Multiple arms to hold lots of film awards
Wednesday. Animated feature. One of the best directorial debuts of ’08, “Sita Sings the Blues,” kicks off the Denver Film Society’s “Best of SDFF 31” series. Comic-strip maven Nina Paley weaves a personal story of romantic woe with the epic Sanskrit saga of the Ramayana. When the film won the Emerging Filmmaker Award at the Starz Denver Film Festival, the jury declared: “made with a confidence of vision which defies genre constraints and market concerns, ‘Sita Sings the Blues’ is the epitome of modern independent auteurist filmmaking.” They were not alone in their enthusiasm. The digital wonder is nominated for a Spirit Award. 7 p.m.; $6-$9.50; Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli, Ninth Street and Auraria Parkway. 303-820-FILM. . Lisa Kennedy
Theater
Tonight. Showy drama. The big debate coming out of the new movie version of “Doubt” is no longer, “Did he do it?” — meaning the priest accused of inappropriate contact with a student. It’s whether the Mother Superior (Meryl Streep) leveling the charges against him is just pure evil. These are the questions OpenStage & Company founder Denise Freestone wrestles with as she prepares to open in the role of Sister Aloysius in a stage production bowing Saturday in Fort Collins. “What is Sister Aloysius’ humanity? Does she have compassion and understanding beyond her convictions? Is she right? Is he guilty? Is she destroying this man’s life? Is the priest destroying the child’s life?” Freestone asks herself. “As an actress, I find portraying this very human condition of living in doubt a glorious challenge, and for me, that is heaven.”
“Doubt” plays at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Jan. 31 (with some additional performances) at the Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia St., 970-221-6730 or John Moore
Classical Music
Wednesday. Mountain sounds. The classical-music pickings are again sparse this week as the new year gets started. But the Breckenridge Music Festival’s winter concert series continues with “Con Brio!” at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the the Father Dyer United Methodist Church, 310 Wellington Road. The concert will feature a trio composed of violinist Gabriel Gordon, cellist Dana Winograd and pianist Debra Ayers and will include works by such composers as Manuel de Falla and Antonin Dvorak. $20, $5 for students. 970-453-9142 or . Kyle MacMillan
Visual Arts
Today. Art. A recession might be here, but idealism and entrepreneurship are not dead. Four recent graduates of the Metropolitan State College of Denver — Sarah Quinlan, Javier Flores, Dana Kilcoyne and Neil Bigley — have banded together to form Denver’s latest artist cooperative — the Boxcar Gallery. The new initiative is located in a space at 554 Santa Fe Drive that has been home to several previous artist-run upstarts. The new gallery formally opens today with “Radius: Member Exhibition,” a show running through Feb. 13. A public reception is set for 6 to 10 p.m. Regular viewing hours will be noon to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Free. 303-725-7047. Kyle MacMillan.
Family fun
Saturday. Fantasy. Little ones love fairies: The tiny, mythical creatures are full of magic and mischief. Best of all, they can dart around with their buzzing wings like crazy hummingbirds. Meet a “real” fairy at the Denver Public Library in “The Faerie Magic Show.” Rosie the Wood Faerie will be your guide to the fairy kingdom, demonstrating fairy magic with a sense of humor. 2 p.m. Saturday. The Children’s Pavilion at the Denver Public Library, 10 W. 14th Ave. Parkway; 720-865-1111. Free. Kathleen St. John
Today. Outdoor adventure. Greet the new year with a winter walk at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield. Entrance is free today, so pack up the car with fresh-air-deprived guests. Wander the banks of Deer Creek, and check out high plains plant life as the gardens hunker down for winter. In its bucolic setting — a historic farm, an old schoolhouse — the gardens are a welcome escape from holiday bustle. Kids will enjoy the Deer Creek Discovery area, too. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, 8500 Deer Creek Canyon Road. 303-973-3705. Kathleen St. John
Today-Sunday. Robots! It sounds cool, and it is: “Robot Zoo,” a hands-on exhibit at The Wildlife Experience. See animal life through a mechanical lens: Robot animals show how bodies function with moving metal instead of flesh and blood. Some of the robots are built on an extra-large scale, too, including a chameleon, a platypus and a housefly. Catch it this weekend, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., before it buzzes off Sunday. The Wildlife Experience. 10035 S. Peoria St.; 720-488-3300. Admission is $7.95 for adults, $6.95 for seniors age 65 and older and $4.95 for kids ages 2 to 12. Kathleen St. John
Thursday. Interactive exhibit. The Buell Children’s Museum in Pueblo becomes a literary landmark with its latest exhibit, “A Stitch in Time: Folk Art and Fables.” Running through May, the exhibit lets kids explore storytelling with activities tied to new and classic books. Take a trip in Cinderella’s coach, join in the “Flat Stanley Project” or make pottery just like the hero of “The Pot That Juan Built.” Don’t forget to check out the museum’s Playmotion activity, too — an interactive, virtual-reality playground. Visit sdc-arts.org for a full schedule of activities. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Buell Children’s Museum at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center, 210 N. Santa Fe Ave., Pueblo; 719-295-7200. Admission is $4 for adults and $3 for children, seniors, students and military. Kathleen St. John
Events
Wednesday-Jan. 9. You haul. Even if you’re not in the market for something to tow, the 19th Annual Colorado RV Adventure Travel Show can be a fun afternoon. Especially this year: RVs, which offer a cheaper way to vacation, tend to get popular in difficult economic times. Dealers from throughout the area will be on hand to show off their best offerings for 2009. 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. daily. Admission: $8 for adults, $7 seniors, kids 12 and under free. Check out agievents . for more info. Ray Mark Rinaldi
Film
Friday and Saturday. Midnight movie. “The Dark Knight” is not the dark-horse candidate one might imagine this award season. Why else would Warner Bros. re-release it on the big screen in the upcoming weeks? So refresh your memory of how Bruce Wayne became Gotham’s brooding champion with a midnight screening of Christopher Nolan’s first plunge into the caped one’s dark psyche: 2005’s “Batman Begins.” Midnight at the Esquire Theatre, East Sixth Avenue and Downing Street. $7.25. 303-733-9939 or landmark . Lisa Kennedy
