POETRY BY KEN WALDMAN

Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado

7:30 p.m., Saturday, November 13. See pages 6-9 for details. Tickets start at $22. Lakewood.org/LCCPresents

Winter Starts Now

Warren Miller Entertainment 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, November 17. Come join us for an evening performance of “Winter Starts Now,” Warren Miller’s 72nd Annual Ski and Snowboard Film. Ticket prices are TBD. WarrenMiller.com

The Nutcracker

Ballet Melange and Classical Ballet Academy 7 p.m., Friday-Sunday, November 19-21. 2 p.m., Saturday & Sunday, November 20-21. Ballet Melange and Classical Ballet Academy present “The Nutcracker.” This holiday classic transports us to a land of magic and dreams that come true. Tickets are $30 for adults, $20 for seniors, $15 for children. BalletMelange.org Classical-Ballet-Academy.com

The Children’s Nutcracker

Dance Conservatory of Denver 4 p.m., Friday, November 26. Noon and 4 p.m., Saturday & Sunday, November 27-28. DcD’s “The Children’s Nutcracker” is performed by children ages 3-17 and is geared toward an audience of all ages. Enjoy a less formal but magical rendition of this holiday classic with your entire family! Tickets are $30. DanceConservatoryofDenver.com

Timothy P. & The Rocky Mountain Stocking Stuffers

7:30 p.m., Saturday, December 4. 2 p.m., Saturday & Sunday, December 4-5. See pages 6-9 for details. Tickets start at $22. Lakewood.org/LCCPresents

The Nutcracker

Ballet Ariel 2 p.m., December 11-12, 18-19, 22-23. 7 p.m., December 17-18. Ballet Ariel’s professional dancers, coupled with festive costumes, incomparable choreography and artistry, create an enchanted world for Clara’s magical journey with the Nutcracker Prince the whole family will find delightful. Tickets are $38 for adults, $35 for students/seniors, $30 for children. BalletAriel.org

Jazzin’ Up the Holidays!

Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra 7 p.m., Thursday, December 16. Celebrate the season with the CJRO, Colorado’s finest professional jazz orchestra. The evening will include many of your favorite holidays songs and will feature CJRO vocalist Heidi Schmidt. Tickets start at $22, (group rates available). ColoradoJazz.org

A poetic gift from visiting artist Ken Waldman

In May 2021, Alaska’s fiddling poet, Ken Waldman, led writing workshops for adults and teens while he was in residence prior to his LCC Presents performance with Willi Carlisle. One group writing activity involved using the dictionary to strategically, yet randomly, generate a word list. “Each of these words is evocative,” Ken observed. “Take three or four of them, add a few others, and run with it. The hardest part is getting started.”

Ken writes a poem for each place he visits. Lakewood was the lucky recipient of two acrostic poems. “A Special Lakewood Poem” is a double acrostic— both the first and last letters of each line spell the same word.

A Lakewood Poem

Little did we know how a pandemic could shape us. Kids stuck in their homes every day for weeks asked, When will this be over? We all asked—young, old, those in their prime. Don’t despair. We’re here today.

A Special Lakewood Poem

Let’s think how really special a place this is. Here’s an idea— keep to lakes, woods, a park. Explore eagles, owls, a whole world of flight. How to know ourselves? It’s knowing how to observe nature. So what to do? Describe what’s local and wild.

-Ken Waldman