Immersive experiences remain all the rage in Colorado, and if you haven’t yet jumped on board, now’s the time to start. Immersive Denver, which is just coming off last month’s successful Retrospectacle gathering, joined with Denver Startup Week’s Designer Track on the DSW Immersive Sprint, pairing local artists and entrepreneurs on a three-day whirlwind this past weekend to create experiences inspired by the company’s story or product. The results prove that commerce and creativity can work together, and are on view starting today at Denver Startup Week's B-Spot, 2750 Blake Street, also known as the Designer Track Clubhouse. But that's just the start of the immersive programming at Startup Week, which includes a keynote on "The Experience Economy: The At noon Friday, September 20, the action moves to Larimer Social, 1427 Larimer Street, for “The Future of Denver’s Immersive Arts & Entertainment.” Thematic designer and visual … [Read more...] about Start Immersing Yourself in Immersive Experiences This Week
Colorado Creatives: Terry Maker
Artist Terry Maker couldn’t be more correctly named: A lot of her eye-opening, tactile work is all about making: process-heavy constructions built up from a pile of common and malleable materials, ingenuity and know-how. Represented in Denver by the Robischon Gallery, Maker lives and works in Louisville, knows her way around a toolbox and boasts a national presence.What does Maker think about when she puts her tools down to ponder what being an artist is all about? Get an inkling as she answers the Colorado Creatives questionnaire. Terry Maker, “Trigger,” 2018; High Density polyurethane foam, wood parts. Chris Rogers Westword: What (or who) is your creative muse?Terry Maker: There is an innumerable amount of creative influences on my life and my work, but I would say at the top of my list is my foundation of faith in following Christian belief. I often listen to the music of Arvo Pärt, a Estonian Christian composer. His wordless arrangements become … [Read more...] about Colorado Creatives: Terry Maker
Mishka Shubaly Dives Into the Darkness, With a Laugh
Singer-songwriter and comedian Miskha Shubaly celebrated ten years of sobriety this spring, but when he first quit drinking, he didn’t write any songs or play out for five years. “I was both afraid of my old material and afraid of being a fraud, endorsing a product I no longer use,” Shabaly says. “Finally, I was like, fuck it — these songs don't own me, I own them. I walked every mile of that road, I suffered every step, and I have the scars to prove it.”Shubaly has, in addition to battling addiction, survived a 1992 mass shooting at Bard College at Simon's Rock. He was quoted in a New York Times article calling the shooter, with whom he was on the basketball team, and his punk-rocker friends "elitist." The 42-year-old Shubaly is bringing his music — Comedian Doug Stanhope described it as "being for anyone who has considered suicide at happy hour" — through Colorado, including three stops in the Denver area. Shubaly has a history with the … [Read more...] about Mishka Shubaly Dives Into the Darkness, With a Laugh
Great Divide Brewing Won’t Build New Brewery, Sells RiNo Land
The River North Art District is known for its colorful murals, but the writing on the wall at Great Divide Brewing has been in black and white for a while now. The company, founded in 1994, is no longer planning to build a huge new brewery on five acres of land it bought along Brighton Boulevard in 2013.In fact, the brewery is under contract to sell 2.4 acres to the Denver-based McWhinney development firm, according to a rezoning request filed by the two companies. Great Divide will keep the rest of the land, where it currently operates a 70,000-square-foot packaging warehouse and the popular Barrel Bar tap room. If the rezoning is approved by Denver City Council and the sale closes as planned, Great Divide will retain about 10,000-square-feet of land for possible future expansion. EXPAND Great Divide has changed its lineup to stay relevant. Great Divide Brewing “It’s a reality that in the beer industry, you have to adapt constantly,” says Great Divide founder and … [Read more...] about Great Divide Brewing Won’t Build New Brewery, Sells RiNo Land
Electric Scooters, Watch Out: Denver B-cycle Piloting E-Bikes
Beginning today, September 16, those ubiquitous electric scooters, which remain enormously popular in Denver despite grumbling from some residents and safety concerns amplified by the first death of a rider last month, won't be the only e-transportation option in town.Denver Bike Sharing, the nonprofit that operates Denver B-cycle, is launching a pilot program to provide e-bikes for rent at select locations around the city.Even though Denver Bike Sharing executive director Mike Pletsch acknowledges that B-cycle usage has fallen of late, he stresses that the new project, which is scheduled to run through the end of October, shouldn't be seen as a tactic to steal customers from for-profit e-scooter providers such as Lyft."I'm glad scooters are out there," Pletsch says. "I wish people would use them safely — that they would wear helmets, use bike lanes and be safe and courteous to folks. But Denver needs to provide other micro-mobility options for people to move around, and every … [Read more...] about Electric Scooters, Watch Out: Denver B-cycle Piloting E-Bikes