“When after the Winter alarmin’, the Spring steps in so charmin’, so fresh and arch in the middle of March,” wrote Alfred Percival Graves, the Irish poet, songwriter. Maybe that’s why Denverites are so enchanted by St. Paddy’s Day. It’s a day when we hope the season and the Irish will transform winter’s dream into spring’s magic.
It is true that the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. Yep, it is also factual that Denver days start to warm up rapidly in March.
Here are our balmy and satisfying springtime choices for shopping, dining and entertainment so Irish hearts are happy and all the world seems bright and gay:
3 March to the Seawell Grand Ballroom for Saturday Night Alive’s elegant dinner and the music of multi-platinum recording artist Vanessa Williams at DCPA’s annual fundraiser March 2. Information: 303-893-4100.
3 For a picture perfect month see 60 photographic images on display at the Robert Anderson Gallery March 5-April 27. Information: 303-355-8955.
3 Learn ways to transform winter’s dreams into summer magic at the Tree Diversity Conference March 8, 8:30 a.m. Information: 720-869-3500.
3 Show you’re big-hearted by attending the Denver Heart Ball benefit in the Hyatt Convention Center March 8, 6 p.m. Information: 303-801-4667.
3 Is the gloom in your home showing? Has the fabric on the furniture and drapery lost its luster? March over to Boris’s Upholstery and look through their showroom of home décor fabrics. Information: 303-751-2021.
3 Brighten up those miserable March mornings even if it doesn’t make headlines at Morning Story, the renamed Egg & I eatery in the Leetsdale Shopping Center. More lunch options, too! Information: 303-577-9050.
3 Enjoy melancholy time listening to piano soloist Dr. Pak playing at the Auraria King Center, March 16, 7:30 p.m. Information: 303-394-4552.
3 Join the “Journey” to the Convention Center Hyatt for the Junior League’s fundraiser March 22, 6 p.m. Information: 303-692-0270.
3 Keep the health of Denver Health from being susceptible to financial trauma by attending the NightShine Gala at the Hyatt Regency March 30, 6 p.m. Funds raised will support Denver Health’s Ernest E. Moore Shock Trauma Center. Entertainment is by Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats for this fun and glamorous night out. Information: 303-602-2970.
As the lyrics to Melancholy March declare, the month’s gloom often shows: “Your winds are blowing, your clouds are crying, your trees are sighing.” Despite being late for winter’s tale, it is the snowiest month of the year in Denver and a transitional month from winter to spring. The city usually gets five-inches or more of fresh snow.
This month, however, we also often see the last of severe winter weather. You can expect sunshine to stay around for an average of about 12 hours of daylight.
“Beware the ides of March,” a soothsayer tells Caesar in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
Nonetheless, as March winds sweep and sing, I sit by a fire and dream: Old memories wake; faint echoes make a murmur of spring. Whether it turns out to be warm here this March or not, when Irish eyes are smiling, sure ’tis like a morn in spring.
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.