Breckenridge has fun turning back the clock
Saturday-Sunday. Historic fest. Head to the heart of the high country for Breckenridge Kingdom Days. The two-day festival is a salute to Breckenridge’s history, complete with historic mine tours, staged gunfights, hikes, blacksmithing demonstrations and more. One of the festival’s highlights is the “Outhouse Races” at 3 p.m. Sunday. Teams build “outhouses” out of whatever is available and push or pull them as fast as they can. After the Outhouse Races, everyone’s invited to a barbecue at a nearby park, where $5 gets you food, two drink vouchers and live bluegrass music. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Downtown Breckenridge. Admission is free. Visit or call 877-593-5260 for more information. Kathleen St. John
Theater
Lots and lots (and lots) of plays get a reading.
Tonight-Saturday.Fast-paced premieres. Boulder’s Theatre O is attempting a rather mammoth undertaking all this week: reading 14 new plays of varying lengths and topics at its “Outside the Box” new-play festival. The plays were selected from open submissions all around the country. six plays remain to be presented. Tonight: a one-act play about a divorce who orders up a call girl — and both of their mothers get into the act; and a full-length work about a fertility specialist coming to grips with medical and personal ethics. Saturday’s four-play program includes two short plays by Kathryn Gould of Centennial, and a full-length play addressing terrorism in the U.S. Both nights start at 7:30 p.m. at 5311 Western Ave., Suite O, 720-323-4665, or . $5-$10. John Moore
Visual art
RiNo’s big open house in the biennial spirit
Saturday.Art. What is shaping up as the biggest open house ever in the River North Art District — the 2010 RiENNIAL — is set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. More than 140 artists and designers and 50 creative businesses are spread across the 5-year-old district northeast of downtown Denver. To take a self-guided tour of RiNo, pick up a map at one of three starting points: Ironton Studios & Gallery, 3636 Chestnut Place; Dry Ice Factory, 3300 Walnut St., or Blue Silo Studios, 4701 National Western Drive. A launch party will take place from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday at Plus Gallery, 2501 Larimer St., and an afterparty, complete with a raffle, is set for 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Casselman’s Bar & Venue, 2620 Walnut St. Admission to everything is free. . Kyle MacMillan
Events
Pride puts on a big show
Saturday-Sunday. Community festival and parade. Downtown Denver will be buzzing all weekend long: It’s the 35th annual PrideFest. Over the course of two days, Colorado’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities will come together to share their spirit at Civic Center. Saturday is a Family Field Day and Women’s Celebration at the park, featuring a kids’ parade, interactive family areas, relay races and even Kiddie Karaoke. Be sure to check out the Dogs in Drag contest too. Sunday kicks off with the Pride Parade, marching from Cheesman Park, to Colfax, to Civic Center. After that, it’s a day-long party featuring live music from En Vogue, a DJ set from the B-52s’ Fred Schneider and much more. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Civic Center, Broadway and Colfax Avenue. Admission is free. Learn more at . Kathleen St. John
Family fun
A dunk for Dad, and some chili
Sunday. Father’s Day fun. Sunday. Bring Dad along for an afternoon of Father’s Day fun at the Market at Belmar. In addition to the Market’s lineup of farm and artisan vendors, the shopping center is giving dads — and kids — a fun way to cool off. For $5, kids can dunk their dad, or a firefighter from the West Metro Fire Department, into a refreshing tank of water. The proceeds benefit the fire department’s Family Support Network. The dunk tank will be especially welcome for dads participating in Belmar’s first annual Chili Contest on Sunday, or for lucky folks who snag samples. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. The Market at Belmar, West Alaska Drive near South Wadsworth Boulevard, Lakewood. Admission is free. For more information, including details on entering the chili cookoff, visit . Kathleen St. John
Another excuse to party at Highlands Street Fair
Saturday. Neighborhood fair. It’s like a block party, only bigger: The 28th annual Highlands Street Fair is a neighborhoodwide extravaganza. Stroll West 32nd Avenue and take in the sights: a classic-car show, three stages of live music and more than 150 vendors. It’s also an excuse to visit the shops and restaurants that line the street. Grown-ups can grab refreshments in the beer gardens too, and kids have their own space to play in a special children’s area. 10 a.m. to dusk Saturday. West 32nd Avenue between Irving and Perry streets. Admission is free. Get more information at . Kathleen St. John
A great kid-read gets new life on the stage
Saturday. Comedy for kids. Through July 1. Poor Peter Hatcher. He has to put up with Fudgie, one of the most irritating little brothers in literature. See his tale of woe come to life in “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” at the Aurora Fox Theatre. Based on Judy Blume’s 1976 novel, the show is one of the theater’s “Little Foxes” summer productions. The lighthearted play follows Peter’s adventures during fourth grade, featuring Fudgie, his sister Tootsie, neighbor Sheila and Dribbles the Turtle. 10 a.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 1 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The Aurora Fox Theatre, 9900 E. Colfax Ave.; 303-739-1970. Tickets are $7 each. Visit for more information. Kathleen St. John
Film
Three local fests get their screens going
Starting this week.Film festivals galore. With the arrival of three mini-festivals, it’s clear local programmers don’t want you to settle for sequels. Wednesday, DocuWest kicks off at the Foothills Art Center, 809 15th St. in Golden. In its sophomore year with no sign of slump, the nonfiction fest opens with 2010’s Academy Award shorts contenders, including Denver director Daniel Junge’s “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner.” (, foothillsartcenter or 303-279-3922). Thursday, Cinema Q Film Festival launches with writer-director Xavier Dolan’s moody, elegantly wrought debut about a young gay man (Dolan) and his difficult mum, “I Killed My Mother.” At the Starz Filmcenter ( or 303-820-FILM). In addition to these fine festivals comes “The Film Festival of Colorado.” The newbie opens Thursday at the Oriental Theater (4335 W. 44th Ave.) with the indie comedy “The Assistants.” (thefilmfestivalof ). Lisa Kennedy
Superchunk in top gear after a recording hiatus
Seminal indie rockers Superchunk did not need to put out another album.
In fact, after a nine-year recording hiatus and the daily hustle of running the respected Chapel Hill, N.C., record label Merge, the band’s founders weren’t even sure they wanted to.
But when leader Mac McCaughan found the songwriting spark was still there, an album seemed inevitable. And as we’ll all hear when “Majesty Shedding” is released Sept. 14, Superchunk still spits melodies like broken glass and pitches tightly wound guitar riffs with a muscle bred from years of touring with the best bands of the past two decades.
Superchunk will play its first television appearance in 16 years on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” on Sept. 20, but first it’s helping itself to some summer festival dates — kicking off with a co-headlining spot at the annual Westword Music Showcase in the Golden Triangle neighborhood on Saturday.
We chatted with McCaughan earlier this week in advance of the show.
Q: So is there anything to the timing of this new album given the nine-year hiatus?A: I think it was just more like a hole in everybody’s schedule. We were doing a few shows here and there every year and working up to that. And then we recorded “Learn to Surf” for the “Leaves in the Gutter” EP and that was really the first time in a long time where we had recorded the way we used to — where I’d have a demo and we’d all just kind of learn it fairly quickly and record it.
Q: And that’s also how you recorded this new album?A: We thought, ‘Well, we could do a whole record like this.’ And it’s by necessity, since (drummer) Jon Wurster doesn’t live here and he’s busy playing with the Mountain Goats and Bob Mould and A.C. Newman. We can’t practice three times a week for three hours at a time, and we can’t tour for eight weeks at a time because (bassist and Merge co-founder) Laura Ballance has kids and I have kids.
Q: Does it ever freak you out that the band’s been around for 21 years, even though no one thinks of you as a heritage act?A: It doesn’t freak me out. I guess just because you get used to the idea of it existing. It sounds like a long time. And you don’t want to overstay your welcome. If you haven’t made a record in nine years and then you make it, you think, “Is this still what a good record sounds like?” We would have made it anyway for our own sake and we like it, but are other people going to have the reaction of, “Well, you waited nine years and you made this?”
Q: Right. Living up to expectations is a prickly thing.A: And we have less of that than some other bands, but now that it’s done, does it justify having done it? It’s a hypothetical question just because it’s justified because we wanted to do it. No one has to justify making a record, but you do still think about that in the back of your mind.
Read more of our interview with McCaughan at .
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com
Superchunk.
Indie rock. Westword Music Showcase in the Golden Triangle neighborhood, corner of Acoma Street and West 12th Avenue; featuring Ghostland Observatory, Dirty Projectors, Neon Indian and more than 80 local bands. Saturday. 12:15 p.m. $15-$30. 303-296-7744 or
