A hot one: sunny and 93 Saturday, then 97 on Sunday, the kind of weekend where the schedule should bend around the thermometer. Fortunately the county cooperated, because almost everything good this weekend happens either before 11 a.m. or after 3 p.m. The fair opens next Friday, and this weekend has its free preview. Plan accordingly.
1. Saturday, 3 p.m.: the free Hometown Rodeo
One week before the Douglas County Fair & Rodeo opens, the fairgrounds run a free community rodeo in the Outdoor Arena. No ticket, no gate fee, just show up and get the dust and rough stock a week early. It is the best free preview of fair season, and if it convinces you, our complete fair guide has the ticket math for the real thing, including why rodeo tickets double as grounds admission.
2. Saturday, 6 p.m.: Jackson Dean at the amphitheater
The Summer Concert Series lands a real one: Jackson Dean, the gravel-voiced country act behind "Don't Come Lookin'," with Tigirlily Gold opening, at the Philip S. Miller amphitheater. By 6 p.m. Saturday the heat breaks toward tolerable, and the amphitheater lawn after sunset in July is the best seat in Castle Rock. Bring the blanket, skip the umbrella, it is staying clear.
3. Saturday morning, before the heat: the downtown walking tour
The museum's free walking tour of downtown Castle Rock goes at 10:30, which is exactly the right slot on a 93-degree day: the story of the rock, the quarry, and the old buildings, done before lunch. Pair it with a cold brew on Wilcox and you have used the morning correctly.
4. Sunday: the ice cream social, because 97 degrees
Sunday is the hot one, and the museum is throwing an ice cream social at 2 p.m., which is either great planning or great irony and works either way. Do the farmers market at 9 before the pavement softens, retreat somewhere air conditioned, then emerge for ice cream. That is the whole correct Sunday, and we will not be taking questions.
Festival Park Farmers Market
Summer Ice Cream Social at the Castle Rock Museum
5. The Renaissance Festival, penultimate weekend
Two weekends left after this one, and fair warning: Sunday at 97 degrees in costume-weight fabric is a choice. If you go, go Saturday, go at the 10 a.m. gate, live in the shaded lanes, and respect the lemonade line. The festival's page has the details.
And one we still wouldn't do
Anything ambitious outdoors on Sunday afternoon. Ninety-seven in Castle Rock at altitude is real heat, the kind that turns a pleasant trail into a rescue call. Castlewood Canyon before 9:30 a.m., yes. The exposed mesa loops at 2 p.m., absolutely not. And the standing reminder: Stage 2 fire restrictions are still in effect countywide, no fires, no fireworks, gas grills only. The county's helicopter should stay bored this weekend.
We'll see you out there. If we missed something that belongs in next week's drop, the address is on the About page.