In this week’s cover story, “Slam, Bam, Thank You, Ma’am,” we profiled Suzi Q. Smith, one of Denver’s strongest voices and the number three female slam artist in the world. Smith spends 30 percent of her year traveling to teach and promote poetry outside of Colorado, but she spends 100…
The Lao Buddhist Temple in Broomfield was destroyed by a fire last December. Struck by an online outpouring of support from their friends, students Joie Ha and Leo Tsuo decided they wanted to lend a hand, too. “The Laotian community here is very small,” Ha says, “and I knew they…
I was going to do the gonzo journalist thing and participate in last night’s chalk pastel class at Xcentricity Gallery, led by Corrina Espinosa, but I thought I would make all of the other students feel bad if I busted out my mad pastel skills. That’s a lie: I knew…
It’s been a busy sixteen months for Handsome Little Devils. In October 2011, the vaudevillian comedy troupe took its Squirm Burpee Circus act — a blend of acrobatics, juggling and juggling — to Broadway, enjoying a successful run at the New Victory Theatre and getting positive reviews in such little…
Some filmmakers aren’t waiting for Colorado lawmakers to pass a movie incentive package, a proposal Melanie Asmar detailed in last week’s cover story, “The Reel West.” Local director Pete Schuermann plans to use crowd-funding to finish CREEP! , a movie within a documentary about the worst horror film ever. And…
Colorado is no Hollywood, but the state does have a rich film past, if not an active film present, as detailed in our cover story “The Reel West.” Today, in an effort to jump-start the state’s movie business, lawmakers will debate a plan to increase incentives for filmmakers to shoot…
Sabin Aell first came to Colorado in 2006, when the Austrian-born artist, who’d been living in Frankfurt for eight years, was chosen for a show in Fort Collins by photographer Mark Sink. “I was really blown away when I first came here,” she remembers. “I was always thinking more about…
Ken Arkind still remembers the day he met Jose, “that evil little kid in the back of the classroom.” In the years since, they have struck up a friendship — but that day, at a workshop where Arkind was teaching local youth to slam, Jose was being a little snot…
Andrew Orvedahl doesn’t worry much about what he wears on stage. “I usually just try to make sure my clothes are clean,” says the Denver-area comedian and performer. With a two-year-old at home, that’s not always easy, so as long as he can find something stain-free — and a clean…
I first met Dianne Denholm in grade school, and it’s been great reconnecting with her as an adult in the six years since she started the TACtile Textile Arts Center. During that time, I’ve learned a lot about Denholm and how her mind works, and it’s been a trip: Not…
While there’s nothing new about taping — you can bet there’s a bootleg recording floating around somewhere that was secretly taped when Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount — Lance Stack’s efforts with Flat Response are incredibly noteworthy. Unlike other tapers who are devoted to archiving the shows of…
Bunky Echo-Hawk is a modern Renaissance Indian — an artist, activist, poet, teacher and member of the Pawnee and Yakama nations who lives very much in the present while incorporating both the tenets and the sorrows of American Indian tradition into a contemporary message. Pierced, tattooed and comfortable in a…
Feed Denver’s purpose has always been to connect the community. Whether the nonprofit is teaching urban-farming techniques or tackling the social and economic issues around food production, the focus is on giving the growing power to the people. Tonight, Feed Denver teams up with the Megafauna retail space to bring…
Maybe we all didn’t turn out to be architects or city planners, but there’s no denying the fun Lincoln Logs provided to our childhood ingenuity and building dreams. Today’s Lincoln Log Throwdown at Schlessman Library aims to capture exactly that, with an adults-only contest of speed and design, utilizing the…
What can one not say about Artopia? Westword’s annual multi-venue celebration spills over with things to do and hear and see and eat and drink, from visual-art exhibitions and fashion shows to poetry readings and adventurous mixed drinks. You can shop at Artopia’s fashion market and I (Heart) Denver store,…
Launched four years ago as an indie, scrappy, weird and witty counterpart to the mainstream-comedy scene in Denver, Onus Spears’ Huge Comedy Show allowed clever voices to be heard by new audiences seeking artistry and connection. It was also hilarious — and a hit series was born. “It’s no longer…
Obviously, the best place to spend Mardi Gras is in the Big Easy (yes, even post-Katrina), but maybe you don’t want to travel, or perhaps you have to head to work on Ash Wednesday. Why not stay in Denver and get the full experience right here? You can, during the…
By now you’ve no doubt heard that the world is going to end on December 21, 2012 — according to Mayan prophecy. But Ed Barnhart, director of the Maya Exploration Center, has been studying the ancient people of South America for many years, and today he’ll host a public lecture…
So you missed Sundance — so what? The Boulder International Film Festival has something to offer every cinephile, especially those who are looking for something beyond the Oscar offerings that have been out for months. The fest, which opens tonight at the Boulder Theater with Darling Companion, starring Diane Keaton…
With so much variety in the canine kingdom, it’s easy to forget that all dogs — from the Tibetan Mastiff to the Miniature Yorkie — descend from a common ancestor, the wolf. The Rocky Mountain Cluster Dog Show is a chance to see more than 3,000 dogs of every shape,…
It’s Presidents’ Day, and if you’re lucky, you won’t even have to play hooky to take advantage of the SFCD Free Day at the Denver Botanic Gardens. And if at first the idea sounds tinny to you in the dead of winter, remember that the DBG can be quite cozy…
Wanna live it up before you give it up? Celebrate Mardi Gras at Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret’s Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras Party with appetizers, desserts, champagne, New Orleans-inspired cocktails and the glittering gals of the Bella Diva Dance troupe. Guests aren’t required to dress up or wear masks, but “we’re hoping…
