A little-known chapter in aviation history will come to light at 5:30 today at Wings Over the Rockies Museum, when the Colorado Aviation Historical Society presents ,Women in Aviation Breaking Barriers. The discussion features a panel of women who've been there and done that, including Emily Warner, the first female pilot hired by a U.S. airline; Lucille Wise of the WWII Air Force WASPS; United Captain Jolanda Witvliet; and Colorado Air National Guard fighter pilot Major Tracy Sailer. The public is invited to share flight memorabilia with other members of the audience as part of the program, which falls under the museum's ongoing 100 Years of Flight series. Admission is $3 to $5 (children ages six and under are admitted free); the museum is located in Hangar #1, 7711 East Academy Parkway, on the former Lowry Air Force Base. Call 303-360-5360.
Friday, March 28
You see such places along the road and never think twice about them again: abandoned barns and shacks, weathered and rotting and forgotten by time itself. But not by local sculptors Gayla Lemke and Tim Flynn, who usually work in clay and wire, respectively. For them, a deserted structure on a central Oklahoma farm became the inspiration for The Milk House Series, collaborative constructions forged from objects and relics found on the site, once a wind-powered dairy farm that's since been left to founder under a layer of red dirt. The results of the pair's explorations go on view tonight at an opening reception from 7 to10 at Edge Gallery, 3658 Navajo Street. The show continues through April 20; call 303-477-7173.
An evening of solid music is guaranteed tonight, when East L.A. rock band Los Lobos, perhaps the definitive roots ensemble of our time, teams up with the Jayhawks, Minneapolis-based alt-country pioneers who appear now as a pared-down trio led by original guitarist Gary Louris. Louris and company will open for Los Lobos at 7:30 at the Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson Street, with tunes from their soon-to-be-released CD, Rainy Day Music. Then Los Lobos will wrap up their blues, folk and R&B influences in a fresh-baked tortilla of traditional Mexican corridos, spicing the whole package liberally with an unrivaled contemporary edge and exemplary musicianship. At $26, tickets to this show are a bargain; call 303-830-TIXS.
Comedian Margaret Cho is smart, observant, completely original and slyly funny, especially when delving into the bottomless Pandora's box of her own life and background. Dive into her witty and wicked monologues tonight at the Paramount Theater, 1631 Glenarm Place, where she'll take the stage for two shows, at 7:30 and 10:30. Tickets are $29.50 to $45; call 303-830-TIXS or log on to www.historicparamounttheatre.com.
Saturay, March 29
This evening offers two outstanding chances to become a true believer, starting with the annual Colorado Bluegrass Society Gospel Jamboree and Pie Social. It begins tonight at 6:30 at Swallow Hill Music Hall, 71 East Yale Avenue, with an old-fashioned stash of homemade pies donated by Marie Callender's Restaurant. Then the jamboree continues at 8 with a concert by Kentucky songbird Dale Ann Bradley, and Coon Creek, an acclaimed, award-winning bluegrass ensemble that's the real deal. Front Range string band Hit & Run will also perform; for tickets, $15 to $21, call 303-777-1003 or log on to www.swallowhill.com. The Colorado Bluegrass Society will also host an afternoon workshop with Bradley and crew; for information, log on to www.coloradobluegrass.org. Roots music of a different, though no less heartfelt, kind will be provided tonight at 7 by the Spirituals Project Choir at a benefit concert of Negro spirituals for the Black American West Museum. The choir swings low at the Temple Events Center, 1595 Pearl Street; for tickets, $25, call 303-302-3303.
Sunday, March 30
Last call: My, how time flies! That Front Range winter tradition and party on rails, the Winter Park Ski Train, leaves Union Station, 1701 Wynkoop Street, this morning at 7:15 for its last run of the season. Though the train is resurrected for additional trips in the summertime, there's just no Rocky Mountain experience equal to that of chugging through the Moffat Tunnel after passing through miles of snow-covered Colorado mountains. Will you be there? Tickets for the round-trip excursions from Denver to Winter Park are $45 to $70 ($21 youth coach fare available for children ages thirteen and under); call 303-296-4754 or log on to www.skitrain.com for reservations.
Monday, March 31
One of Denver's greatest cultural assets is its healthy theater community, from the big guys at the Denver Center Theatre Company to a myriad of talented independent companies that bring the metro area quality productions. Show your support by attending tonight's Celebrate Theatre! Gala, a fundraiser for the nonprofit Colorado Theatre Guild. Entertaining five-minute snippets will be provided by a who's who roster of local theater companies. John Ashton, one of the scene's mainstays (whose Avenue Theater will soon reopen in a new spot on 17th Avenue), will host. Showtime is 7:30 at the Country Dinner Playhouse, 6875 South Clinton Street, Greenwood Village. Admission is $20 and reservations are a must; call 303-799-1410.
Tuesday, April 1
Some of Seattle's best and longest-lived musical exports will take over the Pepsi Center tonight, when Pearl Jam and Sleater-Kinney hit the stage inside Denver's gigantic tin can, filling it with a guitar-heavy onslaught of angst-ridden rock anthems and hard-driven punk. Power to the people, and pass the latte, dude. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the 7:30 show; for tickets, $35, call 303-830-8497 or log on to www.ticketmaster.com.
Film is alive and well this week in Colorado, whether atop the slippery and expensive slopes of the high country or deep in the heart of the Denver Public Library. In the high-altitude realm, there's the twelfth annual Aspen Shortsfest, the perfect vehicle for people who have a hard time sitting too long in one place. Focusing exclusively on the world of short features, including animation, live action and documentaries on film and video, the five-day fest and international shorts competition opens today and continues through April 6 in Aspen. Screenings and related events take place at the Wheeler Opera House, 320 East Hyman Avenue, and other locations. Tickets are available by calling 1-970-920-5770; for a complete schedule of events, log on to www.aspenshortsfest.org.
But if the air's too thin, the fare too fleeting and the price too high for you in Aspen, the perfectly respectable Denver Public Library Film Series begins its spring schedule, 1939: The Golden Year of Film, tonight at 6:30, downstairs in the Denver Central Library's B2 Conference Room, 10 West 14th Avenue Parkway. First up is one of John Ford's great oaters, Stagecoach, with John Wayne and Claire Trevor; future titles include Wuthering Heights, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Women and other pre-war gems. Films are shown weekly on Wednesdays, and admission is free. Call 720-865-1111.