Events in Durango, CO

Enjoy a live set from Dustin Burley, blending improvisation with rock, blues, and folk. He thrives when the moment takes over, pouring honest, unguarded feeling into every jam and song. His playing moves with a liquid ease, each note flowing into the next to pull listeners into the intimate soundscape that is uniquely his.

Free live music from Grant Livingston fills 11th Street Station, which highlights local and touring performers across a mix of genres. Choose a seat on the patios or take in the set inside Ernie's Bar, with drinks and a selection of food available. The venue is right in downtown Durango.

Celebrate the start of the season with the first dance at the new venue, the Durango Collective. The gathering opens with a potluck, continues with a lesson, then moves into a dance featuring Tom Ward's Downfall and Deb Comly. First time dancers can look for a special offer, and there will be a door prize. The snack table returns for the mid-dance break, with contributions welcome. Please bring your own water bottle.

Watch as approximately 25 balloons inflate and rise above the Animas Valley. Sponsored by Eagle Rock Distributing, this gathering welcomes spectators onto the launch field to meet the pilots and crew, and you might even be asked to lend a hand with launch preparations or join the chase team. Launch timing can vary, and flights often last an hour or more. Dress for the conditions with a warm jacket, sturdy shoes, a hat, and gloves. For safety, only service dogs are permitted on the launch field, and smoking is not allowed. Public parking is available in designated field areas, and parking on the highway is not allowed. As with all AVBR events, plans depend on suitable weather.

Sunday Record Brunch Club pairs brunch with music from DJs Marcos Cholos and Cozy Possi. Savor coffee, mimosas, Bloody Marys, and more as local DJs curate the sounds for a relaxed gathering.

Jazz Church brings a free, open jazz jam to 11th Street Station. This laid-back, all-ages gathering welcomes local musicians, students, and fans of the genre to collaborate or simply take in the music. Food options from food trucks are available alongside the live performance.

Browse for a new river or Halloween look at this first annual costume swap. Bring outfits you no longer need to trade with other river enthusiasts, check out additional costumes available for purchase, and enjoy complimentary snacks and beverages while you explore.

11th Street Station showcases live performances by local and touring musicians from a range of genres. Sets take place on the patios or inside Ernie's Bar. Drinks and a variety of food options are available, all in the heart of downtown Durango.

After a near-fatal crash, a young church organist relocates and becomes inexplicably drawn to a deserted pavilion by the water, while a pale apparition turns up wherever she goes. Shot on a shoestring and later embraced as a cult classic, this quiet, unnerving tale suits an unhurried evening. Pour a drink and make yourself comfortable. Admission is free.

The season culminates with Awards Night for the Innovation Challenge at Cortez Makerspace, featuring a showcase of creations from the Four Corners. The evening includes live music and drinks as five judges evaluate entries in real time and select one winner in each division: $5,000 Open, $1,000 Hobbyist, and the Youth Maker Prize. A People’s Choice selection will be announced, and the top ten entrants in every division will receive a mystery prize. Before the night concludes, all three winning builds will be sealed away as the treasures of Part Two, a region-wide treasure hunt beginning this fall. This is the last chance to see them before they disappear.

At Heartwood Cohousing, the evening features an optional guided look around the community followed by a shared potluck meal. It offers a welcoming way to learn how the neighborhood works, talk with residents, and consider a lifestyle with strong connections and easy access to nature. Attendees are encouraged to bring a dish to share and a favorite beverage.

ZU Gallery in Cortez presents a focused Listening Room featuring Moe Cooley and Tomoe. Moe brings guitar-led songs along with thoughts on Cash, Petty, and Willie, while Tomoe anchors the set on upright bass so every note has space. It is the 35th installment in a fall series designed for attentive listening, with admission free and everyone welcome. For this evening the room takes on an intimate Low End Lounge feel, reminiscent of a small Austin dive with soft lighting, a smoky corner table, and a piano that stays closed. The atmosphere quiets, phones are tucked away, and the performance holds the spotlight, something that shapes the experience for both the musicians and the audience. Wine and mocktails are available before the first song, and arriving early helps with seating.

11th Street Station hosts live performances that span many genres, featuring a mix of local musicians and touring acts. Sets take place on the patios or inside Ernie's Bar, offering both outdoor and indoor settings. Drinks and a wide range of food options are available in the center of downtown Durango, creating a lively spot to enjoy music and refreshments.

Experience live music from High Altitude Blues Band.

11th Street Station highlights a mix of local performers and touring musicians spanning a wide range of genres. Live sets take place on the patios or inside Ernie’s Bar, reflecting a commitment to Durango’s creative community. Enjoy the music alongside your favorite beverages and a selection of food options in the middle of downtown Durango.

Animal Soul delivers original alternative rock from the Four Corners region, mixing the grit and inspiration of classic rock with the charm and polish of modern indie pop. Their sound moves fluidly across styles, weaving touches of power pop, Americana, glam, and soul into something distinctly their own. Live, the band leans into inventive, eccentric, high energy performances, offering a vivid burst of fresh sonic ideas. The project began in 2012 when founder Anthony Braun performed in New York City under the Animal Soul name. The current lineup, which started coming together in Durango in 2024, reflects the group at full strength. Lead singer and keyboardist Abi Nicholas brings bright vocals and songwriting spark, guitarist Alex Read adds refined harmonic color, bassist Guy Ewing grounds the music with melodic lines, and drummer Drew Greene drives it with a hard hitting beat. Anthony Braun’s songwriting, orchestration, and production thread everything together into a cohesive whole.

Sunday Record Brunch Club offers brunch alongside live sets from DJs Marcos Cholos and Cozy Possi. Enjoy coffee, mimosas, Bloody Marys, and more as local DJs curate the soundtrack.

A free, open live jazz jam session in a casual, all-ages setting. Local musicians, students, and jazz fans can play, collaborate, or simply enjoy live music while sampling food options from the food trucks.

Members of the Herstory Printmaking Collective present an artist talk in the CSWS Lyceum, Room 120, highlighting their collaborative practice of creating portrait murals that honor women who have shaped how we understand the world. Based in Albuquerque, the group works with an approachable relief printmaking process to produce bold newsprint images for wheat pasting, and has shared this work through workshops, live demonstrations, and installations around the Southwest at places such as the Santa Fe Railyard, the Beehive Building in Mancos, the University of New Mexico’s Masley Art Gallery, the Southwest Printmaking Fiesta in Silver City, and the mobile Axle Contemporary Gallery. The talk introduces the idea of herstory, a feminist perspective on history that centers women’s experiences. Admission is free and open to all. The Center of Southwest Studies is also partnering with the collective on a printmaking workshop for Fort Lewis College Art & Design students inspired by women represented in the Center’s archives and museum collections, with resulting portraits to be installed for an ongoing exhibition celebrating women of the Southwest.

Enjoy free live music with Terry Rickard at 11th Street Station. This downtown Durango venue supports the arts by showcasing local and touring performers across a variety of styles, with sets happening on the patios or inside Ernie’s Bar. Sip your favorite drinks, explore multiple food options, and take in the lively scene in the center of downtown Durango.

Ben Gibson brings years of stage experience to a set of guitar-first rock, blending the roots of classic bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty, and Jimi Hendrix with contemporary tones and effects. The music ranges from airy, open soundscapes to big, soulful rockers, moving between acoustic and electric textures. His expressive vocals and deep connection to the songs drive every moment, and his background performing solo, as a duo, and with a trio comes through in the range and dynamics on stage.

11th Street Station showcases local and touring musicians across many genres. Performances take place on the patios or inside Ernie’s Bar, offering both indoor and outdoor listening. Attendees can order drinks and choose from a variety of food options while enjoying live music in the heart of downtown Durango.

Café au Play hosts a Halloween celebration created for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and their caregivers. Little ones can explore pumpkin themed sensory stations, try fizzy potion experiments, make seasonal crafts, play games, and enjoy music with movement. A costume parade, trick or treating, and a photo spot add to the fun, and there is also time set aside for free play. Admission is $10 per child.

This annual Halloween party features specials on food and beverages, plus pumpkin carving and costume competitions. Music is planned, with the band to be announced.

11th Street Station showcases local and touring musicians spanning many genres. Enjoy live performances on the patios or inside Ernie's Bar while sipping favorite drinks and choosing from a variety of food options. Set in the heart of downtown Durango, the venue supports the arts and offers a welcoming place to experience live music.

This in-person, year-long course and community with teachers Yong Oh and Kate Siber brings together two core Buddhist pathways, the four foundations of mindfulness and the brahma-viharas, to support steady practice and everyday integration. Participants progress through mindfulness of the body, feelings, mind and phenomena while cultivating loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity. The curriculum also touches on classical teachings such as the five hindrances, the five aggregates, the six sense bases, the seven factors of awakening and the four noble truths, with an emphasis on living these insights in the midst of real life. The group is limited to 25 participants to foster connection and mutual support. Each month includes two gatherings, one focused on dharma reflections, guided meditation, discussion and questions, and another centered on quiet practice, integration and community connection. Several meetings are peer-led with guidance from the teachers, and the program begins and concludes with a retreat. There is no online or recorded option, and all practice takes place together in the moment. Primary study resources include Bhikkhu Analayo’s Satipatthana Meditation: A Practice Guide and Christina Feldman’s Boundless Heart, along with the Satipatthana Sutta and additional readings. The program follows a gift-economy approach. Registration operates on a sliding scale of $385, $559, $733, $907 or $1,079 to support organizational costs, scholarships are readily available, and no one is turned away for lack of funds. In the spirit of dana, participants may offer a donation to the teachers at the end of the course in any amount. The course is held at the Durango Dharma Center.

State of Aztec Breakfast is shifting to a twice yearly format, with the second edition planned at the Aztec Senior Community Center. It begins with a Coffee Hour and continues with the program. Ticket details will be announced, with additional information to follow.

Enjoy live music from Vallecito favorites Reeder and Spencer.

In honor of Veterans Day, Four Corners Dental & Dentures is hosting a free airway screening event for veterans. Participants can find out whether a CPAP alternative for sleep apnea may be appropriate and receive information about VA benefits related to oral sleep appliances. Light refreshments will be provided.

At CSWS Lyceum, Room 120, Tewa filmmaker Charine Pilar Gonzales leads a program of storytelling and film. A Fort Lewis College alum and a featured artist in the Center of Southwest Studies exhibition Constellations of Place, she discusses her creative path and a community based filmmaking practice that weaves memories, dreams, and truths into vivid narratives. Two short films will be shown. River Bank (Po-Kehgeh) is the first narrative fiction film approved by San Ildefonso Pueblo to be filmed on Tribal lands since the 1980s and follows an Indigenous story structure inspired by traditional Tewa stories. This Land Carries Us reflects on Tewa people and land and was produced for the exhibition Tewa Nangeh or Tewa Country at the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. Gonzales is a 2024 Sundance Institute Native Lab Fellow for the episodic project NDN Time. Her documentary Our Quiyo: Maria Martinez premiered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and was acquired by AT&T, Comcast Xfinity, Millicent Rogers Museum, and The Heard Museum. River Bank earned the Achievement in Short Filmmaking Award at the 2023 LA SKINS FEST. She produces for Native Lens, leads Povi Studios, is represented by Rain Management Group, and is pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Her short Mesa Memory in Constellations of Place is supported by the Belonging Colorado initiative of The Denver Foundation and the Greater Good Science Center, in partnership with the America 250 Colorado 150 Southwest regional Power of Place initiative. This event is free and open to all and is part of the Four Corners Water Center annual Water Week series of lectures and presentations.

Durango Harley-Davidson hosts a free workshop focused on preparing motorcycles for the colder months. The session covers practical ways to protect a bike during the off season, including storage best practices, battery maintenance, and checks for oil and other fluids. Participants can expect clear, actionable steps to help keep their motorcycle in good condition now so spring rides begin with confidence. This event takes place in Durango, Colorado.

Enjoy a live performance by the Pete Giuliani Band.

Experience live music performed by Nathan Mark.

Christmas Cortez returns to Rent All Rentals with a warm, community celebration featuring hands-on gift making, local food, seasonal music, and favorite holiday traditions. Activities include $5 interactive gifts from local vendors, shopping for handmade goods that support local businesses, a cheerful gift-wrapping station, visits with Santa and letter writing, plus treats, cocoa, coffee, and plenty of holiday cheer. Look for the playful Fiji Craft Airlines experience for a whimsical trip to the North Pole. The celebration also recognizes local businesses and neighbors who helped keep the community moving this year. Welcoming all ages, it offers chances to create, give, learn, enjoy something delicious, and spend time together while finishing holiday shopping and honoring the creativity and community spirit of Montezuma County.

An annual holiday tradition returns to Vallecito with a weekend of festive activities. The celebration begins Friday evening with the Festival of Trees Home Tour at the north end of the lake, followed by a poker run and an ugly sweater contest. Live music is planned, with details to be announced. On Sunday, the Upper Pine River Fire Protection District will bring Santa and his elf to the kids Christmas party, featuring crafts and photo opportunities with Santa and the fire truck.

This annual Vallecito community Christmas party is a traditional, festive evening for adults, featuring a T-shirt swap, games, and food and drink specials.

A festive Winter Solstice celebration features the annual Ullr and Skadi ski burn and toast, an Ullr and Skadi costume contest, live music by Shane Finn, and food and drink specials available throughout the evening.