Arts & Culture

I was raised a spelling geek, consumed from a very young age with word derivations, spelling-bee protocol and other tricks of the trade. It came in handy in the eighth grade, when I won a ten-inch black-and-white television for taking second place in the Colorado-Wyoming bee; it was handed to…

The arts have firmly taken root in River North, the town’s old warehouse district along the Platte, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, you can see just how deep they go when you Plant Yourself at RiNo. The town’s hippest arts district (winner of a 2008 MasterMind award)…

After endlessly teasing us with nice weather that never really stuck around, it looks like the gods have finally decided to go ahead with spring — and what better way to celebrate than with the Lion Project’s Spring Patio Kick-Off? Tonight at 7 p.m., you’ll finally get to enjoy kicking…

As a wholesale jewelry merchant, Is Art doesn’t generally open its doors to the public. But that changes today with the Wearable Art Sale — aptly named, because the beautiful baubles are equally at home in a fine-art display case or enhancing your own natural loveliness. “It’s huge,” says Is…

A desire to “enlighten the gringos to the idea that Muslim women are not shrouded creatures” led Boulder author Jennifer Heath to write a book called The Scimitar and the Veil: Extraordinary Women Of Islam. In turn, that led her to further explore the politics and history of the veil…

Apart from issues such as illegal immigration and eminent domain, there’s nothing that gets middle-class property owners as blindly furious as graffiti. Kim Owens, of the online magazine Kaffeine Buzz, has taken to calling it the “G-word” while planning Street-2-Screen, which is shaping up to be one of the most…

Remember when big marketing promotions consisted solely of special Lion King Happy Meal toys and “collector” Spider-Man Slurpee cups from 7-Eleven? Those days are long over, as witnessed by the Journeys Backyard Barbeque. The fun goes down from noon to 6:30 p.m. today in the south parking lot of Colorado…

In the world of rap and hip-hop, aliases are de rigueur. When asked, however, most rappers will reveal their given names. Jay-Z is really Shawn Carter. Slick Rick’s mama called him Ricky Walters. It’s a different story for San Francisco underground hero TopR, who rolls into Denver this weekend to…

There’s nothing good about jury duty — that fact is as universal as bad mother-in-laws and annoying teenagers. You wait in line with that stupid summons, file into the room, plop in an uncomfortable chair (if you’re lucky), think about lunch and discreetly fight for the armrest until your name…

Like Guitar Wolf before it, Montreal’s CPC Gangbangs takes a primal punk-rock formula and distorts it far beyond its original shape. The result is a jagged, noisy, harried sound that hurtles forward, careering nearly out of control, then shudders with the waves of powerful emotions harnessed against its will. Touring…

This year’s Democratic National Convention is going to tip our sunny, microbrew-buzzed cowtown right into the national spotlight. Just think: CNN and Fox News filming on the 16th Street Mall, or Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert sending their pseudo-reporters to La Bohème, or the History Channel rerunning Denver: 1908-2008. This…

With a whole year to evaluate last year’s foibles, a cleaner, prettier, more convenient Colfax Marathon race course — which sidesteps much of the 26-mile street the event was named for — awaits today’s 6,000 runners. Marathon co-founder Jean Townsend says she and the rest of the event staff listened…