Evan Weissman thinks every neighborhood in Denver is important. That’s the point of his 3-year-old nonprofit group, , a “civic health club” that uses quirky public events with speakers, entertainment and, yes, warm cookies to fire people up about issues in their community.
But of all the neighborhoods in the Mile High City, the downtown-adjacent Capitol Hill is one of the most diverse, densely populated and historic, which is why Weissman is trying something different for this month’s event.
“I really want human beings to win, and I’m deadly serious about that,” said Weissman, 37, a co-founder of Buntport Theater Company and instructor at Colorado College. “And the more I look at it, the more I realize that smashing together fun, weird, creative things is the best way to do it.”
Some of those things include the Civic Stitch ‘N Bitch, Sunday School for Atheists and Stupid Questions/Stupid Talent nights. At Warm Cookies, people eat pizza and talk taxes (Pie and Pie Charts), build Lego cities, play “intergenerational” soccer, swap homegrown vegetables (no marijuana, please) and barter for services while speed dating.
But given Denver’s fast-changing demographics — with pricey condos proliferating in historic neighborhoods — Weissman wanted to ask two important questions: “What does home mean to you?” and “When was the last time you laughed so hard it hurt?”
To do that, he paired a quartet of Denver’s best comics, who perform regularly at Comedy Works, with experts on LGBT history, immigration, homelessness and housing.
Friday’s Stompin’ Ground Games, at the on Capitol Hill, hopes to address some of these topics in a meaningful, entertaining way.
“I’ve done one of their events before, and it was weirdly great, because people have their minds pried open and are ready for anything,” said stand-up , who will work with Jennifer Piper on the topic of “sanctuary” — specifically the case of , a Mexican immigrant who lived in the basement of First Unitarian Church for several months to avoid deportation.
“What we’re telling everyone is that it’s OK to have fun with this and not get too stodgy, because that’s when you stop learning,” Doll said.
Warm Cookies events frequently reach capacity, even when they’re promoted only through word of mouth and social media. Friday’s Stompin’ Ground Games will occupy all of the Grant-Humphreys Mansion, where Weissman expects a couple hundred people to fill the 114-year-old building.
Sexy Pizza and Voodoo Doughnut are donating food, while community organizations will staff tables spread throughout the mansion to encourage exploration.
Each artist gets paid, thanks to Warm Cookies’ relatively modest budget of $100,000 — which has increased a bit each year with donations, grants and support from Denver’s .
The fragile state of many metro-area residents and artists is another topic the program hopes to address.
“It sorta frightens me, because as a freelance artist there are 1,000 ways for me to find myself in that position,” said comic , who will riff on the topic of homelessness. “I’d like to touch on that transition from ‘homefullness’ to homelessness, and how it really does happen to completely ordinary people.”
“Not everyone wants to get married and have kids and buy a house,” said stand-up , who will talk and joke about housing alternatives. “Some people just want to live in a city like Denver without being rich, and it’s becoming harder and harder for that to happen.”
Comic a relative newcomer to Capitol Hill, said her neighborhood pride has increased by exploring the area’s LGBT past, with the help of historian .
“He helped me understand how the (LGBT) community first found themselves in Capitol Hill and how they, along with hippies, bohemians, feminists and (people of color) helped create the Cap Hill neighborhood we know today,” Burris said.
By gathering the people directly affected by various neighborhood issues, Weissman — who teaches a class on the foundations of nonviolence — hopes not only to educate attendees but to spur them to action.
“Having people meet and learn a little bit about each other, and their neighborhood, makes it a little bit harder to oppress each other,” he said. “Maybe not totally, but a little.”
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com
WARM COOKIES OF THE REVOLUTION
Stompin’ Ground Games with comics Janae Burris, Jordan Doll, Timmi Lasley and Nathan Lund. $5 suggested donation. 6-8 p.m. Feb. 26 at Grant-Humphreys Mansion, 770 Pennsylvania St. Register at
