Something tasty fills Civic Center park
Denver’s Civic Center turns into a gigantic food court for the 24th annual Taste of Colorado, starting today.
More than 50 food vendors, representing restaurants from all over the state, will set up shop for the weekend. There’s a cuisine for almost every taste, from all-American barbecue to Indian curry to empanadas from south of the border — and plenty of treats to try for dessert too.
Be sure not to overlook the gourmet specialties in the Fine Dining Area, featuring some of Colorado’s most talented chefs.
There’s also an arts and crafts marketplace, an activity area for kids with live entertainment and four stages of music. Bands on the bill are as diverse as the food, including swing band Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, ’70s country-rockers Poco and soul stars the Spinners.
The carnival rides will be hard to miss — just finish that giant ear of sweet corn before hopping aboard.
Taste of Colorado runs from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. today, 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday. Civic Center, Colfax Avenue and Broadway. Admission is free.
Main Stage music lineupTonight7:30 Grand Funk Railroad
Saturday1 p.m. Cherry Poppin’ Daddies 7:30 p.m. The Robert Cray Band
Sunday1 p.m. Poco 7:30 p.m. The Spinners
Monday1 p.m. Love and Theft 5:30 p.m. Foghat
POP MUSIC
Aspen’s big, big music gig
Friday-Sunday.Music festival, from hip-hop to rock. The annual event known widely as Jazz Aspen Snowmass is one of the few happenings in the world where you could catch an old-classic rock act like Elvis Costello and the Imposters opening for a new-classic pop band like the Black Eyed Peas. The eclectic Labor Day festival is back this weekend with a lineup that is — fittingly — all across the board. Today’s roster in Snowmass Town Park (in Snowmass Village, not Aspen): Citizen Cope and Michael Franti & Spearhead. Saturday’s players: Umphrey’s McGee,Costello and the Peas. And Sunday’s gigs: the Drive By Truckers, Doobie Brothers and the Allman Brothers Band. (Fans of the Allmans should also know that the band plays Red Rocks with Railroad Earth on Saturday.) Jazz Aspen tickets, $54 for Friday and $74 for Saturday or Sunday, are available at or 866-527-8499. Ricardo Baca
Fray, Flobots rock ‘n’ bowl
Tonight. Musical fundraiser. You’ve likely never thought of going bowling with members of the Fray or Flobots, but you’ll have a chance to do just that tonight at the Bring It On Bowling Ball. The event is a fundraiser for the band-guided nonprofit , and participants will have the opportunity to meet (and compete against) members of the Flobots and the Fray. “Flobots just finished recording our second album, so we’re in Denver getting ready to go out on the road,” said the band’s Andy Guerrero. “The Fray is touring like crazy, so we grabbed them when they had a tiny window of downtime in Denver. We basically built the event around their schedule, because we knew what it would mean to have them involved. Isaac (Slade) and those guys are very community-minded, and they’re starting up their own nonprofit, Liquid House. Still, as grateful as we are to have them involved, we intend to annihilate them on the bowling lanes.” Guest tickets ($100) include entrance and an open bar at the Lucky Strike Lanes at Bel Mar, 415 S. Teller St. in Lakewood. Team Sponsorships ($1,500) include admission and drinks for the four-person team and four guests. More: . Ricardo Baca
FAMILY FUN
A family circus
Tonight-Sunday. Old-time entertainment. Celebrate nearly 170 years of family tradition with the Zoppe Family Circus at Mile High Marketplace. The Zoppes have been circus folk since the mid-19th century, starting with a pair of great- great-grandparents in Italy. Accordingly, the Zoppes specialize in a classic brand of circus that’s familiar to everyone: the flying trapeze, feats on horseback and, of course, a silly clown named Nino. 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday. The Event Center Tent at Mile High Marketplace, 7007 E. 88th Ave., Henderson; 303-289-4656. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children, available in advance at . and King Soopers locations. Shows continue next weekend. For more information, visit milehigh . Kathleen St. John
Kid stuff
Tuesday. Kid days.The Longmont Museum brings back its Discovery Days kids program after a summer break. Every week, youngsters ages 2 to 5 are invited to drop in with a parent and go on a mini-adventure. Paint on an easel, watch a puppet show or just mess around at an activity table — everything is at your pace. There’s a different theme every week too — next week’s is “All About Me.” 9 a.m., 10:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The Longmont Museum and Cultural Center, 400 Quail Road; 303-651-8374. $3 for Longmont residents, $3.50 for nonresidents. For more information, including a full schedule of Discovery Days, visit ci.longmont . Kathleen St. John
Celebrating Boulder
Saturday-Monday. City fete. Say goodbye to summer and hello to fall at the Boulder Creek Hometown Fair. There’s a lot to see and do: Live music, yummy food, a classic-car show and a children’s area with rides. And don’t forget the Great Zucchini Race, where kids decorate and stick wheels on speedy zucchinis all weekend, and the Chili Inferno Chili Cookoff on Monday. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday. The fair is held along Canyon Drive in Boulder, on the lawn of the Boulder Public Library and at Central Park. Admission is free. Kathleen St. John
VISUAL ART
Big Wynne
Today. Paintings and Sculpture. Al Wynne ranks among the best-known abstractionists in Colorado art history. Obviously looking at artists ranging from Arshile Gorky to Mark Rothko, he employed a range of approaches to abstraction. Z Art Department, a new gallery at 1136 N. Speer Blvd., is presenting a career survey of his colorful paintings and sculpture. The show opens today with a public reception from 6 to 9 p.m. and continues through Oct. 10. 303-298-8432. Kyle MacMillan
Weaving story
Today. Navajo weavings. After returning to a reservation on their homeland in 1868 after four years of imprisonment, Navajo tribe members wanted to restart the production of textiles, but their herds of churro sheep had been decimated. Government officials supplied weavers with commercially made yarns from Germantown, Pa., and they continued to be used through the 1890s. “Navajo Innovation: The Story of Germantown Weaving,” an exhibition exploring this period in Navajo art history, will open with a public reception from 5 to 9 p.m. today at the Byers-Evans House Gallery, 1310 Bannock St.. The exhibition will continue through Oct. 31. Free. 303-620-4933 or . be. Kyle MacMillan
Object history
Thursday.Mixed media. A birthday piñata. A kitchen molcahete. A saint’s bracelet. Some Latino and Chicano artists incorporate these and a range of other popular artifacts into their works, drawing on the visual power and ingrained cultural meanings of these objects. Seven such artists, ranging from David Almaguer of San Antonio to local up-and-comer Alex Hernandez, will be featured in the Museo de las Americas’ fall exhibition, “The Power of Then.” The show opens Thursday at 861 Santa Fe Drive with a public reception from 7 to 9 p.m. $4, $3 students and seniors and free for everyone on Fridays. 303-571-4401 or . Kyle MacMillan
Japanese ceramics honor long tradition
Taking a temporary break from its usual offerings, Walker Fine Art, 300 W. 11th Ave., is presenting a stunning exhibition of works by celebrated Japanese ceramicist Takashi Nakazato and four of his assistants.
Nakazato, who continues an unbroken family lineage of potters extending back more than 300 years, has spent time this summer working at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass and Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities.
About 150 plates, cups, vases and other functional pieces — all created by Nakazato and his assistants during his stay in Colorado — are on view.
The pieces contain characteristics of Asia’s centuries-old ceramic traditions but also display technical innovation and the individual aesthetics of the artists.
Not surprisingly, Nakazato’s pieces are the standouts. A beautiful example is a green vase adorned with a small swirl of glaze drips, applied with perfectly controlled serendipity.
The short show is on view 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Saturday. A public reception is set for 6 to 9 p.m. today. Free. 303-355-8955 or . Kyle MacMillan
