Boulder Weekly 10.20.2022

Bridging the Divide

Bipartisan

by the job fair on October 22nd, from 10:00am-2:00pm located at Eldora Mountain Resort inside Indian Peaks Lodge. Take the NB RTD right to the front

This is a sweet opportunity to work in Nederland, CO only 20 miles from

DON’T WAIT, APPLY ONLINE NOW!

must apply

before coming to

also ask that you bring a

pro le:

From

by Will Matuska

adventure:

Bipartisan

by Chad Robert Peterson

buzz

Unmasking

by Carter Ferryman

overtones:

by Christopher Piercy

arts & culture:

by Nick Hutchinson

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Circulation Manager, Cal Winn

EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief, Caitlin Rockett

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Oct. 20, 2022 Volume XXX, number 10

Cover, Matthew Morelli

As Boulder County's only independently owned newspaper, Boulder Weekly is dedicated to illuminat ing truth, advancing justice and protecting the First Amendment through ethical, no-holds-barred journalism, and thought-provoking opinion writing. Free every Thursday since 1993, the Weekly also offers the county's most comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage. Read the print version, or visit boulderweekly.com. Boulder Weekly does not accept unsolicited editorial submissions. If you're interested in writing for the paper, please send que ries to: editorial@boulderweekly.com. Any materials sent to Boulder Weekly become the property of the newspaper.

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Help for tenants facing eviction

by Mark Fearer

Aquick clari cation of something I wrote in my Sept. 8, 2022 column about the warranty of hab itability for renters: While CU students can get legal advice at the O Campus Housing O ce, for actual legal representation, the CU Student Legal Services can provide that for free.

My last column looked at evictions in Boulder, and speci cally the Eviction Prevention And Rental Assistance Service (EPRAS) program, which works under the City of Boulder’s Housing and Human Services Department.

an initiative called No Eviction With out Representation (NEWR) in 2020. Inspired by a similar law passed in San Francisco, the Boulder County chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) put that proposal on the ballot, and last month I interviewed DSA Boulder spokesperson Ruy Arango.

Another DSA chapter member is Austin Bennett, who served as the NEWR campaign’s treasurer. After the measure passed by a signi cant margin, Bennett was appointed as one of ve members of the Tenant Advisory Committee, which was required by the ballot measure to help guide the newly formed EPRAS and advise Boulder City Council.

Boulder Weekly

welcomes your correspondence via email (letters@boul derweekly.com). Preference will be given to short letters (under 300 words) that deal with recent stories or local issues, and letters may be edited for style, length and libel. Letters should include your name, address and telephone number for verifcation. We do not publish anonymous letters or those signed with pseudonyms. Letters become the property of Boulder Weekly and will be published on our website.

For decades, tenants facing eviction have been in court every Friday morning, usually without a lawyer, and in le gal bewilderment. ey were usually evicted in less than a minute by attorneys representing their landlord. at legal proceeding and outcome was devastating for most, and for some was a slide into homelessness.

EPRAS was created because Boulder voters passed

“People are able to stay in their homes for longer, they’re able to get stipulations (so) they’re not kicked out immediately,” Bennett says of the program’s e ectiveness. “Have people had the pain of eviction lessened or delayed? en yes, it’s a success by that measure. Evictions are still going on, and it’s a success on its own metrics, but it doesn’t go far enough.”

He added, “But as a socialist, my goal with housing is

to make the number of evictions that happen (go to) zero. Housing is a fundamental human right. It’s one of the greatest shames of our society that we have people living on the streets, having to make do in a tent.”

Long before a once-in-a-century pandemic hit, evictions were increas ing throughout the U.S., including in Colorado. While federal government relief helped stave o massive evic tions, most programs have ended or are nearing their end, and once again evictions are rising. Not coincidental ly, so is the unhoused population.

Before Boulder’s EPRAS pro gram, several U.S. cities passed laws allowing tenants free legal advice and/ or representation when it comes to evictions. In fact, it’s part of a national movement.

Denver may be on the verge of becoming the next city to assist tenants in court, with this No vember’s election.

In December 2018, the Denver chapter of the DSA, inspired by work elsewhere to stop eviction, started looking into some of the 9,000 annual evictions that Denver tenants faced, says Mitch Weldon, a DSA volunteer. ey did some detective work and began con tacting tenants who had been served a legal notice to appear in court to face an eviction hearing, legally known as FEDs (Forcible Entry Detainer.) ey provided renters with informa tion of legal sources that could help them ght the eviction and/or tell them of rental assistance programs, since the number one reason for eviction is non-payment of rent. ey also showed up in court with the same information to share resources with tenants whom they were unable to contact.

three years down the road when these funds aren’t there?” asks Weldon.

Based on those experiences, and inspired by the Boulder County chap ter’s No Eviction Without Represen tation campaign in 2020, the Denver DSA chapter decided to spearhead their own NEWR ballot initiative.

ey collected 19,000 signatures to let Denver voters decide next month if they want to fund the same kind of program giving legal services to Den ver tenants facing the gut-wrenching experience of eviction.

Weldon said that DSA saw a critical need for ongoing support.

“HOUSING IS A FUNDAMENTAL human right. It’s one of the greatest shames of our society that we have people living on the streets, having to make do in a tent.”

— Austin Bennett, NEWR

“For us, guaranteeing the right to counsel requires a program that’s sus tainable from a funding perspective.” Like Boulder’s program, Denver’s NEWR initiative would impose an annual $75 per unit fee on landlords to help fund the program. Since Den ver’s current pro gram is means tested (restricted to people earning 80% or less of average median income), the ballot initiative would elim inate that, as does Boulder’s EPRAS. “We don’t want tenants facing eviction put through bureaucratic hurdles at a very stressful time of their life,” says Weldon. “Members of the house hold, who (might be) working one or multiple jobs, getting hit with the stress of eviction, the stress of guring out their next housing, paying back rent — the idea that they’re trying to come up with tax documents when they’re going to qualify anyway… was ridiculous.”

GILBERT WHITE WOULD REPEAL THE CU SOUTH ANNEXATION

Let’s talk about the late, great Gilbert White, one of only ve CU Boulder winners of the National Medal of Science, ever.

Gilbert is known rstly as the “fa ther of oodplain planning” and that is the heart of the CU South debate.

CU’s website says: “White’s landmark work, beginning with his 1942 University of Chicago doctoral dissertation “Human Adjustment to Floods,” challenged the notion that natural hazards are best addressed by engineering solutions. Instead, he argued that the havoc wrought by oods and other natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes may be better avoided by modifying human behavior to reduce potential harm.”

should plan for even worse now.

Some want the annexation for the housing. But, the details show the development will attract more employees and students than it will house, making the housing situation in Boulder worse, not better!

Everyone should learn about Gil White. He was a big supporter of direct democracy — the same direct democracy empowering us to vote “yes” to stop this disaster!

Evan Ravitz/Boulder

RE: FURRIES, FAR RIGHT AND THE COLORADO GOP

Meanwhile, the City of Denver had set up a low-income eviction clinic at the courthouse that provided some legal assistance to tenants — if the renters knew about the program and quali ed. at program is largely funded by federal pandemic relief money, which is running out.

“What’s the city going to do two to

In the November election, Denver voters will decide on the NEWR proposal, in the form of Ordinance 305. While they have endorsements from candidates and a wide range of community organizations (see their website newrdenver.com), the land lord’s lobby (Colorado Apartment Association) predictably opposes it, and has raised twice as much to con vince voters to turn it down.

Email: letters@boulderweekly.com

White won that debate, and now wise communities around the world follow his advice. Except here now in Boulder, where he founded and directed CU’s Natural Hazards Insti tute. Here, now, the morally bankrupt mis-leaders of CU still invest student money in fossil fuels as re, ood and famine sweep the Earth, and plan un tested, doubtful engineering solutions for a 100-year ood when White told the city three decades ago to plan for a 500-year ood! Since climate change has exploded since then, we

ank you for your piece “Furries, far right and the Colorado GOP” ( e Anderson Files, Oct. 13). I knew O’Dea wasn’t a blue collar guy, but I had no idea that he was a complete fraud. It appears he is. Possibly Next on 9NEWS could expose this man’s actual agenda? No wonder McConnel and Buck are stumping for him… it’s very disconcerting. anks for that piece. I’m out raged about his corporate ties and disregard for our planet. It’s despica ble.

Philip Riedel/Longmont

EARTH HAS GROWN ANGRY

During the Benson administration

at CU Boulder, there was a student movement urging the university divest its gas and oil holdings. Bruce Benson, a self-made oil man, would have none of it, and these stocks continue to be a part of CU’s investment earnings, which, judging from its current “buy and build” boom, are considerable. Rental properties, notably student housing, are also no small part of its revenue stream. Its claims of aiding Boulder’s housing shortfall mask the pro t motive behind its desire to build another campus in South Boulder. ere is also a provision in the agreement that the university will sell 75 acres of land unusable for building back to the City for Open Space. e cost: $2,812,500 — $37,500 an acre. Not so long ago, Boulder voters, prompted by a majority on the City Council, deemed that the City was in capable of managing its electric grid, an established infrastructure. Today, again encouraged by Council, voters are being asked to trust that the City, fronted by the Council, is fully able to design and build a ood mitigation plan from raw cloth, which, as currently proposed, addresses only a small section of the areas ooded in 2013. Behind both the University and the City is a progrowth ethic that refuses to recognize that water conservation in a prolonged drought and lowering everyone’s carbon footprint is essential to counter the pending outcomes of global warming and climate change, and making money must be secondary to public wellbeing. e Earth has grown angry at our stubborn lack of insight.

Robert Porath/Boulder

SAY “NO” TO EVEN-YEAR LOCAL ELECTIONS

I’m voting “no” on the City of Boulder Ballot Issue 2E — even-year elections. I hope that you will join me.

Here’s Why:

One of the great privileges of a democracy is the opportunity to participate in local elections. In order to do that, we need time to hear about the issues facing our home town and get to know those who want to lead us. Local elections would be swallowed up on an even year ballot. Even-year ballots are for statewide candidates, sometimes presidential candidates and statewide ballot ini tiatives. If you live in a special district, those district issues may also be on your ballot. Even-year ballots are long. Don’t you remember turning the page while you were voting and see

ing long lists of names and issues you don’t recognize? Retention of judges, clean-up language for constitutional issues, etc. etc.

Now, if you added local candidates and local issues to that ballot, they would be swallowed up in the noise and focus on the “top of the ticket.”

Local elections deserve commu nity forums, discussion and focus. If local races are folded into even-year elections, the school board races will be left to be an orphan election, diminishing turnout even more.

It’s easy to vote in Colorado. We already have one of the highest rates of voter turnout in the country thanks to mail-in voting and same day reg istration. We have demonstrated that given the opportunity, people want to decide how they will be governed. ere will be more focus on local rac es when local elections stand alone.

Vote No on 2E if you are a Boul der voter.

Josie Heath/Boulder

NO MORE BELT-TIGHTENING FOR LIBRARIES

Demand for libraries is at its highest when economic times are bad. e Library Research Service pub lished a report in 2011 that con rmed this uptick in usage during the Great Recession, with a preface that read:

“Public libraries are more needed than ever, and they are stepping up as part of the social safety net that helps people protect the nancial security of their families and build new futures when they must. For some, a new future means nding a job, sometimes in a new community; for others it means going back to school to re-tool for a new career; and for still others it means becoming entrepreneurial and creating their own jobs and jobs for others. People in all of these circum stances are nding the help they need at public libraries.”

When I hear that Boulder library must “tighten its belt” rather than ask for stable funding, I wonder if the folks saying this are aware that our library branches are shuttered on certain days of the week — right now — because of decades of “belt-tight ening.” e library su ered budget cuts to such a degree in 2020 that programs like its nearly 40-year adult literacy program are paused, the mak erspace is closed ve days a week, and simple maintenance like roof repairs and HVAC issues go unaddressed.

Why would we keep our libraries in such a state?

Our libraries are celebrated and enjoyed during good and bad times, but they’re critical institutions when times are tough. We can put them on a stable funding path so that they can serve our community in good times and bad. at is what a library district does. I am a “yes” vote on ballot issue 6C to form a library district, because our communities are stronger when our libraries are strong.

Joanne McIntyre/Boulder

REPEAL CU SOUTH ANNEXATION

Recently I visited one of my most favorite places, CU South. I sat by a creek and watched as dusk descended. I saw hawks searching for their din ner. I heard unseen animals in the tall grass chittering their welcome to the night. I intended to do some medita tion, but every time I closed my eyes I immediately opened them again. I didn’t want to miss one second of the surrounding natural beauty. I thought how sad it would be for CU to destroy these natural wetlands and build 750,000 sq. feet of buildings, a 3000 seat stadium, and add 7000 daily vehicle trips to the area. CU’s plan will only exacerbate the current student housing shortage, and create a tra c nightmare. If we have to evacuate for another re like we did in March, it would be impossible to leave, it would be tra c gridlock. e lure of ood mitigation promised by CU is woefully inadequate at best and would serve to only protect 230 residences. If this land is annexed, who do you think pays for the city services (power, water) to be brought to the area, which only bene t CU… we do — with higher utility bills. e added noise, tra c and pollution from this annexation will degrade our quality of life. ere are threatened plant and animal species in this area, one of which is the Preble jumping mouse. is mouse lives in only a few areas of Colorado and Wyoming. It’s our duty to preserve these wetlands and protect nature. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. ere’s no turning back from. CU doesn’t need another cam pus in Boulder. Let CU build another campus in an underserved Colorado community that would welcome having a campus there. Vote “yes” on measure on 2F, Ordinance #8384, to Repeal CU Annexation!

S. Hack/Boulder

VOTE “YES” FOR ACCESSIBLE TRANSPORTATION

Please join us and vote Yes on 1C. Like everyone else in Boulder County, our participants need the ability to get to work, school and medical appoint ments, visit with friends and family, recreate, worship, and shop for basic needs. erefore, the Family Resource Centers in Boulder County are en thusiastically supporting Ballot Issue 1C, to invest in multimodal transpor tation in our beautiful county.

Boulder County’s Ballot Issue 1C, to extend the existing penny sales tax on a ten-dollar purchase, will go a long way towards addressing the challenge of mobility by making transportation more a ordable and accessible to all people.

A portion of the revenue gen erated by Ballot Issue 1C will fund transportation mobility programs identi ed in the Mobility and Access for All Ages and Abilities Plan. is plan, the rst of its kind for Boulder County, is an assessment of mobility needs throughout Boulder County unique to older adults, youth, and people with disabilities, and the under resourced community. Twenty percent of the revenue generated will go to transit services and mobility programs. ese are a lifeline for the families we serve.

If 1C passes, there will be more funding to help our participants with the cost of a bus pass. e transit am bassador program that helps people learn to use transit will have more stable funding. ere will be greater access to call-a-ride services in areas not served by xed RTD routes. With greater funding for micro-transit, lack of transportation will be less of a barrier to equity in the opportu nity provided by open enrollment in SVVSD and BVSD. Investments and improvements for safer cycling infrastructure are also an important bene t if passed.

Please join the OUR Center, EFAA, and Sister Carmen Commu nity Center in supporting 1C.

Marc Cowell, Executive Director of the OUR Center

Julie Van Domelen, Executive Di rector of EFAA

Suzanne Crawford, CEO of Sister Carmen Community Center

Email: letters@boulderweekly.com

FEDERAL OFFICES

UNITED STATES SENATOR

REP

STATE OFFICES

OF STATE

Griswold

STATE TREASURER

ATTORNEY GENERAL

BOARD OF EDUCATION —

LARGE

SENATOR

REP

REP

REP

REP

REP

RTD

RTD

DISTRICT

LOCAL OFFICES

LONGMONT CITY COUNCILMEMBER AT-LARGE Mitzi Nicoletti

STATE BALLOT MEASURES

AMENDMENT D: DESIGNATE JUDGES TO 23RD JUDICIAL DISTRICT Yes/For

AMENDMENT E: HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION TO SURVIVING SPOUSES OF U.S. ARMED FORCES MEMBERS AND VETERANS Yes/For

AMENDMENT F: CHARITABLE GAMING Yes/For

PROPOSITION FF: REDUCE INCOME TAX DEDUCTION AMOUNTS TO FUND SCHOOL MEALS Yes/For

PROPOSITION GG: TABLE OF CHANGES TO INCOME TAX OWED No/Against

EMERGENCY SERVICES Yes/For

COUNTY ISSUE 1C: TRANSPORTATION Yes/For

LOCAL BALLOT MEASURES

BOULDER BALLOT ISSUE 2A: CLIMATE TAX Yes/For

BOULDER BALLOT ISSUE 2B: BONDS TO BE PAID FROM CLIMATE TAX Yes/For

BOULDER BALLOT QUES TION 2C: REPEAL OF LI BRARY COMMISSION AND TAX IF LIBRARY DISTRICT CREATED Yes/For

BOULDER BALLOT QUESTION 2D: CLARIFICATION OF CANDIDATE ISSUES Yes/For

BOULDER BALLOT QUESTION 2E: EVEN-YEAR MUNICIPAL ELECTION Yes/For

DISTRICT

PROPOSITION 121: STATE INCOME TAX RATE REDUCTION No/Against

PROPOSITION 122: FUNGI INITIATIVE Yes/For

PROPOSITION 123: HOUS ING PROJECTS INITIATIVE Yes/For

BOULDER BALLOT QUESTION 2F: REPEAL THE ANNEXATION OF CU SOUTH No/Against

LONGMONT BALLOT QUESTION 3A: MODERNIZATION OF CONDUCT OF CITY BUSINESS Yes/For

COUNTY OFFICES

COMMISSIONER

CLERK

PROPOSITION 124: ALLOWABLE LIQUOR STORE LOCATIONS No/Against

PROPOSITION 125: WINE AT GROCERY AND CONVENIENCE STORES No/Against

PROPOSITION 126: THIRD-PARTY DELIVERY OF ALCOHOL BEVERAGES Yes/For

COUNTY BALLOT MEASURES

COUNTY ISSUE 1A: WILDFIRE Yes/For

COUNTY ISSUE 1B:

LONGMONT BALLOT QUESTION 3B: CHARTER AMENDMENT TO PROSPECTIVELY VACATE OFFICE No/Against

LONGMONT BALLOT QUESTION 3C: BONDS TO FUND RESILIENT ST. VRAIN PROJECT IM PROVEMENTS

Yes/For

BOULDER VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT RE-2 BALLOT ISSUE 5A Yes/For

COUNTY ELECTORS PETITION ISSUE 6C: PROPOSED BOULDER PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT Yes/For

Rolling up your sleeves

From hobbyist to pro, Meggy Wilm teaches the ancient art of stained glass at her newly opened studio on Pearl Street by Will Matuska

Stained glass is a thousandyear-old art form, with origins tracing to the ancient Romans and Egyptians. Its light-transforming qualities have been used in architectural design since the 10th century, often to depict stories or elicit awe in cathedrals and churches.

And while you may never be able to replicate the intricate stained glass works of the rose windows in the Char tres Cathedral in France, Meggy Wilm wants to help you become your own kind of stained glass artist.

“It’s one of those things where you have a lot of simple tasks that all add up,” Wilm says from the recently opened storefront of Colorado Glass Works on Pearl Street in Boulder. “Maybe there’s a little artistic talent, but a lot of it is just rolling up your sleeves and doing hard work and spending hours making pieces.”

Growing up in Littleton, Wilm remembers being enamored by the beauty of stained glass at

“There’s something about it that just makes you stop for one extra second,” she says.

After studying medicine in college, she decided it wouldn’t be her career. She took a stained glass class and hasn’t looked back since. She started making pieces at home using the copper foil method, sitting crossed-legged on her hard wood foor teaching herself the craft.

ART NOUVEAU:

Wilm is an expert in piecing together complex pieces — all created in her new studio on Pearl Street.

Even then, about fve years ago, Wilm did everything except make the glass itself: drawing designs, picking colors, cutting, grinding and sanding glass into perfectly form-ftting shapes, then fnally soldering lead and tin (to 600 degrees F) to her copper foil wrapped glass cuttings to complete each piece.

Wilm had found a new hobby — one she was really good at. Her nature-inspired pieces were eye-catching: multi-colored monstera leaves, intricately layered bouquets with contrasting fowers and grasses, and ravens with shimmering wings.

Wilm says she draws at a seventh-grade level, but it trans lates enough into creating stained glass.

“Secretly, I’m not that good of an artist,” she demurs.

Friends and family were her frst customers. Next, she turned to Instagram to expand her reach. She says most of her pieces, priced at hundreds of dollars, would sell within 10 minutes of posting them.

Now, Wilm has 120,000 followers on Instagram and custom ers around the world.

One of her current projects is a 400-piece pastel-themed peacock for a customer in Canada. This is the most complex piece Wilm has attempted, and although admitting she may have gone overboard with the design, she’s proud of the progress she’s made.

“How can you simplify a peacock? If you simplify a peacock, it loses its beauty,” she says.

On Aug. 2, Wilm offcially opened the doors of Colorado Glass Works in a small space on the East End of Pearl Street. Passersby often pause to look at her completed pieces through large street-facing windows, or to watch Wilm and her employees at work cutting, soldering or grinding.

Now, customers can buy from her selection online or from her studio. Wilm still fnds it special that people are interested in buying her art.

“I think there’s just something in my head saying only my mother could truly love my art.”

Tyler Kimball, owner of Monarch Glass Studio in Kansas City, Missouri, is on the board of the Stained Glass Association of America, which recently gave Wilm a professional membership — something Kimball says “is not given to many people.”

“I’ve never met anybody like her,” he says. “I think a lot of people think they are like her, where they set out to do something and they have visions of grandeur to do it. But [Meggy] actually follows through in a big way.”

It’s not just her craft that impresses Kimball — it’s the dedication, hard work and creativity that she’s used to achieve her goals.

Kimball has partnered with Wilm to sell mouth-blown sheet glass, a technique Kimball specializes in. It’s one of the rarest types of stained glass, and most sought after by top tier artists. It is unique, beautiful and diffcult to create — only two shops create mouth-blown sheet glass in the U.S.

“[Mouth-blown sheet glass] has something in it that nothing else has — it’s got life,” says Kimball, who has been running Monarch Glass Studio for seven years.

Now, from her studio on Pearl, Wilm is the sole distributor of Kimball’s mouth-blown sheet glass in North America. She uses the valuable glass in her own pieces, but also wants to see others buy the sheet glass and learn the craft.

Wilm offers stained glass classes for beginners, organizes open studio time for those who need space to work on glass projects, and donates 10% of her profts to her favorite environmental charities.

“I’m meant to create stained glass. I love it. And I know I’m meant to do big things with it,” she says.

From sitting cross-legged on her living foor to owning her own studio, Wilm will continue carving out space in the Boulder community for stained glass and, as she says, sometimes “make pretty cool stuff.”

IN THE STUDIO: Wilm and one of her employees cutting glass and wrapping pieces in copper foil in the Colorado Glass Works studio.

Bridging the Divide

Halfway through the Continental Divide Trail, having traveled over 1,500 miles through the plains of New Mexico and the rugged mountains of Colorado, tired, with heavy legs, hikers come to the 15 arduous miles of Muddy Pass between Jackson and Grand counties. The trail has temporarily ended, and at this point, hikers are forced to travel next to a high-speed roadway until they are able to join the established trail again in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest.

There are many gaps like this throughout the 3,100-mile CDT — in total, there are around 160 miles of missing trail due to gaps in public land.

ON THE TRAIL: Bridger-Teton National Forest

In August 2021, Rep. Joe Neguse introduced the Continental Divide Trail Completion Act. After passing the House this July, the legislation has made its way to the Senate, where legislators from across the aisle, Steve Daines (R-MT) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM), have co-sponsored the bill this month. If it passes, the legislation will direct the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior to prioritize completion of the CDT by the trail’s 50th anniversary in 2028.

Established in 1978 as an addition to the National Trails System Act, the CDT begins in the high desert of southern New Mexico and winds its way through the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, snak ing to its terminus in Glacier National Park in Montana.

The trail is considered the most diffcult of the Triple Crown of Hiking: the CDT, the Pacifc Crest Trail, and the Appalachian Trail. Despite increased traffc on the trail over the past decade, CDT hikers often don’t cross paths with another hiker for multiple days; remoteness defnes the sentiment of the trail.

“The CDT is home to beautiful landscapes and world-class recreational opportunities, serving as both a refuge for communities to experience being outdoors and an economic driver for the mountain towns and businesses that rely on visitors for their livelihoods,” Rep. Neguse said in a press statement. “By passing

Bipartisan legislation seeks to finally fill the gaps in the Continental Divide Trail by Chad Robert Peterson

MATTHEW MORELLI

the Continental Divide Trail Completion Act, we ensure that more people have access to these recreational benefts and we invest in Colorado’s outdoor recreation economy.”

In Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, the outdoor industry makes up a major portion of state gross domestic product (GDP), with each being ranked in the top 10 for percent age of the economy supported by outdoor recreation. Montana ranks number one, with Wyoming being fourth and Idaho eighth in the country. Colorado lies just outside the top 10 at 11th.

Over the span of the trail, there are now 20 offcial “gateway communities,” including Grand Lake, Colorado, that have partnered with the nonproft org Continental Divide Trail Coalition (CDTC). These communities are committed to the completion and pro tection of the Continental Divide Trail and act as pleasant stops for those hiking the trail. In a small survey of businesses in gateway communities, 78% of respondents said they believe that protecting the trail is important to the well-being of businesses, jobs and the community’s economy. Eighty percent of respondents said they have seen growth in their business due to the use of the CDT since 2014.

“We’ve seen a huge growth in frst-time users of the trail, and also people just getting out from their commu nities and connecting with the trail,” explains Luke Fisher, trail policy program manager for CDTC.

“It’s not only important for the community’s business and economy, but it’s also important for a lot of these community cultures; they have a huge connection with the Divide in this landscape.”

Completion of the trail means not only more visitors and more money being invest ed into local economies, but will also protect other forms of outdoor recreation culture, Fisher says: “A lot of hunters and fshers use the trail to go get food and [for] cultural practices.”

Fisher explains that the trail was only around 65% complete in the year 2009 and that over the past 13 years it has developed by an additional 30%. The CDTC works with gateway communities to designate the best areas for the trail to follow. Just 10 years ago, only 20-25 hikers would attempt the trail from start to fnish. Now anywhere from 400-600 hikers attempt the through hike each year.

In 2018 Allie Ghaman, who has also hiked the Pacifc Crest Trail and the Appala chian Trail, completed the CDT in a little over four months with her husband. Ghaman, who also works for CDTC, explains that one of the major goals for the CDTC is to fnish the trail gap that exists at Muddy Pass near Steamboat Springs.

“We were doing it in the rain because we were being very stubborn about it, which was not the right judgment call in hindsight,” she says. “You’re walking on the edge of a road and there are a couple places where the highway gets quite tight as well.”

Despite inconveniences like Muddy Pass, Ghaman highlights the beauty and remoteness that set the CDT apart from other National Scenic Trails.

“Because there are areas in which people take alternate routes or explore different areas, you end up with places where you might not see another trail traveler for days on end,” she says. “At one point in Montana, I think we went eight or nine days without seeing anyone else.”

Fisher, of CDTC, says he believes the end is fnally in sight. “Just in the past decade we have almost completed 30% of the trail — I think that’s a real testament to the dedi cation of all our land managers and volunteers,” he says. “As CDTC enters our second decade, that’s the main part of our mission. I really think we can get it done by our 50th anniversary, but we’ll see how we get that.”

MATTHEW MORELLI

The many faces of Chree Bagheera

Chree Bagheera honed his obsession in the shadows. Music was present in his household growing up, but Bagheera’s family discouraged a career path in the arts. He could be a fre fghter or a lawyer, of course, but pounding snares with sticks as a full-time job seemed ridiculous. Thus, in the millennial age of computer-crashing, fle-sharing software like Napster and LimeW ire, the budding drummer got to work behind closed doors.

A drumset is a loud, intricate, beautiful machine — but to Bagheera’s family, it was just loud. So he improvised, concocting a MacGyver-like drumkit out of kick pedals on pillows and mouse pads on snares.

er Rangers whose strength comes from the sum of its many parts. “If I were to tell you my place in that, it’d be the legs.”

Bagheera is often asked if Ramakhandra identifes as a “drum-driven band” or a “harp-driven band.” While their music makes the case for either, he says it’s more about how the instruments play off each other.

“I’ll hear what Annastezhaa is doing on the harp, or what Clayto and [Eric Estrada] are doing, and will literally just try and fow with them,” he says.

ON THE BILL: SPELLLING with Ramakhandra and BODY. 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. Tick ets: $17, axs.com

He’d tap away furiously on his Frankenstein’d trap set under the low, buzzing audio of digital music players and video games his friends were playing. Quietly and passionately, Bagheera grew an unconditional love for music’s true backbone.

One night, practicing away on pillows, dreaming of scintillating flls by dazzling American jazz drummers like Tony Williams and Elvin Jones, Bagheera’s grandfather barged into his room, furious at the noise he was making. “What’s wrong with you?” he yelled. “Don’t you ever stop practicing?”

A shaken Bagheera gave a simple reply: “I just want to be great.”

Star breaker

Bagheera — who performs under the alias N0bahdee — has worked toward those ambitions of greatness through his playing in Denver-based cult-favorite Ramakhandra, whose sound is self-de scribed as “abstract jazz and Zelda starbreaks.”

Since the release of their sprawling and elegant self-titled debut LP in 2020, Ramakhandra’s place in the Denver scene has remained unique and undeniable. In the years since their formation in 2017, they’ve become must-see performers at local events like the Westword and Underground music showcases. They’ve also opened for powerhouses of jazz fusion, like Kamasi Washington and Sons of Kemet.

Bagheera may be the rhythmic backbone of the band, but Ramakhandra is a collective in the truest sense of the word. Annastezhaa, harpist and vocalist, lays a gentle foundation for the quartet. Clayto assists with bone-rattling bass lines. Eric Estrada grows delicate cosmic landscapes on synth, with the percussive bliss of N0bahdee (Bagheera) fowing through the arrangements of his bandmates like water.

Years of intense focus, studying rudiments and reading books of sheet music helped Bagheera realize the role he would eventually come to play with Ramakhandra and how it fts into the grander machine.

“We portray ourselves as a Megazord,” he says, referring to the fctional robot from Pow

Instead of the traditional approach where the drummer sets a beat and the others follow, Bagheera hears what his bandmates are doing and “speaks back” in the sonic conversation. His approach is reminiscent of the traditional Japanese martial art of Aikido. It’s an ancient practice built on the grounds of using momentum and fow as an advantage, rather than going on the attack.

“That’s why, whenever I play with others, it’s hard for me to just start doing a beat,” he says. “In my mind, as soon as I hear a melody, I’m internally deciding how to augment it.”

When Bagheera perches on his drum stool and closes his eyes, landscapes from anime and video games come to life in his mind. (They’re often places he’s been able to conjure as one-half of DR3AM CA$T with Estrada, a duo that makes self-proclaimed “fnal-boss mu sic.”) He’s imagining lush, green rice terraces in rural Japan, or damp, congested Tokyo streets lit brightly by neon tubes.

“I picture what the music would be like if I were to play that specifc scene,” he says. “Eighty percent of my inspiration comes from music, and 20% is visual.”

There are times when it’s entirely visual. Bagheera will play a video game, absorb the environment blossoming through diodes on screen, and rush to his kit, painting a world out of percussion at his fngertips. This kind of rhythmic world-building took center stage on Sept. 26, when Ramakhandra opened for a live screening of Dune at Red Rocks.

“The movie is a heavy sci-f flm, and the soundscape is incredi ble,” Bagheera says of the otherworldly collaboration. “Our music is really inspired by that genre.”

The many-faced drummer

Bagheera is perhaps most well known for the face in front of the face. He dons intricate masks when performing — some gold and gothic, others with horns and sharp fangs, and many painted with intricate, Japanese-inspired fourishes. But his affnity for seeking out new identities goes deeper than facial coverings.

“I’m hungry for every genre,” he says. “So to take what I like about all types of music and apply it to Ramakhandra — you’ll see that our sound is inspired by so many styles.”

Bagheera cites the experimental electronics of Amon Tobin and Flying Lotus as inspiration, as well as the textural approaches of Swiss virtuoso drummer Jojo Mayer and the soulful, sample-heavy master pieces of the late J-Dilla. The list of infuences goes on and on. Like the wall of masks Bagheera chooses from, his sources of inspiration know no bounds.

It’s testament to an artist who, years ago, under a roof of restric tions, tapped a rhythm into some household objects and launched himself into a musical galaxy where labels and faces couldn’t possibly exist — just drumsticks, and a place to use them.

Email: letters@boulderweekly.com

Unmasking the percussionist behind local jazz fusion cultfavorite Ramakhandra by Carter Ferryman

Some candy talking

After changing the landscape of alternative music in the 1980s, The Jesus and Mary Chain bring their amp-melting pop tunes back to Colorado for the first time in half a decade

by Christopher Piercy

ON THE BILL: 107.9 KBPI Presents: The Jesus and Mary Chain. 7 p.m. Sun day, Oct. 23, Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Place, Denver. Tickets: $40, axs.com

Scottish noise-saturated rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain set the London underground ablaze in the mid-’80s with their confrontational, ear-splittingly loud and often chaotic live shows. Arriving on a music scene in a state of fux — with punk rock having burned itself out, and shoegaze and Britpop still a few years from genesis — their abrasive, industrial-coated pop gems quickly caught the attention of critics and audiences alike.

The band’s debut LP, 1985’s Psychocandy, would go on to become one of the cornerstones of modern alternative rock. It was an instant classic of ’60s girl-group melodies paired with paint-peel ing feedback that laid the groundwork for bands like My Bloody Valentine and much of what we now know broadly as indie rock.

The Jesus and Mary Chain maintained an active presence through the ’90s, releasing several more exceptional records and chart-cracking singles, but internal tensions led to an implosion and they called it a day just before the arrival of the new millenium. The band reunited at Coachella 2007, and with some patching-up done between co-founding brothers Jim and William Reid, they have enjoyed a successful second life.

With a new album on the horizon, and a past worth revisiting, the band is making its frst journey back stateside since before the pandemic.

Boulder Weekly spoke with singer Jim Reid ahead of their Oct. 23 performance at the Paramount Theatre in Denver.

When I frst discovered Psychocandy, I was in the midst of a big Beach Boys, Velvet Underground and Stooges obsession. I thought the sound you achieved was this perfect amalgamation of pure pop songcraft and abrasive ness. And for a young kid, growing up in the middle of nowhere, it was a true revelation. Do you recall a similarly revelatory moment that made you want to create your own music?

It had been kind of something we’d always wanted to do since we were kids. It’s weird — there’s nobody really musical in our family. But we got our record player in the early ’70s and we had no records to play on it, and a cousin lent us a bunch of Beatles albums. And that was, I guess, sort of the beginning of it.

But there were many steps along the way. We got into glam rock, like Bowie, Roxy Music and stuff like that. And then punk rock, and that was a big moment. … Before, it seemed like people who made music were exotic creatures from another galaxy, almost. But with punk, it seemed like, Christ, these were people like us. We could do this.

STEVE GULLICK

We talked about doing it for years and years … and then the kind of Eureka moment, I suppose, [was] when we got the frst Velvet’s album. A lot of punk bands talked about that record, but you really couldn’t fnd it. It was discontinued; it was deleted. Then they reissued that re cord in 1980, and we bought the frst album, the “Banana Album.” We brought it home, put it on the record player and it was just like, “Fuck, this is how good it can be.”

So, is that around the time the idea came to marry the harsher noise and the more melodic sensibilities?

Yeah. I mean, we’d never heard that before, where you could have a band that was singing [Velvet Under ground’s] “Waiting for the Man” on the same album as a song like “I’ll Be Your Mirror.” It’d been a long time since we’d heard a record where you could just let that needle follow the grooves for the whole record without lifting up to skip tracks. Every track on that record was stunning. Not only did we not want to lift the needle up, but if any body would have tried, I think I might have killed them.

On your most recent album Damage and Joy, it was thrilling to hear that you very much still have that magic. Were you worried at all that the spark wouldn’t still be there after being away from record ing with your brother for so long?

Worried only inasmuch as it had been a while since we were actually in a recording studio. We weren’t worried about the songs; we felt pretty good about that. But, yeah, it had been a long, long time since we’d actually made an album. So we were a bit nervous about that and how things might have changed, and whether we’d be able to do it — to just knuckle down to it and get on with it.

But the previous album we made was Munki [1998], and it just about killed us. So the idea of going into a recording studio for months on end, with just me and Wil liam cooped up in a small confned space for that length of time, I was worried. I wasn’t sure whether it was going to take us right back to where we left off in the ’90s and we were going to be throwing things at each other. But it didn’t go that way. It went quite well, and we just kind of got down to the business that we were there to do. … There were no screaming matches; there were no sharp implements drawn. We got on quite well — record was made, nobody died.

I know this is your frst time back in the States since before the pandemic. Were you able to work on any new music during that time period? Or did everything kind of come to a halt? I know you were working on some stuff beforehand.

Yeah, we started a new record just before COVID. And then it crashed to a halt. Then we went back into the studio last October or something like that for a few weeks. We did a bit of work then and now we’re gonna go back in anytime now and pick up from where we left off.

So that’s your plan for 2023?

Yeah, we’re hoping to have the record done and dusted by the end of this year and released next year.

What’s it been like to enter back into the world of touring?

Obviously, things have changed since COVID arrived on the scene. It’s much scarier now, because … you organize this big tour, and then on day one, somebody gets COVID and the whole fucking tour is canceled. So it makes it much more diffcult to do these things, and I worry about how it’s all gonna go in the future because we’ve gotten away with it so far. We did a Darklands tour last year and it was a bunch of band and crew on a tour bus going through Europe.

I was convinced that after a week somebody would get it. None of us did. So, that was amazing. And then on return, two of the crew tested positive, so we just made it. We played several festivals this year and managed. We’ve all gotten it in the band … but, luckily, it was like when you got back, and you found out that you had COVID. So it’s not really totally fucked us up yet. But I get the feeling it will at some point in the future.

Your music has popped up in iconic ways in flm and TV — from “Just Like Honey” in a very important scene in Lost in Translation, to “Snakedriver” from The Crow soundtrack. And I’ve been watching the new Dahmer series on Netfix, which uses “Head On” in one epi sode. How do you feel about your songs being used within the context of someone else’s creative vision?

I really don’t mind. I mean, obviously, it depends on what the project is. We were around in these time periods, so why shouldn’t our music be included in stories about things that happened at these points? I like it. I like the idea that it spreads the word of the Mary Chain. I guess maybe the Jeffrey Dahmer one is perhaps a bit inappropriate to look at that way. But I think we did so well out of things like Lost in Translation. We made so many new fans because of that song being in that movie. So what’s to complain about, really?

There are a lot of apocryphal stories of how intense, and occasionally dangerous, your early shows were. But you evolved out of that reputation. I wondered if you ever miss that sense of danger. Is that something better off left in the rearview?

I think it’s probably best left behind. At the time, it seemed exciting. I didn’t know what to make of it — was this a good thing or a bad thing? And at the end of it, I just thought, “Somebody’s gonna get killed if it goes on like this.” And I thought, “It’s a bad thing.” But at the same time, you sort of think, “Well, there’s not that many bands who could go out on a stage and get that kind of a reaction.”

So in a weird way, I thought it was quite exciting that the violence did get a little bit out of control. And it did seem like somebody was going to actually get seriously hurt. If it would have been one of the band it would have been like, “Fuck it,” you know? We were asking for it, some people would say. But if it was [someone in] the audience, then that would have been diffcult for us to live with. So we tried to kind of nip it in the bud. We went away for six months, didn’t play any shows, [and] just laid low and hoped that when we came back that whole shit would have been over and done. And it was.

Do you have a par ticular view of the state of music in general right now, or rock ‘n’ roll in particular?

I never know what to say [to this] because I’m old. I don’t listen to teenage rockers now. I’ve got thousands and thousands of albums to listen to. And whenever I do dip my toe in the water and think, “Right, what’s going on out there?” all I hear is bands that sound like bands I’ve already heard. I hear a band and it sounds like Joy Division or I’ll hear a band that sounds like Echo and the Bunnymen, or the Cocteau Twins, or My Bloody Valentine. And I think, “Well, I’d rather just listen to the Cocteaus and Valentines.”

I’m not putting anybody down. And I’m sure that when the Mary Chain came out, there were old dudes going, “Oh fuck, it’s The Velvet Underground.” Music is a cycle and that’s the way it works. There’s a new generation, and they pick the best bits of the old generation. That’s what we did, and that’s what kids are doing now. But if you’re around long enough, you’ve heard the whole cycle, and there’s nothing new to add … it’s all borrowed stuff. And if you sort of tune in long enough, you’ve heard every single bit of it. There’s not really that much I hear that I haven’t heard before when I listen to new music.

I’m talking about rock music. But rock music as an art form, I think, is pretty much terminally ill. It’s not going to be around for much longer. Fast forward another 10, 20 years, rock music’s gonna be like what jazz music is today. There’s going to be a bunch of enthusiasts that are into it, but it’s going to be a much smaller affair. It’s going to be people playing it in smoky little clubs. The idea of the rock show in a stadium — those days are numbered.

Fast times

Local author discusses ‘The Oldest Cure in the World: Adventures in the Art and Science of Fasting’ ahead of Boulder Book Store reading by Nick Hutchinson

Twelve years ago, Steve Hendricks was looking for a way to shed some unwanted pounds. The former politico turned journalist was also seeking something that could boost his overall health. After contemplat ing a calorie-restricted diet, Hendricks decided to try fasting. By not eating at all for 20 days, the writer discovered an age-old means by which he could lose weight and improve his general health.

In his new book, The Oldest Cure in the World: Adven tures in the Art and Science of Fasting, which grew out of a magazine story he wrote for Harper’s about his experience, Hendricks examines the history and benefts of the practice. The 52-year-old Boulderite will discuss his work during an Oct. 27 reading at the Boulder Book Store.

“Studies have shown that caloric restriction leads to ex tended lifespans and better health in virtually every lab animal that has ever been tested,” Hendricks explains. “It seems to have similar results in humans, though it’s really hard to eat less than you need to eat each day, because you end up with a constant gnaw of hunger. As I was contemplating just cutting back on calories, I came across accounts that suggested that I could get many of the same benefts from a fast. Fasting is easier than just reducing calories because you aren’t dogged by hunger all the time. Ironically, it’s easier to eat nothing than just a little.”

The author, who lives in the former home of the poet Allen Ginsberg in Boulder’s Whittier neighborhood, says he was able to strip off about 30 pounds in the course of his extend ed fast, while simultaneously improving his overall sense of well-being.

“I lost the weight and learned an awful lot about the topic in the process,” he says. “Research shows us that prolonged fasts provide all kinds of health benefts. When we go from our normal fed-metabolism to a fasted-metabolism, we switch on a bunch of repair mechanisms that can prevent us from getting diseases we might yet contract, and in some cases even reverse diseases that we do have.”

‘Prepared by evolution’

Hendricks says fasting has brought many welcome changes in his life, but he counsels those who want to try it to do their homework frst.

“The longest fast on record is 382 days, by a Scotsman who weighed 456 pounds and wanted to get down to 180 pounds, which he did by surviving on just water for that long,” he says. “The caveat to this is that doctors strongly recommend that if you do a prolonged fast that you should do it under the supervision of a doctor who knows about fasting.”

According to Hendricks, there is a lack of consensus in the medical community when it comes to the topic, but those who work in the feld say fasts as long as seven days are generally safe for people in good health who aren’t taking medication.

“Some doctors point out that for people who have rare conditions, such as those who aren’t physically able to burn their own fat for fuel or those who have trouble processing the break down products that occur during a fast, it can be dangerous,” he says. “Those disorders are rare, but they exist. But if you’re not underweight, and you’re in good health, you could probably fast safely for weeks.”

The prospect of not eating for a long period is daunting for most people; yet because of the benefts he describes in his book, Hendricks continues to embrace the practice of intermit tent fasting in his day-to-day life, as well as during week-long fasts once or twice per year.

“One of the biggest expendi tures of energy that our body makes is from digesting our food and then processing the nutrients from that food,” he says. “When we give our system a break from that process, we have been prepared by evolution to take advantage of that to make repairs in virtually every single cell in the body. During fasting, we’re able to make deep repairs. So when people ask me if they should fast, the answer is that they already do. You fast when you stop eating at night and don’t eat again until the morning. The question is, since we’re all fasting anyway, would we be healthier if we extended that window? The answer is, emphatically, yes.”

Hendricks says fasting to lose weight is effective, but people have to diet accordingly afterwards to keep the weight off. He also points out that drinking water is critical while doing zero-calorie fasting — a half to a full gallon per day at least — and that modifed fasts, during which one drinks about 250 calories of vegetable broth per day, are also effective.

“You want to keep really hydrated while fasting, because we usually take in a lot of our water through our diet, and you have to make up for the water that you aren’t getting from your food,” says Hendricks, who is 5-foot-9’ and weighs about 140 pounds. “But if you have suffcient fat stores, you can fast until your fat nearly runs out.”

Email: letters@boulderweekly.com

ON THE SHELF: Boulder Book Store presents: Steve Hendricks — The Oldest Cure in the World. 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St. Tickets: $5, eventbrite.com

JENNIFER HENDRICKS

ABRAMS BOOKS

Once in a lifetime

DCPA’s world premiere ‘Theater of the Mind’ is a surreal, science-driven trip through the brain of David Byrne by Toni Tresca

When you think of Denver, what do you think of? The Denver Center for the Performing Arts' (DCPA) exhilarating experience inside the mind of former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne makes a strong argument that you should think about immersive theater.

As an usher explains during the pre-show announcement speech, Theater of the Mind can’t be experienced in Las Ve gas, New York or Los Angeles. The decision to premiere the much-anticipated work exclusively here on the Front Range is a remarkable show of strength for Colorado's thriving and expanding theater scene.

ON STAGE: Theater of the Mind. Various times through Dec. 18, York Street Yards, 3887 Steele St., Suite 1221, Denver. Tickets: $55-75, theateroft heminddenver.com

Theater of the Mind was co-created by Academy, Grammy and Tony Award-winning artist Byrne and writer Mala Gaonkar. The piece is set at the funeral of the world-re nowned musician, who isn’t really Byrne but a rotating series of actors (depending on what time slot you sign up for) donning his mantle in an elegant white suit. This person acts as your guide through key moments in Byrne’s life.

Inspired by historical and current neuroscience research, your guide takes you on a 75-minute journey across an intricate, mesmerizing and surreal 15,000-foot warehouse installation. “Side effects may include a distrust of your own senses, a disorientation of self, and a mild to severely good time,” according to a cheeky warning on the Theater of the Mind website.

This one-of-a-kind theatrical project, running at DCPA’s York Street Yards through Dec. 18, achieves all of this and more through an immersive experience that is both profoundly human and technologically innovative.

Director Andrew Scoville, who specializes in hybrid-genre theater, crafts a captivating journey that defes expectations and demands attention. Although you never know where the guide will take you, Neil Patel's scenic design never fails to impress. Each door opens to reveal a masterfully crafted room flled to the brim with set dressings specifcally designed to immerse you inside Byrne's memories and spur refection on your own.

One of the most magical parts of the experience comes from watching grown adults exuberantly participate in elaborate science experiments together. The 16-person audi ence is shown an extraordinary scientifc phenomenon in each of the rooms that calls common understandings of reality into question and demonstrates that our subjectivity is what makes us human. It is energizing to become immersed in an experience that encourages you to appreciate each attendee's unique perspective.

Theater of the Mind is best undertaken with as little information as possible. Rather than spoil the fun or reveal the story’s emotional beats, just trust me and go grab your tickets to this show now. Given the small audience size for each performance, you might need all the time you can get to secure your place; availability is fxed and tickets are going fast.

Email: letters@boulderweekly.com

LIVE MUSIC FRIDAYS!

starts at 7pm NO COVER

Happy Hour 3-7pm M-F and All Day Sat and Sun

30th Street • Boulder, CO tuneupboulder.com

Trivia Night Every Wednesday at 7pm

a $50 bar tab

DENVER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

H Hike and Meditate

Beneath the Flatirons

1-3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, Chautauqua Park, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder

Join well-being life coach Meg Edwards and naturalist Su zanne Michot in a guided journey around Boulder’s iconic Flatirons to learn how to combine medita tion and easy walking to reduce stress. In addition to meditating halfway through the hike, the group will walk back in silence to fully immerse in nature.

H Spooky Cabaret and Optional Wine Tasting

5-10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22,

Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance Studio, 3022 E. Sterling Circle, Suite 150, Boulder. Tickets: $30-$50, eventbrite.com

Frequent Flyers hosts two perfor mances by faculty and perform ers at their home studio at 6:15 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. Optional wine tasting is available before each performance at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m at Vinnie Fera Winery. The show will include performances on aerial silks, dance trapeze, stilts and more — come in costume if you want.

If your organization is planning an event, please email the arts & culture editor at jgray@boulderweekly.com

ON VIEW: Community and connection take center stage in Pride on Your Side, a photography project led by artist Juan Fuentes and presented by the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art at the Aurora Central Library. The show highlighting every day experiences of Aurora residents is on display through Dec. 31. See listing below for details.

Georgia O’Keeffe, Photog rapher. Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway., Denver. Through Nov. 6. Tickets: $13 (Colorado residents), denver artmuseum.org

Marcella Marsella: Aqueous Bodies. BMoCA at Macky, 1595 Pleasant St., Boulder. Through Nov. 13. Tickets: $2, bmoca.org

Water is Life. Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Through Nov. 19. Free

Native Artist Exhibition

Creative Nations Sacred Space, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Through Nov. 2022. Free

Quantity of Life: Nature/Supernature. Canyon Gallery, Boulder Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave. Through Nov. 27. Free

Juan Fuentes: Pride on Your Side. BMoCA at Aurora Central Library, 4949 E. Alameda Parkway. Through Dec. 31. Free

Tipi to Tiny House: Hands-on Homebuilding. Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road. Through Jan. 8. Tickets: $8, longmontmuseum.org

Karen Breunig: Woman in the Water. BMoCA at Frasier, 350 Ponca Place, Boulder. Through Jan. 15. Tickets: $2, bmoca.org

Kristopher Wright: Just As I Am BMoCA East Gallery, 1595 Pleasant St., Boulder. Through Jan. 22. Tickets: $2, bmoca.org

Saints, Sinners, Lovers, and Fools: 300 Years of Flemish Masterworks. Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway. Through Jan. 22. Tickets: $21 (Colorado resident), denverartmuseum.org

The Dirty South: Contempo rary Art, Material Culture, and the Sonic Impulse. Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, 1485 Delgany St. Through Feb. 5. Tickets: $10, mcadenver.org

Lasting Impressions. CU Art Museum, 1085 18th St., Boulder. Through June 2023. Free

Onward and Upward: Shark’s Ink. CU Art Museum, 1085 18th St., Boulder. Through July 2023. Free

BMOCA

H Stories from Boundless Truth: Women’s Stories of Freedom and Incarceration

7-8:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, The Arts HUB, 420 Courtney Way, Lafayette. Tickets: $15, motustheater.org

Motus Theater hosts a series of autobiographical monologues from Boundless Truth: Women’s Stories of Freedom & Incarceration at The Arts HUB in Lafayette. The event features personal stories from formerly incarcerated Black women leaders.

ON STAGE: Music and memory intertwine in the world premiere of Raised on Ronstadt, presented by Boulder’s Local Theater Company at eTown Hall through Nov. 6. Writer and performer GerRee Hinshaw takes audiences on a journey through her childhood and the music of Linda Ronstadt. The show will feature live musical performances, followed by post-show conversations on select nights. See listing for details.

La Boheme: An opera by Giacomo Puccini. Macky Auditorium, 1595 Pleasant St., Boulder. Various times Oct. 2123. Tickets: $15-$48, cupresents.org

Arts in the Open

Presents: Frankenstein. Chautauqua Park, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder. Through Oct. 30. Tickets: $15-$20, artsintheopen.org

Futurity. Aurora Fox Theatre, 9900 E. Colfax Ave. Through Oct. 30. Tickets: $28-40, aurorafoxartscenter. org

Raised on Ronstadt. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. Through Nov. 6. Tickets: $12-$40, localtheaterco.org

Theater of the Mind. York Street Yards, 3887 Steele St., Denver. Through Dec. 18. Tickets: $65, theateroftheminddenver.com

H Niwot Antique Auction

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, Boulder County Fairgrounds Building A, 9595 Nelson Road, Longmont.

Head to the Boulder County Fairgrounds to bid on antique fur niture, collectibles and coins. The items, from as far away as Kansas and several local estates, include parlor tables, mirrored dressers, vintage clothing, silver dollars and much more.

H Queer Bachata Party

6:30-9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, OBC’s Equality Center of the Rocky Mountains, 3340 Mitchell Lane, Boulder. Free, RSVP required.

Out Boulder County’s Queer Latin Dance Series is back with Ruby Lopez teaching Bachata and focusing on partner work. The class will have rotating partners, so go with a friend or by yourself — it’s open to all identities and skill levels.

For more event listings, go online at boulderweekly.com/events

H Stories in the Dark

7-9 p.m. Tuesday Oct. 25, Louisville Historical Museum, 1001 Main St. Free

The Boulder Valley Spellbinders will tell true Louisville mystery and suspense stories, including nearly forgotten tales about boot leggers and a peculiar train wreck. You’ll be under the stars in the Museum’s courtyard, so bring a blanket and chairs. Registration is suggested for this event appropriate for ages 6 and up.

H Boulder Young Pros Happy Hour

5-7 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 26, Rembrandt Yard, 1301 Spruce St., Boulder. Tickets: $10, boulderchamber.com

Dress to impress at the Boulder Young Professionals masquer ade themed happy hour. A photo booth, DJ and open bar will keep the conversations fowing, capped off with costume and masquer ade mask contests.

H CDOT Avalanche Forecasting and Mitigation

7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, Neptune Mountaineering, 633 S. Broadway, Boulder. Free, registration required

Winter is coming and so are slippery roads and unpredictable weather. Each winter, the Avalanche Information Center (AIC) works to mitigate almost 400 avalanche paths that affect Colorado highway. Jamie Yount, who works for AIC and CDOT, is present ing the techniques, tools and technology CDOT uses to maintain safety while traveling in these conditions.

ON THE BILL: In one of the most anticipated shows of the season, Baltimore hardcore heroes

Turnstile bring their pop-mind ed punk fusion to the Mission Ballroom on Oct. 27, with sup port from experimental hip-hop artist JPEGMAFIA and indie rock darlings Snail Mail. See listing for more details.

H FRIDAY, OCT. 21

Jon Chandler. 7 p.m. Muse Performance Space, 200 E. South Boulder Road, Lafayette. Tickets: $20, museperformanc espace.com

Megan Burtt & Gabrielle Louise with Ryan Dilts. 8 p.m. Chautauqua Auditorium, 900 Baseline Road, Boul der. Tickets: $17, chautauqua.com

The Herman Clan. 8:30 p.m. Gold Hill Inn, 401 Main St., Boulder. Tick ets: 303-433-6461

H SATURDAY, OCT. 22

Saath Saath — A Hindustani Classical Ensemble. 6 p.m. Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Free

Longmont Symphony Chamber Orchestra. 7 p.m. Stewart Audito rium, 400 Quail Road, Longmont. Tickets: $10 students, $39 adults

Banthom House. 7 p.m. Gold Hill Inn, 401 Main St., Boulder. Free

Big Richard. 8 p.m. The Caribou Room, 55 Indian Peaks Drive, Ned erland. Tickets: $25, thecaribouroom. com

Spacey Jane. 9 p.m. Gothic Theater, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. Tickets: $20, axs.com

H SUNDAY, OCT. 23

Rocky Mountain Ringers: Nightmare on Handbells. 3 p.m. Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boul der. Tickets: $20, thedairy.org

Danny Shafer. 5 p.m. Gold Hill Inn, 401 Main St., Boulder. Free

Fortunate Youth with Arise Roots, Joe Samba. 7:30 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. Tickets: $25$29, axs.com

The Jesus and Mary Chain. 7 p.m. Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Place, Denver. Tickets: $40, axs.com

H MONDAY, OCT. 24

Polo & Pan. 7 p.m. Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 W Alameda Parkway, Morrison. Tickets: $50-90, axs.com

H WEDNESDAY, OCT. 26

Margo Clinker with Patrick Dethlefs. 7 p.m. Globe Hall, 483 Logan St., Denver. Tickets: $16, globehall. com

Teddy Swims with CVBZ. 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. Tick ets: $25, axs.com

H THURSDAY, OCT. 27

Turnstile with JPEGMAFIA and Snail Mail. 7 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. Tickets: $40-$100, axs.com

JOSE ROJAS

by Rob Brezsny

ARIES

MARCH 21-APRIL 19: Of all the rich philanthropists in the world, Aries author MacKenzie Scott is the most generous. During a recent 12-month period, she gave away $8.5 billion. Her focus is on crucial issues: racial equality, LGBTQ+ rights, pandemic relief, upholding and promoting democracy, and addressing the climate emergency. She disburses her dona tions quickly and without strings attached, and prefers to avoid hoopla and ego aggrandizement. I suggest we make her your inspirational role model in the coming weeks. May she moti vate you to gleefully share your unique gifts and blessings. I think you will reap selfish benefits by exploring the perks of generosity. Halloween costume suggestion: philanthropist, Santa Claus, compassion freak.

TAURUS

APRIL 20-MAY 20: What animal best represents your soul? Which species do you love the most? Now would be a good time to try this imaginative exercise. You’re in a phase when you’ll thrive by nurturing your inner wild thing. You will give yourself blessings by stoking your creature intelligence. All of us are part-beast, and this is your special time to foster the beauty of your beast. Halloween costume suggestion: your favorite animal or the animal that symbolizes your soul.

GEMINI

MAY 21-JUNE 20: During the tyrannical reign of Spain’s fascist government in the 1930s, Gemini poet Federico García Lorca creatively resisted and revolted with great courage. One critic said Lorca “was all freedom inside, abandon and wildness. A tulip, growing at the foot of a concrete bulwark.” I invite you to be inspired by Lorca’s untamed, heartfelt beauty in the coming weeks, Gemini. It’s a favorable time to rebel with exuberance against the thing that bothers you most, whether that’s bigotry, injustice, misogyny, creeping authoritarianism, or anything else. Halloween costume suggestion: a high-spirited protester.

CANCER

JUNE 21-JULY 22: If the trickster god Mercury gave you per mission to do one mischievous thing today and a naughty thing tomorrow and a rascally thing two days from now, what would you choose? Now is the perfect time for you Cancerians to engage in roguish, playful, puckish actions. You are especially likely to get away with them, karma-free—and probably even benefit from them—especially if they are motivated by love. Are you interested in taking advantage of this weird grace peri od? Halloween costume suggestion: prankster, joker, fairy, elf.

LEO

JULY 23-AUG. 22: Everyone’s mind constantly chatters with agitated fervor—what I call the ever-flickering flux. We might as well accept this as a fundamental element of being human. It’s a main feature, not a bug. Yet there are ways to tone down the inner commotion. Meditation can help. Communing with nature often works. Doing housework sometimes quells the clamor for me. The good news for you, Leo, is that you’re in a phase when it should be easier than usual to cultivate mental calm. Halloween costume suggestion: meditation champion; tranquility superstar; gold medalist in the relaxation tournament.

VIRGO

AUG. 23-SEPT. 22: “Education is an admirable thing,” said author Oscar Wilde. “But it is well to remember that nothing worth knowing can be taught.” What?! That’s an exasperating theory. I don’t like it. In fact, I protest it. I reject it. I am espe cially opposed to it right now as I contemplate your enhanced power to learn amazing lessons and useful knowledge and life-changing wisdom. So here’s my message for you, Virgo: What Oscar Wilde said DOES NOT APPLY to you these days. Now get out there and soak up all the inspiring teachings that are available to you. Halloween costume suggestion: top student.

LIBRA

SEPT. 23-OCT. 22: To celebrate Halloween, I suggest you costume yourself as a character you were in a past life. A jew

eler in first-century Rome? A midwife in 11th-century China? A salt trader in 14th-century Timbuktu? If you don’t have any intuitions about your past lives, be playful and invent one. Who knows? You might make an accurate guess. Why am I inviting you to try this fun exercise? Because now is an excel lent time to re-access resources and powers and potentials you possessed long ago—even as far back as your previous incarnations.

SCORPIO

OCT. 23-NOV.

21: I guess it would be difficult to create a practical snake costume for Halloween. How would you move around? You’d have to slither across the floor and the ground everywhere you go. So maybe instead you could be a snake priest or snake priestess—a magic conjurer wearing snake-themed jewelry and clothes and crown. Maybe your wand could be a caduceus. I’m nudging you in this direction is because I think you will benefit from embodying the mythic attributes of a snake. As you know, the creature sheds its old skin to let new skin emerge. That’s a perfect symbol for rebirth, fertility, transformation and healing. I’d love those themes to be your specialties in the coming weeks.

SAGITTARIUS

NOV. 22-DEC. 21: “I need my sleep,” proclaimed Sagittarian comedian Bill Hicks. “I need about eight hours a day and about ten at night.” I don’t think you will need as much slumber as Hicks in the coming nights, Sagittarius. On the other hand, I hope you won’t scrimp on your travels in the land of dreams. Your decisions in the waking world will improve as you give yourself maximum rest. The teachings you will be given while dreaming will make you extra smart and responsive to the transformations unfolding in your waking life. Halloween cos tume suggestion: dancing sleepwalker; snoozing genius; angel banishing a nightmare; fantastic dream creature.

CAPRICORN

DEC. 22-JAN. 19: Recently, my mom told me my dad only spoke the Slovakian language, never English, until he started first grade in a school near Detroit, Michigan. Both of his parents had grown up in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but immigrated to the United States in their youth. When I related this story to my Slovakian cousin Robert Brežny, he assured me it’s not true. He met my dad’s mother several times, and he says she could not speak Slovakian. He thinks she was Hungarian, in fact. So it’s unlikely my dad spoke Slovakian as a child. I guess all families have odd secrets and mys teries and illusions, and this is one of mine. How about you, Capricorn? I’m happy to say that the coming months will be a favorable time to dig down to the roots of your family’s secrets and mysteries and illusions. Get started! Halloween costume suggestion: your most fascinating ancestor.

AQUARIUS

JAN. 20-FEB. 18: My Aquarian friend Allie told me, “If a demon turned me into a monster who had to devour human beings to get my necessary protein, I would only eat evil billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg.” What about you, Aquarius? If you woke up one morning and found you had transformed into a giant wolf-dragon that ate people, who would you put on your menu? I think it’s a good time to meditate on this hypo thetical question. You’re primed to activate more ferocity as you decide how you want to fight the world’s evil in the months and years to come. Halloween costume suggestion: a giant wolf-dragon that eats bad people.

PISCES

FEB. 19-MARCH 20: Do you value the feeling of wildness? Is that an experience you seek and cultivate? If so, what con ditions rouse it? How does it feel? When it visits you, does it have a healthy impact? Are you motivated by your pleasurable brushes with wildness to reconfigure the unsatisfying and unwild parts of your life? These are questions I hope you will contemplate in the coming weeks. The astrological omens suggest you have more power than usual to access wildness. Halloween costume suggestion: whatever makes you feel wild.

by Dan Savage

Dear Dan: I’m a 71-year-old gay man married to a much younger man. That’s all fne, not relevant so much as just info. 15 years ago, I briefy took Prozac. While it dulled my sex drive, the orgasms I did manage to have while taking Prozac were off the charts. I even talked to my doctor about it at the time and he just sort of shrugged and said enjoy it. Okay, fne. But a little more than 15 years later — off Prozac for most of that time (I didn’t stay on it long) — my orgasms are still off the charts. My husband’s last a kind of normal-ish fve-to-eight seconds, but mine continue for a good 30 seconds and leave me unable to function after. Possibly related, from time to time I get a short but slamming headache. I also very rarely experience unpleasant orgasm-re lated disorientation, like a sense of “déjà vu” that lasts for hours. I have been to a neurologist about this but was offered no explanation. I worry these orgasms might be permanently debilitating to me. Do you think I could be harming myself with these massive mind-blowing events? I am having sex about twice a week and they are always like that.

—Massive Orgasms And Neurological Symptoms

Dear MOANS: Some people get intense headaches immediately before or after climaxing, and while “sex head aches,” as their doctors call them, can be extremely annoying, they’re not life-threat ening. If you’re using Viagra or poppers (which should never be used together), that could be causing or worsening your sex headaches.

As for your other symptoms, a recent study written up in The Times of London could offer some guidance. The study, published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, focused on post orgasmic illness

syndrome (POIS), a rare sexual dysfunc tion that afficts a tiny percentage of men. Basically, men can become allergic to their own sperm cells, and their own im mune systems mount a response to those “left behind” sperm cells that exit the balls but not the body.

“Many health providers do not know about it, let alone the public,” the study’s lead author, Andrew Shanholtzer, a medical student at Oakland University, told The Times of London. “It is more than likely that it is underdiagnosed, with many sufferers out there.”

Seeing as symptoms include feelings of fatigue, disorientation, and headaches, along with an assortment of fu-like symp toms, MOANS, it’s possible that you’re one of those undiagnosed sufferers.

The study details how Shanholtzer treated a younger POIS sufferer whose symptoms sounded a lot worse (and a lot less fun) than yours: a cough, swollen lymph nodes, hives. The use of an antihistamine reduced the severity of this man’s symp toms by more than 90%. The study will be published in the November 2022 issue of Urology Case Reports (“Post orgasmic illness syndrome successfully treated with antihistamine: A case report,” Shanholtzer, et al), if you want to print it out, show it to your doctor, and give the recommended antihistamine—fexofenadine—a try. Or, hey, maybe it was the Prozac you briefy took 15 years ago and an antihistamine won’t help.

All that said, MOANS, we all gotta go sometime… and I can think of much worse ways than being taken out by a massive orgasm in my eighth decade of life.

Email questions@savagelove.net Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage. Find columns, podcasts, books, merch and more at savage.love.

by Michael J. Casey

Southern gothic Kasi Lemmons’ spellbinding 1997 debut ‘Eve’s Bayou’ joins The Criterion Collection

“Memory is the selection of images. Some elusive, others printed indelibly on the brain. Each image is like a thread, each thread woven together to make a tapestry of intricate texture. And the tapestry tells a story, and the story is our past.”

So opens and closes Eve’s Bayou, flmmaker Kasi Lemmons’ evocative exploration of the chasms span ning truth and perception. The words come courtesy of Eve (Tamara Tunie in voiceover, Jurnee Smollett on the screen). The Eve we see is 10, but the Eve narrating is older and perhaps wiser. She might even know the truth behind what happened the summer she killed her father.

Set in 1962, Louisiana, Eve’s Bayou unfolds like a ghost story, with past deeds haunting several characters. There’s Mozell (Debbi Morgan), Eve’s aunt who has buried three husbands, while Eve’s mother, Roz (Lynn Whitfeld), tries to hold on to hers. He is Louis (Samuel L. Jackson), the town doctor, and his specialty is making house calls. Everyone seems to know what Louis is up to, but that doesn’t stop anyone from loving him — partic ularly his two daughters, Cisely (Meagan Good) and Eve.

Let them talk

It’s about time. For conductor Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett), time is her job. Her right hand “starts the clock,” while her left shapes the music and guides the orchestra. She can also stop time, slow it down, speed it up, play with it — there’s a lot she can do from her place on the podium. Some might call it direction and interpretation. For others, manipulation is a better word.

Written, produced and directed by Todd Field (Little Children), Tár is a masterpiece, full stop. The flm is set in the tony world of classical music, but its insights feel applicable anywhere.

This is particularly true in the details Field buries in each scene: bits of tossed-off dialogue refecting on the larger narrative. When discussing a piece of music with an admirer, Tár points out that the 11 pistol shots, a prime number, “signifes victim and victimizer.” In anoth er, Tár, transported via boat in Southeast Asia, expresses an interest in going for a swim. The guide tells her no, crocodiles are in the water, brought in for a Marlon Bran do movie. “That was a long time ago,” Tár says. “They survived,” the guide replies.

But I’m getting ahead of myself; we should talk story. Tár follows its titular character as she prepares to record Mahler’s Fifth Symphony with the Berlin Philharmonic.

The whole cast is solid, including Diahann Carroll as the local fortune teller, but the movie belongs to Eve, a headstrong girl in the Scout Finch vein who wants to understand why the world of adults is so very different from hers. Lemmons and cinematographer Amy Vincent render these moments in stories and phantom images appearing in mirrors. In one, Mozell tells Eve how she lost the husband who loved her most. In another, Eve and Cisely reconsider an event from a second perspective. Was it really as bad as Eve thinks, or did she just misunderstand what she saw? The legendary movie producer Robert Evans had a line for moments like these: “There are three sides to every story: My side, your side and the truth.”

Newly restored and available on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection, Eve’s Bayou was Lemmons’ frst out ing as a writer/director, and it’s one of the most assured American debuts in the last four decades. From the

ON SCREEN:

Eve’s Bayou will be released on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection on October 25.

swampy locations to Karyn Wagner’s sumptuous cos tuming, Eve’s Bayou cast a spell over viewers, frst through story, then through lament. The flm provides space for these characters to express what they want and refect on what they’ve lost. And what they’ve learned in between.

In the movie’s best scene, Mozell talks to Eve about what it all means. As she speaks, she sees her three deceased husbands emerge from the moss-draped canopy of the swamp: “All I know is there must be a divine point to it all that’s just over my head. And when we die, it will all come clear. We’ll say, ‘So that was the damn point.’ And sometimes I think there’s no point at all, and that’s the point. All I know is that most people’s life is a great disappointment to them. And that no one leaves this earth without knowing terrible pain. And if there is no divine explanation at the end of it all, well, that’s sad.”

Once she does, it will complete her Mahler cycle, a culmination of a long and storied career laid out by Field in the movie’s frst few minutes through an onstage New Yorker talk with Adam Gopnick recounting Tár’s many achievements. Pay attention to these accolades; they belie a magnifcently diverse and varied career with inter est well beyond the canon. Also, take note of the music that opens the flm — Field is constantly subverting your assumptions.

Back to Mahler: The choice of the fve is neither arbitrary, narratively speaking, nor is it boring. Mahler’s Fifth Symphony is an invigorating piece that allows Tár a chance to indulge her academic side. Tár’s mentor was Leonard Bernstein — Lenny, as she calls him — and much of what Tár has to say about music, about its

FOCUS FEATURES

ON SCREEN: Tár opens in wide release on Oct. 20.

ability to reach inside you and pull something out, is reminiscent of Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts

That’s the VHS Tár reaches for when she needs a pick-me-up.

As she watches the tape, a tear rolls down her cheek. Why? Because the weight of her choices has caught up with her? Because she remembers what it was like to be a little girl and fall under music’s spell? Because there is nothing quite as moving as a musical piece well performed? Can it be all three? Plurality might be cinema’s greatest asset.

I could go on, but the pleasures of Tár lie in not knowing what comes next. We should talk again in a few weeks after you’ve had a chance to see the movie, because I imagine you’ll have some thoughts. About Blanchett’s performance, about what Tár heard in the woods, about the presence that haunts Tár’s dreams, and about that Julliard master class with Max (Zethphan Smith-Gneist) — I suspect a lot of people will want to talk about that one.

Email: letters@boulderweekly.com

Longmont Humane Society

9595 Nelson Road, Longmont, longmonthumane.org

Critter Classifeds is a column where you can meet four-legged friends who need your love and support. Boulder Weekly is currently working with Longmont Humane Society to feature a few pets each week who are looking for forever homes. We hope to bring other orga nizations in on the fun in the future.

Longmont Humane Society pro vides temporary shelter to thousands of animals every year, including dogs, cats and small mammals who are lost, surrendered or abandoned. Visit the shelter to learn more about these fea tured pets and others up for adoption and fostering.

If your organization has volunteer needs, please reach out to us at editorial@boulderweekly.com.

H Chase

Chase is a senior guy... but don’t tell him that! This sweet 8-year-old boy still loves to frolic and is always excited to learn something new. Chase often doesn’t know his own size, so his style of play may be too rough for small children. He loves other dogs and often seeks out new playmates! Chase came to LHS with a knee injury that requires reduced exercise, but it has done nothing to dampen his enthusiasm for life.

2H Reyna

Reyna loves to waddle over to new friends and nudge her way into their hearts. This 4-year-old pup adores people of all ages and is extremely gentle. During her stay with LHS, Reyna was placed in a foster home where she made fast friends with several cats. While she has been shown to get along with most dogs, she doesn’t love to share attention, so she is required to meet any other dogs in the home before adoption.

H Rose

Rose believes that the best sound on Earth is purring, so she does it all the time! This beautiful 4-year-old girl loves to give head bumps and make biscuits while getting her cheeks scratched. She is extremely patient and is approved for a home with children of any age. Rose was previously battling a kitty cold but is now healthy and ready to fnd her forever home.

Note: Due to the date of publication, the animals you see here may have been adopted since this article was written. Visit longmonthumane.org to view all available animals.

Your support makes a big difference to the Longmont Humane Society. For those in a position to help, LHS is currently experiencing a shortage of adult dog food, dog treats and small/medium milk bone biscuits. Donate these supplies and more directly from the LHS Amazon Wish List — visit the longmonthumane.org to learn more.

A taste of modern Japan in the heart of Boulder

Summer is here and our three patios are the perfect place to immerse yourself in everything Pearl Street has to o er. Prefer the great indoors? Take a seat at one of our lively bars, feast alongside the jellyfish or sink into a comfy lounge.

a sushi picnic more your style,

of your favorites are available for curbside pickup too.

matter how you choose to dine don’t miss our ever-evolving

seasonal

and latest rare whiskey!

A family a air

From Colorado to New York and back, the owners of Gemini — a set of twins and their husbands — bring haute cuisine to Pearl Street by Colin Wrenn

End Cafe and most recently played home to Riffs Urban Fare. At Gemini, Pierce handles the menu while Mehiel tackles the logistics. Catherine is the pastry chef while Elizabeth, between shifts in the kitchen, takes care of graphic design and outreach for private events. Both sisters curate the wine list, which features biodynamic, organic and vegan wines almost exclusively from Spain and the United States’ West Coast.

“I like to call it a Spain-ish restaurant,” says Pierce, whose menu is full of seasonally-inspired small plates that reference Spanish cooking while acting as a vehicle for him to display his fne-dining chops. There are croquetas and patatas bravas alongside duck conft and milanese. This is highbrow comfort food, built around technique but free of stuffness.

ON THE MENU: The champiñones (left) tapa at Gemini shows Chef Brian Pierce’s knack for merging so phisticated technique with simplistic comfort. The owners of Gem ini (right) spent time honing their culinary skills in New York before coming back to Colorado to open their Pearl Street eatery.

“You got an extra cigarette?” asked Catherine Neckes. This was 2011, before she had perma nently strained her back hauling 50 pound sacks of sugar at Milk Bar, Christina Tosi’s famed New York-based factory for all things sweet. She was talking to Michael Mehiel, the man who, only a few short years later, would become her husband.

The pair was hanging out in front of The Abbey, a proper Williamsburg dive where Mehiel and his now business partner, Chef Brian Pierce, liked to shoot pool. Pierce, a Thornton, Colorado, native and restaurant lifer, had recently moved to New York to pursue a cooking career and was already beginning to move his way through some of the city’s more forward-thinking kitchens.

After hitting it off with Mehiel, Catherine decided to introduce Pierce to her twin sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth did a little Facebook stalking, and, liking what she saw, agreed to meet Pierce at The Abbey. “We talked for four hours about Dostoevsky and how much she hated work,” Pierce says with a smile. The two are also now married.

Last November, the four of them opened a tapas-adjacent, wine bar-adjacent spot on Pearl Street that once held the Book

Pierce has been cooking since he was 16, working his way through the line while still in high school and during his time attending Colorado State University, where he graduated with degrees in political science and philosophy in 2010. His career really started to take off soon after he moved to New York, beginning with a two-year stint at Estela, Ignacio Mattos’ Michelin-starred New American kitchen in Manhattan.

“It was really a Spanish restaurant in disguise,” Pierce says, reminiscing about making salads side by side with Mattos in an era when the prominent chef was still decidedly boots on the ground. Between 2012 and 2014, Pierce moved from garde manger to the hot appetizer station, and spent some time on the plancha before fnishing up at saute.

From there, Pierce moved to south-central New Jersey to work on a biodynamic farm.

“I needed a break from the intensity of the city. Instead I got the intensity of working on a farm,” he says, noting that his time there only lasted roughly six months. In 2015, he returned to the city to work across a series of restaurants by Andrew Tar low, who was then helping to shape a new culinary movement that has become synonymous with Brooklyn’s, and particularly Williamsburg’s, farm-to-table aesthetic. Pierce started at Ro man’s, spent some time at Marlow and Sons and the adjoining Diner before closing his time with the group as the executive sous at Reynard.

COURTESY ELIZABETH NECKES

Pierce credits Tarlow — whose catchphrase “Eat Sunshine” earned him early com parisons to California-cuisine pioneer Alice Waters — for introducing him to a kitchen where the cultural aspects were as important as the food being served. Local sourcing, seasonal ingredients, fexibility, creative problem solving and eschewing the rigidness of a menu were all lodestars.

Menus at Tarlow’s restaurants were whimsical: “You’d come in and there’d be a sketch. You were tasked with putting it together,” says Pierce.

While Gemini’s menu is not quite so mercurial — favoring a seasonal assembly with loose boundaries — it’s clear that Pierce’s setup is highly informed by his time honing his craft in Tarlow’s kitchens. In 2018, he and Elizabeth got married and em barked on a journey across Southeast Asia before returning to Colorado where Pierce spent six months working in Safta’s production kitchen. Throughout COVID, Pierce worked as a private chef in Aspen and across the Roaring Fork Valley. In January 2021, he received a call from Mehiel, who suggested that they fnally take the halfbaked idea they’d been foating since around 2015 to open a restaurant and make it a reality.

At the time, Mehiel was in New Orleans running a recording studio and gigging with a number of groups. He and Catherine were expecting their second child and the pair was ready for a change.

“I wanted my kids to be close to Lizzie (Elizabeth) and Brian,” Catherine says.

While Mehiel had been spending late nights as a sound engineer, Catherine had been working across the city’s most acclaimed kitchens and bakeries. First there was Willa Jean, then Cafe Henri and fnally the Bywater Bakery.

“Catherine introduced bagels to Bywater. They have a line around the block to this day,” beams Mehiel.

“The name Gemini is of course the sign of the twins,” says Mehiel, noting the inspiration for the title would be obvious to anyone who saw the Neckes sisters roaming the foor. The whole place is truly a family affair, with the outstanding bar program being handled by Mehiel’s nephew, Zack Bitzonis. As bar manager, he concocts creative drinks reminiscent of the kind found at The Bonnie, a well-laud ed watering hole in Queens. The Desert Flower — with Agavales tequila, yuzu, Chartreuse, Framboise, Salers and rose water — is a nice representation of Bitzonis’ calculated approach.

It’s clear that everything about Gemini’s lunch, dinner and drink menus is deliberate.

ON THE MENU: Gemini’s mouth watering duck conft (top) and cheesecake (bot tom), served up on Pearl Street.

“When we started, we wanted to put some parameters on it,” Mehiel says, noting that with all the skill at play, much of the inspiration comes from self-imposed constraints. The champinones — seared mushrooms with garlic, charred scallions and egg yolk — are a good example of Pierce’s knack for subtlety. Even the more elaborate dishes like the duck conft rely on a few well-prepared components rather than over-the-top garnishes.

“It’s humble but tasty,” says the chef.

Like many New Yorkers of the time, Pierce, Mehiel and the Neckes twins were part of a tight-knit crew that splintered as the rents skyrocketed. Gemini seems to run on the rare energy of a coalescence, driven by a group of people who care a great deal for each other. There’s certainly a lot of talent in the place, though the food has an addi tional x-factor that only really hits when love is in the mix.

Email: letters@boulderweekly.com

BOULDER

For Michael Belochi, producing hard cider is a joy as well as a job. The owner of BOCO Cider in North Boulder enjoys featuring the natural favors of his ingredients.

BOCO Cider, which touts its motto “Made the Boulder Way,” crafts won derfully boozy and refreshingly complex fruit-based libations.

ton of cider that was nutritious and great for drinking. I’m more like an old-school farmer. I throw different apples into the mix, select our yeast, and avoid modern chemicals and techniques.”

How about them apples?

by Nick Hutchinson

“We make our ciders in a natural fashion,” Belochi emphasizes. His small-batch creations do not include sulftes, fltering, artifcial ingredients or pasteurization, and they come by their carbonation naturally — by adding a bit of fresh juice back to the kegs, the yeasts in the cider mix with the juice’s sugars to create carbon dioxide as a byproduct. That’s just science.

One sip of a BOCO cider, such as Point Blanc, a cider version of a Sau vignon Blanc wine, reveals a nuanced and artisanal drink that includes notes of green apple and white peach.

“We try to mimic the kind of cider that you might have had if you were on a farm a hundred years ago,” says Belochi. “They didn’t have all the mod ern equipment and chemicals that are available to us now, yet they still made a

Belochi’s method of cider making seeks to retain the real taste of apples and other ingredients — which can include local hops, pears, peaches and grape skins, among other goodies. The resulting cider is less “shelf stable” than more com mercial hard ciders that are distributed in cans or bottles.

A pour of the cider, straight from a bar rel or keg at the North Boulder taproom, yields a bubbly elixir that evokes a visit to an orchard or an old farm.

Popular favors of BOCO Cider include English Style, with notes of pear and hints of caramel; Trunk & Twig, which is aged in oak barrels for a few months and conditioned with Vermont maple syrup to create a soft and sour result; Petrichor Cascade, a blend of Washington apples with hand-picked Boulder-grown hops; or Pearfect, a blend of apples, pear juice, chamomile tea and Colorado honey. In the threeplus years that the cidery has been open, Belochi says they’ve offered more than 50 favors of cider.

Belochi and his cider maker, Josh Smith, experiment with a variety of in gredients. While much of the apple juice used in their creations comes from the

state of Washington, they also like to draw from Boulder County fruit as of ten as possible, using locally foraged apples to press batches such at Tree Chee, which adds a bit of imported lychee juice to a sour cider drawn from area apples, or Bougie d’Pom me, a local apple-based cider that was pressed at the 2021 fall equinox and inspired by French pommeau (an apple-derived version of port).

“I’d say ‘foraging’ is the right word for what we do when using local ingre dients,” Belochi says. “We especially don’t want apples to go to waste, so we tell people that their apples don’t have to look perfect. We use any and all backyard apples, and we can use them regardless of imperfections.”

Nurturing a sense of community is a theme at BOCO Cidery, whether it be by free-cycling grape skins from nearby BookCliff Vineyards, reusing oak barrels from nearby whiskey distillers, or incor porating locally grown hops and fruit for use in its tasty products. In addition to pouring delicious cider, the taproom also provides live music by a host of artists from Boulder and the surrounding area.

BOCO ciders, which are also gluten free, range in alcohol content — from about 5% to 17%, with most being between 7% to 8% ABV. If you’re look ing to experience thoughtfully-crafted and crisp tasting libations in a relaxed atmosphere, visit the taproom anytime between 3-8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.

Email: letters@boulderweekly.com

ON TAP:

Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder, bococider.com

Boom gone bust?

Cannabis stocks bounce following President Biden’s support for re-scheduling — but it’s negligible compared to annual losses by Will Brendza

On Oct. 6, President Biden ordered the Attorney General to “expeditiously” review the scheduling of cannabis, and promised to pardon all prior offenses of federal marijua na possession (Weed Between the Lines, “Tastes like Crow,” Oct. 13, 2022).

It was very, very good news for the cannabis industry. And predictably, not long afterwards on Tuesday Oct. 18, some of the largest cannabis stocks on the market saw notable rebounds.

Shares of Cannabis Growth Inc. (CBC) jumped by 2.37%; Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB) jumped by .90%; Cronos Group Inc. (CRON) by .65%; and Tilray (TLRY) by .30%. It was a good day for mari juana investors.

But in the grand scheme of things, it’s nothing compared to what they’ve lost over the last seven years. Looking at the all-time history of those stocks shows the story in full, and it’s a classic tale of boom and bust.

Following the legalization of cannabis in Colorado and the creation of cannabis stocks like CBC, ACB, CRON and TLRY, things have been on the up and up. In vestors probably thought they were headed to the moon. CBC, for instance, was created in 2014 and started at just $3.30 a share. By February 2017 it was $9.73 a share, and by Oct. of 2018 it was $56.89 a share.

It’s a similar story for ACB, CRON, and TLRY. ACB

started in 2014 at $10.70 a share. By 2018, it was $128.26 a share. CRON started in 2016 at $0.24 and rose to $21.71 at its peak in 2019; and TLRY started in 2018 at $29.77, and in just three months it had risen to $148.30 a share.

The green rush was booming. The hype was high and ROI was climbing ever-higher. It was a good time to own stock and invest in cannabis.

elections during Donald Trump’s presidential term. The third occurred in March and April of 2019 just ahead of the 4/20 holiday, as legalization fever was sweeping the nation. That year Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, New Mexico, North Dakota and Texas all passed or ratifed bills legalizing medical, or recreational cannabis or hemp.

The industry grew exponentially over those three years, and cannabis and hemp businesses were popping up everywhere, growing like weeds. Investment was as high as everyone’s hopes.

Then came what some might call “the bust.” When markets get saturated with businesses, competition in creases, driving down prices — and profts. Since 2019, every one of those stocks has been on a down ward trend that’s almost as steep as the one they rode up on (with the exception of a marginal boost that came from the 2020 COVID lockdowns).

Today CBC, ACB, and TLRY are all signifcantly lower than where they started. CRON is the lone outlier that’s maintained stock value higher than where it began at $2.91 a share — although it seems fairly evident the glory days are behind it.

Notably, there were three separate peaks for every one of those NASDAQ stocks between 2017 and 2020. You could almost overlay their all-time NASDAQ histories and see the same spikes in all four.

The frst was in late 2017 and early 2018, and correlated with the recreational legalization of cannabis in California (the world’s sixth-biggest economy) and Canada (the world’s 10th-biggest economy). The second spike occurred in October of 2018, just prior to midterm

Even with the boost all four of those stocks got this month, the overall picture is not looking as op timistic as it once did for cannabis. The hype over this new industry seems to be fading.

Maybe that means it’s time to invest. “Buy the dip,” as they say, and reap the rewards later. But even if Biden does reschedule cannabis before the end of his term, and even if that does result in another bounce in stock prices, the story will likely be the same. The market will continue to level out with normalization, and market saturation will continue to drive value down until an equilibrium is reached.