For local bridal dressmaker Maggie Evans, it’s not just about creating the perfect gown — it’s about the woman wearing it. “I really see the wedding dress as a cocoon; the bride and I are spinning the web, so to speak, or making the cocoon from the silk, and it…
For its fourth fun and foot-cramping year, the Running of the Gays returns with a three-block “marathon” open to anyone brave enough to don heels for the cause. A benefit for Art From Ashes, an organization that empowers youth through poetry workshops, the Running of the Gays is a collaboration…
As part of a collaborative group of filmmakers working hard under the name No Coast Artists, Andrew Schneider sees the world of cinema as a place where movies are art made by and for everyone. When the Fort Collins-based group set out to create its first major film production, Whensday,…
What do the great escapist Houdini and the scientific phenomenon of déjà vu have in common? How about sinkholes and wormholes? Or refrigeration and the Austrian avant-garde? All are topics teamed up for this season’s Mixed Taste series, opening tonight at the MCA Denver. Now in its ninth year, the…
Today’s AIDS Walk Colorado, at Cheesman Park, is a multifaceted event as well as the largest fundraiser for HIV and AIDS in the state. Aside from the annual 5K walk and a 5K qualifying run for the Bolder Boulder, the day will include a “Celebration of Life” Festival, with races…
Started in 2004 as an open-mic night, Cafe Cultura is now a full-fledged nonprofit, and the Art in the Park monthly summer series is just one of many events the youth-oriented organization puts on each year. Tonight’s installment includes an open mic for the community, along with performances from national…
Though drag has been a part of the Denver County Fair’s programming since it started in 2011, the county fair-style beauty pageant has now become a full-on production. Crowned Miss Queen of the Denver County Fair 2011 and host of last year’s drag contest, Nuclia Waste will head up the…
As I sat down to pen another love letter to Casa Bonita, I realized Westword has done that many times, in some form or other. In fact, just as I love Lakeside, other writers love Casa Bonita…certainly far more than regular diners do. But it wasn’t just a trip to…
With class schedules already being decided and summer break inching closer its end, Southwest Plaza is gearing up for the back to school shopping season. This Saturday, August 3, the mall will be hosting Jeans & Teens, an afternoon of fashion shows, make-up tips and giveaways. Along with the clothing…
For Gutter Kids, Ben Chavez’s latest art-minded production through his company Chubby Robot, the curator, party thrower and MC once again looked into his past. Inspired by the Garbage Pail Kids trading cards he once collected, the self-proclaimed “80s baby” reached out to his friends in the local creative community…
The idea behind the Colorado Get Movin’ Challenge is simple: Participate in thirty minutes of activity every day for thirty days. But there’s more to the challenge than that. For instance, fitness first-timers will have a chance to win some cool prizes just for going for a walk, and everyone…
The Boulder County Fair keeps getting bigger — and better. This year, the 144-year-old gathering is adding five days to its standard five-day run, which means ten days of rodeos and events celebrating prized livestock, locally grown food, live music and more. For the kids, there are 4-H exhibits, mutton-bustin’…
When Michael Hancock was campaigning for mayor in 2011, the same topic kept coming up. “He was meeting with neighbors throughout the city, and there was a recurring theme: People did want to get to know their neighbors, but they didn’t necessarily have the vehicle to do so,” says Rachel…
For Copper Mountain’s all-things-axe-related Guitar Town festival running August 9 through 11, Colorado artists participating in the companion Art Guitars Silent Auction really go the extra mile. Utilizing damaged guitars donated by Guitar Center, thirteen artists were given free rein to paint, disassemble and rework the instruments into works of…
Last night, after attending a press preview of the Treasures of the Hard Rock traveling music memorabilia exhibition — on view starting today at the Hard Rock Cafe Denver — I was going to write about what it felt like to look at the belongings of famous dead people I…
With more than 77,000 pieces of music history in its possession, the Hard Rock Cafe empire is a global music museum as well as eatertainment complex. Along with presenting permanent displays in dozens of locations across the world, the company culls pieces from its archives for traveling exhibitions. Treasures of…
Peeling back a layer of mystery surrounding some of popular music’s greatest players, today’s opening of the Treasures of the Hard Rock exhibit gives fans a chance to get close to the clothing, instruments and other personal effects of big-name icons. For four days only, two one-of-a-kind collections — Gone…
One of Denver’s most beloved and well-known green spaces will host a new event this weekend: the Cheesman Park Art Fest. More than 100 local jewelers, photographers, glass-blowers, potters and painters will be showing and selling their wares at the inaugural fest, with prices to fit any budget. “Cheesman Park…
Duane Evarts, who owns a custom-made guitar that once belonged to Ted McCarty — designer of the Les Paul and Flying V — was looking for the right place to do business with other custom-guitar collectors. “I had some instruments that I wanted to sell, and there wasn’t a guitar…
A 107-year-old tradition, the Arapahoe County Fair begins its five-day run today. Once a county-roving festival, the regional heritage celebration found its home in Aurora — at the official Arapahoe County Fairgrounds — a handful of years ago, and has been growing ever since. “The fair has a very hometown…
The Underground Music Showcase takes over a stretch of Broadway every July, filling more than twenty venues with hundreds of bands. One of the things I love about the gathering is that no band can effectively play for over 45 minutes (because how else are you going to cram hundreds…
After a decade with the Denver Fim Society and the Sie FilmCenter, programming manager Keith Garcia is saying goodbye. Beginning August 2, Garcia will become creative manager for Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, overseeing the programming for the chain’s newly opened Littleton location. But he’s far from cutting ties with his cinematic…
