In a salute to the Cajun and Creole traditions, the Colorado Friends of Cajun and Zydeco Music and Dance are presenting the Louisiana Creole Celebration, a two-day festival at Swallow Hill Music Association. This year’s tribute, it should be noted, is new and improved. “We usually just have a yearly…

One of my earliest childhood memories is watching Steve Martin playing banjo on The Muppet Show. (Can you think of a better early memory!?) This was ’77 or ’78, when he had a head of ashy brown hair and his performance was still a fusion of banjo picking and standup…

Far more than a tired, kitschy recycling of the Star Wars brand, Star Wars: A Musical Journey is a reimagining of the six-part science-fiction saga into a ninety-minute, multi-media extravaganza. Simply put, it’s a different way of looking at the familiar. Call it a night at the symphony crossed with…

Gustafer Yellowgold is a friendly, flame-like creature who came from the sun and lives in a cottage in the Minnesota woods with his pet eel, Slim, a dragon named Asparagus (who loves corn on the cob) and a tuxedo-wearing pterodactyl. Morgan Taylor is an illustrator and songwriter who lives in…

I can measure how challenging my week has been by how much I think about running. Sometimes running is just another item on the to-do list. But when things are rough, as they have been lately, I think about running all the time. What better way to work off tensions…

Although it was written more than four decades ago, A Raisin in the Sun speaks particularly well to today’s audience, because in this challenging economy, dreaming of a better life has become a full-time job for too many people. Lorraine Hansberry’s play follows the struggles of an inner-city family living…

As the founder and executive director of the former Laboratory of Art and Ideas at Belmar, Adam Lerner and his team put together a variety of funky, informative programs aimed at making contemporary art both accessible and engaging for people of all backgrounds. Now the director of the Museum of…

After debuting roughly 7,000 plays over 21 years, Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, the flagship project of the Chicago-based theatre group the Neo-Futurists, arrives in Denver for a one-night-only performance at Curious Theatre Company. Based on the concepts of Italian futurists, dada and surrealism, Too Much is…

Conspiracy theories are as much a part of the American landscape as Facebook and apple pie. The moon landing was faked, 9/11 was an inside job — this is the fuel for Denver native Steven Dietz’s new play, Yankee Tavern. Set in a run-down tavern in New York City, Dietz’s…

Buntport Theater’s newest adaptation, Indiana, Indiana, which kicks off its ninth season, is a change from the somewhat zany performances for which the company is best known. “This is new because it’s a drama,” says Buntport player Evan Weissman. “There’s no attempt to make it a comedy.” It’s the Faulknerian…

As an adjunct to the Space — Not Space exhibit at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, Italian artist Marco Nereo Rotelli and Sioux poet Darren Grine are collaborating on a performance piece titled Poetic Crossings: Empowerment. “Marco is into this empowerment idea and wanted to work with…

The book as an object of art — or artist books — became popular in the latter part of the twentieth century and includes everything from small-edition letter-press books of poetry to weird, one-of-a-kind book-like objects that don’t necessarily have text or illustrations. Need to know more? Tonight’s closing reception…

Ruby Ann’s Great Big After Church Sunday Social at Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret is a chance to liven up your Sunday afternoons with a little singin’, rollickin’, doublewide Southern fun. “After church on Sundays in the South, we’d get together with some food and singing and gossiping, and basically you get…

Recycling, composting and relying on solar energy are just a few ways to make the earth a healthier place. But where to begin? And if you’ve already started, where do you go from here? The EarthWorks Expo has plenty of ideas. “We want everyone — no matter if they already…

There are some strange, serendipitous ways to meet that special someone. A high school friend’s parents met at a Led Zeppelin concert, for example, and I know one couple who met while changing a flat tire and another at a strip club. Of course, not everyone has time to sit…

LoDo Bites is a great opportunity for foodies of all stripes to taste small bites from twenty participating restaurants throughout the lower downtown neighborhood. “Some restaurants are going to be doing small appetizers, some will be doing small appetizers and desserts,” says Jeannie Wert, communications and events coordinator for the…

Poet Drew Myron and artist Tracy Weil have collaborated on a variety of projects over the past twenty years, but Forecast, their latest work, marks the first time they’ve used astrology as a starting point. “I was reading a lot of horoscopes,” explains Myron. “Not that I’m an astrologist, but…

Recognizing the diversity of cultures united by soccer, the Colorado Rapids will host eight different heritage nights throughout this season. “Previous nights have included Celtic Night and Asian-Pacific Night,” says marketing coordinator Chris Greenley. “Each heritage night targets different members of our team in order to celebrate our players and…

Like the microbreweries that began dotting the landscape in the 1980s, small urban wineries are now showing up in cities around the country. They typically buy their grapes from a supplier and then make their wine on site. Denver’s Infinite Monkey Theorem, which makes both reds and whites, is a…

Of all the things that can get a person killed, singing and dancing are generally not on the list. Unless, of course, you lived in Afghanistan while the Taliban was in power. When that regime fell, bans on TV, dancing and singing were lifted, opening the door for Tolo TV…

With summer weather (finally!) settling in across the Front Range, people are doing everything they can to get outdoors, and Theatre-Hikes Colorado offers a truly unique way to take a traditionally indoor activity outside. This child-friendly take on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe takes audience members on a…

Starting at Skyline Park and continuing through five checkpoints, the Urban Assault Ride is part bike race, part scavenger hunt and part elementary-school field day rolled into one healthy, fun-filled event. However, unlike your traditional bike race, all the checkpoints are available beforehand, allowing each team to plot its own…