Five Things to Do In and Around Denver (and Online) Today

Boulder Arts Week is under way, and there’s never been a better time to show support for that community. In Golden, the Cast Iron Tavern is hosting a benefit in memory of Lonna Bartkoiak.

Here are the five things to do in and around Denver (and online) today.

Boulder Arts Week
Through Saturday, April 3, online and in-person
An amalgam of arts programming at venues throughout Boulder and online, Boulder Arts Week promises to be a treat for your socially distanced senses. A quick selection of the week’s endless events includes Mary Wohl Haan’s impromptu dancers on the Pearl Street Mall, a hands-on “City Block” mural project at the Art Parts Creative Reuse Center, an Open Wall exhibition and sale at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, and the launch of the short-story dispenser at the Boulder Public Library that spits out stories at the wave of your hand. And those bears at Chautauqua Park are going up for auction! Find the complete schedule here.

Persian Cultural Circle: Senses of Nowruz
Sunday, March 28, 2 to 5 p.m.
Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder
The Persian Cultural Circle will set up stations sharing the traditions of Nowruz – the Persian New Year celebration, a spring festival that’s all about renewal – throughout the Museum of Boulder this weekend. Enjoy a tea ceremony with special cookies, displays of artisan handcrafts, a Nowruz Hafseen table with symbolic artifacts, and a video story about the holiday. At a time of continuing civic sadness over this week’s Table Mesa tragedy, this display could provide some solace. It’s included with museum admission; learn more here.

Fundraiser for the Family of Lonna Bartkoiak
Sunday, March 28, 2 to 6 p.m.
Cast Iron Tavern, 111 North Rubey Drive, Unit B, Golden
Lonna Bartkoiak, a bright figure in the jam-band and music-festival scene and the owner of Umba, a yoga and festival fashion shop in Boulder, was among the victims of the mass shooting at King Soopers. To remember her and raise money for her family, Psychedelly Jelly, with members of Flash Mountain Flood and Three Days in the Saddle, will be playing a benefit concert at Cast Iron Tavern in Golden. The band promises “an upbeat, psychedelic and soulful set.” If you can’t make the concert, the venue will be accepting donations through the weekend. For more information, go to the Cast Iron Tavern Facebook page.

The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop
Sunday, March 28, 2 p.m., online
You’ve read Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist; now learn how educators can put that book’s practical lessons into redirecting their thinking in an educational format. Author Felicia Rose Chavez will introduce some of her strategies in a free reading and discussion of her new book, The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom, joined by artivist podcaster Courtney J. Boddie and playwright Idris Goodwin, who will lead a Q&A session. Do the right thing and register here; join the Zoom meeting here.

Welcoming the Stranger: Motus Theater
Sunday, March 28, 5:30 p.m., online
Motus Theater works with leaders on the front lines of violence in the U.S. to write and perform autobiographical stories during Motus Monologue performances. On Sunday, Bishop Karen Oliveto – who serves 400 churches covering Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah and a portion of Idaho – and Reverend Jeff Rainwater will partner with Motus, reading aloud and reflecting upon Cristian Solano-Córdova’s story of enduring courage in the journey across the border, through threats and toward liberty. The monologue will be followed by a musical response from Uruguayan musician Elisa Garcia, along with personal and theological reflections on the importance of sacred hospitality and the impact of stepping into the shoes of an undocumented neighbor. Register here.

Know of a great event around Denver? We’ll be updating this list through the weekend; send information to editorial@westword.com.