Family Fun
A cool time in Breckenridge
Today-Sunday. Snow sculptures. Competition is heating up the streets of Breckenridge at the Budweiser International Snow Sculpture Championships. Sixteen teams from nine countries work to shape a 12-foot-tall, 20-ton block of snow into an eye-catching scultpure. They have five days, then it’s up to the judges. There’s no big prize, just the satisfaction of creating a piece of art with only chisels, saws and bare hands. Sculpting continues until 10 a.m. Saturday, but visitors can vote on the pieces starting today. Take a tour through downtown Breck and choose your favorites for the People’s Choice and Kids’ Choice awards. The medal ceremony is on Sunday, and the sculptures will stay up, weather permitting, until Feb. 1. All day today through Sunday. The awards ceremony starts at 3 p.m. Sunday. Downtown Breckenridge. Viewing the sculptures is free, but votes for the People’s Choice award cost $1 — the money goes right back into the festival fund. Kathleen St. John
Classical music
Sunday. Symphonic music. Bassist Edgar Meyer, above, is one of the most versatile musicians around, moving easily among such idioms as classical music, folk and bluegrass. The 2002 winner of a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” will join the Denver Young Artists Orchestra for a concert at 7 p.m. Sunday (note the unusual time) at Boettcher Concert Hall in the Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets. Meyer will serve as soloist for both his own Bass Concerto No. 1 and Giovanni Botteisini’s Bass Concerto No. 2. The program will also feature a work by Jeff Myers, a composition student at the Aspen Music Festival and School. $28, $22 students and seniors. 303-433-2420 or . Kyle MacMillan.
Today. Choral music. Ward Swingle is something of a legend in choral music. He founded what became known as the Swingle Singers in 1963, an capella group with a unique brand of vocalizing that is akin to scat singing. Its first album, originally released in France, was “Jazz Sebastien Bach,” and offered vocal takes on the keyboard music of Bach. In various permutations, the group has continued to perform internationally since, with its repertoire encompassing a wide range of styles. The latest eight-member version of the group will perform at 7:30 p.m. today at Augustana Lutheran Church, 5000 E. Alameda Ave., as part of the Augustana Arts series. $30, $20 seniors and $10 students. 303-388-4962 or . Kyle MacMillan
Architecture
Thursday. Architecture lecture. What’s hot and happening in the world of architecture? The latest installment in the recurring lecture series at the University of Colorado’s College of Architecture and Planning will try to provide some answers. Ten top professionals in the field from as far away as Hong Kong will present talks through April 21. The series begins at 5 p.m. Thursday with Michael Arth (pictured below), president of Pedestrian Villages Inc. of Deland, Fla., who will present a talk titled “New Pedestrianism and Cities of Tomorrow.” It will take place in Room 134 of the Environmental Design Building, 1060 18th St., on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus. Free. 303-492-8010 or . Kyle MacMillan
Visual Art
Sunday. Textiles. With its latest large-scale presentation, a show set to close Sunday, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., has veered in a completely unexpected and wonderfully audacious direction. Titled “Designing Women of Postwar Britain: Their Art and the Modern Interior,” it offers a definitive look at the work of three top textile designers in post-World War II Great Britain Lucienne Day, Jacqueline Groag and Marian Mahler . British textile art is obviously not to everyone’s taste, but it is hardly as obscure or arcane as it might sound at first, and the museum’s handsome, viewer-friendly installation only enhances its appeal. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Sunday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday. $10, $8.50 students and seniors; 719-634-5581 or csfineartscenter.org. Kyle MacMillan
Pop music
Tonight. Electro. It’s a thin line between mainstream electronic music and the subgenre that has been dubbed “indie electro.” But many of the buzz acts that have come out of the South by Southwest and Coachella music festivals over the last couple of years —Girl Talk and Flosstradamus included — tend to skew toward the indie electro end of the spectrum. The music features beats that are big and sometimes familiar, and (for those that follow these things) it sounds like a natural extension of the electroclash days. The Noise series at Beta (1909 Blake St.) has already brought in some big indie electro names, but tonight’s guest — Hot Pink Delorean — is a DJ/ production troupe on the rise, as evidenced by its many dates already scheduled at the upcoming South by Southwest and Winter Music Conference festivals in March. Check out the music for yourself at . thehotpinkdelorean and get ready to dance. More: . Ricardo BacaSunday-Tuesday. Electronic-jam. You have to respect a band that doesn’t forget where it came from. The Killers warming up for a world tour with an incredibly sold-out date at the intimate Fox Theatre in Boulder? Very cool. And now STS9 — Sound Tribe Sector 9 — is reminding its Colorado fans that it is very much in touch with its roots. The Santa Cruz five-piece could headline the Fillmore Auditorium if its members wanted to, but instead they are playing three small shows on a Colorado swing, including the Aggie in Fort Collins on Sunday, the Bluebird in Denver on Monday and the Fox in Boulder on Tuesday. All shows are sold out, but we’re betting you’ll get lucky if you try the typical alternatives (craigslist, eBay, waiting out front with your finger in the air). Ricardo Baca
Family fun
Today-Sunday. Indian market. There’s plenty to do besides shop at the Colorado Indian Market. Of course, the Indian art, jewelry, sculpture and other products are the main attraction, but it’s always good to take a break. There’s a food court stocked with all sorts of delicious Southwestern and Native American fare, including delicious frybread. Check out live animal demonstrations, music and traditional dances, and even collect autographs from Native American stars like Irene Bedard and Steve Reevis. 1-8 p.m. today, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Denver Merchandise Mart, 451 E. 58th Ave.; 303-292-6278. Admission is $10 for adults, free for kids age 13 and younger. Admission is valid for all three days. Kathleen St. John
Saturday. Theater. Forget what you know about “The Princess and the Pea” when you see the Missoula Children’s Theater perform it in Northglenn. For one thing, the princess in this musical adventure isn’t a finicky whiner. In fact, she actually likes her pea. They’re friends. That’s the starting point. Add in some leprechauns, a Snow Queen and a Storm King, and this “Princess” is a doozy. 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday. D.L. Parsons Theater, 11801 Community Center Drive; 303-450-8800. Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for students and seniors. Call to purchase advance tickets. Kathleen St. JohnOngoing. Interactive exhibit. Make sure your brain is warmed up and working smoothly before visiting “Brain Teasers 2,” the newest exhibit at World of Wonder Children’s Museum. Packed with puzzles, “Brain Teasers” gets visitors to use problem-solving and creativity while having fun. Bring a crowd — some of the teasers might require a team effort. The exhibit runs through May 3. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. World of Wonder Children’s Museum, 110 N. Harrison Ave., Lafayette; 303-604-2424. Admission is $7 for kids age 15 months to 11 years old. Adults and infants 14 months and younger are free. Kathleen St. John
Pop music
Monday. Rock. You have to wonder if Albert Hammond Jr.’s bandmates in the Strokes were sitting around and watching his solo career blossom and thinking, “Man, we gotta get in on this.” First came a solid record from Little Joy, a band that features Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti. And now comes Nickel Eye, featuring Nikolai Fraiture (pictured above). But is the music from the Strokes’ bassman any good? It is, and at the same time, it sounds like you might expect it to. (Listen at myspace.com/officialnickeleye.) Fraiture brings his band to the Marquis Theatre (2009 Larimer St.) on Monday for a show with Low Vs. Diamond and Denver’s I Sank Molly Brown. More: sodajerkpresents.com. Ricardo Baca
