Casey James Prestwood and the Burning Angels at Goosetown Tonight!

Colfax History: Gene Reed

Denver wrestling promoter Gene Reed also owned the Riviera Motel out on East Colfax and that motel is where the wrestlers stayed when in town. There is also an ad on this page for KLZ's Channel 7 All Star Wrestling TV show on Saturday afternoons. (courtesy The Denver Eye)

The Aurora Fox Theatre Company announces 31st Season (2015 – 2016)

Aurora, Co – The Aurora Fox is pleased to announce their 31^st 

Season.

September 18 – October 11, 2015
Jekyll and Hyde – the musical

Conceived for the Stage by STEVE CUDEN and FRANK WILDHORN
Book and Lyrics by LESLIE BRICUSSE
Music by FRANK WILDHORN

Based on the classic story by Robert Louis Stevenson and featuring a thrilling score of pop rock hits from multi-Grammy and TONY nominated Frank Wildhorn & double Oscar and Grammy-winning Leslie Bricusse, Jekyll and Hyde is about the epic struggle between good and evil. A devoted man of science, Dr. Henry Jekyll is driven to find a chemical breakthrough that can solve some of mankind's most challenging medical dilemmas. Rebuffed by the powers that be, he decides to make himself the subject of his own experi-mental treatments, accidentally unleashing his inner demons along with the man the world would come to know as Mr. Hyde.

 

November 27 – December 27, 2015

Little Women – the musical   (REGIONAL PREMIERE)

Music by KIM OLER
Lyrics by ALISON HUBBARD
Book by SEAN HARTLEY

This all-new musical, based upon Louisa May Alcott's beloved 19th century novel, vividly brings to life the March family of Concord, Massachusetts. In a time of war and sacrifice, Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth, guided by their mother Marmee, grow from girls into women, through romance and courtship, illness and loss, loving and letting go. Kim Oler and Alison Hubbard's moving Richard Rodgers Award-winning score, by turns funny and touching, is seamlessly matched by Sean Hartley's wise and witty book. This is Little Women like you’ve never seen before.

January 8 – February 14, 2016 
The Arabian Nights – a play (in the Studio Theatre) 

by MARY ZIMMERMAN

Scheherazade's cliffhanger stories prevent her husband, the cruel Shahryar, from taking her life. After 1,001 nights Shahryar is cured of his madness and Scheherazade is allowed to return to her family. This adaptation offers a wonderful blend of the lesser-known tales from Arabian Nights with the recurring theme of how the magic of storytelling holds the power to change people.

March 18 – April 10, 2016
Black Elk Speaks
 

Based on the book by JOHN G. NEIHARDT. Adapted by CHRISTOPHER SERGEL

Lakota visionary and healer, Nicholas Black Elk, grew up during the closing decades of the 19^th century when white settlers were invading the homeland of the Lakota Sioux, decimating buffalo herds and threatening to extinguish the tribe’s way of life. As presented onstage, Black Elk recounts the history of his people to his government-educated grandson, Hoksila, as members of the ensemble play Indian Warriors and American Generals re-enacting many fierce battles leading up to the massacre at Wounded Knee.


April 22 – May 15, 2016
Catch Me If You Can

Book by TERRANCE McNALLY
Score by MARC SHAIMAN & SCOTT WITTMAN

Based on the hit DreamWorks film and the incredible true story that inspired it, Catch Me If You Can is a high-flying musical adventure about Frank W. Abagnale, Jr., a teenager who runs away from home in search of the glamorous life. With nothing more than his boyish charm, a big imagination and millions of dollars in forged checks, Frank successfully poses as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer - living the high life and winning the girl of his dreams. But Frank's lies catch the attention of FBI agent Carl Hanratty who chases Frank to the end...and finds something he never expected.

* Season Subscribers also receive FREE admission to PHAMALY Theatre Company’s production of Fuddy Meers (February 6 – February 21, 2016) – Aurora Fox Mainstage

Check out our latest blog posts here

"Corky" Gonzales Library Grand Opening Feb. 28!

Are you as excited for this event as we are?!

Colfax History: The Islander

Does anybody remember The Islander on E. Colfax Ave and Bellaire Street? The bar was
part owned by the leader of one of Denver's BEST bands, the Glass Menagerie.........Jim Passel later unfortunately killed in a car accident around I-25 and Lincoln Ave.

Does anyone have pictures of The Islander or Glass Menagerie I can post on this site?

@minusthedart lingerie, available exclusively at Studio Colfax!

@minusthedart lingerie, available exclusively at Studio Colfax!

Casa Bonita to be named a Lakewood Historical Society Landmark

Join in celebrating the naming of Casa Bonita Denver as a Lakewood Historical Society Landmark on March 20th at 10:30a.m. The Society will present a bronze historical marker to the General Manager followed by story sharing, lunch and a tour of Black Bart's cave. Call Anne More for more information: 303-233-1206.

DJ Frank Bell Presents: Kooky Kitsch!

Copa's Family Drive-In

Copa's Family Drive-In used to be out on West Colfax.

Video: Colfax by the Carnie Bums at Lost Lake

40 Performances, Over 200 Artists & More Set for 2015 Athena Project Arts Festival, 3/20-4/5

Athena Project's annual festival is back for its third year inspired by the theme, Truth & Perception, running March 20 - April 5, 2015 and featuring 2 galleries, 5 stages, 40 performances and 200+ artists over the course of 17 days. Returning again this year as lead sponsor, is Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design (RMCAD).

Each year we strive to raise the bar on all aspects of our Athena Project Arts Festival. Our 2015 Truth & Perception festival is no exception. This year, we are proud to announce we will have events in 5 metro area Arts Districts (Downtown Denver, Santa Fe, RiNo, Aurora Cultural Arts District and 40 West Arts).

Highlights of the festival include the world premiere of Harm's Way, our first full music festival at Cervantes' Other Side, 18 play performances at The Aurora Fox Studio Theatre, an evening of world dance at the Metropolitan State University Denver Center for Visual Arts, 2 galleries filled with photography by female artists, a multi-media fashion show featuring emerging designers and our capstone Girls' Write performance at the Denver Center Conservatory Theatre.

Here are details for all of our upcoming events:

• World Premiere of Harm's Way by Marilyn Harris Kriegel, starring Karen Grassle, directed by Penny Walrath Cole

Dates: March 20, 21, 27, 28, 30, April 3, 4 at 8 p.m.; March 22, March 29, April 5 at 2 p.m.

Harm's Way is a provocative look at paranoia, denial and whether we're desensitized to violence.

Synopsis: The play takes place in the first decade of the 21st century when the United States, shocked by terrorism, tries to protect itself from further attack. Maggie Leeds, confused and disoriented, arrives in Paris on a visit to her son and his new wife. It's entirely unclear from the shreds of her bizarre travel tale whether she is a muddled, jetlagged older woman or a national security risk; whether a career as a science fiction writer, or something far darker, is responsible for her improbable story. While Maggie tries to sort out the pieces of her inexplicably fragmented mind, Andrew, her adult, expatriate son, blocks any attempts at opening the door to her confusion or to his own past. Insisting on making sense out of the pieces of this curious puzzle, Martine, Andrew's intrepid French wife, risks her marriage and her Mother-in-law's safety to discover la verite, the truth.

Karen Grassle (pronounced Grassley) is best known for her role as Caroline Ingalls, the mother, in the long-running NBC-TV series Little House on the Prairie from 1974-1982. She also starred in many movies of the week, including Battered, which she co-wrote with Cynthia Lovelace-Sears. They won the American Women in Radio and Television Award for their script which broke open the topic of battered women in the U.S. She appeared on Broadway in The Gingham Dog, Butterflies Are Free, and Sweet Sue. In resident theatres throughout the country, Ms. Grassle played roles as varied as Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire to the prostitute in Muzeeka. She was a company member at Actor's Theatre of Louisville appearing in classics and world premieres. She also appeared at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Since returning to the San Francisco Bay Area, she has worked at the Aurora Theatre, Theatre Works in Palo Alto and at the San Francisco Playhouse where this fall, she played Franki in the acclaimed world premiere of 77% by Rinne Groff. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art on a Fulbright and subsequently studied with teachers as various as Kristin Linklater, Roy London, and Yurek Bogayevicz. Ms. Grassle is completing a memoir that tells her story.

An Opening Night Reception will be held on March 20th from 6-8 p.m. at The ACAD Gallery, 1400 Dallas Street

World Premiere of Harm's Way by Marilyn Harris Kriegel
March 20- April 5
Fridays/Saturdays @ 8 p.m.; Sundays @ 2 p.m.
$22 for adults, $20 for students/seniors/military, $18 group discounts avail for 10+ people
@ Aurora Fox Studio Theatre, 9900 E. Colfax Avenue, Aurora 80010.

All tickets are on sale at www.AthenaProjectFestival.org or by calling the Aurora Fox box office at 303-739-1970.

• Workshop productions of four new plays all written by women, called our Plays In Progress (PIP) Series.

Dates: March 26, 29, April 2, 5@ 7 p.m.; March 28, April 4th @ 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Each play will get 2 workshop readings. Workshop level productions are designed with minimum sets, lights, sound, etc. and they also allow for an audience to give feedback. One play will be selected from this series to be produced in Athena Project's 2016 Arts Festival. Your vote counts!

The plays are:

- The Draper's Eye by Fengar Gael (April 4 @ 4 p.m. and 5 @ 7 p.m.)

- We'll Never Get to Moscow by Rebecca Gorman O'Neill (March 26 @7 p.m. and March 28 @1 p.m.)

- Two Degrees by Tira Palmquist (March 28 @ 4 p.m. and March 29 @ 7 p.m.)

- Sheltered by Catherine Wiley (April 2 @7 p.m. and April 4 @ 1 p.m.)

Special Table Reading, sponsored by ScriptShape. On Monday March 23 at 7 p.m. at The ACAD Gallery, 1400 Dallas Street, we will feature a table read of local playwright Julie Excell's play Crane Dance. This event is free and open to the public.

• Plays In Progress (PIP) Series.

March 26- April 5
Saturdays @ 1 and 4 p.m.; Sundays and Thursdays @ 7 p.m.
$12 per play
@ The Aurora Fox Studio Theatre, 9900 E. Colfax Avenue, Aurora 80010

All tickets are on sale at AthenaProjectFestival.org or by calling the Aurora Fox box office at 303-739-1970

Additional Festival Events:

• Art gallery shows, curated by Janice Schindler and featuring works of photography by female visual artists and in collaboration with Month of Photography, The ACAD Gallery, 1400 Dallas Street in Aurora, 80010 and Metropolitan State University Denver Center for Visual Arts, Emerging Artist Gallery, 965 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO

Artist receptions will be at Center for Visual Arts on First Friday, March 6 from 6-7pm and The ACAD Gallery on March 20 from 6pm-8pm

The galleries will be open regular gallery hours as well as for special events taking place within the gallery.

• An Art Exhibition will be shown at 40 West Arts Gallery, 1560 Teller Street, Lakewood from January 28-February 14
• Pop Up Art and Fashion Boutique on First Friday, February 6th from 4:30-7:30 p.m.

There is no admission charge to any of these events. Artwork is available for sale; proceeds benefit the artist and Athena Project.

Denver Police Ordered to Stand Down While Protesters Vandalize Police Memorial

From NationalReview.com, by Ian Tuttle:

There is discretion, and then there is dereliction of duty. Via Denver’s CBS4:

[On Saturday, February 14,] approximately 100 to 200 people marched down Colfax Avenue from Lincoln Park to the Denver Police Department headquarters located at 1331 Cherokee Street. . . .
Denver police say some protesters poured red paint over the memorial dedicated to fallen police officers. The memorial is located in front of Denver police headquarters and lists the names of police officers who have died in the line of duty.

Here’s the kicker:

[Denver Police Union President Nick] Rogers spoke exclusively to CBS4’s [Lauren] DiSpirito following the incident. He said officers monitoring the protest were told by their superiors to not to interfere and to let the vandalism happen.

One can certainly argue that letting some hotheaded protesters work off their steam is a wiser course than readying the bean bag rounds. But at what point should police step in to stop a crime happening right in front of their eyes?
Moreover, it undoubtedly never occurred to the protesters who desecrated the memorial that the officers whose names are inscribed there gave their lives defending . . . the rights of ordinary Denver citizens to live and protest. And it seems not to have occurred to Denver’s police chief, Robert White, that defending their sacrifice might be the honorable thing to do — even if it ruffles a few feathers.

Motel De Ville

The Motel De Ville, at West Colfax Avenue and Galapago Street.

Sunday Funday

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Heritage Square to close at end of 2015 season

Heritage Square

GOLDEN, Colo. — After one final season, Heritage Square will become a thing of the past.

A local institution that has nonetheless struggled in recent years, the majority of the theme park will close for good at the end of the year, property manager Peter Bovis announced Thursday.

“We are announcing the closure of Heritage Square in advance of the season to afford the public the opportunity to enjoy the property, shops and attractions for one final season,” he said.

The amusement park and Victorian Event Center will remain open as stand-alone operations, according to Bovis. But all shops and businesses, as well as the beloved alpine slide and other major attractions, will be gone for good.

 

Magic Mountain

The venue was originally opened in 1959 as Magic Mountain, a wildly ambitious Western-themed park created by several of the people who worked on the original Disneyland. Almost immediately, Magic Mountain encountered money and attendance problems, folding in 1960.

The Woodmoor Corporation revamped and reopened the site as Heritage Square in 1971.  It has changed ownership numerous times since.

Rumors of financial problems at the current park have been circulating for years. The Heritage Square Music Hall closed in September of 2013, with the venue’s president telling reporters, “We can’t afford this anymore.”

Red Hot Deals at Casa Bonita

Check out our February Red Hot Deals for Sweetheart Savings! Print out the coupon below and present at Menu Host when you place your order.
www.casabonitadenver.com
‪#‎40yearsofCasaBonita‬

How 40 West Arts is transforming West Colfax (Video)

Metro Denver neighborhoods and communities are making themselves into arts destinations to spur business and community. 40 West Arts is a leader in this revitalization and Bill Marino, executive director of 40 West Arts talks about it here.

(Video by Kathleen Lavine / Denver Business Journal) Kathleen Lavine Photographer- Denver Business Journal

Heart O' Denver Motor Hotel

                                           
"Neal Cassady's father died in Denver in 1963, and Neal returned to handle the funeral. Neal was able to make the drive between San Francisco and Denver in a 24 hour run (there’s no telling how many times he did it), but he was back for the last time in 1968 shortly before his death. Getting out of his car to embrace an old friend in front of the Heart of Denver Motel on Colfax at 10 AM a beer can rolled out after him." - Denver Historian, Tom Christopher

The Heart O'Denver Motor Hotel, complete with Tiki Bar, was once located at 1150 E. Colfax Avenue (Colfax and Downing). The Tiki Lounge was designed by Eli Hedley (The Original Beachcomber). Eli did design and created decor for the Don the Beachcomber chain, Disneyland, and many other tiki bars. This location later reopened as Tiki Boyd's in the late 1990's and lasted about a year.

Today the location is a Ramada Inn. (courtesy The Denver Eye) 

Colfax History: Friend Furniture Co. 1947

1947 photo of Friend Furniture Co., located at 9605 East Colfax Avenue. Hancock's Pharmacy is on the left and Bookers Five and Dime is on the right.

 The Friend Furniture store on East Colfax after the front was redesigned by architect Richard Crowther. You can see the top corner of the old neon sign on the left. To accommodate the re-design, the neon sign was moved from the Colfax side of the building to the Dallas Street side. (courtesy Save the Signs)

Free Screening of Neal Cassady: The Denver Years

Click here to see the trailer!
Join us Sunday Feb 8 at 2 pm for a free screening of the new documentary, “Neal Cassady: The Denver Years,” @ the McNichols Building, Denver Civic Center.

Click here for a larger map. 

Southside Bar and Kitchen to host Live Music

The bar and restaurant at 3014 East Colfax Avenue had been previously going under three monikers: 3014, Odelay and the Beetle Bar. But when new owners Dave Cleland, John Elliott and Toby Waters took over the space last summer, they also wanted to consolidate the name and image of the bar. Last week they dubbed it Southside Bar & Kitchen and later this month, they'll also start hosting live music. 

Just got this message from Facebook: "Hey kids, the transition has begun...and it's Facebook Official! New name "Southside Bar Kitchen" goes into effect on February 11 at 1:32pm." On top of that, here's the timeline for awesomeness!

Friday 30 January - we got a new sign out front!
Sunday 1 February - we celebrated with Superbowl Awesomeness
Monday 2 February - we're closed to train the team on the NEW COCKTAIL MENU, NEW FOOD MENU and NEW BAND BOOKINGS/LIVE MUSIC VENUE
Tuesday 3 February - We LAUNCH the new food, cocktail and live bookings pieces during our FIRST Taco Tuesday as Southside Bar | Kitchen, with a BUNCH of drink and extra food specials!

Come on this journey with us, and get ready for FUN!"

Forbidden Sessions by Mu Brewery

Mu Brewery

Today we have a rice beer brewed with Forbidden Rice. With a lower ABV it's a session beer... So we named it Forbidden Sessions... Steamy, I know!

Mexican Moonshine Colorado

Join Mexican Moonshine February 7th, from 5-7pm at The Cheeky Monk Belgian Beer Cafe for some acoustic music with special guests next door at Lost Highway Brewing Company starting at 7pm!

Colfax Short Story by José R. Rodríguez

In this short story, come along and take a ride on Colfax Avenue, the longest road in Denver. See the sights and meet those less fortunate than you. Life moves along because it has to, and we do too because we are alive. A simple ride along a busy street allows us to see others just for a fleeting moment, but that brief encounter, that anonymous sighting can be so much if one just thinks about the possibilities and misfortunes that can strike anyone.

Buy a copy today:

Concentrated Art - Hash Art & Spliffagami Contest

THC shows its crafty side on February 6 when "Concentrated Art" opens for a one-night show at 9975 East Colfax Avenue in Aurora. Enjoy contests featuring hash sculptures and spliifigami -- the art of joint rolling. Interested in joining the contest? Check out the rules, prizes and how to enter on the Facebook page -- and buy tickets here.

Comedy Night at the Lion's Lair

Sunday Night Karaoke at The Office