Paint What You See

In late summer for the past six years, an unusual sight cropped up here and there in places as disparate as Denver’s Golden Triangle Museum District, the Lariat Loop National Scenic & Historic Byway and the 16th Street Mall: Plein air artists have been spotted outdoors, on location, painting everything…

Unity in the ’Hood

The first night of Kwanzaa is given to the principle of Umoja, or Unity, and Denver’s African-American community will kick off the celebration with family activities today from 2 to 5 p.m. and a Grand Kinara Lighting at 6 p.m., all at the Blair-Caldwell Library, 2401 Welton Street. From there,…

Thank the Academy

Upgrade your holiday movie-going plans and prep for that 84th Academy Awards viewing party in style, with a trip to Aspen’s Wheeler Opera House, where Aspen Film is presenting a program of Oscar contenders from now through January 1. The Aspen Film Academy Screenings have become a beloved film-industry tradition…

Light Bright

The Denver Botanic Gardens improves on Blossoms of Light, at the Denver location — and its sister event, Trail of Lights, at the Chatfield DBG — a little bit each year, and this season is no exception. “On Fridays, folks can come in and get a drink,” says spokesman Will…

What’s in your bag? Burberry scarves, a DU notebook and more!

Snow arrived just in time for a white Christmas, but despite the cold, some stylish Denverites manage to be both fashionable and warm. Mario Marshall, for example, rocking a red pea coat and showing some standout style. Keep reading to learn about his winter wish, style icons and, of course,…

Five toys for girls that need a gender makeover

Hasbro’s Easy-Bake Ovens are getting a masculine makeover fifty years after the toy was introduced, thanks to a market-savvy thirteen-year-old girl in New Jersey who wanted to buy her little brother one as a gift — and found only purple and pink ovens. Her campaign got a media-smooch after a…

The Minor Disturbance open mike welcomes home a wandering star

Denver’s vibrant slam poetry community has deep roots. Minor Disturbance is where the youngest poets grow into their words — poets like former East High student Libby Olga Howard, who’s gone on to find her future at Lewis and Clark College. Howard, a Minor Disturbance mainstay of a few years…

Photos: Winter runway fashion from the Mona Lucero Design Boutique

As the weather gets colder, Denver’s winter fashion is only getting cooler. As proof, look no further than the Mona Lucero Design Boutique, which hosted a fall fashion show and art sale this weekend with more than a dozen runway looks ranging from all covered-up to barely covered. Westword’s Lucas…

Holiday cheer: Have yourself a psychedelic Christmas

The holiday season has felt a bit underwhelming this year. Maybe it’s the lack of snow in Colorado — which rules for those of us (read: grumps like me) who think weather below 65 degrees is pointless (but still results in this weird depression caused by a depletion of the…

Ceramic artist Kazu Oba connects clay with cuisine in Den Show

Pottery and cuisine don’t have an obvious connection in American culture, but it’s common in Japan for people in the food business to become interested in ceramics as well. That’s how Kazu Oba became a ceramics artist, and his pottery work is showcased in the Den Show, an exhibition celebrating…

Getting stoned with comedian Chris Charpentier

Few conversations reach the caliber of weirdness as ones that involve marijuana, entertainers and a tape recorder. And now that Amendment 64 has turned the ritual of pot-smoking into as normal a social custom as Sunday afternoon football, we at Westword have begun spending time with our favorite Denver musicians…

Gorinto rethinks the musical instrument at the Mercury Cafe Wednesday

Gorinto, the Mercury Cafe’s occasional music, food and whatever Wednesday evening get-together, continues to reinvent itself. This week, it will transform into a showcase of homemade and found-object musical instruments featuring a revolving parade of local folks who toy — sometimes literally — with the definition of what we use…

Photos: The styles of Frost: Fashion Denver’s Holiday Market

For eight years, one local holiday tradition has taken winter fashion far beyond the ugly Christmas sweater craze. On Sunday, Frost: Fashion Denver’s Holiday Market brought together 31 designers and dozens of looks during its annual spotlight on the city’s scene. Roving Westword photographer Christopher Morgan was on hand to…

Jake Adam York: Rest in peace…and poetry

“The things we fear about poetry are the things that are good about poetry.” — Jake Adam York Those words inspired me as a dabbler in poems, though the genteel poet and educator Jake Adam York, who died unexpectedly yesterday of a stroke, couldn’t have known that about me. And…