Everyone wants to know what the future will bring — and every year, Isis Books and Gifts hosts a Psychic Fair before the start of the new year so that you can plan accordingly. “There’s so much that’s going to be changing and transforming in 2014,” notes owner Karen Harrison,…
There’s a reason that Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol has never gone out of print. “It was published in 1843, and it’s interesting how the issues in the play, even the point of view that Scrooge has, can feel so remarkably present-day,” says Bruce K. Sevy, who is directing the…
You want to rest up before New Year’s Eve, but you’re too full of anticipation to endure boredom. So what better way to fill that awkward gap than with a witty Christmas flick that you don’t have to feel guilty about? After a string of top-shelf comedy films, the Boulder…
Flappers and fellas will be putting on the glitz tonight to celebrate the Roaring Twenties at the Thin Man’s Great Gatsby Ball. Every year, the bar converts itself into a whole new world for one night, pumping in live music, ambient lighting and vibrant decor to fit a chosen theme…
Wrapped in silver cellophane and flooded with Mylar balloons, the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art will take a step back in time to host NYE at the Factory: A Spectacle in Pop, Silver & Polaroid, an Andy Warhol-inspired New Year’s Eve party. The shindig is a spin on the legendary…
French food is all about rich flavors, explains City, O’ City’s new executive chef, Kurt Eichenberger. Since in traditional French cooking those flavors involve a lot of butter and meat, Eichenberger had to get creative to whip up intense tastes for the vegetarian restaurant’s special Paris-inspired New Year’s Eve. “To…
Before the harsh realities of 2014 slap you in the face, the Hotel Boulderado is offering a fantasy escape of classy flirtation and cock-sure danger at its New Year’s Eve James Bond Ball. “Bond is an enduring character who’s been so iconic through the decades, and the Hotel Boulderado has…
There’s a holiday for everyone, and in the African-American community, today marks Umoja. It’s the first of seven days of Kwanzaa, which kicks off with a nod to unity and, in Denver’s Five Points community, with the lighting of the first candle on the Grand Kinara — a giant, seven-pronged…
Think of the last thing you would ever dream of doing on a chill winter’s day, and that’s how you could, um, celebrate the new year. Intrepid adventure-seekers will welcome 2014 with a leap into frigid waters at today’s 31st annual Boulder Polar Plunge, a tradition that draws a surprisingly…
The annual Blossoms of Light and Trail of Lights at the Denver Botanic Gardens’ two locations have been holiday traditions for years, and with each turn, the displays have gotten bigger and better. And although both include hundreds of thousands of LED lights, each display still has a distinct feel…
Whether you’re a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences cramming before the Oscars or just a film buff who likes to go to the movies over the holidays, there’s no better way to nerd out than a trip to Aspen Film’s 22nd Academy Screenings festival…
Nothing gets folks into the holiday spirit more readily than holiday lights — there’s just something about the way the whole world turns into a sparkling wonderland just when the days are at their shortest and darkest. Plus, they’re mostly nondenominational (if you ignore that big to-do about the Denver…
Breaking bread in the kitchen is a major part of the human experience, wherever you live, but Museo de las Américas director Maruca Salazar thinks her own Mexican kitchen culture illustrates the importance of cooking in a particularly sensual way. So after much discussion within the Museo community, she put…
We’re taking a break, but it won’t be for long — after spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our families and friends, Westword’s Show and Tell team will be back on the job early Thursday, December 26 with a focus on the past and the future of Denver’s arts…
How do you like to celebrate the impending Christmas holiday? For lots of Denver bar-hoppers, it made lots of sense to don Santa suits — and other Christmasy nonsense — to hit the town’s taverns en masse, as similar groups are known to do in cities like New York and…
Guys, 2013 ruled! I don’t know about you, but I fell in love, went tanning, went to Starbucks a lot, visited a porn palace in San Francisco with my family, continued my quest for landmark status of Casa Bonita and entertained the idea of writing about how Dunkin’ Donuts is…
All photos courtesy of Sony PicturesAmerican Hustle, directed and co-written by David O. Russell, is undeniably the must-watch film this holiday season. With outstanding performances by an A-list cast (Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence), the period film is loosely based on the real-life Abscam FBI Sting…
When I’m traveling, adventure seems so much easier to fall into. I spent a good portion of 2013 on the road touring with my band, Lust-Cats of the Gutters, and without the pull of day jobs and responsibility, I’m much more likely to say, yes, let’s jump that fence. But…
As a cosmetologist and make-up artist for more than a decade, Amanda Hume says she’s fielded questions from customers about what, exactly, the products she was using were made of. When she represented large cosmetic companies, a quick glance at the ingredient — including many chemicals she could not identify…
Though it may be tempting to stay inside and watch holiday specials on YouTube, there’s plenty to do in Denver this week between viewings of the Pete and Pete Christmas episode and the Pee-wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special. Our top three events include a concert with tacos, an evening of orchestral…
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. Colorado native and outdoorsman Greg Marquez of Artquez can’t get enough of…
It may seem downright unChristmasy to be talking about the dead, grateful or not, at this time and season. But if you’ve got an eccentric, contemplative, bookish, introspective type on your shopping list, then I have a suggestion: Dayton Foster’s The Dead Do Speak To Us…of Love, Life & Death…
