Hop To It

How much do you know about hops? If you know that they’re female flower cones as well as agents that preserve and add aroma to beer and balance out the sweetness of malt, then you’re ahead of most people, but you can learn even more at today’s second annual Fresh…

Manifest Destiny

The people behind today’s Manifestation Celebration have been traveling with World Wellness Weekend and other fairs around the country, but this event is something different. “One of the big concepts that we’re presenting is the concept of conscious evolution and the fact that as individuals and on a planetary level,…

Haunted House Museum

It’s that time of year again, when nothing is more inviting than a shivery, spine-tingling ghost story. And that makes the new Hunger Artists Ensemble Theatre production Haunted the perfect evening out. “I’m part of a paranormal research investigations team,” explains playwright and Hunger Artist Maggie Stillman, “so when we…

Greased Lightning

Is it possible to drive across the country and never stop at a single gas pump? Author Greg Melville knows for a fact that it is possible; he and an old college buddy, Iggy, did it in 2006, driving Melville’s 1985 Mercedes station wagon powered by vegetable oil. And Melville…

The latest games from Nintendo prepare to rock the holidays.

Game on. That’s right — it’s that time of year again to start planning what you’ll purchase for your loved ones during the holiday season. And for the Wii or Nintendo DS player on your list, Nintendo has some new game options that should keep them occupied … at least…

Call + Response

Thankfully for the United States of America, slavery is one aspect of our past that we have struggled with and overcome. Or so most of us think. The fact of the matter is, there are more slaves on the planet today than were taken from Africa in more than 400…

Q&A with Scott Pomfret, author of Since My Last Confession

Scott Pomfret. Scott Pomfret is an anomaly: a gay Catholic. When he decided to write Since My Last Confession: A Gay Catholic Memoir, a book about his experiences in his Boston church, it changed his life in ways he hadn’t expected — including being removed from his shrine. Westword caught…

Q&A with Call + Response director Justin Dillon

Justin Dillon. Musician Justin Dillon had never made a film before, but he felt he had to do something about the horrific reality of human trafficking. Thus was born Call + Response, a part-documentary, part-concert film that opens Friday, October 10 at the Starz FilmCenter in the Tivoli Student Union…

Choice Words

As a pro-choice feminist, I have some choice words I’d like to share with the multitude of people who think it’s their right to dictate what I do with my body. But most of them are unprintable, and anyway, the people behind the New-York based Words of Choice performance can…

Grave Surprises

Every cemetery contains at least a hint of mystery, and Riverside Cemetery is no exception. If you’ve always wanted to know just who is buried there and why they were once significant to our city, then the Riverside Cemetery History & Mystery Night Tour is perfect for you. “It’s a…

Flick Pick

Thankfully for the United States of America, slavery is one aspect of our past that we have struggled with and overcome. Or so most of us think. The fact of the matter is, there are more slaves on the planet today than were taken from Africa in more than 400…

Monster Mash

A wise man once said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” And that’s particularly true when it comes to Hollywood, which retells story after story in celluloid form. The question becomes, then, which is better — the old version or the new version? It’s an issue the Denver Film…

Gay Rites

If you were a gay Catholic, what would you do to foster understanding and benevolence between the church and your gay community? If you’re federal prosecutor and gay erotica writer Scott Pomfret, then you live in Boston, and you’re in a perfect position to stalk — er, we mean, find…

Fisher of Life

Multi-talented local performer Amy Fisher was larger than life, and her death in early August sent a shock wave through the Denver community. “So many people were touched by her and felt that she was this close, close, wonderful friend that they couldn’t imagine living without,” remembers Anne Medina, aka…

Food for Thought

“We’ve developed these habits that we can have any food at any time,” notes David Bravdica, director of alumni and student services at the Cook Street School of Fine Cooking. Which is all well and good, but what about appreciation for in-season foods — at the peak of their yumminess…

The Graveyard Boy

No one does creepy and surreal quite like Neil Gaiman. So it’s easy to see why his latest book is so hotly anticipated — and so far, it’s received glowing reviews from Peter S. Beagle (who wrote The Last Unicorn) and Holly Black (co-creator of The Spiderwick Chronicles). The Graveyard…

Let’s Talk About Art

“I’ve been getting a lot of calls from people who want to hear about the history of contemporary art,” explains Adam Lerner, director of Belmar’s Laboratory of Art and Ideas. “People want to learn more about the art they see in museums around the country. But we didn’t want to…

Universal Language

What do you get when you mix traditional theater with poetry, storytelling, rap, gospel, jazz riffs, bluesy laments and Spanish boleros? Something like Slanguage, a performance by Universes taking the stage for one night only at the University of Denver’s Newman Center for the Performing Arts. Universes member Steven Sapp…

Light Rock

First there was “A Quick One While He’s Away,” Then an Alley, S.F. Sorrow, Tommy and Quadrophenia. Then there was Jesus Christ Superstar. And opening tonight for its world premiere at the New Denver Civic Theatre, 721 Santa Fe Drive, is Magdalene, Woman of Light. Following the story of Mary…

Flick Pick

If you like your backcountry riding videos shot in high definition, using gorgeous framing and impeccable cinematography; featuring the talents of an array of backcountry experts; filmed in British Columbia, Alaska and Silverton, Colorado; interlaced with tidbits of mountain history spoken by the people who actually lived through it; and…

Nudity and controversy at the Hottest Inked contest

Not approved by Hottest Inked. People with copius amounts of skin covered with tattoos are sometimes considered rulebreakers by mainstream society — but that’s not always (or even often) the case. Take the Hottest Inked contest that TattooFinder, an online tattoo resource and sponsor of the September 19-21 Denver Tattoo…

Paleontology rules Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries

A diorama of what the Liaoning Forest might have looked like during the time of dinosaurs. Photo by Roderick Mickens/American Museum of Natural History Amazing discoveries are constantly being made in the paleontological field, but China’s Liaoning Forest is yielding some information that’s truly astounding, changing the way we think…