I am a hopeless artist. Sure, I can draw a stick figure — but that about covers the extent of my artistic ability. And when it comes to drawing something that no one in living memory has ever set eyes on, I’m completely at a loss. Clearly, I’m no James…

Psst! Here’s a little secret: I’m not really a fan of New York City. I get that it’s a cultural mecca, chock-full of the latest in art, food, theater, yadda yadda — I fully understand the pull of the city. It’s an exciting, cutting-edge place to live. But I’m a…

Generation after generation has grown up with Charles M. Schulz’s iconic comic strip, Peanuts. We grew to love anxious Charlie Brown, security-blanket-grasping Linus, bossy Lucy, piano-playing Schroeder, little yellow Woodstock and, of course, Snoopy, the beagle with big dreams who usually acted more human than doglike. While society was turned…

Food is one area of my life where I very rarely cut corners to fit a budget. Sure, I could poke through the discounted-produce bin at the supermarket — but why would I bring home an almost-wilted head of romaine lettuce when, for a few extra cents, I could have…

Everyone seems to understand the appeal of watching a film in the theater, and many of us also get the appeal of cuddling up with a good book. But in my opinion, there’s a severely underrated form of narrative entertainment that some people just don’t know about: Sitting in a…

Not every artist’s work is musical-revue material, but there’s no question that songwriters Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller are more than up to the revue challenge. Their own personal revue, Smokey Joe’s Cafe: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller, won a Tony Award in 1995, and its soundtrack won a…

There are a few giants who stand at the forefront of downtempo electronic music: Portishead, Massive Attack, Zero 7, and Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister — and, of course, DJ Mark Farina, who’s been steadily releasing house-style mixes and morphs of downtempo, hip-hop, jazz and soul with his Mushroom Jazz…

I don’t refer to myself as a chocoholic. My addiction is much more severe: I consider myself a connoisseur. As such, know that I am nail-bitingly excited about the Havana District’s Travel the World Through Chocolate, which will showcase chocolate imported from the around the globe for our tasting pleasure…

It’s not every day that a group of all-female Tuvan throat singers and folk musicians stop in town, so consider yourself lucky to be able to hear Tyva Kyzy not once, but twice this week. “It’s pretty cool, because I think they’re the only all-female ensemble of throat singers in…

“There’s a pretty strong grassroots ukulele community around Colorado and around the country,” notes Michael Schenkelberg of the Swallow Hill Music Association. That explains why last year’s inaugural Denver UkeFest was such a sweet success — and why Swallow Hill is bringing it back for a new year. “Even for…

Menopause the Musical and Hats! are for women at the end of their childbearing years; and Girls Only — The Secret Comedy of Women celebrates a female’s childhood and teenage years. But what about everyone who falls between the onset of menarche and menopause? “We were right in between maturity…

Okay, not the actual born-in-1935, died-in-1977 King Elvis Presley, but the next best thing: Velvet Elvis, aka Chris Barber. And he lives every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. at Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret, 1601 Arapahoe Street, where he shakes his pelvis during the “Love Me Tender” show. “Have you ever seen…

There’s only one actor from generations past who can still make my heart skip a beat: Paul Newman. I’ve mourned him quietly since he passed away on September 26, because I’ve yet to find another leading man who can bring such nuance and conflict to a character — and no…

Who knew wearing pajamas could be so profitable? Denver’s Road Home has already collected more than a half-million dollars in donations through its annual PJ Party, and planners are hoping this year’s incarnation will do well, too. “We know that the economic crisis right now is definitely hitting people hard,”…

It goes without saying that drug and alcohol abuse have a profound effect on the person afflicted with an addiction — but what about the families, friends and loved ones surrounding the addict? Nic Sheff was eleven years old when he first got drunk. That one incident led to Nic’s…

“Because 2008 was a political year, we wanted to do something that had a political feel to it, but where everyone could come to the table. And that’s hard to do,” says Chris Loffelmacher, head of adult cultural programming with the Denver Public Library’s Fresh City Life. “We decided to…

Kim Franco, marketing director at Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret, knows a sad truth about the current economic climate: “People don’t have the money to travel right now,” she says. But every cloud has a silver lining. You might not be able to afford Paris, but you can surely spend a fraction…

It’s official: The holidays are over. Whether you celebrated Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule or just New Year’s Eve — the decorations can come down, the wrapping paper can be put away, and any kids in your household can begin studiously preparing to return to school in another week or so…

I’ve always been fascinated by skijoring, a winter sport wherein a person on skis is pulled along by a horse, dog or even a car. And it seems plenty of people across the state share my interest, which is why Devil’s Thumb Ranch offers Skijoring Clinics every month or so…

Bhangra — a form of party dancing that originated with the Punjabi in India — has become increasingly popular in recent months, judging from the number of musicians (Jay-Z among them) who have incorporated a bhangra element into their work. “It’s got origins in the agricultural roots that the Punjabi…

I have to admit it: Every year, I look forward to chatting with Keystone’s head pastry chef, Ned Archibald, about his Chocolate Village. The man is just so darn enthusiastic about things like six-foot-tall white-chocolate trees with blown-sugar ornaments and his epic chocolate fountain (flowing better than ever this year,…