“Free Loader Days,” 8 a.m. – Noon, Saturday, April 26, East Hampden Avenue and Dawson Street, Aurora. Free of charge. Information: 303-739-7177. Details: No one said yard work is fun. But for most homeowners, it’s necessary. Get the ball rolling with Free Loader Days, which works like this: you show up with an empty pickup, an open trailer, or container of any kind and your free mulch will be loaded for you (for free!). Whether you’re appeasing the Mrs. or getting out to catch some rays, free mulch that’s loaded for free means less work for you and more money to spend on beers with the boys. Interested parties are welcome to show up anytime with their own shovels or pitchforks and load up on mulch themselves, too, as long as supplies last.
“35MM,” 7:30 p.m., Friday & Saturday, 2:30 p.m., Sunday, Ignite Theater, 9900 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora. Tickets: $20. Information: 720-362-2697 or ignitetheatre.com. Details: A multimedia musical by Ryan Scott Oliver, inspired by the photographs of Matthew Murphy, 35MM represents a collision or artistic disciplines as disperate as musical theater, photography, and pop-rock music. This dynamic exhibit pushes the limits or self-expression to create an artform entirely its own. Attendees will be treated to a collection of “snapshot stories” woven together as Oliver’s original songs are performed live with gusto and virtuosity. 35MM brings the connection between pleasures visual and aural into sharp focus, creating a singular, multisensory journey that’s not-to-be-missed.
Childish Gambino, 7 p.m., April 29, Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St., Denver. Tickets start at $43. Information: fillmoreauditorium.org. Details: Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover, may have his hands in several different creative genres, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t take his music seriously. An accomplished actor and an aspiring stand-up comedian, Childish Gambino hasn’t let any of his other pursuits take away from his focus on hip-hop. Both of his albums — 2011’s “Camp” and 2013’s “Because the Internet” — made impressive showings on Billboard charts. As he’s become a household name on the sit-com “Community” and made cameos in Muppet movies, Childish Gambino has stayed true to an old-school spirit in his music. It’s fitting, considering he came up with his name using a Wu-Tang Clan name generator. Childish Gambino’s show at the Fillmore won’t be about NBC comedies or children’s movies. Instead, Glover is bound to get down the roots of Childish Gambino’s craft as a rapper.
“Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” through May 4, Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St., Lone Tree. Tickets start at $36. Information: 720-509-1007 or lonetreeartscenter.org. Details: William Hauptman and Roger Miller tapped into a staple of American literature for their 1985 musical “Big River.” The musical based on Mark Twain’s 1884 novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is a retelling of one of the most important stories in the history of American literature, the musical retells the story of the young ne’er-do-well Huckleberry Finn and his voyage down the Mississippi with Jim, the escaped stage. The Lone Tree Arts Center’s production of the musical is set to capture all of the scope and scale of the original musical. The show features some of the metro area’s most accomplished actors, including Harvy Blanks, Rob Costigan and Randy Moore. Broadway vet Felicia Fields is also set to star in this epic show directed by Tony Award-nominated director Randal Myler.
Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms, April 25 through April 27, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Denver Center for the Performing Arts complex, 13th and Arapahoe streets, Denver. Tickets start at $20. Information: 303-623-7876 visit coloradosymphony.org. Details: Guest conductor Michael Stern will perform with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra with plenty of impressive classical credentials under his belt. The conductor of the Kansas City Symphony, Stern will helm the CSO as a recognized leader in the American West when it comes to classical music. Those achievements will come in handy, considering the program for this weekend at the Boettcher Concert Hall. The performance will feature “Leonore Overture No. 3” by Beethoven, opera and concert arias by Mozart and Symphony No. 2 by Brahms. These works are de rigeur selections from the acknowledged giants of the genre. Stern’s résumé fits the demanding program of the weekend, and CSO audiences will be all the culturally richer for that fact.