Be prepared for some wattage at upcoming Denver charity events.
Let’s start with Quincy Jones, coming Oct. 10 for the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Jet Set Fashion Show — a funder for Down syndrome research. Organizers include cable pioneer John Sie and his daughter Michelle Sie Whitten, whose daughter, Sophia Whitten, has Down syndrome. So do many people you know.
Jones will be honored with the first Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award. And plans are to take this gala to London and Los Angeles, where Jones has the power to pull in the boldest names in music.
How did Jones get on board? He’s old friends with John Sie, who retired as Starz CEO in 2004. The night is almost sold out — with a Saks fashion show, Tom Arnold stopping by and Josh Kelley performing. Tix at 303-468-6663.
Which brings us to Rick Reilly, the Denver-based ESPN sportswriter who’ll be in town Oct. 9 for the Asian Pacific Development Center dinner. Go to .
The group supports adoption of Korean children. Reilly adopted daughter Rae with then-wife Linda when the kid was 4 months old. Kelley and his wife, actress Katherine Heigl, also have adopted, just this month.
Reilly says Rae’s adoption has been the greatest experience in his life.
Larry King emcees the High Hopes Carousel Ball on Saturday night.
And this just in: Danny Glover is in town Nov. 14 for the Zarlengo Foundation Ball.
Gummy.
I liked “Rain” enough to sit through both acts — but the Beatles tribute concert playing the Buell through Sunday bugged me. The actor playing/singing John Lennon, Steve Landes, was chewing gum like a ballplayer. Distracting, I thought, and disgusting. I hate gum.
People told me it was probably the altitude, that the gum kept his vocal cords lubed.
So I call my Crested Butte friend Lynda “Cat Lady” Petito, who is kind of a living John Lennon search engine, and she gave me the facts. Lennon almost ALWAYS chewed gum when he sang. So Landes was right, I was wrong. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ranch hands.
John Fielder’s new coffee-table tome, “Ranches of Colorado” — at $95 and 7 pounds — is a collection of photos of 50 breathtaking Colorado ranches and 10 essays by the late James Meadow, the Rocky reporter who died in a bike accident the same day he handed in the final edits.
Fielder’s pictures are, as always, gorgeous. And Meadow’s writing is equally focused and heartfelt.
“His essays are some of the best stories I have ever read about people and ranchers,” says Fielder. “He just brought out the heart and soul of these Colorado families.”
Fielder will be at the Tattered Cover LoDo at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 15.
City spirit.
George Wendt, a.k.a. Norm from “Cheers,” is at the Great American Beer Festival this weekend. . . . Books by two Colorado authors are on The New York Times’ best-seller list: “The Healing of America” by T.R. Reid and “Culture of Corruption” (No. 1!) by Colorado Springs’ Michelle Malkin. . . . Sez who: “When it sounds too bad to be true, Oprah, dry your eyes and check the facts.” Michelle Malkin
Bill Husted’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Friday. You can reach him at 303-954-1486 or bhusted@ . Take a peek at Husted’s next column at . husted.
