Night & Day

Thursday
June 17
Bug frenzy is about to break loose at the Denver Botanic Gardens, 1005 York St., where they're trying something different this summer. Get a preview tonight from 5:30 to 8:30 at the Bugaloo!, an opening celebration for the whole family announcing the arrival of Dave Rogers's Big Bugs Exhibit, which opens to the public tomorrow. The exhibit, featuring monumental wood models of spiders, damsel flies, earwigs and the like, will then camp out on DBG grounds through September 19, firing a whole summer of related activities, including kids' day camps, live bug displays and lectures. Tonight's admission ranges from $6 to $12, and regular gate admission is $3 to $5.50 (kids five and under and members free); for information call 303-370-8187.

How do you get in the mood for Air Show Colorado '99? Glenn Miller would have approved of tonight's WWII Retro Big Band Swing Party, an authentic USO-style jitterbug shindig with Lannie Garrett and Her Swingin' Big Band providing the music from 7 to 11 at the High Winds Aviation Hangar, Jefferson County Airport, Wadsworth and Hwy. 36, Broomfield. Flyboy jackets and vintage dresses are encouraged, and proceeds benefit Flight for Life; for tickets, $20 ($15 for students with ID), call 303-654-4624. Then return to the scene Saturday or Sunday (beginning at 9 each morning) for the show proper--a breathtaking, two-day, non-stop display of buzz bombers, daredevil aviation tricks, simulated dog fights, novelty crafts, flybys and more. Admission is $4 to $8 in advance at metro-area King Soopers store locations ($6 to $10 at the gate, kids three and under free); for details, log on to www.airshowcolorado.com.

Friday
June 18
Vivaldi didn't know from multimedia, but there's no way he couldn't love this inspired reading of The Four Seasons, a collaboration between the David Taylor Dance Theatre, Museum of Outdoor Arts and Up Close and Musical, an ensemble of Colorado Symphony Orchestra musicians. A melange of dance, on-the-spot visual art, film and narration (in addition to Vivaldi's heady music), the performance takes place at 8 p.m. today and tomorrow at the MCI Plaza Atrium, adjacent to Fiddler's Green, 6350 Greenwood Plaza Blvd. Admission is $15 ($5 for kids under twelve); call 303-797-6944.

Each year, the Rocky Mountain Women's Institute awards several associateships to artists working in various creative fields. This year's crop of visual artists--Michelle Baldwin, Lucy Congdon, Elizabeth Faulhaber and L.L. Griffin--get introduced tonight at an RMWI 1999 Associate Showcase event from 6 to 9 at the Shwayder Gallery, 2121 E. Asbury, DU campus. Works by the talented quartet will remain on view at the gallery through July 15, and, in addition, literary associates Lisa Trank, Crystal Potter and Amy England will read there from 4 to 6 Sunday. All events are free; call 303-871-6923.

An event called Breast Fest '99 in LoDo evokes lascivious images, but in truth it's nothing of the kind: The benefit for the American Cancer Society's Pink Ribbon Campaign, which educates local women about breast cancer, features a flock of local musicians, a raffle and a silent auction beginning at 7 p.m. at the Soiled Dove, 1949 Market St. A $5 donation is requested at the door; for information call 303-758-2030, ext. 153, or log on to www.coloradomusic.com.

The pet project of leading Latino actor Edward James Olmos, the Denver Latino International Film Festival, a comprehensive collection of contemporary film culled throughout the Latino world, opens tonight, bringing a walloping taste of culture to town. It all begins at 7 tonight with festival-opener Secretos del Corazón at the Mayan Theater, 110 Broadway, followed at 9 by a gala black-tie reception at the Seawell Ballroom, 14th and Curtis streets; combined admission is $100. Screenings of more than 25 works of varying length and content, along with free workshops and symposia, continue through Sunday at the Tivoli 12 AMC Theatres, 901 Larimer St., Auraria campus; various other special events and screenings are also scheduled through Sunday. Regular admission is $7 per screening; for tickets and schedule, call 303-922-0663.

Saturday
June 19
A little bit of everything comes together in a delightful way at today's Festival Internationale, a new music festival co-produced by Swallow Hill and Celtic Events and Entertainment taking place from 2 to 10 at Chautauqua Park, 900 Baseline Rd., Boulder. Featured bands zigzag all over the map, from Newfoundland's enthusiastic Great Big Sea to Cape Breton crooner Mary Jane Lamond to Eastern European new-grassers Druha Trava to British classics Lindisfarne to Quebec's Hart Rouge; regional bands will also add to the pot, along with craft and food vendors. Tickets for the entire afternoon and evening are $15 ($5 for kids twelve and under); call 303-777-1003, 303-440-7666 or 303-830-TIXS.

Bah, humbug. If you happen to be a sheep (or a rabbit, alpaca, llama or goat) at the Estes Park Wool Market, you're bound to lose your shirt. But the rest of us have everything to gain, as long as it's made of wool. The annual event, one of the country's top fiber festivals, includes hundreds of animals on display, as well as shearing, weaving and spinning demonstrations, entertainment, vendors hawking yarns and finished clothing, and food booths serving up, well, lamb dishes (and other treats). Attend the market from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. today or 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow at the Estes Park Fairgrounds, Hwy. 36 and Community Dr., Estes Park; admission is free. For information call 1-800-443-7837.