Film
Foxy lady
Friday-Saturday. Cult Flick. See the pop-cultural touchstone that inspired Quentin Tarantino to pitch Pam Grier “Jackie Brown” from a street corner. (You can find the anecdote in Grier’s new memoir, “Foxy”). “Foxy Brown” — along with “Coffy” (1973) — made Grier a guns-blazing star of blaxploitation. Grier based her portrayal of the rough, ready vigilante on an aunt she knew growing up in Denver. “That woman’s crazy, there’s no telling what she’ll do” a character worries. The Watching Hour series at the Starz FilmCenter, Ninth Street and Auraria Parkway at the Tivoli. Friday and Saturday. 10 p.m $5 – $9.75. 303-820-FILM or visit . Lisa Kennedy
Visual art
A new frame
Today.Photography. The Denver Art Museum throws open the doors of its new photography gallery today. The space on the seventh floor of the institution’s original building will be the first space in the museum’s history dedicated to the medium on an ongoing basis. More than 60 highly diverse images will go on display in the first rotation from the museum’s 7,000-piece permanent collection of photography. Included will be examples by such major figures as Ansel Adams, Diane Arbus, Laura Gilpin, Robert Doisneau and Garry Winogrand. Free with regular museum admission. 720-865-5000 or . Kyle MacMillan
Cinco de Mayo
The CSO and friends
Wednesday.Holiday celebration. The Colorado Symphony Orchestra and range of collaborators celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a concert at 7 p.m. in Boettcher Concert Hall in the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Participants will include Mariachi Sol de Mi Terra, Bryant Webster School’s Mariachi Juvenil, Fiesta Colorado Dance Company, tenor Jose Luis Duval and trumpeter Jeff Nevin. Included will be music by such composers as Ruben Fuentes, Jose Pablo Moncayo and Francisco Cardenas. Free. 303-623-7876 or . Kyle MacMillan
Pop music
Stomping
Wednesday-Thursday. Irish-tinged punk rock. There’s a reason Flogging Molly shows are so popular with the kids. The crowds are a mix of aggro pop and mutual admiration. The music is a mix of traditional Irish and stomping punk rock. And it’s always seemed like the Los Angeles band has a tremendous amount of respect for its fans. The band, fronted by singer/guitarist Dave King, will play two Colorado shows next week, including a small, sold-out show at the Black Sheep in Colorado Springs on Wednesday and a much larger show at Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium on Thursday. Want an example of their infectiously unique songs? Check out “Requiem For a Dying Song” on their MySpace page, floggingmolly. The dynamic indie punk band Riverboat Gamblers will open both shows. Tickets to the Denver show, $30, are available at . Ricardo Baca
Classical music
Isn’t it grand
Saturday and Sunday. Multimedia Concert.Sound Circle, a 16-voice women’s a capella ensemble based in Boulder, has devoted itself to new, collaborative works since its founding in 1994. This weekend, it takes on one of its most ambitious projects ever, a program that will combine song, soundscape and visual imagery to evoke a journey through the Grand Canyon. Collaborators in this multimedia adventure include jazz vocalist Rene Marie, singer-songwriter Becky Reardon and Native American flutist Tree Andrew. Performances at 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday in the Broomfield Auditorium, 3 Community Park Road. $20, $15 seniors and children. 800-838-3006 or . Kyle MacMillan
Talking about Wagner
Tuesday.Opera.Opera Fort Collins will explore the revered yet still-controversial operas of Richard Wagner in the concert discussion “Spears and Horns: The Myths About Wagner and Music.” The event, sponsored by the Denver Lyric Opera Guild, will feature soloists Charles Taylor and Stacey Canterbury and eight of the company’s apprentice artists. The 10 a.m. program at Lakewood Country Club, 6800 W. 10th Ave., will be followed by lunch. $28. Reservations must be made by Monday. 303-895-5937. Kyle MacMillan
Theater
Teaching a lesson through art
Today and Saturday.Message play. Naropa University masters students will perform Tim Robbins’ death-row play”Dead Man Walking” as part of the Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project. The goal “is to integrate the power of theater arts and academic study into the national discourse on the death penalty to replace ignorance, apathy and cynicism among young people regarding the death penalty with information, introspection and inspiration.” Performances 8 p.m. today and Saturday only at the Naropa University Performing Arts Center, 2130 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder. 303-245-4798 or . John Moore
Family fun
Party in Aurora
Tonight.City celebration. Aurora marks its 119th birthday with a free party at the Aurora History Museum. The family-friendly shindig features face painting and games, including bingo with prizes. Of course, there will be plenty of birthday cake too. Be sure to catch Connie Elstun’s “Bunny and Birdie Comedy Magic Show” at 5:15 and 6:30 for lots of laughs and cool illusions. 5-8 p.m. tonight. Aurora History Museum, 15051 E. Alameda Parkway, Aurora; 303-739-6666. Admission is free. For more information, visit . Kathleen St. John
Colorado Kids
Today.City celebration. The kids in the Boulder Valley School District are off today, and Boulder is throwing them a party. It’s Colorado Children’s Day in downtown Boulder, featuring live entertainment, free fun and a parade. The Tulip Fairy and Elf Parade starts the day, when kids can dress up in costumes to follow the Tulip Fairy around the festival. The rest of the afternoon is filled with games, hands-on activities and educational demonstrations. The parade begins at 11:45 a.m. today; gather at 11:15 a.m. Children’s Day festivities run from noon to 4 p.m. today on the 1300 and 1400 blocks of Pearl Street, Boulder. Free. Learn more at . Kathleen St. John
Family fun Wash Park goes to the dogs — for a good cause
Saturday.Dog walk. Tie those running shoes, do some stretches and grab the leash: The Furry Scurry will be scampering through Washington Park on Saturday. The annual fundraiser for the Denver Dumb Friends League is a 2-mile walk through the park, with dogs especially welcome. After the walk, participants can stroll through a “flealess” market, watch the Ruff Flyball Club and Colorado Disc Dogs, and enjoy snacks and refreshments. There are also contests to enter: Prizes will be awarded in categories like Best Tail Wagger and Best Pet/Person Lookalike. Registration begins at 7 a.m.; walk begins at 9 a.m. Washington Park, 1000 S. Downing St. Registration is $50 per person. For more information visit .
Craftsmanship is impeccable in wool tapestries
James Koehler’s meticulous, hand-dyed wool tapestries can be found in the collections of such institutions as the Denver Art Museum and Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery.
The Santa Fe artist combines the geometric abstraction of Josef Albers (“Harmonic Oscillation XL”) and others with a meticulous, refined technique requiring as much as three months for him to complete one of his larger works.
A dozen of his tapestries from 2007-2009, including a sweeping work composed of six 4-by-2-foot panels, remain on view through Saturday in an exhibition at the Translations Gallery, 1743 Wazee St.
There is nothing especially edgy about these direct, relatively simple compositions, but it is hard not to be impressed by the amazingly nuanced gradations of color and Koehler’s impeccable craftsmanship.
While most of these works are purely abstract, a few suggest outside references. It is possible, for example, to discern a subtle mountain landscape amid the undulating bands in the red-hued “Harmonic Oscillation LXII.”
Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Saturday. Free. 303-629-0713 or . Kyle MacMillan
