The lofoten collection Innovative features, bold colors, signature design.
Courtesy: Branded Beet
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
Volume 32, Number 5
COVER: Nathan Venzara
PUBLISHER: Francis J. Zankowski
EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Shay Castle
ARTS EDITOR: Jezy J. Gray
REPORTERS: Kaylee Harter, Tyler Hickman
FOOD EDITOR: John Lehndorff
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Ana Gavrilovska, Dan Savage, Boyoung Seo, Toni Tresca
SALES AND MARKETING
MARKET DEVELOPMENT MANAGER: Kellie Robinson
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Matthew Fischer
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Chris Allred, Tony Camarda
SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER: Carter Ferryman
MRS. BOULDER WEEKLY: Mari Nevar
PRODUCTION
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Erik Wogen
GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Chris Sawyer
CIRCULATION
CIRCULATION MANAGER: Cal Winn
CIRCULATION TEAM: Sue Butcher, Ken Rott, Chris Bauer
BUSINESS OFFICE
BOOKKEEPER/ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Austen Lopp
FOUNDER / CEO: Stewart Sallo
As Boulder County’s only independently owned newspaper, Boulder Weekly is dedicated to illuminating 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 queries to: editorial@ boulderweekly.com. Any materials sent to Boulder Weekly become the property of the newspaper.
1495 Canyon Boulevard, Suite CO 1, Boulder, CO 80302
Boulder Weekly welcomes your correspondence via email (letters@boulderweekly.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 verification. We do not publish anonymous letters or those signed with pseudonyms.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.
BEHIND THE BYLINE
Boulder Weekly welcomes new Longmont reporter
BY TYLER HICKMAN
The first thing I did when I jumped off the bus every afternoon as a kid was grab the newspaper. Usually, I was looking for mention of anyone I knew — teachers, coaches, the occasional friend who made the honor roll. A lot of times, it was to read the comics. Every once in a while, I’d see a familiar face on the cover.
If you’d told me then that I would
someday be the one writing those stories, I would have fainted; I was never a fan of the spotlight.
Three years ago, I decided I wanted to be a journalist. I had no idea where to start, but I thought, ‘Grad school might help.’ That thought turned into a move across the country to Boulder.
I spent the next two years at CU Boulder learning how to be a reporter,
writing for The Colorado Sun, Boulder Reporting Lab and a digital student publication called Planet Forward. I was hooked, and I knew Boulder was where I wanted to stay.
Now, here I am, in print, and in a community that cares deeply about good journalism. Most importantly, I’ll be following one of Boulder County’s fastestgrowing cities, Longmont, as the community rapidly evolves. I’m excited to get to know the people and tell the stories that make Longmont special.
I’ll be looking out for these stories, and I welcome anyone to share what they think needs more attention in Longmont. You can reach out to me at thickman@ boulderweekly.com with tips, or just to say hello.
A LIVING WAGE, AT MINIMUM
While workers struggle with the high cost of living, regional efforts to raise the minimum wage have stalled
BY TYLER HICKMAN
Jacob Waltz has called Longmont home for a decade, but for the first time he’s thinking about leaving. Rising rent prices are outpacing his wage bumps, and last year he and his partner moved in with a coworker just to meet the rental property’s minimum income requirements.
A cheesemonger at King Soopers in Longmont, Waltz earns $22 an hour — nearly $7 an hour more than the $14.42 state minimum. Despite this, he’s still struggling.
“Honestly, I’m just kind of afraid,” he said. “If I end up losing my job for whatever reason, and end up having to go down to making something like $15 an hour again, there’s just no way we’re
going to be able to sustain our living.
“What does that mean for the people who are making minimum wage?” Waltz said. “It’s not possible to build a life.”
Some municipalities have responded to Colorado’s cost-of-living by enacting higher minimum wages, something first allowed by state law in 2019. Denver workers now earn at least $18.29 per hour. Boulder County is on track to reach a $25 minimum wage by 2023, in unincorporated areas.
After declining to join the county last year, a coalition of Boulder County towns banded together to study the issue, with the goal of implementing a higher minimum for 2025. But now, that regional effort has collapsed, with only
the City of Boulder planning to pass an increase this year.
Elected officials say more time and study are needed. They are hesitant to place cost burdens on small businesses who have opposed the effort, and fearful that wage increases will only contribute to the rapidly increasing cost of living.
“There’s a lot of hope and a lot of fear,” Longmont City Council member Sean McCoy said. “The fear is that they have gone through 2008, they’ve gone through COVID. Like, can you smack me with one more thing?”
MINIMAL JOB LOSS, NEGATIVE IMPACTS
Last year, city officials said they wanted a deeper economic analysis before deciding to join the county in raising the minimum wage.
Boulder, Longmont, Lafayette, Louisville and Erie together contracted ECONorthwest, an economic consulting firm, to analyze local data. The firm presented the potential community impacts of raising the minimum wage to each city council this summer.
Four different timelines for increases
were presented. Two options are designed to reach Boulder County’s minimum. The first track, B1, reaches the county’s minimum wage as fast as possible — 15% annual increase each of the next five years — matching the county at $25 by 2030. The second track is slower, matching the county’s wage by 2035 at $28.98.
The other two options follow Denver’s trajectory, with a $19.07 minimum in 2026 (Option D1) or a $25.32 hourly minimum by 2035 (D2).
Both Denver and unincorporated Boulder County’s minimum wages follow the Consumer Price Index. All four scenarios assume an average annual increase of 3% in wages.
Impacts to the local economy under the plans would be mixed, ECONorthwest Senior Economist Andrew Dyke said, but job and business losses overall would be minimal. The firm based their analysis on 10 cities who recently raised minimum wages with economic makeups similar to the five Boulder County cities.
“We wouldn’t expect a large loss of jobs as a result of a reasonably sized
minimum wage increase,” Dyke said. “We would expect some increase in earnings [for workers], but there are trade offs. There are what look like many positive effects [and] some places with negative effects, but on the whole, we don’t see the big negative effects.”
A 2023 analysis in Denver showed that, since increasing the minimum wage in 2020, unemployment decreased more quickly than the rest of the state, while average wages increased significantly.
Projections from ECONorthwest show the cumulative increase in local prices will be 0.1% at maximum.
“Some businesses probably will fail, but not net,” Dyke said. “We would expect others to adapt and others to take their place.”
BOULDER FLYING SOLO
The analysis has not convinced some business owners, who spoke at public hearings in their respective cities and other public venues.
“As many beloved businesses are still closing in Longmont and surrounding areas, some of us are finally regaining a small sense of stability,” Jean Ditslear,
owner of 300 Suns Brewing in Longmont, said to elected officials on Aug. 27. “This proposal could be the final straw that forces many of us to leave or close.”
Elected officials tried to balance business concerns with those of other constituents: namely, the thousands of low-wage workers across each of their five cities.
“We’re trying to find a level in between the requests of some of these businesses to do very little or nothing, and our desire to get more money in the hands of low-income workers,” said Boulder City Council member Mark Wallach.
Boulder’s approach is also exactly what we’d recommend.”
‘WAITING FOR EVERYBODY ELSE’
In Lafayette, representatives want more community-focused data before they move forward.
“We decided to take our time and gather some additional information before really making any kind of decision,” said Lafayette Mayor Pro Tem Brian Wong. “I don’t foresee us making a decision in time.”
Wage increases can only be enacted Jan. 1 of each calendar year. If elected officials in Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette and Erie don’t act in 2024, workers there will have to wait until 2026 for a raise.
Longmont may defer the issue to the public, placing it on the 2025 ballot, according to McCoy. “I’ve heard several councilors say that this needs to go to the people,” he said.
Erie officials, who met on Sept. 17 to discuss the issue, are not moving forward with a wage increase, but may revisit the question in the future.
“I think we’re going to learn lessons from Boulder,” Mayor Justin Brooks said during the meeting. “I hope that we would know more about this perhaps a
In the end, Boulder was the only city to take steps toward higher wages for 2025. A special meeting, public hearing and vote has been scheduled for Oct. 10.
A SMALL PIECE OF THE PUZZLE
For low-wage workers, time is of the essence. Based on the findings in the 2022 Self-Sufficiency Standard Report, an individual living in Boulder County needs an hourly wage of $22.18 to live without outside assistance, ECONorthwest estimates. Following current projections, that standard could reach $34.45 by 2025. A few miles from Waltz’s King Soopers in Longmont, some employees at Safeway earn just $17.50. Despite the eventual pay bump that would come with a higher minimum wage, workers like Lola Pierce are still worried about affording their rent.
Pierce, who has previously struggled with homelessness, feels pressure to leave Longmont for somewhere cheaper.
“It’s not because I want to, it’s because that’s affordable and I can’t keep being on the streets,” she said. “If they raise the minimum wage, they need to make some choices, like on housing prices.”
A report released in 2023 estimated the average asking rent in Longmont to be $1,700, an affordable price only for those who make more than 60% of the area median income. That price is projected to shoot up to $2,050 by 2028, according to the report’s authors. While a raise in minimum wage is not a panacea, it’s a step in the right direction, Boulder City Council member Lauren Folkerts said.
Under the proposed plan, the minimum wage will increase 8% each of the next three years, after which another analysis will be performed to gauge impacts. This is a slight departure from ECONorthwest’s recommendations, with no immediate timeline to match the county’s minimum wage.
Economic analysis shows it is important to go slow, Dyke said. “I think
year or two from now to be able to reconsider.”
Louisville is also taking a wait-and-see approach.
“They are interested in seeing what happens regionally,” City Communications Manager Grace Johnson said.
“It appears sort of everybody is waiting for everybody else,” Louisville Mayor Chris Leh said during a Sept. 10 meeting.
“I can’t say that I have ever had the opportunity to vote on a decision that would have a statistical impact on the wealth divide before. There just aren’t that many tools that do that,” Folkerts said of the city’s decision to draft an ordinance to increase minimum wage.
“Minimum wage is one tool, it’s not going to solve all the problems,” Dyke said. “But it can help make progress towards closing the wealth gap.”
While the rest of the county idles, Waltz plans to keep voicing his struggles until city officials step in.
“It’s sad to see our representatives not taking action on the problem,” he said, “but all I can really do is just continue to lobby for it.”
GOV’T WATCH
What your local officials are up to this week
BY KAYLEE HARTER
BOULDER CITY COUNCIL
At its Sept. 26 meeting, council will:
• Hold its first ever community and council forum in place of its regularly scheduled study session.
The new forums are aimed at allowing the community to be involved in council’s decision-making process early on to allow for “more diverse perspectives to shape projects, and ultimately, outcomes.”
The topic of the Sept. 26 forum will be an economic development strategy that includes “addressing commercial vacancies” and “broadening small business support.”
The meeting will include a presentation, time for questions, small group breakouts and a debrief. There are 20 seats for community participation; invites are extended to people with lived experience for the first 10 seats. Register for the open seats at boulder colorado.gov/ community-and-council-forumsign-form
Non-participating attendees are not required to register.
BOULDER COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
• On Sept. 17, county commissioners approved a six-month moratorium on reviewing plans for houses that are larger than the median residential square footage in a given neighborhood, as the county aims to curb home sizes for environmental and affordability purposes.
The moratorium begins Jan. 17 in unincorporated Boulder County, four months later than the originally proposed effective-immediate date. Marshall Fire rebuilds and other homes lost to natural disasters are exempt, as are homes that already have a completed site review application.
About 50 people spoke at the meeting, with only two in favor of the moratorium. Read more: bit.ly/ BigHomesBW.
The county is also taking feedback on the following:
• Three options for the design of the 63rd Street overpass for the planned CO 119 Bikeway. The first has weathered steel and exposed concrete “for a historic look.” The second will have locally-sourced timber and sandstone for “warm, rich tones and muted greys or browns inspired by the natural stone of the Flatirons.” The third has powder-coated steel and brick or stone work for a look the survey describes as a contemporary blend of rustic and industrial. Take the survey at surveymonkey.com/ r/WFVRS7X
• The draft plan for a regional trail that would connect Boulder and Erie (BERT). Comments are open through Sept. 25. Learn more and submit comments: bit.ly/BERTbw
LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL
At the Sept. 17 meeting, council:
• Approved a grant agreement to work toward city housing goals. The state’s Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) will provide $192,000, with a 20% match from the city ($240,000). The funds will allow the city to hire a consulting team to develop a five-year road map, evaluate current programs, research options for an inclusionary housing ordinance, update commercial development fees that fund affordable
housing, amend development land use codes and review the process to expedite affordable projects.
• Approved a $193,800 contract with civil construction and restoration company Western States Reclamation to build three passive recreation areas along the Coal Creek Corridor. The total budget for the project is $500,000, with $200,000 funded by the city and $300,000 from Great Outdoors Colorado lottery funds for construction and habitat restoration.
• Approved a $126,190 contract for remodeling the senior center bathrooms, which do not meet ADA requirements. The center will be closed for 2-3 weeks starting Sept. 30 with programing and senior services moved to the recreation center and the library.
• Issued a proclamation honoring the life and service of Councilor Tonya Briggs, who died unexpectedly in September 2023 at 44 years old.
TOWN OF SUPERIOR
Officials are seeking feedback on:
• The Comprehensive Plan, a document that guides long-term decision making on land use, housing, transportation and more. Visit shapesuperior.com/ Comprehensive-Plan
• A memorial for destruction wrought by the Marshall Fire. The survey closes Sept. 29: shapesuperior.com/ marshall-fire-memorial
All agenda items are subject to change. Karen Nordback contributed to this reporting
Credit: Wally Gobetz
By Henrik Ibsen
Michael Holling
By Louisa May Alcott Adapted and Directed by Jessica Robblee
BOCO, BRIEFLY
Local news at a glance
BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF
HATE CRIME CHARGES
SOUGHT IN UNI HILL ATTACK
A group of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) leaders across the state have called on the Boulder County District Attorney’s office to file hate crime charges after an incident Sept. 6 at a Nana’s Dim Sum and Dumpling restaurant ribbon-cutting ceremony.
During the ceremony, a man in his 20s yelled racist slurs at children who were performing as part of Colorado Asian Cultural Heritage Center, according to the statement issued Sept. 13
and multiple news reports. After council member Tara Winer confronted the man, he punched her in the face and threw her to the ground.
Members of the group are planning to speak during the open comment portion of Boulder City Council’s Sept. 19 meeting. Read more: bit.ly/BoCoBriefly Sept19.
BOULDER SHUTS DOWN ILLEGAL STUDENT HOUSING
The City of Boulder issued a closure notice for the property formerly known as Marpa House, 891 12th St., over illegally subdivided bedrooms.
City officials said 15 additional bedrooms were added after a building inspection. The rooms were discovered after a tenant complained. Electrical work in the bedrooms was also not inspected or approved.
As a result, the entire property was vacated. Sixty students were displaced
by the closure, “at least 13 of whom” are still looking for housing, city officials said. Read more: bit.ly/IllegalRoomsBW.
IN OTHER NEWS…
• Two doctors testified that the man who killed 10 people at the Table Mesa King Soopers in 2021 was legally sane at the time. Read more: BoCoBrieflySept19.
• Four student editors at The Bold resigned in a public letter, citing negative experience with the student media program at CU Boulder. Read more: bit.ly/BoldBW.
• A proposed change to CU Boulder’s freedom of expression policy is being criticized by faculty and the ACLU of Colorado over its potentially broad definition of what constitutes university-controlled technology. Read more from CPR: bit.ly/SpeechPolicyBW.
• Water rates in Longmont could increase 59% over the next five
years, under two plans proposed to help the city upgrade, repair and replace its infrastructure. Read more: bit.ly/WaterRatesBW.
• Applications are now open for grants to help businesses afford rent in Boulder. The Affordable Commercial Grant Pilot Program will provide money to “owners of commercial buildings, managers of commercial properties, and business ventures proposing new, expanded or repurposed uses for currently vacant commercial spaces, or redeveloped facilities offering retail, office, or industrial spaces at below-market.” Learn more and apply by Oct. 7: bit.lyPilot ProgramBW.
BOULDER 1 OF 3 FINALISTS TO HOST SUNDANCE. READ MORE ON P.16
DIVERSE INVESTMENTS
How Boulder’s Arts Commission supports city’s equity goals
BY SHAY CASTLE
A10-foot sculpture towers over guests, who wander around and beneath it, sipping tea made from the very mushroom that formed this structure. On the walls are speakers connected to bioacoustic devices, converting the electricity produced by the fungi into sound. Dancers move with slow and controlled motions, performing the Japanese art of butoh.
This will be the scene at Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art for the Sept.19 opening of MycoMorphosis: Dancing with Fungi, a multimedia BioArt installation by Iván-Daniel Espinosa. (See listing on p. 20 for more information.) The work was funded, in part, with a community project grant from the City of Boulder.
In 2024, the Office of Arts and Culture (via the resident-staffed Arts Commission) funneled roughly $1 million to individual artists and organizations for education, professional development, training and direct support of
their work. Much of it will go to artists of color like Espinoza or to projects that align with the values of diversity, equity and inclusion, thanks to a guiding document that weaves those values into decision-making at nearly every level of the organization.
Espinoza, a 33-year-old Latino artist who moved to Boulder two years ago, feels grateful for the community’s support of BIPOC creatives. In addition to the grant for MycoMorphosis, the city also paid for him to attend CU Boulder’s Theater and Dance PhD program.
He has produced two events here so far, both “extremely successful and wellreceived,” Espinoza said.
“Most small cities don’t have such a strong, vibrant arts and culture sector.
We can use cultural institutions to support BIPOC artists in a way other small cities can’t.”
‘PIECE OF A BIGGER PUZZLE’
The Arts Commission adopted its first cultural equity statement in 2015; it was updated in 2022 to better align with the city’s equity goals that emphasize racial and ethnic diversity.
There is “a very clear line from the commission statement and their mission to how it comes out in practice,” said Lauren Click, recently promoted head of Arts and Culture.
Government allocations pay for more than just murals and sculptures: There are funds for rental assistance, fee waivers for performance venues, scholarships for organizational leadership training — even grants to help hire grant writers.
Applications are scored on how they contribute to cultural equity, including affordability, accessibility and the involvement of under-represented groups. Diversity is just one part of the scoring system: Applicants are also weighed on how well they fulfill other community priori-
ties, how local they are and other factors.
“It’s tough to score art,” Click said. “It’s tough to score hearts and souls. The equity piece is important in our process and important to the arts commission and our work and the city as a whole and us as a human race, but it’s not everything. It’s a piece of a bigger puzzle.
“I’m frankly proud of the work that we’ve done.”
ART SPEAKS LOUDER
How well that work is going is hard to say. Applicants aren’t asked about their own race or ethnicity. (“As a government agency, it is a measure that we refrain from including,” arts and culture spokesperson Emi Smith wrote in response to emailed questions.)
But what data they do have looks good. The number of applicants overall grew 63% from 2022 to 2024, while 47% more people were awarded grants during that time. That includes a 21% increase in the number of first-time grant recipients.
Organizations who receive general operating support grants from the city report a 97% increase in programming focused on diverse groups. In that case, those 42 organizations define for themselves what “diverse groups” means.
“What the data demonstrates is a substantial effort to expand and support programming for diverse audiences
Tatsuya Nakatani and the Nakatani Gong Orchestra prepare for a December 2023 performance produced by Iván-Daniel Espinosa, a City of Boulder grant recipient. Courtesy: Iván-Daniel Espinosa
The cast of We’re Still Here, an original musical created by Empathy Theater Project and funded, in part, by the City of Boulder. Courtesy: Cordelia Zars
according to each organization’s perspective on DEI for their own mission,” Smith wrote.
Some outcomes are directly observable, such as the decision to translate applications into Spanish.
“That was a great support,” said Adriana Paola Palacios Luna, founder of Luna Cultura, a bicultural arts and maker education organization. Luna has received an arts education grant from the city every year since her initial Spanishlanguage application in 2019, and has produced programming for cultural events like Immigrant Heritage Month and Indigenous People’s Day, which also receive funding from the Office of Arts and Culture.
This year, Luna was one of two people to receive the inaugural Leadership Pipeline Fund Scholarship. The $8,000 allowed her to attend Harvard’s extension school for a graduate certificate in equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging leadership.
“That’s giving me the possibility to access more professional education in a more prestigious institution [so] I can improve what I’m already doing,” Luna said.
Click said that perhaps the best way to gauge success is not with numbers, but “the way art has changed how Boulder looks, your experience of Boulder. That says a lot more than scoring and grant programs.
“Art is going to speak louder than what we can say.”
‘I FELT BELIEVED IN’
Artists who have received grants say the city’s support extends beyond money.
“One of their guidelines [for grant applications] is that they try to support and embrace first-time applicants, and I was really happy to see that,” said Espinoza. “When I applied for other grants from other organizations, I didn’t see that. It shows they are not trying to be exclusive.”
Luna is grateful for the time and care Click took to walk her through the process.
“She was guiding me, explaining everything in detail, also speaking Spanish,” Luna said. Boulder is “doing a very good job. I always think they can do more, because we know there are still many other barriers for community members to apply for these grants.”
Like Luna, Empathy Theater Project has received a grant every year since its inception, said founder and director
Cordelia Zars — for rental assistance, grant writing and two project grants for We’re Still Here, an original musical about an Arizona copper mine that “pits the preservation of Indigenous sacred land against the survival of a rural town.”
The play, based on a true story, was produced and written with and by Indigenous people. It’s eight-show run at Dairy Arts Center in 2023 sold out.
Now, Zars and co. are refining the production: editing the script, recording a soundtrack at eTown. The show will once again be at the Dairy in early 2025, this time on a bigger stage.
“When we received this grant, our biggest funding cycle, I felt so believed in by my city,” Zars said. “To have your own city invest in you feels really good.”
STAGE
OPEN SPACE
Dairy Arts Center expands access to venue with
‘grassroots socialist model’
BY TONI TRESCA
In a city short on performance venues, landing a spot at Boulder’s Dairy Arts Center can be a game changer for local creatives. But with its calendar booked months in advance, competition for space at the multidisciplinary complex is fierce.
That’s why the Dairy has launched a new co-production program for emerging artists. The initiative offers free rent at the Dairy, staff support and up to a $5,000 stipend to help bring their creative vision to life.
“We’re in a position now to be more open and generous in our opportunities than in the past when, to balance our books, we had to say, ‘Rent our space or not,’” says director of programs Glenn Webb. “We hope this will help us discover more aspects of the arts community in Boulder.”
Successful applicants will receive one to three days of theater rental, as well as access to technicians, front-of-house staff, marketing consultation, operational tips and box office assistance. While all types of public art and culture events are welcome to apply, the center is prioritizing live performances that have never been staged.
“This may not necessarily be the first show for [these artists], but hopefully they can leverage this opportunity in the future to get more work,” says development manager Shay Wescott. “We’ve had some pretty big productions at the Dairy, and we hold some weight, but we’re still a space that’s grounded in our community.”
‘LESS ABOUT TICKET SALES’
Previous projects at the Dairy provided valuable learning experiences that influenced the new co-production program.
Path to Excellence, a grant initiative offering stipends for local stage productions through the Boedecker Foundation, highlighted the need for more integrated
support beyond funding. Designed to make the center more accessible for local artists, the program provided crucial financial assistance but stopped short of helping creatives holistically navigate the challenges of producing a show independently.
Creative Nations, which opened as a permanent exhibition space for Indigenous artists at the Dairy in 2022, recently confirmed to executive director Melissa Fathman that it intends to spin off into an independent 501(c)(3) organization.
“That is the mark of true success: working together to create an idea, investing in it and then off they go,” Fathman says. “They can have that space forever, but soon they will be on their own, so what do we do next? The very supportive community working with us on these things suggested that we do a version of that, but as a micro-grant.”
So Fathman and her team began work on the co-production program. Webb suggested the initiative be structured as a revenue-sharing arrangement, with the Dairy taking on some financial risks in
exchange for a percentage of ticket sales. He described it as “sort of a grassroots socialist model” that allows artists to focus on their creative work without the burden of high upfront costs.
“For us, success in this program is less about ticket sales or what buzz organizations generate — it’s more longterm,” Fathom says. “Ideally, this is such a great experience that artists can level up what they are doing, like Creative Nations has been able to do, to become a sustainable nonprofit or a regular producing partner at the Dairy.”
A FOOT IN THE DOOR
Applications for the co-production program are open through Sept. 27. A volunteer advisory committee, consisting of community members with varied expertise in the arts, will review the applications in October. Finalists will be invited for in-person interviews the following month, where they’ll have the opportunity to present their vision and discuss the logistical aspects of their proposed projects.
“It’s all about finding the right balance between someone who has a really strong vision and someone who is flexible,” Wescott says. “We aren’t here to tell you how to make your art, but we are here to help you figure out how to present it from a logistical standpoint.”
Final decisions will be announced Dec. 2. Successful applicants will then work with the Dairy’s operations staff to finalize venue reservations and sign a contract for a co-production to be staged between July 1, 2025, and June 30 of the following year.
“I will know this program has been a success in five to 10 years if some of these artists are a more robust part of the community,” Webb says. “Hopefully, this will help influence the overall tone of arts organizations in Boulder and how they support artists and support diversity to help foster new voices. We want to make sure the arts community in Boulder will continue to feel vital despite the economics of rising rents.”
Interested in putting on a rent-free stage show at the Dairy Arts Center?
Applications for the co-production program are open through Sept. 27 at bit.ly/DairyCoProBW
The new co-production program at the Dairy Arts Center offers rent-free performance space, access to its staff and a stipend up to $5,000. Credit: Rachel Lowe Photography
LOVE SONGS
There’s nothing wrong with Built to Spill
BY ANA GAVRILOVSKA
The biggest show of Built to Spill’s 1994 tour to support their second full-length album, There’s Nothing Wrong with Love, took place right here in the People’s Republic. Now considered one of the most important indie-rock bands of all time, their performance at the CU Boulder’s Club 156 that October was an outlier for the emerging outfit.
“I think it was our only sold-out show of the tour,” recalls founding member, lead guitarist and vocalist Doug Martsch. “We play [Colorado] almost every tour. It’s definitely one of my favorite places.”
Formed a couple years earlier in Boise, Idaho, Built to Spill quickly gained a reputation for lo-fi charm buoyed by guitar wizardry. Bookending atonal moments with catchy riffs and Martsch’s singular voice, the band followed up their beloved sophomore release with 1997’s Perfect from Now On and 1999’s Keep It Like a Secret — forming a trio of unimpeachable albums that remain the gold standard for DIY guitar music.
Thirty years after selling out the defunct campus venue in Boulder, Built to Spill returns to the Front Range to perform the classic album in its entirety — alongside a smattering of other songs from the band’s deep catalog — for a Sept. 22 show in the Mile High City with fellow ’90s indie darlings Quasi at the Ogden Theatre.
FOUR’S COMPANY
Though Martsch initially conceived of rotating the musicians on each album, Built to Spill settled into a mostly consistent lineup until 2009, when it was expanded to include three guitars.
The current band is scaled down to a power trio with bassist Melanie Radford (of the band Blood Lemon) and drummer Teresa Esguerra (of Prism Bitch). The touring group is rounded out by cellist John McMahon, who has worked with Martsch throughout the years and contributed cello to the original album.
Built to Spill performs their beloved 1994 LP, There’s Nothing Wrong with Love, at Denver’s Ogden Theatre on Sept. 22. Courtesy: Sub Pop
“I feel like our first encore ever was in Denver,” Martsch, 55, says. “We never played encores at all because we just thought they were stupid. But the folks in Denver called for an encore so much that we went out and did one. I have a lot of good milestone memories there, just being strongly supported from the very beginning.”
At first, he vacillated between playing them exactly as they sounded on the record and taking them in new directions; but after getting back together with McMahon to work on the set, the songs felt fresh again.
“It was so fun rehearsing this stuff with him,” he says. “That was kind of my favorite part of getting ready for this tour.”
‘WIGGLY DAYS’ ON THE FRONT RANGE
There’s Nothing Wrong with Love is a young person’s dreamy, lovelorn album, filled with lyrical images that pulse with childhood memories and the intense emotions of adolescence. When asked how he feels about revisiting these songs three decades later, Martsch says they don’t necessarily hold the nostalgia for him that they might for fans.
“The lyrics and what I was going through at the time, all that stuff just isn’t very interesting or important to me right now,” he says. “To me, it’s just about how the songs sound, the chords and notes.”
It’s those very chords and notes that render the album timeless, a kind of distorted classic rock exemplified by songs like “Big Dipper” and “Some.” The latter is one McMahon expands on live, transforming its guitar solo into an extended part for the cello. He also plays the guitar part in the chorus of “Israel’s Song,” a live rarity up until this tour.
The current rhythm section of Radford and Esguerra is also central to the band’s locked-in performances, bringing a raw energy that allows Martsch to wring so much more out of one guitar than may seem humanly possible.
“They’re incredible,” he says. “I love playing with them, traveling with them, and everything. I’ve loved everyone I’ve ever played with, but they are really special.”
The addition of McMahon means the band can play songs not normally included in live sets, while bringing additional depth and emotional resonance to the music. Martsch even directly credits the longtime collaborator for sparking his excitement about revisiting these songs live.
ON THE BILL: Built to Spill with Quasi. 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, Ogden Theatre, 935 E Colfax Ave., Denver. $54
Left to right: Melanie Radford, Doug Martsch, John McMahon and Teresa Esguerra form the current Built to Spill lineup. Credit: Alex Hecht
CINEMATIC STAPLE
CU’s International Film Series returns for another semester
BY MICHAEL J. CASEY
This weekend, you could celebrate the 70th anniversary of Seven Samurai —
“one of the most thrilling movie epics of all time,” according to esteemed film critic, Roger Ebert. Next week, it could be a quiet but powerful drama starring Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn (Daddio). And next month, it’s two of the greatest movies ever made, one of which is celebrating its 50th anniversary (The Godfather: Part II).
Frankly, it doesn’t matter what day or week it is when you read this: CU’s International Film Series is back in session, and there’s always something good to watch.
Courtesy: Sotheby’s
Locally programmed since 1941, IFS is a cinematic staple of new, old and underground programming. The semester kicked off Sept. 5 with a 35 mm screening of Alex Cox’s Repo Man — one of the titles projecting on reel-to-reel 35 mm this semester: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Oct. 3), Tokyo Story (Oct. 10), Kung Fu Hustle (Oct. 16), Evil Dead II (Oct. 30), My Uncle (Nov. 2) and Léon: The Professional (Dec. 9).
All are worth your time, but for this critic, the movie that begs to be seen again and again is Yasujirō Ozu’s masterpiece, Tokyo Story. The plot is simple: two aging parents travel to the city to visit their children. But the children are now adults and too busy with their own lives and families to pay their folks any mind. So the pair return home, and on the trip, the mother grows ill and dies. Now, the children return home to pay their respects and voice their regrets for all the things left unsaid. Where did all the time go, they wonder. They always thought there would be more. It might be impossible to leave Tokyo Story the same person you were before. The Japanese have a saying for it: “mono no aware” or “a bittersweet passing of things.” That’s a sentiment you could apply to Daddio, Pablo Berger’s Robot Dreams (Sept. 30) or The Double Life of Véronique (Dec. 7). Each is a powerhouse. Hell, the whole lineup is a powerhouse: Wicked Little Letters (Oct. 5), Possession (Oct. 28), About Dry Grasses (Nov. 3), The Shawshank Redemption (Dec. 8), the list goes on and on.
ON SCREEN: CU’s International Film Series, Sept. 5 through Dec. 12, CU Boulder, 1905 Colorado Ave. Pricing and full schedule at internationalfilmseries.com
BOULDER MAKES THE CUT
Sundance announces top finalists to host famed film festival
A nd then there were three.
In a Sept. 12 press release, the Sundance Institute announced the top three candidates to host the future of the Sundance Film Festival. Boulder made the cut. The other two candidates are Cincinnati, Ohio, and Salt Lake City/Park City, Utah.
The announcement marks the final phase of the selection process, which began earlier this year when Sundance launched the Request for Proposal process to host the festival for 10 years starting in 2027.
The future location of the Sundance Film Festival will be announced after the 2025 film festival, which will take place Jan. 23 through Feb. 2 in Utah.
Survive election season with ‘the most significant political films of all time’
P olitics and entertainment have always been entangled. Sometimes, it’s mockery with a message (Charlie Chaplin clowning on Adolph Hitler in The Great Dictator). Other times, it’s an attempt to expose a local cause to a larger public (the striking miners of Salt of the Earth). And sometimes, it’s a creation so close to reality that the lines become blurred (the guerrilla fighters in The Battle of Algiers).
And for the next seven Fridays on TCM, host Ben Mankiewicz welcomes a variety of artists and politicians to discuss some of the most significant political films of all time for the new series, Making Change.
Every Friday, TCM screens titles taken from the New Republic’s list of the same name, many of which will be accompanied by a discussion between Mankiewicz and a guest (Spike Lee, Stacey Abrams, Robert Gates, etc.) to see how politics influence movies and vice versa. All 50 titles are worth your time, but make sure not to miss: Born in Flames (Sept. 20), I Am Not Your Negro (Sept. 27), A Face in the Crowd (Oc. 4), Citizen Kane (Oct. 25) and Weekend (Nov. 1).
ON SCREEN: TCM’s Making Change: The Most Significant Political Films of All Time, Fridays through Nov. 1.
Could Boulder be the future home of Sundance? Courtesy: Sundance Institute
Tokyo Story screens Oct. 10 as part of the International Film Series at CU Boulder.
I Am Not Your Negro screens Sept. 27 as part of TCM’s Making Change series. Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons CHANGE MAKERS
BODY COUNT
‘The Becomers’ is lo-fi sci-fi with a high IQ
BY MICHAEL J. CASEY
Their world crumbled, and that’s why they came to ours. They came from far away and are doing their best to assimilate — to our ways, our beliefs, our culture, even our appearance. It’s all pretty baffling to them, but they’re trying, and they pick it up quickly. After a couple of days, you can’t really tell them from anyone else. Sure, their movements are a little strange, and their speech is a little halting, but who can’t you say that about? In time, they will walk, talk, consume and procreate just like the rest of us. It’s the American dream.
ing a delightfully fluid take on romance.
The Becomers is a low-budget sci-fi endeavor, and Clark relies on a narrative that opens with intrigue and builds on cleverness to keep the audience engaged. You don’t learn everything you need right up front, and you don’t need to. Clark gives you just enough to ground you but plenty more to interest you.
Interested in more from the Dairy Arts Center’s Friday Night Weird series? Zap the QR code for the rest of this month’s upcoming films.
If that sounds like a modern-day allegory, reader, you are on the right track. The Becomers, written and directed by Zach Clark, is an immigration story of two alien lovers who travel across the cosmos and land in COVIDera America with the sole mission of finding each other again.
To blend in, they inhabit the bodies of unsuspecting victims — glowing blue and purple eye sockets are their only giveaways. But some bodies hold the lovers better than others, and they must switch every now and then. They do this by taking over a new body and then dissolving the previous vessel by vomiting up some rather powerful acid. It’s pretty gross. As for the bodies they take: Gender, age, race and class mean nothing to them. That gives the body snatch-
A large part of that is through the voiceover narration, read by Russell Mael of the band Sparks. At first, these aural diversions don’t seem to be anchored in any particular time and place and don’t inform or illustrate what we are seeing as the two lovers (played by Isabel Alamin, Molly Plunk, Keith Kelly, Mike Lopez and Jacquelyn Haas) move through the world in the present. Then, the narration and the narrative converge, and Clark shows just how much can be achieved with so little.
Budgets be damned. The Becomers is a clever piece of work with a clear point of view and the right avenue to express it. And that is something all the money in the world cannot buy. ON SCREEN: The Becomers. 8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder.
Molly Plunk and Mike Lopez in The Becomers Courtesy: Yellow Veil Pictures
21
VINTAGE BASE BALL GAME
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, Miners Field, 1212 South St., Louisville. Free
21
LONGMONT OKTOBERFEST
Noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, Collyer Park, 201 Longs Peak Ave., Longmont. $15
Bring your mat and take in the pastoral peacefulness at Longmont’s Agricultural Heritage Center for a gentle outdoor flow on the farm. Registration is required and space is limited. Register at bit.ly/FarmYogaBW
COLORADO BRAZIL FEST: SAMBA ON THE MALL
5-6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, 1300 Block of Pearl Street, Boulder. Free
South America comes to the Front Range during this vibrant cultural celebration on Pearl Street. Don’t miss an hour-long Samba session hosted by Colorado Brazil Festival, featuring Bateria Alegria, Samba Colorado and Escola de Samba Denver.
The Louisville Historic Museum hosts this showdown between the Louisville Miners and the Star Base Ball Club of Colorado Territory (representing the Colorado Vintage Base Ball Association), featuring historic uniforms, equipment and game rules. Even the spelling is vintage: baseball was historically two words. Cracker jacks provided, and free t-shirts are available for the first 200 people in attendance.
21 SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARKING LOT
Noon to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, LaMont Does Park, 500 E. South Boulder Road, Lafayette. Free
Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) brings its pickup truck set to Lafayette for an abridged version of the ultimate Shakespearean tragedy: Romeo and Juliet. Bring your own lawnchairs to this performance that DCPA promises will be “stripped-down but no less impactful.”
It’s that time of year again, so grab your lederhosen and your lucky stein for a day of beer, pretzels and live music at Longmont Oktoberfest. Festivities will also include a local artisan market and a curated Paw Partners space with petcentric vendors and activities for your furry friends.
21
PLAZA PALOOZA: FALL FARMERS MARKET
4-7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21. Downtown Superior Plaza, 2250 Main St. Free
Peruse offerings from dozens of vendors including locally grown fruits and veggies, bakery sweet treats and handmade jewelry at Superior’s Saturday farmers market. From fall-themed crafts and games to live music and drinks in a beer garden, this farmers market has all the makings of an ideal autumn afternoon.
Join peace-seekers in 1,500 cities around the globe by dancing and meditating for a more harmonious world. Speakers, musicians and Indigenous and ecstatic dancers will perform from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., followed by a group meditation and a mass dance party to close out the night.
22
MAPLETON HILL PORCH FEST
Noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22. Mapleton Hill Historic District, Boulder. Free.
All the world’s a stage, literally, at this annual community walkabout celebration where Mapleton Hill neighbors turn their porches, yards and driveways into mini venues. With more than 50 bands on deck, everything from bluegrass and rock to jazz and blues will be spilling onto the streets Sunday. The musicians play for free, so bring some cash for tips. Find a map and schedule at mapletonhillporchfest.com
Chautauqua’s bilingual festival returns for its fourth year to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month. Put on your dancing shoes for a free bachata or salsa lesson, or kick back as you listen to live music and munch on an empanada. For an even more jam-packed day, start your morning with a guided hike of Royal Arch led by Latino Outdoors.
22
AUTUMN EQUINOX YOGA AT SUNRISE AMPHITHEATER
6-8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22. Sunrise Amphitheater, 1198 Flagstaff Drive, Boulder. $20 for Yoga Pearl members, $35 for non-members
Welcome the arrival of autumn with an outdoor yoga session hosted by Yoga Pearl at the summit area of Flagstaff Mountain. The session will include live music by John Brewster and an extended savasana sound bath by Valerie Weyrich. Parking is tight, so email info@yogapearl.com if you want to carpool.
Actor, comedian and activist Dallas Goldtooth comes to Macky Auditorium for a talk on environmental justice and racism presented by CU Boulder. The renowned performer of Dakota and Diné heritage is best known for his role as William “Spirit” Knifeman in the Emmy-nominated FX series Reservation Dogs, following a group of Indigenous teens in rural Oklahoma. Skoden!
25
ANDERSON FARMS FALL FESTIVAL
10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, Anderson Farms, 6728 County Road 3 1/4, Erie. Prices vary
Fall is in the air at Anderson Farms in Erie. That means the return of their annual celebration featuring wagon rides, pumpkin patches, a 25-acre corn maze and more. Running Sept. 25 through Nov. 2, this autumnal tradition is a great way to ring in the season with the whole family.
A2Z BENEFIT SHOW 3 p.m. Wildflower Pavilion at Planet Bluegrass, 500 W. Main St., Lyons. $40+
GEORGE STREET AND THE DRIVE 3 p.m. Bricks on Main, 471 Main St., Longmont. Free
ON THE BILL
Portland indie-rock duo Quasi — composed of former SleaterKinney drummer Janet Weiss and vocalist, keyboardist and guitarist Sam Coomes — returns to the Front Range in support of Built to Spill at Denver’s Ogden Theatre on Sept. 22. Zap the QR code for a Boulder Weekly feature on the cultfavorite opening act, and flip to p. 15 for a story on the legendary headliner. See listing for details
SAVE ALAYA PRESCHOOL: EMMA ROSE WITH HUNTER STONE BAND 4 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. Free
CALEB CAUDLE & THE SWEET CRITTERS WITH SALOME SONGBIRD. 8 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $24
TALISK. 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $26
FRANC MOODY 8 p.m. Ogden Theatre, 935 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $45
Want more Boulder County events? Check out the complete listings online by scanning this QR code.
CHAUTAUQUA COMMUNITY HOUSE CONCERT SERIES
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10
MAMA’S BROKE w/ THE RESONANT ROGUES
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11
REED FOEHL w/ INGRID AVISON
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12
PETER BRADLEY ADAMS
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17
BLUE CANYON BOYS
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20
CHATHAM RABBITS
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9
GOLDPINE
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10
DOM FLEMONS
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15
HIGH LONESOME
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20
CHANTIL DUKART & JJ MURPHY
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21
SOUND OF HONEY & CORSICANA
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28
STURTZ w/ MICKI BALDER
SUNDAY, APRIL 6
WINDBORNE
SATURDAY, MAY 3
GRIFFIN HOUSE
A&C EVENTS
ON STAGE
As state legislatures target LGBTQ+ communities across the country, Local Theater Company presents Stockade, a historical drama about the struggles of queer soldiers after World War II. This local production runs at the Dairy Arts Center, Sept. 26 through Oct. 13. Hit the QR code for a rundown on more fall theater coming to a BoCo stage near you. See listing for details
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF Sept. 6 through Dec. 6, Jesters Dinner Theatre, 224 Main St., Longmont.
MAD LIBRARIANS. Sept. 21, BETC – Canyon Theater at the Boulder Public Library, 1000 Canyon Blvd., Boulder.
TRANSFORMATIVE STORIES
Sept. 21, Motus Theater – Arapaho Center, 300 E. Simpson St., Lafayette.
WICKED WANDERINGS. Sept. 21 through Oct. 27, Arts in the Open –Chautauqua Park, 900 Baseline Road and 9th St., Boulder.
KIMBERLY AKIMBO Sept. 22 through Oct. 5, Denver Center for the Performing Arts - Buell Theatre, 1400 Curtis St. $46+
STOCKADE Sept. 26 through Oct. 13, Local Theater Company –Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder.
THE PAGE
ON
Heavyweight Colorado author Peter Heller comes to Denver’s Tattered Cover on Sept. 27 to read from and sign his latest novel, Burn, a dystopian political thriller set in a divided Maine on the brink of civil war. Follow the QR code for more on the book and other local titles to cozy up with this fall. See listing for details.
HOOF BEATS: HOW HORSES SHAPED HUMAN HISTORY BY WILLIAM T. TAYLOR 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St. $5
REIMAGINING THE REVOLUTION: FOUR STORIES OF ABOLITION, AUTONOMY, AND FORGING NEW PATHS IN THE MODERN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT BY PAULA LEHMANEWING 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St. $5
A FIRE IN THE SKY BY SOPHIE JORDAN 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, Tattered Cover, 2526 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $36 (includes signed book)
A&C EVENTS
ORDINARY MYSTICISM: YOUR LIFE AS SACRED GROUND BY MIRABAI
STARR 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St. $5
WILD, WILLING, AND WISE: AN INTERACTIVE GUIDE FOR WHEN TO PADDLE, WHEN TO REST, AND WHEN TO JUMP NAKED INTO THE RIVER OF LIFE BY HEATHER ASH
AMARA. 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St. $5
BURN BY PETER HELLER
6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, Tattered Cover, 2526 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $34 (includes signed book)
ON VIEW
Artist and choreographer Iván-Daniel Espinosa presents MycoMorphosis: Dancing with Fungi in the lobby of Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA). Running through Oct. 6, this new multimedia installation — incorporating mycology, dance, sculpture and sound — kicks off with a series of live performances on Sept. 19, 21 and 26.
DANTE ORTIZ: IT’S IN THE AIR. Through Sept. 21, Dairy Arts Center, Locals Only Gallery, Caruso Lounge (West Entrance), 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Free
HOMELANDS: RECONNECTION Through Nov. 3, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Free
IVÁN-DANIEL ESPINOSA: MYCOMORPHOSIS: DANCING WITH FUNGI Through Oct. 6, BMoCA, 1750 13th St., Boulder. $2
JOSEPH TISIGA: AN ELEGANCE UNKNOWN TO SCOUNDRELS Through Oct. 19, East Window Gallery, 4550 Broadway, Suite C-3B2, Boulder. Free
ERICA PODWOISKI: BLUE WHISPERS. Sept. 13 through Oct 6, Firehouse Art Center – Main Gallery, 667 4th Ave., Longmont. Free
SARA GOLDENBERG-WHITE: INTERTWINED Through Oct. 21, The New Local Annex, 713 Pearl St., Boulder. Free
PM | 1300 BLO CK O F TH E PEARL STREET MALL (H EADI N G WEST) Join members of the Golden Buffalo Marching Band, CU Athletic Teams and Spirit Squad the night before home football games for a Kickoff Celebration!
ASTROLOGY
BY ROB BREZSNY
ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): Few of the vegetables grown in the 21st century are in their original wild form. Many are the result of crossbreeding carried out by humans. The intention is to increase the nutritional value of the food, boost its yield, improve its resistance to insect predators and help it survive weather extremes. I invite you to apply the metaphor of crossbreeding to your life in the coming months. You will place yourself in maximum alignment with cosmic rhythms if you conjure up new blends. So be a mix master, Aries. Favor amalgamations and collaborations. Transform jumbles and hodgepodges into graceful composites. Make “alloy” and “hybrid” your words of power.
TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): “All I ask is the chance to prove that money can’t make me happy,” quipped comedian Spike Milligan. I propose we make that your running joke for the next eight months. If there was ever a time when you could get rich more quickly, it would be between now and mid-2025. And the chances of that happening may be enhanced considerably if you optimize your relationship with work. What can you do now to help ensure you will be working at a well-paying job you like for years to come?
GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): The World Health Organization says that 3.5 billion people in the world don’t have access to safe toilets; 2.2 billion live without safe drinking water; 2 billion don’t have facilities in their homes to wash their hands with soap and water. It’s almost certain that you don’t suffer from these basic privations. Most likely, you get all the water you require to be secure and healthy. You have what you need to cook food and make drinks. You can take baths or showers whenever you want. You wash your clothes easily. Maybe you water a garden. I bring this to your attention because now is an excellent time to celebrate the water in your life. It’s also a favorable time to be extra fluid and flowing and juicy. Here’s a fun riddle for you: What could you do to make your inner life wetter and better lubricated?
CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): Cancerian rapper and actor Jaden Smith has won a few midlevel awards and has been nominated for a Grammy. But I was surprised that he said, “I don’t think I’m as revolutionary as Galileo, but I don’t think I’m not as revolutionary as Galileo.” If I’m interpreting his sly brag correctly, Jaden is suggesting that maybe he is indeed pretty damn revolutionary. I’m thrilled he said it, because I love to see you Cancerians overcome your natural inclination to be overly humble and self-effacing. It’s OK with me if you sometimes push too far. In the coming weeks, I am giving you a license to wander into the frontiers of braggadocio.
LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): Research by psychologists at Queen’s University in Canada concluded that the average human has about 6,200 thoughts every day. Other studies suggest that 75% of our thoughts are negative and 95% are repetitive. But here’s the good news, Leo: My astrological analysis suggests that the amount of your negative and repetitive thoughts could diminish in the coming weeks. You might even get those percentages down to 35% and 50%, respectively. Just imagine how refreshed you will feel. With all that rejuvenating energy coursing through your brain, you may generate positive, unique thoughts at an astounding rate. Take maximum advantage, please!
VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): You have probably heard the platitude, “Be cautious about what you wish for. You might get it.” The implied warning is that if your big desires are fulfilled, your life may change in unpredictable ways that require major adjustments. That’s useful advice. However, I have often found that the “major adjustments” necessary are often interesting and healing — strenuous, perhaps, but ultimately enlivening. In my vision of your future, Virgo, the consequences of your completed goal will fit that description. You will be mostly pleased with the adaptations you must undertake in response to your success.
LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): The bird known as the gray-headed albatross makes long, continuous flights without touching down on the ground. I propose we nominate this robust traveler to be one of your inspirational animals in the coming months. I suspect that you, too, will be capable of prolonged, vigorous quests that unleash interesting changes in your life. I don’t necessarily mean your quests will involve literal long-distance travel. They may, but they might also take the form of vast and deep explorations of your inner terrain. Or maybe you will engage in bold efforts to investigate mysteries that will dramatically open your mind and heart.
SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): You are in a good position and frame of mind to go hunting for a novel problem or two. I’m halfjoking, but I’m also very serious. I believe you are primed to track down interesting dilemmas that will bring out the best in you and attract the educational experiences you need. These provocative riddles will ensure that boring old riddles and paltry hassles won’t bother you. Bonus prediction: You are also likely to dream up an original new “sin” that will stir up lucky fun.
SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): Your spinning and weaving abilities will be strong in the coming weeks. I predict that your knack for creating sturdy, beautiful webs will catch the resources and influences you require. Like a spider, you must simply prepare the scenarios to attract what you need, then patiently relax while it all comes to you. Refining the metaphor further, I will tell you that you have symbolic resemblances to the spiders known as cross orbweavers. They produce seven different kinds of silk, each useful in its own way — and in a sense, so can you. Your versatility will help you succeed in interesting ways.
CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): Capricorn basketball player JamesOn Curry had the briefest career of anyone who ever played in America’s top professional league. Around his birthday in 2010, while a member of the Los Angeles Clippers, he appeared on the court for 3.9 seconds — and never returned. Such a short-lived effort is unusual for the Capricorn tribe and will not characterize your destiny in the coming months. I predict you will generate an intense outpouring of your sign’s more typical expressions: durability, diligence, persistence, tenacity, resilience, determination, resolve and steadfastness. Ready to get underway in earnest?
AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): It’s a good time for you to embrace the serpent, metaphorically speaking. You may even enjoy riding, playing with and learning from the serpent. The coming weeks will also be a favorable phase for you to kiss the wind, consult with the ancestors and wrestle with the most fascinating questions you know. So get a wild look in your eyes, dear Aquarius. Dare to shed mediocre pleasures so you can better pursue spectacular pleasures. Experiment only with smart gambles and highintegrity temptations, and flee the other kinds. PS: If you challenge the past to a duel (a prospect I approve of), be well-armed with the future.
PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): Panda bears don’t seem to enjoy having sex. The typical length of their mating encounters is from 30 seconds to two minutes. There was a dramatic exception to the rule in 2015, however. Lu Lu and Zhen Zhen, pandas living at the Sichuan Giant Panda Research Center in China, snuggled and embraced for 18 minutes. It was unprecedented. I encourage you, too, to break your previous records for tender cuddling and erotic play in the coming weeks. The longer and slower you go, the more likely it is you will generate spiritual epiphanies and awakenings.
After 19 years together, my husband and I have finally managed to have a really good conversation about our desires; specifically, what porn he likes. Turns out he’s into these coercive type scenes, things like, “You can’t make rent? Let me fuck you and we will call it even!” type stuff.
He says it’s about the power exchange. That sounds hot as hell to me, but we have a few issues:
1. He doesn’t find the idea of treating me badly hot.
2. Neither of us enjoys role play. Is there anything we can do with this dynamic?
— Recently Exploring New Things
“It takes a lot of guts to express a new sexual desire 19 years in, and I want to congratulate them for putting it all out in the open,” said Claire Perelman, a licensed therapist who works with couples seeking to improve their sexual connections.
You now know about your husband’s kinks (does he know about yours?) — but this is a fantasy scenario that can be ethically explored only through role play, which you don’t enjoy. So, where do you go from here?
“When engaging in kink, it’s helpful to understand what about the kink excites you,” said Claire. “RENT’s husband identified that it’s about the power exchange. There’s lots of ways to play with power dynamics outside of role play, degradation and humiliation” — like watching porn together or making sex transactional: He or you only get sex if you perform certain non-sexual tasks first.
I’m a 28-year-old woman who reads your column out loud every week with my 24-year-old hottie Italian boyfriend. I love to be tied, and my vanilla boyfriend encourages me to get that need met in our rope community.
I want my boyfriend to get suspended with me sometime! While I engage in some light sexual play with the men who tie me, bondage doesn’t have to be sexual! Which means, my boyfriend doesn’t have to pretend it’s a turn on for him or do anything sexual if he were to get tied with me.
He says he’s “indifferent, not opposed,” and would do it if you told
SAVAGE LOVE
BY DAN SAVAGE
him to! Dan, please tell him to! — Boyfriend Only Needs Dan Amazingly Gentle Encouragement
I think your boyfriend should get suspended with you, BONDAGE. But you have to promise that you won’t try to initiate anything sexual. Even if you think your boyfriend is aroused. You will also make sure the person doing the tying understands that this is a non-sexual/ non-sensual session, which means no avoidable touching in your swimsuit areas and no suggestive banter. You’re clearly hoping your boyfriend might find that he enjoys bondage in the same way you do, BONDAGE. But if you initiate something sexual the first time, he may wind up feeling manipulated and/or violated after it’s over, and there won’t be a second time.
I was on the verge of having an affair. But he got cold feet, as he didn’t want to cheat on his wife. We gave up our dream of being together and settled into being close friends.
I’ve been caregiving for a partner who is very ill. I love him, but he’s not the person anymore, mentally or physically, that I first fell in love with. I can’t leave him. He needs me. But I have needs, too.
I sometimes fantasize about this friend, who won’t be leaving his spouse, either. But I desperately want to fantasize together again, even if we still never act on it. How do we go back there in a way where we don’t act on it, don’t feel guilty, but can at least have some happiness in our otherwise dreary lives?
— One Often Frustrated Dreamer Asks
You can go back there, OOFDA … you just can’t go back with your married friend. But there is good news: It’s not hard to find people online who are already sharing stories and fantasies about the lives they wish they were leading, OOFDA, and some of these people would love to engage with you.
Start writing your dreams down, find a place to post your dreams, and it won’t be long before someone comes along who shares your dreams.
Email your question for the column to mailbox@savage.love. Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love
DONUTS TO DRINKS
Revived Restaurant Week showcases Longmont’s booming food scene
BY JOHN LEHNDORFF
If you think there is nothing worth driving to Longmont to eat, know that many people living in the Boulder Bubble suffer from the very same delusion.
A few years back, Longmont was not a food and dining destination. Longmont residents commuted to Boulder every weekend for dinner. Now, that traffic pattern has reversed.
With a slew of new, diverse eateries, a food hall, a wine bar, distilleries and plenty of cool food trucks, Longmont has experienced a culinary renaissance. That wealth of food options is the driving force behind the revamped Longmont Restaurant Week, returning Oct. 4 to 13 after a one-year hiatus as Boulder County’s only official restaurant week celebration, now that Boulder’s is kaput.
Unlike many restaurant weeks that focus on multi-course, fixed-price dinners, Longmont’s celebration takes place under a bigger and tastier tent. Special menus and beverages will be offered at several dozen eateries as well as at bars, bakeries and food trucks. All are independent and locally owned, not national chains.
“I wanted the concept to be ‘donuts to drinks,’ to let everyone know that we have expanded beyond fine dining,” says
Jennifer Ferguson, the new owner and spark plug behind Longmont Restaurant Week.
The Longmont Chamber of Commerce operated the event for five years before Ferguson stepped in.
“About a year and a half ago, they approached me about taking it over,” she says. “The first thing I did was to ask restaurants and diners: What worked and what didn’t? Both told us that they needed more flexibility and other ways to participate.”
Ferguson found that many diners loved the fixed-price menus, but establishments wanted flexibility.
“Some restaurants will have menus at the familiar $25, $35 and $45 price points, but I gave them the option of offering anything they want,” she says. “Some include beverages, others a shared dessert. Other places have created a special cocktail or dish only available during those 10 days.”
The 2024 edition of Longmont Restaurant Week ranges from sit-down dining at Caprese Trattoria and Flavor of India to casual, award-winning pies at Rosalee’s Pizzeria and ribs at Smokin’ Dave’s BBQ
For instance, 99 Bar Saloon offers a
TASTE OF THE WEEK: GOCHUJANG AND TUNES
The Velvet Elk Lounge has become a go-to spot in downtown Boulder for live music and cocktails. Because it is a Big Red F joint and shares a kitchen with The Post next door, the bar food here is spot on. The appetizer-focused menu includes corn fondue, burrata cheese with marinated peppers, and “devils on horseback” — blue cheese-stuffed, bacon-wrapped dates.
My go-to is the spicy gochujang chicken saam. Sweet, spicy, salty and fermented, gochujang sauce is an integral part of many Korean recipes.
This paleo treat features perfectly fried boneless chicken drenched in gochujang sauce wrapped in romaine lettuce. Adding to the flavor blitz is pickled onion, cilantro, mint and toasted sesame seeds.
choice of a double cheeseburger, chicken and biscuit or chicken arugula salad with either a beer and a pickle shot or a thick milkshake for $25.
At Sugarbeet, $45 gets you a fine-dining experience starting with potato and Iberico ham croquetas or a wedge salad with gorgonzola dressing. The second course of roasted kabocha squash bisque, is followed by entrees like Arctic char, bistro steak or a pork chop with accompaniments.
All the food stalls at Longmont’s recently opened Parkway Food Hall are participating, and the space will host a public kickoff party for Longmont Restaurant Week on Oct. 3. A special Longmont cocktail created in collaboration with Dry Land Distillers will be debuted.
Ferguson’s you-call-it approach also garnered participation from spots that “aren’t the typical food places that are included in restaurant weeks,” she says, like Peak Press Juicery, MECO Coffee Collective and the Biscuits at Mike’s food truck.
The event also welcomes in Longmont’s thriving craft brewery scene at places like 300 Suns and embraces the city’s much honored
distillers, including Abbott and Wallace Ferguson’s company, Wonder Tours, hosted restaurant tours before the pandemic. She was always encountering longtime Longmonsters who had overlooked eateries in their own towns.
“People would say, ‘I’ve lived here 20 years and I’ve never been in this place,’” Ferguson says. “Restaurant Week is that same kind of invitation to go check out some places you didn’t know about.”
For the first time, Longmont Restaurant Week will publish a booklet featuring menus and restaurant coupons that are good for a year — a change that also came from listening to locals.
“People told us they missed out because they were busy or out of town,” Ferguson says. “Some said they would have tried more restaurants if it had lasted longer.”
The Longmont Restaurant Week lineup also features The Roost, Mike O’Shay’s Restaurant, Landline Donuts, The Pumphouse, Miss Krissy’s Bistro, Jefes, Pistachio Cafe, Longs Peak Pub, Küper Wine Bar, Swaylo’s Tiki, The Passenger, West Side Tavern and others.
For a complete list of eateries and menus, visit: longmontrestaurantweek. com
Images courtesy: Branded Beet
LOCAL FOOD NEWS: RUTHIE’S, BOCO CIDER TO CLOSE
After six years of dishing take-out grilled cheese and fries from a kiosk on the Pearl Street Mall, Ruthie’s Boardwalk Social is closing at the end of September. A social media post from Ruthie’s attributed the closing to “rising costs across the board, decreased foot traffic on Pearl Street and very few people back in their office since COVID.”
BOCO Cider has announced that it will close its North Boulder taproom on Nov. 24.
Now open: Love Ice Cream, 240 Second Ave., Niwot.
CULINARY CALENDAR: OYSTERS AND SPIRITS
Jax Fish House hosts the annual High West Oyster Fest on Sept. 19 at Boulder’s eTown Hall. Guests enjoy unlimited oysters, beverages, a caviar bar and shucking competitions. Proceeds benefit local nonprofit There with Care. Tickets: bit.ly/HighWestBW
Wheatstock Grain & Music Festival, on Sept. 28 at Spirit Hound Distillers in Lyons, celebrates the heirloom, regenerative and organic grains in Colorado inspired by the late Andy Clark. The event includes music, pizza and complimentary shots of Barrel Fire 2.0, a local grain whiskey collaboration between Spirit Hound and Dry Land Distillers. Tickets: bit. ly/WheatstockBW
WORDS TO CHEW ON: TASTING ANTICIPATION
“Although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called.” — From Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
John Lehndorff hosts Radio Nibbles weekly on KGNU.
Comments: nibbles@boulderweekly.com
Courtesy: Jax Fish House
FOLLOWING THE LEADERS
What states can learn from Colorado if the feds legalize cannabis
BY BOYOUNG SEO THE CONVERSATION
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has made moves to reclassify marijuana, making it a type of legal but regulated medicine, like Tylenol with codeine or some steroids.
With the reclassification, 26 states where cannabis is currently illegal will need to decide whether they want to take action to stop the sale of cannabis in their state or figure out how to regulate the newly legal drug.
A few states such as North Carolina have laws on the books saying cannabis will automatically become legal once the federal change goes into effect.
Two states have more than a decade of experience writing and enforcing laws to control the marijuana marketplace: Colorado and Washington.
Colorado implemented laws more favorable to competition by allowing unlimited marijuana retailers. Washington took a different approach by limiting the number of retailers and restricting competition, an approach designed to maintain higher prices to deter overconsumption
But during 2022, average marijuana prices were actually slightly higher in Colorado than in Washington. Regulations in each state have changed only modestly since 2012. So why didn’t Colorado’s freer marketplace lead to lower prices, as an economist would expect?
LIMITED VS. UNLIMITED LICENSES
When Colorado first legalized recreational marijuana, it allowed unlimited cannabis licenses for growers, distributors and retailers. This fostered an environment of intense competition.
In contrast, Washington capped retail licenses at 334, or 4.8 dispensaries per 100,000 people, setting up conditions for a concentrated market that would potentially lead to higher markups and retail prices. In 2016, Washington increased that cap to 556 to incorporate medical dispensaries. As of March 2024, only 469 of those licenses were being used.
In comparison, Colorado has 680 retail licenses, or about 14 dispensaries per
100,000 people, roughly three times the number in Washington per capita. Washington regulates the number of marijuana licenses per business, making its market more favorable to many small businesses, while Colorado’s regulatory environment is friendlier to big chain companies.
On average, one Washington marijuana business owns 1.24 licenses. That’s in stark contrast to Colorado, where on average one business owns 9.6.
The regulatory environment makes it hard for small independent producers and dispensaries to survive. Even though Colorado makes seven times more licenses than Washington available for businesses to grow, distribute and sell marijuana, they’re owned by far fewer companies. This results in a less competitive marijuana market with higher prices.
VERTICAL INTEGRATION
Finally, both states implemented different restrictions on what economists call vertical integration.
When vertical integration is allowed in the marijuana industry, growers are permitted to also be processors and to run marijuana dispensaries. Colorado’s original legislation took this a step further by actually requiring all marijuana retailers to be vertically integrated for the first nine months they were in business. The motivation for this was to prevent black market marijuana from leaking into the state’s legal market.
That meant all licensed retailers had to grow at least 70% of the marijuana they sold.
Colorado abandoned the requirement for vertical integration in 2018. Now companies can grow and sell to any retailer, but most still remain vertically integrated. In contrast, Washington strictly prohibits vertical integration.
Vertical integration most frequently leads to lower prices. Without vertical integration, the supplier imposes a markup when selling its products to a retailer, and the retailer imposes its own markup when selling products to consumers. In contrast, vertically integrated businesses mark up the product only once, saving money for the consumer.
But vertical integration can sometimes drive prices higher by making it harder for small, stand-alone companies to compete. This lack of competition makes the market more concentrated, leading to higher prices. In Colorado, the existence of many vertically integrated businesses immediately after legalization likely gave an advantage to only a few big players.
Boyoung Seo is an assistant professor of business at Indiana University.
