Sensi Magazine - Denver/Boulder (July 2019)

DENVER / BOULDER

THE NEW NORMAL

7.2019

WHAT’S HOT

Aerial Fest Gay Rodeo Mile High Sports + A Whole Lot More

NORTH FORK TIPI HAVEN

A Hop, Skip, and a Hipcamp Away

SOUNDS LIKE

{plus} Dive into the area’s best music fests

ISLAND TRIPPING SWEETEN THE POT

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ISSUE 7 //VOLUME 4 //7.2019

FEATURES SP EC IAL R EP OR T

78 Sexy Yogis and Time Travel One rip-roaring week in Jamaica.

92 Legal Lowdown

How new cannabis laws affect you.

102 The Year of the Edible

Experts expect infused food and beverages to rule the market in the 2020s.

110 Sounds Like Summer

Music festivals coming our way.

122 Ladies’ Nights

Your summer binge watch list.

every issue

50 FREQUENT FLIERS The Aerial Dance Fest returns to Boulder.

15 Editor’s Note 19 The Buzz 26 NewsFeed

OFF THE RECORD, PART 2

34 StarPowered

JULY HOROSCOPES

40 TasteBuds

MY PRIVATE COLORADO

50 HighProfile

AERIAL DANCE

60 AroundTown

SUMMER SPORTS

68 LifeStyle

SAVE A HORSE

138 The Scene

SENSI CONNECT

144 HereWeGo

GET GLOWING

Sensi magazine is published monthly by Sensi Media Group LLC. © 2019 SENSI MEDIA GROUP LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

sensimag.com JULY 2019 13

sensi magazine ISSUE 7 / VOLUME 4 / 7.2019

TIME TO GET SUM SLEEP

EXECUTIVE FOLLOW US

Ron Kolb ron@sensimag.com CEO, SENSI MEDIA GROUP

Tae Darnell tae@sensimag.com PRESIDENT, SENSI MEDIA GROUP

Alex Martinez alex@sensimag.com CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

EDITORIAL sensimediagroup

Stephanie Wilson stephanie@sensimag.com EDITOR IN CHIEF

Leland Rucker leland.rucker@sensimag.com SENIOR EDITOR

John Lehndorff edible.critic@sensimag.com DINING EDITOR

Dawn Garcia, Robyn Griggs Lawrence, Dan McCarthy CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Natha Campanella CONTRIBUTING WRITER sensimagazine

A RT & D E S I G N Jamie Ezra Mark jamie@emagency.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Rheya Tanner, Wendy Mak, Josh Clark em@sensimag.com DESIGN & LAYOUT

BUSINESS & A D M I N I S T R AT I V E sensimag

Kristan Toth kristan.toth@sensimag.com HEAD OF PEOPLE

Liana Cameris liana.cameris@sensimag.com PUBLISHER

Ilee Desoto ilee.desoto@sensimag.com Chad Gatzemeyer chad.gatzemeyer@sensimag.com Richard Guerra richard.guerra@sensimag.com Steve McMorrow steve.mcmorrow@sensimag.com Amanda Patrizi amanda.patrizi@sensimag.com Tyler Tarr tyler.tarr@sensimag.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS

Amber Orvik amber.orvik@sensimag.com

SUM quickly dissolves under your tongue and goes right to work.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR

Andre Velez andre.velez@sensimag.com MARKETING DIRECTOR

Neil Willis neil.willis@sensimag.com PRODUCTION MANAGER

Hector Irizarry distribution@sensimag.com DISTRIBUTION

M E D I A PA RT N E R S RELIEF

CA L M

FOCUS

E N E R GY

s u m m i c ro d o s e . c o m

14 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

SLEEP

Marijuana Business Daily Minority Cannabis Business Association National Cannabis Industry Association Students for Sensible Drug Policy

SOME LIKE

IT HOT

editor’s

NOTE

Myself included. In the theme of this issue is what’s hot. Because during the height of Colorado summers, it’s hot. If you’re like me, you’ll want to maximize the time you get to feel it.

Don’t forget to drink lots of water and get some sunlight. After all, you’re basically a house plant with more complicated emotions.

I’m feeling some of those right now, as I’m writing this note on the first full day of summer. The camping trip my friends and I had planned this weekend was derailed by a forecast of 4 to 10 inches of snow in the mountains. Snow. That’s not hot. The announcement from Arapahoe Basin that skiing on the 4th of July is now a solid possibility, on the other hand, is pretty hot indeed. Colorado’s mixing it up this summer, keeping us on our toes, forcing a break from routine. That’s what summer is all about, so let’s keep rolling with it.

This issue also includes a feature by Sensi Boston’s managing editor, Dan McCarthy, who we sent down to Jamaica for the Tmrw.Tday Culture Festival this spring. He brings back some stories worth sharing, exploring the deep-rooted connection between cannabis, music, and life on the island. It’s meant to spark a bit of travel inspiration.

This summer, get out there and explore all the state has to offer. There’s not enough space in this issue to go into all of the incredible things happening around the state this month, but you can find more in-depth coverage online at SENSIMAG.COM .

The site also includes articles and updates from all eight Sensi markets across the country, including Southern California, Emerald Triangle, Vegas, and Boston—with more on the way. That’s hotter than anything, in my book, but I’m biased. Go take a look and judge for yourself. Love to hear what you think.

In the meantime, get out there and enjoy the season for all it’s worth. Fall will be here before we know it.

Stephanie Wilson ED I TOR I N CHI EF SENSI MAGAZINE

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ADVISORY BOARD 1906 New Highs // CHOCOLATE The Adjustatorium // CHIROPRACTIC Agricor Laboratories // TESTING LAB Aspen Cannabis Insurance // INSURANCE SERVICES Bear Mortgage // RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS Bee-Nails // VAPORIZERS Cannabis Tax Solutions // TAX AND ACCOUNTING Cannopoly // MOBILE COMMERCE Canyon Cultivation // MICRO DOSING CLogistics // COURIER The Clinic // SEED BANK Cohen Medical Centers // MEDICAL CENTERS Colorado Cannabis Company // THC COFFEE Concentrate Supply Co. // RECREATIONAL CONCENTRATES CWC Soil LLC // SOIL Emerald Construction // CONSTRUCTION Evolutionz Consulting // THE CLEAR™ Evolve Formulas // TRANSDERMAL Franklin Bioscience // PILLS AND TABLETS General Cannabis // CONSULTING GoFire // DOSE CONTROL Greenhouse Payment Solutions // PAYMENT PROCESSING GreenLink Financial // BANKING Higher Grade // BOUTIQUE CANNABIS Hybrid Payroll // STAFFING AND HR BENEFITS Incredibles // WELLNESS Jupiter Research // INHALATION HARDWARE L’Eagle Services // SUSTAINABILITY Lab Society // EXTRACTION EXPERT AND LAB SUPPLIES Llamaste // YOGA Lowspark Incorporated // DISTRIBUTION LUXX Retreat // LODGING Mac & Fulton Talent Partners // RECRUITING marQaha // SUBLINGUALS AND BEVERAGES MedPharm // LIFESTYLE VAPE Monte Fiore Farms // RECREATIONAL CULTIVATION Mountain High Suckers // CBD EDIBLES Mustache Dabs // ROSIN PRESS Next Frontier Biosciences // BIOSCIENCES ONIT Sciences // CANNABIS INVESTMENTS PotGuide // TRAVEL/TOURISM Pyramid // DISTILLATES Revered Inc. // INHALERS RiNo Supply Company // CANNABIS CULTURE Sharp Solutions // TRANSPORTATION Source Colorado // WHOLESALE CONSULTING Steve’s Goods // CBG PRODUCTS Terrapin Care Station // RECREATIONAL DISPENSARY Toast // MINDFUL CONSUMPTION Tradewinds Security Professionals // SECURITY ULEVA // HEMP PRODUCTS Wana Brands // EDIBLES WillPower // SPORTS NUTRITION Witlon Inc. // PAYROLL PROCESSING You Deserve a Massage // VIBROACOUSTIC SOUND LOUNGE 16 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

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PHOTO CREDITS (TOP TO BOTTOM) EVAN SEMON (EVANSEMON.COM), VISIT DENVER

A Country Founded on Rebellion Against an Oppressive King This 4th of July, try not to burn anything down while playing with recreational explosives. Do, however, feel

Either, or: no matter. Freedom can now be heard reverberating a little louder from coast to coast.

free to “burn one” (read: smoke a joint) while playing

In 12 states, recreational cannabis became legal

with recreational cannabis. It’s your right—not your

with the stroke of a governor’s pen turning bill into

American right, mind you, but your right as an adult in

law—each signature an act of protest. A dozen rebel-

Colorado, where freedom rings loud.

lions against oppression in a country founded on re-

For some, it sounds like a siren call for progress. For others, a call to arms signaling Americans to start fight-

bellion against oppression. How ironic that progressive politics making America great again.

ing back against the War on Drugs the federal govern-

Ponder that while you watch fire bombs bursting in

ment has been waging on its own citizens for decades.

air this month. Denver leads the way, of course, hosting the 10th-annual Independence Eve celebration at Civic Center Park on July 3. Live music, craft beer and wine gardens, food trucks, and special performances by Chris Daniels & the Kings and the Colorado Symphony keep the party going from 4 p.m. until the banging conclusion of the light show and fireworks atop the Denver City and County Building.

–Stephanie Wilson sensimag.com JULY 2019 19

Still Doing Nothing

“Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.”—Sam Keen, author, professor, philosopher There is nothing wrong with laying in the sun by

but we’re more than a thousand miles from the any

the pool doing a whole lot of nothing. Maybe flipping

ocean where a coral reef could suffer from our sun-

through a magazine or engrossed in a book on a topic

screen choice. So let’s get back to doing nothing.

that’s as light and breezy as the day around you, or as

It’s important to do a little bit of nothing sometimes,

deep as the water in Grand Lake—Colorado’s deepest

and there’s science to back up that claim. A review of

body of water, fun fact.

research recently published by the Journal of Ameri-

Dermatologists surely disagree with me, to which I

can Medical Association concluded that a mindfulness

respond: life is short and it’s better with a tan. “Even

meditation programs could help reduce anxiety, depres-

shorter if you get skin cancer,” one might retort. So

sion, and pain. And what is meditation really but sitting

here’s the disclaimer: slather on some SPF 30 or high-

still and doing what looks like nothing at all? If anyone

er and reapply regularly. If we lived by the ocean, we’d

tries to give you flack for sunbathing this summer, just

talk about some reef-friendly options you should try,

tell them you’re doing it for your mental health.

20 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

–SW

Looking for something really different to do this month? How about visiting a place where alligators thrive at 7,500 feet and getting your picture taken with one? The Colorado Gators Reptile Park is the spot for that. Just 20 miles west of the Great Sand Dunes, the park sits on a thermal vent in the San Luis Valley that keeps the area and water warm, even during the cold, snowy winters.

The owners began as tilapia fish farmers, and the gators were brought in to eat the leftovers and garbage. Today, besides the tilapia farm, it’s a sanctuary and home to, besides the gators, unwanted exotic pets—crocs, cayman, emus, ostriches, rheas, pythons, anacondas, monitor lizards, geckos, iguanas, and tortoises of all sizes. Morris, an American alligator that has appeared in many television series and films—a sign in front says he once trashed a Cheers set—has his own pen. Kids can feed the gators, the tortoises, and fish, see how the tilapia farm works, and get that gator selfie. Check the website for information on alligator-wrestling and reptile-handling classes. And don’t forget to spend some time in the Great Sand Dunes National Park or at the nearby –Leland Rucker UFO Watchtower on your way in or out.

Colorado Gators Reptile Park // 9162 W CO Rd 9 N., Mosca, CO //COLORADOGATORS.COM .

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DE N VE R, CCO O 7 20 -5 7 2-5 249 sensimag.com JULY 2019 21

To the Moon and Back

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing. Neil Armstrong landed on July 20, 1969 at 20:17 UTC, which translates to 2:17 p.m. in the Centennial State. Set an alarm, and look up at the sky when it goes off. The moon won’t be visible (it sets at 9:14 a.m. in Colorado that day), but you know it’s out there. Orbiting, unexplored, as it shall remain until mankind makes a second giant leap.

In the meantime, the 50th anniversary of the first giant leap is the subject of a special-edition coffee table book by Taschen. Priced at $50, it makes a great gift.

–SW 22 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

Listen to the Classics

While you lay by the pool looking like a celebrity, listen

to a classic novel read by a celebrity. Dive into one of these, available on Audible, where the first book is free for new subscribers. You’ll get one download a month for $14.95 if you don’t cancel before the 30-day trial is up.

–SW

Go Set a Watchman, written by Harper Lee, performed by Reese Witherspoon

The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, performed by Bryan Cranston

Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, performed by Jake Gyllenhaal

The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, performed by Claire Danes

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, written by Truman Capote, performed by Michael C. Hall

Breakfast of Champions, written by Kurt Vonnegut, performed by John Malkovich

Half-Century to Remember In 1969, a whole lot of stuff

happened: Woodstock, for example. That happened. Gap Inc. was founded. The Beatles released Abbey Road, the band’s final studio album together, which included tracks such as “Here Comes the Sun” and “Come Together.” Sesame Street debuted. Jennifer Aniston was born. ARPANET, the computer networking system predecessor of the internet, was created. The Pontiac Firebird Trans Am introduced Americans to the concept of a muscle car. And Jazzercise introduced people to the concept of dancing around a room to music as a form of exercise.

Yes, both Jazzercise and Jennifer Aniston turn 50 this month. The ponytail-bouncing

fitness

class

peaked in the 80s when neon-accented leotards and legwarmers were all the rage. It had faded from popularity by the time Aniston’s haircut became a style known as the Rachel.

Whether you’re looking for a nostalgic

workout

or

if

you’re

down with all things retro, check out Jazzercize Denver Capitol Hill Fitness Center or Jazzercise Denver Center. Both studios are official Jazzercise franchises, and the classes follow the same perky routines that put the brand on the map. Jazzercise is a high intensity dance party that fuses cardio, strength, Pilates, hip-hop, yoga and kickboxing. That’s a whole lot of fitness styles brought together to help you burn up to 800 calories per hour. Which will help you look good in a leotard, should they make a comeback. Anything is possible.

–SW sensimag.com JULY 2019 23

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{newsfeed }

by L E L A N D R U C K E R

Denver and Boulder are reaching out to those with old cannabis convictions.

OFF THE RECORD PART 2 One of the knottier problems facing any state that le-

you for life. You can be denied a job, or a chance at public

galizes cannabis is what you do with people who are in

housing, or a bank loan, even years later, because of that

prison or have on their record an offense or crime, like

mark. There are 77 million Americans with convictions on

simple possession, that isn’t a crime any longer.

their records, a good number of those for cannabis and

Cannabis convictions rarely involve long prison terms,

other nonviolent drug-related offenses. What do you do

but even small blemishes on criminal records can haunt

with those who are imprisoned or have paid their debt

26 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

for possessing a substance like cannabis, that today any

can also be sealed, which means they can only be opened

adult in Colorado can buy in a store?

under certain conditions. For a deeper look at this topic, visit

Colorado’s Amendment 64, passed in 2012, contained no provisions for expungement or sealing of criminal records. It

sensimag.com to read part one of “Off the Record,” a special report published in the January 2019 edition.)

just wasn’t part of the conversation at that time. (To expunge

As more states legalize, that’s changing. Illinois, the sec-

means to completely eliminate a criminal record. Records

ond state to legalize through the legislature rather than sensimag.com JULY 2019 27

cases of how this has affected people’s lives,” he says.

“They couldn’t get an apartment, put a roof over their heads. They can’t get federal scholarships. Want to serve your country? You can’t join the military.”

Things are changing, but not quickly enough, Escude-

How to Apply

ro says. “It’s a victimless crime. What it comes down to is

To participate in Denver’s Turn Over a New Leaf program, you must attend a clinic or apply online at DENVERGOV.ORG . Anyone with a low-level offense committed in Denver that was based on conduct now legal under current law, including possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, is eligible. Low-level cases involving hemp, paraphernalia, or infused products are also eligible. If you’re unsure, the district attorney’s office will help determine eligibility.

that it does not. Hopefully we’ll see the state take action

If your offense happened in Boulder, you can apply for the Moving On From Marijuana program by filling out a form online.

Visit BOULDERCOUNTY.ORG and search for “Moving on From Marijuana.” You will be contacted to see if you are eligible.

this: Does the punishment fit the crime? Anyone can agree and more people can take advantage.”

Denver is trying to make it as easy as possible with its Turn Over a New Leaf program to eliminate low-level cannabis convictions that happened in Denver before legalization. The city estimates that more than 10,000 people might be eligible to have their records vacated. So far, only about 400 have applied, and only 87 of those have been accepted because the applicants’ offenses weren’t committed in the city or county of Denver. “We can’t watch people suffer, and we’re taking action to help as many people as we can,” he says. “Unfortunately, it’s a more difficult process. We had people from Florida applying,” Escudero says.

“We have a website where people can jump online and apply,” he says. “They’ll be contacted by a district attorney who will try to make it as easy as possible. And it’s free.”

Still, he’s disappointed in the turnout so far. He says the city has done a ton of outreach, through flyers, social media and working with neighborhood organizations to get the word out. “As something new, we went to county jails to get people in there. We’re looking under every single rock to make sure we do everything we can to overturn

ballot initiative (Vermont was the first), has announced

the negative effects of the Drug War and be a model for

a plan to automatically scrub records for all marijuana

other cities across the country.”

convictions as part of its legalization process. “When Cal-

Escudero admits that part of the reason might be that

ifornia and Massachusetts wrote their laws, they actually

someone who was arrested might not be eager to return

sealed records. People here [in Colorado] did not have that

to the system. “We worry that people might be scared to

foresight,” says Eric Escudero, communications director

go back to the same place. We have to rebuild some trust.”

for the city of Denver’s Department of Excise and Licens-

Boulder District Attorney Michael Daugherty started a

es. “We’ve had to step in and, unfortunately, we can’t au-

countywide program with the same goals in mind. “Cur-

tomatically clear records by state law.”

rently, any person can petition the court and have a con-

Escudero explains that he has spoken with a man con-

viction for a marijuana offense vacated,” he says. “It’s my

victed for possession of a marijuana joint more than a

strong belief that we should not put the burden on the

decade ago who was denied a position as a maintenance

individual. For that reason we launched Moving on from

supervisor in public schools. A woman with a nursing de-

Marijuana. Anyone can come to our office, attend one of

gree who has a single record for one sale years ago was

our clinics, or fill out the application online on our website.

not allowed to get a nursing license. “We’ve seen so many

We also worked out a waiver of the 65-dollar fee.”

28 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

Still, of what they estimate might be a couple of thousand people eligible, only about 20 have taken advantage so far. “It highlights the challenge we have,” Daugherty says. “They only take advantage of it if they hear about it and make time to do it. If someone has an offense from 2003, they might not have any idea that this even exists.”

Daugherty says the real solution is for the legislature to take up the issue statewide next year and make anything legal now stricken from people’s records. Otherwise, he says, the next step will be to reach out to eligible offenders at their last known address.

“What I would like to see happen is that we have statewide legislation that makes it automatic, so they don’t have to do anything. It’s so important to get rid of collateral consequences so they don’t have to worry about being on a list for school or a job for something that’s legal today.”

“We’re making sure we do everything we can to overturn the negative effects of the Drug War and be a model for other cities across the country.”

—Eric Escudero, City of Denver, Department of Excise and Licenses

sensimag.com JULY 2019 29

30 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

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{starpowered }

by N AT H A C A M PA N E L L A

JULY

HOROSCOPES CANCER

June 22–July 22

Your love life takes center stage this month, but it’s not about romance— it’s all about you. What do you love? What do you love to do? When you blow out your birthday candles, what are you wishing for? This is your month, Cancer. Grant your own wishes, even if on a small scale. If you dream of traveling the world but can’t afford to go anywhere but the office, head to the library and get lost in a book. Indulge yourself, focus on you, let your life sparkle.

LEO

July 23–Aug 22

You thrive on being praised for your amazingness; feeling invisible is rough. This month, the spotlight isn’t on you, but the choice is yours: you can sulk or you can handle it. I suggest you handle it. You don’t need constant outside validation; you are vibrant and amazing even when there’s not someone telling you so. Find ways to inspire yourself—even if that means a career change.

34 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

VIRGO

Aug 23–Sept 22

Take off your rose-colored glasses and assess the health of your love life. You may be tempted to distract yourself with other people’s problems. Try to keep the focus on you: how do you feel about loving, about being loved?

Now is a good time to ask, because this month, you’re feeling the love. People are naturally drawn to you. But by what, exactly? Now is a good time to figure it out. Being self-aware of your assets and attributes gives you insight that benefits all your relationships.

There’s a system to the process, and Virgos love a good system. Have fun with it.

LIBRA

Sept 23–Oct 22

You’ll be challenged to discount the feelings of others this month, especially when it comes to your career. If you disagree with someone at work, don’t just acquiesce to keep the peace. Talk it through. Practice authen-

tic communication, and your relationships will benefit.

Changes are imminent, and the more you can foster a dialogue with your partner, the more exciting those changes will feel.

SCORPIO

Oct 23–Nov 21

Focus on your health this month. Kickstart healthy habits, and kick bad habits

to the curb. You’ll have support in this area, especially if you’re willing to make adjustments. This also goes for financial health. If you’d like to make more money (or simply spend less), get educated on how to make that happen. You are not powerless against your circumstance, and you don’t need to go into debt to make positive changes. Listen to podcasts, read articles from trusted sources, seek advice from people who’ve achieved success. Elevate yourself.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov 22–Dec 21

Cancer, your love life takes center stage this month, but it’s not about romance—it’s all about you.

You don’t have to struggle for control of the room very often. You’re naturally adept at getting people to follow and believe in the things you do most of the time. Not this month—and that’s good for you. Bringing negative patterns to your attention gives you a chance to shift them.

Seeing your defense mechanisms for what they are will help you build better relationships all around, especially in your family and love life.

CAPRICORN

Dec 22–Jan 19

This month is a good time to focus on emotions. Yes, you need respect, and you put great importance on the concept of success. But not

Aquarius, you’re primed to wake up from the proverbial slumber of unconsciousness.

Open your eyes and see what needs to change before you’re bored to death.

everyone can subsist on rigidity and obligations; your partners need to be comforted more—and so do you.

This month, you’ll be wellequipped to learn how to build your emotional intelligence.

Seek out ways to view people through a more thoughtful lens, and acknowledge that tender emotions do exist.

AQUARIUS

Jan 20–Feb 18

This is a month of necessary liberation—at home, at work, and deep within. You’re primed to wake up from the proverbial slumber of unconsciousness. Open your eyes and see what needs to change before you’re bored to death. Just don’t act like you alone can shake things up. Reach out, engage in

conversations, commit to being understood and to being understanding of other viewpoints. Your sense of individuality is coming back, stronger and clearer than ever before.

PISCES

Feb 19–Mar 20

Multi-layered Pisces, you need a reality check this month. Dive into work, focus on cleaning up your desk and completing mundane tasks that need to get done. Monotony will keep you grounded, and creative outlets will help you stay connected to yourself.

ARIES

Mar 21–Apr 19

This month, you’ll be navigating career ups and downs.

Adjustments are in order at work, and this is a great time to implement changes both large and small. Or to seek out something new entirely.

You’ll need your emotional stamina to help you decide the best course of action.

Spend quality time with people you love to help maintain a sense of equilibrium.

TAURUS

Apr 20–May 20

You’ll be lucky in your relationships this month. Take advantage and hone your communication skills. Learn new ways to talk about your feelings. Make it your mission to explore new things, gathering wisdom and gaining fresh perspective. This is a powerful time for you, so take advantage of it by

broadening your mind every chance you get.

GEMINI

May 21–June 21

This is a good month to focus on your financial health and future. Build your savings.

Don’t let yourself get distracted by your natural impulse to seek out excitement.

Save those dollars. Apply the same discipline to your physical health as well. Building wealth is more than an accumulation of money; it’s about protecting your future.

Some say astrology is a science, some say it’s an art. NATHA CAMPANELLA

( @NATHA_CAMPANELLA_ASTROLOGY on Insta) calls it both. Natha is a professional astrologer specializing in evolutionary astrology. When she’s not working, you can find her writing for online publications and conducting interviews on her podcast Star Narratives.

NATHACAMPANELLA.COM

sensimag.com JULY 2019 35

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{tastebuds }

by J O H N L E H N D O R F F

40 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

MY PRIVATE COLORADO A food critic shares his favorite undiscovered à la carte taste diversions.

At the first bite of the bacon epi, my eyes popped wide open. I was taken by the caramelized crunch, the smoke of the bacon, the salty chewy joy of the yeasty demi loaf.

No butter was needed, which is not normal for me to say.

You just don’t expect an epiphany when you’re sipping an Italian coffee with a French pastry at a Japanese bakery in a quiet Denver neighborhood.

Yet, there I was, saying “oh wow” to myself during my first visit to Tokyo Premium Bakery on a recent Saturday morning. It’s the kind of place I’d go back to in a heartbeat.

I’ve been writing about food in Colorado for decades, and while I hope I’ll have one of those blissful moments every time I go somewhere new, the truth is that most of them are forgettable, although a handful are memorable because my dining choice was regrettable. The new and the old familiar Colorado spots on the list that follows are the good ones, the worth-the-drive places I recommend to family and friends. They provide a culinary experience I can’t get elsewhere—sometimes a single dish, sometimes everything on the menu. If they are also affordable luxuries, then all the better. sensimag.com JULY 2019 41

Carl’s is a cranky independent pizzeria turning out simply topped thin, thick, or panfried pizzas not buried under field greens. I opt for thin crust with house-made sausage and meatballs placed on top of the full-milk mozzarella so they get a nice sear. Dessert is the seldom-seen Italian-American delight, frita: small fried pizza dough balls tossed in butter, cinnamon, and sugar.

To me, that’s amore.

Julep

3258 Larimer St. // Denver // JULEPRINO.COM

Great southern panfried chicken and biscuits are rare finds in the Denver area. You can count the places on the fingers of one hand, and the thumb now belongs to Julep, a hipster bistro near Coors Field that possesses bona fide y’awl roots.

Only served on weekend mornings, Julep’s chicken

Tokyo Premium Bakery

1540 S. Pearl St. // Denver // TOKYOPREMIUMBAKERY.COM

Besides

the

wheat-stalk-

shaped demi loaf, this fairly new bakery offers two dozen varieties of sweet and savory pastries using brioche and croissant doughs with a twist. As at Mexican bakeries, you grab a plastic tray and a set of tongs and pick your treat: doughnuts filled with sweet bean, wrapped hot dogs, beef-curry-filled turnovers, matcha-cream-filled treats, or buttery muffins topped with almond paste and a candied lemon slice.

During my visit, I watched pastries topped with egg salad and ready-to-eat croque monsieur sandwiches stream out the door. Besides the sheer pastry craftsmanship, I love the Japanese design sensibility of TPB and the highly efficient-yet-giggling counter help.

Carl’s Pizza

3800 W. 38th Ave. // Denver // CARLSPIZZA.YOLASITE.COM

The historic neon sign outside tells you that Carl’s Pizza

is thoroughly juicy and flavorful inside, with the classic thin peppery crust surrounding the fall-apart meat. Such goodness takes a long time to cook, so tuck into a fine pecan-crusted pimento cheese ball with Triscuits and order a Hurricane. For the kids, it’s the Kool-Aid “flavor of the day.” The baked-to-order round buttermilk biscuits are everything they should be. Crunch gives way to a soft, warm interior in these biscuits that are made for either: a) spreading with butter, housemade marmalade, and sorghum syrup; or b) covering with creamy white sausage gravy. Or, better yet, c) both.

Zaidy’s Deli

121 Adams St. // Denver // ZAIDYSDELI.COM

Zaidy’s is the same as it ever was. What a relief! I hadn’t stopped by for almost a decade, and the familiar blackand-white images of Denver’s legendary Jewish community fill the walls above the booths. The soft black-andwhite cookies taste the same, and the menu still boasts egg creams, knishes, two kinds of kugel, and kreplach.

You want chopped liver? They’ve got chopped liver.

is so old school that school hadn’t even been invented yet

I went for my usual latke Reuben. Yes, that’s warm

when it opened in 1953. Leave your pizzaiolo pretensions at

pastrami, sauerkraut, melted Swiss cheese, and Rus-

the door of this North Denver icon. For emigrants from the

sian dressing sandwiched between two potato latkes. I

Northeast, settling into one of the worn red vinyl booths feels

know it’s a tad heavy, but I brought half home. This Cher-

like a ticket to Rat Pack-era New Jersey or New Haven. Noth-

ry Creek deli is about comfort. Who goes there and sees

ing to see here except an Italian roll filled with sausage and

someone else eating the Diet Platter—burger, cottage

sautéed peppers, a juicy Italian beef sandwich, baked stuffed

cheese and sliced tomato—and says: “I’ll have what

shells with red gravy, and gah-lic bread sold by the half-loaf.

she’s having?” Not me.

42 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

Wayne’s Smoke Shack

406 Center Dr. // Superior // WAYNESSMOKESHACK.COM

Superior is an appropriate name for a place that’s home to a shrine to barbecue exceptionalism. Smoked pork belly is the reason devotees of Texas barbecue start lining up before 11 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday, regardless of season. I wait with them as licks of smoky incense waft into the suburban shopping center. It’s worth it for a paper-lined tray adorned with exceptionally juicy brisket, pork shoulder, sausages, and ribs so ideal, they make it hard to order ribs elsewhere. The barbecue sauces and sides here are fine, but meat like this needs no accessories. As at all genuine lunch-only barbecue emporia, Wayne’s closes for the day when it runs out of the meats.

Ginger and Baker

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359 Linden St. // Fort Collins // GINGERANDBAKER.COM

The relatively new Ginger and Baker is a beacon of tastiness in Northern Colorado that deserves a pilgrimage this summer. The establishment, set in a beautifully rehabbed historic feed store in Old Town Fort Collins, includes a wine-oriented bistro upstairs, a comfort food café, plus a first-class bakery and cooking school. On a summer day on Ginger and Baker’s patio, I was a happy guy, with my iceberg wedge topped with steak, a cup of chilled mint and pea soup, and a blue-ribbon wedge of quadruple coconut cream pie. The menu also features scratch-made dishes ranging from lamb schnitzel with pea-and-carrot spaetzle to green chile cheddar cheese hand pies. In the morning, there is no better spot to indulge in thick-cut country ham with eggs and toast from house-baked loaves.

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Bread Bar

1010 Main St. // Silver Plume // BREADBARSP.COM

Unlike the faux Disney-esque ski and gambling towns that dot the I-70 mountain corridor, Silver Plume is the real deal. The mountain village with fewer than 200 residents has dirt roads, no sidewalks, junked cars,

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chipped paint, mining remains, a few shops, and the seriously spooky Windsor Hotel B&B. The lonesome wail of the steam locomotive from the town’s working tourist train periodically echoes through town. And every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the Bread Bar opens up as an odd ex-urban mixology destination beloved by hipsters and old hippies alike. Sipping a local whiskey neat in the cool, 1800s bakery building or on the sunny deck while listening to live music is a quintessentially Colorado experience in good taste. The Bread Bar doesn’t serve bread or any other food, so pick-up a sandwich first in Idaho Springs or Georgetown.

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Hovey & Harrison

56 Edwards Village Blvd. // Edwards // HOVEYANDHARRISON.COM

It wasn’t the altitude in Edwards (near Beaver Creek) that made time slow to a stop for a few pristine minutes, but a pretty platter of huevos Yucatecos and a sour cherry turnover at Honey & Harrison. The farmer-meets-baker venture combines a breakfast and lunch cafÊ with a full bar, plus a bakery and market stand with fresh local produce. My brunch bliss consisted of plantains, black beans, and crunchy tortillas topped with eggs, crumbled queso fresco, and salsa. The buttery turnover had only slightly sweetened sour cherries tucked inside. The hit parade includes fresh sourdough bread, soft pretzels, and madeto-toast English muffins. The building housing H & H also features a great bar (Craftsman) and an artisan ice cream shop (Sundae) along with wine, cheese, and meat shops.

JOHN LEHNDORFF is the former Food Editor of the Boulder Daily Camera. He hosts Radio Nibbles on KGNU. Podcasts: NEWS.KGNU.ORG/CATEGORY/RADIO-NIBBLES

sensimag.com JULY 2019 45

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{highprofile}

by L E L A N D R U C K E R

AERIAL

DANCE This month, top aerialists from around the world descend upon Boulder for the 21st-annual Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance Festival.

50 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

When it comes to modern aerial dance, Nancy Smith is

across Europe and elsewhere. “There’s been so much

in a class all her own. The Boulder artist started Frequent

cross pollination in part because of 21 years of the festi-

Flyers Aerial Productions in 1988, and today the nonprof-

val—of people seeing what each other are doing.”

it organization performs around the world, including for

It didn’t hurt to have Cirque de Solei, which has become

Cirque du Soleil and at the Kennedy Center. The company

enormously successful by ending animal tricks in a circus

hosted the world’s first aerial dance event, the Boulder

setting in favor of real human skills. “So all of that hap-

Aerial Dance Festival, in 1999, and this year’s 21st edition

pened kind of at the same time,” she adds. “And that’s

brings dozens of artists, gymnasts, and students from all

what the festival in a nutshell is all about—bringing to-

over the world for performances and workshops.

gether people who have different points of view. It’s like

Frequent Flyers is deeply entwined in the local commu-

any art form; there are different expressions of it.”

nity, hosting a student company and summer camps, and

This year’s event features classes, lectures, demon-

offering year-round classes for all ages as well as pro-

strations, informal discussions, networking, and per-

grams for adults, teens, and at-risk youth. Smith teaches

formances from July 28 through August 9. Everybody

classes in local grade schools and at the University of Col-

is welcome, no matter your skill set, with classes and

orado. She is co-author, with Jayne Bernasconi, of Aerial

demonstrations for all ages and abilities.

Dance, a book about the art form’s history.

All of this is based around the concept of modern dance in a distinctive setting: suspended from the ceiling on a rope and harness and using those advantages and limitations to express yourself using your body and strength. “There are a lot of constraints around doing it, so I’m always trying to figure out how you work with all of those,” Smith says.

“You have to have rigging. It’s a fixed point in the ceiling, so you’ve got a restriction of this ‘thing,’ but then you get all this freedom of vertical space that nobody in dance fills.”

At first glance, the assumption might be that this all comes from the circus—you know, the flying trapeze and all. In truth, it’s much more nuanced, Smith explains. Aerial dance, a relatively new form of expression, is an outgrowth of the modern dance movement that began in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

“The book details that aerial dance came out of the post-

“The festival in a nutshell is about bringing together people who have different points of view.

It’s like any art form; there are different expressions of it.”

—Nancy Smith, Founder of Frequent Flyers

modern dance movement,” Smith explains. “Long story short, I wanted to have a history of the art form that shows that it came out of dance, not circus. We’re talking 1967 onward. It’s a uniquely American art form. With that said, however, as soon as we started doing the aerial dance festival in 1999, we started bringing in circus artists who were working in that genre and doing cross pollination.”

The distinction between dance and circus has narrowed over the years as a result. When Smith started Frequent Flyers, only a handful of people were doing aerial dance, and the 1999 festival was the first to bring together individuals from around the world. Today there are festivals sensimag.com JULY 2019 51

52 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

All in all, this seems like the perfect job for a woman who spent her childhood hanging from swing sets and tree branches and climbing anything she could find for what she calls a “natural high.” Little did she know that the most important element of Frequent Flyers would be the educational component. Yes, hanging from the ceiling has health benefits beyond just being fit.

A good example is Kids Who Fly, the company’s youthat-risk program, based around the concept of replacing self-injurious behaviors with safe risk-taking. Taking a cue from adventure-based therapies, Smith and others came up with a similar program based around the arts.

Dance Fest Events

This year’s Aerial Dance Festival features classes, lectures, demonstrations, informal discussions, networking, and performances from July 28 to August 9.

JULY 28:

Opening Reception

JULY 29: Intimate Encounters: Performance by students and faculty

JULY 29–AUGUST 2: Week A Classes

invincible, and some of them are pushing the envelope in

AUGUST 2–4: Showcase Performances: New and innovative work from ADFs internationally renowned faculty

ways that are unhealthy,” she says. “There’s cutting, sui-

AUGUST 5–9:

cidal ideation, wanting to drop out of school. There’s drugs

For more information, go to FREQUENTFLYERS.ORG

“A lot of what kids are about is they just think they’re

Week B Classes

and alcohol, there’s obsessive compulsive video gaming—whatever it is that takes them out of being able to interact in the world and feel healthy.”

The program emphasizes setting goals in a safe space, hanging from the ceiling. “We get a lot of kids who just can’t find a place to fit in, but they are physical kids or expressive kids or creative kids,” she says. “The school system doesn’t really generate programming for the creative kids in that way.”

The first big thing students learn is to trust themselves, the equipment, and the teachers. “It’s this tremendous breakthrough when they do something they were afraid to do, right? And they get a new skill. I’d have students who had some childhood thing that happened—they fell off of a playground thing and hadn’t been upside down since they were a kid. And their whole goal was just to hang upside down. Well, they went way beyond that.”

There’s a scientific term for it. “It’s called eustress. And that’s healthy stress,” she says. “It triggers your fear centers, but not at the level that it’s dangerous. And things start to happen.” Kids Who Fly is now in its 19th year. More than 6,000 students have gone through the program.

Frequent Flyers operates the only certified professional training program in the country, and FF has a relationship with the University of Colorado Dance Department that allows MFA students to get an aerial emphasis for their degrees.

“Part of the goal is to perpetuate and grow the art form through training people and teaching people a love for the sensimag.com JULY 2019 53

54 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

“You’re suspended from a fixed point in the ceiling, so you’ve got a restriction of this ‘thing,’ but then you get all this freedom of vertical space that nobody in dance fills.”

—Nancy Smith

art forms so that they take a class or see shows, become

dance about, and I have things I want to choreograph on

donors, volunteers, board members, whatever,” she says.

the company. It’s been an interesting journey.”

“But education has been there since the beginning. I didn’t

She says she is still inspired by the other teachers and

mean for it to be, I never meant to teach personally. I wanted

her students. “I’m learning. They’re learning. I think it’s

to choreograph and perform, which I have done and still do.”

why I’m not bored, because I am constantly being pushed

The organization’s Vampire Masquerade Ball—always

to question my own perceptions,” she says. “And we often

an anticipated community event—will take place Novem-

say that the thing about aerial is it changes your percep-

ber 2 and 3, with a costume contest, raffle, photo opps with

tion. You are literally not looking at the world right-side up.

a coffin, and a performance of excerpts from Theatre of the

It’s often spinning or swinging. So you are having a com-

Vampires. The company puts on two shows a year. A 2017

plete brain change every time you do this activity.”

performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, with

I remind her that that she has become a part of the

Smith performing with a symphony orchestra to the accom-

history of aerial dance as much as a participant. “I forget

paniment of American classical composer Aaron Copeland’s

about it ’cause I’m always thinking about where we’re go-

“Appalachian Spring,” got standing ovations and rave notices.

ing and what’s next,” she says. “What envelope do I want

“Yeah, I’m still teaching and performing, which is inter-

to push and what are people in the world doing and how

esting,” Smith says. “I have things I personally want to

you stay competitive.” sensimag.com JULY 2019 55

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{aroundtown }

by S T E P H A N I E W I L S O N

SPORTY SUMMER Get your professional superfan fix this month by cheering on Mile High teams.

Denver is a city of sports fans who go big. If you need ev-

match is the first time the teams square off, and it’s the first

idence, just look for the aerial photograph of the crowd that

game in the Arsenal’s pre-season US tour. The game is ex-

turned the streets of Denver and Civic Center Park into a sea

pected to sell out so move fast if you want ’em.

of orange to cheer on the Broncos and celebrate the team’s Super Bowl victory in 2016. Ah, the good ole days, when

The game is the result of an effort to further establish Denver as the sport’s mecca of the US.

Peyton Manning led the team to victory on any given Sunday.

“Denver is an outdoor city full of urban adventure, and that

The Broncos have been enduring the dreaded “rebuilding

spirit is reflected in the city’s passion for sports—profes-

years” ever since his retirement, leaving Denver spots fans

sional, amateur, and recreational” reads the homepage for

hungry for any kind of win. Maybe this year, kids. Maybe not.

the Denver Sports Commission, an affiliate of Visit Denver.

No matter: as this spring proved, there’s plenty of reason to

The commission works with the city’s tourism board to

cheer in the Mile High. Both the Denver Nuggets (the NBA

identify, pursue, and attract new sporting opportunities for

team, noob) and the Avalanche (NHL, and call them the Avs)

the region. And its hard work is paying off, with area sports

went far into their respective post-seasons, giving the city’s

fans, hotels, restaurants, venues, and more reaping the ben-

enthusiasts plenty of reasons to celebrate.

efits. Just a quick recap of this year alone: In January, Denver

Even though neither team made it to the finals, they re-

hosted the first-ever UUIAA Ice Climbing World Cup Finals

minded us how great it feels to be a fan cheering for a home-

in North America. February: the USA Fencing Junior Olym-

town (or adopted-home town) team. During the summer

pics. April: The US Soccer Women’s National Team took on

months, you may think there’s only one way to get your pro

Australia at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park before heading to

spots fix: baseball. But you’d be wrong.

France for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The Monster Ener-

This month, fanatics can head out and support local pro-

gy Supercross made a stop at Mile High that month as well.

fessional teams such as the Colorado Rockies (baseball),

In May, Metropolitan State University in Denver hosted the

Denver Outlaws (Lacrosse), Colorado Rapids (Soccer), and

2019 NCAA Division II softball championship, and the Colo-

the Denver Barbarians (Rugby), all of which are in season and

rado Convention Center welcomed the North American Gay

hosting matches at the top-notch fields and facilities around

Volleyball Championships. In June, Mile High Stadium host-

the city.

ed the CONCACAF Gold Cup featuring the Mexican National

The game to get most excited about: on July 15, the Rap-

Team taking on Canada, Martinique, and Cuba during a dou-

ids take on Arsenal, the legendary football team from London

bleheader. In late July, USA Rugby comes to town for round 1

with more titles and championships than we’ve got space to

of the Pacific Nations Cup, a match between USA and Canada.

list. Think of them like the Patriots of English football. (Don’t

Rounding out the summer, the 2019 Colorado Classic profes-

hate on my love for Tom Brady.) The “international friendly”

sional women’s cycling race returns to the roads of Colorado.

60 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

sensimag.com JULY 2019 61

But enough about teams coming here; let’s give three cheers for the ones from here. Get out there and support them this summer.

COLORADO ROCKIES Take yourself out to a ballgame. It’s the American way.

Ranked second in the National League West as of press time, the Rockies are showing some potential this season, and the games are always a good time regardless of the outcomes.

This month, there are just short of a dozen home games going down at Coors Field as the Rockies hosts teams from Houston, Cincinnati, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

If baseball doesn’t really get you going but Instagram likes do, put the July 2 game on your schedule. The Rockies take on Houston, but you don’t really care about that. You care that every fan gets a handheld USA flag to wave about, making for the perfect photo op to kick off the celebration of American freedom taking place in the days that follow.

Following the game, the fireworks display lights up over downtown—the first major display of the Independence Day celebrations lighting up skies in and around the city. If you can’t make it on the second, there are also fireworks marking the completion of the game on July 3.

62 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

Game Time vs. Houston Astros July 2 // 6:10 p.m. // Tickets start at $35 July 3 // 6:10 p.m. // Tickets start at $75 vs. Cincinnati Reds July 12 // 6:40 p.m. // Tickets start at $11 July 13 // 6:10 p.m. // Tickets start at $20 July 14 // 1:10 p.m. Tickets start at $10 vs. San Francisco Giants July 15 // 12:10 p.m. // Tickets start at $6 July 16 // 6:40 p.m. // Tickets start at $8 July 17 // 1:10 p.m. // Tickets start at $8 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers July 29 // 6:40 p.m. // Tickets start at $9 July 31 // 1:10 p.m. // Tickets start at $9

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DENVER OUTLAWS Lacrosse may not be as popular a professional sport as the ones we’ve already mentioned—not yet at least. Thanks to the Denver Outlaws and the Colorado Mammoth, lacrosse is gaining a fervent following in the Mile High. The Mammoth box lacrosse team is part of the growing National Lacrosse League and plays home games at the Pepsi Center, where they often attract crowds rivaling those of the Nuggets and Avalanche. The Mammoth took home the league championship in 2006. The season runs from December to April, but during the summer months, the Denver Outlaws pick up where the Mammoth left off.

The team, founded in 2006 and owned by Broncos titan Pat Bowlen (who passed away in June as this issue was going to press), plays on the field in Broncos Stadium at Mile High from May through August.

With three Major League Lacrosse Championships to their name, the Outlaws are the winningest franchise in MLL history, earning a playoff berth 12 of the team’s 13 seasons. The sports commission describes the current roster as young and hungry—“a great introduction to this exciting sport.” Which is what the Outlaw’s official mission statement indicates is the goal: “The Denver Outlaws are an organization committed to not only winning MLL Championships but also to growing new lacrosse fans, making a positive impact on the community, and providing superior entertainment, value, and service.”

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This month, you can catch the Outlaws during three home games: July 4 vs.

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COLORADO RAPIDS Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids have a new home: the sprawling, high-tech Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, which opened its doors in 2007. The Rapids are a force to be reckoned, with an international roster featuring players from Jamaica, England, Africa, Japan, and Argentina, not to mention plenty of homegrown talent. The season runs from March to October.

On July 4, the Colorado Rapids and Commerce City hosts the 24th Annual 4thFest celebration at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Celebrate Independence Day as the team takes on New England Revolution at 7 p.m. Along with the match, there’s a free community festival outside the park and what’s being billed as Colorado’s largest public fireworks show. Although that’s the same accolade the City of Denver is touting for the Independence Eve display, so you’ll have to check out both and be the judge. Let us know what you decide. Either way, ticketed fans are invited right onto the field to watch the spectacle above for the best view.

64 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

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The Denver Barbarians Rugby Football Club (known as the Barbos) competes against 15 other club teams from all over the United States, the highest level of competitive rugby play in the country. The Barbos were undefeated during the 2018/2019 season, taking home the Challenge League championship in May. The Denver rugby club also field the Barbos 7s side (instead of two teams with 15 players on the field, there’s seven on each side)—consistently ranked one of the top 7s sides in the country. If you missed it in June, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park hosted the 52nd Annual Denver 7s Rugby Tournament. In July, the team heads to Utah for the Salt Lake City Rugby Tournament, and the 2019 USA Rugby Club 7s National Championship is scheduled for August 11–12, with a TBA location determined by the open qualifiers on June 29 and 30. There’s a good chance it’ll be happening in the Mile

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{lifestyle }

by L E L A N D R U C K E R

SAVE A HORSE The emphasis is on fun at the Rocky Mountain Gay Rodeo.

OK. I’m a little queasy about rodeos. When I took on this assignment, I had questions about whether I wanted to promote a sport that seemed perpetually stacked against the animals participating. Like many people, I’m sure, the image of a calf’s neck snapping, stopped cold in its tracks by a rope, just won’t go away.

That’s why I’m almost giddy to report that there won’t be anything to remind you of that image at the Rocky Mountain Regional Gay Rodeo at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds July 5–6. In fact, quite the opposite. Now in its 37th year here in Denver and organized by the International Gay Rodeo Association, this is an event open to all participants—women, men, nonbinary, gay, straight, queer, everyone—and though animals are used, they are treated just like everybody else. It’s all just part of the fun.

“We are huge into animals. We probably treat them like we do each other,” explains Tre’ Brewbaker, assistant director of the International Gay Rodeo Association and the reigning Mr. IGRA 2018. “We have rules. We have a person in charge of making sure animals are treated fairly, and we don’t contract with those who don’t follow those rules. It’s pretty awesome to see everybody behind the scenes aware of things like that.

We’ll take anybody and show them around,” he says.

I haven’t attended one yet, but after spending an hour watching videos of recent events around the country, I was impressed (and laughing out loud much of the time) at the way the organizers have co-opted traditional rodeo events into competitions that are, well, just a whole bunch of fun.

68 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

sensimag.com JULY 2019 69

70 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL R. DEKKER

There are conventional rodeo events—barrel racing, calf roping, bull and steer riding. But the emphasis is on the participants’ skills, not animal subjugation. In the steer roping event, for instance, as soon as the line goes around the animal’s neck, it drops off instead of pulling taut. In the calf roping event, contestants do just that, but on foot.

Serious competitors come from all over the country to win prize money here and in 12 other regional events, which qualifies winners for the national gay rodeo finals in Scottsdale, AZ, Oct. 24–27.

The real fun begins with the campier special events unique to this rodeo. This will be the first year in Denver for the Community Goat Dressing event, where two participants attempt to put a pair of underpants on a kicking goat. The Steer Decoration event features one person trying to hold a steer while the other wraps a two-foot ribbon around its tail. The crown jewel is the Wild Drag Race, which involves a male and female who attempt to get a

A Full Weekend FRIDAY, JULY 5

5–7 p.m. Rodeo Registration (in the Pole Barn) 8–11 p.m. Community Barn Dance and Hoedown featuring the live musical talents of 25 South (free) SATURDAY, JULY 6

9 a.m. Gates open 10 a.m. Rodeo competition begins 6 p.m. Junior Rodeo 8–11 p.m. Rodeo Toga Party with music, games, contests, prizes (plus free Beer Bust until 10 p.m.)

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third person onto a steer and across the finish line. Oh, did I mention that the third person has be dressed in drag? sensimag.com JULY 2019 71

72 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL R. DEKKER

The campier events are open to anyone. “There are no

over the decades, but the Denver events have been held

requirements. No one asks, and no one cares,” Brewbaker

every year, and today, Brewbaker says there are 19 asso-

says. “We’re over it. Been over it and not taking ourselves

ciations around the country, 13 regional events, and more

too seriously. It’s a rodeo like any other, but we have fun

worldwide interest than ever. In November, the 2019 IGRA

as well. Everybody hangs out. It’s a weekend-long event.”

Convention takes place here in Denver.

The Denver rodeo is operated under the auspices of the

But the impetus behind everything is to raise money and

International Gay Rodeo Association. Rodeo has traditionally

awareness. Winners become fundraisers and help get the

not been open nor hospitable to gays or women performers,

word out to more people. Everybody is involved. “Our job is

and the IGRA was formed, in part, to allow those performers

to raise money and be the face of organization,” Brewbaker

a chance to showcase their skills in front of audiences. The

says. “To compete for the royalty title, you win your state

first Denver rodeo, in 1983, besides allowing gay performers,

level. Then you have to meet, raise money, or volunteer.”

was also a fundraiser for the LGBT community in response to

Brewbaker has competed in rodeo events and now is

the AIDS crisis. “At rodeos back then, if you identified as gay,

a member of three associations, does public relations

you just couldn’t compete,” Brewbaker says. “I wasn’t around.

for others and is the new president of the Louisiana Gay

I didn’t experience what some people did.”

group. “I love the competition,” he says. “But what I really

The first gay rodeo was held in 1976 in Reno, NV. At-

like it is it gave me a new family. Gay rodeo is the only

tendance was minimal, but the idea took off, and gay-ro-

sporting event in which competitors cheer on the people

deo competitions began springing up in California, Texas,

who they competing against. Everybody cheers because

Arizona, and Colorado. There have been ups and downs

we all hang out.” sensimag.com JULY 2019 73

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SPEC IAL REPORT

SEXY YOGIS, TIME TRAVEL +CANNABIS FARMS A mosaic tapestry through one rip-roaring week in Jamaica for the multicultural Tmrw.Tday festival.

by DA N Mc C A R T H Y

78 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

It’s an unusually cold Boston morning. DEADLINE LOOMS, AND THE USUAL WRITERLY PROCESS OF MINE HAS BEGUN. IT INVOLVES A LOT OF MANIC, CALVES-ON-FIRE PACING, DISTANT GAZES FOR AWKWARD PERIODS OF TIME, MADE EVEN MORE AWKWARD BY MY DOING SO IN THE MORNING UNIFORM OF THE HOME OFFICE WORKER (SWEATPANTS HANGING OFF BACKSIDE, NO SHIRT, STOMACH OUT) WHILE STANDING IN FULL VIEW OF THE TRIANGULAR CITY PARK ACROSS FROM MY HOUSE. MY APOLOGIES TO THE PARENTS ON PLAYDATES. IT WAS EARLY. Sporadic thoughts give way to immersive recall, a

of Amazonian mushroom-dosed chocolates through the

must for the task at hand. Because in spite of a mish-

night courtesy of my hospitable hosts? Was I in front of my

mash of G-Doc notes and wildly unorganized voice re-

hotel when I was alone on a beach chair under a single over-

cordings on my phone, many of which apparently were

head safety light at 3 a.m. at the end of the night? Yes, that

conducted in the hour of the wolf, making chronological

I remember. And, being awash in bliss while listening to

or even structural sense of what happened is a bit of a

bootleg Miles Davis recordings and, thanks to the handling

blur. Call it island time. Or call it the Fog of Gnar.

by the couple with deep knowledge of psychedelic and can-

Or just call it a week in Jamaica for a cannonball

nabis science inre: dosing and effect, was in no threat of the

right smack into the heart of the Tmrw.Tday Festival

stuff turning on me until my 8th grade Algebra teacher can

(TMRWTDAY.COM ). As a multi-focus, multicultural well-

visibly be observed riding trumpet-wielding sand serpents

ness, music, art, and dance hootenanny, one can imag-

from under my lounger and right up my shorts. That can be

ine the difficulty in distilling the experience, especial-

a risk sometimes. But no, it was just a nice ride.

ly when it happens to be the first sojourn down to Irie country in 20 years for your humble servant here. But with enough mental jujitsu, I’m able to untangle the tapestry of the week, presented here in a journalistic mosaic; a sort of impressionistic take on a traditional dispatch from paradise. It’s starting to come into focus...

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TMRW.TDAY FESTIVAL. PURPLE GLASSES PHOTO BY DAN McCARTHY

Where I Gwan Here, Exactly?

Speaking of Rides Meeting Peter Oppermann for the first time, a catalogue-model-handsome life coach and meditation teacher leading a multiday series of guided audio inner-space meditations and lectures, you first catch the loose-jawed Berlin accent you’d expect, if not want, from someone promising to take your consciousness from a state of 3D to 5D.

Geographical backdrops are the first images dissolving

His lecture and involvement in the week’s agenda, as most

into frame. Montego Bay, Orange Hill, and greater West-

aspects of the range of yoga classes, mindfulness workouts,

moreland. And there was at least one minor panic attack

lectures, and personal manifestos (there were more than a

after being handed the keys to a new comrade’s rental car

few...but that was the energy there) came from Tmrw.Tday

at sundown; a cheery experiment in left-side road driv-

retreat founder Andrew Christoforou and his wife Stacy Irie

ing to find the area’s lone ATM still dispensing money

Soul. The couple attended LA-based Oppermann’s five day

in order to avoid a humid 40 minute walk along Norman

workshop in Oaxaca, Mexico on NYE2018. Following that,

Manley Boulevard—the main drag flanking the heavenly

they took his online incubator, which, Christoforou said,

(if tourist-plagued) Seven Mile Beach just north of down-

transformed the couple in a deep way. So much so that this

town Negril. That one’s hard to forget.

very festival itself is the end result of Christoforou and com-

Putting it all together requires more digging in the men-

pany applying Oppermann’s cosmic tutelage.

tal dust pile: Where was I heaving myself off of a perilous

“It was life changing,” Christoforou told the packed sec-

spring water cave naturally carved into the earth, with the

ond floor of the glimmering expansion and reconstruction

turquoise water and the specter of death at every leap?

of the Woodstock Beach bar and resort, where the festival

Where was that house in the cliffs I joined a small, crew

kept its home base for the week. A few more words, and

of colorful strangers led by a husband-and-wife team of

Oppermann took the wheel.

plant-medicine scientists for guided psychedelic social

“It’s a true honor for me, since I teach about living the life

hours? And where was the private rental they had for the

of one’s future self. I feel spending time here in this mo-

week, where I tagged along to after the magic mushroom

ment with all you beautiful beings is the manifestation of

ceremony, snacking on conch fritters and Red Stripe Lite (I

this idea of living the life of your future self,” Oppermann

try to watch calories during any controlled research-based

crooned into the microphone. And it was about there I

psychedelic journey) eventually having a good 3–4 grams

turned off the recorder, stretched out on my mat, and realsensimag.com JULY 2019 79

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ized any traditional reportorial work for this one was going

a strange grin mashed across my mug. Then I saw a stray

to be futile. Just go with the flow.

puppy on the beach, a floofy German shepherd mutt al-

That flow involved Bluetooth headphones serenaded

ways in eyeshot of its momma. I played with it while no-

by Oppermann’s dulcet Germanic tones, instructing the

ticing a catamaran of fully naked middle-aged people ca-

room to follow him along on a journey to the other side of

reen by as tourists laughed and hid the eyes of the young.

reality (in your mind): “You are traveling through dimen-

Hard to knock any of this so far, even if my cold, dead

sions now. … Deep in the universe. … Past space and time.

Northeasterner heart of sarcastic and cynical darkness

… There is a yellow liquid waterfall of light to let in your

errs that way by default. Puppies, nudist hedonism, and

mind. … Expand your DNA…”

time travel, people. Get up with it.

I sat up when it was over, blinked a few times, and had

Oh, and weed. Of course. I had already procured a healthy stockpile of Tangie flower, some other strain via three stalks of cured outdoor cannabis from a local farm wrapped in tinfoil, and a small stack of ganja cookies—one batch sourced from a local with a movie-villain scar running down his right eye, which was dead and glared at me when I refused a larger order. He couldn’t understand why I was good with five 100 milligram cookies for the day.

Did the cookies melt into one globulous mass in my backpack as I humped around the beach all day in the sun? Yes. Did I often chomp chunks out of it like a sugary softball smeared in dark chocolate visible through the cheap cellophane encasement? You bet your chakras I did. But that was just the start of a week spent dancing the day away through fields of guerilla ganja grows, at one point being instructed to bite the head-lettuce of a five-foot stalk of flower at the behest of my local Rassensimag.com JULY 2019 81

82 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

duo charming the room, closed by an early morning DJled dancefest with enough sweaty sexy yogis and other acrobatic searchers to make any rotund writer reconsider his choice of a Rocket Pop-print cabana shirt (roughly a size too small, thanks winter) as the night’s swagfest.

No matter. I spent the evening in the company of steam, and later with Marcus “Bubbleman” Richardson (BUBBLEMANBRAND.COM), an OG name in the global hemp game from Canada. For those who know him, he needs no introduction. For those who don’t, consider: Bubble Hash.

Have you had it? Good. His is better. And that makes sense, considering he pioneered the art of it, invented his own bags for production (which is how the stuff first came to the island over 20 years ago, according to Richardson). As an industry expert and social media sensation, his general name-recognition ranks in the cannabis cultural cannon alongside names like Frenchy Cannoli and Steve DeAngelo, depending on who you’re talking cannabis cultural cannon with. In other words: Best. Bubble Hash. Ever. A few blasts ta guide: “Git’cha nootreents ’ere, mon. Awl natch’rail.

Health. Life. Jah, Raaaastafari.” (Ed note: It tasted like cit-

and I could bite a tiger.

The collective steam-meet with Bubbleman gave way to a

rus, earth, and sharp peppercorn salad)

weeklong orbit around each other. At times, it was just meet-

Steam Team

art bazaar on the ground floor below the open-air classroom

Kevin

Campbell,

owner

of

Steam

ing up at Woodstock for lectures or scouring the clothing and Team

JA

(STEAMTEAMJA.COM ), embodies the archetype of a youthful and driven Rasta carving a life and sustainable career

area upstairs. Other times, I was hopping in Bubbleman’s rental to follow Campbell down backcountry roads and Orange Hill’s government-maintained roadways. Not for the

for himself on his native soil in the days of legal green.

Tall and broad, his dense beard and dark eyes frame a face outlined in a lion’s mane of long dreadlocks. And he’s always at the ready to provide hearty blasts of steam via the coconut-and-bamboo clay bowl steam chalices he makes and sells and has by his side at all times. (Call it the original vaporizer.) Torched coconut shell charcoals sit atop a handmade clay bowl, with whole raw flower placed below the small, quarter-sized clay separator. Water from the base is heated as the coals are torched, and the activated flower in the bowl steams off all the cannabinoids drawn through the bamboo mouthpiece for a super mellow, terpene-rich blast of the local crop. The charcoal burns clean and natural and is hot enough to throw a fresh dab on to really spice up your session.

PHOTOS BY DAN McCARTHY

My first steam with Campbell was the night Christoforou and his team led a platoon of festival partiers to local hotspot Pushart. A hot-people ensemble to be sure, the evening was heavy with Canadians while peppered with people from all over the US, South America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Australia. What started as a raucous getting-to-know you evening over Rasta Pasta and quality hash joints eventually gave way to a live acoustic sensimag.com JULY 2019 83

84 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

faint of heart. (Thankfully, I’m from Boston, and maniacal

illegal in Jamaica until 2015 (yes, really), legalization has

driving and horrid roadways are par for life’s course in these

opened the floodgates for the green gold rush on the island.

parts.) At times, we were just putting along rural dirt roads

With the threat of outside entities moving in and taking

and sharp turns; others, we were careening at high speeds,

over the emerging legal cannabis market from native farmers,

narrowly missing car-destroying potholes large enough to

the time to be politically cognizant of the changing laws and

swallow a SmartCar whole hog, squinting in disbelief as the

regulations of Jamaica’s cannabis industry has never been

locals sit and stand at the road’s edge being peppered with

more prescient. For Waba, he’s applied to legally sell his crops,

old asphalt and yelling at livestock scurrying into the road,

but the local governing board has yet to approve it, so it’s a hur-

apparently unworried about their own mortality as we flash

ry-up-and-wait game. Even if they do get the nod, the cost of

by in a cloud of dust and likely damage to the car’s structural

getting licensed to grow and transport product is more than

integrity. This is the island. This is Jamaica.

the average annual salary of a Jamaican. High cost of entry,

That one afternoon of rally-car driving brought us to Waba

the maw of bureaucratic red tape, and big money muscling

Clayton’s Farm, where natural-wonder swimming attrac-

in on seasoned farmers in the weed world: sound familiar?

tion The Blue Hole sits at the base of Waba’s hilltop Xanadu,

Should the governing board simply reject Waba’s application

built in the 1940s, with a finished rooftop lined with pots of

flat-out, all that fire flower and the smiling crew at the farm

cannabis plants overlooking the crystalline ocean glisten-

will be either back on the black market, or simply pushed out.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TMRW.TDAY FESTIVAL

ing in the distance.

“I would have to stop, because I’m a business person, you

Its energy is one of a refuge and haven of authentic Rasta

know?” Waba told VICE. “I’d have to go do something else.

life, communal living, and general survival at the hands of

But what about the other person who can’t [do something

random tourists there for an Instagram-perfect attraction.

else]? Ganja is not just a drug. It’s a spiritual thing that’s sent

Or, a walkthrough and sampling of the outdoor cannabis of

here to help poorer-class people. Without ganja, I don’t know

shocking quality, enough to cause any weed snob to recon-

what this community would be.”

sider their side of the indoor-vs-outdoor argument.

A couple days later, the Steam Team led us to a second

Speaking to VICE News (which filmed a segment at Waba’s

farm in Jamaica’s Westmoreland Parish—larger, more ex-

farm recently), Waba laid out the perilous nature of being a

pansive, and harder to get to. That day required a hearty hike

celebrated local farmer with the kind of growing skills built

deep into the island fauna, past secluded pig farms manned

over a lifetime of labor in the dawn of national (and inter-

by a father and his sons trying to stay under governmental

national) cannabis legalization. Considering weed was still

radar while continuing to let ganja provide for their family.

sensimag.com JULY 2019 85

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“If you like this, there’s five other fields in the distance, all bigger than this one,” Campbell told me. His optics regularly involve wearing a Bluetooth earpiece and keeping a bass-thumping outdoor speaker blasting local music hanging from his backpack, all while never being without his traditional coconut steam chalice. He serves as a ripe representation of local Jamaicans adapting and maintaining ancient traditions passed down from the elders while also keeping a foot in the present day by turning the blossoming tourist green scene into a viable business. “Fresh koosh in

da boosh,” he says passing me the pipe. “Smell dis hookah it keep ya hydrated mon, steam it mon, life steam.”

About those chalices: I wound up buying three of them and had them shipped to me in Boston. The parcel arrived from the Jamaican post office, much to the confusion of my girlfriend who peered in as I unboxed a bunch of small empty coconuts, some bamboo rods, and a bag of charcoal tightly wrapped in brown packing paper. Let me know if you’d like to try it. Bring a torch. Mine’s dead.

Rooms and Board If you ever find your way to Negril, Jamaica, here’s a free tip: Hang out at Seven Mile Beach, but stay in the cliffs. Both areas have their pros; neither, that I could tell, really have their cons—save for the fact the 15-minute shore walk between Tmrw.Tday HQ at Woodstock and my resort at the Coco Le Palm was half spent turning down everything from candy to petrified wooden penis carvings to local psychedelics (“Don’t eat the black mushrooms,” everyone told me), to jewelry, joints, flower, and other inroads to mysterious sources of fun. Everyone had a line, and everyone was a salesperson. That’s the game. Just gotta play it.

But then came Tensing Pen (TENSINGPEN.COM ), an otherworldly privately owned resort of grass-roofed bungalows and rock-cliff-connecting foot bridges stretched between points on the cliffs impossible not to leap off of into the Caribbean Sea below. Once settled in the area, you start to understand why a woman I met on an afternoon of meandering along the West End said those who know know to hit the cliffs versus the beach. I ran into her after the rains started and I popped into a spot called Xtabi for refreshment and new set of views. Earlier in the week, I had bummed a pack of Cheyenne Silver cigarettes off her at the festival where she was working the

and the sheer bacchanal of daily life that it was. And it still is, if you know where to find it.

I wasn’t there to find it (that day). No, I was too busy enjoying the cove views from my chalet at Tensing Pen, which overlooked a portion of limestone cliffs where a set of stairs had been carved into the ancient stone, likely by someone during the island’s colonization by the British and the Spanish in the 17th or 18th century.

“Nobody knows who put that there or when,” said Anne-Marie Petros, part of the husband-and-wife team who own the resort. Their two Rhodesian Ridgeback doggos patrol the grounds for pets and food and company as two dogs living better than 99 percent of the world’s population do. One afternoon while enjoying the sun, I met a Dubai-based real estate and government contract high roller in his 30s staying at Tensing. When first arrived and saw the property, he tried to purchase the entire resort on the spot. “They told me no, they didn’t want to sell,” he said to me after I filmed him jumping off the cliff into the stunning water, demonstrating my Boomerang skills for Instagram. “So instead I’m buying the one next door.”

For the sake of just how insane that is, in a Tony Stark sort of display of sheer liquid wealth extravagance, I hope that was true.

Wellness, Fashion, Friends, Smoothies

check-in desk. With a touch of a history lesson, most-

It wasn’t all a big party. Well, okay, it felt like that, but be-

ly about a class of Americans and Canadians who have

tween the local jewlery makers, Steam Team’s corner booth

been frequenting Negril as a cultural hippie-haven after

(everyone was steaming all day), and the eco-conscious

the San Francisco 1960s dream of peace, love, and Flow-

fashion, garments for sale as a platform for immigrants and

er Power died at the hands of American Exceptionalism,

senior communities to put their lifelong family skills and

she regaled me with stories of the “old days” on the cliffs,

generational production know-how by indigenous people sensimag.com JULY 2019 87

88 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

PHOTO COURTESY OF TMRW.TDAY FESTIVAL

and their traditions, Tmrw.Tday was a true melting pot of

that in the end leaves you feeling better than when you ar-

island solace, commerce, and storytelling.

rived. For Andrew and Stacy and their realized dream of a

There were also a multitude of speeches by wellness entrepreneurs. I was fond of the talk by Shane Griffin, a

festival (which returns next year, so get it on your calendars now if this appeals to you), that result is all that matters.

hospitality and bar industry veteran with enough sto-

And no matter if your entry point is cannabis, psyche-

ries of wanton debauchery and madness at the hands

delics, Burning Man-style spiritualism and mysticism, ag-

of drug and drink, which lead him to eventually reform

nostic-based energy chakra touting this and that, or just

his life, get well, and launch the Vitamin Patch Club

some good old steamin’ and dreamin’, however you get to

(@VITAMINPATCHCLUB )—essentially high-absorbing trans-

the place most were at by the time we were at the closing

dermal vitamin patches. I can say that after a few days of sun

night party, then who cares? Good vibes, good energy, good

and rum, those things felt like a lifesaver.

living, good people.

Downstairs from the lectures, there was always avail-

That final night party went down at a jaw-droppingly

able water, farm-to-table vegan food options, and invigo-

beautiful private (and for rent!) compound called Llant-

rating health shakes made slowly (very slowly) using lo-

rissant Beachcliff Villa (BEACHCLIFF.COM ), owned by a de-

cal island fruits. All of which were easily enhanced with

lightful, silver-maned septuagenarian and pharmaceutical

CBD found all over the festival at Woodstock, including

company CEO, currently at work on getting his synthetic

a stand-alone CBD café right in the middle of the beach,

cannabinoid-based medicine to create HIV quiescence

courtesy of Cafe (IAMCAFE.COM ).

(read: silencing the thing that makes HIV deadly) to clini-

Memories Fade But Wisdom Lingers

cal trials. We talked for a long time after sunset: about his time on the island, about meeting new people at multicul-

That week in May at the festival was one of sensory over-

tural festivals, about simply not being a shit person. We

load. Honestly I don’t even have the energy to get it all right,

talked about his work, about cannabis as medicine. And we

but for that matter I don’t want to, at least for this one. No,

talked about how—in spite of the world changing at a rapid

this story is really about the takeaway—whatever one got

clip, faster than ever before—if we focus on the right things

from the festival, the orbiting pathways to higher living and

(cannabis legalization, for one), we have a chance to create a

more engaged existing (not hard to do living in paradise for

better, healthier, more just world than the one we’re living in.

a week on someone else’s dime, by the way) and anything

Now that, I remember.

sensimag.com JULY 2019 89

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LEGAL LOWDOWN How the new cannabis laws will affect you.

by L E L A N D R U C K E R

AT THIS TIME LAST YEAR, THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY AND LEGISLATORS WERE DEFLATED AND SOMEWHAT STUNNED AFTER THEN-GOVERNOR JOHN HICKENLOOPER VETOED SEVERAL HARD-FOUGHT, BILATERAL CANNABIS BILLS. WHAT A DIFFERENCE 12 MONTHS MAKES. Democrats took over both legislative houses in No-

Andy Williams, co-founder and CEO of cannabis consul-

vember, and Coloradans voted for Jared Polis, a staunch

tancy Medicine Man Technologies, says HB1090 is intend-

cannabis advocate during his years in the US Congress,

ed to help local companies better compete in an expand-

as governor. Today the industry is celebrating the pas-

ing market, which Medicine Man is trying to do. “This

sage of 13 cannabis bills (see sidebar) in the latest leg-

will benefit consumers because you have to bring value

islative session that promises to change how cannabis

and economies of scale that translates to the consumer,”

companies are financed, expands options for medical

he says. “With the people we’re bringing on board, we’ll

cannabis, and finally gives users places to use and en-

be able to innovate and create improved products. Retail

joy cannabis outside their homes. None of the new laws

stores will be more sophisticated and consumer-friendly,

take effect until January 2020, which gives state regula-

and look more like retail stores around the world.”

tors and advocates time to hammer out rules.

Amendment 64, which legalized cannabis for adult

A few of the bills suggest major transformations are

use in Colorado, banned all out-of-state investment, and

ahead. The number of conditions that can be treated by

smaller longtime businesses are rightly concerned about

medical marijuana was expanded to include autism (some-

the new law’s implications. Williams admits that it gives

thing Hickenlooper vetoed last year) and doctors now have

bigger companies advantages over smaller ones. “But

the chance to prescribe cannabis for patients instead of

this is not just outside companies coming and buying

opiates. House Bill (HB) 1234 gave cannabis delivery the

their way in,” he says. “This industry will mature, like al-

green light to begin for medical marijuana patients in Jan-

cohol after prohibition. We’re a family business, and the

uary 2020, recreational delivery begins a year later. HB 1090

people we’re acquiring have been in this industry since

allows for greater flexibility for out-of-state investments in

the beginning. If we don’t do this, we will be left behind.”

marijuana businesses, and HB 1230 allows for a wide variety

The bill with the potential to have the most impact on

of businesses to include cannabis as part of their offerings.

consumers when it goes into effect next year is HB 1230,

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concerning Marijuana Hospitality Establishments. Social

cense in which small amounts of marijuana may be pur-

consumption has been a lagging problem for every state

chased and consumed on site. The second would offer a

where cannabis is now legal for adult use. Colorado’s

marijuana hospitality license to any business that would

Amendment 64 says to treat cannabis like alcohol, but that

allow consumption on site, under certain rules and with

has not happened. It’s still illegal for anyone to use canna-

a special exception to the Colorado Clean Air Act.

bis in a public setting or in most hotels—which leaves out-

One thing Sovine wants to make clear is that HB 1230

of-state visitors largely prohibited from consuming their

is not about cannabis “tasting rooms,” which were the

legal cannabis purchases. Imagine you’re a visitor to, say,

focus of a similar, less expansive bill that Hickenlooper

Napa Valley. You pick up a bottle of wine and head to your

vetoed last year. The addition of the second hospitality

hotel, planning on enjoying a glass on your balcony only to

license opens it to the imagination of individual entre-

find out you can’t because that’s illegal. Sub out “wine” for

preneurs to come up with innovative ideas to incorpo-

“cannabis” and that’s what it’s like in Colorado.

rate cannabis into their businesses.

“This is truly a situation where grown adults have been

She says that by allowing micro-sales at dispensaries,

relegated to the shadows,” says Cindy Sovine, who has long

as well as giving opportunities for other businesses to

lobbied for legal social consumption laws in Colorado. She

incorporate cannabis, the bill is the most expansive in

heads the Social Consumption Coalition and has been try-

the world. “It offers so much more opportunity out there

ing to open a cannabis-themed health and wellness spa in

for different jurisdictions to get creative,” she says.

Denver. “Think of the beauty that can happen when people

“This is a transition that will take years, but the legal

can consume and embrace their culture. Now we’re like

groundwork is now there,” says Michael Eymer, co-found-

second-class citizens hiding in the dark to do a legal thing.”

er and CEO of Cannabis Tours, whose tour consumption

House Bill 1230 allows for two licenses. The first would

buses are now fully legal to operate in Colorado. “It offers a

allow dispensaries to apply for a limited consumption li-

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forward, we have the leverage to create reasonable rules. ” And, as with all Colorado cannabis-related laws, local

Cannabis Bills Passed in the 2019 Legislative Session HB 1028: Medical Marijuana Condition Autism Allows autism spectrum disorders to be added to the list of disabling medical conditions for medical marijuana patients.

HB 1031: Child Patient More Than One Primary Caregiver Allows a parental guardian to serve as a medical marijuana child patient's primary caregiver.

HB 1055: Public School Cap Construction Financial Assistance Increases the amount of retail marijuana excise tax revenue to go to the public school capital construction assistance fund and some school-related functions.

governments can opt in or out. “Just like anything with marijuana, locals always have the option. They can continue to do nothing,” says Sovine. “But there are a lot of jurisdictions that are full of home grows and might be interested in places where people could go and be monitored, but they don’t necessarily want sales.”

The new law finally offers opportunities to health and wellness centers and yoga studios. “These are all options,” Sovine says. “There are lots of opportunities for governments to engage in solutions that work for them.”

It doesn’t change the current law or allow people to consume openly in cars or in public. It will allow hotels to create their own rules on cannabis use in rooms.

Restaurants will be able to decide whether to serve can-

HB 1090: Publicly Licensed Marijuana Companies Allows more investment opportunities in marijuana businesses than Amendment 64 originally outlined.

nabis-infused drinks and food. “This will provide people

HB 1230: Marijuana Hospitality Establishments Allows two licenses for marijuana hospitality establishments under certain conditions.

there’s an underground consumption industry that has

HB 1234: Regulated Marijuana Delivery Allows delivery of cannabis to medical patients beginning in January 2020 and adult-use a year later.

HB 1311: Institute Of Cannabis Research Role And Mission Creates an institute of cannabis research at Colorado State University-Pueblo.

SB 13: Medical Marijuana Condition Opiates Prescribed For Allows a doctor to prescribe cannabis instead of an opioid for medical marijuana patients.

SB 213: Marijuana Cash Fund Transfer Requires state treasurer to make specific transfers from the marijuana cash fund to the marijuana tax cash fund in 2019 and 2020.

SB 218: Sunset Medical Marijuana Program Continues the medical marijuana program set to expire this year.

SB 220: Hemp Regulation Alignment With 2018 Federal Farm Bill Updates the industrial hemp regulatory program to align with the federal Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018.

SB 224: Sunset Regulated Marijuana Continues the regulated marijuana program set to expire this year.

SB 240: Industrial Hemp Products Regulation Continues the hemp products regulated programs.

with a place to go,” says Sovine. “We should be thinking in Denver of places around Union Station. Right now been doing pop-up events despite all the hurdles you have to jump through to throw one.”

Eymer sees cannabis-friendly concert venues, or legal smoking areas in places like Red Rocks, where illegal consumption goes on all the time anyway. “A lot of good stuff will unpack, and people will try different models.

There will be more traditionally unfriendly businesses offering friendly options.”

Sovine also heads the Social Use Avengers (socialuseavengers.com), created to help those interested in opening or adding consumption to their business. “I want to make sure people who are interested in being an operator in this industry have access to it in a meaningful way so we can help develop an end-to-end solution for people who want to get into the business.”

Eymer says one big change for his tour buses will be the ability to sell small amounts. “One thing we haven’t been able to do is include cannabis sales in our services,” he says. “Soon, if they want to buy a joint and smoke it, they can. It’s a small but major change.”

More than five years after adult-use sales began, it’s clear that social consumption should have been dealt with long before now. “We should have done this with the rollout,” says Eymer. “We have moved at a snail’s pace. Regulators are nervous. People have different personal opinions about it. The industry has oftentimes wanted it to change slowly, too.”

Now that finally ends. “Whatever dream we have, the exciting part is that now we can begin to build it. The onus is now on us to build what consumers want.” sensimag.com JULY 2019 97

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As innovation in cannabis-infusion takes great leaps, most experts expect infused food and drinks to rule the pot market in the 2020s.

by R O BY N G R I G G S L AW R E N C E

YEAR OF THE

EDIBLE 102 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

Fed by the best minds IN RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION IN CANNABISINFUSED FOOD AND BEVERAGES IS ENTERING A NEW ERA. BIG AG AND BIG FOOD ARE CIRCLING, DIPPING THEIR TOES IN, READY TO POUNCE AS SOON AS THE US GOVERNMENT LEGALIZES CANNABIS—A MATTER OF WHEN, NOT IF, THAT MANY BELIEVE COULD COME AS SOON AS THIS YEAR OR NEXT. Anheuser-Busch, Molson Coors Brewing Co., Mooseh-

effects. They’ve found a way to make fat-soluble cannabi-

ead, Coca-Cola, Diageo (maker of Smirnoff and Baileys),

noids into water-soluble powders and liquids so that in-

and Mondelēz International (maker of Oreos) have all

fusing anything is a simple matter of adding and stirring.

announced they’re looking into CBD- and THC-infused

And that’s just the beginning. Late last year, the Human

(mostly CBD) food and beverages. CVS and Walgreens

Genome Project, which provides source information for

are planning to sell CBD products in some states. Scotts

gene farming that transforms commercially and thera-

Miracle-Gro is buying up cannabis cultivation companies

peutically valuable segments of the human genetic code

and making moves into genetically modifying cannabis,

into agricultural products, mapped the cannabis genome,

while Monsanto—consistently voted the world’s most evil

opening the door to an even more sophisticated level of

corporation—was one of the first companies to establish

research on par with other economically lucrative crops.

offices in Uruguay after that country legalized adult use.

Citing a study showing that consumers don’t have any

Scientists who honed their skills at the world’s top food

problems with corporations considering cannabis-in-

and pharmaceutical corporations and research institu-

fused products, Nancy Whiteman, CEO of Colorado’s

tions have put their minds to the plant, figuring out how

leading edibles maker Wana Brands, told Paul Barron of

to break cannabis down to its components and put it back

The Barron Report podcast, “My working assumption is

together again to create consistent, measured, predictable

that every major company is looking at this.”

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Everyone does appear to be eyeing the edibles market,

Mainstream food growers and producers are making

especially since The Arcview Group published a head-

moves. British Columbia-based Village Farms—one of the

line-grabbing report predicting edibles sales would qua-

largest producers, marketers, and distributors of green-

druple in the US and Canada, to $4.1 billion, and global sales

house-grown produce in North America—has already

would reach $32 billion by 2022. They can’t help but notice

converted a large portion of its vegetable greenhouses to

that consumers are gobbling up newly legal CBD-infused ev-

cannabis, and Newstrike Brands is partnering with food

erything—including food and drinks—pushing predictions

company Neal Brothers to produce cannabis edibles.

that CBD sales in the US will hit $22 billion (up from $262 million in 2016) in 2022, according to the New York Times.

Edibles Winning in California

They also like what they see in edible consumer de-

Cannabis legalization in the world’s fifth-largest econ-

mographics. Primarily female with post-secondary ed-

omy and largest legal cannabis market has gotten off to

ucation and high incomes, these shoppers buy edibles

a rocky start as high taxes have forced far too many Cal-

the same way they do groceries, looking for items that

ifornians to hang onto their black-market dealers, but

satisfy their food preferences, tolerances, and flavor

that hasn’t stopped analysts from predicting that $5.1

profiles, according to research firm High Yield Insights.

billion of cannabis edibles would be sold in the state—ri-

These consumers like edibles because they’re discreet

valing the beer market—this year.

and offer longer, more intense highs and better pain and

“While the cultivation and concentrates markets are

anxiety relief than smoking, according to an RTI Interna-

getting most of the buzz, it’s the edibles market that rep-

tional study of cannabis users in legal states.

resents one of the strongest sectors for growth in the can-

Cannabis is taking its rightful place as an established

nabis space,” Investing News reports. “This market sector

and valuable functional food ingredient, and we haven’t

is driven in large part by new users and those focused on

seen anything yet. Sylvan Charlebois, dean of the Fac-

health and wellness who want a smoke-free cannabis ex-

ulty of Management and professor of agri-food distri-

perience. There are signs this consumer segment is al-

bution and policy at Dalhousie University, predicts that

ready flooding into the California cannabis market.”

within 10 years, 5 to 7 percent of all food sold in Canada will contain cannabis.

A number of events and evolutions have converged so that more and more of us will be snacking on CBD-infused gummies and sipping mocktails microdosed with THC in the 2020s.

Canada Opens Up Edibles Market Though Canada’s population pales in comparison to the US’s, the country of 30 million people is the first G-7 nation to legalize, and it’s attracting a lot of attention. The Canadian government kicked the complex undertaking of designing a regulatory system for edibles down the road until this month, and earlier this year it held a two-month public consultation period to help craft those regulations, which were expected to impose tight limitations on potency and packaging. Ignoring consumers’ clear preference for gummies (which make up a quarter of the edibles market in the US), Health Canada is promoting healthier edible options such as cannabis-infused kombucha and protein drinks.

Marijuana Policy Group co-founder Miles Light told

CBC News that edibles and non-flower products are the ultimate end-game for cannabis companies in Canada

A number of events and evolutions have converged so that more and more of us will be snacking on CBD-infused gummies and sipping mocktails microdosed with THC in the 2020s

because food is a friendlier niche for new, smaller companies than cannabis production, which is already dominated by a handful of mega-producers. sensimag.com JULY 2019 105

N ANO 20:1 25 mg CBD PER TABLET 1.25 mg THC PER TABLET * MED & REC *

MICRO 1:1 5 mg CBD PER TABLET 5 mg THC PER TABLET

MAX 25 mg THC PER TABLET * MED ONLY*

* MED & REC *

CREATED WITH A PHARMACEUTICAL APPROACH BY OUR IN-HOUSE SCIENTIFIC TEAM INCLUDING A PHARMACIST AND A PhD CHEMIST Presented by the scientific team at MedPharm 106 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

SALES@MEDPHARMHOLDINGS.COM

“People will never trust products that don’t deliver consistent experiences. We can take the plant components apart and put them back together, literally at will, to drive those experiences.”

—Jon Cooper, Ebbu

Better Eating Through Chemistry?

ing oils, and brewers such as Heineken-owned Lagunitas

A couple years ago, Jon Cooper, CEO of Colorado-based

are giving beer a dank edge by adding common cannabis

cannabis research company Ebbu—which industry gi-

terpenes pinene and myrcene. Terpenes were among the

ant Canopy Growth Corporation acquired last year as

most studied compounds last year, Analytical Cannabis

part of its efforts to build a collection of patented, stan-

reports, and that research is now shaping the industry

dardized products that deliver specific outcomes—told

as companies like Steep Hill Laboratories establish data-

me that trust, control, responsibility, and safety would be

bases of terpenes and their usefulness for growers.

the cannabis industry’s defining message as it evolved.

Synthetics—CBD and THC created in a lab from organic

“People will never trust products that don’t deliver con-

hosts such as yeast, sugar, or petroleum-based chemicals—

sistent experiences,” he said. “Big companies coming

will also play a big role. Hyasynth Bio, a Montreal-based

into this space will have no choice but to achieve that.”

startup recently acquired by Organigram Holdings, plans to

His prediction is proving to be prescient, and you can ex-

produce thousands of kilograms of CBD powder made from

pect to see more and more edibles designed to promote spe-

yeast for pharmaceuticals and packaged goods within two

cific effects such as relaxation, focus, energy, stress-relief,

years. (Organigram is investing heavily in edibles innova-

and sleep on cannabis store shelves. “We can take the plant

tion, including a $15 million fully automated production line

components apart and put them back together, literally at

that can produce 4 million kilograms of chocolate cannabis

will, to drive experiences,” Scott Riefler, vice president of sci-

edibles per year using advanced engineering and robotics.)

ence for cannabinoid company Tarukino, marveled during a “Smart Kitchen Summit” podcast sponsored by The Spoon.

David Kideckel, managing director and senior equity research analyst at investment firm AltaCorp Capital, told

Tarukino, Ebbu, and several other companies have de-

The Growth Op that the ability to make cannabinoids in

veloped processing techniques that emulsify cannabi-

bulk in a lab allows for more consistency in the produc-

noids into nano-size particles that dissolve into water and

tion of all cannabinoids and will open up a whole world

mix more easily into blood. These water-soluble concen-

beyond THC and CBD. “As soon as cannabis is descheduled

trates are game changers, making it a breeze for food and

as a controlled substance on a federal level in the United

beverage manufacturers to infuse products with dose- and

States, you’re going to start seeing research dollars pouring

effect-specific formulations of cannabinoids and terpenes.

in from Big Pharma and CPG [consumer packaged goods]

Terpenes are a big factor here, and they’ve become all

companies,” he predicts. “They’re going to work on figuring

the rage—expect to see more and more of them. Dispensaries and retail stores offer everything from terpene concentrates and vaping liquids to terpene-infused cook-

out the potential of every cannabinoid in the plant.”

ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE is the author of the best-selling Cannabis Kitchen Cookbook and the newly released Pot in Pans: A History of Eating Cannabis.

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The best music festivals in Colorado are about so much more than the bands on stage.

by S T E P H A N I E WILSON

110 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

THIS AUGUST MARKS THE

50th anniversary of the original Woodstock,

THE SEMINAL SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL POP CULTURE HAS IMPRINTED ON OUR BRAINS AS A MECCA THAT CALLED TO PEACE-AND-LOVE SEEKING FREE SPIRITS—HIPPIE PILGRIMS, IF YOU WILL—MAKING THEIR WAY TO UPSTATE NEW YORK AS IF CALLED BY A HIGHER POWER. DRAWN LIKE MOTHS TO A FIGURATIVE FLAME. Ironic, then, that Woodstock 99 went down in flames of

year anniversary fest in 1999 as a present for my high

the most literal sense. I was there when it happened, and

school graduation that June; she even talked some of my

the bonfires sparked in the middle of the crowd as the

friend’s parents into letting them come along for what

Red Hot Chili Peppers left the stage, closing out the final

we all imagined would be a pleasant weekend spent lis-

night of the three-day music marathon on an army base

tening to some of our favorite bands during the day and

not too far from the site of the namesake festival three

sleeping in tents at night, in relative comfort and safety.

decades prior. My mom had gotten me a ticket to the 30-

The reality of the weekend should have scared me sensimag.com JULY 2019 111

112 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

the chance to experience so far. No matter the type of music that tickles your fancy and dominates your Spotify, there’s a festival somewhere out there for you. In Colorado alone, you’ve got a ton of options, whether you prefer hippie-shuffling to jam bands, bouncing to deep bass, or catering to your sophisticated sensibilities at the symphony.

Pondering the glut of must-go gatherings across the state this season and trying to schedule a calendar and itinerary could require an app—not to mention a calculator and a side hustle to fund ticket purchases. From a off festivals for life.

From the moment we arrived, it was a bit of a shit show.

And we found out after it was all over, the shit was real.

Far too real. The misters we frolicked in to cool down from the soaring 100 degree temps had been contaminated by the overflowing porta potties. Everything was absurdly expensive; water was scarce; lines were never-ending; shade was nowhere to be found. By day three, piles of trash consisting of empty boxes that once held overpriced burritos and pizza covered the ground almost entirely. People were angry.

That was when a group lacking foresight started handing out candles for a peaceful ceremony of record-breaking size. Instead, the crowds—hot, dehydrated, pissed off by the conditions, enraged by the price gouging, tired, strung out on various substances, sitting on piles of trash—used those candles to torch said trash while waiting for the Red Hot Chili Peppers to take the stage.

When the band did and saw what was happening, they did what any responsible decent humans would do: try to stop what was a disaster in the making.

Just kidding. They broke into a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire” as flames grew into a bonfire in the center of the crowd. A hellish sight that sent panic coursing through the collective consciousness, and a burst of survival instincts sent my friends and me running for safety.

People rioted, looted the ATMs, destroyed vendor tents.

RIDE FEST PHOTOS BY DYLAN LANGILLE

Somehow, everyone made it out of there alive, although 10,000 people did seek medical treatment. It was scary, it was intense, and it should have turned me off music festivals for life.

Nope! I love the festival experience, perhaps because of Woodstock 99. Starting at rock bottom can be a blessing if you see it as a starting point for the good things to come.

Music festivals are a rite of summer passage, gathering people seeking to immerse their senses in happiness of all sorts—and that applies to every genre I’ve had

carnival-esque rave to a country-music throwdown with a whole lot in between, there’s a multi-day destination fest for hipsters, family types, spiritual gangsters, and stilt-walking ravers alike. Not to mention all the one-off concerts and performances happening at Colorado’s envy-worthy venues. (Let’s all admit that posting Stories and pics of Red Rocks shows is a FOMO thirst trap for everyone not lucky enough to be in attendance. I already know my Insta is going to be extra thirsty in August.

Don’t judge; send electrolikes.)

Without further lead in or ado, here are three of the highlights from July 2019—each all but guaranteed to not be lit on fire by rioting masses. Whether or not it’s lit in a metaphorical sense is up to you. Go have fun.

Jam Bands: RIDE Fest July 12–14 // Telluride // RIDEFESTIVAL.COM

This destination fest, now in its eighth year, takes place in one of the most stunning settings anywhere.

Telluride is perhaps the most picturesque mountain town in the country, and RIDE Fest is smack dab in the middle of it. Surrounded by fourteeners on three sides, Colorado’s favorite cul-de-sac is a little harder to get to than most towns, but the effort is worth it.

Perhaps because of the remote location or because of the attendees the lineup attracts, RIDE is a super

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chill gathering. Concert goers can bring their own coolers, tents, chairs and other creature comfort-supporting items into the venue, allowing for ample enjoyment during all three days.

This year’s lineup is heavy on jamming rock-and-roll.

Widespread Panic kicks off the festival on Friday night for the first of a two-night set; Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit closes it all out on Sunday, and bands like Big Something, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Temperance Movement, and more take the stage in between.

Since its debut in 2012, RIDE Festival has quickly garnered a reputation among music fans for its thoughtful performance curation—handpicking rootsy, rocking talent whose music flawlessly compliments setting. Past performers include Pearl Jam, Sheryl Crow, the Lumineers, Grace Potter—you get the type.

General Admission weekend passes go for $225, and single days range from $75 to $110. There are discounted lodging rates for festival goers, and camping is always an option.

EDM: Global Dance Festival July 19–20 // Denver // GLOBALDANCEFEST.COM

Get on a first-name basis with Denver’s landmark EDM festival. Global returns to Denver this month for two nights filled with electric beats, carnival rides, and colorful crowds. Held at Red Rocks for over a decade, GDF moved to the southern side of Broncos Stadium at Mile High in 2017, where it has more room for mind-expanding music, art, and attractions. Topping this year’s bill are Diplo and a joint set by Excision and Illenium. With multiple stages and state-of-the-art production, the fest’s lineup also includes Kaskade, SHU, and other big names that if you’re into EDM you probably already know are going to be there and if you don’t won’t mean much to you anyway.

The experience is varied and immersive, with striking flame-throwing art installations, heart-beat-raising rides, a silent disco, and other hidden gems to delight and surprise as attendees wander between stages.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GLOBAL DANCE FESTIVAL

Roaming dancers, stilters, circus performers, and other costume-clad artists appear among the crowd, encouraging people to frolic along. General Admission Tier 1 and 2 are sold out as of press time; Tier 3 starts at $159.

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RockyGrass

July 26–28 // Lyons // BLUEGRASS.COM/ROCKYGRASS

The internationally known pickers fest in an eye-candy location is the center of the bluegrass universe every July, as it has been for 47 years and counting. It takes place in Lyons, an historic quarry town in the Rocky Mountain Foothills, where the iconic Planet Bluegrass venue is set under the red rock cliffs on the wooded banks of the St. Vrain River.

With only about 5,000 attendees, there’s an intimate vibe and sense of community. Highlights of the weekend include contests, workshops, and special performances in the 300-seat Wildflower Pavillion, along with great food, the Colorado state bluegrass championship, a family tent, and more.

But perhaps the biggest draw of is the chance to float PHOTO (LEFT) BY BENKO PHOTOGRAPHICS

on an inner tube while listening to some killer tunes while in the company of some great people. At night, jam circles in the woods add a bit of magic to the experience, enhanced even more by the sound of music echoing off the canyon walls.

The lineup this year features a lot of different artists over three days, including Soggy Bottom Boys, Sam Bush Bluegrass Bands, Punch Brothers Play & Sing Bluegrass, the Barefoot Movement, and others. Single-day tickets start at $75, a camping spot for an extra $50—but move quickly to snag some before they sell out. sensimag.com JULY 2019 117

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LADIES’ NIGHTS Your summer binge-watching list starring badass female leads.

by E L I D U P I N and DAW N G A R C I A

TODAY’S QUANTITY OF QUALITY IN TV SHOW OPTIONS IS CHANGING THE WAY WE VIEW CONTENT. IN THE WAKE OF A MUCH-NEEDED FEMALE SURGE, THERE ARE

SHOWS STREAMING WITH STRONG, TALENTED, KICKASS LADIES YOU’LL HAVE TO HUNKER DOWN AND WATCH. SO, WHEN THE SUMMER HEAT FINDS YOU, CURL UP BY THE AIR CONDITIONER AND ENJOY.

KILLING EVE // Season 1 on Hulu

Sandra Oh has come a long way from playing Cristina

MANIAC // Season 1 now on Netflix

Emma Stone can sing and dance, but she can also do

Yang on Grey’s Anatomy. Fans were longing for a little

crazy with the best of them. Maniac, starring Stone (An-

of that Oh Effect, and the Emmy-nominated Killing Eve

nie), Jonah Hill (Owen), Sally Field (Dr. Greta Mantleray),

delivers. The story of cat and mouse, investigator (Eve,

Justin Theroux (Dr. James K. Mantleray), and So-

played by Oh) and hitwoman (Villanelle, played by Jodie

noya Mizuno (Dr. Azumi Fujita) takes place in

Comer) unravels so steadily, you find yourself hoping

a world similar to ours yet not quite real. A

this twisted dance ends in some grand unconvention-

concerning computer with feelings, doubt,

al love story. Cheering for bad to prevail, Eve is hunting

addiction, dysfunctional relationships,

down Villanelle, a profoundly abject killer hired by those

and daunting past can be sorted out

they never speak of. No, really—they’re just called “them.”

and remedied by participation in

It is a remarkably smart story of two women whose jobs

a simple drug trial led by doc-

are polar opposite, yet their motivations are strangely on

tors Fujuita and Mantleray. But

level planes.

it’s not quite that simple.

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The series of pills cause each participant to relive fantastical and painful parts of their lives—including

borhood seems more like an in-between, leaving her with more questions than she ever had before.

some they can’t confirm really existed. Torn between the

Forever, starring Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen,

twisted mother/son relationship of the Mantlerays and

is a far cry from their SNL skits. This well-written and

the painfully desperate belonging of Owen and Annie,

tragic dark comedy digs deep into societal ideals, the

Maniac takes you on one genuinely effed-up adventure

true meaning of love and marriage, and what awaits us

of the mind, desire, and our inescapable world of AI.

when we die. With an incredibly talented cast including

DEAD TO ME // Season 1 on Netflix

Widower and real estate agent Jen Harding (played by

Christina Applegate) is doing her best to raise her two teenage sons and not be pissed that her husband was killed by a hit-and-run driver. Giving in to her reluctant

the twisted neighbor Kase (played by Catherine Keener), Forever is a clever foreboding look at what comes next. The show will take you through a range of emotions from loneliness and total abandon to curiosity and passion, leaving you with a capricious yet unfortunate impression of what comes next.

grief, Jen attends a grief group in Laguna Beach. Seaside and surrounded in luxury, this grief group of misfits introduces us to a strange bunch of people facing losses of everything from spouses to animals, but it’s the bright optimism of quirky Judy Hale (played by Linda Cardellini) that sparks an immediate friendship.

An unlikely duo, the two become fast friends, but things get complicated when Judy’s ex-husband Steve (played by James Marsden) becomes Jen’s client. Obsessed with finding her husband’s killer, Jen is blind to some questionable characteristics of her new bestie until Steve plants the seeds that Judy’s crazy. With a stellar supporting cast that includes the incomparable Ed Asher, Dead To Me is the kind of angsty show you’ll want to unpack one misplaced emotion at a time.

RUSSIAN DOLL // Season 1 on Netflix

Imagine dying every day, over and over, reliving the

same night, same party, same friends, same song, but each time you relive it, your life becomes a little more clouded in chaos, anger, formidable complications, and an intersection of strangers. That’s Russian Doll.

Just like the matryoshka dolls you open and open, Nadia Vulvokov (played by Natasha Lyonne) has to navigate her New York existence while repeating the same night indefinitely. Every episode will have you wondering who Nadia really is. And as new pieces of her life and the lives of those she cares about—including new characters—are introduced, you’ll realize you’ve binged the whole series.

WANT MORE WOMEN ON YOUR WATCHLIST? We’ve got you covered.

ON NETFLIX

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Lucifer Good Girls The Good Place Ozark

ON AMAZON PRIME Hanna Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Flea Homecoming

ON HULU

The Handmaid’s Tale Shrill Chance

FOREVER // Season 1 on Amazon

June and Oscar are the ideal, boring married couple.

When they finally decide to break their cycle, they die within a year of one another and enter the afterlife. Having finally gotten a taste of being on her own, June’s afterlife thrusts her right back into her old life with Oscar in a neighborhood with other dead people. The neighsensimag.com JULY 2019 125

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LIGHTSHADE

A Calm Retail Experience, Customized for the Neighborhood LIGHSHADE FOCUSES ON HELPING THE LESS FORTUNATE AS PART OF ITS BUSINESS PLAN.

Shopping at one of the eight Lightshade retail dispensaries in the Denver metro area is an experience in

that they do something to give back to their neighborhood communities almost every week.

cool, calm, and studied relaxation. Each of the dispen-

Part of that social-responsibility drive is to help

saries is designed to have a look and feel that help cus-

change the negative perceptions that some people still

tomers relax, take their time and talk with experienced,

have about cannabis. “We take a direct approach to fit

knowledgeable budtenders.

into our communities, because some of the neighbor-

“We don’t want to have a cold, corporate feel,” Lisa

hoods didn’t want the retail businesses there,” she says.

Gee, director of marketing and corporate social respon-

“We work overtime to make goodwill and community

sibility for Lightshade, says. “Our color scheme is warm

relationships part-and-parcel of what we do as a com-

and inviting, featuring beautiful artwork, and designed

pany and increase our industry’s capacity to do good.”

with reclaimed wood walls,” she says. “We take a de-

Lightshade employs creative, experimental and

sign-centric approach that combines Colorado-style

knowledgeable inventory directors with a passion for

sophistication and mountain-chic.”

learning what products are out there and what peo-

The impetus for that experience comes from the top,

ple are looking for. “Our product mix intentionally rep-

because most of the ownership of Lightshade comes

resents a good/better/best approach in each of the

out of the real-estate industry as builders. Company

product categories we carry, so we can provide some-

CEO Steve Brooks was one of the first Leadership in En-

thing for every kind of cannabis shopper.”

ergy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified builders in Colorado.

“When the financial crisis hit in 2008, Steve Brooks became involved in building grow facilities, later part-

For more information, visit:

LIGHTSHADE.COM

nering with John Fritzel and Tom Van Alsburg to launch Lightshade,” Gee explains. Lightshade has a new, 40,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art grow in Aurora that is set to double flower production while providing a 50 percent reduction in carbon footprint through aggressive recycling of both water and organic nutrients. Management expects to open more retail stores in the area this year, according to Gee. Lightshade helps support 10 different non-profits as part of its company-wide corporate responsibility efforts, focusing on hunger, homelessness, older folks, and veterans, she says. “We financially support those causes and ask our employees to get involved.” She says sensimag.com JULY 2019 129

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132 JULY 2019 Denver // Boulder

JUPITER RESEARCH

Big-Time Acquisition Expands Market Share for Vape Company IT’S A PERFECT MATCH BETWEEN A HOT SOFTWARE COMPANY AND ITS NEW HARDWARE PRODUCT MANUFACTURER.

Jupiter Research, one of the more established inhala-

abled it to start trading on the Canadian Securities Ex-

tion and vaporization technology manufacturers, proved

change. As a result of the Tilt deal, Jupiter is now part

its value when it was acquired for $210 million in January

of a company trading on the Canadian Stock Exchange.

by Tilt, a vertically-integrated infrastructure and technol-

“We are developing products for Tilt, focused on utiliz-

ogy cannabis company with a vision of providing value

ing the full supply chain to develop products important

to all cannabis retailers through software, infrastructure,

to our portfolio of brands,” Strong says. “The new product

access to capital, and more.

landscape for us is adapting existing products that we

Jupiter had revenue of $105 million in 2018, according to a press release announcing the purchase by Tilt. Jupiter manufactures three different styles, or “platforms,” of vaporizers, plus a fillable dose-specific cartridge.

have today and increasing the effectiveness of our products with the vast majority of oils on the market now.”

She says that they are continually improving their products, including manufacturing with engineered

Tilt is a Canadian company actually based out of

thermoplastics that improves the compatibility with a

Boston, Massachusetts, according to Kaila Strong, the

wide variety of extracts. But there is a bit of a hitch in

director of marketing for Jupiter Research. Tilt was look-

the manufacturing process. “All of those components—

ing for a deal with a hardware manufacturing company,

the cartridges and the batteries—are made in Shenzhen,

and noticed Jupiter, a company that produces power

China,” she says. “Chinese tariffs affected many manufac-

supplies and cartridges for cannabis oil. “We have been

turers who are importing products, with the unfortunate

getting integrated into that company since January,”

result of increasing costs to customers. Everyone is in the

Strong says.

same boat when it comes to batteries and cartridges

Jupiter was founded in December 2015, and has 35

and tariffs.”

employees working at its 12,000-square-foot Phoenix,

Since this isn’t a plant-touching product, Jupiter can

Arizona, headquarters, where the company does cus-

sell to other U.S. states that allow shipping in vape prod-

tomized bulk printing and packaging for its line of vapes.

ucts, and export to other countries, such as Israel, Argen-

There are also customer-service and business-develop-

tina, Chile and Eastern and Western Europe.

ment staff there, as well as a full lab where they conduct research and development.

Tilt announced in early December that it had raised $119 million through an initial public offering, which en-

For more information, visit:

JUPITERRESEARCH.COM

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SENSI CONNECT

Last month, industry leaders and insiders joined Sensi at a secluded venue in Lakewood for an exclusive consumption-friendly cocktail reception, sponsored in part by Lightshade Dispensary.

Fueled by tastings from Blanchard Family Wines, Shift Cannabis, and PHOTOS BY LEE STONEHOUSE

other top brands, guests enjoyed lively conversations and fresh connections during the high-end event created to inspire new connections and collaborations among invited guests.

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Where: Baldoria on the Water, Lakewood When: June 12, 2019

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CERTIFIED CLEAN GREEN ORGANIC

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{HereWeGo }

by S T E P H A N I E W I L S O N

GET GLOWING An artistic retreat on the Western Slope.

It’s summer in Colorado. The mountains are calling, and you must go. John Muir said so.

But sometimes you just don’t want to go, because going means pitching a tent in the middle of a forest somewhere far away from a bathroom or a wine store.

So don’t. Instead, go to hipcamp.com and book a stay at North Fork Tipi Haven in Colorado’s wine country, a region abundant with organic farms and orchards. Spend a weekend touring cherry farms, wine vineyards, and estates growing hops, or hiking the wildflower-lined trails in the nearby national forests and state parks.

Or you could just check in at the camp and check out for a little while. There is a calm stillness to the haven, a 22-acre property that will one day include an artist residency, yurts, and short-term housing options.

But for now, it has four tipis lining an open field, facing east to capitalize on the expansive views of Mt. Lamborn and Mt. Gunnison. You can catch the mountain’s morning glow up from the comfort of your bed, snuggled in a fluffy blanket rather than zipped in a sleeping bag. And then you can use the composting toilet to relieve yourself (no shovel required) before heading to boil water for coffee in the outdoor kitchen.

It’s not exactly glamping but it’s not camping either.

It’s a magical spot somewhere in between, and it’s calling. You should go.

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North Fork Tipi Haven

Book via HIPCAMP.COM // Starting at $50 per night

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