothing and state of the art products. The Children's areas at the North and South end host kiddie rides, pony rides, clothing and special interest areas. Older "kids" will find more challenging entertainment such as a bungee tramp and climbing wall at the South end. Festival patrons will also enjoy a great variety of food vendors and some of Denver's finest restaurants."

My favorite part of this festival is perusing the shops, enjoying the gardens in the front yards of the historic homes in the neighborhood, and all of the garage sales that are set up in conjunction with the event. The vendors make this fair unique. There are always some great artists and unique booths in a beautiful setting. The festival is only a few blocks long, so we usual hit this one on the way to Boulder.