Family fun: An expo for young and old(er)
Saturday. It’s a smorgasbord of all things kiddie at the ninth annual Colorado Baby and Kidz Expo. The vendor booths are for the grown-ups (mostly), but the rest of the expo is a fun-fest for youngsters. Decorate cupcakes, join a foam-sword battle, meet animals in the petting zoo, go bowling or ride a mini-train — the expo is your oyster. Live performances will run throughout the event, including a magic show, science experiments and martial arts demonstrations. Fans of Dora the Explorer should be prepared for a photo op: The Disney cartoon star will be stopping by for a visit. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. National Western Complex, 4655 Humboldt St. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors age 65 and older, free for kids age 12 and younger. Kathleen St. John
Visual art: Finish out the month at DAM’s big Friday
Tonight. The Denver Art Museum puts on a different face on the final Friday of each month, hosting a public party where the painting, prints and sculptures are a sideshow and music, poetry, performance art — whatever, really — take center stage. This month’s event in DAM’S “Untitled” series is built off the exhibit “On the Road,” featuring Ed Ruscha’s Beat-inspired works, and promises music, wandering wordsmiths and an interactive quiz. Be sure to see the photo exhibit “Women Are Beautiful,” by Garry Winogrand, while you’re there. The event goes from 6 to 10 p.m. DAM is located on 13th Avenue between Broadway and Bannock. More info: or 720-865-5000. Ray Mark Rinaldi
Podcast taping: A thoughtful podcast: “Killing the Cowtown”
Wednesday. Denverites should have long ago shed their insecurities about being a “cow town,” but the fact is that we’re still talking about it. Local podcast provocateurs the Denver Diatribe will embrace that dialogue for their latest live taping, “Killing the Cowtown,” which looks at depictions of our fair city in music, literature and on screen — from “Dynasty” to “Battlefield Earth.” Noted fantasy/horror author Mario Acevedo and contributors to Westword, the Denver-Boulder edition of the Onion’s A.V. Club, the Donnybrook Writing Academy and OpenAir 1340 will weigh in on our urban/rural complex. With drinks specials, live music and giveaways. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Henderson’s Lounge at Denver FilmCenter/Colfax, 2510 E. Colfax Ave. Free. . Check out our Q&A with co-organizer Ron S. Doyle on . John Wenzel
Family fun: Explore insects’ wee world
Saturday. Future scientists and their families can cozy up with a free movie at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. “Small Things Considered” presents the film “Microcosmos,” a 1996 documentary that explores the wee world of insects living in ponds and meadows. The museum will have specimens of the movie animals available for closer examination, too. 1-4 p.m. CU Museum of Natural History, Henderson Building, 15th Street and Broadway, Boulder; 303-492-6892. Admission is free. . Kathleen St. Johns
Family fun: “Mystery of the Wizard’s Hand”
Saturday. Kids can enjoy a bit of lunchtime theater when the Adams Mystery Playhouse presents “Mystery of the Wizard’s Wand.” Families are invited to bring along a sack lunch and settle in for the tale of Shazam, a benevolent wizard whose wand suddenly goes missing. The interactive show lets the audience sort out the clues, identify the culprit and help Shazam find the stolen wand. Costumes are encouraged, in the spirit of magic-making. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Adams Mystery Playhouse, 2406 Federal Blvd.; 303-455-1848. Tickets are $10 each. Buy advance tickets online at . Kathleen St. Johns
Theater: A tragic mix, updated twice
Through March 3. Director Jose Mercado describes the play “Blood Wedding” as “Harlem Renaissance meets Spanish Tragedy,” and that makes it interesting right out of the gate. The work, based on a news account of a doomed love story, was written in 1938 by Spain’s Federico Garcia Lorca, but the version now on stage in Denver’s King Center was translated to English by poet Langston Hughes a half-century later. Mercado puts his own stamp on the work incorporating pieces of Lorca’s original Spanish into the dialogue. That makes it even more interesting. Check it out at 7:30 p.m. tonight and Saturday, or at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-March 3. Rawls Courtyard Theatre, King Center, 855 Lawrence Way. $15 adults, $5 students. More info at ahec.edu/kingcenter or at 303-556-2296. Ray Mark Rinaldi
Family fun: Rhythms are gonna get you
Saturday. Get your groove on at the Butterfly Pavilion’s at “BugaRhythm.” Presented in collaboration with Radio Disney, the day-long event features lots of rockin’ tunes and funky invertebrates. Learn more about the Pavilion’s creatures-in-residence, including bees and, of course, butterflies. Jam out to performances throughout the day from the Que Pastas, Ballet Nouveau Colorado and Dual Star Academy of Dance. Radio Disney will provide fun and games, too, like the Millipede Limbo Pass the Potato Bug and a “Beetle Mania” dance party. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ; last entry at 4:15 p.m. The Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 W. 104th Ave., Westminster; 303-469-5441. Admission is $8.50 for adults, $6.50 for seniors age 65 and older, $5.50 for children ages 2 to 12. Adult Westminster residents receive a $2 discount. butterflies.org. Kathleen St. John
Dance: Everybody’s got that swing
Today-Sunday. Swing dancing has weathered decades of fads and its own revival to prove itself as sturdy and sprightly as any unique American art form. The true believers will pay hoppin’ tribute this weekend during the fifth annual Rocky Mountain Balboa Blowout, which includes three days of workshops, Balboa-style dance contests and live swing/jazz dance and music performances from L.A.’s Jonathan Stout and His Campus Five, as well as others. Classes are open to all ages; children 12 and younger pay $5 when a parent purchases at full price. Denver Turnverein, 1570 Clarkson St. $5-$25. 303-883-6691 or balboablowout.com. John Wenzel
Family fun: Celebrate Buffalo Bill’s birthday
Sunday. The Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave throws a rootin’-tootin’ birthday hoedown for its namesake. The party starts with a “Happy Birthday” sing-along led by an ensemble of Buffalo Bill look-alikes, plus free cake and ice cream. Then it’s time for games, including buffalo-chip-throwing and a Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley costume contest. The birthday celebration also marks the first days of the museum’s new exhibit, “Buffalo Bill Superhero.” Using a collection of old “dime novels” as a backdrop, the exhibit draws parallels between modern-day comic-book superheroes and Buffalo Bill’s real-life personality and adventures. Noon to 3 p.m. Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave, 987-1/2 Lookout Mountain Road, Golden; 303-526-0747. Admission is free. . Kathleen St. John
