Boulder Weekly 03.21.2024

World beyond World beyond

Mystical goes mainstream in Longmont

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April 9–12

Big ideas. Endless discoveries.

Lively conversations on today’s top issues. Leadership • Global Equity • The Next 100 Years

70+ panels, free to attend, open to all.

NOTABLE EVENTS

5–6 p.m. Tues., April 9 | Macky Auditorium

The Funny Story Behind the Funny Stories

Cry with laughter at the opening keynote by founding editor of The Onion, Scott Dikkers. Dikkers is bound to ignite thought-provoking discussions and provide valuable insights into the world of media, humor and social commentary.

1:30–2:40 p.m. Wed., April 10 | UMC West Ballroom

Leadership in Business: What Separates Great Leaders From the Rest?

Join Asia Eaton, Lucy Lawrence, Charles Msilanga, Carl Quintanilla and Nancy Wang for a dynamic discussion on the skills and strategies that make the best leaders in the business world stand out from the rest.

Explore the matters that matter to you at CWA. Join us via livestream or in person at CU Boulder.

Learn more and register at colorado.edu/cwa

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OPINION

TAKING ON TOO MUCH

Will day center get lost in the shuffle as shelter expands?

BY ROXANNE PETERSON

There’s an awful lot going on at Boulder Shelter for the Homeless (BSH) these days, and the long-awaited day center has not even been implemented yet. In addition to the upcoming day center, BSH is coordinating part or all of five additional programs recently created by Homeless Solutions Boulder County

(HSBC) over the past year or so.

With all these new activities and demands on BSH, will the needs of the day center be lost in the shuffle?

The BSH is still experiencing capacity issues with their existing shelter clients, and their plans for increasing services are rapidly expanding.

Of the six new programs developed through HSBC in the past two years, four have a direct connection to BSH.

In addition to these programs, a proposal for a brand new program for “High System Utilizers” (HSU) is laid out in detail in notes to city council from Sept. 28, 2023, and Feb. 8 of this year. It aims to connect HSU with housing and services, reducing their interactions with criminal justice and health care systems.

There are currently about 45 people on the high utilizers baseline list. I assume BSH will be sheltering at least

MARCH 21, 2024

Volume 31, Number 31

PUBLISHER: Francis Zankowski

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Shay Castle

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR: Jezy J. Gray

REPORTERS: Kaylee Harter, Will Matuska

FOOD EDITOR: John Lehndorff

INTERN: Lauren Hill

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Dan Savage, Bart Schaneman, Toni Tresca, Gregory Wakeman, Rae Ellen Bichell, Roxanne Peterson, Justin Criado

SALES AND MARKETING

MARKET DEVELOPMENT MANAGER:

Kellie Robinson

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Matthew Fischer

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES:

Chris Allred, Holden Hauke

SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER: Carter Ferryman

MRS. BOULDER WEEKLY: Mari Nevar

PRODUCTION

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Erik Wogen

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CIRCULATION

CIRCULATION MANAGER: Cal Winn

CIRCULATION TEAM:

Sue Butcher, Ken Rott, Chris Bauer

BUSINESS OFFICE

BOOKKEEPER/ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Austen Lopp

FOUNDER / CEO: Stewart Sallo

some of them since the proposal stipulates only 30 days of bridge housing in hotels. Another stated goal of the HSU proposal is prioritizing frequent hospital patients for housing, 54 of whom had already been referred to the shelter as of September.

High utilizers have become the focus as more local housing vouchers are being set aside and all voucher funders (city, state and federal) work to find solutions for this hard-to-house population. The problem with this is who is left out.

Boulder City Council directed staff to develop a day services center/shelter that would serve the needs of all the unhoused in Boulder. Above all, it was supposed to be a welcoming environment and provide somewhere to go during the day where they could connect with a variety of services in one place and get some of their basic

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needs met. The understanding was that it would be in a building specifically designed and designated for this purpose.

It ended up being pushed out to BSH for a number of reasons. Due to the large number of new projects going on at BSH, will the day center be just an afterthought?

There is a well-established, ongoing space capacity issue at the shelter. According to BSH’s 2023 year-end report, there were 414 capacity turnaways in 2023 — an 11% increase from the 373 times people were turned away in 2022.

With the day center, will BSH be trying to attract additional people, especially the unsheltered, during the day? If so, they will likely experience even more turnaways at night as a result. Where is the plan for that?

On the other hand, if the day center is mainly intended for use by regular overnight clients of the BSH, maybe they are missing the point of a day center. A March 13 email to council and the community from Kurt Firnhaber, director of Boulder’s housing and human services, raises a red flag: “Staff estimate that between 50-100 individuals will access the center intermittently throughout the day and estimate that most of the center’s clients will be the individuals who utilize the Shelter overnight.”

The increased level of case management and coordination through BSH last year and planned for this year is eye-popping. According to their 2023 recap, “Every day in 2023, we provided (permanent supportive housing) services to roughly 140 people. And in the shelter itself, we restructured our Housing-Focused Shelter case management so that our managers are now seeing more clients than ever before.”

Later in the report, they state that they also have two other projects that will open later in the year, including the new 40-unit Bluebird Apartments. This will raise the total number of clients BSH serves to 260. Both the medical and criminal justice systems will also now be feeding people into the shelter through the aforementioned new programs, with the expectation that they will be housed.

Although I deeply appreciate that

the City and County are focusing on the needs of the unsheltered, many questions come up for me:

1. What is the capacity of BSH to successfully manage the day center so it can effectively serve the unhoused population?

2. Is the major focus on high utilizers justified from equity and ethical perspectives? The proposed remedy was developed with a focus on relieving the substantial financial burden on the criminal justice and healthcare systems, but should that be the main responsibility of the City’s homelessness policies and programs?

3. What message does this send to those who have languished in the Boulder homelessness system for years and do not meet the definition of high utilizers? Will they be deprioritized for housing?

As stated in the Feb. 8 update to city council, a portion of the funding recently obtained from the state for the day shelter will be used to form a second housing retention team. This seems like a bait and switch. What does housing retention have to do with the services a day center is supposed to offer? Very little, I’d say.

It seems reasonable to question whether there will be sufficient resources available at BSH for meeting the needs of the large majority of unhoused residents who are not high utilizers.

It also seems reasonable to consider, given the constraints on BSH capacity and their funding priorities, whether it would be wise to move forward with the original plan for the day center — to open it in a building designated for that purpose and prioritize those services for the entire unhoused population.

It’s still a good move to open the shelter 24/7, because it will be beneficial to the many people already sleeping there, but it does not seem to be sufficient for the majority of unhoused people who avoid BSH already. Those are the folks who need the services of the day center the most and who will likely have the least access to it under the current plan.

Roxanne Peterson lives in Boulder. She co-founded Homeless Cares.

COVER

MYSTIC CITY

Metaphysical shops abound in Longmont — and signal a shift in American spirituality

STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAYLEE HARTER

Two parakeets, named Moonbeam and Pierre, chirp next to a bookshelf filled with books on witchcraft, astrology and meditation at Longmont’s Magic Fairy Candles. A shop cat named Wizard ambles atop a glass case displaying crystals and various animal bones.

The back of the shop is filled with herbs and supplies for the shop’s owner, Kim Brain, and her team of “badass magic fairies” to make candles and ritual kits — like the one for Tuesday’s spring equinox that includes a specially crafted tea (a mix of elderberries, roasted dandelion root and red clover among other herbs), wildflower seeds and a booklet of affirmations and recipes. A new line they’re working on includes spell kits for love, protection and honoring grief.

“I wanted to present my personal magical practice in a way that didn’t feel, how should I say this? I wanted it to be accessible and welcoming,” she says. “And clear. But also open to your own interpretation. I wanted to bring ritual to your doorstep.”

She’s not alone in bringing magic to Boulder County. In fact, there’s a cluster of other metaphysical shops right on Main Street. For the last several years, Longmont’s Downtown Development Authority has recognized mysticism as a defining characteristic of downtown due to the concentration of metaphysical shops. Its website features a short blog on the shops and has a “metaphysical” search filter for its business directory.

“We’re always looking at niche markets,” says Kimberlee McKee, execu-

tive director of the development authority, “and this was definitely one that we noticed was emerging,”

That recognition by a city entity speaks to the growing mainstream embrace of the metaphysical, mystical and witchy.

Brain, who started her business making candles at her kitchen table two decades ago, says interest in her shop peaked in 2019 and has continued steadily. “I like to say I became an overnight success 20 years later,” she says.

Over the last several decades, the landscape of American spiritual practice has shifted away from organized religion amid growing distrust of institutions and toward “individual spirituality,” says Deborah Whitehead, associate director of CU Boulder’s Center for Media, Religion and Culture.

“Metaphysical stores and bookstores have been around for a very long time — small numbers — but I think we’re seeing an increasing number of them to kind of meet this increasing market demand for stores that kind of cater to this broad, exploratory spiritual path,” she says.

OUT OF THE BROOM CLOSET

Boulder County has been home to metaphysical practitioners for a long time.

Helen Gilman, born in 1892, was a psychic who read tea leaves and fortunes for 75 years in Boulder and ran a shop out of her home called Ye Old Tea Room.

In October 1974, the Daily Camera featured an article about Rhonda Swearngin, who owned the Pentagram, “a small shop that specializes in plants, herbs, incense, charms and occult paraphernalia.”

In July 1980, the Camera’s Sunday magazine cover featured a picture of Nickie Marshall, “a practicing witch from Longmont, annoint[ing] a candle with Eucalyptus and Cleopatra oils during a worship ceremony dedicated to the Moon Goddess.”

“Based upon secrecy, the ancient practice of wicca prospers in Boulder, where herbs and incense are more common than crucifixes,” the cover reads.

Some of that secrecy was likely, in part, a result of discrimination those trafficking in the metaphysical faced. In 1972, a traveling mobile exhibit on the “dangers of occult practices” came to CU Boulder and included tarot cards, clairvoyance, transcendental meditation and astral projections as occult practices.

“Those communities tended to be small, and they tended to be fairly insular because they often have encountered discrimination and lack of

Liz Giles opened Apothecary Apotheosis in February 2023.

acceptance and even some of them, their jobs had been put at risk if they dared to out themselves. So, there’s this phrase, ‘in the broom closet,’” Whitehead says.

Now, that’s starting to shift. Some scholars have theorized that shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed helped mainstream ideas of “the world beyond” in the ’90s and early aughts, Whitehead says.

“Maybe there’s more acceptance now of diverging from the past organized religion and finding your own way,” she says.

In the past, teachings on the metaphysical came mostly through word of mouth, but now there’s more information than ever available online. On TikTok, #WitchTok videos have amassed more than 54 billion views.

“That really changed the face of the tradition from being practitioners who tended to be older and met in person to now you have several generations of young people who were saying, you know, ‘I identify as Wicca because I bought this book off Amazon and taught myself this magic in my bedroom’ or ‘I learned on the internet’ or ‘I watch videos’ or whatever,” Whitehead says. “And so I think the internet’s role in spreading these ideas and popularizing them really can’t be underestimated. It’s huge.”

AN ECLECTIC PRACTICE

Each of Longmont’s metaphysical shops has its own thing.

“I don’t carry so much witchy stuff.

ing use of what you can and bringing in whatever works for you.”

That type of eclecticism in oftenwhite spiritual spaces is sometimes criticized for cultural appropriation and a lack of attention to tradition and history. In the New Age movement, for example, 85% of practitioners are white, according to Pew Research Center data. Of the 22% of Americans who identify as “spiritual but not religious,” 64% are white, according to Pew Research Center.

SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING

Longmont’s metaphysical shop owners say a big part of their job is guiding people who may not know exactly what they’re looking for.

Mine is more spiritual. So it’s all about ‘the light,’” says Mystic Sisters owner Eleanor Perreault. Those offerings include crystals, singing bowls and candles.

Apothecary Apotheosis, which clinical herbalist Liz Giles opened just over a year ago, carries a wide variety of herbs, specially formulated teas, some crystals and tarot decks.

Blackbird House, which opened about six months ago, is more “nature, homestead-y stuff,” says Taylor Hood, who owns the shop with his girlfriend Kirsty York, who also owns Blackbird Ink, the tattoo shop upstairs.

“I love being on Main Street, and I love the synergy,” says Brain at Magic Fairy Candles. “There’s so many offerings, and each store is really unique. Everyone has something different. I never look at it as competition.”

Brain’s store carries “tools and maps” from a range of practices and traditions.

The smorgasbord of offerings both between and within the stores is similar to that of the New Age movement of the ’70s and “very reflective of the current moment,” Whitehead says.

“There are certainly caution to be received, and potentially criticisms to be raised about the way in which many white consumers of these goods and these traditions can sort of pick and choose and use things for their own purposes without being respectful or attendant or even aware of these things,” Whitehead says. “But these really are practices that are used by communities that have been marginalized and still experience marginalization.”

For Brain, who is Druid Pagan, it’s important for those who come to her shop to have lots of tools to choose from as they embark on their own healing journey.

Brain often recommends tourmaline, quartz and selenite as a starting point, and frankincense resin for those who want to clear the energy in a space. Giles might suggest nettles, red raspberry or tulsi for someone looking to improve their general wellbeing. For “stagnant, stuck, negative feelings,” Perreault has a variety of sages, palo santos and candles.

Magic Fairy Candles offers tarot readings and a range of workshops and classes. Mystic Sisters offers crystal ball readings, chakra alignment and aura cleansing. Apothecary Apotheosis recently hosted a manifestation workshop.

“I think that’s another really important function of these metaphysical stores, which is they don’t just sell but they are ritual centers, they provide classes, they provide lectures, they can guide, the owners can give you advice,” says Whitehead.

Brain says she sees the growing interest in the metaphysical as an indication of an openness to exploration.

“It’s sort of a tradition that’s very, very oriented towards experimentation and kind of whatever works and newness and growth,” Whitehead says. “I think in that way, it sort of fits in perfectly with this contemporary attitude towards spirituality, which is very much about mak-

“Our mission up front is to be of service to the community,” she says. “We really try to have a broad range of tools for people. My personal belief is that it’s the universal mind or Christ consciousness or like, we’re all praying to the same thing. So that’s kind of the vibe we try to have here is that everybody’s welcome and there’s tons of crossover.”

“I would love to believe that people in general are curious about their own personal spirituality,” she says. “They’re seeking, they’re curious. They want to know themselves better, want to manifest something in their lives and they want to meditate or just have a solid practice because it’s really grounding. It’s like a safety net.”

For Giles, helping people find their way to a practice that works for them is part of a larger ripple effect.

“There’s real power in ritual,” she says. “It helps keep us stable. If we’re not doing rituals, we’re not stopping and slowing down and being conscious. We’re not getting into those states of being where we shut out the world and put our intention toward something bigger than ourselves.”

Blackbird House features “nature, homestead-y stuff,” according to co-owner Taylor Hood.

Magic Fairy Candles hosts a broom class around Halloween.

Holy Week and Easter at St. Aidan’s

The Rev. Mary Kate Rejouis, Rector

March 24, Palm Sunday

10am Palms and Passion Communion

March 25, 26, 27

Monday - Wednesday

12noon Prayers and Communion

March 28, Maundy Thursday

5:30pm Holy Eucharist and Footwashing

March 29, Good Friday

12noon Good Friday Passion Liturgy 5:30pm Holy Week for Kids

March 30, Holy Saturday 7:30pm The Great Vigil of Easter

March 31, Easter Sunday

10am Communion with Choir and Brass

Nursery care (0-5) and egg hunt after church for kids 10 and under

NEWS BOCO, BRIEFLY

Local news at a glance

BY SHAY CASTLE

COUNTY COMPOSTING FACILITY: TAKE TWO

Boulder County is starting another process that may lead to a local composting facility after a first attempt was stymied by resident opposition over the originally proposed location.

A news release last week said the county “is exploring the potential for a compost facility,” including identifying “suitable sites,” analyzing the market demand for compost, assessing potential climate benefits and evaluating “financial viability and operational aspects” of a composting facility.

weather event. Shelter spokesperson Andy Schultheiss said the organization served “a record number” of people in shelter, hotels and housing.

Some 20.5 inches of snow fell in parts of Boulder from Thursday to Friday, according to the National Weather Service. The City of Boulder and Boulder County did not open an emergency overflow shelter as it did during January’s cold snap, when temps dropped below zero.

Schultheiss said the shelter was not aware of any deaths or injuries among the homeless during the recent storm.

DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

Boulder County first tried to locate a composting facility near Highway 287 and Lookout Road at the former Rainbow Tree Nursery. That plan was abandoned amid significant pushback from the community, including a lawsuit from a group calling themselves Protect Rainbow Open Space.

The composting facility website notes that “Boulder County is not exploring” parks or open space property as possible locations.

SHELTER HIT CAPACITY DURING STORM

Boulder Shelter for the Homeless (BSH) turned away 22 people during last week’s snow storm, according to a spokesperson for BSH: four on Thursday and 18 on Friday. Another six were denied shelter Saturday and Sunday due to capacity issues.

BSH, the city’s largest and only general-population emergency shelter, reached its expanded capacity of 180 people during Thursday’s critical

This week marks three years since 10 people were killed in a mass shooting at King Soopers in South Boulder. The City of Boulder and local partners will host a Day of Remembrance event at 5 p.m. Friday, March 22 at eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St.

Register to attend in person: bit.ly/ Day-of-Remembrance-3. Watch the livestream: etown.org/live/

IN OTHER NEWS…

• Plans for a tennis complex near Gunbarrel have been paused amid neighborhood pushback, KGNU reports. Rocky Mountain Tennis Center pulled their application to better address unspecified “concerns” from Boulder County about their selected site near 79th Street.

• Erie is gathering input on proposed council districts for future elections. View two options for district boundaries and provide feedback through March 29: surveymonkey.com/ r/ErieDistricts

Credit: Ross Taylor

GOV’T WATCH

What your local officials are up to

BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF

BOULDER CITY COUNCIL

There won’t be a regular city council meeting during the weeks of March 28 and April 4 due to spring break (aligned with Boulder Valley School District) and the council’s annual retreat on April 3 and 4.

At the retreat, council will discuss agenda priorities for the coming years. In the past, top concerns included middle-income housing, homelessness and transportation. Residents can attend virtually: bit.ly/ councils_retreat.

BOULDER COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

On March 26, commissioners will:

• Hear public testimony after Boulder County Housing Authority gives a general update on its operations. The authority has increased its number of units by 96% since 2012 and now manages over 900 with hundreds more in the pipeline.

• Host a public hearing about the zoning map amendments to the Floodplain Overlay District, based on FEMA revisions. The map is part of an effort to update flood risk zones regulated in unincorporated Boulder County.

On March 28, commissioners will:

• Vote on the Parks and Open Space Department’s land management plan for the 1,377 acres that make up Prairie Run Open Space just north of Erie. The plan, called the

East Boulder Creek Site Management Plan, includes protecting wildlife habitat and installing walking trails, a picnic shelter and more. The Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee unanimously recommended conditional approval of the plan in December.

• Vote to adopt the Comprehensive Development Plan Intergovernmental Agreement between the County and City of Longmont. The document is created to plan for and regulate land development. There will be opportunity for public comment.

LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL

On March 19, council:

• Opposed House Bill 24-1313, which would require cities to allow more high-density housing along transit corridors, saying the bill’s “one-size-fits-all approach” undermines Lafayette’s work on responsible development and affordable housing. Lafayette could lose an average of $889,000 each year in highway funds if it does not comply with the legislation, now under consideration in the state House.

• Approved an Intergovernmental Agreement with Boulder County authorizing the city to work with the Boulder County Regional Housing Partnership to create a regional affordable housing and rental program managed by the City of Boulder.

• Supported House Bill 24-1235, Reducing Aviation Impacts on Communities, which creates a state program to reduce heath risks from leaded aviation fuel on communities under aircraft flight paths and requires airport noise abatement plans. The bill is under consideration.

— Karen Norback

Spring Break Sandal Sale

MUSIC

GET IT FASTER

Slow Joy brings ‘Southwest emo’ to the Front Range with Colorado debut

BY JUSTIN CRIADO

The Strokes wrecked rock ’n’ roll, if you ask Esteban Flores.

The 31-year-old Chicano artist behind the music project Slow Joy makes this passing claim while chatting about his upcoming EP Mi Amigo Slow Joy, which was influenced by the 1990s alt-rock scene obliterated by four New Yorker hipsters at the turn of the century who begged the question: Is This It?

“I started listening for the first time in my life to a lot of music that inspired the music that I grew up with, which is really crazy,” Flores says. “I went back to ’90s grunge and that alternative music scene that popped up, which defined rock music until the Strokes ruined indie.”

It comes out so fast that it barely registers before Flores catches himself. It’s clearly not the first time he’s shared the sentiment.

His first two EPs

— Soft Slam (2022) and Wildflower (2023) — are perfect examples of this heady concoction of adjacent genres. But his recent singles “I

“That was such a rude thing to say. My wife keeps telling me I need to stop saying it eventually,” he says. “But that alternative-indie thing that was happening with The Pixies and Smashing Pumpkins in the ’90s, I made my way back there as an adult and listened to it with fresh ears. That really inspired me.”

Flores, who grew up in New Mexico but now calls Dallas home, started Slow Joy in 2020 at the suggestion of his therapist, who thought music would help the multi-instrumentalist work through the grief of losing his mother to an overdose. The result is what Flores calls “Southwest emo,” a mix of grunge, shoegaze and emotionally resonant indie-rock sprinkled with deeply personal and melancholic lyrics.

Don’t Hate You” and “Pulling Teeth” show a heavier side of Slow Joy.

“With Wildflower, it was more of a, ‘Hey, this is me processing through some grief’ and a sonic palette where I wanted to just write a really good emo record,” Flores explains. “Now I just wanted to write a great rock album, so I started listening to the greats of rock and figured out how to emulate that well. I’m still continuing to evolve in my own way.”

But there’s still plenty of grief to go around on Slow Joy’s latest offerings, and plenty of processing to be done: “Did you love the high more than you loved me?” Flores sings on the first taste of his new EP. “Took you away from everything / damn, I hate that I can never call you back.”

Slow Joy is preparing to play his first shows outside Texas this year ahead

of his new collection’s slated June 7 release, which includes his inaugural Colorado dates. The threecity sojourn begins March 28 in Colorado Springs, followed by stops in Denver and Greeley.

“So hyped to come kick it in one of my favorite states,” Flores wrote in a Feb. 15 Facebook post. “Every time I visit, I have a hard time leaving. Maybe this time y’all will convince me to stay forever.”

‘A ONE-TIME THING’

Catharsis and “beautiful chaos” are what Flores aims to achieve during his live sets — and not just for himself, but also the audience. It’s a shared experience he doesn’t take for granted. It often leaves him “bloodied somewhere before the end of the show,” he says.

“Every time you’re in a space with people, those people will never be in a space together again. It’s so beautiful to think this is a one-time thing,” Flores

says. “Maybe we’ll come back through town, but this group of people in this space with this energy is only going to be here for this one moment.”

Thanks in part to these intimate and high-energy performances, it hasn’t taken long for Slow Joy to capture the attention of a larger audience. The band was recently inaugurated as a Taco Bell “Feed the Beat” artist, joining the ranks of emerging and established acts like Turnstile, Militarie Gun and Sweet Pill. And now that Slow Joy is becoming more than just an outlet for his personal tragedy, Flores is expanding the scope of it to engage with the world around him.

“I try to continue to process,” he says. “I’m trying to become more and more mature in how I deal with certain things, because a lot of the time, especially nowadays, art can be a little bit preachy.”

To that end, Flores points to singersongwriter Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse and blue-collar poet Charles Bukowski, both chroniclers of life’s innate outrageousness, as inspiration. Ultimately, it’s all part of the artist’s ongoing project of persevering through tragedy.

“I prefer the artist to show the absurdity of things … like, ‘Do you see how crazy this is?’” Flores says. “That’s more where I’m leaning. I’m putting myself more into the shoes of ideas and understanding it. It really helps you ground it, instead of feeling like you’re pointing your finger at something. You just gotta laugh at it.”

Above: Esteban Flores, the singersongwriter behind project Slow Joy, channels personal tragedy into music.

Left: Flores strives for “beautiful chaos” in his band’s live shows. Courtesy: Slow Joy

EIGHTIES LADIES

VIVA Theater cuts through retro-nostalgia by uplifting women’s stories

BY TONI TRESCA

The ’80s were known for big hair, daring fashion and MTV, but a Boulder theater troupe is challenging audiences to take off their rose-colored glasses and see past the nostalgia.

Talking With..., produced by VIVA Theater, features 11 women performers delivering raw, unfiltered monologues about navigating the choppy seas of life in 1981.

Penned by Jane Martin and first staged at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 1982, the play casts a spotlight on the lives, dreams and struggles of women from the era. Under the direction of Abigail Wright, VIVA’s artistic director since early 2023, this collection of stories combines the profound with the humorous.

Wright’s journey from a young director facing gender-based discrimination to the helm of VIVA Theater underscores the thematic resonance between Talking With... and her own life.

“In 1981, I could not find work as a director because there were no female directors. I couldn’t get a credit card. We had landline phones at home. A lot of things are just very different in our day-to-day lives,” Wright says. “VIVA people are older, so they lived through those times, and I want to give a chance for our audience to remember what that was like as well.”

Founded in 2002, VIVA Theater is Boulder’s only community theater dedicated to providing opportunities to older thespians. Talking With… offers a rich playground for VIVA’s cast.

The play’s structure, a patchwork of monologues ranging from a woman’s desire to live in McDonald’s to a rodeo star’s existential crisis, caters to VIVA’s logistical and artistic sensibilities. On a practical level, the play’s structure — 11 monologues requiring minimal ensemble rehearsal — suited the logis-

tical challenges of winter scheduling. Thematically, it’s a chance to reevaluate our relationship to the past.

“I think we forget how different the world of the ’80s was from now; time can sometimes distort those changes,” Wright says. “We don’t remember what it was like to live without the internet or in a New York that hadn’t been decimated by AIDS — Talking With... allows us to reexamine that era.”

TIME CAPSULE, CRACKED OPEN

Wright hopes to weave the individual stories into a cohesive tapestry by interspersing period-specific music performed by Denver musician Paula Westerfield between monologues, inviting the audience on a reflective journey back in time with hits like “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.”

Representing a mosaic of experiences and backgrounds, the cast brings a palpable authenticity to the production. Judy Richtel, the VIVA board president who portrays the “bag lady” with dreams of McDonald’s sanctuary, draws on her past as the head of community resources for Boulder County and counselor at the People’s Clinic to portray a character whose desires are simple: safety and belonging.

“I’ve known people like my character, so it wasn’t as hard to step into her shoes,” Richtel says. “All she wants is safety. That is how I see her; so many of her comments are about finding a safe space, and she has cho-

sen McDonald’s as hers, which is fine, but she does some magical thinking that results in some amusing moments.”

Jane Shepard, stepping into the cowboy boots of a veteran rodeo worker whose boss wants her to dress up like Minnie Mouse, brings a lifetime of physical and emotional experience to the role. From her Boulder childhood riding horses to her professional pivot from acting to playwriting in the face of industry bias, Shepard embodies the spirit of transition and identity that runs through the production.

“My character is an Oklahoma gal who is going through a loss of identity, and I certainly have been through that,” Shepard says. “It’s not fun to call it up, but it’s also kind of healing to find an expression for those feelings through this character.”

SEEING YOURSELF ONSTAGE

As VIVA Theater continues to champion older adults’ artistic expressions, Wright says she doesn’t want the organization to rest on its laurels. She has no desire to compete with “big organizations like BETC or Local Theater, which are much more professionally minded —

VIVA is community theater, but quality community theater.”

The organization is currently working to develop a program called Theater Lab, which teaches acting, stagecraft, directing and playwriting and concludes with a small show put on by participants. In addition to Theater Lab, its well-received acting class taught by local actor Anne Sandoe and performances in retirement homes and libraries are part of VIVA’s efforts to help other older people stay engaged with their craft and community.

“Since we have mostly older audiences and performers, they get to see themselves reflected onstage,” Wright says. “It’s older people talking about experiences they may have lived through, instead of seeing a whole bunch of 20-year-olds talking about stuff that matters to 20-year-olds. VIVA stories are relevant to their lives and build community through the medium of theater.”

ON STAGE: Talking With… March 22-April 7, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $25-$30

Denver musician Paula Westerfield performs throwback tunes between monologues in VIVA Theater’s upcoming production of Talking With… at the Dairy Arts Center. Credit: Abby Wright

HEMP HEARTBREAK

Author details the steep rise and fall of a Boulder County farm

BY BART SCHANEMAN

The hemp boom-and-bust cycle that began after the Farm Bill reclassified the plant in 2018 bankrupted a lot of would-be entrepreneurs, but few have been candid about what they did wrong and how much money they lost.

That’s why Finn Murphy’s Rocky Mountain High: A Tale of Boom and Bust in the New Wild West, a nonfiction account of his own misfortune trying to hit it big with a Boulder County hemp farm, is such a fascinating read. It’s as much a chronicle of the hemp industry’s collapse as it is a clear-eyed account of business failure.

Murphy bought a 36-acre plot of land in 2019 for more than a million dollars — 13 months later, after a series of missteps including misjudging the market, he was in the red for north of $300,000. He still has the land he’s paying taxes on, which he’s using to feed a few cattle.

Murphy had been researching hemp for more than a year when he set out to start the farm. The market information he was getting suggested he would be able to clear at least $100,000 an acre.

‘THE MAJOR IRONY’

Murphy had a track record of running successful businesses, including luxury retail. Before he took the hemp plunge, he’d also spent many years on the road as a long-haul trucker, which he wrote about in The Long Haul: A Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road, his first nonfiction book published in 2017.

“Thirty-six acres times $100,000 is big money,” he writes in the book, published last year via W.W. Norton. “Hemp was going to hit the big time and I was more excited than I’d been in years.”

going to plant, they needed to have a forward contract from someone to buy it.

“The fact of the matter is no one was giving a forward contract,” Murphy says. “And if they were, they never honored one.”

Today, most of the hemp in the U.S. is being grown indoors, according to Murphy.

Cultivators can produce one harvest per month in a greenhouse-controlled environment compared to one per year outdoors, and there’s no risk of cross-pollination.

“I should have seen that coming,” Murphy says. “The CDA should have seen that coming.”

Murphy decided to grow hemp for smokeable flower because there was a brief window in 2018 when a high demand for bud pushed prices to $350 per pound on the wholesale market. Hemp grown to be processed into CBD was only selling for $60 per pound wholesale.

Of the 100 or so growers in Boulder County that Murphy knew, “everybody was growing for smokeable flower, because everybody was thinking $350 a pound.”

That was the problem: Everyone had the same idea, which meant too much supply. Ultimately, the prices didn’t hold up.

It’s not giving too much away to say Murphy’s venture doesn’t go as planned. In his acerbic prose style, the Boulder-based author details what went wrong and the aftermath of those bad business dealings.

Toward the end of the book, with a building full of hemp and no market for it, Murphy describes how guys in black vans showed up to take the product off his hands for pennies on the dollar. They were buying his cheap, low-THC hemp flower to mix in with high-THC cannabis, which can sell for more than $1,000 a pound — “cutting” it, essentially, like street-drug dealers.

“That’s the major irony,” Murphy says. “All of these people who had all these great ideas that they were going to save the world with hemp actually ended up selling their stuff to drug dealers.”

IRRATIONAL EXUBERANCE

In Rocky Mountain High, Murphy explains the hemp craze as a classic American economic mania similar to the gold rush and silver mining boom, complete with exhilaration from the locals, an influx of outside capital, government support and lots of media hype. In that context, he intends his book to be a cautionary tale.

“It’s important to understand what the components look like so we don’t get trapped again,” Murphy says.

Although the author says the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) was “exuberant” about hemp as a sustainable cash crop aimed at helping small farmers keep their land, he doesn’t think the CDA intentionally misled anyone.

In the early days, the department warned hemp growers that if they were

‘TO ME, IT’S NATURAL’

Murphy isn’t just a business guy who decided to write a book. He hails from a family of writers and artists. His brother Cullen is editor-at-large for The Atlantic Growing up in Murphy’s household, the way to get positive reinforcement from his parents wasn’t to be good at sports or eat the last pea on his plate.

“If you could write something, then that’s where you got an extra use of the car or a second helping of meatloaf,” he says. “I have a sister who’s written four books. I have a brother who’s written seven. I grew up doing it. So I never felt intimidated by it. To me, it’s natural.”

That background helps explain how Murphy could be so forthright about the lessons he learned. Most people would have taken their losses and moved on, maybe told a friend or a family member about the financial hit they took. Not many would write a book about it.

“I don’t have that kind of ego,” Murphy says. “I maybe have a different kind of ego, but I don’t really care about showing the mistakes I made and the things I did wrong. I should have known better.”

ON THE PAGE: Rocky Mountain High: A Tale of Boom and Bust in the New Wild West is out now in hardcover via W.W. Norton.

Boulder author Finn Murphy is still paying for his failed hemp farm. Courtesy: Finn Murphy

Rocky Mountain High by Finn Murphy chronicles the author’s misfortune trying to hit it big with a Boulder County hemp farm. Courtesy: W.W. Norton

TOY STORY

‘Problemista’ is an irreverent and imaginative romp

BY MICHAEL J. CASEY

Alejandro dreams of toys. Not crazy, outrageous toys or toys that bring excitement and pleasure, but pensive, melancholy toys that remind kids that time is finite and our actions meaningless. There’s a toy truck with a slowly leaking tire, a Cabbage Patch doll with an overactive social media life to compensate for its underactive social life, a Barbie doll with one hand behind its back and fingers crossed — you get the idea. It’s little wonder Hasbro hasn’t called Alejandro about that creative development internship.

But here’s the thing: If Alejandro doesn’t get the internship — and the migrant status sponsorship that goes with it — then he’ll have to go back to El Salvador. But to even apply for the

Hasbro internship, Alejandro must live in the U.S. His immigration status bars him from earning money to pay for essentials like housing and food until he gets the internship or finds a sponsor. He has one month to accomplish all this, and the rent was due yesterday. Yossarian was caught in only one Catch-22; Alejandro is surrounded by them.

Written, directed by and starring Julio Torres, Problemista is a little like Barbie when it comes to speechifying the daily plights of those not at the center of society, and a lot like Terry Gilliam when it comes to visually interpreting those plights with irreverence and imagination. It’s quite a feature debut from the 37-year-old.

Alejandro (Torres) spends much of

his life in a make-believe world of dragons, knights and symbols. But it doesn’t feel so make-believe when you consider the colorful characters surrounding him — from the crimson-haired art critic Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), who spends her days harassing tech support agents, to Alejandro’s ever-expanding slate of roommates packed into a tiny apartment that’s been divvied up and subleased 10 times more than the landlord knows.

Most of Problemista revolves around Alejandro and Elizabeth. Alejandro comes to work as her assistant because she needs someone who can use FileMaker Pro. He needs sponsorship, so Alejandro lies through his teeth and takes the position with no promise of compensation beyond hope. The joke’s on Elizabeth. No one knows how to run FileMaker Pro.

Elizabeth’s feverish need to utilize the workflow software stems from her desire to help her husband, Bobby (RZA), put on a show. Bobby was a painter of eggs — yes, the kind that comes from a chicken and you buy in cardboard cartons at the grocery store

— and no one took him seriously.

Then Bobby came down with a terminal disease and decided to have himself cryogenically frozen — or cryogenically euthanized, I’ll leave the movie to expound on that joke — and then thawed out once they could cure his ills or he became famous. Whichever comes first, I guess.

Problemista is funny. It’s also quite clever. Swinton is glorious as Elizabeth, but what’s new? Instead, the revelation here is Torres, who is beautifully vulnerable in front of the camera and engagingly creative behind it. He also plays deadpan with the best of them. I know Torres isn’t exactly a discovery in the world of entertainment — he’s been working as a writer and comedian for a decade now — but Problemista feels like an announcement that he’s got plenty to say and the visual language to say it.

ON SCREEN: Problemista opens in wide release on March 22.

Julio Torres (left) and Tilda Swinton in Problemista

Courtesy: A24

MOB RULE

CU Boulder grad comes into his own on ‘Black Mafia Family’

BY GREGORY WAKEMAN

When Christopher B. Duncan was offered the role of Blaze, a new character in the ongoing third season of Black Mafia Family (BMF), he hadn’t seen a single episode of the show.

“I was definitely aware of BMF, but I just hadn’t had the chance to really dig into the episodes,” Duncan told Boulder Weekly on a recent Zoom call. “I mean, there are just so many shows out there.”

But as soon as the 59-year-old actor started watching, he was hooked.

“I dug into every single episode. I did so several times, too,” says Duncan, a CU Boulder grad who spent his formative years in Colorado Springs. “I just really wanted to be familiar with the world.”

Inspired by a true story, Black Mafia Family depicts the rise of Big Meech (Demetrius Flenory Jr.) and Southwest T (Da’Vinchi) in southwest Detroit as they become one of the most influential crime families in America.

The show has developed a devout audience since its 2021 debut, and March marked its return for a third season.

This time around, Meech and Southwest T have to go up against Blaze, a drug kingpin and former narcotics detective. Duncan says this background gives his character the

“knowledge, awareness and ability to know the traps and pitfalls of drug running.”

At the same time, Blaze works very closely with his daughter Henrietta (Ren King), who wants to be a leader in her dad’s organization, even though she has a much different approach than her father.

“The core of the crazy chaos between the two is that she hasn’t proven to Blaze that he can trust her ability to be a leader,” Duncan says. “We start Season 3 in a struggle. That only increases, and it causes a lot of fireworks.”

Boasting a range that oscillates between comedy, drama and action,

at getting to portray a character as complex as Blaze.

“It was such a gift for me to play this particular kind of role,” he says. “This was a delicious experience for me, to be in such a playground and sink my teeth into such a character for an extended period of time.”

ALL IN THE FAMILY

As the son of an Air Force service member, Duncan’s early life saw him constantly bouncing from country to country. He lived in Germany, Japan, Austria, Spain and France before his family finally made their home in Boulder and then Colorado Springs, where he was bitten by the acting bug as a student at Mitchell High School.

“It all began in English class,” he says. “I was reading Shakespeare aloud, and my teacher pulled me aside and said I had something going on with the way I read it. There was a depth there. She convinced me in that moment to audition for the school play.”

As soon as he walked out on stage as the character of Joe Stoddard in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, Duncan felt an energy between himself and the audience that was so powerful he immediately knew he wanted to make acting his life’s work.

Duncan remained in Colorado after

high school to earn his BFA in acting at CU Boulder. But he already had one foot out the door toward New York and Broadway.

“I wanted to do as much theater as I could possibly get my hands on,” he says.

During one fateful performance of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, an agent from Los Angeles was in the audience. He immediately saw Duncan’s potential and helped change his trajectory.

“He asked about my plans after college. I said I wanted to go to New York. He told me I should go to Los Angeles and that if I did, he would represent me,” he says. “I looked him up, saw his client list and was suitably impressed.

So I went to Los Angeles, and he ended up representing me. It took me two and a half years of pounding the pavement in L.A., working odd jobs, before I got my first on-camera job.”

Since then, Duncan has been a television regular, securing recurring roles on shows like Coach, The Jamie Foxx Show, Soul Food and Veronica Mars, while also popping up in episodes of Modern Family, 24 and NCIS, as well as dozens of other series and films.

But Duncan says Black Mafia Family feels different, particularly because of how it blends truth and fiction.

“Some of it is based on real people and experiences. Some characters really existed, there are fictional characters, and then there are hybrids,” he says. “That just adds intrigue and makes the show so unique.”

Despite the heightened drama and danger of the show, Duncan hopes viewers will still be able to relate to the dynamic and relationships that are key to the series.

“There are so many different sorts of relationships in BMF that people can relate to — whether it is a loved one struggling with drug addiction or relationships where there’s anger and rage,” he says. “The show isn’t just universal. It’s meaningful.”

Duncan can’t hide his delight

ON SCREEN: Black Mafia Family (BMF) airs Friday nights at 6 p.m. MT on STARZ.

Ren King (left) and Christopher B. Duncan in Black Mafia Family Courtesy: STARZ

CU Boulder grad Christopher B. Duncan stars as drug kingpin Blaze in the third season of Black Mafia Family Courtesy: STARZ

EVENTS

22

FLUID ART CLASS & FUNDRAISER

11 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23, Hawaii Fluid Art, 1631 Pearl St., Boulder. $50

Want to get creative while supporting your unhoused neighbors? Head to Hawaii Fluid Art Boulder for this artforward fundraiser where you’ll leave with your own painted 12x12 canvas. Half of all proceeds go to the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless.

22

BOULDER’S GOT TALENT

6 p.m. Friday, March 22, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $75

Discover the hidden skills of fellow Boulderites during this community talent show at the Dairy Arts Center’s Gordon Gamm Theater. From music to magic and everything in between, your $75 admission supports the scholarships and programs of the Zonta Foothills Foundation.

22

FRIDAY NIGHT WEIRD: RIDDLE OF FIRE

8:30-10 p.m. Friday, March 22, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $12

Tag along with a gang of mischievous kids as an errand for their mom turns into a death-defying odyssey during this film screening at the Dairy. “On the hunt to obtain her favorite blueberry pie, the children are kidnapped by poachers, battle a witch, outwit a huntsman, befriend a fairy and bond together to become best friends.”

23 CRADLE IN THE CANOPY: THE SECRETS OF BIRD NESTS

1 p.m. Saturday, March 23, Pella Crossing, 11600 N. 75th St., Longmont. Free with registration

From the nondescript to the intricately woven, you’ll learn all about bird nests during this guided hike in Longmont. Volunteer naturalists will take the lead on an easy end-of-winter walk at Pella Crossing, showcasing the diverse works of “amazing avian architects.”

23

MAKE YOUR OWN WATERCOLORS

3 p.m. Saturday, March 23, The New LocalAnnex, 713 Pearl St., Boulder. $150

Join the homegrown creatives at The New Local, Boulder’s women-led arts nonprofit, for a workshop where you’ll learn to mix and work with your own custom watercolors under the expert instruction of artist Elisabeth Strunk.

23

AMPLIFY: CELEBRATING WOMEN IN MUSIC

7 p.m. Saturday, March 23, Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Boulder. $15

Ladies to the front! This local showcase at Roots Music Project in Boulder highlights the talent and creative vision of women musicians with a bill featuring Anna Cutler, Monica LaBonte, Olivia Roumel and The Ingrid Avison Band.

EVENTS

24

YOGA IN THE TASTING ROOM

11:15 a.m. Sunday, March 24, Left Hand Brewing, 1265 Boston Ave., Longmont. Free

If you’re looking for a more mindful beer buzz, head to Left Hand Brewing in Longmont for this free yoga session in the tasting room. Perfect your downward dog and warrior poses before enjoying craft libations from one of the most awarded breweries on the Front Range.

25

INTRO TO JEANS ALTERATION

1:30 p.m. Monday, March 25. Lafayette Public Library, 775 W. Baseline Road, Lafayette. Free with registration

Learn the ins-and-outs of taking in the waist on your favorite pair of jeans or pants during this beginner’s sewing workshop at the Lafayette Public Library. Bring your favorite pair of toolarge bottoms with matching thread.

25

LEO IGWE: “WITCH HUNTING IN AFRICA”

5 p.m. Monday, March 25, Longmont Public Library, 409 4th Ave., Longmont. Free

Join Leo Igwe of the Humanist Association of Nigeria and Humanists International for a talk surrounding modern-day witch hunts in sub-Saharan Africa. “It is believed there are thousands of cases of people accused of witchcraft each year globally, often with fatal consequences,” according to the United Nations.

26

COVEN RAVE

9 p.m. Tuesday, March 26, DV8 Distillery, 2480 49th St. Unit E, Boulder. $15

Don’t miss Boulder’s “premier gothic and alternative event” at DV8 Distillery. This night of dark-sided debauchery will feature beats by Mudwulf & DJ Eli, along with local vendors and handcrafted cocktails and mocktails by Dorian Gray.

28

COCKTAIL CLASS

5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 28, Spirit Hounds Distillery, 4196 Ute Highway, Lyons. $40

You’ll be moved by the spirits during this hands-on mixology class at Spirit Hounds Distillery in Lyons. The $40 admission price gets you two cocktails, recipes and all the knowledge you need to host your own killer cocktail party at home.

OPEN MIC BENEFIT

5-8:30 p.m. Thursday, March 28, Trident Booksellers & Cafe, 940 Pearl St., Boulder. Free

Make your way to Trident in Boulder for an evening of music and poetry hosted by Denver-based hip-hop and funk artist Fredo Smiles. Proceeds benefit the Lakewood food bank Joy’s Kitchen. Learn more about the needs of BoCo-area food banks in the Feast issue inside this week’s edition of Boulder Weekly: p. 22.

Wednesday show8:00pm time Mar 20th Delta sonics duo In the Bar

Thursday show8:00pm time Mar 21st Dechen Hawk Duo In the Bar

LIVE MUSIC

THURSDAY MARCH 21

PRÓXIMA PARADA AND OLIVER HAZARD WITH RIDDY ARMAN

7 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $25

DECHEN HAWK DUO 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free

MY BLUE SKY WITH EL LOCO FANDANGO. 6:30 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette. $25

B-LOVE EXPERIENCE. 9 p.m.

License No. 1, 2115 13th St., Boulder. Free

WOOD BELLY WITH CLAY ROSE BAND AND BEFORE THE SUN. 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $16

Friday show8:00pm time Mar 22nd Lionel Young Duo In the Bar Dragondeer with evan holm & the restless ones

SINGER-SONGWRITER NIGHT WITH CLAY ROSE AND KAREN FINCH 7 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Boulder. Free

Saturday show8:00pm time Mar 23rd $22

Sunday show8:00pm time Mar 24th

SATURDAY MARCH 23

included Rainbow Girls with Children of Divorce

Wednesday show8:00pm time Mar 27th Dave Boylan In the Bar Phoebe Nix with North by north

included

Friday show8:00pm time Mar 29th $19

Saturday show8:00pm time Mar 30th Lionel Young Duo In the Bar

Sunday show8:00pm time Mar 31st Chuck Sitero In the Bar

Wednesday show8:00pm time Apr 3rd Katie Mintle In the Bar

Thursday show8:00pm time Apr 4th Bill McKay In the Bar Tenth Mountain Division

Friday show8:00pm time Apr 5th $22

MICHAEL MORROW & THE CULPRITS 7:30 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette. Free

HUNTER STONE AND FRIENDS.

9 p.m. License No. 1, 2115 13th St., Boulder. Free

NERSHI HANN TRIO. 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $35

MUSECYCLES. 6:30 p.m. Muse

Performance Space, 200 E South Boulder Road, Lafayette. $15

RAY CHEN AND JULIO ELIZALDE

7:30 p.m. Macky Auditorium, 1595 Pleasant St., Boulder. $20+

ATLAS RADIO WITH RIVER MANN AND JELLÏ. 8 p.m. Globe Hall 4483 Logan St., Denver. $13

FRIDAY MARCH 22

LAMP FEAT. RUSS LAWTON, SCOTT METZGER, RAY PACZKOWSKI WITH TYLER ADAMS ORGAN TRIO 7 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $25

LIONEL YOUNG DUO 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free

LIVER DOWN THE RIVER WITH PICK AND HOWL. 8 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Boulder. $20

HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER (SOLO) WITH DAN HOCHMAN. 7 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $36

DRAGONDEER WITH EVAN HOLM AND THE RESTLESS ONES. 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $18

THE GOONIES. 8 p.m. Louisville Underground, The Corner, 640 Main St., Louisville. $20

PIANO MAN WITH SIRENS. 7:30 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette. $20

RIGHTEOUS MEDICINE. 9 p.m.

License No. 1, 2115 13th St., Boulder. Free

RIVER MANN BAND. 7 p.m. Rayback Collective, 2775 Valmont Road, Boulder. Free

BEAUSOLEIL WITH MICHAEL DOUCET. 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $30

MAGIC BEANS. 7 p.m. The Caribou Room, 55 Indian Peaks Drive, Nederland. $23

KADABRA WITH LOST RELICS AND SHEPHERD. 9 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $18

RED40 WITH PURPLE SWEAT AND DABYLON. 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483

LIVE MUSIC

ON THE BILL

Singer-songwriter Katherine “KP”

Paul brings her celebrated Black Belt Eagle Scout project from the ancestral homelands of her Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in Washington to Denver’s Globe Hall on the heels of her latest LP, The Land, The Water, The Sky, released last year via Saddle Creek. Scan the QR code for a Boulder Weekly interview with the artist before you go. See listing for details

Logan St., Denver. $15

SUNDAY MARCH 24

RAINBOW GIRLS WITH CHILDREN OF DIVORCE 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $20

PBS12 WITH LOS ALCOS AND 2MX2 7:30 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $15

SAN FERMIN WITH RACHAEL JENKINS. 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $24

MONDAY MARCH 25

MUSE JAZZ JAM 7 p.m. Muse Performance Space, 200 E South Boulder Road, Lafayette. $10

TUESDAY MARCH 26

BLACK BELT EAGLE SCOUT WITH BELLHOSS AND ISADORA EDEN. 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $20 BW PICK OF THE WEEK

SLEATER-KINNEY WITH PALEHOUND 8 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $35

WEDNESDAY MARCH 27

TIGRAN HAMASYAN WITH EVAN MARIEN AND ARTHUR HNATEK 7 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $35

DAVE BOYLAN. 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free

TONY EXUM JR 7:30 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette.

THURSDAY MARCH 28

WANDERING ROADS. 7:30 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette. Free

Want more Boulder County events? Check out the complete listings online by scanning this QR code.

Credit: Nate Lemuel

A&C EVENTS

ON STAGE ON VIEW ON THE PAGE

“From ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ to platform pumps,” it’s your last weekend to catch the ongoing production of The Legend of Georgia McBride at the Vintage Theatre in Aurora. This genderbending good time tells the story of a small-town dive bar owner who shelves his Elvis act for an overthe-top drag show. See listing for details.

Uplifting stories of trans youth and the families who love them, photographer Jesse Freidin’s traveling exhibition Are You OK?: A Trans Survival Project is currently on view at Boulder’s East Window and the Dairy Arts Center. Scan the QR code for a Boulder Weekly feature on the project, and hear from the kids themselves in their own words. See listing for details.

SPRING AWAKENING. March 22-24, The Spark, 4847 Pearl St., Unit B4, Boulder. $24

TALKING WITH… March

22-27, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $25-$30

NANA’S NAUGHTY KNICKERS March 22-24, The Longmont Theatre Company, 513 Main St. $35

CHURCH BASEMENT

LADIES. Through March 24, Jesters Dinner Theater, 224 Main St., Longmont. $27$50

THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE Through March 24, Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St., Aurora. $34

CRAZY FOR YOU Through April 7, Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, 4747 Marketplace Drive, Johnstown. $45-$83

Boulder’s own Stephen Graham Jones returns with The Angel of Indian Lake, the final installment of his bestselling Indian Lake horror trilogy. The author and CU professor drops by Boulder Book Store for a reading and signing event on April 2. See listing for details

BLACK FUTURES IN ART: CAN YOU HEAR ME? Through April 6, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Free

PERFORMING SELF

Through April 28, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th St. $2

WE CU: A VISUAL CELEBRATION OF BLACK WOMANHOOD, PRESENCE AND CONNECTEDNESS. Through July 13, CU Art Museum, 1085 18th St., Boulder. Free

THE SKELETAL WORLD OF JOSÉ GUADALUPE POSADA. Through May 12, Denver Art Museum, 100 W 14th Ave. $18

ARE YOU OK?: A TRANS SURVIVAL PROJECT Through June 22, East Window Gallery, 4550 Broadway, Suite C-3B2, Boulder. Free | Through May 31, Dairy Arts Center – Northeast Mural Wall, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Free

NOUF ALJOWAYSIR: SALAF (ANCESTOR) Through July 27, East Window Gallery, 4550 Broadway, Suite C-3B2, Boulder. Free

GHOSTS OF OUR PERCEPTION AND THE RHYTHM OF BREATH BY PIETRO SIMONETTI 6:30 p.m. Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St. $5

THE ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE BY STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St. $5

CHILDLESS MOTHER: A SEARCH FOR SON AND SELF BY TRACY MAYO 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St. $5

ANXIETY: A PHILOSOPHICAL GUIDE BY SAMIR CHOPRA 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 4, Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St. $5

ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): I suspect you will soon have far more beginner’s luck than you ever thought possible. For best results — to generate even more wildly abundant torrents of good luck — you could adopt what Zen Buddhists called “beginner’s mind.” That means gazing upon everyone and everything as if encountering it for the first time. Here are other qualities I expect to be flowing freely through you in the coming weeks: spontaneity, curiosity, innocence, candor and unpredictability. To the degree that you cultivate these states, you will invite even more beginner’s luck into your life.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): Taurus artist Salvador Dali was prone to exaggerate for dramatic effect. We should remember that as we read his quote: “Mistakes are almost always of a sacred nature. Never try to correct them. On the contrary: Rationalize them; understand them thoroughly.” While that eccentric advice may not always be 100% accurate or useful, I think it will be true and helpful for you in the coming weeks. Have maximum fun making sacred mistakes, Taurus! Learn all you can from them. Use them to improve your life.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): The professional fun advisors here at Free Will Astrology International Headquarters have concluded that your Party Hardy Potential Rating for the coming weeks is 9.8 (out of 10). In fact, this may be the Party Hardy Phase of the Year for you. You could gather the benefits of maximum revelry and conviviality with minimal side effects. Here’s a meditation to get you in the right mood: Imagine mixing business and pleasure with such panache that they blend into a gleeful, fruitful synergy.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): Cancerian author and psychotherapist Virginia Satir (1916–1988) was renowned as the “Mother of Family Therapy.” Her research led her to conclude, “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.” That 12-hug recommendation seems daunting to achieve, but I hope you will strive for it in the coming weeks. You are in a phase when maximum growth is possible — and pushing to the frontiers of hugging will help you activate the full potential. (P.S. Make sure it’s consensual: Don’t force anyone to hug you.)

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): Have you been genuinely amazed anytime recently? Have you done something truly amazing? If not, it’s time to play catchup. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you need and deserve exciting adventures that boggle your soul in all the best ways. You should be wandering out on the frontiers and tracking down provocative mysteries. You could grow even smarter than you already are if you expose yourself to challenges that will amaze you and inspire you to be amazing.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): I invite you to perform a magic spell that will help prepare you for the rich, slippery soul work you have ahead of you. I’ll offer a suggestion, but feel free to compose your own ritual. First, go outside where it’s raining or misting, or find a waterfall. Stand with your legs apart and arms spread out as you turn your face up toward the falling moisture. As you drink it in, tell yourself you will be extra fluid and flowing in the coming weeks. Promise yourself you will stimulate and treasure succulent feelings. You will cultivate the sensation that everything you need is streaming in your direction.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): You are gliding into the climax of your re-education about togetherness, intimacy and collaboration. The lessons you’ve been learning have deepened your reservoir of wisdom about the nature of love. And in the coming weeks, even further teachings will arrive; even more openings and invitations will be available. You will be offered the chance to earn what could in effect be a master’s degree in relationships. It’ll be challenging work, but rewarding and interesting. Do as best as you can. Don’t demand perfection from yourself or anyone else.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): Now is not a favorable phase to gamble on unknown entities. Nor should you allow seemingly wellmeaning people to transgress your boundaries. Another Big No: Don’t heed the advice of fear-mongers or nagging scolds, whether they’re inside or outside your head. On the other hand, dear Scorpio, the coming weeks will be an excellent time for the following actions. 1. Phase out attachments to alliances and love interests that have exhausted their possibilities. 2. Seek the necessary resources to transform or outgrow a frustrating fact about your life. 3. Name truths that other people seem intent on ignoring and avoiding. 4. Conjure simple, small, slow, practical magic to make simple, small, slow, practical progress.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): Falling in love is fun! It’s also exciting, enriching, inspiring, transformative, world-shaking and educational. Wouldn’t it be fabulous if we could keep falling in love anew three or four times a year for as long as we live? We might always be our best selves, showing our most creative and generous sides, continually expanding our power to express our soulful intelligence. Alas, it’s not practical or realistic to always be falling in love with another new person. Here’s a possible alternative: What if we enlarged our understanding of what we could fall in love with? Maybe we would become perpetually infatuated with brilliant teachings, magical places, high adventures and great art and music. The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to cultivate this skill.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): I’m perplexed by spiritual teachers who fanatically preach the doctrine that we should BE HERE NOW as much as possible. Living with full enjoyment in the present moment is a valuable practice, but dismissing or demeaning the past is shortsighted. Our lives are forged from our histories. We should revere the stories we are made of, visit them regularly and keep learning from them. Keep this in mind, Capricorn. It’s an excellent time to heal your memories and to be healed by them. Cultivate deep gratitude for your past as you give the old days all your love. Enjoy this quote from novelist Gregory Maguire: “Memory is part of the present. It builds us up inside; it knits our bones to our muscles and keeps our heart pumping. It is memory that reminds our bodies to work, and memory that reminds our spirits to work, too: It keeps us who we are.”

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): Controversial author William S. Burroughs was a rough, tough troublemaker. But he had some wisdom that will soon be extra useful for you. He said that love is the best natural painkiller available. I bring this to your attention not because I believe you will experience more pain than the rest of us in the coming months. Rather, I am predicting you will have extra power to alleviate your pain — especially when you raise your capacity to give and receive love.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): The planet Saturn entered Pisces in March 2023 and won’t depart for good until February 2026. Is that a bad thing or good thing for you Pisceans? Some astrologers might say you are in a challenging time when you must make cutbacks and take on increased responsibility. I have a different perspective. I believe this is a phase when you can get closer than ever before to knowing exactly what you want and how to accomplish what you want. In my view, you are being called to shed secondary wishes that distract you from your life’s central goals. I see this period as a homecoming — your invitation to glide into robust alignment with your soul’s code.

Cis-het dude here in my 30s. I’ve had to spend several multi-month periods away from my wife over the last couple years for work. During the last long separation, I started writing letters — long letters, horny letters, emotional letters and lots of smut. I sent notebooks filled with horny letters and erotic short stories, drawings and elaborate chooseyour-own-adventure-style pieces. I let her in on some of my kinks. (I know, Dan: I should’ve done this when we first started dating but I wasn’t listening to the Lovecast then.)

SAVAGE LOVE

BY DAN SAVAGE

As it turns out, she’s pretty vanilla, and she asked me to pull back on the kink. I obliged. I’m not great at talking about my feelings and desires, but I can write them down. Not everything was horny — I sent love letters, not just lust letters — but I never get much of a response.

I guess the issue here is that I feel like I’m not getting much back. Should I put my kinks (mostly subby stuff with me as the sub) back in my stories, or does that come across like I’m trying to pressure her? We’re going to be back together full time for the next couple years. I love the heck out of this woman — that’s why I married her — but it doesn’t feel good to be the unreciprocated lust letter writer.

— Boy Overconfidently Oversharing Kink Stories

“First of all, one cis-het bloke to another, a big bloody well done on the beautiful and creative outlet BOOKS found and explored and here’s to making space for sharing, vulnerability, and playful kinky discussions,” said The Funny Dom, the pen name of a 44-year-old Daddy based in Melbourne, Australia.

“Unfortunately, I’m thinking BOOKS transformation from a not-very-comfortable-speaking-about-feelings-anddesires guy to something like a coked-up-Aaron-Sorkin-like pen pal may have overwhelmed his partner.”

You say it wasn’t your intent to make your wife feel pressured, but it sounds like she feels pressured, BOOKS, and it sounds like you actually are disappointed she hasn’t responded in kind and embraced your kinks.

“I totally understand that BOOKS is feeling a little underwhelmed by the lack of reciprocation here,” said The Funny Dom. “That’s only human. But he’s gotta remember that no one asked him to cook this five-course meal. You gotta discuss tastes, appetites and menu options before playing chef. Kink-dynamic wise, sending someone smut and possible scenarios for play that place your partner in the dominant role — without clearly ascertaining whether that’s what they want — is a form of manipulation you often see in relationships that have been essentially vanilla but now one person wants to explore kink.

“BOOKS shouldn’t put the pen down,” said The Friendly Dom, “but he should keep the writing for himself — start an anonymous blog or write for a smut lit erotica type platform — and then, when he’s home, have a face-to-face conversation with his partner how he’s feeling and, most importantly, how she’s feeling. If not, well, BOOKS needs to take that into account before spending the next umpteen years together. Fundamental kink compatibility is vital to a functional relationship.”

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TIPPING POINT

Local diners, chefs fed up with gratuitous gratuities

BY JOHN LEHNDORFF

One of life’s most awkward moments gets repeated every week for me. A person stands smiling over me. I gently insert my red debit card into their black device. They turn the screen, and I am face-to-face with the question. Was the service I just received with my omelet worth 15% or 25% of the with-tax total? I must think quickly as they wait for my big-bucks decision.

According to a recent Pew Research Center national survey, 81% of us say we always tip for restaurant meals, but it’s not good news. Only 37% report leaving 15% for a full-service restaurant meal, while 18% say they tip less than

that. Fully 2% of those surveyed report that they do not tip at all.

We asked Boulder Weekly readers to weigh in on their feelings about tipping. We were flooded with comments about service fees, tipping for takeout food and the ubiquitous screens with auto tip recommendations. One labeled them simply: “those nasty screens.”

The problem may be what has been called “tipping fatigue.” We are confronted with constant demands for gratuities in almost every retail transaction, from hair salons and dog groomers to electricians and dry cleaners.

“It seems like anytime you pay by debit/credit you get the tip page,” Kay Lyn commented on a Facebook post. “I’ve even had the tip page show up in online purchases.”

In general, our readers say they still

tip 15-25% for sit-down meals. They tip less for food delivery and for takeout. Those who have worked in restaurants say they always tip and at a higher percentage.

“I always tip,” wrote local diner Katy Kempe. “In fact, now I am up to 30%. Period. Everyone deserves to earn for their hard work!”

For those who commented, the single biggest quandary seemed to be how much to tip for take-out coffee and food, and even drive-thru fare. One Facebook commenter mentioned “fastcasual restaurants where you aren’t getting any service” and another wondered about bakeries where “all they do is put the croissant in a bag.”

That perception doesn’t sit well with business owners. Stacy Gustafson, owner of Stacy’s Kitchen in Erie, wrote:

“I tip on anything I get, be it a coffee or fine dining. I hate it when people don’t tip at my shop because it’s a to-go order. It’s all fresh and you watch me make it, for crying out loud!”

Local diner Kerri Hendershot states it simply: “Someone has to put together your to-go order. They run their butts off! Even a couple bucks being tipped is greatly appreciated.”

NO TIPPING ALLOWED

As far as restaurateur Edwin Zoe is concerned, it is time for the practice of tipping to stop in the United States.

“Tipping is an awkward transaction,”

Zoe says. “I’ve been trying to tackle it for years. There are friction points in every direction with tipping: between the customer and the server, the server and the restaurant and among employees. The pandemic exacerbated it.”

At his Zoe Ma Ma and Dragonfly Noodle restaurants in Boulder and Denver, tips are not accepted. There is no tip line on the payment screen. If a customer leaves a gratuity, the money is donated to local nonprofit Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence.

Zoe is one of only a handful of local restaurateurs who have turned off the tip tap. Other restaurants also include a “living wage” charge on meals, but they also accept tips.

“We were at a popular Boulder restaurant, and our bill ended [up being] 50% more than what we ate and drank because it included our 20% tip and the 30% back of the house fee. Enough!” wrote reader Karyn Sprat. Zoe says that eliminating tipping is the answer.

“There are no encounters where our customer feels like they have been hit up twice,” he says. “For employees, we have decoupled the gratuity from their pay, and they have certainty about their income. It doesn’t depend on how busy we are.”

A reader who has worked in the industry, Tiffany Boller, strongly agrees. “ALL workers should make a livable wage,” she wrote. “We should get rid of this asinine practice.”

Edwin Zoe eliminated tipping at his Denver and Boulder restaurants. Credit: John Lehndorff

ROOTS IN RACISM

Service fees are supposed to level the income differential between the front of house — traditionally better paid servers and bartenders — and back of the house cooks and dishwashers.

“It’s not fair for servers to make $30 an hour on a busy night and the dishwashers barely break minimum wage,” Zoe says.

The problem isn’t the customers who tip well, it is the ones who don’t. “Paying your rent shouldn’t depend on their mood,” he says.

Zoe’s turn away from tipping hasn’t been without controversy. To explain his ban, Zoe briefly details to diners the racist history of tipping in the U.S. Tipping is a practice popularized after the Civil War, largely as a technique for paying African American workers less.

“I’ve gotten some love letters from diners,” Zoe says. “One said he didn’t appreciate being called a racist because he wants to reward good service.”

But Zoe has seen racism at work. “Asian, Hispanic and African American servers traditionally tend to get tipped at a lower percentage than those who are not,” he says.

The lust factor has always played a part in tipping, whether we want to admit it or not. We tip attractive servers and bartenders better than waiters who aren’t — even when the latter offer better service.

“I’ve seen it lead to forms of sexual harassment for servers because of this financial transaction,” Zoe says.

Some readers admit that their decision to tip can also be based on some pretty sketchy variables such as not

WORDS TO CHEW ON:

being offered water. We also sometimes “punish” servers for meal issues caused by the kitchen.

We are also sadly easy to manipulate. A new International Journal of Hospitality Management study suggests that restaurant patrons tip a little more if there are smiley face emojis next to the suggested tips on screens.

ANTI-TIPPING TIPSTER

Ultimately, paying workers a living wage has gotten more challenging, according to Zoe. He worries about how to care for workers without raising the cost of a bowl of noodles or a burger “beyond what diners are willing to pay” and still ensure the gracious, attentive and memorable table service that we all love.

“The price I pay for food and everything else has also gone through the roof,” Zoe says. “It is making it much harder for restaurants to make it.”

Even though Zoe doesn’t allow tipping in his Boulder and Denver eateries, he still tips when his family goes out.

“I’m opposed to tipping,” he says, “but you don’t want to punish workers still in that system.”

I recently asked my young server at a Boulder breakfast and lunch spot how well her customers were tipping these days.

“It probably averages 15-20%,” she said. “Some people are more generous. They make up for the people who leave a quarter. I want to say: ‘Don’t spend it all in one place, buddy!’”

I tipped 20% when she offered the screen. I didn’t want her to think I was cheap. Besides, the math was easy.

“She’s been on her feet nearly half the damned night, bringing your beverage and your late night bite. She remains cheerful, when you’re nasty and tight, makes change for a 50 in dim candle light.”

– From the song “Tip Your Waitress” by Loudon Wainwright III.

John Lehndorff is a former Boulder restaurant prep cook and line cook. Comments: nibbles@boulderweekly.com

ON DRUGS

FIGHT FOR THEIR LIVES

Colorado students can’t carry overdose-reversing drugs — these teens want to change that

BY RAE ELLEN BICHELL KFF NEWS

Gavinn McKinney loved Nike shoes, fireworks and sushi. He was studying Potawatomi, one of the languages of his Native American heritage. He loved holding his niece and smelling her baby smell. On his 15th birthday, the Durango teen spent a cold December afternoon chopping wood to help neighbors who couldn’t afford to heat their homes.

McKinney almost made it to his 16th birthday. He died of fentanyl poisoning at a friend’s house in December 2021. His friends say it was the first time he tried hard drugs. The memorial service was so packed, people had to stand outside the funeral home.

Now, his peers are trying to cement their friend’s legacy in state law. They recently testified to state lawmakers in support of a bill, HB24-1003, they helped write to ensure students can carry naloxone with them at all times without fear of discipline or confiscation. As of this writing, the bill has been introduced and is under consideration.

School districts tend to have strict medication policies. Without special permission, Colorado students can’t even carry their own emergency medications, such as an inhaler, and they are not allowed to share them with others.

“We realized we could actually make a change if we put our hearts to it,” says Niko Peterson, a senior at Animas High School in Durango and one of McKinney’s friends who helped write the bill. “Being proactive versus being reactive is going to be the best possible solution.”

Individual school districts or counties in California, Maryland and elsewhere have rules expressly allowing high school students to carry naloxone. But Jon Woodruff, managing attorney at the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association, says he isn’t aware of any statewide law such as the one Colorado is considering. Woodruff’s Washington, D.C.-based organization researches and drafts legislation on substance use.

Naloxone is an opioid antagonist that can halt an overdose. Available over the counter as a nasal spray, it is considered the fire extinguisher of the opioid epidemic, for use in an emergency, but just one tool in a prevention strategy. (People often refer to it as “Narcan,” one of the more recognizable brand names, similar to how tissues, regardless of brand, are often called “Kleenex.”)

The Biden administration last year backed an ad campaign encouraging young people to carry the emergency medication.

Most states’ naloxone access laws protect do-gooders, including youth, from liability if they accidentally harm someone while administering naloxone. But without school policies explicitly allowing it, the students’ ability to bring naloxone to class falls into a gray area.

Ryan Christoff says that in September 2022, fellow staff at Centaurus High School in Lafayette, where he worked and which one of his daughters attended at the time, confiscated naloxone from one of her classmates.

“She didn’t have anything on her other than the Narcan, and they took it away from her,” says Christoff, who had provided the confiscated Narcan to that student and many others after his daughter nearly died from fentanyl

poisoning. “We should want every student to carry it.”

Boulder Valley School District spokesperson Randy Barber says the incident “was a one-off, and we’ve done some work since to make sure nurses are aware.” The district now encourages everyone to consider carrying naloxone, he says.

DEVASTATION TURNS TO ACTION

In Durango, McKinney’s death hit the community hard. McKinney’s friends and family says he didn’t do hard drugs. The substance he was hooked on was Tapatío hot sauce — he even brought some in his pocket to a Rockies game.

After McKinney died, people started getting tattoos of the phrase he was known for, which was emblazoned on his favorite sweatshirt: “Love is the cure.” Even a few of his teachers got them. But it was classmates, along with their friends at another high school in town, who turned his loss into a political movement.

“We’re making things happen on behalf of him,” Peterson says.

The mortality rate has spiked in recent years, with more than 1,500 other children and teens in the U.S. dying of fentanyl poisoning the same year as McKinney. Most youth who die of overdoses have no known history of

Gavinn McKinney died of fentanyl poisoning at a friend’s house in December 2021. McKinney was part of the Thunder Clan of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. He also had Kickapoo and Assiniboine heritage.

Courtesy: Trennie Burch

Zoe Ramsey, a high school senior from Durango, Colorado, testified before state lawmakers in February 2024 about a bill to clarify that students may carry naloxone, a drug that can reverse opioid overdoses. Credit: Rae Ellen Bichell, KFF Health News

taking opioids, and many of them likely thought they were taking prescription opioids like OxyContin or Percocet — not the fake prescription pills that increasingly carry a lethal dose of fentanyl.

“Most likely the largest group of teens that are dying are really teens that are experimenting, as opposed to teens that have a long-standing opioid use disorder,” says Joseph Friedman, a substance use researcher at UCLA who would like to see schools provide accurate drug education about counterfeit pills, such as with Stanford’s Safety First curriculum.

Allowing students to carry a low-risk, lifesaving drug with them is in many ways the minimum schools can do, he says.

“I would argue that what the schools should be doing is identifying high-risk teens and giving them the Narcan to take home with them and teaching them why it matters,” Friedman says.

Writing in The New England Journal

of Medicine, Friedman identified Colorado as a hot spot for high schoolaged adolescent overdose deaths, with a mortality rate more than double that of the nation from 2020 to 2022.

“Increasingly, fentanyl is being sold in pill form, and it’s happening to the largest degree in the West,” says Friedman. “I think that the teen overdose crisis is a direct result of that.”

If Colorado lawmakers approve the bill, “I think that’s a really important step,” says Ju Nyeong Park, an assistant professor of medicine at Brown University, who leads a research group focused on how to prevent overdoses. “I hope that the Colorado Legislature does and that other states follow as well.”

Park says comprehensive programs to test drugs for dangerous contaminants, better access to evidencebased treatment for adolescents who develop a substance use disorder, and promotion of harm reduction tools are also important.

“For example, there is a national

hotline called Never Use Alone that anyone can call anonymously to be supervised remotely in case of an emergency,” she says.

INTO THEIR OWN HANDS

Many Colorado school districts are training staff how to administer naloxone and stocking it on school grounds through a program that allows them to acquire it from the state at little to no cost. But it was clear to Peterson and other area high schoolers that having naloxone at school isn’t enough, especially in rural places.

“The teachers who are trained to use Narcan will not be at the parties where the students will be using the drugs,” he says.

And it isn’t enough to expect teens to keep it at home.

“It’s not going to be helpful if it’s in somebody’s house 20 minutes outside of town. It’s going to be helpful if it’s in their backpack always,” says Zoe Ramsey, another of McKinney’s friends

and a senior at Animas High School.

“We were informed it was against the rules to carry naloxone, and especially to distribute it,” says Ilias “Leo” Stritikus, who graduated from Durango High School last year.

But students in the area, and their school administrators, were uncertain: Could students get in trouble for carrying the opioid antagonist in their backpacks, or if they distributed it to friends? And could a school or district be held liable if something went wrong?

He, along with Ramsey and Peterson, helped form the group Students Against Overdose. Together, they convinced Animas, which is a charter school, and the surrounding school district to change policies. Now, with parental permission and after going through training on how to administer it, students may carry naloxone on school grounds.

Durango School District 9-R spokesperson Karla Sluis says at least 45 students have completed the training.