Hats, confetti, noisemakers, the New Year has arrived. So sing, dance and make good cheer we’ve made it through another year. January is a time to start over, to forget the old and relish the new. It is an opportunity to resolve to change even if we never quite get there. As the years have taughtus, kick the year off by embracing the unexpected.
We can run and hide, or we can open our arms and welcome the uncertainty of 2019. Either way, the unknown is coming, and it’s going to be full of surprises.
Here are our New Year choices for shopping, dining and entertainment to ring in a joyous and focused 2019 filled with pioneering fresh hope, dreams and aspirations:
3 An explosion of portraits, photographs and acrylic paintings greet the New Year at the Robert Anderson Gallery on E. Colfax, Jan. 2-Feb. 28. Attend the opening reception Jan. 18-5-8 p.m. Information: 303-257-0684.
3 Brighten the New Year enjoying music by the Whiffenpoofs of Yale in the Gates Concert Hall Jan. 5, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Information: 303-871-7720.
3 See Denver Botanic Garden’s beautiful Orchid Showcase in the Orangery & Marnie’s Pavilions from Jan. 10-Feb. 17. Information: 720-865-3500.
3 Whoop it up to the punk-influenced music of the Mustard Plug band at the Bluebird Theatre on Colfax Jan. 11, 8 p.m. Information: 303-377-1666.
3 Plan your 2019 events/galas at Infinity Park Event Center, celebrating 10 years of fundraisers, picnics, mitzvahs, quinceaneras, weddings, fashion shows, proms, and trade shows in Glendale. Information: 303-248-7100.
3 For an entertaining start to the New Year attend the Raisins & Almonds reception, concert and dinner at Hebrew Alliance Jan. 27, 5 p.m. Enjoy open wine bar, hors d’oeuvres and catered dinner. Information: 303-355-0232.
3 Let Count Basie Orchestra’s Basie Bash keep the year swinging at the Arvada Center June 19, 7:30 p.m. Information: 720-896-7200.
3 Close the month out enjoying Grammy winning singer Marc Cohn at Temple Emanuel Jan. 26, 7:30p.m. Information: 303-388-4013.
3 Put on your cowboy boots, grab your hat and ride to Denver’s National Western Complex to see bulls, broncos, cowboys and cowgirls at the National Western Stock Show Jan. 8-27. Around since 1906, this is your last chance to see sights of the historic stockyards. An $800 million makeover begins once this year’s show closes. See rodeos, horse shows, livestock plus art and special events. Information: 303-296-6977.
Exciting, scary, fun and enriching: That’s what each New Year is — a leap into the unknown. It is for me. It is for each of us. A time to say, “yes” to things we’ve never even thought about, had the nerve to do or even saw coming. It is wiser to embrace the new and unexpected — whether good or ill — instead of trying to dodge what can’t be dodged.
The New Year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. By letting go of our past, we can begin writing the story creating a vision for the year ahead.
Celebration of the lunar New Year is believed to have started to let in good, help us to keep an open mind and remain responsive. The calendar marks a great time to look back and plan for an even better year ahead. The words of Muhammad Ali offer a simple way for us to encounter 2019: “Don’t count the days. Make the days count.”
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
