By admin 
Hear ye, hear ye, lords and ladies, pirates and wenches and nerds with swords. The Colorado Renaissance Festival opens this weekend in Larkspur for another year of oddball splendor.
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Also coming up this week: another Fringe festival, a soapbox race and some cinematic happenings at the Sie FilmCenter.
June 11-17
Renaissance Festival. Ren Fairs started in the ’60s as a refuge for blacklisted actors during the Cold War-era Red Scare. Since then they’ve spread across the country and become booming businesses in their own right (see the HBO documentary “Ren Faire” for a taste of just how serious the work can get). Colorado’s Renaissance Fest, 49 years and going strong, sold out its pirate invasion weekend last year for the first time in the festival’s history — which is to say, it’s popular, and growing. Anyone who has driven the stretch of I-25 past the Larkspur exit on a summer weekend can attest to just how popular.
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And with good reason! It’s the only place in the state you’ll find fire breathers, sword swallowers and internet celebrity Jaques Ze Whipper in the same medieval village, where packs of vikings mingle with Celtic bagpipers while a group of fairy princesses gnash on giant turkey legs nearby. It’s a place of messy timelines and impeccable costume designs, a perfect annual fantasy for anyone who can stand the long lines.
$32; Weekends, June 13-Aug. 2; 650 Perry Park Ave., Larkspur
Other events to consider
- Fort Collins Fringe. Denver Fringe came and went, but Fort Collins picks up the torch (and a few performers) this weekend for Fort Collins Fringe, four days and more than 50 performances including dance, circus, theater, poetry, music and other genre-defying acts. Various prices; June 11-14; Various locations in Fort Collins
- Red Bull Soapbox Race.The rules: no motors, working brakes, outrageous design. The fastest soapbox across the finish line is “looked upon favorably,” according to the official criteria, but teams are also judged on design and showmanship. Free; June 13; Empower Field, 1701 Bryant St., Denver
- Bleak Week and a colorful cookout. If you’ve ever said “devastating” about a movie and meant it as a good thing, then Denver Film’s Bleak Week is for you. This series of shows presents a mix of heartbreak, horror and history that doesn’t shy away from the shadowy side of humanity. For something decidedly not bleak, the Sie FilmCenter is also hosting The Cookout on Sunday afternoon, with free food, music and games in the parking lot to close out Black Pride week. Various prices;June 12-17; Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave., Denver
Note: This is a curated list by the reporter to give readers a sense of arts and culture events happening across Colorado that they may not have otherwise known about. This is not meant to be an exhaustive account of things to do.