Arts & Entertainment

The first issue of Barf came out in September 2016 with comedian Ben Roy on the cover, looking mortified in a bubble bath. The issue had interviews with bands, a chat with Roy, and an article titled “How Many Hot Dogs Is Too Many Hot Dogs?” The candid and humorous interviews and the rest of the content fit the publication’s motto: “Sex, Drugs, Barf.” Barf founders Micah Morris and members of the band Dirty Few continue to improve the zine’s content; the most recent cover had a semi-glossy finish. Barf offers irreverent material that’s as glorious and intentionally dumb as a great Ramones song.

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Kids can be a death sentence for parents who like to attend concerts. Fortunately, Denver Public Library’s Cherry Creek branch has music-loving families covered, organizing a monthly concert the second Saturday of each month at 10 a.m. Stroll in, grab a Voodoo Doughnut treat, pour a cup of Dazbog coffee, make your way to the middle of the storytime room, put earplugs in your ears — and definitely in your kids’ ears — and prepare to rock. The event has showcased the Milk Blossoms, SPELLS and the Pink Hawks, proving the Ross-Cherry Creek branch is about much more than books and boring lectures. These days, it might just be the punkest thing in Cherry Creek.

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Believe it or not, the Denver Public Library is an active player in the local music scene. It offers upwards of 200 local albums for download at volumedenvr.org, making current and rare records available to the public. Last year, librarian Dave Wilkinson, a longtime fan of Denver’s music scene, proposed a limited-edition seven-inch record with local bands that promoted the library and local culture. The library higher-ups approved the idea, and in March 2016, 300 records were pressed, showcasing bands like Accordion Crimes and The Raven and the Writing Desk.

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A parent’s musical world can feel pretty grim at times; there are days when you’d almost kill for something even a little meatier than another rendition of “The Ants Go Marching.” That’s why the 45-minute Tiny Tots program from Inside the Orchestra is perfect for all ages. Accompanied by parents and other adults, children sit on the floor (at History Colorado, Boettcher Concert Hall or other fabulous locations) and are surrounded by Tiny Tots’ thirty-piece-plus professional orchestra. As the music plays, the conductor talks directly to the little ones, asking them questions and walking them through the experience. Afterward, they have a chance to meet the musicians and get a little closer to the instruments. Even better? Admission is a mere suggested donation of $9.95.

insidetheorchestra.org

Theresa Mercado has long organized unique film series, hosting events at the now-defunct Crash 45 and the Alamo Drafthouse. Most recently, Mercado has been hard at work on Scream Screen, a month-long event at the Sie FilmCenter that presents modern horror classics and performances from bands like Echo Beds, Vought and Denver Broncos UK. The mementos that Mercado hands out at the end of the night, whether small figurines she made herself or buttons with touches from the just-screened film, set these events apart. Not one to shy away from theatrics, Mercado likes to play the part, as well: For this year’s showing of The Brood, for example, she dressed as Samantha Eggar’s character and reenacted the scene in which Eggar licks the afterbirth off her mutant baby.

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Textures got off the ground at the now-defunct Gypsy House Cafe, where it happened semi-regularly for five years. Now held at Mutiny Information Cafe every last Sunday of the month, it showcases the breadth and depth of the area’s ambient music scene. The brainchild of Wesley Davis of bios+a+ic, the series remains relevant by not sticking to a strict definition of the ambient genre, having included modular-synth wizards like Kuxaan Sum, musique concrète artists like Victoria Lundy, and internationally known visual-synthesis pioneer Mark Mosher.

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The tiny, picturesque city of Niwot, situated near Longmont and Erie in Boulder County, is as well known for Chief Niwot’s Curse as for anything else: Legend has it that the chief puts a curse on any resident of the city who tries to relocate. Fortunately, those who stick around out of fear have a great little jazz festival to keep them occupied. Jazz on 2nd Avenue takes over the main strip in town, and last year’s lineup included Liquid Soul and Jeff Coffin of the Dave Matthews Band. Sure, some local and school bands play, too, but the musical quality on display is still exemplary. Taking place in September, when the weather is nice but not stifling, Jazz on 2nd Ave is Niwot’s crazy little secret.

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Mutiny Information Cafe has always been a home for misfits and rebels, so it makes sense that it would host the annual Mile High Parley anti-music-festival festival. Located smack-dab in the middle of a certain other, larger, more well-known music gathering that takes place on South Broadway each summer, the Parley takes an accessible, all-ages, punk approach. Hosting local acts on stages indoors and out all weekend long, this counter-fest highlights the underground music scene and all its weirdos and freaks.

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Steve “Faceman” Schnepel always puts on ambitious concerts. Even his bar shows involve some kind of elaborate costuming or set design — like when he turned the stage at Lost Lake Lounge into a giant shark’s mouth a few years back. Last November, Schnepel helped organize Faceman’s 100 Year Storm, which took inspiration from epic storms that dump tons of snow on a city. The festival presented live performances by a hundred bands at a single venue (the Oriental) over the course of two days. Somehow, the logistical nightmare all worked, and Schnepel is expected to put on the crazed event again this year.

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Heavy Dose Records head Brian Castillo and Reed Bruemmer of the band Poison Rites came up in Denver’s underground music scene, regularly catching shows at local dive bars and DIY venues. Eventually they joined forces to re-create that small-venue neighborhood vibe at a musical festival they’d both want to attend. Scheduled in the summer across four days at venues between Larimer Lounge and Meadowlark Bar, Rocky Mountain Low brings together legendary punk bands like DRI with exciting underground bands including Protomartyr, Echo Beds and Hide.

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Damian Burford had been organizing and booking shows for years in both Colorado Springs and Denver. He used to work with the Triple Nickel Tavern, a famed punk-rock venue in the Springs, which gave him the opportunity to learn about all aspects of the music industry, from booking to organizing a show with integrity. When he moved to Denver, Burford remained connected to the music world through his Mostly Harmless podcast. He even booked shows occasionally, though not in any official capacity. A chance conversation with a friend at The Fest, a punk-music festival in Florida, inspired Burford to try his hand at organizing a festival of his own. Working with Vincent Fasano of 3 Kings Tavern, Burford was able to pull off Don’t Panic!, a bona fide, small-scale yet well-attended festival at various South Broadway venues, headlined by Off With Their Heads and Chicago punk legends Pegboy. The festival will return to Denver next year.

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Brennen Bryarly has built a bit of an electronic-dance music empire over the past several years. Bryarly releases house music as Option4 and has organized shows locally and nationally that offer an array of dance-oriented artists. And every year since 2014, he’s put his wide net of contacts and great musical taste to use at Cloak & Dagger. The now-established EDM festival at City Hall and Vinyl brings together commercial and underground acts, and Bryarly invites both local and national performers. Nowhere in Denver is the EDM scene more diverse, or more alive, than at this festival.

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Not much in the Oxford Hotel’s resident bar has changed since it opened the day after Prohibition ended — except for the jukebox, which was out of commission for years. It came back to life recently after a thirty-year lease on the bar (and the adjacent, now-defunct McCormick & Schmick’s) ran out and hotel owner Sage Hospitality’s restaurant group finally assumed control of the Cruise Room. Sage acted fast, recruiting longtime jukebox repairman Jim Francis to tune the beauty back to life. Now she spits out 45s from Nat King Cole, Glenn Miller and Frank Sinatra, among other classic artists.

We hope the Lakeview Lounge sticks around forever, but development going hog-wild along the popular lakefront stretch of Sheridan Boulevard makes us more than a little nervous. Before this spectacular — and spectacularly grungy — dive bar falls victim to yet another chain restaurant, we’ll spend our mornings there (the bar opens every day at 7 a.m.), toasting the finer things in life and enjoying tunes from the bar’s free jukebox, which churns out classics from Patsy Cline, Benny Goodman, George Strait and more.

Readers’ Choice: Bar Car

There are three things we look for in a weekend brunch: good food, good booze and good music. Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox excels at all three. Listen to a selection of Denver’s best rock and alt-country bands while noshing on traditional breakfast fare with innovative twists. The sound system is top-notch, a projector amplifies what’s happening on stage on a screen, and the venue’s decor is captivating. All this plus bottomless mimosas.

The Buffalo Rose, situated in the pretty town of Golden, is an oddball place. Hair-metal bands like Ratt and Faster Pussycat usually end up playing there when passing through metro Denver, so it’s a bit of a time warp. It also has perfect bar snacks to nosh on while watching the aforementioned spandex-clad bands. What goes best with L.A. sleaze band Jetboy? How about some fried cheese curds? Jersey hard rockers Danger Danger should be paired with a pile of chicken strips, while an L.A. Guns show calls for the El Cubano sandwich.

In true dive-bar fashion, Timeo’s Theatre Bar, located in the Aztlan Theatre, is only open whenever owner Tim Correa feels like unlocking the door and letting folks in. But a curmudgeon he is not. Correa is a friendly face on the Santa Fe Drive strip, serving up beer and cocktails for First Friday artwalk patrons and his west-side regulars. The bar hosts local blues, Latin and rock acts, and whenever Correa is in the mood, he opens the bar for Broncos games, which play on the ancient but fully functioning big-screen TV in the corner of the joint. The barkeep and son Vincent serve the suds and tell jokes while Correa’s wife, Aurora, doles out smiles, stories and, if you’re lucky, a little of her menudo or a homemade sandwich. Look for upcoming-concert fliers posted on nearby telephone poles or call ahead for operating hours: Timeo’s is timeless and doesn’t bother with modern inconveniences like the Internet.

As a combination coffee shop and books, records and comics store, Mutiny Information Cafe offers a slice of counterculture for every palate. But its real magic lies in its performance space. While there’s no actual stage, Mutiny offers plenty of room for live entertainment, whether it be a comedy show, a podcast taping or a dude screaming into a microphone while pounding his fist into a synthesizer. Truly, all art forms are welcome. Mutiny Information Cafe is not your average bookseller, java roaster or concert hall; rather, it’s a beautiful, noisy mishmash of the creative scene, serving up good books and no-bullshit cappuccinos.

For years, Jonathan Bitz was mostly known as a proponent of the singer-songwriter music scene; as the talent booker at the Meadowlark, he fostered more than a few noteworthy acts, like the Lumineers and Science Partner. When he acquired the building at 554 South Broadway, he could have kept to what he knew and brought in mostly acoustic sets. But since opening Syntax Physic Opera in summer 2014, Bitz has booked a spectrum of bands in the underground genre, making the venue a cornerstone of the local music scene. Some venues tend to play it safe, but Syntax regularly showcases less-mainstream acts like Anklepants, David Liebe Hart, Clock DVA and Sister Grotto.

From making music to playing shows and putting out records, figuring out what it takes to become a successful musician can be a tough journey. Test Kitchen is a bi-monthly showcase at which up-and-coming and established talent can try out new material in front of an audience — and a panel of industry experts. A creation of hip-hop guru Ru Johnson and her Roux Black creative consulting team, Test Kitchen (which currently holds court at the Black Box) provides musicians with the constructive criticism needed to take a track or album to the next level. Echoing Motown Records founder Berry Gordy’s question for all potential talent, Johnson and company ask: “With your last dollar, would you buy this record or a sandwich?”

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Skyrocketing rents aren’t just impacting how creative Denverites live; they’re also driving out cheap practice spaces and studios. RocketSpace aims to combat that by offering affordable space for musicians to hone their craft. Musician Kate Innes started the small but mighty operation a few years ago and has expanded it to two locations that employ full-time staff (all musicians themselves). Folks looking to get some private time to write and play songs can rent RocketSpace studios by the hour, starting at just $8. All rooms are equipped with top-of-the-line gear, and the staff is ready and willing to help find cables, fix microphones and do anything else renters may need.

When Matty Clark and Josh Terry assumed ownership of the hi-dive half a decade ago, the local-musician hangout only got more popular. Also a favorite tour stop for national acts, the bar is mostly known as a training ground and networking hub for Denver’s music scene. Those qualities were amplified when the veteran musicians got involved, and the hi-dive continues to be a go-to spot for anyone looking to see a good show, play a good show or rub elbows (and possibly start new bands) with fellow music lovers.

Five years ago, Seventh Circle Music Collective took over the former home of long-running Denver DIY space Blast-O-Mat. At the time, Aaron Saye, who runs Seventh Circle, said of the new space, “Every scene of music is going to be welcome. I want anyone that wants to be to be a part of this place.” Today, that sentiment still rules, and the DIY ethic is strong. After the Ghost Ship fire in Oakland in December 2016, municipalities around the country started doubling down on inspections of DIY spaces, enforcing building codes. Places in Denver that fell victim to code enforcement were mostly those that were also used as residences but weren’t zoned as such, like Rhinoceropolis. Seventh Circle passed its inspection and has continued its busy schedule of concerts, often hosting up to five shows a week. In particular, the venue welcomes young musicians, offering them a safe place to develop and showcase their talent. The bastion of youth culture is essential to the arts scene, whether city officials like it or not.

Readers’ Choice: Upstairs Circus

One of the last of the endangered Colfax dive bars, the Lion’s Lair has been a celebrated punk-rock venue for almost thirty years. But it’s also been host to something even more brutal and hardcore: open-mic comedy. A vital training ground for Denver standups, the Lion’s Lair is where local legends such as Ben Kronberg and the Grawlix performed their earliest sets and where the current generation of aspirants go to have their dreams nurtured and crushed in equal measure. Founded over a decade ago by Troy Baxley, the open mic has cycled through a series of guest hosts but always maintained its spirit of benevolent chaos, a tradition carried on by current stewards Roger Norquist and Westword‘s own Byron Graham. A cultural institution that harks back to a bygone Denver, the Lion’s Lair open mic is unusually fraught with absurd occurrences, like a mid-show seance or a comic being heckled by his future wife. Sign-up begins at 10 p.m. every Monday night.

Thanks to herculean behind-the-scenes effort and consistent improvement, Lucha Libre & Laughs again claims the crown. No other Denver comedy show contains so many moving parts; no other night promises so much delight per minute. With an increasingly dense and entertaining mythos, Lucha Libre & Laughs rewards its loyal fans with sagas of ringside drama, wacky recurring characters, heel turns and stunning reversals. Though the thrillingly acrobatic matches are LLL’s main draw, producer/ bumbling referee Nick Gossert doesn’t neglect the laughs side of the equation: The improvised color commentary from comedians Nathan Lund and Sam Tallent is as nimble as the wrestlers themselves, and the lineups are tightly curated, with headliners such as John “Hippieman” Novosad and Bobcat Goldthwait. While there’s typically a Lucha Libre & Laughs show every month at the Oriental Theater, dates and showtimes often shift from month to month; watch the website for updates.

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Readers’ Choice: Comedy Works Downtown

El Charrito already had a strong reputation as a karaoke haven and a great bar in the Ballpark neighborhood, but it’s recently become a second home for local comedians. Since the Comedy Room Room opened in El Charrito’s repurposed dining area last year, the “five-star dive bar” has hosted an open-mic night and at least one showcase every week. In addition to creating a supportive environment for comedy shows, proprietor Matt Orrin has befriended many local comics, even hiring them to work the door, bar-back and host karaoke. When they’re not working there, these comics are often at El Charrito anyway, nursing High Lifes around tabletop board games or feeding quarters into the massive arcade machine. While the cheap drinks are certainly a boon to Denver’s perpetually destitute creatives, it’s the constant presence of familiar faces that make El Charrito the Cheers of Denver comedy.

Alternative venues and comedian-produced showcases abound in Denver, but the gold standard for standup will always be Comedy Works Downtown. The subterranean club provides the ideal acoustics for basking in the warmth of a crowd’s laughter, making it the perfect setting to record standup albums like The Funches of Us and Skanks for the Memories. While rooted in more than 35 years of tradition, Comedy Works doesn’t shy away from such innovations as locking cell phones in Yondr bags, which not only removes distractions from the showroom, but also prevents nascent material from leaking out into the public. While remaining a top draw for headliners from around the world, Comedy Works has also nurtured the careers of local comedians dating all the way back to Roseanne Barr, and it continues to create platforms where its roster of comics can try out new ideas, including shows like Mentalpause and Infauxmation.

Colorado is awash in basic breweries, dozens of seemingly identical establishments that treat entertainment and aesthetics as afterthoughts. But Ratio Beerworks, a cultural hub in RiNo, defies this trend with its bold, constantly improving decor and fruitful partnerships with local creatives. Activities abound every week, from crafting and yoga classes to silent discos and trivia nights, which means that Ratio’s loyal patrons nearly always have something to do besides drink. It’s the live performances, however, that truly set Ratio apart. The Ratio Sessions concert series draws bands like the Menzingers and Beach Slang for intimate concerts where fans can meet and greet (and drink) with musicians in the colorful taproom. Meanwhile, Ratio Comedy puts on inventive showcases like the Battle Royale, Doom Room and the Dirty Laundry Dating Show nearly every Wednesday, keeping the laughs flowing as freely as the beer.

Back in the days before Fakebook and power-texting, we used to sit around tables together, playing games. Remember that? The hours of Monopoly, Risk and gin rummy, spent eye to eye over silly conversations, snacks and beverages? Now Denver has a place that brings all that back. Board Game Republic glamours up the old-fashioned family game night for adults with a reasonably priced menu, brews and cocktails and a 700-game library to choose from. The place is suitable for parties of all sizes, at a $5-per-person table charge. You have friends, right? Go do something with them, IRL.

Geeks need to gather in the safe surroundings of other geeks, doing the things geeks do: playing arcane fantasy-card games, drinking tea and French-press coffee, shopping for cosplay geek-wear and figures, sucking on e-hookahs — the usual stuff. Lair of Abraxas is a clubby den for square pegs looking for like-minded companions who unironically love to play games. The place bills itself as a never-ending gaming convention, which translates to gaming heaven. Entry to the late-night gaming palace is by a flat-fee admission price, which buys you all of the above. That’s a lot to love.

It’s easy to kill the soul of the nostalgic things we love by upgrading. Take, for example, the arcade experience. For children of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, it isn’t purely what we knew back then anymore; now arcades offer booze, food and other distractions to entice adults, which just ends up alienating the die-hard fans (and making things sticky). Behold Hyperspace, which started as one person’s warehouse-sized collection of nearly 200 games and has become a massive arcade with a simple twist: Instead of buying games with quarters, players have access to unlimited games with a $12 day pass. Load up on soda or energy drinks and finally reach the score of your dreams on Galaga.

Readers’ Choice: The 1Up Colfax

If a single party has earned the right to be engraved on your calendar, it’s the Circuit Saturday jam that takes over Tracks every first Saturday of the month. The fun themes are announced weeks early so that you can start pulling together a look that will draw attention while you’re dancing to the beats of world-class DJs. The night’s producers are always out on the floor, making sure everyone is having a good time — whether they be butch queen, twink, daddy, diva, Becky with the good hair, Basic Betty, club kid or just John Q. Public looking for the best place in town to party.

“This is the top of the nation!” For eight years, Tracks has taken host Nina Flowers’s clever tagline to heart when describing its Drag Nation show, a drag spectacle on the last Friday of every month. On this stage, a queen can realize the fantasy she’s been dreaming of her whole life, complete with lights, stage decor and dancers — via the talents of the hot and nimble Denver Dance members. Most important, these performers get to share the spotlight with Nina and the talented cast members who’ve all earned their place on the showbill. While Drag Nation also celebrates the guest talents of RuPaul’s Drag Race, our own homegrown hotties are the real stars of the show.

For nine years, RuPaul has turned every season of RuPaul’s Drag Race into a gay holiday; viewers make a fourteen-week commitment to see who’ll emerge as the next drag superstar. Here at home, that devotion inspired the Ultimate Queen Competition, which takes the best new drag talent in Denver and stages its own battle royale. If you want to take Denver’s drag temperature, catch an Ultimate Queen night; you’ll soon see who’s polished and who’s about to become polish remover. Gentlemen, start your engines — and may the best woman win!

The last few years have seen the drag population in Denver expand tenfold, which means that more and more queens are looking for a spot where they can lip-sync their hearts out. While Denver lost a few stages over the past year, it gained Blush & Blu, a cozy bar and coffeehouse that has been expanding its relationship within the gay community and offering its space for many different types of performances. And no one has embraced the place as much as this city’s drag stars. Blush & Blu takes pride in its new role, and has secured a critical item any would-be drag stage needs to be legit: a spotlight to show off the faces and hard work of our fiercest performers. The future looks bright!

For some performers, drag only runs skin deep. But for Ultimate Queen Yvie Oddly, aka Jovan Bridges, drag is about more than putting on makeup and a dress and lip-syncing to a pop hit, more than entertaining the masses. For Oddly, drag is a way of expressing your innermost personality, coloring outside the gender lines and using the platform to make a real statement. As a result, there’s crackling electricity whenever Yvie takes the Drag Nation stage or leads her own Odd Hour show at Tracks: What you’re about to watch is not only going to break the rules of everyday life, but the rules of what drag is supposed to be, as well.

Nina Montaldo, Denver’s Grand Dame of Drag, will turn 68 this year. Back in 1968, a young James Martinez began to create Nina — borrowing her last name from a high-end department store that once graced our city — because it was the fierce thing to do at a time when being gay, much less a queen, was illegal. Nina’s reign at the top of Denver drag has always stood for a few things: professionalism, beauty, glamour, joy and, most important, persistence. Today’s drag babies may dismiss Miss Nina’s aesthetics as “old-fashioned” — but there’s nothing old-fashioned about fighting for your art for fifty years. If you see Nina Montaldo on a bill, do yourself a favor and take in the show.

Drag is exhausting. You need to spend hours creating a look, an outfit, a number, and then even more time walking in shoes so high they’ll give you nosebleeds. Anka Shayne, aka Jordan Gilbert, doesn’t just display a willingness to do the work; she takes it to the next level. In or out of guise, you can see her wheels turning. What would happen if I poured this liquid latex on my face over my makeup? What would happen if my nails were five inches long? What if I came out wearing nothing but this sticker? Anka is a mover and a shaker who knows how to slay a stage.

Hands down, Collective Misnomer offers the best experimental film and media programming in Colorado. Screenings take place every few weeks, and despite the DIY nature of the endeavor, they’re well-attended by punks and established artists alike. What makes each evening’s lineup of shorts so strong is that programmer Adán De La Garza digs deep through online archives for the films he chooses, in the process creating programs that are both challenging and watchable — a coupling rarely found in experimental media circles. While other series scour familiar lists of filmmakers, De La Garza has a knack for finding up-and-coming artists and still managing to draw a crowd.

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Launched in 2012, Process Reversal is a nonprofit that has offered dozens of workshops in processing and developing motion-picture film by hand with chemicals, in DIY darkrooms and with hodgepodge gear. The group, which recently launched a screening series with the Sie FilmCenter, has taken equipment from now-defunct film laboratories and post-houses and has begun to use it in workshops; it hopes to ultimately open a community film lab where we can all process our own films.

processreversal.org

For nearly a century of filmmaking, 35mm film was the standard: a touchable and tangible material called celluloid that captures visuals at 24 frames a second and, when projected in front of a bright xenon bulb, shoots images onto a screen. Sadly, the advent of digital filmmaking has nearly put an end to this classic format, but there are still lovers of the medium — and movie houses that love to show it. At the Sie FilmCenter, the experienced projection team doesn’t just show films; they love and respect the magical material on which they’re made, and during screenings, they take care that every frame is in focus and the light and sound are perfect. As a result, the next time you watch something digitally, you may wish you were seeing it on film at the Sie.

Since 1955, First Person Cinema has brought some of the world’s greatest experimental filmmakers to Boulder — and when we say “filmmakers,” we mean it. The artists the group showcases often work entirely alone, sometimes painting or marking the film strip directly, other times crafting intricate, essay-style documentaries. Whatever these artists do, it’s sure to be innovative. Most of the filmmakers use their own voice, as the name of the series suggests, and all are pushing the limits of what cinema can be. First Person Cinema has a couple of screenings left this spring and will resume at the start of the fall semester.

Over the last decade, television has often stolen the limelight from filmmaking with shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad, the rise of Netflix and all that “binge-worthy” original programming. As a result, what you find on the ol’ boob tube is often better than what you see on the big screen at the multiplex. This televised revolution in storytelling caught the eyes of Randi Kleiner and Kaily Smith, who saw an opportunity to keep that momentum rolling with SeriesFest, a homegrown event that follows the film-festival model but focuses on television pilots instead of cinema, bringing the talent behind the industry out to the fans. Joining forces with the Denver Film Society, which produces the Denver Film Festival, SeriesFest proves that the best festivals can fill any size screen.

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Readers’ Choice: Denver Film Festival

The Denver Film Society is turning forty years old this year; it birthed the first Denver Film Festival back in 1977. Two decades later, the organization expanded its mission to running a year-round arthouse, which would allow the audience to experience the quality offerings of a festival every single day of the year; when it moved into the SieFilm Center six years ago, the DFS really developed its daily dose of movies. With three screens, the Sie maintains a perfect balance of new and classic cinema, augmenting regular showings with popular mini fests like Women + Film, CinemaQ and CineLatino, as well as guest programmers like Theresa Mercado, with her magnificent and macabre Scream Screen series. And every November, the Sie is again home to the Denver Film Festival. This theater just keeps on spinning like a reel of film, only with no end in sight.

Readers’ Choice: Alamo Drafthouse

With all the satisfying and eclectic programming at the Sie FilmCenter, you need to keep your attention on the screen — which means you can’t be distracted by uncomfortable surroundings. While some mainstream theaters are putting in fancy recliners, the Sie recognizes that those are more an excuse to grab forty winks than watch the program. So instead, it’s kept the same comfy leather seats in its theaters for years; they’re perfect for sinking into and soaking up the film. But the Sie isn’t entirely averse to change; it recently remodeled the forty-seat Clausen theater with slightly larger Italian leather seats, which make you feel like you’re sitting in that private screening room that you dream of installing in your basement someday.

Readers’ Choice: Alamo Drafthouse

It took decades for movie snacks to rise above the basics of popcorn, hot dogs, candy and soda, and decades more to deliver drinks and full meals straight to audience members in their seats. Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse really cracked that code, and when it opened its Littleton outpost in 2013, Seth Rexroad was in the kitchen, ready to lead his team through a lineup of dishes and adult drinks that viewers would find just as tasty as the film they were watching. And Rexroad’s menu just keeps getting better. For a reel treat, he’s created the Beer Dinners and Feasts series, taking classics like Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill saga or Coppola’s Godfather films and building delicious, multi-course dinners — complete with paired beer from Colorado’s best breweries — around the movies’ characters, themes and general awesomeness. Recently these special events have been coming fast and furious, giving film fans multiple opportunities every month to feed their stomach and their soul. And you’ll soon have more opportunities to sample Rexroad’s work; he’s been promoted to executive market chef for Colorado as the Alamo readies a second location at Sloan’s Lake and three more spots soon to be finalized around the state.

Readers’ Choice: Alamo Drafthouse

The Catamounts don’t go by the motto of “Theatre for the Adventurous Palate” for nothing. Always fresh and vital, often weird, sometimes witty and now and then profound, the Cats ferret out intriguing scripts and produce plays unlike anything you’ve seen around here. They’re talented theater professionals, but they’re also crazy about food, and they prepare feasts for their Saturday night shows. We’re not talking cheese plates or chocolate-covered strawberries, but delicious chef-created dishes that coruscate with metaphorical meaning. And the crew makes cocktails to match: Catamounts artistic director Amanda Berg Wilson’s favorites include last fall’s Fish House Punch, a blend of plain and peach brandies with lemon juice, and the Milton, mixed in tribute to the English poet John Milton and concocted from Rittenhouse rye whiskey, McGillicuddy’s peach liqueur and other drips and drops. “We like boozy cocktails,” she says, and she’s counting on you to like them, too.

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The shows at Miners Alley are never boring — a mix of old and new, dramas and musicals, with an occasional surprise thrown in. Even on opening night, the atmosphere is light and casual, and jeans are fine. Best of all, your very reasonably priced ticket — $18 to $28 — lets you attend the opening-night celebration, held in the bright, art-filled lobby with its well-stocked bar. Here you get to relax, chat and, if you want, congratulate the performers, who will be coming out for a snack or a drink as soon as they’re out of costume.

Readers’ Choice: Edge Theater Company

Traditionally, the Aurora Fox wasn’t a place where you’d find surprising, knock-your-socks-off productions, but under the leadership of executive producer Charles Packard, the venue has been taking on risky and ambitious ventures. Porgy and Bess, for example, which requires a plethora of African-American talent and a slew of operatic and near-operatic voices. Or Chinglish, which requires Mandarin-speaking actors and “perfecting the comic rhythms in two languages and subtitles,” according to the Fox’s website. “We suspected that early 2017 might be a fine time to reflect on America’s place in the global economy and how to begin to find out what we don’t know.” The play runs until April 9 and will be followed by Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, directed by Colorado Public Television’s Eden Lane.

Repertory companies employ a team of actors and stage shows in rotation: You can see the same actor play Hamlet one night and a silent bystander in another play the next. This is fun to watch — over time you develop your own favorite performers and start feeling a kinship with them — and it also brings stability to a shifting theater scene. But repertory companies are very rare these days, which makes the Arvada Center’s new Black Box Repertory Company something worth celebrating. Under director Lynne Collins, the center has assembled some of Denver’s best thespian talents for its company, which started out with a production of Tartuffe and will end the season with Waiting for Godot, described by director Geoffrey Kent as “King Lear meets Duck Soup.” Jump on the merry-go-round.

There’s no better way to see Shakespeare than in the fine, old outdoor Mary Rippon Theatre — particularly since amplification was provided a few years back (before that, actors’ voices were sometimes drowned by traffic on Broadway) and comfortable seats are provided to set atop the stone benches. The atmosphere is magical. This year’s outdoor offerings at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival are The Taming of the Shrew and Julius Caesar, and there will be a special reading of Henry VI, Part 3, presented on two nights. Hamlet and Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead will be shown inside, at the University Theatre.

coloradoshakes.org

Over the past decade, 60 percent of Curious Theatre Company’s offerings have been written by playwrights of color, LGBTQ playwrights or female playwrights. The company introduced Denver to Tarell Alvin McCraney, hailed as a successor to August Wilson, producing three of his plays over two years in what artistic director Chip Walton calls Serial Storytelling. There were also four plays in this program by Pulitzer winner Quiara Alegría Hudes, as well as outreach in the form of audience talkbacks and three panels. Diversity is often discussed in cloudy clichés, but Curious has been talking clearly and walking the walk for a long time.

The Denver Center’s annual New Play Summit, established by now-departed artistic director Kent Thompson, is a boon for playwrights, new or established, but it’s also a window into how strongly the DCPA supports new work — and this translates into a boon for audiences, because the company stages full productions of the summit’s most successful readings. As a result, we get a window into the wider theater world and are regularly introduced to some of the country’s most fascinating up-and-coming talents. Watch for the next round of productions to be announced in April.

The five core artists who make up Buntport write all of their original plays together, experimenting with words, ideas and form, tossing out or subverting convention. They play with myth and literature; their sets are miracles of low-cost, high-labor ingenuity; the four performers who appear in almost every production are major talents, and they also work brilliantly with guest actors. Everything’s experimental, but the shows are never stuffy — they’re playful, funny, unpretentious and inviting, and if there’s a deeper meaning somewhere, it’ll be as unexpected as a drop of rain from a clear sky. This is where you’ll find all the adventurous young theater-goers that every other company in town is trying to attract.

Edge Theater Company stages interesting, well-done productions ranging from classics to contemporary, hilarious to soul-rending, but beyond guaranteed seats for this impressive repertoire, there’s another reason to pick up a season ticket. The Edge gives out its own annual awards at the end of the year — the Edgys — and if you’ve seen all the season’s shows, you get to vote for your favorite actor, actress, ensemble, etc. Even if you haven’t voted, you get to enjoy one of the warmest celebration parties in town, where you’ll enjoy drinks and good food (served, at the last Edgys, in massive martini glasses), mingle with the theater crowd as everyone vamps, laughs and chats, and watch a comic-serious presentation ceremony. Artistic directors Rick and Patty Yaconis have found a great way to make their audience — which grows larger, more loyal and more exuberant every year — an integral part of the Edge community.

Some of the world’s best academics and scientists make Boulder their home (though given proposed federal budget cuts, perhaps not for long), so it makes sense that the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company should have a strong interest in presenting smart programming for adults. The latest of its many scientific offerings is Lauren Gunderson’s Silent Sky, the real-life story of Henrietta Swan Leavitt and the female “computers” of the Harvard Observatory, which runs April 6 through April 30. But co-founders Stephen Weitz and Rebecca Remaly are equally interested in history, literature, dramaturgy, feminism, zany humor and human nature, and the coming season offers a brain-teasing mix of new, established and soon-to-be-established playwriting talent — including Guards at the Taj, by Rajiv Joseph, author of the brilliant Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.

Readers’ Choice: Buntport Theater Company

Children’s theater is tricky. The best productions keep young squirmers absorbed while also entertaining their parents, and that can be tough. But Bitsy Stage makes it look easy. The little sister of the innovative all-Shakespeare company Betsy Stage, the group adapts international folk tales for the stage, incorporating lively casts and fun costuming with age-old stories that only improve with time — and then it offers up performances for free. Not surprisingly, shows fill up fast, so grab your gratis tickets now.

Readers’ Choice: Arvada Center

Hamilton arrives at the Buell Theatre in the Denver Performing Arts Complex on February 27, 2018. No need to say more.

Opera on Tap may be a New York-based nonprofit, but the Colorado chapter is going strong. Like Boulder Opera, the company takes opera out of the stuffy concert halls — but Opera on Tap brings it to bars. Instead of encouraging funereal attitudes and stiff bodies in stiffer seats, Opera on Tap allows audiences to drink and make noise, all while bringing the crowd up close and personal with the performers. Each month the group puts on a show at Syntax Physic Opera, and it hosts a yearly festival showcasing other companies’ efforts. We’ll drink to that!

operaontap.org/colorado

Too often, opera companies discourage new audiences with their exorbitant ticket prices and stuffy environments. Boulder Opera Company, which has been around for three years and recently became a nonprofit, wants to bring opera to people who might not have access to it. In April, the company will be performing Goyescas, by Enrique Granados, and a program of zarzuela pieces; in its upcoming season, Boulder Opera plans to put on more innovative original operas for children and people uncomfortable in traditional opera venues. Boulder Opera is willing to take risks on both unknown composers and its audiences; even when presenting works for kids, it refuses to dumb shows down.

boulderoperacompany.com

Wonderbound, which used to be known as Ballet Nouveau, has been defying traditional assumptions about what dance companies should do: recycle fairy tales, stick to proven works and dance to classical music only. Under the leadership of Garrett Ammon and Dawn Fay, the group has collaborated with contemporary musicians and artists, expanding its audience and also the boundaries of dance. This season, the dancers will be performing alongside members of the Flobots, who will perform their new album, as well as dancing to music from such local acts as Chimney Choir, the Ian Cooke Band, Jesse Manley, DeVotchKa’s Tom Hagerman, and even the Colorado Symphony. Passionate about arts education, the company shares its work with more than 25,000 community members each year.

Infuse Gallery is based in Longmont, but its reach is global; its mission as a nonprofit is to serve organizations around the world, empowering at-risk artists. The brainchild of entrepreneur and artist Kyra Coates, Infuse invites artists both established and emerging to sell work on its website. A percentage of every sale gives back to the artist’s nonprofit of choice, including such Infuse partners as RedLine’s Reach Studio for the homeless, the Blossomy Project for young women and girls caught up in human trafficking in India, the victim-empowerment organization PAVE, and many more. In turn, artists served by those nonprofits can also market their work on the site. No need to say that this concept is a win/win — but we’ll say it anyway. Coates has plans to open a physical gallery space later this year in Denver, which means we’ll win big, too.

infuse.gallery

Serving as headquarters for the Birdseed Collective, Westword MasterMind Anthony Garcia Sr.’s nonprofit arts and community-building organization, Alto is a space with heart, bringing known and unknown artists to the forefront with imaginative and adventurous exhibits, much in the way more established yet under-the-radar galleries like Dateline and Leon do. Since opening Alto a little over a year ago in the Tennyson Street Cultural District, curators Garcia and Raymundo Muñoz of 1/1 Magazine have been bringing in national street artists (including Miami’s Luis Valle) as well as showcasing local talent; they’ve allowed Orchid Z3ro to envelop the space in video projections, along with other innovative shows. Alto means “high” in Spanish, which is appropriate for a gallery that’s clearly going places.

Take a tour through Denver’s art galleries with a little one and you’ll realize just how not-child-friendly the commercial art world can be. And we’re not talking content, either. While most gallery staffers will gingerly thank a parent for teaching the next generation how to be art consumers, they seem afraid (somewhat rightly) that the children will destroy the place. But at Michael Warren Contemporary, owner Michael Warren not only happily greets children, he lets them roam the gallery and occasionally offers age-appropriate instruction on how to look at a painting or understand an artist’s intentions. He appears genuinely excited that kids are in his space, and while many of his peers talk a good game about cultivating the next generation of art connoisseurs, he’s really doing it — and making the process thoroughly enjoyable for both parents and children.

Denver’s exhibition venues are currently swamped with photo shows inspired by the biennial Month of Photography. Otherwise, art shows devoted to photography can be hard to find in Denver. That’s why the Colorado Photographic Arts Center is something to celebrate: It focuses on fine-art photography all year long. Founded in 1963 by Denver photographers who felt that their medium didn’t get enough respect as an art form, CPAC has always fought that perception. Although the group had its ups and downs over the years and moved around a lot, this past year it landed in an ideal location on Bannock Street, only a couple of blocks from where it all began more than fifty years ago. At the new space, executive director Samantha Johnston puts together a crowded schedule of shows, along with classes, workshops and lectures.

With an unusual setup that combines exhibition spaces with fully subsidized artist studios, RedLine has upended the local art world during its brief existence, discovering scores of noteworthy emerging artists through its residency program. The nonprofit space launched by artist and mega-wealthy donor Laura Merage selects fifteen to eighteen artists to work alone in a series of modern studios, and also to work together as a community. The studio doors are always left open, allowing visitors to RedLine’s always compelling exhibits to catch sight of the artist-residents at work on their pieces; if the artist isn’t there, viewers can still see what they’re working on. In addition to the upstarts, RedLine selects three mid-career artists to provide guidance, and they receive free studios, too. With so many local artists, especially young ones, priced out of the studio market by Denver’s soaring rents, having free space to work downtown is a real gift. Too bad there aren’t more RedLines around town; Denver could use a couple dozen immediately.

The Denver Art Museum has mastered the art of hosting a blockbuster. The secret to the DAM’s success is the wide variety of offerings it presents, as well as the relentless frequency with which it presents them. Some of these major efforts are dead serious, like the groundbreaking Mi Tierra, which looks at the Mexican-American experience in the age of Trump via conceptual art; others are mostly fun, such as Star Wars and the Power of Costume, a major attendance hit. The addition of the DAM’s Hamilton Building just over a decade ago was designed to allow the possibility of regularly presenting temporary exhibitions with several running at the same time — and the building has beautifully fulfilled that aim. These blockbuster shows really bring in the crowds and kick up the receipts — a goal for any cultural institution these days.

To maintain the lively exhibition schedule at his eponymous gallery, David B. Smith travels the country, checking out cutting-edge artists in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, even Boulder. He’s always looking for new talent for his aesthetically tight exhibitions, and his current offering, Range, is proof of that. New Yorker Penelope Umbrico uses iPhone apps to riff on the history of landscape photography as inspired by the work of the masters of that medium. The resulting digital photos infuse the original black-and-white views of the mountains made with film with colors from computer codes, in the form of shooting stripes or bars in toned-up shades, running right through the scenery. This show is part of the Month of Photography; at other times on the exhibition calendar, you might encounter interactive installations, or paintings that rise a foot off their surfaces, or sculptures that light up, or any number of imaginative takes on contemporary conceptual art.

The Center for Visual Art, the mid-sized museum that’s an off-campus division of Metropolitan State University of Denver, often shows work by contemporary artists who live in different parts of the world. There have been exhibits devoted to Chinese artists, to African artists, to artists from the Middle East — as is the case with the spectacular Presence, a spring show that includes the work of three immigrants from that region who now live in Denver: Laleh Mehran, Sami Al Karim and Halim Al Karim. The international focus is key to the exhibition program put together by Cecily Cullen, the CVA’s managing director and curator, but as shown by the local artists in Presence, she’s interested in staying on top of the art of our region, too.

Bill Havu, whose namesake William Havu Gallery is one of the top art venues in town, focuses on work by artists living in this part of the country — not just Colorado, but New Mexico, Arizona, California, Texas, Wyoming and even such unexpected places as Nebraska and Kansas. While all of the artists are from the West, the work Havu selects reflects international trends in contemporary art, though often with a distinct cultural tweak reflecting the region. Artists represented by Havu are typically mid-career, with substantial talents, including Amy Metier, Emilio Lobato, Virgil Ortiz, Nancy Lovendahl and Tony Ortega. A lot of people have the idea that art made by people living in this part of the country will be filled with kitsch depictions of cowboys, Indians, horses, buffaloes and coyotes; one visit to William Havu Gallery will dispel that false impression once and for all.

For decades, the David Cook Galleries specialized in historic art of the American West, in particular Colorado, New Mexico and other nearby states. In recent years, Cook has become more and more focused on prints and paintings created in the first half of the twentieth century, as modernism overtook impressionism. The inventory varies, but it typically includes pieces by the storied artists of Taos and Santa Fe, as well as those associated with the Broadmoor Academy and others of the sort. The quality of the material is tremendous, with pieces that often rival those of museum collections. Adjacent to the fine-art section is Cook’s American Indian gallery, with jewelry and ceremonial items made over the last century and a half by members of various Native American tribes from the Southwest. A trip to the David Cook Galleries — located in an old red-brick LoDo storefront — is just about as close as you can get in 2017 to the region’s romantic Western past.

Since artist cooperatives don’t charge commission on sales, they’re good spots for finding affordable art, because you’re starting with what amounts to a 50 percent break over commercial galleries. But times have gotten tough for this city’s alternative spaces, so the cash-conscious collector has fewer options. That makes Spark and CORE, two co-ops that have long shared an address, real standouts. The artists at Spark, the city’s oldest arts co-op, are more established than those at CORE, so the prices are usually a little higher. But you can still find bargains at both spots, with small- to mid-sized paintings, prints and photos sometimes for sale for as little as $100 each — and rarely is anything over a couple thousand dollars. As you contemplate the price tag, remember: Not only will you be buying a bargain to hang over the sofa, but you’ll be helping out Denver’s beleaguered DIY culture. Now go buy another piece or two.

Readers’ Choice: Affordable Arts Festival

Abstract-expressionist giant Clyfford Still had only the most casual association with Colorado, having briefly acted as a visiting artist at the University of Colorado Boulder. But a huge hunk of his life’s work is right here in Denver at the Clyfford Still Museum. So how did it wind up here? When he died, Still left a stipulation in his will that any American city that would build a museum to house his pieces exclusively could get his enormously valuable collection of work. In 2004, then-mayor John Hickenlooper worked out an agreement with Still’s widow, Patricia Still, pledging to build such a museum; the next year, she threw her own hoard of her husband’s work into the deal. As a result, the CSM contains 95 percent of the artist’s output. If you want to see Clyfford Still’s work, you need to come to this museum — and people from around the world do. If you have friends from out of town already visiting, take them to see something they won’t find anywhere else on earth.

Readers’ Choice: Denver Art Museum

Just about everybody in the art world is interested in the next big thing to emerge on the contemporary scene, which is why a number of galleries offer the work of newer — read: younger — artists. A lot of young artists have come through Rule over the years, often freshly minted BFAs, and twenty- and thirty-somethings are still over-represented in the gallery’s stable. Co-directors Valerie Santerli and Rachel Beitz are always scouting local talent: If someone’s about to get hot, Rule will be among the first to get there.

Readers’ Choice: Mirada Fine Art Gallery

Robischon Gallery, a LoDo landmark for decades, is the city’s flagship contemporary gallery — not just because the place approximates the size of a small museum, but also because so many of the artists whose work is shown there also exhibit in actual museums. Figures from art-history books like John Buck, Ann Hamilton, Manuel Neri, Judy Pfaff, Kiki Smith, Bernar Venet and others are represented by the gallery, and if you want a Christo or an Ellsworth Kelly, for example, Robischon can get that for you, too. The gallery has also assembled a roster of some top local talent — Kim Dickey, Ana Maria Hernando, Trine Bumiller, Gary Emrich, Terry Maker, David Sharpe and many, many others — and their works often wind up in museums as well. Another thing that sets Robischon apart is how elegantly and intelligently every exhibition, regardless of the theme or topic, is installed; credit for that goes to Jennifer Doran, who along with husband Jim Robischon selects the first-rate work by first-rate artists that the gallery displays.

Readers’ Choice: Mirada Fine Art Gallery

The people behind MCA Denver know that to survive as an arts institution, you have to attract a broad array of patrons — and keep them coming back again and again. And so at regular intervals, MCA Denver turns into one of the city’s hottest clubs, luring people in with karaoke nights, House of Style cocktail parties, performances by musical acts and much, much more. The price of admission includes entry into the galleries, and some of the youthful partiers actually wander back to see what’s on display. Right now a trio of shows lets Denver’s twenty-somethings travel back in time to see what twenty-somethings from past generations were up to: New York in the ’60s and ’70s is highlighted in Wall Writers, in the ’70s and ’80s by Basquiat Before Basquiat, and in the ’90s by Ryan McGinley. MCA Denver has made its mark on the city not just with smart exhibits, but with smart marketing…and great parties.

The tiny, artist-run Dateline has built a big reputation among both underground- and commercial-art lovers for putting on risky exhibitions that showcase works by a diverse array of Denver artists. The shows themselves provide plenty of food for thought, but gallerist Jeromie Lawrence Dorrance ups the ante with openings stocked with actual food and drink, often thematically tied to the art on display. The party atmosphere and the gallery’s location in the heart of RiNo make those openings a big draw for artists and fans alike, an ideal place to shmooze about booms and busts in Denver’s art world. Don’t forget to look at the exhibit while you’re there!

Readers’ Choice: Mirada Fine Art Gallery

Development has severely cut into Denver’s arts districts, but the Art District on Santa Fe keeps chugging along, with thousands of people coming out every First Friday to experience the offerings of dozens of arts-related enterprises that line the sidewalks between West Fourth and West 11th avenues. In this time zone, you’d have to get down to the original Santa Fe — in New Mexico — to find as many art spots in one area. Among the attractions are some of the city’s great commercial galleries, including Mai Wyn Fine Art, Space, Rule and Michael Warren; co-ops, notably Spark and Core; and arts groups like CHAC, as well as numerous artist spaces and studios. There are even a couple of small museums: the Museo de las Americas and MSU Denver’s Center for Visual Art. But it’s not just the fine arts that drive this stretch of Santa Fe; you’ll also find the Denver Civic Theatre, home to Su Teatro, and the Colorado Ballet in its ambitious new home. The main thoroughfare for Denver’s Latino community for generations, the strip also sports a fine assortment of Mexican restaurants, perfect for recharging between art shows.

Readers’ Choice: Art District on Santa Fe

The train to DIA — the University of Colorado A Line — has had its share of troubles, including intermittent stalls and malfunctioning crossing barricades. The least troubling aspect of the RTD project has been the public-art component, with each of the stations along the route augmented by a piece of public art. The best of the batch — in fact, the best new piece of public art commissioned in metro Denver this past year — is Sean O’Meallie’s “Balloon Man Running,” at the Central Park Station at Stapleton. The Manitou Springs-based artist typically creates whimsical pieces that have a childlike sense of wonder; O’Meallie is a successful toy inventor. With “Balloon Man Running,” he tips his hat to both Casper the Friendly Ghost and to the related balloon-animal sculptures of Jeff Koons. And somehow, the piece also manages to convey the idea of hurrying to catch a train. The twelve-foot-tall piece can be seen for blocks, as it stands on a two-story-tall plinth that brings a humorous touch to a boring parking lot.

Readers’ Choice: Project Colfax

There’s been a lot of ugly talk about the plan to replace the crumbling I-70 viaduct. But it inspired something beautiful this past year: ‘Duct Work, a project that put 38 street artists to work creating murals under the viaduct at 46th Avenue and York Street. The viaduct is slated for demolition by 2018, but in the meantime, it’s a great urban canvas. “We want to make sure we get the whole viaduct painted eventually, so we’re going to have lots of chances for more artists,” says organizer Kendall Peterson of CIG, who worked with the Colorado Department of Transportation, Urban Arts Fund and North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative to create this massive urban-art project, curated by renowned local artist Yiannis Bellis. Contributors to the mural include Thomas Evans, Ricks, East, Jolt, Tuke One, Robin Munro, Jesse Frazier, Patrick Kane McGregor, Koko Bayer, Chris Haven, Thomas Scharfenberg, Sandra Fettingis, Paige Madison and many more; enjoy their work while you can.

Denver’s been blessed with great street art over the past few years, thanks in part to Denver Arts & Venue’s Urban Arts Fund, led by Mary Valdez, which pairs paid artists with walls all over the city: under Globeville viaducts, on the sides of RiNo buildings and, last year, along the Cherry Creek Trail. This urban gallery is too impressive to whip past on a bicycle, though. You need to be able to walk between pieces and stop to study such marvels as the ode to Denver created by Nigel Penhale, and “City of the Sun,” a deep-blue and gold mural by Colorado mandala artist Gemma Danielle that caught the eye of Americans for Arts.

Readers’ Choice: 2700 Larimer Street, by Joshua Mays

Angela Astle’s Athena Project doesn’t take its mission lightly. Every spring, the woman-centric arts roundup hosts a month-long series celebrating metro-area women who participate in all of the arts. There’s always a sharp focus on theater, as evidenced by the inclusion of an annual centerpiece play and a string of plays in progress, but Athena also makes room for music, art, dance, fashion and serendipity, and strives to be a safe haven for women artists working in every discipline. In the best of all worlds, there wouldn’t be a need for an event like the Athena Project Festival, but for now, we’re glad it’s there.

athenaprojectfestival.org

Thinking about how to raise money for creative projects kinda takes the fun out of funding. Not so with Art Tank, the Denver Foundation’s Arts Affinity Group’s Shark Tank-like competition through which local arts organizations compete for dough. After a lengthy application process, finalists attempt to wow a panel of arts funders and an audience of arts enthusiasts. The group with the best presentation (Arts Street in 2017) wins tens of thousands of dollars, and everybody takes away a little inspiration. This year’s competition was filmed by the Colorado Film School and broadcast on public television, but watching the process in person is the real thrill.

Arts Street works with Colorado kids, offering real-world experiences to help students move toward careers in the creative industries. The nonprofit program works primarily with inner-city youth and young people who struggle in traditional schools; it has a wide understanding of what art can be and do, and offers lessons in visual arts, music, theater, dance, video and web skills. By teaching these skills, the organization hopes to empower kids to take a creative approach to growth.

Although Blush & Blu is an established lesbian bar and coffee shop in the heart of Capitol Hill, it’s always welcomed the larger, diverse community with open arms. With its sizable performance space, the bar has beefed up its credibility with poetry readings, art shows, yoga classes, drag shows, music and more — and it’s fun to visit before or after you dip into Voodoo Doughnut next door. That said, desperately seeking Susans will always find what they’re looking for when they walk in.

Readers’ Choice: Blush & Blu

Denver’s art scene has come a long way in a handful of decades, with a rooted group of homegrown talent now being joined by out-of-state creative types. Tilt West wants not just to document that growth, but to discuss it — taking a critical look at the arts and their role in this city. Headed by a small group of artists and art-world operators, Tilt West encourages elevated discourse through curated conversations among artists, teachers, gallerists, architects and writers. The unmoderated, unadvertised setting creates a level playing field where all voices can discuss topics like “Regional History & Potential” and “Technology & the Body.” The salons are recorded, and the audio is archived online for public access; Tilt West is also working on a publishing platform, in hopes of taking the conversation about art in Colorado to a wider audience in the near future.

tiltwest.org

Tracks has been fierce and fabulous for almost 37 years. The largest gay club in town has worked hard to be our gay Disneyland. Top-notch DJs, the hottest go-go boys and girls, a hot dance floor, a sexy and dedicated bar staff, an excellent security team, nimble management and production crews and its fostering of Denver’s blooming drag scene keeps Tracks’ colors shining bright. After the shooting at Pulse nightclub last year, Tracks hosted a gigantic vigil to provide the community space to mourn and reflect. Tracks’ continued commitment to safety, stellar music and a welcoming atmosphere for those in the LGBTQ community and its allies helps us be who we want to be without fear, night after night.

Readers’ Choice: Tracks

Since starting Mile High Soul Club nearly a decade ago, DJs Tyler Jacobson and DogBoy have turned their monthly night into Denver’s foremost place to hear vintage and rare Northern Soul, R&B and funk from the late ’50s to early ’70s, whether it be the Jones Girls or Gus “the Groove” Lewis. MHSC brought on resident DJs Steve Cervantes in 2012 and Jason Heller last year; they eventually started a companion night called Funk Club. The crew also recruits guest DJs like Nick Waterhouse or soul singer Nikki Hill. Catch Mile High Soul Club every month at Syntax Physic Opera or opening for heavies like Lenny Kravitz or Charles Bradley.

milehighsoulclub.com

Readers’ Choice: Electronic Tuesdays at the Black Box

In the two years since Nicole and Scott Mattson opened Nocturne, the supper club has established itself as a stellar jazz venue as well as becoming an integral part of the RiNo neighborhood. With a modern take on 1920s East Coast art deco, Nocturne provides an elegant setting in which to catch some of the area’s finest jazz musicians — both veterans and up-and-coming players — along with touring national acts. And while the jazz talent is reason enough to visit Nocturne, the venue’s menu offers creative cuisine from chef Greg Weadick, and the bar staff knows how to serve a wicked cocktail.

Readers’ Choice: Nocturne

Hailed as Colorado’s oldest blues bar, Ziggies has been part of Denver’s blues community for more than half a century. On most nights, you’ll find stellar talent performing at the venue, whether it’s the local or national seasoned veterans who play Thursdays through Saturdays, or up-and-coming players honing their chops at the four different jam sessions that run the other days of the week. There are a handful of places in town that cater to blues acts, but Ziggies should be first on your list.

Readers’ Choice: El Chapultepec

Long before RiNo became the buzzing neighborhood that it is today, the Larimer Lounge was pretty much the only place in the area bringing the rock. And although the neighborhood has exploded in popularity in recent years, the fifteen-year-old club continues to book a steady stream of national acts, some of which (Arcade Fire and Band of Horses, for starters) have gone on to play Red Rocks and other much bigger venues. Although the emphasis at the Larimer is on rock acts — like Reverend Horton Heat, who recently did a five-night stand there — it’s also a great place to see a wide-ranging assortment of bands most nights of the week.

Readers’ Choice: hi-dive

The building at 314 East 13th Avenue has housed several different venues over the past decade, including Bender’s Tavern and Quixote’s True Blue, but the place didn’t truly start rocking the deep bass until Sub.mission’s Nicole Cacciavillano took it over and opened in the fall of 2016 as the Black Box. While the dual-room club, which sports a powerful, state-of-the-art Basscouch sound system, brings in a number of local and national dubstep acts on a regular basis, a variety of EDM artists perform in both rooms throughout the week.

Readers’ Choice: The Black Box

Since opening two decades ago, La Rumba has been the hottest place in town for salsa dancing: Saturday salsa nights bring live bands to the masses, and some of the city’s best salsa DJs spin on Thursdays. Latin Fridays, which include bachata, merengue, reggaetón and more, are another great night to get your dance on. La Rumba also hosts dance classes and occasionally brings in internationally known Latin acts like Joan Soriano and Julieta Venegas.

Karaoke has a cult following in Denver, yet before last year there were no venues dedicated solely to the activity, like you’d find all over Tokyo and Seattle’s International District. Our karaoke prayers were answered when Voicebox, a swanky club and restaurant with private karaoke rooms for rent by the hour, took over a trendy corner in RiNo last June. The place has blown up in popularity ever since. It has an amazing selection of songs, and you have more time to sing with your friends without all the anxiety that comes with getting in front of a rowdy crowd of karaoke regulars. Voicebox charges about $6 an hour for individuals or $50 an hour for groups (prices go up during peak times).

Readers’ Choice: Armida’s

When Beta opened on Memorial Day 2008 with a show by superstar DJ Danny Tenaglia, it was clear that the mammoth club was destined to be a huge player in Denver’s dance scene. Not only has Beta since established itself as the best dance club in town, but the venue was voted one of the 25 Greatest Dance Clubs of All Time by Billboard in 2015, and in 2013 Rolling Stone put it at the top of its Best Dance Clubs in America list. The club’s booming Funktion-One system is supreme, and Beta regularly brings in top-notch world-class talent like Paul Oakenfold, Richie Hawtin and Benny Benassi.

Readers’ Choice: Beta

When the feminist punk band Cheap Perfume wrote the song “Trump Roast” prior to last year’s election, the group didn’t know how relevant it would become. “Dear Don, we’ve got blood coming out of our wherever,” sang Stephanie Byrne and “Jane No,” the band’s two frontwomen. The track ends with them telling the now-president to “eat a dick and die.” That sentiment certainly resonated with the crowd at the Punk Against Trump concert at the Summit Music Hall this year. The band, which also includes David “Hot Dave” Grimm and Geoff Brent, came together in 2015; its members hail from Colorado Springs and Denver. Since the inauguration, Cheap Perfume has continued to speak out about number 45, including railing against his controversial immigration orders. So don’t expect Cheap Perfume to lie low: In January, “Jane No” vowed to turn her “disappointment and fear into action.”

Being a comic artist can be a lonely life, but in Denver, those artists like to stick together. The Blacktail Collective gathers occasionally for multimedia public readings and road trips, spreading the joy of independent comics originating in the active Rocky Mountain region. Members include Westword cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz, Alan Brooks, Alex Graham, Jake Fairly, Ted Intorcio, Dan Landes, Kevin Caron and spokesman Lonnie MF Allen, who says Blacktail is taking a quick break while the collective prepares for the 2017 Denver Independent Comic & Art Expo. Find the group’s schedule on its Facebook page.

Every spring, female dancers, emcees, graffiti artists and DJs from around the country converge in Denver for the annual Queenz of Hip Hop Jam. The event showcases talented female hip-hop artists and encourages young women to pursue their craft in a genre traditionally dominated by men. Among the activities at each year’s Jam are the much-anticipated dance battles, which pit contestants against one another in various categories such as “1v1 footwork,” “2v2 b-girls” and a “Bonnie and Clyde” battle that matches male and female duos against each other.

queenzofhiphp.com

As Americans clamor for political action through art, Allout Helter remains ahead of the curve. The punkish, melodic hardcore band had been around for a while before linking up with lead singer Ross Hostage, who brought a frenetic energy and civics-lesson-minded slant to the band’s lyrics. This year the group joined forces with fellow anti-fascist musicians for Punk Against Trump, a protest show that also raised money for the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. Find members of Allout Helter on stage and in the streets, raising fists for the working people and engaging fans in the political process, all while creating catchy rallying cries to inspire a more informed crowd.0x2029

allouthelter.bandcamp.com

With all the transplants moving to town, there’s a growing desire to preserve what it means to be from the metro area. Fed Rez is a rowdy hip-hop act that grew up in Bear Valley and pridefully reps the Northside, where the crew’s decades-old family-owned print shop is still thriving amid encroaching development. Proud to be from this once-unknown cowtown, the Feddy promised that “It’s all good, ‘cuz our hood has got your back” in its 2016 Mile High City anthem “Danver.” Fed Rez will always be there for fellow Queen City OGs, repping Denver’s once uncool and unassuming corners and ‘hoods, from Athmar Park to Green Valley Ranch.

fedrez.com

A Nuggets game without the foot-stomping “We Will Rock You” or the revved-up excitement of “All I Do Is Win” wouldn’t feel like a basketball game at all. Thanks to DJ Bedz: The White Shadow, no Nuggs match-up goes down without the proper soundtrack. Spinning the right records at the right time is Bedz’s specialty; he’s been keeping the crowd jumping and the players pumped for the past fourteen years. Along with being the sole music man for the Nuggets, he’s also a part-time DJ for the Denver Broncos and plays hot tracks for the CU Buffs. Thanks to DJ Bedz, Colorado’s biggest sports teams get to sound as good as they play.

djbedz.co

Paul Italiano isn’t just an expert in ’80s alternative, punk and new-wave music; he’s actually met many of the artists whose music he plays as DJ Paul on occasion at Milk Bar. That’s because Italiano is also the owner of South Broadway rock-clothing boutique FashioNation with his wife, Pam — and many of those ’80s alt-bands visit the shop when they’re in town. Over the years, Italiano has hung out with members of the Cure, Joy Division, R.E.M., the Pixies, the Ramones, Tears for Fears and the Go-Go’s, just to name a few. FashioNation even has a wall of framed pictures of its famous visitors.

Product Lust started in 2016 and has already earned some national acclaim. The band revives the post-punk spirit and injects hardcore with unconventional rhythms and a disruptive energy. Product Lust’s stage shows are impossible to ignore: The act manages to make its music seem dangerous — even scary — with the sheer disorienting intensity of its performances. It’s a refreshing reminder that music still has the power to inspire — and alienate.

productlust.bandcamp.com

Readers’ Choice: The Bucktones

Nearly 25 years into its existence, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club could have rested on its laurels while recording its latest album, The Commandments According to SCAC. Considered an institution of the local music scene and all but appointed a torchbearer of the so-called Denver sound, the group probably felt a lot of pressure to deliver the familiar — or something completely different. But rather than burst free from who it is entirely, SCAC wrote an album that capitalizes on what it does best while imbuing each song with a spirit and luminosity that sounds like a new chapter. If earlier albums established the Auto Club’s reputation as an important Denver band, The Commandments will hopefully carry the group into much wider circles.

scacunincorporated.com

Bobby Crane, Cory Helie, Kevin O’Brien and Sam Tallent are local comedy veterans who have toured together and helped build Denver’s comedy scene into something respected beyond our city’s limits. They are also big music fans who shared a love for unconventional punk and punk-influenced bands like Dead Boys, Gun Club and Reatards. Big City Drugs could have been yet another example of an ill-advised endeavor ventured upon by artists in a different realm of creativity. But the group was undeniably good from the beginning, and its 2016 debut EP, Human Cargo, proved that BCD has much to offer beyond its frantic, riveting live shows.

bigcitydrugs.bandcamp.com

Led by avant-trumpet player extraordinaire Joshua Trinidad, GoStar explores the boundaries of jazz improvisation and soundscaping. Far from being purists, Trinidad and the rest of GoStar’s extraordinary players turn out improvisations that take listeners on an imaginative ride. The music even dips into the visionary psychedelic rock of Jimi Hendrix at his best. The force and energy of a GoStar performance sustains levels of excitement you won’t find at most avant-garde jazz shows.

joshuatrinidad.com

Grande Orquesta Navarre — pianist Sara Parkinson, double-bassist Susan Cahill, bandoneon and cello player Evan Orman, and Tom Hagerman of DeVotchka on accordion and violin — mostly performs classical pieces. But the group manages to find fascinating selections that fit its lively and versatile performance style. When it played Baur’s Listening Lounge last December, the Orquesta’s unamplified performance enhanced the intimacy of the show. Grande Orquesta Navarre takes relatively obscure classical music, infuses it with tango and delivers it in a cabaret-style presentation, making it exciting again. In an era when everyone has seen and heard everything, this foursome feels fresh.

gonavarre.org

After pop-culture dreamer Charlie La Greca parted ways with Denver Comic Con, which he co-founded, he turned his sights on something more community-oriented and artist-friendly — a more manageable, true-hearted comic con that allowed fans to get face-to-face with comic creators. The Denver Independent Comic & Art Expo might not break attendance records or send cosplayers in droves out into the streets of downtown Denver, but its first installment last spring at the Sherman Street Event Center was a small miracle. This year’s followup will take over the McNichols Building, with special guests the Hernandez Brothers of Love and Rockets fame, Kitchen Sink Press founder and underground comic artist Denis Kitchen, Denver expat Noah Van Sciver and dozens of other independent comic artists from near and far, as well as a fresh trove of comix, small-press publications and zines.

dinkdenver.com

Debajo del Agua’s members hail from all over Latin America, and the dance-inspiring music the group makes is as diverse as it is fun. Mixing hip-hop with Andean folk music, salsa, reggae, samba and reggaetón, the outfit is known for its energetic live shows and its political messages, delivered in multiple languages. The band has plans to release an album this year; watch for the single “Mundo Al Revés” to drop soon.

debajodelagua.org

From the moment he opens his show with the gleeful announcement that it is “lunchtime at the Oasis!” it’s clear: Arturo Gómez is the best — and happiest — voice on Colorado’s airwaves. Each weekday afternoon from 12 to 1 p.m., the disc jockey lays down classic-, modern- and Latin-jazz cuts, peppered with his own deep knowledge of musicians’ backstories and the history behind each track. The award-winning music director’s influence and experience can be heard all over KUVO’s many genre-bending shows. But it’s his genuine on-air enthusiasm for the music and his insightful, informative commentary between songs that captures what the nonprofit radio station is all about: jazz. This colorful state is home to one of the few remaining all-jazz stations in the country — with a unique emphasis on local jazz artists, too — and Gómez is an integral part of what keeps KUVO fresh, relevant and enjoyable to listen to.

Barely a year old and already pushing boundaries,105.5 FM The Colorado Sound has embraced a refreshing music-for-many-tastes mentality. From just-released tracks to classic hits, local musicians to global artists, this nonprofit, KUNC-affiliated FM station isn’t afraid to take chances with its programming; the Talking Heads, Lumineers, James Brown and the XX all find a home on 105.5. Familiar voices from the state’s vast radio landscape can be found here, too, including Ron Bostwick and Keefer, who are just some of the bright personalities lighting up the station. In a time when major-player stations rely on monotonous, recycled playlists, The Colorado Sound is a welcomed entity that makes the FM dial a better place for discerning listeners.

coloradosound.org

Travis Sturm has established himself as the go-to guy for live visuals in Denver’s experimental music scene. An industrial- and experimental-electronic musician himself, Sturm creates visual representations of music where others might just hear a tune. Armed with a projection machine, he’s worked in DIY spaces, warehouses, bars and movie theaters, easily adapting to each space. Sturm has focused mostly on experimental music, but we hope 2017 brings opportunities to expand his art beyond the niche scene and into a wider variety of musical events.

orchidz3ro.com

Jeff Suthers makes magic in his home recording studio. He recorded there as Bright Channel, which strongly influenced Denver’s shoegaze and psychedelic scene, and has opened the space up to groups like Volplane, Orbiteer and Pteranodon. One of the most arresting albums to come from his studio — last year’s Darkmoonwhiteout, from Suthers’s new group, Pale Sun — taps into daydreams, deep emotions and a sense of wonder, proving that homemade is, indeed, better.

flightapproved.com/palesun

The resurgence of cassettes may seem like a de-evolution of music listening to some consumers. If you agree, let First Base Tapes change your mind. The Boulder-based label cranks out limited runs of albums on tape, which go for $5 and are available for purchase through the First Base Bandcamp page. Acts like American Grandma, Male Blonding and Beat Soft Pop have put out colorful cartridges, which can also be streamed or downloaded, through the imprint. Many of its releases are recorded at independent, nonprofit station Radio 1190, located on the University of Colorado Boulder campus, where First Base Tapes was born. The label is a network of bands, sound engineers, visual artists and music fans who believe that DIY really means Do It Affordably and Do It Together.

firstbasetapes.bandcamp.com

When indie hip-hop label Anticon co-founder Tim Holland, aka Sole, moved to Denver more than a half-decade ago, he immediately became immersed in his new town’s music scene. Fast-forward to 2017, when the MC and activist is knee-deep in new releases, this time under his newish online label, Black Box Tapes Trading Company. Along with being a home for Holland’s own recordings, Black Box Tapes puts out work by underground giants Church Fire, Echo Beds and Paperbark, and national acts like Jared Paul, Skyrider and Egadz. Far from just a passion project, the record label gives Holland the ability to do what he believes in most: help other artists get their music out into the world and get paid for it. The MC takes supporting his adopted home town seriously by cultivating musicians who make Denver the cool, interesting and weird place that it is.

blackboxtapes.bandcamp.com

Fronted by Denver’s own “Mr. Music,” Virgil Dickerson, the Greater Than Collective organically morphed into a record label, taking the place of Dickerson’s previous foray into that world, Suburban Home Records. “It’s been really neat, because the goal with the Greater Than Collective is to help these artists achieve that next goal, whatever that may be,” Dickerson told us in December. Greater Than has unleashed releases by Snake Rattle Rattle Snake, Adam Cayton-Holland, the Epilogues, and Bud Bronson & the Good Timers, among others, and it’s become one of those labels whose releases are worth checking out, even if you don’t know anything about the artist.

greaterthancollective.com

Wheelchair Sports Camp debuted its first full-length album in September 2016. No Big Deal includes contributions by late keyboardist Isaiah “Ikey” Owens, who worked with acts including Jack White and the Mars Volta before his death in 2014. But Owens’s mark on the album isn’t the only thing that makes it special. Wheelchair Sports Camp enlisted Pat Jensen to design a CD package that includes a 3-D pop-up house, akin to the pop-up art in children’s books. The design was meant as a touching send-off for Owens, who pushed Wheelchair Sports Camp far beyond what the group’s members thought they were capable of musically, making this record a must-buy.

Yes, 2nd and Charles is a chain — but the bargain bin at the Broomfield branch is overflowing with CDs, most priced at about $1, which means that gems can be had for the cost of a single iTunes track. There are 2nd and Charles locations all over the country, and they all work the same way: Bring in your used CDs or DVDs, and a cashier will figure out their cash or store-credit value while you browse. Afterward, use your trade-in money wisely: While there are plenty of pricey items to choose from, including new CDs, DVDs and comic books, the bargain bin up front is a treasure trove.

Do you love the smell of aerosol in the morning? Do you realize that street art is so much more than graffiti? Then you’ll have a crush on Crush. Now heading into its seventh year, the festival welcomes over eighty local, national and international street artists who paint walls in RiNo spanning the ten blocks from 2500 Larimer Street up to 35th Street and sometimes beyond — all with the property owners’ blessing. Crush founder Robin Munro has been working hard to push the RiNo Art District as a leader in the urban arts scene — not just in this state, but in the country — and many street-art legends have made their mark at Crush, including Tats Cru, Woes, David Shillinglaw, Lauren YS, Max Sansing, Dulk 1, Blaine Fontana, Birdcap, Scribe, Jose Mertz, Sense, Rodwasworld, Elle Street Art, Shalak Attack and Bruno. Crush usually crushes it for two weekends in September; watch westword.com/arts for an announcement of Crush 2017 dates.

Readers’ Choice: Great American Beer Festival

Suzi Q Smith is a slam poet, spoken-word artist, teacher, activist, author and performer, and her fierceness with words is matched only by her drive to bring the world of slam poetry to Denver. The founding slam master of Denver’s own Slam Nuba team and executive director of Poetry Slam Inc., she’s won national championships herself, and thanks to her efforts, the 2017 National Poetry Slam will be held in various venues throughout Five Points this summer, bringing poets from across the country to the Mile High City. Thanks to the work and wisdom of artists like Smith, Denver has secured its place as a proud and supportive hub for a long-overlooked but deserving arts and culture community.

BreckCreate aims a little higher than the usual mountain-town arts organization, taking simple “festivals” to new levels. WAVE, an early-season spectacle inspired by Scottsdale’s Canal Convergence that debuted in Breckenridge last summer, spread interactive artworks and music throughout the town, inviting tourists and townies alike to experience a big-city art experience at a higher elevation. WAVE will return this year on June 1, bringing another round of exciting water projections and adventures in light and sound to Breckenridge as it gears back up for the summer season.

Readers’ Choice: Punching Mule Music Festival

Denver has more than its fair share of engrossing storytelling events, including the Narrators at Buntport Theater and StorySLAM competitions hosted by the Moth. Amber Blais wanted to create something different, and she’s succeeded with Raconteur Denver, held every two months in a different location around the Mile High City, including bars and art galleries. While these nights start out, as the others do, with a pre-selected list of storytellers, the spotlight is then ceded to audience members.The idea is that one story often inspires another, and so people who might not have thought of a particular experience to share may hear something that reminds them of a relevant story. Raconteur Denver also records the evenings and reproduces them as a podcast, but they’re more fun in person. Consider that upcoming themes this year include “Spectacular Failures,” “Tales of the Tour,” “Pets” and “Lost and(or) Found.”

Those who were teenagers in the ’80s and ’90s may remember collecting funny and edgy print publications like Adbusters and MAD magazine and plastering your bedroom walls with torn-out photographs from their pages. Denver’s Birdy aims to re-create that culture with original, often humorous art pieces printed on high-quality matte paper. Even the advertisements are custom-created by artists known to Birdy editors Jonny DeStefano and Christy Thacker. Since launching in 2014, the free monthly publication — distributed in such trendy spots as Twist & Shout and Pablo’s Coffee — has developed a cult following. It’s even become a favorite of DEVO’s Mark Mothersbaugh, who has contributed his own art pieces, as well as a platform for writers of both fiction and creative nonfiction. Each issue is numbered and meant to be collected; be sure to grab a copy as soon as you see one at the beginning of each month; they disappear quickly.

Lakeside Amusement Park’s storied past never fails to amuse its faithful fans. A true place of mystery on the northwest edge of town, Lakeside has always played second banana to the tonier Elitch Gardens (inasmuch as an amusement park can be tony), but that’s what makes it so charming: It’s a place stuck in time, a neon anachronism that’s slowly crumbling (physically, even, after a car recently crashed into a parking structure next to the welcoming Lakeside tower). Author David Forsyth endeavored to put that charm and mystery into words by digging deep into the park’s history for Denver’s Lakeside Amusement Park ($34.95, University Press of Colorado), a fun read that uncovers Lakeside’s untold stories.

Who says the best things in Denver have to be shiny and new? Riverside Cemetery is the city’s oldest functioning cemetery, located between the Platte River, the train tracks and the industrial Northside. But what makes this spot, where many of Denver’s founders are buried, so remarkable is the diversity of tombstones. Sure, there are plenty of standard rectangles, and the more recently people were buried, the less interesting their markers seem to be. But go back in history and you’ll see remarkable horses, life-sized sculptures of city founders, a decidedly not-religious tree stump, puzzling babies, a tombstone to a Serbian soldier that looks something like a hot-air balloon, and so much more.

friendsofriversidecemetery.org

Natives and transplants alike can get a crash course in all things local by exploring History Colorado’s tours (two- to six-hour jaunts around the metro area that might involve walks, bikes or buses) and treks (overnight trips to areas fifty miles or more away from Denver). Many facets of the state’s history and culture await: walking tours of Denver alley art or its lesser-known parks; an overnight canoe trip on the Colorado River; a visit to Sugar Beet Days in Sterling; tea at Cherokee Ranch Castle; the wineries of Grand Junction — the list goes on, and with a little advance planning, so can you.

historycolorado.org

The National Center for Atmospheric Research offers plenty of ways to expand your brain while exercising the other muscles in your body. Noon tours on most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays provide primers on atmospheric science and current NCAR research, and free tablets loaded with audio, videos and additional content are available as well. Visitors can also conduct self-guided tours of the facility’s sprawling campus; our favorite jaunt is the Walter Orr Roberts Weather Trail, which offers signage explaining wind, cold fronts, climate zones and even the notorious brown cloud along a nearly half-mile loop. But you don’t need a weatherman to tell which way the wind is blowing: All of these options are free.

Readers’ Choice: Coors Brewery

You expect to check out books and movies from the local library, but did you know you can also check out experiences? If you have a Denver Public Library card, you can visit the DPL’s website to book a free pass to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver or the History Colorado Center up to thirty days in advance. Each museum offers different plans for families, but they typically start with free admission for two adults; at the DMNS, the one-day membership also includes discounts on ticketed exhibits and IMAX shows. You’re more of the outdoorsy type? You can also check out a free, one-week Colorado State Park pass and activity backpack at any DPL branch. Way to go.

denverlibrary.org

Readers’ Choice: City Park Jazz