Critic’s pick
Escher String Quartet is a hot ticket
Thursday. Of the dozens of emerging string ensembles that have come onto the chamber-music scene in recent years, the 6-year-old Escher String Quartet has quickly established itself as one of the best. The fast-rising group will appear at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Gates Concert Hall as part of the Friends of Chamber Music series. It is recording the complete set of quartets by Alexander Zemlinsky, and this program will include the underrated composer’s String Quartet No. 4, Op. 25 (1936). The concert is sold out on subscription, but returned tickets are expected to be available at the door. $30. 303-388-9839 or . Kyle MacMillan
Family Fun
Children’s Museum’s spring festival
Saturday. The Children’s Museum of Denver will be hoppin’ for the Bunny Trail EggVenture, the museum’s annual spring festival. The fun starts on the museum plaza with music and games from Radio Disney. Ride Vern’s Mini Train and pet cute animals from the Urban Farm at Stapleton, too. A springtime wonderland awaits inside the building: Storytime with “The Big Bunny,” live performances and lots of cool, seasonal crafts. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Children’s Museum of Denver, 2121 Children’s Museum Drive; 303-433-7444. Activities are included with admission: $8 for guests ages 2 to 59, $6 for 1-year-olds and seniors age 60 and older. Train rides are $2 each.
Boulder’s Tulip Fairy and Elf Parade
Saturday. Celebrate spring — and the May flowers to come — at Boulder’s Tulip Fairy and Elf Parade. Youngsters are encouraged to dress up as fairies and elves to join the Tulip Fairy in a short parade along the Pearl Street Mall. The kids will help the fairy awaken the thousands of tulips still “sleeping” in the soil. Bears will be waking up soon, too, so kids and parents can learn about bear safety after the parade, and listen to live music by Jeff Kagen and Paige Doughty. Marchers should gather at 2:45 p.m. Saturday; parade starts at 3 p.m. 1400 block of Pearl Street, Boulder. Admission is free.
Easter Sunrise Service at Red Rocks
Sunday. Greet the dawn at the annual Easter Sunrise Service at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. This year’s service features Nadia Bolz-Weber, of House for All Sinners and Saints, as the preacher, plus music from bluegrass group Briar Branch and the Women of Note choir. Bundle up: Red Rocks is at a higher altitude than Denver, and it’s cold before the sun comes up. Can’t make it? Watch a live webcast via links at . Gates open at 4:30 a.m.; service begins at 6 a.m. Red Rocks Amphitheatere, 18300 W. Alameda Pkwy., Morrison; 720-865-2494. Admission is free; bring a nonperishable food item to donate.
“Day of the Child” at Denver Art Museum
Sunday. It’s a children’s fiesta at El Dia del Nino at the Denver Art Museum and the Byers-Evans House Museum. The “Day of the Child” includes free admission to both museums, plus an afternoon of multicultural programs. Check out loads of live performances from groups like Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Folklorico, Danza Azteca Tláloc, mariachi bands and more. Noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Pkwy.; 720-865-5000. Byers-Evans House Museum, 1310 Bannock St.; 303-620-4933. Admission and activities are free. ;
Earth Day green fair at Evergreen center
Saturday. Have an educational Earth Day at the Mountain Area Earth Day Fair in Evergreen. Presented by the Evergreen Audubon Society, the fair brings together dozens of businesses, government organizations and nonprofits to discuss all things green. Listen to speakers, tour the Evergreen Nature Center and pick up eco-tips. Kids can join in activities just for them, and everyone can check out the cool live raptors on display from HawkQuest. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Evergreen Lake House, 29614 Upper Bear Creek Road, Evergreen. Admission is free. . Kathleen St. John
Theatre
“9 to 5” punhces in at Buell
Tuesday-May 8. The national touring production of “9 to 5” is the Broadway musical adaptation of the iconic 1980 girl-power film about three fed-up office workers who take out their revenge on a misogynistic boss. No Dolly Parton in Denver, but you will still hear 18 new songs she wrote for the stage reinvention. Taking Parton’s place in the lofty annals of buxomdom is “American Idol” runner-up Diane DeGarmo. The musical opens Tuesday and plays at 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 7:30 p.m. Sundays through May 8 at the Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex. $20-$105. 303-893-4100 or 800-641-1222, at all King Soopers or . John Moore
Poetry
Noted Nicaraguan poet Cardinal to give reading
Today. It’s no small praise when various universities and poetry critics peg Ernesto Cardinal as “Latin America’s greatest living poet” — and they just may be right. The Nicaraguan Catholic priest and former member of the Sandinista political movement is the author of more than 35 books, including this year’s “The Origin of Species and Other Poems.” He’s on a 12-city North American tour, including a rare reading and conversation today at the Museo de las Americas. The event, part of Hispanic Heritage Live and National Poetry Month, is sponsored by Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book. Doors at 6 p.m. Free, but with limited seating. 861 Santa Fe Drive, 303-571-4401 or . John Wenzel
Dance
Rare and odd offerings from Ballet Nouveau
Today-Sunday. Broomfield dance company Ballet Nouveau Colorado will close out another season of ambitious experiments with the greatest leap of all: “Rarities and Oddities,” a collaborative production that gives its quartet of choreographers unlimited artistic freedom. The production includes premieres from artistic director Garrett Ammon, guest choreographers Alex Ketley and Maurya Kerr and BNC company artist Jason Franklin. Continuing the habit of collaborating with local musicians, the show will feature live music from singer-songwriter Jesse Manley in addition to “shadow puppets, female brawn and pandas.” Uh, you had us at “shadow puppets.” 8 p.m. Today-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Performing Arts Complex at Pinnacle Charter School, 1001 W. 84th Ave. $17-$44. 303-466-5685 or . John Wenzel
Classical music
“Good Friday Cantata” at St. Barnabas Church
Today. In 1980, noted folk singer-songwriter Bob Franke turned his musical talents to something a little different, composing his “Good Friday Cantata: Meditations on the Passion of Christ.” The choir of St. Barnabas Episcopal Parish Church, 1280 Vine St., and a group of guest musicians will perform the Colorado premiere of the piece at 7:30 p.m. Free. 303- 388-6469 or . Kyle MacMillan
Visual art
Husband-and-wife artists go scientific
Today. “Galileo’s Garden,” the first Denver exhibition by the husband-and-wife artists Tyler and Monica Aiello in four years, opens with a public reception from 6 to 9 p.m. and runs through June 11. In this show at the Space Gallery, 765 Santa Fe Drive, the two explore the intersections of art and science. Tyler Aiello’s biomorphic sculptures draw inspiration from plant and animal forms, and Monica Aiello’s richly layered paintings interpret the geomorphology of planets and moons. Free. 720-904-1088 or . Kyle MacMillan
The artificially natural art of Bryan Leister blurs borders
In his tech-driven, boundary- blurring art, Bryan Leister creates hermetic, contemplative worlds which draw inspiration from nature yet, ironically, are manufactured and artificial.
In “Uncategorized,” an exhibition at the Ironton Gallery, 3636 Chestnut Place, the highly accomplished illustrator- turned-artist explores a range of imaging technologies.
In the most attention-grabbing of the seven offerings, “intervention [0],” he uses video- game technology to create an interactive work in which a pair of pincers, hovering above a kind of petri dish, shift according to the movements of viewers in front of it.
In three pigment prints constructed entirely digitally, Leister exactingly conceives three biomorphic forms, including one reminiscent of a trilobite, using fractals and other mathematical formulas.
Similar forms inhabit an imaginary lanscape in “binary.black [0],” a color digital print mounted on acrylic, as well as another subtly interactive video, “in transit.” The latter is exhibited with two related elements, including a relief work constructed using a three-dimensional printer.
A cool precision and aloof beauty pervades these pieces, which can seem a bit ominous at times.
“Uncategorized” continues through May 14. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays. 303-296-5583 or . Kyle MacMillan
