Friday/Saturday
Summer kickoff
CHORAL MUSIC|The Arvada Center kicks off its summer concert season and 30th-anniversary celebration with a concert highlighted by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Vespers, K. 339. Featured will be the Arvada Center Chorale and members of the Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra. Preceding the event at 5 p.m. will be family activities, such as face painting and sidewalk chalk drawing.|7:30 p.m. today|Amphitheater, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd.; $15 covered seating and $12 lawn seating; call 720-898-7200 or visit arvadacenter.org.
See the big picture
IMAX|Consider it “My Big Fat IMAX Adventure.” OK, maybe not. But director Nia Vardalos lends her voice to “Greece: Secrets of the Past” as she narrates this digital effects-rich journey into Greece’s Bronze and Classical periods, complete with re-creations of the Parthenon and the volcanic eruption that interred the island of Santorini in 1645 BC. |opens today|Phipps IMAX Theater at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd.; ticket prices vary; call 303-322-7009 or visit dmns.org.
Auto Round Up
FAMILY FUN|Scores of custom, hot-rod and antique cars. Puppet shows and an inflatable fun park. Live entertainment, including folk dancers and local bands. It’s all part of the 2006 Wild West Auto Round Up, a daylong family festival in Golden.|9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday|Along Washington Avenue in downtown Golden; free; call 303-279-3113 or visit 2hourvacation.com.
Sunday
Second City
THEATER|Members of Second City’s original sketch comedy “How I Lost My Denverginity” have fun with observations as Colorado’s newest transplants. (Recommended for adult audiences.)|7 p.m. Sunday; tickets available at 5 p.m. Sunday on a first-come, first-served basis.|Garner Galleria Theatre; 14th and Curtis streets; call 303-893-4100.
The Weekend
Hot and cold
FOOD & BEER|Snowmass will officially open its summer season with the third annual Chili Pepper & Brew Fest. Music from Jonny Lang and others will complement smokin’ chilis and icy microbrews as an expected 3,000 people descend on the scenic mountain town. |Noon to 10 p.m. Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday|In Snowmass Village off Brush Creek Road; $15-$50; 800-766-9627 or snow masschiliandbrew.com.
Ooh la la
DANCE & THEATER|Danse Etoile Ballet will present French Café, a lively, family-friendly program that includes cancan dancing, excerpts from “The Little Prince,” original contemporary pieces on French composers and singers, short plays and much more.|7:30 p.m. today and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday|The Dairy Center for the Performing Arts, 2590 Walnut St. in Boulder; $12-$15; 303-440-7826 ext. 16 or danseetoile.org.
In the art market?
ART|More than 200 artists will take part in the Art Students League of Denver’s annual Summer Art Market. The event will include live music from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day, children’s activities and food provided by Three Tomatoes.|10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday|East Second Avenue between Logan and Sherman streets, and Grant Street between East Second and East Third avenues; free; call 303-778-6990 or visit asld.org.
Dinner and a show
OPERA POPS|Central City Opera has presented an annual opera pops concert for years, featuring an array of its apprentice and mainstage performers. But this edition is different on two counts. Not only will it take place in the Caulkins Opera House for the first time, but relatively inexpensive concert-only tickets will be available in addition to the usual gala ticket packages.|dinner, 6 p.m.; concert, 7:30 p.m. ,Tuesday|Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets; concert only, $38; dinner and concert, $135; call 303-292-6700 or visit centralcityopera.org.
The Week
On a smaller scale
ART|Bernar Venet’s “Indeterminate Line,” a 33-foot-tall abstract steel sculpture outside the Colorado Convention Center, is one of Denver’s most important public artworks. Smaller sculptures and drawings by the internationally recognized artist are on view in this recently opened gallery exhibition.|through July 29|Robischon Gallery, 1740 Wazee Street; free; call 303-298-7788 or visit robischongallery.com.
Raise the curtain
THEATER|Paragon Theatre’s “The Trench” is a local playreading series that actually leads to full-fledged productions by Colorado playwrights. Ellen Graham’s black comedy “How We May Know Him” undergoes its next round of development with a reading in advance of its world premiere staging in April. A panel discussion follows.|7 p.m. Wednesday |Acoma Center, 1080 Acoma St.; 303-300-2210.
Chick monologue
THEATER|Britt Swenson’s one-woman “So Many Ladies” is a Lily Tomlin-esque series of diverse character monologues. The Boulder resident and Groundlings veteran offers Laura Bush, a Broadway star, a motivational therapist and many more.|through July 29|7:30 p.m. the next three Thursdays; Bovine Metroplis, 1527 Champa St; $12; 303-758-4722.
Lords ‘n’ ladies
CULTURAL FAIR|If you’re itching to enjoy all the fun of medieval England without the scurvy and rotting teeth, the Colorado Renaissance Festival is your ticket. The 16th century-themed event runs from Saturday to June 30 on 350 acres of wooded land in Larkspur, roughly halfway between Denver and Colorado Springs. New this year to the kid-friendly fest are the Mountain Aire Reptile Rescue & Sanctuary and Dream Masterz Magic & Illusion Show. |Saturday-June 30|650 Perry Park Ave. in Larkspur; $16.95 with discount tickets from King Soopers, Wendy’s or Diamond Shamrock, $8 for children 5-12, children under 5 free; 303-688-6010
