‘Tis the season
No, not that season, silly. We’re talking Mardi Gras, and you don’t have to live in New Orleans to celebrate. Two on the immediate horizon are hosted by Hospice of St. John (Feb. 3 at Lakewood’s Belmar Center) and Bal Swan Children’s Center (March 3 at the Omni Interlocken Resort). The hospice bash features dinner catered by 240 Union, music by the Hazel Miller Band and the crowning of Don and Arlene Johnson as king and queen. Tickets are $125 and can be purchased by calling 303-865-7206. Chris Daniels and the Kings will provide music for the Bal Swan festivities; there also will be live and silent auctions, dinner and casino-style games. Tickets are $100 and can be reserved by calling 303-466-6308.
Circle the date
The 2007 Central City Flower Girls will be announced at a tea that begins at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Governor’s Mansion … John-Michael Liles of the Colorado Avalanche, in cooperation with 9News and Amber Homes, hosts Cruisin’ the Lanes, a silent auction, dinner and celebrity bowling match Saturday at Lucky Strike Lanes in the Denver Pavilions. It’s a benefit for the children’s charities supported by Hinote’s Heroes, Kroenke Sports Charities and Teammates for Kids and the fun starts at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by calling 303-210-6662 or visiting Amberhomes.com and clicking on the
Cruisin’ the Lanes icon … Art bargains galore can be found Feb. 10 when DU Art! hosts its annual sale of paintings, jewelry and other treasures in Driscoll Ballroom on the University of Denver campus. The $50 admission includes wine, beer and coffee; heavy hors d’oeuvres; and chocolates from Belvedere Belgian Chocolate Shop. Doors open at 6 p.m. – and it doesn’t pay to sneak out early because the prices drop as the evening progresses. For details, call Laurel McMechan, 303-871-2846 … Carol Gossard, who last week was celebrated as Citizen of the Arts for 2007, receives another big honor on April 24 when Metro Volunteers gives her its second Heart of Volunteerism Award. It will be presented during a dinner held at the Cable Center and commemorates her work on behalf of the American Red Cross, Historic Denver, the University of Colorado Center for Bioethics and other groups … The 2007 Colorado Symphony Ball is going to be May 19 at the Hyatt Regency Convention Center.
On the trail toward $1 million
It took less than a year for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts to fulfill its goal of raising $500,000 to created the Women’s Voices Fund, an endowment created to foster the work of female playwrights, and now work is underway to bring that total to $1 million.
Together with support from the Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the initial funding has enabled the Denver Center Theatre Company to commission works by Michele Lowe, author of the Outer Critics Circle Award nominee “String of Pearls,” Constance Congdon, whose “Tales of the Lost Formicans” has been widely produced, and Theresa Rebeck, whose “Our House” will be read as part of the DCTC’s Colorado New Play Summit on Feb. 9 and 10.
While donations of any amount are welcome, DCTC artistic director Kent Thompson says that many of the contributors are choosing to pledge $5,000 payable over five years. The benefit of doing it that way is that donors are invited to meet visiting artists, attend rehearsals, and explore backstage – opportunities not available to the general public.
To contribute, call Dorothy Denny, 303-446-4810.
Ride ’em, cowboy!
The song tells us there “Ain’t nothin’ like the real thing,” but the dozen or so local celebs who were holding onto a mechanical bull for dear life at the Concerts for Kids benefit at the National Western beg to differ. Sage Hospitality’s Walter Isenberg, for example, stayed in the saddle for a mere 14.44 seconds while the eventual champion, Frontier Airlines CEO Jeff Potter went 38.43 seconds before he was sent sailing. This benefit for The Children’s Hospital and other children’s charities also featured a performance by blue-collar comic Bill Engvall and music by the Railbenders.
