Photos: Dragon Boat Festival Roars Into Sloan’s Lake

The Dragon Boat Festival returned to Sloan’s Lake this past weekend, celebrating Asian culture with art and food vendors, martial arts and other performances — and boat races, of course. Photographer Danielle Lirette was there to capture all the action: See the complete Dragon Boat slideshow here…

Nativ Hotel Brings New Energy to LoDo — and New Controversy

Nativ Hotel has had to repack its business plan a few times since opening its doors at 1612 Wazee Street on May 28. After its landlord expressed concerns, the owners clarified their policy regarding the consumption of cannabis: Officially, it’s prohibited at Nativ, and guests must now sign a waiver…

Edith Weiss, Director of The Odd Couple at the Barth, Keeps Us Laughing

Edith Weiss is giggling. She’s talking about the July 23 opening of The Odd Couple (Female Version) that she’s directing at the historic Barth Hotel downtown, and the cast’s enthusiasm for slapstick acrobatics. “Leslie O’Carroll is doing things I would have never asked her to do,” says Weiss. “She is fearless. She…

The Ten Best Movies of 2015 (So Far)

We run down the ten best movies of 2015 (so far) on this week’s episode of the Voice Film Club. Alan Scherstuhl and Stephanie Zacharek of the Village Voice, joined by Amy Nicholson at LA Weekly, each share a few of their favorites on this mid-year (well for Hollywood, anyway)…

Tangerine‘s Transgender Stars Are Ready to Take Hollywood — On Their Terms

The pizza joint Shakey’s in Hollywood is packed when transgender actresses Mya Taylor and Kiki Rodriguez slide into a booth with their director Sean Baker, whose shot-on-location-and-on-iPhone comedy Tangerine was the most talked-about surprise of this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Taylor, the quieter and more glamorously aloof of the pair…

The Future of Feminism Is Alive and Well at Girls Rock Camp

Being a feminist in public often feels like shouting my cause into the void — whether I’m having a conversation with real humans or leading a discussion on social media about the concept of basic human rights for female-identified people, a very small percentage of folks I know actually want…

The Mayday Experiment: The Struggle for Space

In high school, I was voted most likely to become a bag lady. I’m sure that given my thrift-store punk-rock ways, this was more a statement on my fashion sense than my future earning potential, but in my mind it also speaks to my lack of interest in earning money.…I am…

The Sweet, Tart Tangerine Is an Exuberant, Piercing Comedy

There’s probably only one humanist film that opens with the words “Merry Christmas Eve, bitch!” accompanied by the proffering of a single, sprinkle-dusted doughnut. In Sean Baker’s Tangerine, best friends, transgender women and prostitutes Sin-Dee and Alexandra (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor, respectively) catch up at a doughnut joint…

Boxing Drama Southpaw Pummels the Audience

The opening of Antoine Fuqua’s Southpaw, shot in gritty, grayed-out tones, is a grim harbinger: A fighter getting ready for the ring holds up his meaty paws for the ritualistic wrapping of gauze and tape. His gloves are slipped over the wrappings, and then they’re taped on, too — but…

Nancy Stohlman on the Fundamentals of Flash: Make It Weird

As the title implies, Nancy Stohlman’s The Vixen Scream and Other Bible Stories is a weird-ass book. Aside from including copious fun facts about foxes and the story of a man whose wife is turning into a piano, it’s also presented in a format that, while still unusual, is gaining literary…

Moore Family Folk Art Turns Trash to Treasure

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. “Growing up, I was always the kind of kid who would commandeer…

Three Things to Do for Free in Denver July 20-23

Light up the group text, because there are plenty of fun free events you and your friends will want to hit up this week. Rep your neighborhood, hear lots of fiction fast and get on board with all kinds of games. For more events, check the online Westword calendar, and let…

Amy Butcher on Suicide, Psychosis and Her Memoir, Visiting Hours

One night just before college graduation, Amy Butcher’s close friend Kevin met her for a drink and walked her home. It was just a one-block walk on a warm night in sleepy Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, but he insisted, and she let him see her to her door. Then he went home…

Gallery Sketches: Three New Shows and Art Events in Denver for July 17-19

This week in Denver galleries and performance spaces, you can experience the sophisticated work of an American original, take a walk with some figurative dogs or wander through the technology-scape with a Colorado performance collective. What are you waiting for? Here are the details: John Buck Robischon Gallery Through August…

Brandi Shigley and Fashion Denver Move Into Green Spaces

Following her recent pilgrimage to the Philippines, designer and Fashion Denver owner Brandi Shigley decided to move her company headquarters from 1070 Bannock Street into the Green Spaces, 1368 26th Street, a warehouse in the heart of RiNo. “The reason for our move is to simplify,” she explains. “We had a lot of…