Community Announcements
All Welcome At August Fest Holly Renaissance
The August Fest Holly Renaissance is an event to celebrate the on-going redevelopment of Holly Square at 33rd and Holly Street. It is sponsored in part by the Denver Public Safety Youth Programs. Festivities are Saturday, Aug. 8. There will be a job fair from 9 a.m. to noon at Hiawatha Davis Recreation Center, on the northeast corner. Other events include activities for kids, a farmers’ market, basketball tournament, food and entertainment, which will run throughout the day. Come by and meet representatives of the newest community partners, Roots Elementary School, Denver Community Health Services, and Near Northeast Community Engagement School. Renew relationships with existing community partners, including HOPE Center, Pauline Robinson Library, Hiawatha Davis Recreation Center, Impact Empowerment Group, Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver and Mi Casa Resource Center. The event is family friendly and free. Everyone is welcome.
Raising Money For Rural Kenya
The Denver-based nonprofit, Schools in Communities Offering Programs that Empower (SCOPE), is hosting a fundraiser to raise money for its work in rural Kenya. The event will be at the Park Hill Hub, 1502 Ivanhoe St. on Saturday, Aug. 8 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 for individuals and $25 for two people. Price of admission includes snacks, beverages and music inside or on the patio. RSVP by Aug. 6 to tomceltic51@msn.com. For more info about SCOPE, visit scopeint.org.
Animal Shelter Hosts Program For Humans
Join the Denver Animal Shelter to raise awareness about the downtown office workers who are stuck in tiny cubicles eight hours a day. The shelter will bring a wide variety of friendly, happy dogs to interact with the community for this special pilot project. It’s a great chance for people to see amazing dogs who are looking for good, loving homes. The event originated in Melbourne, Australia and has become an international phenomenon. Denver’s version will be Tuesday, Aug. 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Central Library downtown, 10 W. 14th Ave. Parkway, on the north lawn at 14th Avenue and Broadway. It is free and open to the public.
Check Out Denver At Pocketgov.com
The City and County of Denver’s mobile website, pocketgov.com, has re-launched with a new, streamlined look and additional features. Pocketgov.com provides residents and businesses easier access to key city services. This site offers a new map that gives residents an opportunity to learn more about races, parades, festivals, markets and other special events planned for public property. Residents can pull up the special events map on their mobile devices or desktop computers and decide whether to join in or find alternate routes for travel around town. In addition, there are several new features including a map of B-cycle stations, map of ballot drop-off locations around the city, and real-time election results. Residents can use existing services such as setting up text message alerts for street sweeping reminders, reporting potholes or graffiti, signing up for notifications for waste removal, and finding Denver property values. Go to pocketgov.com from the web browser of any mobile device or computer.
Ellyn Rucker and Sam Mayfield At City Park Jazz
City Park Jazz Finishes off Sunday summer concert series 2015 on Aug. 2 and 9. The Ellyn Rucker Trio performs on Aug. 2, with Myra Warren and guest vocalists Wendy Fopeano and Joni Janak. On Aug. 9, The Sam Mayfield Blues Revue features Sam Mayfield on guitar; Ed “Mr. Wonderful” Wingfield on vocals, Bill Shannon on bass, Karen Cherish on keyboards, Michael Johnson on drums, Jon Braddy on trombone, Steve Illich on trumpet, Toby Hopper on saxophone, with M.C. Jimmy Betts. The concerts are free and open to the public, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. During the Sam Mayfield concert, Metropolitan State University of Denver will have a tent up, celebrating the school’s 50th anniversary. Alumni, current students, faculty, parents and families should stop by to catch up with other alums and get more details on the university’s yearlong celebration.
PalletFest: What You Can Do With ‘Waste’
Colorado’s Largest Upcycle Event is returning for a second year on Aug. 29 and 30. Last year PalletFest was declared the city’s first certifiably green event by Mayor Michael B. Hancock. This free outdoor event shows the possibilities of what you can do with “waste.” Live music, a pallet maze, an upcycled fashion show, vendors and artists selling upcycled goods, a parkour course and more will be featured at the Sculpture Park at Speer and Champa Streets downtown. The festival will run on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, go to palletfest.com
A New Fine Line From China
The Center for Visual Art is the off-campus art gallery of Metropolitan State University of Denver. From Aug. 7 through Oct. 24, the CVA presents the exhibition, A New Fine Line: Contemporary Ink Painting from China. The artist reception will be Thursday, Aug. 27 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with a gongbi demonstration the same day from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. The gongbi method uses highly meticulous brush strokes that bounds details very precisely and without independent or expressive variation. Nine contemporary Chinese artists share the gongbi brush practice and are leaders of a new fine line technique. They have renovated their paintings into unique personal statements, while exploring the social and political realities of China.
Dinner In White For Cancer Research
Inspired by Diner Blanc in Paris, Dinner in White is an annual awareness and fundraising event with a twist. The location of the “pop-up” party is kept secret until an hour before the event when event attendees are notified on social media and via email. Guests dress in all white and come together for a night of dinner and dancing, in the name of cancer research. Renowned National Geographic photographer and “CBS Sunday Morning” contributor Joel Sartore will be the keynote speaker at this year’s annual fundraiser on Aug. 8., to benefit research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. Professionally, Sartore has spent 20 years photographing endangered species and landscapes in order to show a world worth saving. To learn more about Sartore, visit joelsartore.com. To learn more about 2015 Dinner in White and to purchase tickets for the event, visit dinnerinwhite.com.
— Compiled by Siobhan Lloyd
The Mind: A Beautiful Thing To Use
Active Minds is an organization whose mission is to expand lives and minds through fun and educational programs. Below is a list of nearby presentations in August. All are free and open to the public. For more details and events throughout Colorado, visit activeminds.com.
The Civil Rights Act: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of federal legislation that outlawed major forms of discrimination against minorities and women. Join Active Minds Saturday, Aug. 1, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Pauline Robinson Library, 5575 E 33rd Ave. to examine the act 50 years later and evaluate its impact on civil rights in the United States.
Global Pandemics: Concerns over the global spread of diseases including Ebola, Swine Flu, AIDS, and others have increased dramatically. Join Active Minds Tuesday, Aug. 4, from 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 350 S. Dahlia St. to look at the current threats by examining both the science of how diseases spread, as well as the history of pandemics.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: His biographer noted that FDR “brought the United States through the Great Depression and World War II to a prosperous future. He lifted himself from a wheelchair to lift the nation from its knees.” Join Active Minds Wednesday, Aug. 5, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Cherry Creek Library, 305 Milwaukee St. to review the life, leadership and legacy of one of our nation’s most admired presidents.
The National Parks: The world’s first national park, Yellowstone, was created by an act of Congress in 1872. Today, the national park system includes 392 sites (58 national parks), more than 83 million acres of land, and hosts more than a quarter million visitors per year. Join Active Minds on Thursday, Aug. 13 from 6:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. at the Sam Gary Library, 2961 Roslyn St. to hear about the story of the development of our national parks system and highlight some of the more notable parks and their stories.
Eleanor Roosevelt: As the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt was outspoken and at times controversial. Join Active Minds Thursday, Aug. 20, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Windsor Gardens, 597 S Clinton St. to examine her life and the impact it had on important causes, including a focus on human rights and the successful launch of the United Nations.
Yemen: The various conflicts in the Mideast are troubling and complex. Recently, the country of Yemen has emerged as another stage upon which sectarian warfare is being played out. At its roots is the animosity between Sunni and Shia Muslims, which in turn brings the involvement of other regional powers, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt (Sunni) as well as Iran (Shia). Join Active Minds Tuesday, Aug. 25, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Tattered Cover, 2526 E Colfax, to discuss Yemen’s current situation and broader implications for the region.
Ukraine at a Tipping Point: Seventy years of Soviet control of Ukraine ended in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. During that time Ukraine suffered extensive famines, deportation of its citizens, and repopulation of its country by ethnic Russians. Since independence, Ukraine has aligned more with the west, resulting in escalating tension between ethnic Russians and Ukrainians. Join Active Minds Thursday, Aug. 27, from 6:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. at the Sam Gary Library, 2961 Roslyn St, to explore this situation.