Denver’s first annual Mile High Asian Food Week (AFW) starts this week.

This inaugural celebration starts Feb. 22 and will run through Feb. 26. No ticket purchases necessary. Diners just need to show up and mention AFW at participating businesses.

How you can participate:

Dozens and dozens of restaurants and food trucks from the city and surrounding areas are participating, including Anise, Kokoro and the James Beard Award-nominated food truck Yuan Wonton. Participating businesses will offer secret menu options, buy one get one free drinks, and a mix of special discounts to customers who mention AFW. You can find a list of participating restaurants here.

You can find all of the various discounts offered by these businesses by clicking on their pages as well as the locations of the pop ups and food trucks. You can also follow @MileHighAFW on Instagram and Facebook for profiles on each vendor, sample itineraries if you need help planning out your stops and raffles throughout the week.

The week is a 100% Asian American Pacific Islander, women-led volunteer initiative focused on celebrating and elevating the community’s food and beverage scene in Colorado.

“Part of the goal is to encourage the community to try new Asian food. Unless someone brings them into these businesses, it can be intimidating to try something new. If everyone is doing it together, it’s more fun and engaging,” said Annie VanDan, co-founder and President of Asian Avenue Magazine, as well as one of the lead organizers of AFW.

AFW’s founder of AFW and CEO of Asian Girls Ignite Joanne Liu said she’s excited about diners experiencing joy and finding new go-to spots and the new customers participating vendors will hopefully gain.

“Coming off the pandemic and the rise of anti-Asian hate, we just wanted our community to experience something positive,” she said.

Read a Q&A with Chef Penelope Wong of Yuan Wonton here.