by Mark Smiley | Jun 24, 2016 | Glendale City News
by Kurt Woock
Writer for and on behalf of the City of Glendale
When the jumbo screen at Infinity Park lights up, people gather around it like moths gathering around a light on a hot summer night. And for good reason. It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s a timeless experience that people of every age enjoy. It’s more than just something to do. Monday Movie Madness, now in its ninth year, is a sign
Infinity Park Movie Night, Willy Wonka. August 4, 2014 at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado. Photo by Seth McConnell
of summer for thousands of Coloradans.
Linda Cassaday, deputy city manager for the City of Glendale, says she continues to be wowed by the reception Monday Movie Madness continues to get. One way organizers engage moviegoers is by opening up each year’s movie selection to online suggestions and voting. This year, Cassaday says more people voted than in any other year.
The crowd is not only growing — it’s diverse. “I’m amazed when I walk in and see who’s coming in,” she said. “It can range from families with babies in strollers to teens to couples who come in for a really cool date night.” While the City of Glendale sponsors the event, Cassaday said people drive in from all over the Front Range to attend. “It’s the new drive-in movie.”
The lineup of mostly classics reflects the fact that Monday Movie Madness is a unique experience. It’s not a movie theater, and it’s not a film festival. These are all movies that are readily available on Netflix or cable, and most households probably have at least one on DVD. The word “movie” is in the event’s name, but the movie itself is just a supporting act to the event itself. People come to feel the grass between their toes, to bring a picnic, to share a blanket with family, to feel the air become cool as the sun slips behind the mountains, to see the moon and stars shine as the stadium lights go down. Everyone, regardless of age, is free to be youthful, to smile and laugh at a scene as if they’re seeing it for the first time, despite the fact they know every word. The event could very well have been named Monday Movie Magic.
This year kicked off in June with the latest Star Wars movie, Star Wars – The Force Awakens. July 11 will bring Mamma Mia! followed by the classic The Goonies on July 18. And the Robin Williams classic Mrs. Doubtfire plays on July 25. The season finale takes place on August 8 with another timeless Robin Williams’ role, Disney’s Aladdin.
The laid-back atmosphere can be traced to how easy it is to attend. Admission is free. Parking is free. Vendors are on site for those who prefer it, but people are welcome to bring their own food and beverages to the stadium (just no glass), making it an affordable way to have a memorable evening.
Like late night ice cream cones, baseball games, and barbeques, Monday Movie Madness is becoming synonymous with summer. It’s more than an event: It’s a summer ritual that people enjoy going to time and again. Cassaday recalls how she at first didn’t know whether such an event would take hold in a world filled with jam-packed schedules and short attention span. Perhaps Monday Movie Madness is succeeding not in spite of those things, but in response to them. In Monday Movie Madness, people have found a place where time slows down for a few hours.
“I just think that we’ve hit something in the culture with this idea,” Cassaday said. “To sit on real grass in a real place and watch a movie on the jumbotron, to be able to let your kids run around and not worry about them: We’re capturing the imagination.”
by Mark Smiley | Jun 24, 2016 | General Featured
Make Your Plans For July 9 Through August 7
by Mark Smiley
With the triumphant return and 60th anniversary of Central City Opera’s own The Ballad of Baby Doe opera, the 2016 Summer Festival, which runs from July 9 through August 7, offers an extraordinary lineup of performances, events, and activities for opera aficionados, newcomers, and tourists alike.
Central City Opera’s corporate headquarters is located in Glendale at 400 South Colorado Boulevard, and Glendale has adopted it as its very own opera company, in concert with Central City as well as Denver and others. Glendale Mayor Mike Dunafon has stated, “Central City and Glendale are small Colorado towns which both punch way above their weight class. We are thrilled to have one of the oldest opera companies in America headquartered here in Glendale.”
The opera company provides special buses that go directly from Glendale to Central City and back for various major performances.
Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe and P
uccini’s Tosca are the company’s two main-stage productions, performed in the historic and intimate Central City Opera House. Celebrating its 84th year, Central City Opera is the second oldest professional opera festival in the country.
Mozart’s The Impresario and John Musto and Mark Campbell’s Later the Same Evening are the featured one-act operas, performed in smaller venues in Central City and creative spaces in Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs. These productions are complemented by pre-performance lectures (45 minutes prior to each performance), opera scenes and solo performances, and post-performance socials with the artists.
The air-conditioned Glendale bus to Central City is offered for $20 per person roundtrip or the Boomer Bus is $35 per person and includes additional activities and lunch. The bus is a convenient way to attend the opera without dealing with traffic and parking. The bus leaves at 10 a.m. from the Sports Authority parking lot in Glendale, and between 10:30 and 10:45 a.m. from Simms Steakhouse in Lakewood, on select Wednesday and Sunday matinees. Be sure to check Central City’s website for dates, times and availability of tickets for performances and the Glendale buses.
The Ballad of Baby Doe, 60th Anniversary
The 2016 Festival opens with Douglas Moore’s classic American opera, The Ballad of Baby Doe, which held its world premiere at Central City Opera in 1956. Based on Colorado’s historical figures, Horace Tabor, Elizabeth (Baby Doe) Tabor, and Augusta Tabor, the opera tells the story of love, loss, and loneliness during the mining boo
m in Leadville, Colorado, in the late 1800s. Central City Opera’s most recent production of The Ballad of Baby Doe was staged in 2006 to commemorate the opera’s 50th anniversary. This new production, directed by Ken Cazan, features Anna Christy as Mrs. Elizabeth (Baby) Doe, Grant Youngblood as Horace Tabor, Susanne Mentzer as Augusta Tabor, Donald Hartmann as William Jennings Bryan, and Sarah Barber as Mama McCourt. Timothy Myers conducts. The Ballad of Baby Doe, written and sung in English, has performances from July 9 through August 6.
Tosca
The second main-stage production at the Central City Opera House is Puccini’s powerful thriller Tosca, set in 1800 Rome during the Napoleonic Wars. Tosca tells the story of the jealous and conflicted diva, Floria Tosca, who struggles to free her lover, the painter Mario Cavaradossi, from the clutches of the cruel and wicked police chief Baron Scarpia. With some of the most gorgeous and memorable Puccini arias, this new production of Tosca is directed by Joachim Schamberger and features Alexandra Loutsion as Floria Tosca, Jonathan Burton as Mario Cavaradossi, Michael Mayes as Baron Scarpia, and Donald Hartmann as the Sacristan. John Baril, CCO’s music director, conducts. Tosca, last produced by Central City Opera in 1998, is sung in Italian with English supertitles. Evening performances are on July 16 and July 22, at 8 p.m. Matinee performances are on select dates from July 20 through August 7 at 2:30 p.m.
The Impresario (Der Schauspieldirektor, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/Gottlieb Stephanie)
Furthering its commitment to present shorter and more accessible operas in venues outside the traditional opera house, Central City Opera presents Mozart’s The Impresario, a whimsical comedy about a general manager of an opera company and two rivaling divas as they scheme and squabble their way to opening night. This one-act opera, written in German and performed in English, is set in 1948 New York City. The opera is directed by Michael Ehrman and features members of the Bonfils-Stanton Artists Training Program. Aaron Breid conducts. The Impresario will be performed in Central City at 12 p.m. on July 27 and August 3 at the Williams Stables Theatre, and in Boulder on July 28, at The Nomad Playhouse, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Later The Same Evening (John Musto/Mark Campbell)
Later the Same Evening, by contemporary composer John Musto and librettist Mark Campbell, imagines the lives of the figures in five Edward Hopper paintings and connects them as characters — both directly and tangentially — on one evening in New York City in 1932. This one-act opera, written and sung in English, is directed by Michael Ehrman and performed by members of the Bonfils-Stanton Artists Training Program. John
Baril conducts. Later the Same Evening will be performed in Colorado Springs on July 28, at the Pikes Peak Arts Center, Studio Bee, at 7 p.m.; the Denver Art Museum on July 30, at 8 p.m.; and in Central City on August 5, at the Gilman Studio in the Lanny and Sharon Martin Foundry Rehearsal Center, at 7 p.m.
Festival single-show tickets range from $31 to $108, based on availability. Subscribers who purchase both Central City Opera House shows can save up to 25 percent on additional show tickets, along with additional and more exclusive opportunities. One-act opera tickets start at $34 ($31 for subscribers), and group discounts are available for 10 or more people. All prices are subject to change, based on availability. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.centralcityopera.org or call the box office, 303-292-6700, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
by Mark Smiley | Jun 24, 2016 | Travel
by Mark Smiley
On July 23, Bonnie Brae Ice Cream will celebrate its 30th Anniversary under the same ownership and in the same building as when it first opened. Co-owner Ken Simon estimates they have scooped 8,250,000 scoops of ice cream in 30 years. Not to mention 35,000 ice cream cakes. Simon also indicates that Bonnie Brae Ice Cream is the oldest ice cream parlor under continuous ownership in Denver.
The land that Bonnie Brae Ice Cream sits on has been in Ken Simon’s family for over 70 years. In fact, before it was Bonnie Brae, it was a Dolly Madison for decades. Dolly Madison moved into the space in 1945 and finally vacated in 1986 due to dwindling business. “As tastes changed, Dolly Madison didn’t change with them,” said Simon. “At one point in time, they [Dolly Madison] had 30 stores around the city.”
When Dolly Madison moved out, Ken and his wife Judy were faced with the decision of leasing the space to another tenant or trying their hand at opening their own ice cream shop. Ken and Judy asked Bob and Cindy Pailet, whom they met in 1975 and had real estate investments with, if they would like to join as 50/50 partn
ers in the business. They agreed and the decision was made.
Judy Simon has made ice cream since she was a little girl. The two couples decided to delve into the ice cream business and took two months to renovate the space. They installed new electrical but kept the old floor and some of the old-fashioned signs you see today.
Judy took a class at Utah St. to learn how to modify her recipes for mass consumption. Her mom helped her make the ice cream in the early days making it truly a family affair. Richard Brown came on board in 1988 and after six years of assisting, he took over as head ice cream maker, a positon he holds today.
After making ice cream every day for eight years, Judy now comes in a few times per week to check on the recipes. In fact, all four owners try each batch before it is sold to the public. They also have fun coming up with recipe ideas. A new flavor is introduced every two months. In fact, some recipe ideas came from trips to Italy and France, as well as competing parlors in Colorado.
All told, Bonnie Brae Ice Cream has 130 flavors in its arsenal. Flavors rotate daily
but customers can expect 30 flavors of ice cream, two yogurts, one sorbet, and one sherbet on any given day. Sometimes, flavors are retired, but if demand from customers is high enough, they will bring a flavor back.
The most popular flavors which are always in the rotation are Capuccino Crunch, Triple Dip Chocolate, Peppermint, Vanilla, and Chocolate.
The days in the summer are hopping, as they are at many ice cream stores in Denver. It takes a lot to serve that many customers all summer and all year long. “We buy one thousand pounds of chocolate at a time and two thousand pounds of waffle cone mix,” said Simon. The ingredients are specially made for Bonnie Brae Ice Cream as well. “From day one, we decided to sell premium products,” said Simon. “We have continued to do so for 30 years.”
Aside from the massive amounts of ice cream they have produced and sold through the years, Bonnie Brae Ice Cream has employed over 550 people spanning three decades. In fact, some of the employees are second generation. Many have gone on to successful careers. And, there have even been two marriages of employees who met while working at Bonnie Brae.
Perhaps one of the most notable success stories comes from Joe Hencmann, one employee who started working at the store when he was 15. He worked through college and then on weekends until he turned 40 years of age. Last year, he and his wife started their own successful ice cream parlor in Sonoma, near San Francisco.
The ice cream business is competitive just like any other industry but Bonnie Brae has very good relationships with competing parlors, including Denver staples Liks and Little Man. Ken Simon is a fifth generation Coloradan. His great-great-grandfather came from Germany and was one of the early settlers who eventually opened a wholesale liquor distribution business in Pueblo.
Simon’s grandfather opened up a soda fountain distribution business in the early 1900s called Grauman Soda Fountain Company. There is still at least one operational in Lyons, Colorado today, Lyons Soda Fountain. So, Simon knows everyone in town and is almost universally liked.
One thing is for sure, Bonnie Brae Ice Cream will continue to provide what their customers expect and want. They do not plan to suffer the same fate as Dolly Madison did in 1986. They are focused on continuing to deliver premium products to their loyal customer base and evolve with the times.
Bonnie Brae Ice Cream is located at 799 S. University Blvd. in Denver. They are open Sunday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Visit their website at www.bonniebraeicecream.com.
by Mark Smiley | Jun 24, 2016 | Main Articles
This Time Regarding Park Hill Golf Course
by Glen Richardson
Notwithstanding the fact that Denver District Court judges appear to many to view themselves as little more than employees of Mayor Michael Hancock’s administration, former Colorado Attorney General J.D. McFarlane has filed suit to attempt to prevent the Hancock administration from turning a significant portion of Park Hill Golf Club into a stormwater detention facility. McFarlane is represented by attorney Aaron Goldhamer of the law firm of Jones & Keller P.C. Goldhamer is a candidate for the position of representative for State House District 8. He is a Yale undergraduate and obtained his law degree from Georgetown University.
The lawsuit is brought against the city, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, Parks Executive Director “Happy Haynes” and Jose Cornejo, the manager of Public Works. The lawsuit charges that the city engaged in a corrupt scheme to place an industrial-level stormwater detention facility on the Park Hill golf course in furtherance of the I-70 expansion which violates the Denver City Charter and common law governing municipal use of the public parkland.
The 14-page “Complaint” lays out in plain and stark language a fraudulent scheme by the City of Denver and its offi-
cers and officials to aid private developers and landowners adjoining the proposed I-70 expansion and undergrounding at the expense of Denver neighborhoods and Park Hill Golf Club.
The Complaint exposes that the City lied to the public and the neighborhoods in its assertion that it was attempting to protect the Cole and Montclair neighborhoods from potential stormwater and drainage harm due to severe flooding. The complaint notes that it suddenly changed from the normal five-year protection to 100-year protection which only applies to federal highway projects and which is cost prohibitive and unneeded for cities like Denver which are located in a semi-arid environment.
The Complaint reveals the city attempted to fool the public by showing pictures of Katrina-type flooding in areas unrelated to the drainage. Denver further failed to make clear that significant flooding in northeast Denver will still occur according to the Complaint even after tens of millions are spent.
The Complaint also asserts that the funding for the project also appears to violate Article X Sec. 20 of the Colorado Constitution (the Tabor Amendment) and while no claims regarding the same were asserted in the Complaint, McFarlane “reserves the right to amend this Complaint to assert such a claim.”
The Complaint seeks declaratory and injunctive relief preventing the partial destruction of City Park Golf Course.
The Denver District Court Judge hearing the case is Michael J. Vallejos, a University of Colorado graduate for both his undergraduate and legal degrees, who before coming to the bench, served as a Deputy State Public Defender. His qualifications to some seem in part to mirror those of Denver District Court Judge Shelley I. Gilman, known as the so-called “Pro Corruption Judge,” whose alleged disgraceful behavior at the hearing on April 22 caused many attendees to give up all hope that a Denver District Court judge could be a fair and impartial arbiter of any dispute regarding the Hancock Administration which appears to some to wholly control what is supposed to be an independent judiciary within the City and County of Denver.
