#22: Helen Littlejohn As a western-states public affairs specialist for the U.S. Department of Education, Helen Littlejohn is all about people, 24/7, working vigilantly to bring educational opportunities to under-served kids. But she also boasts a creative side, both in her practice as an artist and jewelry-maker and as a…
After spending half a decade in Los Angeles, going to school and working in the fashion industry, Boulder native Vanessa Barcus brought her skills and knowledge back to her home state and started Goldyn, a purveyor of adventurous couture — first as an online shop and then as a brick-and-mortar…
For the past two years, the Crom Comedy Festival has drawn comedians from across the country to the frown-furrowed plains of Omaha. The festival’s co-organizers, Zach Reinert and Ian Douglas Terry, have recently upgraded hometowns and decided to expand their annual festival while maintaining its original Nebraska base. Enter this…
No pop-culture sub-genre was left unturned at Denver Comic Con, as evidenced by the sheer variety of costumery on parade at the Colorado Convention Center over Memorial Day weekend. From the classic comic superheroes and weapon-toting warrior babes to a host of fantasy franchise favorites and easily every kind of…
With the exception of yesterday’s torrential downpour that occurred late in the evening and temporarily turned Federal Boulevard into a river, I have yet to have seen a weather pattern over the last few weeks that was worth talking about. Yet, in this fourth week of May, as pools stay…
You can find art all over town — not just on gallery walls. In this series, we’ll be looking at some of the local artists who serve up their work in coffeehouses and other non-gallery businesses around town. In 2009, well-known radio talk-show host Jay Marvin went through a debilitating…
Ahhhhh, this rain. Ordinarily, I would never complain about the rain. I love the staccato on the roof, the velvety moisture in Colorado’s dry air, the rolling complaint of the heavy sky. Even when I was in Ohio, so similar to Colorado this month in spring temperament, I embraced the mud…
Book signings this week include an introduction to a harrowing story of illegal immigrants trapped during a order crossing, as well as a couple of homegrown novels — one a detective book and the other a personal, and cynical, look at Evangelicals in America. John Vaillant, The Jaguar’s Children BookBar…
In Diva Watch, we’ll profile the passionate, diverse and fascinating performers who light up Denver’s drag community. We’re expanding on our Diva Dozen list from earlier this year by asking a series of questions to get a peek underneath the make-up. Meet Vandy J. Sexton, aka Jasmine Sexton. What’s in a…
Memorial Day came and went, so now we can pretend it’s full-on summer. This week you can welcome the warmer temps at a pool party, birthday bash or hilarious video game. Don’t forget to check the Westword calendar for more events, and if we missed a bargain, tell us in…
A movie about bringing down drug lords that’s actually mostly about movies, Cédric Jimenez’s The Connection is stretched over driven-cop beats so familiar that American audiences could probably follow it without subtitles. (It’s in French; add that to the title, and you get a sense of its police-film ambitions.) It’s…
A conversation with Persian-American Safa Samiezadé-Yazd — a local artist who’s worked on a national level for Aslan Media and Boomgen Studios — first opened Eric Dallimore’s eyes to the unique position of her culture-straddling compatriots in America: Iranian-American artists struggle not only with their mixed cultural identity, but also…
It’s a holiday weekend, but the shows must go on: At BMoCA in Boulder, ten artists explore how technology affects creative expression. In Larimer Square collectors can revel in work from three lowbrow masters and at Hinterland, an MFA thesis exhibition melds new media and new ideas. Creativity never sleeps;…
Weed is good for you. It’s true: Just ask Healthy Honeys creator Shannon Donnelly, the weed guru and yoga instructor who holds a Get Fit and Stay Lit class every weekend. Donnelly will show you all the ways to use cannabis for good, not evil, and tell you how smoking in…
Rain or shine, the Denver area will be celebrating Memorial Day Weekend to the fullest. Whether you’re looking to throw on a bikini (and possibly a raincoat) at a faux beach party or debut your Dr. Who costume at Comic Con, this comprehensive list will help you make a decision…
“This is the oldest skull I have,” the Swiss artist H.R. Giger says, showing off this prized possession the breezy way you might a set of Fiestaware. He lifts the skull and regards it. But then his speech is breathy and halting, tender with age, as he elaborates: His father…
Bree Davies loves Denver, the town where she was born and raised; she frequently shares tidbits about the Mile High City’s past and observations on where it’s going in her Breeality column. And as she notes in the most recent installment, sometimes those stories are lifted without attribution by other…
Although it’s hard to tell from the weather, summer is almost here., and starting Monday, you can wear all the white you want. Over the next few days, you have two choices: let the rain keep you down or ignore it and do what you should be doing over Memorial…
Geek culture is big, but even in the vast, loosely defined ocean of “geek” there are a few universal touchstones. That’s not to say that everyone agrees on them — hell, if you can get five geeks together in a room who agree on more than two separate geek-related things,…
Reclaimed, artist-designed skate decks rolled into MegaFauna last Saturday for the Skate Deck Art Show, organized by the RiNo apparel store with Truly Rejected magazine to benefit the Stronghold Society, an organization dedicated to building skateparks on reservations in South Dakota. More than thirty artists took part, and proceeds from…
Of all recent cinema subgenres, the found-footage horror film – which kicked off with The Blair Witch Project and recently sputtered on a Paranormal Activity sequel — seems to have worn out its welcome. But the tide could be turning for found footage comedy. The new film Drunk Wedding is about test…
Space Gallery owner Michael Burnett believes that the impressive Pattern: Geometric / Organic, now on display at the gallery, is his best effort yet. I have to say, though, that I’ve been checking out exhibits at Space for years, and there have been many solid shows presented there. It’s true…
