Friday, July 14

Wheeler-Stallard Museum Archives Grand Opening
3-7 p.m., Aspen Historical Society

Celebrate AHS' long-awaited archive building renovation at an unveiling and lawn party with food, drinks, and live music. The exhibition of selections from the more than 30,000 images in the archive collection is community curated and selected by AHS donors who have also written short stories about what the pictures of Aspen’s past mean to them. Free, aspenhistory.org 

Aspen Chamber Symphony
6 p.m., Benedict Music Tent

From her debuts with the New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestras at age eight, AMFS alumna Sarah Chang has thrilled audiences with her technical assurance and powerful interpretations over the years. With Patrick Summers on the podium, she’ll play Vitali’s Chaconne. $85, aspenmusicfestival.com

JAS Café
9:15 p.m., Aspen Art Museum

Jazz Aspen Snowmass presents this summer-long series of intimate shows by leading genre musicians, with this weekend’s performance from Clint Holmes & The H2 Big Band. $55, jazzaspensnowmass.org

Saturday, July 15

Roaring Fork Valley Lemonade Day
Times vary by town in Aspen, Basalt, Carbondale, and Glenwood Springs

Local students set up shop on every corner in every town throughout the valley for the culmination of the month-long experiential learning program to teach local youth how to start, own, and operate their own businesses—in this case, a summer rite of passage. Buy a cup or a few from any of the always impressive lemonade stands to help the young sellers learn fundamental lessons about entrepreneurship. Free to attend, price varies by booth, rfv.lemonadeday.org

Volunteer Weed Pull
8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

Join ACES, Wilderness Workshop, Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers, Pitkin County, City of Aspen, and the U.S. Forest Service to help restore wildlife habitat and reduce the spread of noxious weeds growing throughout the 4,681 acres of federal land in the Hunter Creek Valley and on Smuggler Mountain. Fuel up on complimentary coffee and muffins before you hit the trails and celebrate your work at the end of the day with a community meal. Free, aspennature.org 

AspenBrainLab
9 a.m.–12:30 p.m.; 1:30–4:30 p.m., Doerr-Hosier Center, Aspen Institute

Expand your mind at this fifth annual conference focused on the latest breakthroughs in brain science. Two sessions will cover four specific areas of the brain—creative, impaired, healthy, and future—led by 14 thought leaders, including Walter Isaacson (“The Uber Creative Brain of Leonardo da Vinci”), Gina Murdock (“Shaking, Dancing & Laughing Meditation”), and Dr. Joel Fuhrman (“Fast Food Genocide”). The full-day intensive includes a lunch break and culminates with a gong bath sound meditation. $490, aspenbrainlab.com  

History Hikes
9 a.m., Green Mountain

The Aspen Historical Society wraps up its weekly summer series with a guided tour through Independence Ghost Town’s lesser-known sister, which is home to several old miners’ cabins and the leftovers of a once-bustling mining operation. $10, aspenhistory.org 

Family Workshop: Behind the Book with Steve Jenkins
10 a.m.–12 p.m., Aspen Art Museum

This workshop invites all ages to meet Steve Jenkins, author/illustrator of Creature Features and Apex Predators, as he provides a presentation of his studio process, a reading and signing of his books, and hands-on art making led by the artist and an AAM educator. This free program encourages budding youth and adult bookmakers alike to explore storytelling. Free, aspenartmuseum.org 

Music on the Mountain
1 p.m., Aspen Mountain

Beyond the Benedict Music Tent, the Aspen Music Festival and School students perform a repertoire of their own choosing every Saturday through August at 11,000 feet. Pack a blanket and hit the Butcher’s Block before you go for supplies to picnic in the gorgeous meadow—a short walk out Richmond Ridge at the top of Aspen Mountain. Free with the purchase of a gondola ticket ($22), aspensnowmass.com 

Deaf Camp Benefit
2–9 p.m., Snowmass Base Village

Headliners Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real are joined by local favorites Rich Ganson and Mack Bailey for this annual afternoon picnic fundraiser for the Aspen Camp of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. This year marks the camp's 50th anniversary with a special performance from campers. Free with donations encouraged, gosnowmass.com 

Hairspray
3 p.m. & 8 p.m., Hurst Theatre

Get your beehives ready for the Tony Award–winning musical based on the 1988 John Waters film. The Theatre Aspen production will be helmed by director and choreographer Mark Martino, whose Hurst Theatre credits also include Les Misérables, Cabaret, and Mamma Mia! The show runs through August 19. From $29, theatreaspen.org 

Consensual Improv
8 p.m., Thunder River Theatre Company, Carbondale 

Catch TRTC’s hilarious improvisational comedy posse, which returns to the stage with its signature edgy, high-energy, Second City–esque show. $12, thunderrivertheatre.com

Sunday, July 16

Craig Sakin Memorial Charity Polo Match
11 a.m.–4 p.m., Aspen Valley Polo Club

This friendly chukker competition raises awareness and funds for WindWalkers Equine Assisted Learning and Therapy Center, which serves those facing challenges in the Roaring Fork Valley. A suggested donation ($100) includes an Argentinian spread by Caribou Club and libations from Woody Creek Distillers, and directly supports the program’s riders and horses. Free admission, $100 suggested donation, windwalkerstrc.org

Bluegrass Sundays
12–3 p.m., Aspen Mountain

Take a hike up Ajax; once you make the summit, nothing beats a cold beer and a free open-air concert on top of the world as a reward. The roster of local bluegrass bands rotates each week, and if you’re not up for the hike, catch the Silver Queen Gondola ($22), which starts spinning at 10 a.m. Free, aspensnowmass.com

Lit Out Loud
2 p.m., Pitkin County Library

This monthly program of great literature from great readers is taking a cultural road trip with Janice Estey and Travis McDiffett sharing the words of Haruki Murakami and Jhumpa Lahiri. Free, pitcolib.org

Aspen Festival Orchestra
4 p.m., Benedict Music Tent

Winner of the 1994 Tchaikovsky Competition, and celebrated by The Guardian for his “dazzling technique [that is] exceptionally secure, balanced, and beautifully articulated,” piano star Nikolai Lugansky returns to Aspen for Beethoven’s final, most ambitious, and much loved piano concerto. $82, aspenmusicfestival.com 

A Shadow of Jaguar
10 p.m., Belly Up Aspen

This Boulder based rock ‘n’ roll duo returns with their bluesy, high-energy sound. No cover, bellyupaspen.com