FRIDAY
Open house at station’s digs
ON-AIR ANNIVERSARY|KGNU Community Radio will celebrate three years at its Denver frequency (1390 AM) with an open house at its state-of-the-art new studios. Stop by for live music (Easy to Kill, the Marc Sabatella Quartet), free food and drink, door prizes and more during the always-bustling First Friday Art Walk on Santa Fe.|4-9 p.m. today|Micro Business Development Center, 700 Kalamath, free, 303-449-4885 or .
SATURDAY
Dances, drums and arts
INDIAN POWWOW|Reconnect to the ancient West at the 18th annual Friendship Powwow, featuring dancers and drum groups from the Rocky Mountain region. Dancers will compete in a number of traditional styles while kids enjoy art-making activities, storytelling by Jessica Bordeaux-Vigil and performances by the Hopi Southwest Social Dance Group. Arts, crafts and authentic food will be available.|10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday|Denver Art Museum, North Building, Acoma Plaza, 100 W. 14th Ave., free, 720-865-5000 or .
Rhyme-slingin’ roundup TALES AND TRAILS|If you think cowboys and poetry are antithetical, you haven’t lived in Colorado long enough. Conifer’s Tales and Trails cowboy poetry and music celebration, a fundraising event for the nonprofit Mountain Area Land Trust, includes smokehouse barbecue meals, cowboy and cowgirl workshops, open-mic sessions, exhibits, dance lessons, children’s events and Western music and poetry from award-winning country artists.|Noon-9:30 p.m. Saturday|Conifer High School, 10441 Colorado 73; Diamond Sky Ranch, 12754 S. U.S. 285; $7.50-$38, 303-679-0950 or .
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
Where bluegrass grows
FOLK FESTIVAL|Front Range folk defender Swallow Hill will hold its 16th annual Folk Festival this weekend, sporting 150 of the best roots, acoustic and bluegrass acts across three stages. Swallow Hill’s largest annual fundraising event features the Ruthie Foster Trio, Dakota Blonde, Corinne West (above) and the Posse, and dozens of others.|Various times Friday-Sunday|Swallow Hill, 71 East Yale Ave., $12-$15 per day, 303-777-1003 or .
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
Calling Curtis Park home
ARCHITECTURE|Denver’s Curtis Park neighborhood contains a rich mix of architectural styles. That variety and the high quality of the district’s residences make it an ideal choice for Historic Denver’s 34th annual house tour. Thirteen homes will be available for viewing.|10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday|Curtis Park neighborhood, $12 in advance and $15 the days of the tour, 303-534-5288 or .
TODAY & SATURDAY
Art for arts’ sake
ART|The Curtis Arts & Humanities Center is taking its first stab at hosting an art fair. The debut of the Greenwood Arts Festival will feature 40 Colorado artists who work in such media as photography, jewelry, ceramics, painting and textiles. Demonstrations, children’s activities and live music will round out the festivities.|10 a.m.-6 p.m. today and Saturday|Curtis Park, adjacent to the arts center, 2349 E. Orchard Road, free, 303-797-1779.
THURSDAY
Where you won’t find Nemo
FILM|Southern California’s brackish Salton Sea has a cameo in soon-to- be-released “Into the Wild.” It was the backdrop to the Val Kilmer drama of the same name. Now the inland “sewer” – as one grizzled codger calls it in “Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea” – is ready for its rank, compelling close-up. Co-directors Christopher Metzler and Jeff Springer deliver an engaging documentary of the “who knew?” variety. Indelible characters wax eloquent about the one-time paradise that’s gone to the birds and fishes. Friends of Dean Martinez provide the sounds. John Waters dishes out the tart narration. Metzler will be on hand for a Q&A and a post-screening reception at the Denver Film Society DocNight evening. |7 p.m. Thursday|Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli, Ninth Avenue and Auraria Parkway; $5.75-$8.75; 303-820-3456
TUESDAY
Cross-cultural piano
CHAMBER MUSIC|Since the 19th century, Asian culture has influenced arts in the West, and vice versa. Pianist Mutsumi Moteki and colleagues will highlight these cross-cultural influences in a chamber-music concert as part of the CU College of Music’s faculty series. Included will be John Corigliano’s “Gazebo Dances” and the world premiere of Sayaka Ishiguro’s “Hushaby Songs.”|7:30 p.m. Tuesday|Grusin Music Hall, 18th Street and Euclid Avenue, University of Colorado at Boulder, free, 303-492-8008 or .
music.
GOING, GOING
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Catch these events before they disappear after this weekend:
“The Little Mermaid”
MUSICAL THEATER|After Sunday, this fish gotta fly … Disney’s pre-Broadway Denver engagement closes and will show up again in a few months on Broadway. It’s officially sold out, but you may still find stray singles.|ENDS SUNDAY|Final performances 8 p.m. today, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver Performing Arts Complex. $20-$77 (303-893-4100, 866-464-2626, all King Soopers or ; 800-641-1222 outside Denver)
“Three Viewings”
THEATER|Crossroads at Five Points Theatre presents three compelling monologues, all set in a funeral home|ENDS SATURDAY|Final performances 7 p.m. today and Saturday at 27th and Welton streets. $15 (303-832-0929, ).
