Best Scale Model ? Canned Goods Division 2010 | Colorado State Capitol Building | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Scale Model ? Canned Goods Division

Colorado State Capitol Building

Colorado's real capitol dome is in trouble. It is rusting, rotting and cracking, and fixing it will cost millions. But a scale model of the building, made entirely of canned goods, is doing just fine. Located inside the dome museum — known as Mr. Brown's Attic — the replica is a version of one originally created for the 2004 People's Fair by Intergroup Architects of Littleton as part of Canstruction, a yearly contest held by the Society for Design Administration. Made from a variety of containers, including soup and tomato sauce cans and sardine tins, it's topped by a plastic water bottle. Canstruction projects are typically built as fundraisers, and the food is then donated to food banks, but this one is on permanent display — which may be more than we can say for the real thing.

Best Beer for Drinking in Politics

Blue Moon

It's not easy to smooth over the rocky road of race relations. Luckily, the nation has Blue Moon, a smooth, Belgian-style wheat beer first brewed in 1995 inside Coors Field at what is now called the Blue Moon Brewing Company at the Sandlot. And when President Barack Obama held his now-famous beer-diplomacy session last summer on the White House lawn with Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge, Massachusetts, police Sergeant James Crowley, Blue Moon was Crowley's brew of choice. Whether it's baseball or politics, Blue Moon makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Best Move by Aspen

"Adopt a Tourist"

Think Aspen's snooty? Well, you're not alone. To change both perception and reality, Aspen has adopted an "Adopt a Tourist" program, in which residents play host to visitors. Several Aspenites have signed on to make nice; sadly, none of them are Kurt Russell.

Best Post-American Idol Performance by a Colorado Contender

Ace Young

He didn't win season five of American Idol, but long-locked Boulder boy Ace Young landed the role of Berger, the leader of a band of '60s hippies, in the Broadway revival of Hair in March. And his hair wasn't the only thing hanging down in the infamous nude scene.

Best Radio DJ

Nerf

Known almost as much for his afro as for his penchant for local music, Nerf still mans the fort at KTCL as both program director and afternoon-drive guy. Musicians should be glad he's stuck around; Nerf was an early champion of bands like the Fray and Meese, and he remains committed to pushing the scene. But he also does his bit for bad music, too: "Make It Stop," a 4:05 p.m. daily feature during which he plays a song that sucks and doesn't pull the plug until a caller correctly names the artist and title.

Best Hair on a TV Personality ? Male

Eric Kahnert

Eric Kahnert, who joined the Channel 9 weekend team late last year from an NBC affiliate in Albuquerque, is young and serious — and very, very slick. In fact, he sports a mini-Ed Grimley oil-slick cowlick in front. It's a popular look these days: bed head for the post-college crowd.

Best LEGO Collection

NetDevil

Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory has nothing on NetDevil. The Louisville-based video-game company is developing LEGO Universe, an online game based on everybody's favorite building toy, and as part of its research, the toy manufacturer sent the outfit a sampling of some of the building blocks it would be working with. NetDevil now boasts in the vicinity of ten million LEGO bricks, one of the largest known collections in the world. Not surprisingly, the company's HQ is like a super-sized version of every kids' dream: LEGO models everywhere, video games stacked sky-high, energy-drink-guzzling techies zipping around the cavernous space on scooters. The bad news is that aside from VIPs and a handful of very lucky local school groups, very few outsiders have gotten a chance to see this stash. Still, when LEGO Universe comes out later this year, Coloradans can be content in the knowledge that the inspiration for this wacky online world is just down the road.

Best Sign of the Times

Belcaro Paint and Decorating Center

Coming or going, rush hour on Leetsdale Drive is a toxic sea of traffic and exhaust. Which makes Belcaro Paint's changing electronic sign a breath of fresh air. Not content with simply offering the temperature and time, this sign will occasionally make you laugh out loud by flashing such come-ons as "We shake our cans for you," "We have big tints" or "Pick up gals. here." We brake for funny.

Best News About Boulder

It's Happy!

It took Gallup two years to do all the research for its Well-Being Index, asking 1,000 Americans key questions about aspects of their lives ranging from emotional health to physical health to work environment. The result of all that nosiness? Boulder was crowned the happiest city in the country.

Best Beer-Drinking Politician

Mayor John Hickenlooper

Yeah, he co-founded the Wynkoop Brewing Company and ran it for many years thereafter, but mayor and now gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper didn't turn his back on beer after becoming a politician. In fact, Hick can be seen imbibing around town every so often, whether it's at an event, a personal dinner or even a political fundraiser. Hell, Hick even served beer at the grand opening of his campaign headquarters in February. At last, a politician we can drink to. And with. Cheers.

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