Channeling Santa

You’ll never understand Santa until you’ve walked a mile in his boots, so what are you waiting for? Put on his boots — and his hat, suit, beard and various other festive accoutrements — and join up with a bunch of other St. Nicks for SantaCon 08, a Denver Cacophony…

It’s Christmas, Charlie Brown

Christmas music is one of the most hallowed holiday traditions for me because it brings all the memories back and provides the soundtrack for new ones. Unlike the rest of the songs I’ve worn out, these retain their magic because I listen to them only a few days a year…

Moon Mission

You might be familiar with Barr Lake State Park’s monthly full-moon hikes, but did you know that once a year, the park also hosts a Solstice Moon Hike? Bundle up on the shortest day of the year for this short hike (naturalist Larry Zanetell says it’s about two and a…

Double Trouble

“I just thought that The Jerk is one of those films that, as funny and fantastic as it is, to me is kind of a heartwarmer,” explains Keith Garcia, programming director for the Denver Film Society. “Part of the Seeing Double program is looking at two films that share some…

Do the Dew

After years of following the skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross events of the Summer Dew Tour — the most-watched and best-attended action-sport competition in the world — Breckenridge freeskier Colby West is psyched to compete in the first-ever Winter Dew Tour. “Circuits come and go, and this one I have…

Oscar Sneak Peek

“This year’s Academy Screenings has a powerhouse lineup, not only in terms of directors, but also in terms of actors,” says Aspen Film executive director Laura Thielen. “However, alongside these marquee-value films, we also have films like Soderbergh’s Che, with Benicio Del Toro, or the French film The Class, which…

‘Toon In

Tired of all the holiday hoopla yet? If you could use a few moments of sheer escapism from this hectic season, then the Curtis Arts and Humanities Center has just the solution: Cartoons — More Than Just Comics, an exhibit featuring work by Lonnie Allen, Daniel Crosier, Amy Reeder Hadley,…

Jumpin’ Jax

This time of year can be so draining for everybody, what with the before-Christmas frenzy, so why not find a secular reason to celebrate the season? Here’s a good one for all you beer-drinkers out there: Jax Fish House Denver is celebrating its twelfth anniversary, and hence is offering 12…

Stay in School

It’s a well-known fact of life: Kids will argue with their parents over just about anything. So why not channel that impulse into some constructive co-criticism over a couple of slices of pizza, some soda and two movies? That’s the idea behind the Denver Film Society’s Old School New School…

Three artists go green at William Havu Gallery

The so-called green movement posits the idea that humanity could and should limit its impact on the planet. Oh, sure, a lot of it is little more than marketing hype; tract-house developers, for example, who have focused on paving the countryside can claim to be earth-friendly simply because the houses…

Light and Time at Rule Gallery

Light and Time, in the front of Rule Gallery (227 Broadway, 303-777-9473, www.rulegallery.com) consists of small, wet-plate Collodion print photographs by Mark Sink and Kristen Hatgi that have been propped against the walls. The Collodion process is an early photographic method used by Civil War documentarian Matthew Brady. In a…

Now Playing

An O. Henry Christmas. Amid the cascade of Christmas Carol remounts, Hallmark Card family shows and limp holiday parodies, this musical arrangement of two O. Henry short stories — “The Last Leaf” and “The Gift of the Magi,” created by Peter Ekstrom — is a refreshing option. “The Gift of…

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Flying saucers just aren’t that scary anymore. Especially after Ed Wood and Mars Attacks, it’s hard to take a threat from a giant Frisbee all that seriously. So what’s an update of the iconic 1951 sci-fi flick The Day the Earth Stood Still to do? In an extremely bold move,…

Frost/Nixon

I hear America singing, and I see…Richard Nixon. Not the man, but the muse: Has any president since Lincoln inspired more movies, TV mini-series and operas? As Nixon’s beetle brows, ski nose and mirthless grin were made for caricature, so his rampant pathology was a gift for novelists and psycho-historians…

New Year’s Guide 2008

For a guide to New Year’s events, check our New Year’s listings at www.westword.com/calendar. WHY I’LL BE GLAD TO KISS THIS YEAR GOODBYE The finalists in our annual essay contest — plus musings from Westword writer Michael Roberts on New Year’s resolutions. First Place I Hate 2008 By Christopher Castellano…

Now Showing

Adam Helms. This solo in the MCA’s Paper Works Gallery is the New York artist’s first museum show anywhere. In his works on paper and in a monumental sculpture that conjures up a shooting blind, Helms explores political themes, especially armed struggle. He takes images of different radical and extremist…

Celtic Connection

Coloradans looking to capture their Celtic connection this holiday season are welcomed to this afternoon’s Colorado Welsh Society Christmas Tea, featuring Welsh songs, hymns, seasonal readings, music and traditional dances followed by te bach (refreshments). And don’t worry if your Welsh is a bit rusty; many of the events will…

Give Peace a Chance

Some think a dove flies over the holiday season: It’s the time of year when we think about peace on Earth and goodwill toward men, and we really mean it. Julie Davis and her friends at the Swallow Hill Music Association picked up on that peace-and-love vibe several years ago…

Dummy Daze

With the start of ski season, it’s time for all of the different resorts to start rolling out the red carpet and tempting skiers and riders to their runs. And sure, there will be concerts at Vail Snow Daze, but the real attraction off I-70 is the fest’s third annual…

Say A Little Prayer

Eric Matelski, artist and self-proclaimed “art pimp,” is effusive when touting the Wax Burner Prayer Candle Art Show, a group-show concept first tried out in Chicago last fall and now making its second appearance here in Denver, featuring more than 120 works in all. But he was into prayer candles…

Lending Aid

AIDS! AIDS! AIDS! Do we have your attention? Good. We wouldn’t want you to start slacking about this epidemic — which remains the world’s number-one health threat — just because it’s a few years old. This year marked the twentieth anniversary of World AIDS Day, when individuals and organizations from…