Arts & Culture

Silent films have an innate beauty, what with the actors’ expressive eyes and exaggerated features, the images arranged on the screen and their ability to tell a story without the spoken word. Tonight at 7:30 p.m., the Chautauqua Community House will run a double feature of silent fun as part…

Joaquin Liebert gave up on sex, drugs and rock and roll (well…he cut down, anyway) to pursue his love of theater. Now, after struggling for years and honing his chops in supporting parts, Liebert may have landed his meatiest role yet. The Denver actor plays Angel the talking dog in…

Fruitcake has a reputation for being the worst gift ever — at least here in the United States. And there’s a good reason for that: The fruitcake we’re used to seeing in these parts is of very poor quality. “I think it’s important to bring back really high-quality fruitcake,” says…

Looking to take the edge off your holiday-shopping experience? How about perusing unique, affordable gifts in a spa-like atmosphere while sampling food and wine? Sounds strenuous, I know, but don’t worry: If you start to cramp up, there will be massage therapists waiting to assist. Boutique for the Soul, taking…

Ukulele player Scot Livingston got his start with the instrument in a very pedestrian fashion. “I lost my license, and a guitar is hard to carry on the bus,” he recalls. Now, ten years later, his love for the instrument has blossomed into Night of 1,000 Ukes, a program showcasing…

It’s doubtful the typical skateboarder is thinking about how the sweet graphics on his board were designed as he grinds along a park bench or launches into the air off a ramp. Matt Bargell, mentorship director for the American Institute of Graphic Artists in Colorado, hopes to change that with…

“One of the things I’ve noticed about my closet is that I have some really pretty things that never get worn because I never get to go to anything formal,” notes Shakti, founder and CEO of the non-profit Yoga World Reach (which is committed to bringing yoga into communities and…

It is so: Sometimes grown women in the 21st century like to dress up like grown women from the turn of the last century, all decked out in frilly, bell-shaped gowns and modest, lace-fringed blouses, with layered petticoats, satin hair bows, parasols, kneesocks and, oh, maybe a pink wig topped…

Love music, but don’t believe in Santa? What about that rigmarole about the manger and the three kings? Is that nothing more than a good yarn to you? Sound Circle feels your pain. Once a year, the 21-voice Boulder women’s a cappella ensemble riffs on the seasonal themes brought forth…

There are very few places in Denver where you’ll see bactrian camels, hippopotami, howler monkeys, komodo dragons, polar bears and sea lions after dark — unless you’re walking about the Denver Zoo during Zoo Lights, of course. Zoo Lights is a holiday tradition full of live animal demonstrations and holiday…

Over the past few years, the Crested Butte Nordic Center has offered full-moon ski and snowshoe tours, wherein participants suit up for the weather and glide away by the light of the moon to explore a winter wonderland. “In the past, we had a tepee set up in Magic Meadows,…

Being Jewish, I do suffer from a touch of that inevitable holiday-season alienation. But I can always count on the Boulder Arts and Crafts Cooperative’s annual Judaica Show, currently in progress, to make me feel at home in the midst of a sea of Christmas trees and creches. Absolutely the…

Most of us have seen at least one performance of The Nutcracker during the holiday season — but we probably didn’t travel to Russia, where ballet is practically a national sport, to absorb the dance and understand it as a work of art. And this year we won’t have to,…

It took a few years, but I finally convinced my Midwestern mother to join the rest of the family on a ski vacation this winter. The only problem is, she doesn’t ski. I was lamenting this fact over drinks recently, brainstorming how to keep her occupied for a week in…

“I want something to happen in people’s brains as far as their questioning of reality and what they’re looking at and what they’re assuming,” says John Bonath, whose newest exhibit — Real/UnReal: Botanical Studies, currently on display at the Denver Botanic Gardens — combines photography and digital manipulation of flowers,…

Tonight, the Alliance Française de Denver — founded in 1897, it’s one of the area’s oldest non-profit organizations — screens one of France’s most beloved screwball seasonal comedies, Le Pére Noël Est une Ordure. The title, which can be loosely translated as “Santa Claus Is a Scumbag,” created such a…

As a kid, I hated that Frankie Valli-type music my parents loved so much. After growing up with Hendrix and the Beatles, how could they choose anything else? However, with age came the awareness that my parents won’t be here forever — an insight that inspired some unexpected nostalgia for…

The holiday season is rife with traditions: trimming the tree, kissing under the mistletoe, sitting through The Nutcracker for the umpteenth time, and for the ultra-hip of Denver, reserving a seat once again for The SantaLand Diaries, the Bug Theatre’s annual staging of the David Sedaris yarn about his stint…