The kids are back in school, and after this weekend, summer will be (unofficially) over. Here, ways to get the most out of the long weekend. The hard part will be choosing which fabulous festival to turn your attention to.

A Taste of Colorado: The name only tells half the story. Sure, there’ll be more than 50 food vendors at Denver’s Civic Center Park this weeekend, but the music lineup is nothing short of phenomenal. Jamming out to Spin Doctors, Lou Gramm, and The Pointer Sisters should burn off a few calories. Don’t forget to hit the Fine Dining area and the Colorado Beer Garden, where you can sample a slew of small-batch beers in “taste” sizes.

Jazz Aspen Snowmass and Vail Jazz Festival’s Labor Day Weekend Party: Colorado will be in blue-note heaven this weekend. Steve Miller Band, Mumford & Sons, Kid Rock, and Sugarland headline Aspen; Vail’s roster is a who’s who of jazz royalty.

Copper Country Festival: Head to Copper Mountain for free concerts by local and national performers, a Fine Art Exhibition, mechanical bull rides, western crafts, and more. Kids will love walking on water in the WOW Bubbles.

Telluride Film Festival: Telluride will triple in size this weekend as film buffs gather to catch the next “big” thing. Movies like Juno, Bowling for Columbine, Brokeback Mountain, Slumdog Millionaire,and Blue Velvet premiered here.

Four Corners Folk Festival: Three days of folk and bluegrass music, a beer garden, and food vendors galore. To get the most from this one, camp out and take in the backdrop of gorgeous Pagosa Springs. Free shuttles will take you and your gear to Reservoir Hill so you don’t have to buy a vehicle pass.

36th Annual Colorado Balloon Classic: The mass ascension of hot air balloons over Colorado Springs every Labor Day weekend is breathtaking and surreal. Don’t miss the Balloon Glo on Saturday and Sunday evenings, when pilots use the burners to illuminate their balloons while you stroll through the dreamy lighting in Memorial Park.

Oktoberfest at Beaver Creek: Indulge in Bavarian festivities (read: beer and brats), music and daily costume contests at Beaver Creek. And don’t worry about drinking and driving: there’ll be shuttles running from three locations in Denver all weekend.

To read about even more Labor Day celebrations, click here.

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