Tai Beldock of Denver's Erico Motorsports wants the U.S. to give equal time to European motorcycles. The Cherry Creek Arts Festival, she says, eschews the Harley's stylish overseas cousins with its all-Harley "Art on Two Wheels" display. So her faction decided to put on its own show, Moto Euro, which features twenty vintage bikes loaned by collector Jim Dillard. Erico customer Barry Hirschfeld provided space for the exhibit at 251 Steele Street, right in the CCAF traffic zone. "It seems like people associate only the name Harley with motorcycles," Beldock says. "But Europe is where it all began: Triumph was actually the first company to mass-manufacture motorcycles. The Fonz rode a Triumph. When Richard Gere rode off with Debra Winger, he was on a Triumph." And, she says, those bikes, along with the likes of sleek Italian Ducatis and elegant German BMWs, signify a whole different, tattoo-free motorcycle culture. "It's like the difference between a Chevy and a Ferrari," she adds. "We cater to the Ferrari mentality."
See Motor Euro daily, starting at 10 a.m. today through Sunday; admission is free. For details, log on to www.ericomotorsports.com. -- Susan Froyd
Made in the U.S.A.
FRI, 7/4
If being wedged like a sardine among the aromatic Invesco Field throng is not your idea of the perfect way to celebrate our 227th star-spangled birthday party, then skip Denver's overhead public display and head for the cerebral fireworks at Pro(test) America: The Real American Art Show, tonight from 6 to 10 p.m. The showcase officially runs July 11 through July 31 at the Wheelbarrow Gallery, 3553 Brighton Boulevard, but tonight they're setting off a holiday preview in commemoration of our nation's independence. Ignited by the uproar over Natalie Maines's comments about the president, Denver artist Peter Yumi decided to offer a "happening" of painting, sculpture, poetry and protest in an educational arena. Also lending support will be Copwatch, the ACLU and area academics, who will assist liberty seekers in ringing their personal freedom bells.
"It's not anti-American at all," says Yumi. "Civil disobedience isn't just for hippies anymore."
For more information, call 720-338-8358. -- Kity Ironton
Hart Beat
Drummer for the Dead bops in with book
WED, 7/9
Every Dead tour has its sideshows, and one standout is percussionist Mickey Hart, whose love for world rhythms began long before it was in vogue. In addition to being a trustee for the Library of Congress Folk Life Center, Hart has published a slew of books on the subject. His fourth and latest tome, Songcatchers: In Search of the World's Music, is a collaboration with author K.M. Kostyal that concerns music lovers and conservators of folk culture who have traveled the world tracking down chants and hollers and polyrhythms and drones. In town for a series of appearances at Red Rocks, Hart takes a break on the Dead's night off to sign copies of the book at the Cherry Creek Tattered Cover, 2955 East First Avenue. Free tickets for a place in line -- think of it as a conga line -- will be available at 6:30 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. appearance.
For more information, call 303-322-7727. -- Susan Froyd
