Critic’s choice
Two fresh, high flyng dance performances
Today-Sunday. A pair of very different, but equally heroic, contemporary dance offerings will soar through the Front Range this weekend. Fresh Blood Collective’s “Save the Day” explores the concept of superheroes through self-aware choreography and costumes, with performances at 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday at the Sixth Avenue United Church, 3250 E. Sixth Ave. $15, . Nancy Smith’s Boulder-based Frequent Flyer Productions also will present its 13th annual Aerial Dance Festival, including classes, panels and a group of showcase performances marking the halfway point of the high-flying, internationally renowned event. 8 p.m. today and Saturday; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Dairy Center for the Arts, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $25. 303-444-7328 or . John Wenzel
Family Fun
Barney and pals will keep wee ones singing
Saturday. The big, purple dinosaur returns: “Barney Live in Concert — Birthday Bash!” turns the Pepsi Center into preschool party time in two Saturday performances. The live stage show features Barney and his dinosaur pals Baby Bop, BJ and Riff, plus lots of sing-along songs from the PBS series. Complete with dancing dinos and a toddler-friendly story line. 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Pepsi Center, 1000 Chopper Circle; 303-405-1100. Tickets are $18-$65, plus fees. Buy seats at or call 866-461-6556.
Put your best foot forward for cancer fight
Sunday. Join the fight against cancer at Step Up for Cancer at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Participants go up and down the stairs of the stadium, with some hardy souls competing against one another. Or you can opt for a flat, stairless course. Before and after the climb, participants and spectators can get a massage, join in a yoga class and visit informational and vendor booths. Kids can have some fun of their own in a special Kids Zone. 7-11 a.m. Sunday. Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, 6000 Victory Way, Commerce City. Registration is $30 for adults; $20 for kids age 17 and younger and seniors age 60 and older, or for a stairless course. Register at .
150th Boulder County Fair winds down
Through Saturday. The Boulder County Fair finishes up its run this weekend with two days of down-home country fun. Most events at the fair are free, including kids storytelling, a stick-horse parade, a show of vintage farm equipment and live music. There’s also plenty of livestock showing and judging. Saturday starts early with a pancake breakfast presented by the Optimist Club, followed by the final day of festivities: a chili and salsa cookoff, kids’ talent show and the fair’s 150th birthday party. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. today, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday. Boulder County Fairgrounds, 9595 Nelson Road, Longmont; 720-864-6460. Admission is free. Carnival rides are an additional fee. Bull riding, demolition derby and kids’ rodeo require tickets; prices are $5-$15.
Highlands Ranch Band gets kids into the music
Saturday. Spend a Saturday evening with the Highlands Ranch Concert Band when they present “Playin’ in the Park,” its annual free children’s concert. Youngsters will be able to participate in the show, helping to conduct songs and dancing in front of the stage. Afterward, they can snag a free Popsicle and check out the instruments. 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Civic Green Park, 9370 Ridgeline Blvd., Highlands Ranch. Admission is free.
Be a bee lover at annual Parker Honey Fest
Sunday. Parker will be abuzz during the town’s fourth annual Honey Fest. Learn about Parker’s Thunder Bee project, established to help bolster diminishing honeybee populations through education and the eight Town of Parker beehives. Sample honey products, find out what plants are honeybee-friendly and rock out to live music. The High Land Beekeeping Club will have hives on-site to demonstrate beekeeping and show how bees make their honey. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. O’Brien Park, 10795 Victorian Drive, Parker. Admission is free. .
Comedy
Two nights of nuclear stand-up
Today-Saturday. Droll New York comedian Todd Barry’s most visible roles have been in friends’ projects, like Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” (as smug deli manager Wayne), Louis C.K.’s eponymous FX show and HBO’s “Flight of the Conchords” — in addition to dozens of late-night talk shows, hipster festivals and cameos. But fans of the 47-year- old Barry consider albums such as 2004’s “Falling Off the Bone” and 2008’s “From Heaven” among the best of this generation of stand-ups — and with good reason. He’ll bring his medium-energy delivery and nuclear wit to Comedy Works South this weekend, including multiple shows tonight and Saturday. $22. 5345 Landmark Place in Greenwood Village. 720-274-6800 or . Be sure to check out our “Why So Serious?” Q&A with Barry on . John Wenzel
Theater
Turning a play into improv comedy
Through Aug. 13. “Scripov” is a recurring mashup of theater and improv comedy in which the first act of a fully prepared original play is performed for the audience. Then the scene is replayed, only with a new actor or two thrown in who have no clue what they are walking into. And for August, the comedy guinea pigs will be noted area actors such as the Denver Center’s great Sam Gregory (tonight), Amie McKenzie (Aug. 13) and the stars of the cult fave “Girls Only” — Barbara Geh- ring and Linda Klein (Aug. 12). 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays at the Avenue Theater, 417 E. 17th Ave., 303-321-5925 or . John Moore
Classical music
Fast-rising violinist at Aspen Music Festival
Sunday. The Aspen Music Festival continues this weekend with an appearance by up-and-coming German violinist Veronika Eberle, who grabbed the classical world’s attention at the 2006 Salzburg Easter Festival. She will appear at 4 p.m. Sunday with the Aspen Festival Orchestra and noted conductor David Robertson (who is taking a break from leading “Wozzeck” at the Santa Fe Opera) in a performance of Antonin Dvorák’s Violin Concerto in A minor. Also on the program is Gustav Holst’s “The Planets.” $76. 970-925-9042 or aspen . Kyle MacMillan
Opera
“Amadigi di Gaula” ending at Central City
Saturday. It seems like it just began, but Central City Opera’s summer season will conclude this weekend. Unfairly overshadowed on one of the company’s most fascinating lineups ever has been the company’s production of “Amadigi di Gaula.” It is possible to quibble with aspects of the staging, but the score by George Frideric Handel (of “Messiah” fame) is stunning and worth a trip on its own. As an added enticement to audiences, Central City is offering two-for-one tickets for this performance. For online purchases, the promotion code is BOGO. 303-292-6700 or . Kyle MacMillan
Art
Indian School works at Byers-Evans House
Today. In 1932, Dorothy Dunn established the Studio School, a training program for budding artists, under the auspices of the Santa Fe Indian School. It went on to become an significant launching pad for a range of significant Indian artists, including Allan Houser and Harrison Begay. Works by some of it attendees will be featured in “The Studio Style: Santa Fe Indian School, 1932-1962,” an exhibition at the Byers-Evans House Gallery, 1310 Bannock St. It opens with a public reception from 5 to 9 p.m. today and runs through Oct. 31. Free. 303-620-4933 or . Kyle MacMillan
Sundance pick about life in today’s Iran at FilmCenter
Some of the best movies that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival will arrive in theaters in the coming months.
Among them: Iranian- American filmmaker Maryam Keshavarz’s coming-of-age drama “Circumstance,” winner of the festival’s audience award.
A gorgeous tale of friendship and fugitive desire, the movie has impressive turns by Sarah Kazemy and Nikohl Boosheri as two vivacious young women living in contemporary Iran.
Yes, “Circumstance” is slated to open next month. But why not see it at Denver’s most comfortable art house, the Denver FilmCenter/Colfax?
It screens for one night only as part of the Denver Film Society’s Cinema Q offerings: at 7 p.m. Thursday, Denver FilmCenter/Colfax, 2510 E. Colfax Ave. 303-820-FILM or denver . Lisa Kennedy
