Arts & Culture

Besides having a kick-ass name, Ace Atkins has a lot going for him as the guy bequeathed with the late Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series. A former crime reporter (and Pulitzer nominee) and established true-crime author and novelist, Atkins was anointed Parker’s successor by Mrs. Parker herself, not only because…

Veteran choreographer Danelle Helander of Helander Dance Theater knows how hard producing a show can be. “I was getting frustrated. Every time I’d go to produce a concert, it was so expensive,” she says.”But I also love the idea of doing art in places where people least expect it.” From…

The concept behind the business book The Power of Unpopular came from, of all things, a debate over Oprah versus Ellen between the book’s author, Erika Napoletano, and a publisher. “I’m more of an Ellen girl,” Napoletano says. “She’s witty, she’s super-smart and she’s fun. And she was like, ‘I…

The local art scene has been obsessed with the counterculture lately as our longstanding fascination with beatniks has been joined by a nascent interest in hippies and now punks. Several punk-themed shows are going on, including an impressive twofer at the reinvigorated Colorado Photographic Arts Center. The first part, Punk…

Last year’s Cat Care Society fundraiser, Tails of the Painted Cats, was so popular, says society director Suellen Scott, that they’re bringing it back. After all, it’s hard to hate the cheerful fiberglass felines that are the focal point, especially after they’ve been decorated by an imaginative circle of cat-loving…

Cinco de Mayo may not be a huge holiday in Mexico (contrary to popular belief, May 5 is not Independence Day in that country), but it’s definitely a major party here in Denver. Here are five Cinco de Mayo celebrations guaranteed to turn your weekend into a major fiesta…

In 1992, drummer Patty Schemel joined the now-legendary Hole, a band that was just positioning itself for mainstream success. Less than two years later, bassist Kristen Pfaff had died of an accidental overdose and lead singer Kurt Cobain had committed suicide — and Hole had released its platinum-selling Live Through…

Update, May 9: Thanks for playing this round! (Check our ongoing contest of Guess Where I’m Biking.) To see if you won, check your-email!The Denver bicycle trail system connects a lot of landmarks with safe and accessible means for cyclists to travel. Slightly off the path, this week’s installment has…

In case you haven’t noticed, Denver’s proposed urban camping ban is shining a pretty heavy spotlight on the city’s homeless community right now. Westword has covered the issue and the debate at great length — we even spent a night on the 16th Street Mall — and last weekend, we…

When Tejano director Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi came out in the early ’90s, we’d never seen anything quite like it, though the idea of an edgy, comic Western certainly had precursors, including the piquant Cat Ballou. But El Mariachi, famously — and remarkably — made on a $7,000 budget, is…