by Valley Gadfly | Apr 27, 2018 | Valley Gadfly
Sunlight is a natural resource we’ll run out of one day. Plan to make use of it this month. It’s May after all. Think of each unit of time as all in a day’s play. In fact, you’re as welcome as the flowers in May. Shakespeare called it “the merry month of May.” Fennel Hudson put it this way: “May, more than any other month, wants us to feel alive.”
As the Book of Songs suggests: “Sweet May hath come to love us, flowers, trees, their blossoms don; and through the blue heavens above us, the very clouds move on.”
Here are our warm and sunny choices for shopping, dining and entertainment so your garden grows and you can breeze through each day like it’s a picnic in the park:
3 Race to the Bar Car on Colorado Blvd. for the annual fundraiser Talk Derby to Me party on May 5, noon to 7 p.m. Sway to the music of live bands, city’s top hat contest, plus fun games. Information: 720-524-8099.
3 Cinco De Mayo fest in Civic Center Park keeps the fun going May 5-6. See Saturday parade plus low rider car show. Information 303-534-8342.
3 Keep May fun with free lessons at the Wash Park Lawn Bowling Club May 12, 10 a.m. Information: washingtonparklawnbowlingclub.com.
3 Hear St. Martin’s Chamber Choir sing Howell’s Requiem at Saint John’s Episcopal Cathedral May 18, 7:30 p.m. Information: 303-298-1970.
3 Make your home tidy and trim with upholstery, drapery, cushions and pillows from Boris’s Upholstery. Enjoy great discounts on home décor fabrics in extensive selection of styles. Information: 303-751-2921.
3 Show mom she’s cherished with Mother’s Day specials May 13 at the Monaco Inn Restaurant. Information: 303-320-1104. Or take her to brunch at Salvage Restaurant, 10 a.m-2 p.m. Information: 303-751-2113.
3 Take the kids to the Children’s Book Fest for activities and reading at the Tattered Cover on Colfax, May 19, 1-3 p.m. Information: 303-322-7727.
3 Hurry, French artist Edgar Degas’ A Passion For Perfection is on display at the Denver Art Museum through May 20. Information: 303-892-1505
3 Don’t miss this year’s Denver Ukefest presented by Swallow Hill Music. Weekend kicks off May 10 at Brews on Broadway. On May 11, festival moves to Swallow Hill highlighted by uke supernova Taimane and two-time Grammy winners Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer. Saturday May 12 has a full day of workshops and community events. Evening concert features Craig Chee, Sarah Maisel and Gerald Ross. Information: 303-777-1003.
May’s calling and it’s not on your phone, it’s outside. Get out of the house early to dig in your garden, explore the parks, eat locally and stargaze the night away. There are soulful bistros, hidden wine bars and wonderful patisseries to find. Discover the thrill of professional rugby. Squeeze in a little golf or spa time to take away winter’s stress.
Plan a picnic in the park with the kids. At weekend gatherings, weeknight dinners and on restaurant patios we gather to eat, drink, socialize and bask in beautiful views.
“April is the cruelest month,” T.S. Eliot famously wrote. But then for Camelot Lerner and Loewe declared May is here: “It’s mad, it’s gay, a libelous display. Everyone makes divine mistakes, the lusty month of May. Whence this fragrance wafting through the air, tra, la la la la.” To whence I ask: Why I’m only wishing to go a-fishing?
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
by Valley Gadfly | Mar 23, 2018 | Valley Gadfly
Listen, can you hear it? The music of spring’s sweet cantata: The song of buds swelling on the vine as if on a recital tour performing works ranging from Schubert and Schumann to Copland and Porter. As William Shakespeare often explained it: “Well-apparel’d April on the heel of limping winter treads.” April brings all the seven wonders!
In spring they say there’s always something new that’s come to stay. “Another bud, a new bird, another blade.” Drop off mind and body, they’re weeding new cuttings.
Here are our fresh, damp, sweet and cool choices for shopping, dining and entertainment to bring you longer, brighter and warmer temps with accompanying joy:
3 For a cat-and-mouse drama about art, politics, sex and truth make plans to see Cherry Creek Theatre’s two-character stage production of A Picasso playing at the JCC’s Mizel Center April 5-29. Information: 303-800-6578.
3 Help hilarious Karen Mills raise funds for Firefly Autism treatment at DCPA’s Seawell Ballroom April 12, 5 p.m. Information: 303-759-1192.
3 For great musical entertainment catch the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band playing at Swallow Hill’s Daniels Hall April 13, 8 p.m. Information: 303-777-1003.
3 Hear John Hopkins’ Dr. Christina Bethell speak at CASA’s Light of Hope Breakfast at downtown Sheraton, 7-8:30 a.m. Information:303-832-4592.
3 Spruce up for spring with shades and drapes from Cherry Creek Shade & Drapery marking 50 years as a family-owned business. Also custom made drapes, window coverings and upholstery. Information: 303-355-4223.
3 Race into the season at the 8th Annual Kentucky Derby Party Leukemia fundraiser at The Bar Car on Colorado Blvd. May 5, 12-7 p.m. Food, live bands, mint juleps, hat contest and prizes. Information: 720-524-8099.
3 Celebrate the 25th Colorado Symphony Ball with pianist Natasha Paremsky at the Fillmore April 26, 6 p.m. Information: 303-623-7876.
3 See the Pulitzer Prize winning Diary of Anne Frank playing at Lowry’s John Hand Theater through April 28. Information: 720-530-4596.
3 Don’t miss the very first professional rugby game ever played at Glendale’s Infinity Park Stadium April 21, 3 p.m. The heavyweight tilt is between the Glendale Raptors and the Austin Elite. It is also the kick off to professional rugby on the CBS TV Network. Other teams playing this year are the Houston SaberCats, New Orleans Gold, San Diego Legion, Seattle Seawolves and Utah Warriors. Information: glendaleraptors.com.
Historically you can tell it’s April by the sound of falling rain. That mystic, mournful music as it trickles down the drain. This month we experience essentially constant cloud cover with the sky overcast to mostly cloudy about 46% throughout the month. More: The chance of a wet day begins the month at 18% and increases to 25% by month’s end.
The good news: The chance of a day with mixed snow-rain decreases from 5% to 1%. More: The chance of a day with only snow remains constant at 1% throughout.
April marks a great time of year with beautiful weather that yields blossoming gardens and springtime bliss. It’s the time of year for change and new beginnings. Meadows of wildflowers dance in the wind. Sunrises paint the sky like a canvas. This is the time when wonderful things happen. Don’t let the charm of spring slip away.
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
by Valley Gadfly | Dec 17, 2017 | Valley Gadfly
City meets country. Mile High urban Cherry Creek construction chaos combines forces with cowboys as the 112th National Western Stock Show kicks off the New Year Jan. 6-21. Whether we want to acknowledge it, Denver is turning a cold shoulder on the Valley’s country heritage as the cowboy theme is too cliché for today’s city slicker.
The environment is no longer rough, wild and open. Like riding bulls at this year’s National Western rodeo, Denver’s surreal bull market tends to put cowboys down.
Here are our warm-up choices for shopping, dining and entertainment to step back in time and cowboy it up in boots, chaps and cowboy hats for a hearty good time:
3 Steer your steed to the Western American Art Symposium in the DAM’s Lewis Sharp Auditorium Jan. 4, 10 a.m. Focus is on regionalism and its impact on artists working in the West. Information: 720-913-0130.
3 Watch a cattle drive with horses, cattle, cowboys-gals, tractors and bands at the stock show parade Jan. 4 at 12 p.m. Information: 303-892-1505.
3 For fast, funny entertainment herd the gang over to Lowry’s John Hand Theatre to see Rumors playing Jan. 6-Feb. 3. Information: 720-530-4596.
3 See a wide range of hunting, fishing and camping gear at the Sportsmen’s Expo at the Convention Center Jan. 11-14. Information: 800-454-6100.
3 So you’ve found the perfect bunkhouse (home) in the perfect cow pasture (locality). Now it’s time to be the tall hog at the trough with the perfect mortgage from Stone Creek Mortgage. Information: 303-573-1200.
3 Lookin’ for good grub at a spot where you can sit a spell and chew the fat? With yummy Italian concoctions and cowboy cocktails Viale Pizza & Kitchen is a tasty cinch on Colorado Blvd. Information: 303-495-3065.
3 Lasso time to see Mary Louise Lee playing Billie Holiday once more at Aurora’s Vintage Theatre, Jan. 12-Feb. 18. Information: 303-856-7830.
3 Catch the Nashville music group Banditos playing backwoods bluegrass, doo-wop and soul at the Larimer Lounge, 8 p.m. Information: 303-291-1007.
3 For a whopping good time get eye to eye with a steer that weighs more than your car at the Stock Show & Rodeo at the National Western Complex, Jan. 6-21. Watch sheep dogs herd their fluffy friends and be dazzled by trick roping. Rodeos are held each day with pro riders, ropers and a slew of animals strutting their stuff. For kids there’s a Stick Horse Rodeo and Farmyard Follies. Information: 303-893-1505.
In popular usage “cowboying it up” is derived from rodeo, and is the phrase used to tell a participant to mount a bull or a horse depending on the event. It is akin to telling runners in a track meet to take their marks and set. Today cowboy up in Denver applies to apartment towers that have kicked living up a notch, not living space above the barn.
Reckon most country folks would dub Denver’s urban living as “WAAAY UP.” Granted reclaimed lumber from developments in town makes building barns cut-rate.
So much for tall in the saddle! Next up are more lofty buildings in what was once cow pasture. Besides the issue of a place to park horses, the meadow is soiled. That’s why some call Denver’s cowboy city planners deranged. Wishing you a fun-filled ride into the New Year. Just remember if you wear cowboy clothes you are “ranch dressing.”
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
by Valley Gadfly | Nov 20, 2017 | Valley Gadfly
Go dashing through the snow — it’s the crackling, relaxing, romantic time of year. Just don’t let the horses’ hooves lull you to sleep or you’ll miss Colorado’s snowcapped peaks. Furthermore, for the outdoorsy types, hot chocolate and marshmallow roasts await in the Cherry Creek Valley’s old school holiday winter hideaways. Come on get jolly!
‘Tis the season for snowy adventures — sleigh rides, snowmobiling and skating are really grand. Go ahead and bust out some holly and follow your winter folly.
Here are our happy holiday (hold the tinsel) choices for shopping, dining and entertainment to add sugar and spice and make everything nice this festive season:
3 Timothy P. and his Stocking Stuffers return to play western, bluegrass and folk music. You’ll enjoy holiday favorites plus some fun surprises at the Lakewood Cultural Center, Dec. 1-4. Information: 303-987-7845.
3 Ogden Theatre hosts Sing It To Me Santa public school music benefit with LA Band The Record Co. Dec. 9, 8 p.m. Information: 303-832-1874.
3 ELF The Musical brings splashy, sugar-sprinkled but enjoyable family entertainment to DCPA’s Buell, Dec. 13-17. Information: 303-893-4100.
3 Santa and kids mingle plus crafts, music, cookies and hot chocolate at the Glendale Sports Center Dec. 14, 5:30-7 p.m. Information: 303-639-4711.
3 Sunflower Bank is your source for banking solutions to achieve 2018 business and personal goals with locally informed decision-making. Denver headquartered with $4 billion in assets. Information: 303-389-2611.
3 The Salvage Restaurant (Summit Steakhouse) is this year’s holiday go-to-spot for big groups and out of town guests. Half-priced happy hour drinks, steaks, escargot and Beef Wellington with crab. Information: 303-751-2112.
3 St. Martin’s Choir does Christmas tunes from British composers at Saint John’s Episcopal Cathedral Dec. 15, 7:30 p.m. Information: 303-298-1970.
3 See the sky sparkle over the 16th St. Mall this New Year’s Eve. Display of fireworks is at 9 p.m. and again at midnight. Information: 303-892-1112.
3 Infuse your soul with holiday magic as Ballet Ariel creates its own special production of The Nutcracker at the Lakewood Cultural Center, Dec. 9-23. Ariel’s production of Tchaikovsky’s famous score features beautiful costumes, exciting choreography and guest artist Paul Noel Fiorino as Drosselmeyer. Performances are Dec. 9, 10, 16, 17, 22 & 23 at 2 p.m. Evening shows are Dec. 16 & 22 at 7 p.m. Information: 303-987-7845.
Dig in! There’s snow on the ground in the mountains and often in and around town this month. Maybe you will finally land that double axel! There’s free skating in the heart of the city at Skyline Park (including Christmas) through Feb. 14. There are also public skate sessions and lessons at the Big Bear Arena in Lowry (8580 E. Lowry Blvd.).
Whether you’re all about the hot toddies, mountain views, or the warm glow of a fire at your favorite dining spot this is the season to rekindle that holiday magic.
The selling season has arrived! Holiday mail, emails, social media posts and TV ads arrive daily. The best gifts are total surprises, something the recipient wouldn’t dream of buying. Or a donation to a favorite cause, requiring no recycling or wrapping paper. May an abundance of the white stuff plus friends, happiness and fun fill your holiday.
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
by Valley Gadfly | Oct 23, 2017 | Valley Gadfly
“It was a dark and stormy night, suddenly, a turkey rang out!” Those are Charlie Brown’s words after Lucy told him to write a Thanksgiving novel. It’s been 44 years since A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving made its way to our TV screens, but it still reminds us of the true meaning of Thanksgiving and the beginning of the holiday season.
Sure, turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie star on our gratefully plentiful holiday tables, but we all know it’s really our loved ones who make Thanksgiving special.
Here are our healthy and fresh choices for shopping, dining and entertainment to add more food, love, friends and generosity to your traditional November recipe:
3 Good grief, don’t miss out on the Denver Film Festival screening more than 200 titles including three red carpet galas at the Ellie, Nov. 1-12. Other events are at the Sie Film Center. Information: 720-381-0813.
3 Get in the holiday mood shopping the Colorado Country Gift Show with 450 booths in the Denver Mart, Nov. 3-5. Information: 800-521-7469.
3 Hip-hop over to the Buell Theatre for Breakin’ Convention, the big hip-hop dance festival with workshops, Nov. 4-5. Information: 303-893-4100.
3 Embrace the holiday spirit by attending the Lowry Fall Wine Tasting in Eisenhower Chapel Nov. 10, 6-8:30 p.m. Information: 303-344-0481.
3 Enjoy Thanksgiving without cooking by feasting on the annual classic roast turkey spread at the Monaco Inn Restaurant, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. A half-dozen other scrumptious choices also offered. Information: 303-320-1104.
3 Thanksgiving is the only holiday allowing a little shuteye mid-event. Hence, keep a happy-healthy home with better mattresses and better sleep from SleepNation with three Valley locations: Information: 720-443-4421.
3 Enjoy Epic Night with 12 bands, dancing, free food-drinks at Swallow Hill’s Tuft Theatre benefit Nov. 18, 7 p.m. Information: 303-777-1003.
3 Join the Mile High United Way Turkey Trot at Wash Park to make the big meal satisfying Nov. 23, 10:15 a.m.-2 p.m. Information: 303-433-8383.
3 Book your plans now for The Bookies Small Business Saturday in Glendale Nov. 26, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. After two days off they’re throwing open the doors for the Author Showcase. Hear authors speak throughout the day as you shop and enjoy entertainment. Furthermore it’s a day to celebrate independent bookstores and the usual store discounts apply. On day after Thanksgiving it’s fun shopping. Information: 303-759-1117.
Your Thanksgiving menu likely won’t include toast, popcorn and candy, as was the case for the Charlie Brown TV special based on Charles M. Schultz’s Peanuts comic strip. Nevertheless, today the Peanuts comic strip is as synonymous with Thanksgiving as turkey, pumpkin pie and awkward family conversations about politics and religion.
In that TV special Lucy enticed Charlie Brown to kick the football because it was a Thanksgiving tradition. Now the NFL has ostensibly pulled the same trick on us.
A parade, big meal and mind-numbing football games highlight Thanksgiving. So why is it more appetizing than others? For many of us it delivers four days off. How awesome is that? It’s also universal, inclusive and nap friendly. Plus thankfulness makes us happy. Share your good fortune with food banks or soup kitchens and bon appetite!
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
