LIBATIONS BEYOND &

Publisher Paul Johnson paul@thirstcolorado.com

Associate Publisher & Editor Joe Ross joe@thirstcolorado.com

Sales Rebel Becker Jessica Levin

Julie Van Hoek

Christine Werner Bob Willey

We are in the performance state

Nearly a half century ago, when Denver was still known as a cowtown and the state’s nooks and crannies were mostly unknown to all except the hardiest, there was a bit of an anomaly in place.

The beginning of the modern-day Denver Performing Arts Complex was being sketched out at the site of the Denver Municipal Auditorium at 14th and Curtis streets. The Auditorium Arena, adjacent to the Municipal Auditorium, had hosted the Denver Rockets (pre-Nuggets) basketball team, other sporting events and a few concerts. In 1968, an up-and-coming band called Led Zeppelin played its first-ever U.S. gig at the arena the day after Christmas.

By 1978, Boettcher Concert Hall had opened at the site with an adjacent parking garage. A year later, the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex opened with four small stages. Today, the Performing Arts Complex is known as the largest theater complex in the nation in a single location. The campus features Broadway productions, Tony-award winning local productions, the region’s top symphony, opera and ballet, as well as smaller concerts, and a variety of other entertainment.

As you turn the pages in this magazine, you’ll learn more about the organizations that produce great theater and music, both at the complex and in other parts of the state.

You’ll also read about alpine lakes around the state that are destinations for those hardy hikers who enjoy earning their views. And for those who end up in the southwest, we offer an overview of Ouray and its surrounding beauty. You’ll also meet some passionate mushroom hunters who really know their fungi.

Hope you enjoy these stories and others inside. Have fun this summer and please be kind to each other.

Design & Layout

Sandy Birkey Stacey Krull

President & Founder Emeritus Wilbur E. Flachman

Digital & Marketing Manager Steve Graham

Contributors

Emily Baker, Kyle Kirves, Kristen Kuchar, Jay McKinney

Marketing Intern Harlee Hunt

For advertising and editorial information, please contact Joe Ross at 303.428.9529 or email joe@thirstcolorado.com

Proud member of the Colorado Brewers Guild

Thirst Colorado is produced by The Publishing House, a division of Colorado Word Works, Inc. The Publishing House also produces Colorado’s Performing Arts Publications, serving arts venues along the Front Range. 7380 Lowell Blvd., Westminster, Colorado 80030 303.428.9529

Joe Ross Associate Publisher and Editor

Drink up life in large amounts, but restrict your alcohol consumption. We do not endorse or support excessive drinking.

Emily Baker

Emily Baker is a Denver native and lifelong resident of the metro area. With a background in classics and education, she has been a writer for most of her life, including multiple online and print publications. In her spare time, she can be found hiking with her dogs, riding horses, frequenting independent bookstores, and exploring the restaurant and brewery scene. When not writing professionally, she spends time working on her own fiction novel.

Kyle Kirves

Kyle Kirves prefers “man of letters” to “English Major” when responding to questions about his degrees from Ohio University and the University of Dayton. Writing professionally since 1992, he’s primarily covered people, places, and events in the arts, craft culture, and leisure communities, most recently for Arts Enthusiast, the Longmont Downtown Development Authority, ArtsLongmont, and, of course, Thirst Colorado. He is an avid road/trail runner, amateur historian, passable guitar player, lousy fly-fisherman, and devotee of 1950’s and 60’s jazz, especially Miles. He lives in Longmont, with his wife, artist Joanne Kirves, and has two children, Nate and Nora. When he sleeps, he dreams of meatball sandwiches and cold craft beer.

Kristen Kuchar

Kuchar has written about travel and the beverage industry for 15 years in a variety of national and local publications. For Thirst, she primarily covers food, wine, cider, beer and other beverages. She has contributed to VinePair, Zymurgy, The Beer Connoisseur, Craftbeer.com, Beer Advocate, Brew Your Own, All About Beer, DRAFT, and dozens more. Currently, she is a Certified Cicerone Beer Server and has a Level 1 Wine Certification with the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, and she continues to pursue further wine and beverage education.

Jay Mckinney

McKinney is a Colorado native who grew up south of Denver in Sedalia. In 2020, he graduated from the Metropolitan State University of Denver with a bachelor’s degree in communications and shortly after, he began contributing to Thirst Colorado. He is passionate about promoting the Colorado lifestyle and the independent craft businesses that make the state a magnet for creative people. During his free time, he enjoys playing golf, shooting pool and hiking throughout Colorado and neighboring Utah.

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