For one weekend a year, Denverites no longer have to drive to the mountains to experience the outdoor life Colorado has to offer.

Although the music and film offerings may not be as plentiful in the mountains.

The Outside Days festival returned to Denver Friday, bringing yoga, rock climbing and other outdoor activities to downtown. Oh, and renowned music acts like Death Cab for Cutie, the Flaming Lips, Cage the Elephant, Grouplove and more. Also, there were short films and feature documentaries to see, as well as speakers to hear. 

So, just a bunch of fun stuff, really.

This weekend’s festival was the third. The first two were at downtown’s Civic Center Park, but due to construction, it has been moved about a mile and a half down the road to the Auraria Campus. The festival aims to celebrate the outdoor culture of Colorado and mark the start of summer.

Amanda Wachter, a spokesperson for the festival, said it has been steadily growing since its inception. Forty thousand people were expected over the three-day event this weekend, compared to 36,000 last year and 18,000 in the first year.

Activities were plentiful, each embodying the outdoor spirit of Colorado. Attendees could partake in an off-road Jeep course or ride a BMX course, go rock climbing or enjoy a plentiful bounty of food and drink options. 

While there were many options for outdoor activities, there was just as much to do inside too. For films, concert and recital halls in the King Center turned into packed theatres showing films celebrating the outdoors. Each film celebrates the outdoors or sports.

Take Jack Johnson: SURFILMUSIC, a documentary tracing the life of singer-songwriter Jack Johnson, focusing on his rise from surfer to filmmaker to famous musician. The documentary is rife with beautiful shots of surfers riding Hawaiian waves as Johnson and his friends spoke about the importance surfing had on Johnson’s life and how it served as a throughline in his evolution from film student to surf cinematographer to world famous musician, with Johnson’s mellow guitar playing serving as a backdrop for the film.

The film was directed by Emmett Malloy, a longtime friend of Johnson’s and prolific music video director. Malloy has also directed documentaries about other musicians, including the White Stripes. During a Q/A session after the film’s screening, Malloy said he had always carried around boxes of footage that he and Johnson had shot back in the 1990s, and decided it was time to put it together, though he said Johnson was initially unenthusiastic about making the movie.

“I think he’s the guy who would never want a movie made about him,” Malloy said. “He’d be, ‘Why would I ever make a movie about me? That’s the worst idea.’”

Attendees could also attend sessions from speakers to hear a multitude of ideas. Speakers throughout the weekend include Ed O’Brien, a guitarist for the English alternative rock band Radiohead, who was scheduled to speak Sunday on nature and the creative process, as well as Jessie Diggins, an Olympic gold medalist and cross country skier.

The main focus may be on the music stage throughout the weekend, as a rotation of artists will perform in front of large crowds spread out on the main lawn, reclined on towels, kids held up on the shoulders of their parents. Acts are set to stretch into the late night, with Death Cab for Cutie playing until 11 p.m. Friday and My Morning Jacket set to go until 11 p.m. Saturday.

The festival is set to wrap up Sunday, with music headliner Cage the Elephant set to begin at 9 p.m.