It may be hot as hell outside, but don't let that deter you from great events this week, like Mason Jar's Seasonal Pairing Dinner that celebrates cannabis, great food and summer. If being inside is more your thing, don't miss the Sie FilmCenter's Sci-Fi Film Series or Slow Food Nations, a celebration of real food that's both inside and outside. Keep reading for more of this week's best events.
Tuesday, July 11
While aging hipsters may find this hard to believe, it’s been over twenty years since DJ Shadow changed electronic music forever with his groundbreaking debut album Endtroducing, a masterpiece of the genre that still sounds like the future despite its age. A forward-looking pioneer with an old-school turntablist’s skills and a hoarder’s record collection, DJ Shadow — born Joshua Davis — is currently in the midst of the Mountain Will Fall Tour, named for his acclaimed recent album that manages to be a return to form while still breaking new ground. Catch the tour when it lands at the Ogden Theatre, 935 East Colfax Avenue, at 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 11. Tickets, $29.95, are available from axs.com.
Wednesday, July 12
Issues like police shootings and systemic racism come in a sci-fi wrapper in The Burning Metronome: Volume One, a new hardcover graphic novel that collects six issues of the hard-hitting local comic authored by R.
Alan Brooks, penciled and inked by Dion Harris, and colored and lettered by Matt Strackbein. The book made its debut at Denver Comic Con; now the team is branching out for a couple of free metro book-release parties. Meet the trio, along with layout artist Kevin Caron, and get a copy for $29.99 from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 12, at Mutiny Information Cafe, 2 South Broadway, while enjoying a live edition of Brooks’s MotherFker in a Cape podcast and pop-culture freebies from Lowbrow Denver. Can’t make that date? There will be a repeat performance from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 15, at Time Warp Comics, 3105 28th Street in Boulder, with entertainment by the Pete & Morty Experience podcast. Learn more or buy a copy online at theburningmetronome.wordpress.com.
A Scanner Darkly.
Warner Bros.
While standing in front of one of the many abstract expressionist works at the Clyfford Still Museum, the bright yellows, bold reds and limitless blacks conjure comparisons in your mind. Is that a perfectly composed Hollandaise sauce? A smear of tomato gastrique? The remnant tangles of squid-ink pasta on a stark white dinner plate? Contemplation turns to hunger inside the echoing, hard-edged museum; there’s no immediate respite, unless you’re there on Wednesday, July 12, when the Friends of Clyfford Still presents Local Tastes, an exercise in culinary artistry from a handful of Denver’s top chefs. Eleven restaurants, bars and other food-and-drink establishments will present their interpretations of Still’s work in edible form from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the museum, located at 1250 Bannock Street. Chat with chefs about their inspiration and enjoy delicious bites, cocktails and art, all for $40 ($30 for members of the Friends of Clyfford Still). Reservations are required; make yours at clyffordstillmuseum.org or by calling the museum at 720-354-4878.
Thursday, July 13
Even before Denver voters approved social consumption, the Mason Jar Event Group was hosting its Seasonal Pairing Dinners. Defying the prevailing stereotype of unwashed and uncouth stoners, Mason Jar invites titans of the nascent industry to network and mingle with supporters and skeptics alike. By pairing a carefully curated selection of the finest strains with a seasonal menu prepared by celebrated local chefs, the events appeal to weed snobs and gourmands alike. To celebrate the arrival of summer, Mason Jar has scheduled a Summer Pairing Dinner on Thursday, July 13, from 6:30 to 10 p.m. at Lone Hawk Farm, 10790 North 49th Street in Longmont, where guests can dine on delicacies from chef Jamey Fader, then dance and blaze the night away. Visit masonjareventgroup.com to learn more and reserve a seat.
Soccer is the international sport, as evidenced by the avid worldwide focus on the FIFA World Cup, which only comes around once every four years. A little closer to home, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football focuses strictly on the Americas, bringing teams from the U.S., Mexico, South America and the Caribbean together for its touring biennial Gold Cup competition. Perhaps it is to the credit of local soccer fandom that CONCACAF’s 2017 stop in Denver brings a big rematch between 2015’s top contenders, Mexico and Jamaica, to town on Thursday, July 13, as part of a double-header led off by a match between El Salvador and Curaçao. The two-fer evening begins at 6 p.m. at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Get tickets at ticketmaster.com, and keep up with this summer’s Gold Cup stats and standings at goldcup.org.
EatDenver is our city’s trade group for independent, locally owned restaurants. Among the many benefits the organization provides to the restaurant community (job boards, food-service training) as well as Denver at large (the Dining Deck discount packs, Harvest Week), the Big Eat is the most delicious. Every year, top Denver eateries gather at the Galleria in the Denver Performing Arts Complex to serve up their best bites. This year, more than sixty EatDenver member restaurants will participate on Thursday, July 13 — and this is the first year that the event will mark the opening of Slow Food Nations, an international celebration of traditional foods and cooking. Tickets are $65 and include unlimited food and beverages from 6 to 9 p.m., live entertainment and a commemorative glass. Find more information at eatdenver.com/the-big-eat/.
Fans worried that after years away from the mic, Dave Chappelle would pull a J.D. Salinger act and never perform again. Luckily for everyone, over the past few years Chappelle has pursued comedy with renewed vigor. In addition to hosting the now-infamous post-election episode of Saturday Night Live and touring constantly, Chappelle recently released a pair of one-hour specials for Netflix, with a third special on the way. Thanks to frequent appearances on local stages, Colorado comedy nerds have benefited from the Chappelle renaissance more than almost anywhere else in the country, but that’s no reason to delay seeing one of the country’s greatest living comedians. Remarkably, his show at the Bellco Theatre on Thursday, July 13, hasn’t sold out yet. Get tickets, $69.50 to $89.50, posthaste at bellcotheatre.com. The doors to the Bellco, located inside the Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th Street, open at 7 p.m for the 8 p.m. show.
Friday, July 14
The Slow Food movement was founded in Italy in 1989 as an opposing force to the spread of — you guessed it — fast food. The organization’s ideals of “good, clean and fair food” came to the U.S. not long after and spread at a snail’s pace from city to city. And now, the first Slow Food Nations, a three-day festival celebrating the cause, has been announced — and Denver has been chosen as the host. From Friday, July 14, to Sunday, July 16, a multitude of food and beverage events, many free of charge, will descend upon the city, including food tastings, classes, symposiums, chef’s dinners and more. Most of the activity will take place at Union Station and Larimer Square, culminating in the Taste Marketplace from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, with more than 100 exhibitors sampling and selling foods from around the world. Slow Food Nations promises to be a full weekend of great food and memorable experiences, so plan ahead: A complete list of events and ticket information are available at slowfoodnations.org.
While circuses typically remind us of sad clowns and sadder elephants, Tatianna TaTa has something much more enticing in mind for the Clocktower Cabaret on Friday, July 14. Featuring physics-defying aerial performers, mind- and limb-bending contortionists and a bevy of buxom burlesque dancers, L’Estrange Menagerie: A Circus is a carnival for the senses. On her mission to create “a sexy twist on the big top,” TaTa has also assembled a rotating roster of entertainers, including jugglers, musicians, illusionists, comedians and stilt-walkers. If you can’t make it to the Cabaret, 1601 Arapahoe Street, this week, don’t fret: The show continues throughout the summer at 11 p.m. every Thursday though August 24. Visit clocktowercabaret.com for information and tickets, $27 to $37.
Edge Theater Company’s summer series continues this week with Joshua Harmon’s Bad Jews, a satirical comedy about hanging on to one’s essential Jewishness in an age of assimilation. Three cousins become embroiled in an argument over a family heirloom and the meaning of faith after the funeral of their common grandfather. Josh Hartwell directs Missy Moore, John Wittbrodt, Chloe McCleod and Ben Hilzer as the key characters, making this a better-than-average reason to spend a blistering summer evening in a cool, dark theater. Bad Jews premieres at 8 p.m. Friday, July 14, and runs Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and selected Thursdays through August 6. Learn more and reserve tickets, $30, at theedgetheater.com or call 303-232-0363.
Keep reading for more of the best events in Denver this week.
Saturday, July 15
It’s safe to say that Frida worship is here to stay, so the idea of throwing a Frida Kahlo Celebration of Life Art Show on Morrison Road couldn’t be more germane, especially in the ever-Frida-loving heart of Denver’s west side. This fest is truly a community effort for the whole family, bringing Frida-themed art, a Frida look-alike contest, craft vendors, Latin jazz and mariachi music, dancers and more to the Westwood Food Cooperative, 3738 Morrison Road, from 3 to 11 p.m. Saturday, July 15. Chow down on food appropriately provided by Kahlo’s Mexican Restaurant and pose for selfies with Frida, Diego and a monkey. Admission is free (but donations will be accepted for an 8:30 p.m. screening of Frida); learn more on the event’s Facebook page.
Ambling down Boulder’s traffic-free Pearl Street Mall is one of the town’s great pastimes any time of year, but the thoroughfare truly comes alive during the Pearl Street Arts Fest. The jury-curated selection of fine visual art on display mixes expected mediums like sculpture, photography, jewelry and ceramics with less traditional forms, such as upcycled art created from discarded materials. The free, family-friendly event also includes artsy activities and instruction for children at the Open Studios Mobile Art Lab as well as aerial performances from the Frequent Flyers troupe. The fest runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 15, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 16. Visit boulderdowntown.com/arts-fest-2017 to learn more.
Architecture and design are contentious topics in today’s Denver, with residents divided over the aesthetics of iconic public spaces such as the 16th Street Mall. Denver Design Week steps into the fray with a commitment to innovation, sustainability and eye-catching design. A full seven days’ worth of panel discussions, home and studio tours, film screenings and receptions gets started at the Denver Design Week Launch Party on Saturday, July 15, at Stanley Marketplace, 2501 Dallas Street in Aurora. The soiree, which goes from 7 to 10 p.m., offers guests the chance to play Plinko and Connect Four for prizes, sip Teakoe tea cocktails and Renegade brews, nosh on bite-sized gourmet dishes and pose for an underwater photo booth while mingling with the movers and shakers of the local design community. Visit denverdesignweek.com for a full schedule and tickets, $15.
Artist and Cabal Gallery member Corrina Espinosa brought one of her favorite projects with her from a previous stint as a member of the now-defunct Good Thieves Press co-op: a robot-themed show that she produced for four years. Now it’s back as Autonomous at Cabal, which Espinosa calls “the perfect venue...considering it used to be a hackerspace and still emanates the spirit of art/tech.” The art might range from figurative representations to interactive and performance-based works, she adds, and will include Espinosa’s own large-scale kinetic installation “Autonomous Boogie” in the back of the gallery. Delve into the art of A.I. at the free opening, from 6 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 15, at 1875 South Broadway. For information, visit Cabal Gallery on Facebook or go to cabalgallery.com.
What do the Orthodox faith and the Globeville neighborhood have in common? History. Many of Globeville’s earliest settlers, in the late 1800s, were factory workers from Eastern European countries with Orthodox populations, including Greece, Serbia, Russia and Romania. The food and culture of these countries and others will be celebrated at the Orthodox Food Festival & Globeville Days, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 15, at the Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Cathedral, 349 East 47th Avenue. Watch the Balkanika Folk Dance Group (among many others) twirl while you snack on kebabs, cabbage rolls and rum baba. Admission is free, but tickets must be purchased for food and drinks. There’s even a happy hour! Buy $25 of food and drink tickets between 5 and 7 p.m. and you’ll get an extra $5 worth for free. For details, go to globevilleorthodoxfoodfestival.org.
If a real triathlon sounds like too much work, but you still love to stretch your body and your mind, Wanderlust 108 Denver, billed as the “World’s Only Mindful Triathlon,” will have you twisting yourself into a knot of joy. The event at Cheesman Park will get everyone’s blood flowing with a 5K run, walk or stroll, followed by a 75-minute outdoor yoga flow class, and cooled down by a guided meditation session; in the afternoon, participants can opt for any of several additional activities, from acroyoga to hooping, and shop local vendors at the Kula Market. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, July 15, with the triathlon and extracurricular events kicking in from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the park, 1599 East Eighth Avenue. Tickets are $55.08 (and include a small donation to the No Kid Hungry nonprofit); the picnic lunch is sold out, but you can bring your own. Kids are not only welcome, but will be admitted free of charge if they are age thirteen or under. Learn more and register at wanderlust.com/108-events/denver.
Sunday, July 16
This should be a party of Titanic proportions! On Sunday, July 16, Historic Denver will celebrate Margaret Brown’s 150th birthday with a re-creation of Margaret’s Carnival of Nations, an event that the legendary Coloradan held in 1906 highlighting the diverse cultures then settling the West. For this bash, the 1300 block of Pennsylvania Street will be blocked off from noon to 4 p.m. and filled with fun ranging from live musical performances to Molly Brown Ultimate Frisbee to lectures on early Denver to food booths; there will also be tours of the Molly Brown House at 1340 Pennsylvania Street. Admission is $11 for adults, $9 for seniors and students, and $5 for children six to twelve. For more information, call 303-832-4092, ext.16, or go to mollybrown.org.
One the world’s greatest living piano virtuosos, Stewart Goodyear, developed his skills at prestigious institutions such as the Toronto Royal Conservatory and the Julliard School before going on to perform with everyone from the New York Philharmonic and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony to Tokyo’s NHK Symphony, to name but a few. As part of the 40th Annual Colorado Music Festival, Goodyear is appearing in concert at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 16, at Boulder’s historic Chautauqua Auditorium, 900 Baseline Road. The program includes challenging to perform but delightful to behold compositions like Dmitri Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1, Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on a Theme by Tallis, Benjamin Britten’s Young Apollo, Op. 16 and Richard Strauss’s epic Metamorphosen for 23 Strings. Visit coloradomusicfestival.org to learn more and buy tickets, $9-$54.
Monday, July 17
Monday nights rarely feel life-changing, but clay artist Marie Gibbons, already known for her studio classes and First Friday mini-workshops, wants to turn your Mondays — and maybe your life — around with a new DIY series. At the debut session, Sculpted Books, Gibbons will lead class members through an exercise in rolling, folding and otherwise transforming books into sculptural shapes, all over a relaxing glass of wine. Upcycle old pages into something new and beautiful from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, July 17, at Gibbons’s EvB Studio, 3735 Ames Street in Wheat Ridge. The $30 fee includes one book to start with (or bring your own if you like) and the sip of your choice, along with quality companionship. Register in advance at evbstudio.com; space is limited.
Do you like to wing it? Serve your inner improviser and build a cool keepsake to take home at Kitbashing, a DIY workshop hosted by the Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls and Toys. DMMDT’s Misha Fraser invites you to come express your creativity by breaking the rules: Miniature craft kits will be provided, but you can throw out the instructions and use them to build your own Toy Story mutants — or whatever else pleases you — from 6 to 7 p.m. on Monday, July 17, at RedLine, 2350 Arapahoe Street. For additional information, visit redlineart.org.
