Boulder Creek Festival

We go every year and every year it doesn’t disappoint. There is always tons to see and do. It takes most of the day to see all the sights. As you walk down the creek path, you will find a lot of different booths and vendors. Also, we love to also go down Pearl Street as there are more booths up there as well. Just a fun time and good for kids and pets too!

Great place to have fun and a good time to see bands get free samples of everything from vegan food to energy drinks and protein shakes. Bring the kids for carnival rides and face painting.

EXCELLENT. Very very fun, large festival right on the water.

Attending the Boulder Creek Festival is a fun and inexpensive way to spend Memorial day weekend for any local Coloradans.
The samples galore are a good way to tame your stomach amidst all the tasty smells from the food vendors. Once you are ready to eat, make sure you save room for Sister Pantry dumplings over in the Boulder Library parking lot.
You can spend an afternoon with family and friends wandering the festival grounds. It’s a great place to purchase upcoming holiday gifts for loved ones with all the interesting arts and crafts on sale.
The three day celebration is well attended, rain, wind, or shine, so use public transportation or bike in if you can.

This has gotten way more crowded the past few years. Of course it’s Memorial Day Weekend and also the whole Bolder Boulder crowd is in town, kids back from college, CU summer students and who knows what else!
Fewer good free promotional giveaways these days, as many local Boulder food succes stories (Silk Soy, etc.) are now owned by giant corporate parents. Yes, a whole lotta more out junk and crap for sale now in many tents.
Still, a little of something for everyone, on a nice day, walk around, run into some friends, and grab a bite. Or show the out-​of-​towners around.
Advice —
1. Dont go between 12−5pm, major crowds.
2. try to park AT LEAST 3 – 5 blocks away for a chance at a spot, avoiding the traffic congestion/​closures near the event, and walk to the event. (Bikes too)
3. Drink plenty of water.

I really like the idea of this festival, but have only been about three times. I decided to go this year with my family as a fun activity, as we were celebrating some birthdays, and now I realize why I hadn’t gone in about 5 years. It’s impossible to get to the festival without sitting at a traffic light for 30 minutes for no reason, then trying to park in a parking garage, only to get to the very top and find out it’s full. When you finally can park, there are so many people, walking more slowly than I thought was humanly possible. Give me the dense foot traffic of a Japanese train station any day over this bizarre cattle herd.
This festival is a strange mix of music, farmers market, food court, and a market full of useless wares. I think in my visits I have bought two things: a magnet bumper sticker, and a windchime. Neither of those was being sold this year, and I walked away empty handed. I’m not sure how this could be better organized, but every year I feel like I am unable to navigate this festival, and feel like there is no set way to navigate it effectively.
The food aspect is a mix of chains, many restaurants I have never heard of and will never hear of again, and a couple of places I recognize, (Sisters Dumplings, and Tres Pupusas). Mostly it’s just Boulder-​fied carnival food, but all of it overpriced and not particularly appealing. Although the thought and idea of this festival is attractive to me, the festival itself is just frustrating, and a visit per year is way more than enough. Keep it to one visit every five years and it might be worth it.

I look forward to the Creek Festival every year! This impossible-​to-​navigate sea of tents falls (as though) out of the sky onto the banks of the Boulder Creek on Memorial Day Weekend every year, bringing with it wares that will appeal to broke college students and wealthy Mapleton Hillsters alike.
Into freebies? Look around you. Free samples of juice, rootbeer, chocolate, reflexology, chiropractics, palm reading, granola bars…
Hungry? Choose from mega-​corn dogs, healthy Vietnamese food, and everything in between, and then sit down on the shuffleboard courts to eat it (it’s not like anyone will actually be playing shuffleboard during the festival).
Bored? Get a hair wrap or your face painted or a henna tattoo. Let your kids, if you have them, get absorbed into the gigantic Kid Activity Table. Bounce on a giant trampoline. Go to the Moonwalk. Pet people’s dogs. Walk the maze behind the library. If you’re still bored, I can’t help you.
As for the actual shopping… I’ve gotten every backpack I’ve ever owned since I lived in Boulder here. There’s a guy who sets up a huge wall of discounted backpacks usually up on 9^th street. There’s a jewelry stand from which I bought like 5 necklaces for 6 bucks. I can’t tell you about the higher end stuff, not being the type to buy things that cost more than like $ 10 (although I did get a beautiful black swishy dress for $ 30 once!).
But as you can see, even if you buy nothing, it’s worth a visit.