Critic’s pick
“Girls Only” giggles its way back to town
Through Dec. 31. Never underestimate the power of the slumber party. “Girls Only: The Secret Comedy of Women” started out as a modest gathering of women at the Avenue Theater to revisit sweetly ridiculous rites of passage like boys, puberty and general girliness. Then it got picked up by the Denver Center’s Galleria Theatre, where it was a two-year hit and has since expanded nationally. The “girls night out” comedy, born out of writings of the writers’ childhood diaries, is back for a limited engagement at the Galleria. Original writers and stars Barbara Gehring and Linda Klein return. Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. daily except Mondays, with some additional performances scheduled. $31. Call 303-893-4100, or go to . John Moore
Family Fun
Launch kids’ curiosity about rocket science
Saturday. The Children’s Museum of Denver relaunches “3, 2, 1 … Blast Off!” — a rocket-science exhibit just for kids, continuing through July. It’s back for an encore after its summer run, bringing the fundamentals of flight and rocketry to a young audience. Budding scientists can build and test their own rockets, planes and hovercraft, perfecting their experiments with different materials and techniques. All the while, kids learn basic principles of physics, aerodynamics and engineering. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. (Open until 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays.) 2121 Children’s Museum Drive; 303-433-7444. $8 for ages 2-59, $6 for 1-year-olds and seniors age 60 and older.
Celebrate the season at Estes Park’s tree lighting
Saturday. Christmas comes early to the high country at Estes Park’s annual Tree Lighting Celebration.The afternoon begins with pony rides, caroling and a visit with Santa in Bond Park. Just after sunset, the switch is flipped on the park’s display of lighted trees. Activities begin at 1 p.m. tree lighting at 5:30 p.m. Bond Park, MacGregor and Elkhorn Avenues, Estes Park. Admission is free.
Cherry Creek puts its royal treatment on ice
Through Dec. 24. Explore an indoor winter wonderland at Cherry Creek’s “Ice Palace” holiday display. Located in the mall’s Grand Court, the sparkling palace sits among snow-covered trees and snow globes. Inside the palace, visitors can stand inside the 22-foot-tall dome and watch a light show through falling snow. All roads lead to a photo-op with Santa — on weekends, kids can also visit with the Tooth Fairy and an Ice Princess. Tree-lighting ceremony on Nov. 25; Sign-Language Santa on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. (Mall will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.) Cherry Creek Shopping Center, 3000 E. First Ave. 303-388-3900. Admission is free; fees apply for Santa and Ice Throne photos.
Family-friendly dance pieces from Apex
Saturday-Sunday. Apex Contemporary Dance Theatre presents a family friendly treat in “A Children’s Story.”The suite of three dance pieces begins with the mysterious tale of “A Murder of Crows,” followed by a more playful, comedic piece. The show’s highlight is titled “Spell to Spell” — it’s based on the winning story from a Parker Library kids writing contest. 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. PACE Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Ave., Parker; 303-805-6800. Tickets are $11-$15. ;
Securing your spot at Mile High Turkey Trot
Thursday. Work up an appetite for holiday gobbling at the Mile High United Way’s Turkey Trot.The 4-mile run/walk winds around and through Washington Park, and everyone’s invited. Choose your own pace, wear a costume, bring the kids, bring a stroller — there’s even a quarter-mile family fun run for young athletes. Afterward, unwind at a post-race expo. Registration opens at 8 a.m. race starts at 10:15 a.m. Washington Park, South Franklin Street and East Louisiana Avenue. Advance registration is $40 for adults, $30 for seniors age 60 and older, $25 for kids age 12 and younger. .
World music
Performer will pull at listeners’ harp strings
Saturday. Like the guitar and fiddle, the harp transcends stylistic genres and geographic boundaries and is part of musical traditions worldwide. Alfredo Rolando Ortiz has gained international attention performing an array of South American music on the Paraguayan harp. Ortiz will offer a taste of the rich sounds of that continent during a concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway. $18. 303-987-7845 or . Kyle MacMillan
Art
Animal artists go wild for traveling exhibition
Saturday-Feb. 20. Animals ranging from bees to bison are depicted in a new traveling exhibition opening Saturday at TheWildlife Experience, 10035 S. Peoria St. in Parker. “Art and the Animal 2011” features 64 sculptures and paintings by members of the Society of Animal Artists. Included are works by 16 Colorado artists, including Patricia Davis of Mancos, John Kobald of Meeker and Kent Ullberg of Loveland. $10, $9 seniors and $6 children. 720-488-3300 or . Kyle MacMillan
Theater
“Striking 12” alights at Lone Tree Arts Center
Friday night only. GrooveLily’s “Striking 12” was a 2006 Off-Broadway hit that’s a twist on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Match Girl” — a clever mix of musical comedy and pop/rock tunes performed in a concert setting. $30-$40. 8 p.m. at the Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St., just west of Interstate 25 and Lincoln Avenue, 720-509-1000, . John Moore
Dance
Contemporary ballet submits its “Blueprint”
Saturday. Boulder choreographer and Austrian native Robert Sher-Machherndl will return from his latest international collaboration — this time with the Finnish National Ballet — to premiere Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet’s latest work for Front Range audiences this weekend. Dubbed “Blueprint,” the piece further explores Sher-Machherndl’s stark, exquisite fixations with tension and release, opposition and acquiescence, set to music by Franz Schubert. 8 p.m. Saturday. Byron Theatre, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, 2344 E. Iliff Ave. $28-$34. 303-871-7720 or . John Wenzel
Kaye’s works singe the imagination
Anna Kaye’s career got a big boost in 2008 when she began a series of meticulously realized charcoal drawings exploring the menacing beauty, destructive power and stark aftermath of Colorado’s forest fires.
With a double undergraduate major in geology as well as art at Skidmore College in New York (plus a later master of fine arts degree), the 31-year-old Lakewood artist has been able to put her scientific knowledge to work as much as her obvious artistic skill.
Her latest group of drawings from this series are on view along with paintings by Lorelei Schott in “Touch the Earth,” a two-person exhibition at the Sandra Phillips Gallery, 744 Santa Fe Drive.
If these pieces do not have quite the same impact as her earlier shows, it is probably because the once-startling subject matter has now become familiar and Kaye has settled into certain repeating compositional structures.
That said, these works remain as technically secure and as striking as ever, especially “Apex,” a 96-inch-tall, narrow drawing depicting an isolated silhouette of a tree largely shorn of its bark and branches by fire.
The show ends Saturday. Hours are 12:30 to 5 p.m. today and 12:30 to 4 p.m. Saturday. Free. 303-573-5969 or the . Kyle MacMillan
