The transition from fall to winter is getting underway. As winter kicks in with its cold weather and snowy landscapes, everyone feels funny. We’re either cold or getting a cold. November is a whole bunch of mixed feelings and songs about it are the living proof. Cozy sweaters and fashionable scarves are our wind-songs in the pines.
This is the month when night comes early and the dawn comes late. We’re pushed out of the sunlight as the piercing chill creates ice in buckets and frost by the gate.
After a year that so often kept people apart, here are our choices for shopping, dining, and entertainment to harvest happiness and foster a spirit of connectedness:
3 Keep the season bright by enjoying more than a dozen remaining JAAMM Fest events on the JCC campus. November features singer-comedian Jackie Tohn and cookbook author Jake Cohn. Information: 303-399-2600.
3 Cozy up seeing films-documentaries as Denver Film Festival returns to the Sie Film Center, other venues Nov. 3-14. Information: denverfilms.org.
3 Beat the cold at National Jewish Health’s hot Fashion Show Nov. 6th at Mercedes-Benz on S. Colorado Blvd., 6 p.m. Information: 303-728-8748.
3 Don’t miss this year’s sizzling Junior League Holiday Mart at DU’s Gates Field House, Nov. 12-14 with varying hours. Information: 303-682-0270.
3 Enjoy English pub specialties, American fare, at the long bar, patio, and dining room at Glendale’s Bull & Bush. Celebrate the season partying at one of the Valley’s best craft breweries. Information: 303-759-0333.
3 Warm up your Holiday event by treating guests at the Infinity Park Event Center. It’s a cozy winter wonderland with 360-degree video screens to bring your party to life. Information: infinityparkeventcenter.com.
3 See Central City Opera’s L’Esprit de Noel virtual tour of Denver’s 1888 McCourt Mansion, Nov. 19-Dec. 31. Information: lesprithometour.com.
3 Catch Cherry Creek Theatre’s classic play Just A Second at the Wolf Theatre on the JCC campus through Nov. 21. Information: 303-800-6578.
3 To help you enjoy this month’s weather, the Colorado Symphony and Natasha Paaremski fire-up DCPA’s Boettcher Concert Hall playing Piano Concerto No. 2, Nov. 19-21. The work is concise and playful, contrasting the daring music with those more typical of Mozart’s time. Performances are Fri.-Sat. 7:30 p.m. Sun. at 1 p.m. Music by the two titans shines in the hands of Maestro Andrew Litton. Information: 303-893-4200.
We’ve polished off the last of the Halloween candy and pulled out our cozy sweaters. Now we need to take a deep breath of crisp air and settle into November — the very best month of the season. It’s a holiday month, but instead of the rush of Christmas, we get to spend time with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving traditions. Enjoy the month to the fullest. Live life to the maximum by taking a moment to reflect on all that makes you grateful.
Relish November’s warm temperatures — Indian Summer is Nov. 11-20 — because all too soon frost and snow will force us indoors. Most Denver nights drop below freezing, with an inch of snow on the ground for six days during the month. If winter is early, it won’t be late meteorologists warn. Trees simply say, “leave me alone.”
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.