Boulder Weekly 11.30.2023

OUT AND BACK

One mountain guide’s mission to curb avalanche deaths P.10

LONGMONT BLUEGRASS P.14 THE PEOPLE’S INTERNET P. 8

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CONTENTS 11.30.2023

Boulder Weekly Market

05 New merchants and specials added regularly Check it out so you can start saving!

Credit: Richard Kiefer

08 NEWS Better internet could be coming soon,

thanks to Boulder’s new fiber backbone BY KAYLEE HARTER

A market for discounts on local dining Up to 30% off purchases

10 COVER One mountain guide’s mission

bestofboulderdeals.kostizi.com

14 MUSIC How ‘bluegrass-ish’ band High Lonesome

BOULDER’S BOOT HEADQUARTERS

to curb avalanche deaths BY WILL MATUSKA

Go to website to purchase

found their footing in Longmont BY JOHN LEHNDORFF

19 BOOKS Colorado essay collection speaks from the

‘in-between’ space of mixed ethnicity BY BART SCHANEMAN

Blundstone, Lems, Ecco, Merrell, Bos & Co, Dansko & More!

DEPARTMENTS 04

COMMENTARY

Tips for landlords

05 OPINION

Consider the cyclists in Iris Avenue redo

06 NOW

YOU KNOW

Hate rises on campus; mobile home loan

12 THEATER

Cinderella puts a new spin on a family favorite at Arvada Center BOULDER WEEKLY

13 FILM

A Brighter Summer Day at IFS; John Ford returns to print

15 FOUND SOUNDS

What’s in Boulder’s headphones

20 EVENTS Where to go and what to do

24

ASTROLOGY

Be like a mushroom, Taurus

25 SAVAGE LOVE Resist dickful thinking

27 NIBBLES

Chef Dan Asher’s Hanukkah recipes

31 WEED

Use pot, not pills, for pain

Comfortableshoes.com BOULDER On the Downtown Mall at 1425 Pearl St. 303-449-5260 & in The Village next to McGuckin 303-449-7440

DENVER Next to REI at 15th & Platte at 2368 15th St. 720-532-1084

In Store • Online • Curbside NOVEMBER 30, 2023

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COMMENTARY NOVEMBER 30, 2023 Volume 31, Number 15

PUBLISHER: Francis Zankowski

ED ITOR IAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Shay Castle ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR: Jezy J. Gray REPORTERS: Kaylee Harter, Will Matuska FOOD EDITOR: John Lehndorff INTERN: Lily Fletcher CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Will Brendza, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Jackie Edwards, Richard Kiefer, Dan Savage, Bart Schaneman, Toni Tresca

SAL ES AN D M AR KETIN G MARKET DEVELOPMENT MANAGER: Kellie Robinson SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Matthew Fischer ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Chris Allred, Holden Hauke SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER: Carter Ferryman MRS. BOULDER WEEKLY: Mari Nevar

PR OD U C TION CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Erik Wogen SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Mark Goodman

C IR C U L ATION CIRCULATION MANAGER: Cal Winn CIRCULATION TEAM: Sue Butcher, Ken Rott, Chris Bauer

BU SIN ESS OFFIC E BOOKKEEPER: Emily Weinberg FOUNDER / CEO: Stewart Sallo

COMMENTARY

HOME RULE Landlords struggle to navigate Boulder’s Housing Code. Here’s a handy list of tips.

BY JACKIE EDWARDS

M

ark Fearer’s piece on common problems faced by tenants (“The Unrepentant Tenant,” Sept. 8, 2022) and the mention of the Boulder housing code caught my attention. While most articles focus on tenants’ rights, there is a dearth of information available to landlords on how they can navigate the housing code. In my experience, many landlords are unaware of the specific requirements outlined in the code.

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Under the Boulder housing code, landlords have key rights and responsibilities when it comes to leasing out a property. As a property owner, it’s important to read up on key provisions of the housing code. By understanding your rights and responsibilities in terms of maintenance, disability discrimination, dispute resolution and constructive eviction, you’ll be able to keep tenants happy, avoid disputes and even stay out of unnecessary legal trouble.

MAINTENANCE RESPONSIBILITIES

When it comes to maintenance responsibilities, the landlord is legally required to make repairs and maintain the rental (excluding common areas and facilities in multi-unit properties) as long as this agreement is defined in the lease. Repairs or maintenance may also be legally required by the property owner if they’re needed to make the rental adhere to the City of Boulder

As Boulder County’s only independently owned newspaper, Boulder Weekly is dedicated to illuminating truth, advancing justice and protecting the First Amendment through ethical, no-holdsbarred journalism and thought-provoking opinion writing. Free every Thursday since 1993, the Weekly also offers the county’s most comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage.

Read the print version, or visit boulderweekly. com. Boulder Weekly does not accept unsolicited editorial submissions. If you’re interested in writing for the paper, please send queries to: editorial@boulderweekly.com. Any materials sent to Boulder Weekly become the property of the newspaper.

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No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. ©2023 Boulder Weekly, Inc., all rights reserved.

Boulder Weekly welcomes your correspondence via email (letters@boulderweekly. com). Preference will be given to short letters (under 300 words) that deal with recent stories or local issues, and letters may be edited for style, length and libel. Letters should include your name, address and telephone number for verification. We do not publish anonymous letters or those signed with pseudonyms. Letters become the property of Boulder Weekly and will be published on our website.

BOULDER WEEKLY

COMMENTARY Housing Code, §10-2-1, et seq., BRC 1981 — unless this responsibility is defined as belonging to the tenant in the lease. The landlord is also required to make repairs if the rental is in a condition that endangers the tenant’s life, health or safety (CRS §§38-12-501 through 511), or if it’s uninhabitable or unfit for reasonable use (CRS §§38-12-501 through 511).

When it comes to reading up on your maintenance responsibilities, the Landlord-Tenant Handbook is a great resource. The handbook summarizes existing State of Colorado and City of Boulder residential landlord-tenant law and describes best practices for matters relating to residential rental properties.

DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION

As outlined in the Landlord-Tenant Handbook, “a landlord may not discriminate against a tenant on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic characteristics, marital status, religion, religious

expression, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, parenthood, custody of a minor child, mental or physical disability, source of income, family status or immigration status, unless otherwise required by law, of the individual or such individual’s friends or associates (BRC §12-1-2).”

When it comes to disability discrimination, under federal and Colorado law, landlords are required to make reasonable modifications to the rental as long as the modification is necessary to give the person with a disability “full enjoyment of the premises.” In some cases, a landlord may decide to grant permission for a modification to be made to the property as long as the tenant agrees to restore the interior to its prior condition.

For instance, if a tenant uses a wheelchair, access ramps will need to be installed at entrances to the property as well as inside if there are any steps leading into rooms. Not allowing a tenant who uses a wheelchair to install an access ramp is considered discriminatory under state and federal law.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

If a dispute arises, landlords and tenants should aim to resolve the situation together without the need for third-party assistance. If this isn’t possible and outside help is required, Boulder landlords can get in touch with the City of Boulder Community Mediation and Resolution Center (CMRC). The City of Longmont also offers mediation support for residents.

Mediations take place either online or in-person depending on the needs and convenience of both parties. This service is currently free of charge.

SMART STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTING CONSTRUCTIVE EVICTION CLAIMS

A constructive eviction claim may be made by a tenant if the leased property becomes unlivable. This may occur if the landlord doesn’t resolve a reported problem — such as a maintenance issue or a pest problem — in a timely manner. Or, the rental could be made uninhabitable if the landlord takes an action that interferes with the tenant’s quality of life (such as taking

away an amenity previously accessible or making threats).

Tenants have the right to live peacefully in their rental, which means property owners are unable to interfere with a tenant’s reasonable use of a property. Otherwise, the tenant is within their rights to break their lease and seek damages if necessary.

To prevent a constructive eviction claim, property owners should take care to respond promptly to the tenant’s request and keep the tenant updated regarding efforts to fix the situation. If the problem will take some time to solve, be accommodating of the tenant’s needs (for example, offer reduced rent in the meantime).

Contractors should be monitored. If they’re not working fast enough, hire someone else. If the issue simply can’t be resolved within a reasonable time period, allow the tenant to exit the lease.

Jackie Edwards is a semi-retired property manager.

This opinion does not necessarily reflect the view of Boulder Weekly.

OPINION

STREET WISE As City weighs Iris Avenue redesign, here’s how they can keep cyclists safe

BY RICHARD KIEFER

T

he City of Boulder is now planning a major upgrade to Iris Avenue between 28th Street and Broadway, with the design to be completed by mid 2024. Safety improvements for pedestrians and bikes are to be included in the redevelopment.

The current roadway and bike lanes on Iris are already suitable for safe and effective bicycle travel, even though the bike lane would be more comfortable if it was two feet wider. The safety of Iris is supported by the City of Boulder Crash BOULDER WEEKLY

Data, which shows the absence of any car-overtaking-bike accidents in this corridor since 2017.

I am optimistic that an improved Iris will maintain its status as the best east/ west route for bicycles in the northern Boulder vicinity. Here are my hopes for the project: Don’t ruin the corridor for bikes.

It’s crucial not to replicate the problems introduced for bikes with the North Broadway Reconstruction project, as outlined in my review for Boulder Beat.

Credit: Richard Kiefer

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

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OPINION Given the limited overall width of Iris Avenue, it’s essential to avoid compromising usable space with curbs, mountable curbs, grates, rumble strips, bollards or similar obstructions that pose risks to cyclists. The safest approach for cyclists is to travel at the same level as the road, without any so-called “protection” structures.

It’s important to recognize that no structure can absolutely guarantee protection from motor vehicles, especially when operated by impaired or highly distracted drivers. The primary safeguards for bikes are in fostering cooperation among all road users and ensuring competence in operating both bicycles and cars.

Designate the right lane for cars and bikes. If wider bike lanes are not possible because of the constrained width of Iris Avenue, I suggest that the City maximize the width of the right traffic lane and designate it for both cars and bicycles, without any obstructions or bike lane markings.

Instead, utilize prominently sized lettering that displays CARS/BIKES on the surface of the right lane, making it clear that both vehicle types can freely use the lane as necessary to ensure safety. To enhance safety at intersections, avoid implementing specific stripe treatments. Instead, encourage cars and bicycles to execute right turns from a position close to the curb, thus eliminating the risk of bicycles being cut off by right-turning traffic.

Improve the sidewalks. For cyclists who choose not to use the roadway, or those who may not possess the necessary skill level for road cycling, the sidewalk becomes the favored alternative.

To cater to this preference, enhance the sidewalks on both sides of Iris Avenue. A sidewalk upgrade should accommodate not only bicycles but also other personal transportation devices like electric scooters.

To ensure proper usage and safety on sidewalks, the City could adopt rights-of-way guidelines as detailed in my Boulder Beat editorial.

Enforce the speed limit. While the existing speed limit of 35 mph is sensible, numerous vehicles surpass this range by 5-10 mph.

Speeds over 35 mph pose a haz6

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

NEWS ard to all vehicles, including cars and bicycles, given the reduced reaction times on a crowded roadway such as Iris. If required, consider advanced technologies like automatic speed cameras and other AI-driven solutions to effectively curtail speeding and ensure a safer environment for road users and pedestrians alike.

Give away bike lights and mirrors. It is my observation that most bike accidents, including collisions with cars, are due to improper bicyclist behavior. The City should initiate a campaign to enhance the competence of Boulder’s cyclists.

There are two primary factors that significantly contribute to reducing the likelihood of bike accidents, irrespective of the city’s infrastructure improvements. These factors are increased situational awareness for cyclists and heightened visibility of bicycles within the traffic flow.

As part of the Iris Improvement Project, I propose that the City take steps to augment cyclist awareness and visibility. This can be achieved by distributing, at no charge, mirrors and lights to willing bicyclists.

The use of mirrors offers a substantial improvement in situational awareness by allowing cyclists to have a comprehensive view of their surroundings. Installing front and rear bike lights enhances visibility, effectively alerting other vehicles to the cyclist’s presence and position.

This reflects the rationale behind cars having multiple mirrors and lights that are operational during daylight hours. Such an inexpensive initiative can significantly contribute to a safer cycling environment in the city.

Richard Kiefer reports on cycling and related issues. He has lived in Boulder since 1970.

This opinion does not necessarily reflect the view of Boulder Weekly.

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NOW YOU KNOW Boulder County news at a glance

BY SHAY CASTLE

REPORTED HATE RISES ON CAMPUS

Reports of antisemitic and Islamophobic discrimination have significantly increased at CU Boulder in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to campus officials. CU Independent reported that there were 44 incidents of harassment or discrimination in the five weeks following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel by militant group Hamas, compared to four such reports during the same time last year.

The actual number of discriminatory events may be higher, as not all students, faculty and staff are reporting their experiences to CU’s Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance (OIEC), which tracks incidents.

Students have reported being yelled at and threatened, according to CU Independent.

University officials, including Chancellor Phil DiStefano, have released statements condemning discrimination and encouraging people to contact OIEC or campus police.

The rise in hate on campus mirrors reported increases in antisemitic and Islamaphobic incidents nationally.

Read CU Independent’s full story at bit.ly/campusdiscrimination.

COUNTY LOAN HELPS COMMUNITY

Boulder County is providing a $1.1 million loan to help residents of Lafayette’s Mountain View Mobile Home Park buy their community.

County commissioners last week approved the 30-year loan of $1,055,000. Affordable housing-focused nonprofit Thistle, the City of Lafayette, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs and Denver-based community organization Together Colorado also provided grants, lowinterest loans and other assistance to La Luna Cooperative, the group formed last year by Mountain View residents to purchase their park.

Resident-owned communities (ROCs) are becoming more popular after Colorado in 2020 passed legislation that allows residents to purchase manufactured home communities if current owners plan to sell or change what the property is used for. ROCs can protect residents from cost increases and predatory practices as more mobile home communities are sold to investors.

There are eight resident-owned mobile home communities in Colorado, according to ROC USA. Thistle, a local ROC USA affiliate, has helped six parks convert to ROCs since 2018.

The 34-home Mountain View is the latest Boulder County park to be purchased by its residents. San Souci, a 62-home community located just south of Boulder, became a ROC in 2021 after first being purchased by controversial Colorado-based RV Horizons, which has been criticized for its practices in buying up mobile home and RV parks and then dramatically raising rents and evicting long-time tenants.

BOULDER WEEKLY

Tis Better to Give and Receive Purchase a Hazel’s $50 gift card and receive a $10 card for yourself (Purchase and redemption in-store only)

Not valid with any other offer. Offer valid December 4th-8th.

Limit 10 per person.

Not redeemable day of purchase.

See store for details.

28th Street and Pearl, Boulder Hazelsboulder.com Download the Hazel’s app

NEWS

’NET GAINS

Better internet could be coming soon, courtesy of Boulder’s new fiber backbone

BY KAYLEE HARTER

B

oulder likes to think of itself as a tech hub. It’s home to giants of the internet age like Google, IBM and Apple. But there are few choices when it comes to internet providers. About two-thirds of Boulder residents have only one option — Xfinity through Comcast — and the other third also have the option of CenturyLink through Lumen.

That could be changing as soon as 2026, thanks to the City’s community broadband project. In October, Boulder’s city council unanimously agreed to start pursuing negotiations with a private partner that will lease the City’s fiber backbone in a move the City hopes will provide fast, reliable internet service at an affordable rate to all of Boulder.

“A lot of communities have realized that we’re not going to just continue to beg the national service providers to provide universal access to fast, reliable, affordable broadband. We’re gonna build it ourselves,” says Sean Gonsalves, a researcher and reporter for the Institute for Local SelfReliance’s Community Broadband Networks initiative.

Boulder is set to complete construction on an underground 65-mile, 432-strand fiber backbone this year, which is the core infrastructure needed to deliver fiber-based connectivity. In

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addition to retail internet, the fiber can deliver 5G connectivity and SMART city applications using real-time data for things like intelligent traffic management, energy efficiency measures and more.

“All of those types of applications need internet connections in order to function,” Giansanti says. “Our fiber can provide the most reliable internet connection for that.”

Boulder will be joining the ranks of more than 900 communities across the country with some form of community broadband, according to the Institute for Local SelfReliance.

“We’ve been delivered a broken broadband market Boulder’s underground 65-mile backbone is the core infrastructure to deliver fiber-based connectivity. Courtesy: where folks are beholden to City of Boulder monopoly internet service “We believe strongly that infusing providers, where folks don’t have much City explored a municipal network, additional competition into the market choice or there’s not much competition building out the project to be fully Cityin the market, which directly affects pric- will not only help with price stabilization owned and operated would have and affordability and competition on es, quality of service and reliability,” required another estimated $290 milrates, but it’ll also help on investment in Gonsalves says. lion, subsequently doubling the City’s Since more than 99% of Boulder resi- infrastructure from those incumbent pro- debt, requiring higher taxes and reducdents already have internet access, one viders,” Giansanti says. ing general fund services, according to of the project’s main goals is to increase projections in an Aug. 24 memo. competition, according to Mike By leasing the backbone to a thirdWHY A LEASE? Giansanti, Boulder’s innovation and party provider, the City anticipates no So far, Boulder has spent $20 million technology deputy director. additional costs to taxpayers. The Aug. on the 65-mile backbone. While the

BOULDER WEEKLY

NEWS 24 memo called that option Boulder’s “most feasible and lowest risk approach.” The service provider would also fund, construct and own the middle- and last-mile infrastructure, which connects homes and businesses to the backbone and service.

“The analogy that I’ve given over and over is we essentially built the interstate,” Giansanti says. “We have enormous capacity to carry data and internet products over the 65 miles that we’ve built, and the highway has been built throughout the entire city.

What we haven’t built is the off ramps to the main roads and side streets and driveways.”

While some community members and council members voiced reservations about a private partner as opposed to a municipal network earlier in the project, elected officials ultimately voted unanimously in favor of a private partner lease and right-of-way agreement.

It’s possible that could mean multiple partners leasing the backbone, including providers, businesses and schools. The City plans to reserve half of the fiber for its own use, Giansanti says. Already, there are some traffic signals and some public safety communication infrastructure connected to the backbone.

“We want to see all our 432 strands of that fiber be lit up for different purposes,” he says.

A City-owned fiber leased to private companies also has the potential to generate revenue for the City, depending on the terms of the lease, Giansanti says.

Gonsalves calls public-private partnerships a “viable and important approach to solving the digital divide.”

“The important thing, I think, is that the City decided to take action into their own hands and create the infrastructure and also had the foresight that they weren’t in the position necessarily to deliver the retail service,” Gonsalves says, adding that having the backbone in place lowers the cost and other barriers for small and midsized providers that are often more invested in the community.

“It’s a different level of accountability, it’s a different level of pride in terms of delivering service,” he says.

BOULDER WEEKLY

“As opposed to when you’re in a monopoly situation, of course, people get treated as such.”

Boulder’s journey toward community broadband arguably began nearly a decade ago, when voters opted out of Senate Bill 152, a bill passed in 2005 that prohibits municipalities from providing broadband but includes a provision that allows voters to opt out. Then, Council voted to fund and construct the backbone in 2018.

ated by the city. Other communities, like Centennial, have leased their backbone to private companies such as Ting, a fiber internet provider that currently serves less than two dozen towns in California, Colorado, Idaho, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia.

It’s not always certain that a new provider will be cheaper for residents than incumbent services. In Centennial, for example, Ting advertises light speed fiber internet for $89 per month, while Xfinity advertises $65 per month at some addresses for the

Gonsalves calls Colorado “a hotbed for municipal networks.” More than 120 municipalities have opted out of SB152 as of November 2022, according to Colorado Municipal League. In 2023, the bill was repealed as state officials were unsure of whether communities that hadn’t opted out would be able to qualify for federal funds coming the state’s way through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.

Longmont, Fort Collins and Loveland, to name a few, have municipal networks that are owned and oper-

same speed (1000 MBPS).

Most households in Boulder currently pay between $50 and $75 for internet services, according to a survey by BBC Research and Consulting cited in the Aug. 24 memo.

Giansanti says the City will also require any partner to participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program, a Federal Communications Commission program that provides up to $30 in monthly discounts on internet service for households below 200% of the federal poverty line or participating in certain assistance pro-

A BRIEF HISTORY

grams like SNAP or Medicaid.

Comcast and CenturyLink also participate in the program, which is used by an estimated 2,500 households in Boulder, according to the memo.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Having certain safeguards in place within the lease is important in ensuring the project actually achieves its goals, Gonsalves says.

“There are public-private partnerships in name only,” he says. “And then there’s real public-private partnerships, meaning that the municipality has some real skin in the game, and therefore they have leverage and a seat at the table in terms of saying, ‘This is what we’re looking for.’”

Communities should also have contingency plans in case the ISP leasing the backbone is bought out or goes out of business, as consolidation of providers can lead back to where the city started. For example, Gonsalves says the City could negotiate a first right of refusal.

While the incumbent service providers will have the ability to apply for the lease, Giansanti says infusing competition into the market will be a key part of the selection process.

After an initial Request for Information to explore potential partners issued in March, Giansanti says the City received eight responses, five of which could be viable options. As the lease is negotiated, Giansanti will meet with council members on an individual basis.

“We’ll likely have some non-economic items that we’ll negotiate for, including the objectives that we’ve laid out in front of council, which include net neutrality and privacy, building out to the full city — affordability is at the center of all that, and so we will be bringing that to the table to negotiate in exchange for use of our backbone, which is an incredible asset.”

The hope, Giansanti says, is to have a deal in place with a third-party provider by the end of next year. Design will hopefully begin in 2025, with construction beginning in 2026 and customers beginning to be served that same year.

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

9

COVER

OUT AND BACK

BY WILL MATUSKA

Mountain guide is on a mission to curb avalanche-caused deaths with new app

J

eff Banks knows his snow.

He’s skied all his life and is pretty damn good at it. He won a junior national championship in nordic racing, competed in college and then went on to become a national champion in ski mountaineering racing.

Today, the IFMGA-certified mountain guide based in Crested Butte trains the best of the best, including the U.S. Special Forces Mountain Unit, Olympic athletes and other mountain guides around the world.

But one day, he got it wrong.

Around 12 years ago, Banks was leading a group of clients up the last slope of the day on a week-long ski tour. The zone they were crossing had been traversed all week by other groups, including one just a few minutes ahead. Then he saw what any backcountry traveler fears.

“The avalanche cracked right at my feet, and I knew we were dead,” he

Courtesy: AspectAvy

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says. “We went over 1,500 vertical feet and over three cliff bands.”

But once the snow stopped, he and his group just brushed the snow off their jackets — with a stroke of “dumb luck,” they were alive.

Banks calls that the beginning of his “second shot.”

“I’ve been privileged to have the best training, mentorship and exams that anyone can have in our country, and it’s not good enough. The current system just isn’t cutting it,” he says.

“All the other guides made the same call, and they all got it wrong, too. So that sent me on a mission to save lives from avalanches.”

As snow continues to fall on Colorado’s alpine, and with ski season right around the corner, Banks released AspectAvy — an app built to simplify decision-making in the backcountry — on Nov. 23 to keep guides and enthusiasts alike coming home.

“We don’t want to lose any more friends,” he says. “I’ve lost 12 friends and colleagues to avalanches alone.

That is an absurdly high number.”

A SLIPPERY SLOPE

Avalanches are notoriously dangerous and unpredictable for people traveling in the high country. According to Statista, an average of 24 people have died in avalanches every year in the U.S. over the last 10 winters.

Almost a third of those people are typically killed in Colorado, with an average of seven deaths per year since the 2009-10 season. Eleven people died in avalanches in the Centennial State last year out of nearly 6,000 reported slides.

Colorado’s snowpack is especially hazardous and tricky because of weak layers of snow, called persistent slabs, beneath the top of the snowpack that linger throughout most of the season and are hard to detect.

That’s just one of a handful of “avalanche problems” that can cause snow to slide.

Research suggests that avalanche forecasting, like those done at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, are accurate about 80% of the time. Banks says that’s “a really sobering fact” when people are navigating potentially fatal terrain.

People can also make decisions that put themselves in high-risk situations. In fact, most avalanches are triggered by humans.

“When we go ski touring or snowmobiling, snowboarding or snowshoeing, it’s a deeply emotional experience, and we kind of lose our minds,” says Banks.

“In nine out of 10 of those accidents, we knew it was dangerous, and we somehow rationalized our way into being like, ‘It’ll be fine. It’ll be great. I feel good about this.’”

AspectAvy aims to both increase avalanche forecasting accuracy and remove that human error. The app uses an algorithm that incorporates factors like the day’s avalanche forecast from CAIC, the state’s new high-resolution LiDAR ground elevation data, slope angle data and avalanche problem type to paint an interactive map with red no-go zones. Users can also verify and update the forecast in real time with avalanche-prone conditions they might see on the terrain, like wind slabs, “whoopfs” (the sound of a weak layer collapsing, which indicates an unstable snowpack) or rapid warming.

If the red zones aren’t enough to deter riders from uncertain terrain, the app also displays notifications like: “THE AVALANCHE FORECAST AND YOUR MAP HAS BEEN UPDATED TO CONSIDERABLE” or “WARNING! Unpredictable snowpack. Remote triggering from flat runout zones is likely!”

Will Frischkorn, longtime owner of now-closed Cure on east Pearl Street, has been skiing in the backcountry for 15 years. Even with the proper education, he says “there’s a huge element of subjective choice” when making decisions in the backcountry.

BOULDER WEEKLY

NEWS ASPECTAVY IS AVAILABLE TO PREORDER THROUGH THE APPLE APP STORE AND WILL COST $49.99 FOR AN ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION.

AspectAvy was built to simplify decisions in the backcountry. Courtesy: Treeline PR

“I’ve been lucky that the choices I’ve made have worked out, whether by making a decision or just getting lucky,” he says. “And I think that’s what most of us do. There’s a huge element of luck that, you know, ‘It’s so far, so good.’ But only one time where ‘so far is not so good’ can become pretty life changing.”

Other backcountry apps often focus on terrain mapping, which can be helpful to make informed decisions, but Frischkorn says AspectAvy’s focus on avalanche danger and simplified decision-making makes it unique. When he tried out AspectAvy, he said the yes/no display helps weed out subjective factors like group dynamics, stoke or “powder fever.”

The app doesn’t replace proper backcountry education; it’s designed to work in tandem with skills and knowledge gained from courses like those at the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE).

Banks is convinced making safe and high-risk zones crystal clear for

riders like Frischkorn will remove the temptation to push the safety limits.

He believes every avalanche death last year in Colorado would have been prevented if they used AspectAvy, because all of the riders were in red terrain.

“This is preventive avalanche safety gear,” Banks says. “It’s a totally new category that’s never existed before.”

The app also works in airplane mode and has features like trailhead checks and “critical skill videos” that walk users through beacon checks, what should go in your pack, how to manage risk on the uphill and more.

But just because a skier doesn’t get caught in an avalanche doesn’t mean they did it right. At the end of a tour, the app gives users feedback on their decision-making through a debriefing that shows if you tracked into the red.

After his own close call and losing so many people in avalanches, Banks is ready for a change.

“This is a very personal problem we’re trying to solve.”

Jeff Banks is on a mission to save lives from avalanches. Courtesy: Treeline PR

BOULDER WEEKLY

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

11

THEATER Running at the Arvada Center through Dec. 31, Kenny Moten’s contemporary update of Cinderella was inspired by the worlds of The Hunger Games and Wednesday.

Credit: McLeod9 Creative

MODERN MAGIC ‘Cinderella’ offers a new spin on a family favorite at the Arvada Center

BY TONI TRESCA

F

airy tales have gotten a bad rap for a while now. With a reputation for dated stereotypes and oversimplified moral teachings, these childhood folktales are often seen as relics of the past.

Director Kenny Moten wants to change that with his updated take on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities.

“Fairy tales are one of the last storytelling things that we have passed down,” Moten says. “For hundreds of years, when you say, ‘Cinderella,’ everyone has a version of the character that comes to mind. And [fairy tales] teach moral lessons to children, which makes them important. The use of modern technology in our production levels the playing field for young people by giving them ownership over the story and reinforcing the musical’s message of generosity and kindness.”

Based on the 2013 Tony Awardwinning adaptation by Douglas Carter 12

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

Beane, this rendition of Cinderella weaves together the familiar elements of the classic story with a contemporary flair. The result is a fresh take on the rags-to-riches story about a young woman who, despite being forced into servitude by her wicked stepmother, discovers her self-worth and finds a path to happiness with the help of some wonderful friends and a touch of magic.

The fairytale kingdom gets a modern makeover in the world created by the Arvada Center’s production team.

Knights zoom around on hoverboards, and townsfolk message each other using cellphones. It’s a unique blend of past and present Moten says was inspired by the worlds of The Hunger Games and Wednesday.

“I did not look at other versions of Cinderella; I looked at things that are popular in the current zeitgeist to make it feel like a fairy tale for young audiences now,” Moten says. “Wednesday feels brand new yet vintage and The Hunger Games has that same vibe, where it feels futuristic yet old; this musical has taken on a similar feel.”

Unlike Moten’s first collaboration with the Arvada Center last holiday season for Beauty and the Beast, where he joined the production later in the process, he was involved from the

very beginning of the Cinderella journey. After observing more young people turning out for his previous project at the venue, Moten decided to tailor 2023’s holiday show to that demographic.

“Normally, we center boomers in the theater because they are the donors, but I firmly believe that if you center 5to 15-year-olds, everybody else lines up,” Moten says. “When you see a child light up, you are in.”

‘I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE’

By infusing the classic fairytale with modern touches like Chanel bags, Hermès boxes and scenic elements like fiber optics and LEDs designed by Brian Mallgrave, Moten seeks to breathe new life into Cinderella in more ways than one. To assemble his cast of nearly 30 talented actors, Moten sought performers who could bring modernity and depth to their characters while maintaining the show’s comedic aspects — including Hillary Fisher as Ella, Megan Van De Hey as Madam, Ethan Walker as Topher, and Aléna Watters as Marie.

“I was looking for people who could feel grounded while also being funny,” Moten says. “Cinderella is still a musical comedy, but I wasn’t interested in

them being absolute cartoon characters. I was looking for a performer who felt modern and new for Ella, and Hillary is all of that and more. When you walk into our Cinderella, you’re going to think, ‘Wow, I have never seen this before,’ which is a cool thing to say about Cinderella.”

It’s not just the actors who play a pivotal role in the production’s success; the musical score is also a big part of the magic. Choreographer Jessica Hindsley and musical director Jordan Ortman worked closely together to update the play’s classic waltz score while attempting to honor Rodgers and Hammerstein’s vision.

“Jess is one of the best choreographers in town for storytelling, and we like to challenge ourselves, but sometimes I think we try to push too hard,” Moten admits. “One thing we discovered is that sometimes simplicity is just as beautiful as trying to do a million complicated things, so we settled on a classic waltz but with more modern elements. Jordan has done an excellent job of re-orchestrating the score for the smaller group and adding some contemporary percussion touches. He has stayed very true to that big, musical theater sound, which is important because we are still making Cinderella; we’re just setting it in our world.”

To bring such a production to life, the team has 12 days to block the show and two weeks of technical rehearsals. After a whirlwind year of theater in Colorado — this will be Moten’s seventh show in 2023, and he still has Aurora Fox’s Motones & Jerseys: Holiday Hi-Fi, which opens on Dec. 8 — the director is happy to be back in Arvada for the holidays.

“There’s never a place I feel more supported than the Arvada Center.

Everyone’s game to create and try new things, which is critical for the industry,” Moten says. “All theaters right now need to ask themselves how they are nurturing new audiences.”

ON STAGE: Cinderella.

Nov. 24-Dec. 31, Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd. $28-$79

BOULDER WEEKLY

FILM

AN ERA ON SCREEN

John Ford directed more than 130 films, including the 1956 classic The Searchers.

Courtesy: Warner Bros

‘A Brighter Summer Day’ comes to Boulder’s International Film Series

BY MICHAEL J. CASEY

A

crime drama about rival street gangs, a romance between two high schoolers, a history of shadow politics and a young man who feels destined to become the Taiwanese Elvis — these are the components that comprise Edward Yang’s 1991 historical drama, A Brighter Summer Day. But cinema is so much more than its components, and this movie defies simple description.

A Brighter Summer Day — screening Dec. 10 as part of the International Film Series’ 9 Days of ’90s: Movies That Defined a Decade — is a dense and complex look at Taipei in the early ’60s. The film takes place following the Chinese Civil War that left the communists in power of mainland China, dubbed the People’s Republic of China, while the nationalists fled to Taiwan to establish the Republic of China. It’s a movie stuffed with history and invention and enough space for everything to develop and echo. For the anchoring action, Yang draws on a real-life event anyone alive during that moment would likely remember.

Everyone else would just see it as Shakespearean drama.

In short, Yang does for Taipei what James Joyce does for Dublin, Ireland,

and William Carlos Williams does for Paterson, New Jersey. But don’t let those lofty comparisons frighten you: A Brighter Summer Day is as lush as it is dense. Yes, there are over 100 speaking parts, and some of the narrative strands benefit from a working knowledge of political turmoil in Taiwan, but most of the film revolves around Si’r (Chang Chen) and Ming (Lisa Yang), two young actors who are effortlessly believable on screen.

Yang, who died from cancer at 59 in 2007, was part of the 1980s Taiwanese New Wave, a rejuvenation of national cinema designed to give new voices a platform on the world stage to feature autobiographical experiences and artistic developments. Thanks to both, the reputation of A Brighter Summer Day has grown in status over these past 30-plus years, so much so that it placed on the once-a-decade Sight and Sound poll of the greatest movies ever in 2012 and 2022.

ON SCREEN: A Brighter

Summer Day. 2 p.m. Dec. 10, International Film Series, Muenzinger Auditorium, CU Boulder, 1905 Colorado Ave. $9

Lisa Yang (left) and Chang Chen in A Brighter Summer Day. Courtesy: Cine Qua Non Films

BOULDER WEEKLY

PAGE TURNER ‘John Ford’ returns to print in new expanded edition

BY MICHAEL J. CASEY

J

ohn Ford is cinema. Born in Portland, Maine, in 1894 — just as motion picture cameras were first being put to good use — Ford followed his older brother Francis out to Hollywood and started working in a career that would last half a century, directing more than 130 films and winning six Oscars.

Along the way, he gave the silver screen some of its founding myths, transformed the Western genre and painted a picture of American history so fraught with contradiction that he seemed to be revising it as he went.

Joseph McBride has written extensively on the Hollywood director, always when Ford’s legacy needed rescuing. His first book on the filmmaker, which he co-authored with Michael Wilmington and first published in 1975, has been revised and expanded and will be rereleased by the University Press of Kentucky on Dec. 5.

Defending Ford’s legacy takes some doing, and McBride provides the perfect guide. With a sharp eye and welcoming style, the author explains how Ford was an artistic visionary who hated explaining himself, an individualist who believed in community and a member of the

Irish diaspora who showed how the constant waves of immigration shaped the American experience.

McBride’s career as a film scholar and historian — one of the best — practically started when he interviewed Ford on the day of the director’s unwitting retirement in 1970.

McBride’s inclusion of that interview in this revision is enough for Ford fans to go out and buy another copy.

He also includes three new essays — one on Ford’s silent pictures, another on the filmmaker’s treatment of race and a third on his use of Irish comedy — that further expand on the director’s oeuvre (a word Ford would have no doubt hated). The result is a shade over 300 pages that breeze by oh-soquickly and drive the reader back into the indelible films that started it all.

ON THE PAGE: John

Ford: Revised and Expanded Edition by Joseph McBride and Michael Wilmington is on sale Dec. 5 via The University Press of Kentucky.

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

13

MUSIC

STRANGER STRINGS How Chuck Sitero of Longmont’s High Lonesome ditched Georgia to find the heart of bluegrass in Colorado

BY JOHN LEHNDORFF

W

You Come Out ith a twangy lineup of manTonight),’” he says. dolin, dobro, guitar and Left to right: Chuck Sitero, Liz Patton, Dylan Kober, Carson McHaney “Dad had a big bass, Longmont’s High and Joshua Bergmann of High Lonesome. Credit: Lily Sitero Photography record collection, Lonesome looks a lot like your typical from the early bluegrass quartet. But lead singer Beatles to the Allman Brothers and Chuck Sitero insists the band’s music THEY GOT OFF IN COLORADO Buddy Holly.” is “bluegrass-ish.”

High Lonesome is named after Sitero’s One of Sitero’s seminal experiences If you watch the band pick its way love of singing harmony. The original was seeing Willie Nelson in concert as through an original tune like Sitero’s iteration of the band launched in 2018 a 5-year-old.

“Savage Sundown,” you can hear in Georgia when Sitero and his wife “It was everything to me,” he says. “I Lily, band manager and photographer, exactly what he means. Bassist Liz remember exactly where I was sitting, Patton bows a low minor-key drone as were working on TV series and films. what Willie sang and what he was Dylan Kober adds a weepy dobro He dressed sets and she costumed wearing. When I was 6, I got a smallecho propelled by Joshua Bergmann’s actors. scale guitar for Christmas and learned mandolin chops. Strumming his guitar, According to the Siteros, their life at three chords.”

Sitero moans a haunting chorus the time consisted of working on proaddressed to those ductions like Jumanji: responsible for Colorado’s Welcome to the Jungle, Sand Creek Massacre, Stranger Things and The when more than 230 Haunting of Hill House by day Cheyenne and Arapaho and bluegrass by night in tribal members were killed small Atlanta-area venues. by the U.S. military near “When the pandemic startFort Lyon in 1864: “John, ed, we decided to go on a what have you done / camping trip for a month,” you’re the savage, not the Sitero says. “We were going native son.” to go on to Oregon from With its two-part harmoColorado but there was a nies and precise instrubunch of forest fires, so we mental solos, High stayed here.”

Lonesome’s sound clearly Their decision to make owes as much to folk, Colorado home birthed the rock and blues as it does new High Lonesome, filled out High Lonesome frontman Chuck Sitero calls his band’s music ‘blueto the Stanley Brothers. with a murderer’s row of Front grass-ish.’ Credit: Lily Sitero Photography “Bluegrass is a little limRange musicians. The band iting,” Sitero says. “How many blueis definitely not Chuck Sitero and his As a 15-year-old Aerosmith fan, he grass tunes have the same chord probackup players. Each member is an encountered Boulder’s self-described gression? It’s the same tune with difessential element in the band’s obvious “polyethnic Cajun slamgrass” band ferent words to it.” chemistry as a live act. and the musicians who launched the You can hear Bergmann’s mandolin “newgrass” revolution. influences, ranging from Jesse “When I saw Vince Herman and WILLIE, VINCE AND THE BOYS McReynolds’ cross-picking to Sam Leftover Salmon, a light went on,” Bluegrass was just one ingredient of Bush-style rhythmic chops. With a deep Sitero says. “I saw there was another the sonic stew in which Sitero simbaritone voice, Bergman provides spotkind of bluegrass that was more intermered as a self-described “military rat” on harmonies and grabs lead vocals on esting. [Then] I heard Bela Fleck and coming of age in New York City. his original tunes. Texas-raised bassist the Flecktones with Sam Bush, and I “The first song I remember hearing Patton studied jazz in college before was like, ‘What is that?’” my Dad sing was ‘Buffalo Girls (Won’t 14

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

turning to progressive bluegrass. She provides the inventive bedrock groove behind a hard-driving unit that always forces its audiences to dance.

Sitero calls rising dobro star Kober “our special secret weapon.” He adds a signature voice to the mix with chiming runs, jaunty Latin accents and banjo-like rolls. A highly regarded young jazz guitarist, he only started playing the dobro a few years ago while studying at the University of Colorado in Denver. “He makes me sound great,” Sitero says.

For its next shows, High Lonesome will be joined by a longtime collaborator, classically trained violinist-fiddler Carson McHaney.

‘A CLASSIC COLORADO STORY’

As High Lonesome’s gregarious storyteller-in-chief, Sitero admits to a low boredom threshold. “One thing I bring to the band as a Deadhead is that I don’t want to play the same shit the same way in the same order night after night,” he says.

High Lonesome’s next performances will showcase songs the band is polishing for their debut album. They plan to record in January with Kober as producer, Sitero says.

The album will include Sitero’s originals, some co-written with Patton, plus Bergmann’s tunes, Kober’s jazz-inflected instrumentals and “obscure public domain fiddle jams,” he says.

High Lonesome’s building bluegrass buzz in Colorado is an unexpected delight for a musician now three decades into an up-and-down career.

“There was no future for High Lonesome in Georgia. It’s just not the same music vibe there that you find here with a sophisticated audience,” Sitero says. “For us, coming here is the greatest thing ever — a classic Colorado story.”

ON THE BILL: High

Lonesome. 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, Chautauqua Community House, 301 Morning Glory Drive, Boulder. Sold out.

More local dates at highlonesomenewgrass.com.

BOULDER WEEKLY

TOP 5

FOUND SOUNDS What’s in Boulder’s headphones?

BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF

N

eed some gift inspo for that special music freak in your life? Lucky for you, we’re back with another roundup of the bestselling new vinyl releases at Paradise Found Records and Music (1646 Pearl St.) From the latest by CU alum and art-pop queen Caroline Polachek to a reissue from Boulder favorite The Grateful Dead, these are the albums that flew off local shelves in November.

1. THE BEATLES Now and Then (single) 2. CHRIS STAPLETON Higher 3. CAT POWER Cat Power Sings Dylan: 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert 4. GRATEFUL DEAD Without a Net (reissue) 5. CAROLINE POLACHEK Desire, I Want to Turn into You

STAFF PICK

Few heavy records transcended the form quite like the 2013 LP Sunbather by Deafheaven. Ten years later, the California outfit’s genre-bending breakthrough gets the anniversary treatment — and a corresponding U.S. tour — with a remixed and remastered edition of a modern classic that scrambles black metal, post-rock and shoegaze to dazzling and devastating effect. Pick up next week’s Boulder Weekly for an interview with frontman George Clarke ahead of the band’s Dec. 13 show at Summit Music Hall in Denver.

For the complete list of top new local vinyl releases, visit bit.ly/FoundSoundsBW BOULDER WEEKLY

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Holiday Sale

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BOOKS

COYOTE MASKS

WHERE HE’S CALLING FROM

CSU professor’s essay collection speaks from the ‘in-between’ space of mixed ethnicity

BY BART SCHANEMAN

Y

ou can tell a lot about a person from the way they say the word “coyote.”

The conventional wisdom is that people west of the Mississippi River say it kai-ote, without the ee sound at the end made popular by Road Runner’s nemesis Wile E. Coyote and common throughout the rest of the country.

There’s also a third pronunciation, koy-yo-tae, and that’s how author Harrison Candelaria Fletcher says it.

The writer adopts the persona of the coyote, also New Mexican slang for “mixed,” in his book Finding Querencia: Essays from In-Between, which was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award in the Creative Nonfiction category this year.

Fletcher, who teaches creative nonfiction in the English Department at Colorado State University, says the meaning of the word has changed somewhat over the years.

“When I was growing up in New Mexico, somebody they called a ‘mutt,’ or somebody who was of mixed ethnicity, was a ‘coyote,’” he says.

“Now a coyote is predominantly known for the immigration connotations, as a trickster who ferries people across the border and often screws them over.”

By using the older definition, Fletcher takes the power back from the derogatory term, wearing it like a veil that allows him to speak in a voice that transcends his own.

“The coyote mask allowed me to see myself clearly,” he says. “It allowed me to see myself as if I’m on a screen and gave me a distance I never really had before. Using the slur and repurposing it was a way to actually talk about things I wasn’t able to talk about.”

Throughout these essays, Fletcher speaks from the “in-between,” stylishly BOULDER WEEKLY

capturing the nuance of racial identity and life writ large. “We all inhabit liminal spaces in our lives,” he says.

“None of us are one thing or another.

It’s an attempt to embrace the multiplicity that we all are.”

Fletcher has lived in Colorado since 1997, working as a journalist and teaching on the Front Range.

Exploring in part how place affects persona, Finding Querencia is largely longing for safety and belonging.

“That’s part of what I was trying to negotiate in this book — being from somewhere that you’re not living in,” he says. “New Mexico has had a huge influence on me, but I’m also a Coloradan, and I’ve probably lived here almost as long as I’ve lived in New Mexico. The struggle with the book is in finding a connection, finding one’s place where you belong. It’s something I’m still negotiating.”

Finding Querencia: Essays from In-Between was a finalist for the 2023 Colorado Book Award in the Creative Nonfiction category.

Courtesy: The Ohio State University Press

A common rule in creative writing is to ask, “What’s the story that only I could write?”

In penning Finding Querencia, Fletcher distilled his essence and viewpoint to explore the difference between writing about something and writing from something.

“You want to write from your heart, from your core,” he says.

“I’m writing to discover what I didn’t know that I knew. I’m writing to try to understand something.”

In spite of the heavy themes, the book itself isn’t somber or overly contemplative. The structure is more experimental than the title Harrison Candelaria Fletcher teaches creative nonfiction in the describes, and many English Department at Colorado State University. Courtesy: Harrison of the pieces resemCandelaria Fletcher ble prose poetry as genre-bending book that’s classified as much as they do essays. Fletcher says fiction but is a memoir at heart. It he wanted the pieces to read like he weaves Kingston’s personal story with was reaching toward understanding. old Chinese folktales.

“I’m not a poet, and I wasn’t trying to “Instead of trying to use a Western write poetry,” he says. “I just wanted to narrative to make sense of her world, see what would happen if I pushed she’s like, ‘Why? That’s not how I toward what I was trying to reach.” understand things,’” Fletcher says.

In that push, the sentences gained “That book gave me the permission to intensity and often ended up somespeak the language I grew up with. It’s where much different than where they liberating when … there’s not a box you started, according to Fletcher.

“That felt invigorating and also kind of fit in, to see people who are not even trying to fit in the box.” true,” he says. “It was the mask of the For his next book, Fletcher says he coyote and his intense reaching for is working on more essays wearing his something that led to the way the book coyote mask: “He still has things to was written. It wasn’t by design.” say.”

To Fletcher, the book works best when it’s read aloud.

“There’s a cadence and a rhythm and a delivery that may not come ON THE PAGE: Finding across on the page,” he says. “The Querencia: Essays from pieces are probably better understood if In-Between by Harrison they’re delivered. I don’t do the poet Candelaria Fletcher is out voice thing, but there’s a rhythm to it.” now in hardcover and paperAs for cultural influences and touchback via The Ohio State points, Fletcher cites Maxine Hong University Press.

Kingston’s The Woman Warrior as a NOVEMBER 30, 2023

19

EVENTS SAT. 12/2 - 8:00PM

SMooth Money GeStuRe, BeaR hat and StRanGeByRdS SUN. 12/3 - 8:00PM

undeRGRound SPRinGhouSe and GueSt i.o. undeRGRound MON. 12/4 - 8:00PM

aRcheR oh TUE. 12/5 - 7:00PM

eRic Stone and toM hall live BRoadcaSt on 88.5 KGnu WED. 12/6 - 7:00PM

the PSychedelic hoedown feat. david SatoRi (BeatS antique & diRtwiRe) THU. 12/7 - 8:00PM

30

GLUTEN-FREE COMEDY AT BOCO CIDER

6-8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30, BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. $15 Leave the kids at home for a night of laughs at BOCO Cider. Fresh off the success of this year’s Boulder Comedy Festival, founder Zoe Rodgers headlines this side-splitting night of standup. This one will likely sell out, so snap up your tickets now.

Boot Juice

1

PARADE OF LIGHTS

4-8:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, Downtown Historic Erie, 235 Wells St. Free The Erie Chamber of Commerce presents its annual Parade of Lights showcasing more than 40 floats. Enjoy local school choirs, free carriage rides and an appearance from Santa while you sip on hot chocolate and enjoy food from local vendors. Don’t forget to catch the Boulder Parade of Lights the following night.

2

SPURS AND PURRS COWBOY PROM

7-10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, Junkyard Social Club, 2525 Frontier Ave., Unit A, Boulder. $15 Strap on your cowboy boots and kitty ears for this night of live music, dancing, burlesque, live painting and more.

The Junkyard Social Club hosts this night of western feline fun in collaboration with Heady Bauer, The Wheel Artist Collective and M3DIUM.

FRI. 12/8 - 8:30PM

RollinG haRveSt SAT. 12/9 - 8:00PM

the Good Kind’S holiday BaSh SUN. 12/10 - 7:30PM

the Gavin woRland BiG Band TUE. 12/12 - 8:00PM 105.5 the coloRado Sound PReSentS:

aPollo SunS

FRI. 12/15 - 9:00PM

Joe MaRcineK Band feat. dave wattS (of the Motet) and fRiendS Purchase Tickets at

RMPtix.com RootsMusicProject.org

1

ARTASTIC WINTER ARTISAN MARKET

11 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, Horizons K8, 4545 Sioux Drive, Boulder. Free Stock up on hand-crafted works from local artists and craftspeople just in time for the holiday season. Explore jewelry, pottery, painting, books, art and more at this annual event supporting local artists and Horizons K8 school.

1- 3

CHRISTMAS TREE SALE

Various times. Fri.-Sun., Dec. 1-3, Centaurus High School Football Stadium, Warrior Way, Lafayette. Free Find the perfect tree for the holidays while supporting the Centaurus High School baseball team. Open each weekend through Dec. 24, this market features farm-fresh trees and wreaths from Oregon that are sure to spruce up your holiday decor.

2

UGLY SWEATER 5K

10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, Left Hand Brewing, 1265 Boston Ave., Longmont. $35 Run, walk or jog in your favorite hideous holiday sweater at this 5K presented by Left Hand Brewing. All participants will receive a free beer and collectible pint glass at the fun-forward event featuring live music, food trucks and local vendors.

4747 Pearl Suite V3A 20

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

BOULDER WEEKLY

EVENTS

day

Wednes

9th

Diamond Edwards Duo In the Bar

th

Matt Flaherty In the Bar

Nov 2

show timme 8:00p

ay

Thursd

Nov 30

show timme 8:00p

2

2- 3

3

11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, Boulder Public Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder. Free

9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, and Sunday, Dec. 3, Boulder County Fairgrounds, 9595 Nelson Road, Longmont. Free

Noon-6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, Boulder JCC, 6007 Oreg Ave., Boulder. $25

HOLIDAY HARP CONCERT

Boulder Harp Studio students perform excerpts from Carol of the Bells and The Nutcracker alongside traditional folk songs and classical selections.

The talent of these young harpists ages 7-18 will ring out in full fidelity during this holiday performance at Boulder Public Library.

WINTER MARKET

The Boulder County Farmers Market hosts 150 local farmers, ranchers, food vendors and artisans during this local holiday shopping market.

Support small businesses and peruse one-of-a-kind gifts for the holiday season, along with fresh food and produce from BoCo vendors.

REELABILITIES FILM FESTIVAL

Friday

ec 2nd

D show timme 8:00p

Sunday

d

Dec 3r

Celebrate the lives and stories of people with disabilities and their diverse experiences around the world during the ReelAbilities Film Festival at the Boulder Jewish Community Center.

The day includes screenings, talks, community resources and more.

show timme 8:00p

day

Wednes

h

Dec 6t

show timem 9:30p

ay

Saturd

h

Dec 9t

show timme 8:00p

Sunday

th

Dec 10

show timme 8:00p

day

Wednes

th

Dec 13

show timme 8:00p

ay

Saturd

th

Dec 16

2

LONGMONT MUSEUM HOLIDAY SHOW

3-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road. $25 The Longmont Museum’s holiday tradition returns for its eighth year with the Mestas-Abbott Latin Jazz Quartet, Brothers of Brass and Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore performing songs for the season. Check out either show for a dose of holiday cheer, and grab a signature drink while you enjoy the music.

BOULDER WEEKLY

3

GINGERBREAD HOUSE DECORATING

10 a.m.-noon. Sunday, Dec. 3, 836 Main St., Louisville. $23 The Miracle Bar on Main Street in Louisville has dedicated a festive space for creating gingerbread houses and sipping on hot chocolate (or mimosas for supervising parents). Kits include candy, icing and gingerbread for decoration.

5

COLORADO GIVES DAY Midnight-noon. Tuesday, Dec. 5, virtual, statewide

Looking for an opportunity to lift up your community? Colorado Gives Day is back for its annual fundraising drive to support local nonprofits making a difference right here in the Centennial State. From animal welfare to the arts and points in between, you can find a great cause to support at colorado gives.org.

show timme 8:00p

Sunday

th

Dec 17

show timme 8:00p

day

Wednes

th

Dec 20

show timme 8:00p

ay

Thursd

t

Dec 21s

show timme 8:00p

Lionel Young Duo In the Bar

Diamond Edwards Duo In the Bar

Alex Jordan In the Bar

Chuck and Liz In the Bar

Many Mountains In the Bar

Kimberly Morgan York In the Bar

The 2nd Annual Boulder county

$25 + $4

service charge

jingle jam

Pearl Street Comedy show

$10

Ben Hanna In the Bar

Chuck and Liz In the Bar

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

21

LIVE MUSIC BLUEGRASS & MORE WITH SUPERCOLLIDER. 6 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free

T HU R S D AY, N O V. 3 0 PHOEBE NIX ALBUM RELEASE WITH FLASH MOUNTAIN FLOOD, RIVER MANN AND TRUSETTO. 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $15

MLADIC, DISKULL, BLAS B2B BODEGA CATS AND SOUL ATOMIC B2B DERTEEDISCO. 7 p.m. Larimer Lounge, 2721 Larimer St., Denver. $10

MATT FLAHERTY DUO. 9 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder.

Free

M ON DAY, DE C . 4

PAUL CAUTHEN WITH UNCLE LUCIUS. 8 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $35 JAMES HURTADO. 6 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt St., Longmont. Free GEDDY LEE: MY EFFIN’ LIFE IN CONVERSATION. 8 p.m. Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Place, Denver. $96 JOE DEROSA. 7 p.m. Summit Music Hall, 1902 Blake St., Denver. $30

FR I D AY, D E C. 1 HIGH LONESOME. 8 p.m.

Chautauqua Auditorium, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder. Sold out.

STORY ON P. 14 CHERISHED, PILL JOY, REPLICA CITY AND FLESH TAPE. 9 p.m.

Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $15 JASON BRANDT. 6 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit #14, Boulder.

Free DAN DEACON WITH RETROFETTE. 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4833 Logan St., Denver. $30 ALICE IN WINTERLAND: MATCHBOX TWENTY. 7:30 p.m. Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 N. Clarkson St., Denver. $110 ARMOR FOR SLEEP WITH THE EARLY NOVEMBER, THE SPILL CANVAS. 7:30 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $28 LAST MEN ON EARTH!!!. 6 p.m.

Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt St., Longmont. Free 22

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

ARCHER OH. 8 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $15

ON THE BILL Marrying elements of anthemic indie-rock with tight pop structures and a measured dose of wistful lyricism, Denver trio Blankslate comes to Junkyard Social Club in Boulder with Daisychain and Violet Pilot on Dec. 5.

Scan the QR code to read a Boulder Weekly feature on the band before you go. See listing for details.

JOY ANONYMOUS WITH DISCO DEEDZ AND CERVAL. 9 p.m. Larimer Lounge, 2721 Larimer St., Denver. $22

AUGUST BURNS RED. 5:30 p.m.

Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 N. Clarkson St., Denver. $55

VANDELUX. 9 p.m. Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $105

QONCERT FEST: TOP ELITE EMPIRE, KID IKON, O.T.I.S, TELLY, SPINKS, 3HD AND HA$H. 8 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $20

SATUR DAY, D EC . 2 WOOKIEFOOT WITH A-MAC & THE HEIGHT. 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $23 LIONEL YOUNG DUO. 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder.

Free SMOOTH MONEY GESTURE, BEAR HAT AND STRANGEBYRDS. 8 p.m.

Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $12 COBRANOID, NIGHT FISHING, THE BURIAL PLOT, THE CALEFACTION AND MECHANICAL BULLS. 8:30 p.m.

Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $15 SKA 7 JAZZ WITH ROCK STEADY FREDDIE. 6 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free CITRA, NEON THE BISHOP AND NOVA NIGHTS. 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4833 Logan St., Denver. $15

TUE S DAY, DE C . 5 DAISYCHAIN, BLANKSLATE AND VIOLET PILOT. 7 p.m.

Junkyard Social Club, 2525 Frontier Ave., Unit A, Boulder. $12 BW PICK OF THE WEEK ERIC STONE AND TOM HALL. 7 p.m.

Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. Free BLOOD CLUB, DUSTBOWL CHAMPION AND FLOATS. 9 p.m.

Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $18

WE DN E S DAY, DE C . 6

THE CUSTOM SHOP. 6 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt St., Longmont. Free

AMERICAN AQUARIUM AND LANCE ROARK. 9 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $25

LOUISE, LATELY AND JULIE DAVIS. 6 p.m. Larimer Lounge, 2721 Larimer St., Denver. $12

ALEX JORDAN TRIO. 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free

CRI (LIVE) AND NICKY ELISABETH. 9 p.m. Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $20

SUN D AY, D EC . 3 DIAMOND EDWARDS DUO. 8 p.m.

Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free UNDERGROUND SPRINGHOUSE AND IO UNDERGROUND. 8 p.m.

Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $10

THE PSYCHEDELIC HOEDOWN FEAT. DAVID SATORI. 7 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $22 ZACH SEABAUGH WITH PAUL WHITACRE. 8 p.m. Larimer Lounge, 2721 Larimer St., Denver. $18

Want more Boulder County events? Check out the complete listings online by scanning this QR code.

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ASTROLOGY

Rocky Mountain Revels presents

BY ROB BREZSNY ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): As a child, I loved to go to a meadow and whirl around in spirals until I got so dizzy, I fell.

As I lay on the ground, the earth, sky and sun reeled madly, and I was no longer just a pinpoint of awareness lodged inside my body but an ecstatically undulating swirl in the kaleidoscopic web of life. Years later, I’ve discovered many of us love spinning. Scientists postulate that humans have a desire for the intoxicating vertigo it brings. I would never recommend you do what I did as a kid, Aries. But if it’s safe and the spirit moves you, do it! Or at least imagine yourself doing it. Do you know about the Sufi Whirling Dervishes who use spinning as a meditation?

Read here: tinyurl.com/JoyOfWhirling and tinyurl.com/SufiSpinning TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): Your power creature in the coming weeks will not be an eagle, wolf, bear or salmon. I don’t advise you to dream of being a wild horse, tiger or crocodile. Instead, I invite you to cultivate a deep bond with the mushroom family. Why? Now is a favorable time to be like the mushrooms that keep the earth fresh. In wooded areas, they eat away dead trees and leaves, preventing larger and larger heaps of compost from piling up. They keep the soil healthy and make nutrients available for growing things. Be like those mushrooms, Taurus. Steadily and relentlessly rid your world of the defunct and decaying parts — thereby stimulating fertility.

A Christmas & Midwinter Musical Celebration December 21 - 23, 2023 Gordon Gamm Theatre | Dairy Arts Center

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Gemini novelist Geraldine McCaughrean wrote, “Maybe courage is like memory — a muscle that needs exercise to get strong. So I decided that maybe if I started in a small way, I could gradually work my way up to being brave.”

That is an excellent prescription for you: the slow, incremental approach to becoming bolder and pluckier. For best results, begin practicing on mild risks and mellow adventures. Week by week, month by month, increase the audacious beauty of your schemes and the intensity of your spunk and fortitude. By mid-2024, you will be ready to launch a daring project.

www.rockymountainrevels.org

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): Cancerian neurologist and author Oliver Sacks worked with people who had unusual neurological issues. His surprising conclusion: “Defects, disorders and diseases can play a paradoxical role by bringing out latent powers, developments and evolutions that might never be seen in their absence.” In not all cases, but more often than seemed reasonable, he found that disorders could be regarded as creative — “for if they destroy particular paths, particular ways of doing things, they may force unexpected growth.” Your assignment is to meditate on how the events of your life might exemplify the principle Sacks marvels at: apparent limitations leading to breakthroughs and bonanzas.

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24

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

DESIGN

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): I am falling in love with how deeply you are falling in love with new ways of seeing and understanding yourself. My heart sings as I listen to your heart singing in response to new attractions.

Keep it up, Leo! You are having an excellent influence on me. My dormant potentials and drowsy passions are stirring as I behold you waking up and coaxing out your dormant potentials and drowsy passions. Thank you, dear!

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): Virgo journalist Sydney J. Harris offered advice I suggest you meditate on. He wrote, “Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time. It is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.” I bring this to your attention because now is a favorable time to take action on things you have not yet done and should do. If you put definitive plans in motion soon, you will ensure that regret won’t come calling in five years. (P.S.: Amazingly, it’s also an excellent time to dissolve regret you feel for an iffy move you made in the past.)

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): In contrast to false stereotypes, Medieval Europeans were not dirty and unhygienic. They made soap and loved to bathe. Another bogus myth says the people of the Middle Ages believed the Earth was flat. But the truth was that most educated folks knew it was round. And it’s questionable to refer to this historical period as backward since it brought innovations like mechanical timekeepers, moveable type, accurate maps, the heavy plow and illuminated manuscripts. In this spirit and in accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to strip away misconceptions and celebrate actual facts in your own sphere. Be a scrupulous revealer, a conscientious and meticulous truth-teller.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): Scorpio poet John Berryman said, “To grow, we must travel in the direction of our fears.” Yikes!

I personally wouldn’t want to do that kind of growth all the time. I prefer traveling cheerfully in the direction of my hopes and dreams. But then I’m not a Scorpio. Maybe Berryman’s strategy for fulfilling one’s best destiny is a Scorpio superpower. What do you think? One thing I know for sure is that the coming weeks will be an excellent time to re-evaluate and reinvent your relationship with your fears. I suggest you approach the subject with a beginner’s mind. Empty yourself of all your previous ideas and be open to healing new revelations.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): Sagittarian poet Nina Cassian said, “I promise to make you so alive that the fall of dust on furniture will deafen you.” I think she meant she would fully awaken the senses of her readers. She would boost our capacity for enchantment and entice us to feel interesting emotions we had never experienced. As we communed with her beautiful self-expression, we might even reconfigure our understanding of who we are and what life is about. I am pleased to tell you, Sagittarius, that even if you’re not a writer, you now have an enhanced ability to perform these same services — for yourself and for others.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): “Sometimes I get lonesome for a storm,” says Capricorn singer-songwriter Joan Baez. “A full-blown storm where everything changes.” That approach has worked well for her. At age 82, she has released 30 albums and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

She has recorded songs in eight languages and has been honored by Amnesty International for her work on behalf of human rights. If you’re feeling resilient—which I think you are—I recommend that you, too, get lonesome for a storm.

Your life could use some rearrangement. If you’re not feeling wildly bold and strong, maybe ask the gods for a mild squall.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): Science educator Neil deGrasse Tyson tells us that water molecules we drink have “passed through the kidneys of Socrates, Genghis Khan and Joan of Arc.” The same prodigious truth applies to the air we breathe: It has “passed through the lungs of Napoleon, Beethoven and Abraham Lincoln.” Tyson would have also been accurate if he said we have shared water and air that has been inside the bodies of virtually every creature who has ever lived. I bring these facts to your attention, Aquarius, in the hope of inspiring you to deepen your sense of connectedness to other beings.

Now is an excellent time to intensify your feelings of kinship with the web of life. Here’s the practical value of doing that: You will attract more help and support into your life.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): I am saying a prayer for you. I pray to the Fates that you will not accept lazy or careless efforts from others. You won’t allow their politeness to be a cover-up for manipulativeness. I also pray that you will cultivate high expectations for yourself. You won’t be an obsessive perfectionist, but will be devoted to excellence. All your actions will be infused with high integrity. You will conscientiously attend to every detail with the faith that you are planting seeds that will bloom beautifully in the future.

BOULDER WEEKLY

SAVAGE LOVE

BY DAN SAVAGE

I’ve been going to the same barber (a woman) for almost eight years now. We always have nice heart-to-heart conversations, and I’ve loaned her money in the past (single mom). She’s called to ask for advice on some life stuff a couple of times. She’s also asked me about my dating life, my kid, work, etc.

My concern is if I was to ask her out, it would most likely make things awkward, and I don’t want to lose her as my barber. I have risked dropping innuendos now and again, but she’s never picked up on them.

She says nice and courteous things, which make me feel good, but I understand this part of customer service. But I’m not sure it’s only that.

— Joe Haircut It’s only that. Women in service professions who rely on tips will sometimes share stories about disastrous dates, shitty exes and heartbreaks with male clients not to signal romantic interest, JH, but to signal romantic disinterest.

Which is not to say she doesn’t like you or doesn’t consider you a friend. She clearly does. But don’t confuse choosing to ignore your innuendos for failing to pick up on them.

As dick-havers, JH, we have to be on our guard against motivated reasoning, AKA “dickful thinking,” and this is definitely a case of motivated reasoning.

I’m involved with a married man. They’re basically separated yet live under the same roof. But my lover is really scared that he might lose custody in a divorce.

Once their kid (a teenager) goes to college, he wants to separate/divorce.

I expect to really be with him after all this, but I do want to help him get through this transition period. I’ve discussed ENM with him, but I can’t force him to tell her.

What can he say or do to end the marriage in an ethical and kind way?

— Yet Another Other Woman All you know is what he’s told you.

I’m not suggesting — as others would — that you can’t believe a single thing this man says because he’s cheating on his wife. Men who have affairs are seen as bad guys — even when they’re not cheating their wives out of anything their wives want — and he may be making his marriage sound more dysfunctional than it actually is to elicit your sympathy (and your pussy), YAOW. If your lover is planning to file for divorce once his kid is in college, and his kid is already a teenager, well, then the end (of this marriage) is nigh. (Assuming he means it; that could be another line he’s feeding you.)

If you’re comfortable fucking a married man, go ahead and fuck this guy. But just as he shouldn’t make his marriage sound worse than it actually is to rationalize or justify the morally ambiguous choice he’s made (fucking you), you don’t need to talk him into broaching the subject of ENM with his wife and/or ending his marriage to rationalize or justify the morally ambiguous choice you’ve made (fucking him).

GOT PROBLEMS? YOU KNOW YOU DO! Send questions to mailbox@savage.love Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love

BOULDER WEEKLY

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

25

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THE LATKE LINEAGE Chef Dan Asher’s Hanukkah recipes are flavored with memories, spice and love

BY JOHN LEHNDORFF

D

His menu will include two latke variaan Asher’s earliest Hanukkah tions. “My mom’s latkes keep it tradimemory is an unmistakable tional, and we’ll make my funky, farmaroma in his dreams. forward root vegetable version with “I’d wake up and know right away beets, carrots and sweet potatoes, too. what was going on,” Asher says. “I My 10-year-old loves working with me could smell the grated potatoes and onions and garlic frying in hot oil. It was on latkes. The other two are [too] young to be around hot oil,” Asher says. There amazing.”

Asher is the chef/partner at Boulder’s will be applesauce, and the adults get sour cream with harissa spice paste for River and Woods, Denver’s Ash’Kara a little bit of heat. and other eateries. He grew up in As many families are finally getting Montreal learning how to make those back to large group festivities, the chef traditional potato pancakes standing on offers his best hosting advice. a step stool next to his mother’s stove.

“Anything and everything that you “She would shred the potatoes on a can pre-make and stage is best,” Asher box grater and then squeeze out the says. “I’m a huge advocate for the oven water using a kitchen towel,” he says. set to 200 degrees to use as a hot “She also taught me the trick of putting holding unit, for things like latkes. You cold water on your arms when you’re frying so splatters of hot oil hit the cold water, not your skin.”

Besides latkes with homemade applesauce, Asher recalls early Hanukkah menus featuring brisket, molded gelatin smoked whitefish salad with cucumber scales, rum balls, loaves of braided challah and bags of chocolate coins.

“Mom would not deviate from her recipes,” Asher says. “When I started working in restaurants when I was 14, I would start improvising. I would say: ‘Mom, you’re so afraid to change.’

She would say: ‘Danny, why would I experiment? I know it’s going to work out perfectly the way I’ve always done Challah. Courtesy: River and Woods it.’ I realized she was also don’t want to make them to order.” passing down family history.”

The point, he says, is to actually Asher and his family will welcome 15 enjoy being a Hanukkah host. “When people to their Jamestown home for a the doorbell starts ringing, hanging out Hanukkah meal this year when the and socializing are your main priority, Jewish festival of lights takes place along with refilling glasses of wine.” from Dec. 7 to 15.

BOULDER WEEKLY

Chef Dan Asher. Courtesy: River and Woods

Asher also stresses why it is so vital to keep the gathering as stress-free as possible.

“Hanukkah is a beautiful, scheduled time when people sit down and eat together. It’s always a meaningful experience creating memories with your family and friends,” he says.

Certain things should be banned from the table to create a rich celebration, Asher suggests. “This is not the place for politics or family conflicts,” he says.

“You take a deep breath, have a good sense of humor, and have a little more kindness and a little bit more empathy.”

Chef Asher says he’s planning on participating in a live online international event Nov. 30 called Live Braid (live braid.com). “It’s a global challah-braiding event that is literally just saying: ‘We need to peacefully come together and break bread,’” he says.

Community events: The Lafayette Menorah Lighting (5:30 p.m. Dec. 7) in Lafayette Festival Plaza on South Public Road includes live music and graffiti art, sufganiyot (jelly donuts) and hot apple cider.

The Boulder Community Menorah Lighting is 5:30 p.m. Dec. 11 on the 1300 block of Pearl Street featuring music, sufganiyot, latkes, hot cocoa and Hanukkah favors.

LOCAL HANUKKAH FOOD SOURCES

Blackbelly Market: The Hanukkah at Home package features challah and quarts of matzoh ball soup. Brisket available at the butcher counter. blackbelly.com Kenny Lou’s Deli: Part of Lafayette’s Button Rock Bakery, the deli offers a complete Hanukkah takeout menu featuring brisket, matzoh ball soup, latkes, kugel, doughnuts and apple cake. buttonrockbakery.com River and Woods: The restaurant’s Zimmer Honey Challah is a pre-World War II recipe given to Dan Asher by a Holocaust survivor. Loaves available every Friday with pine-lavender butter. riverandwoodsboulder.com Pizzeria Alberico: The Dec. 8 Hanukkah at Bubbie’s meal includes a trio of latkes, matzoh ball soup, radicchio salad, pizza with smoked salmon and salmon roe, and sufganiyot. pizzeriaalberico.com Finding Challah: Local sources of challah bread loaves include Moe’s Bagels, Breadworks, Dry Storage and Moxie Bread Co in Boulder. In Longmont: Longmont Bakery, Babette’s Bakery and Whistling Boar catering.

Also: Rosenberg’s Kosher in Denver.

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

27

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NIBBLES

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Get local vegetables, honey, baked goods, gifts and more at the season’s finale of the Boulder Farmers Market Winter Market, Dec. 2-3 at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont.

Longmont’s Journey Culinary offers a series of classes/dinners including Christmas Spanish Tapas Dec. 15; Peruvian Christmas Dinner Dec. 8 and 21; and a Dec. 15 Noël Francais Dinner. journey culinary.com/class-calendar Founded in Longmont in 2004, Ziggi’s Coffee recently announced 50 new franchise locations in the Atlanta area.

The winners of the Longmont Latino Chamber of Commerce La Feria del Tamal 2023 tamale competition are: Danny’s Tacos Y Tortas, Longmont (1st place); Adelita’s Kitchen, Westminster (2nd place); and Mi Lola, Boulder (3rd place).

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WEED BETWEEN THE LINES

SWAPPING POPPIES FOR CHRONIC Study shows potential of cannabis in treating pain, replacing opioids

BY WILL BRENDZA

M

ore than 51 million people in the U.S. suffered from chronic pain in 2021, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). In some cases, the condition is the result of an injury or prior health issue; in other cases, it’s associated with psychological distress or trauma.

In either case, the official recommendation of the CDC is that doctors avoid prescribing opioids to chronic pain patients. Because they’re so addictive, can be deadly and negatively affect people’s mental health, the CDC says opioids should never be “first-line” forms of therapy for chronic pain patients.

New research might suggest that cannabis could be a legitimate alternative to opioids for chronic pain patients.

In fact, the study, published in the Journal of Cannabis Research in November 2023, not only found cannabis to be “equally efficacious” as opioids at mitigating pain intensity in patients with chronic pain, it also found that cannabis helped improve patient’s sleep, focus and emotional wellbeing.

“The results of the present study support the hypothesis that the effects of

BOULDER WEEKLY

[cannabis] on pain experience are more holistic than those of opioids,” the study’s conclusion states.

Researchers wanted to see how cannabis compared to opioids when used for pain management among chronic pain patients. Led by Jussi Jylkkä, a professor of psychology at Åbo Akademi University in Turku, nine researchers examined a sample of 201 chronic pain patients: 40 used medical cannabis to treat their pain, and 161 used opioids.

There was some crossover among the samples. Roughly 45% of the cannabis patients also used opioids for their pain, and about 4.3% of opioid users also used medical cannabis.

Following the study, participants completed retrospective surveys on the positive and negative “phenomenological effects” of the medicine. The researchers then compared the scores between the two groups and analyzed them.

They found that cannabis had an equally potent effect on managing chronic pain as opioids and that it also improved other aspects of the patient’s

well-being. Long-term opioid use is commonly associated with sleeplessness and insomnia, anxiety and depression. Cannabis is used to treat and improve those issues. This research highlights why. “[Cannabis] may alleviate pain through affecting a broad range of painrelated experiential factors such as relaxation, improved sleep and mood, being able not to react to the pain as well as a sense of control,” the conclusion reads. “These holistic effects of [cannabis] could explain the inconsistencies in clinical trials, where focus has mainly been on pain intensity instead of broader pain phenomenology.”

There were also no indications that cannabis distorted users’ cognitive processes. Despite its holistic effects on consciousness, cannabis was perceived to improve memory, focus and clarity of thought — which could have contributed to the subjects’ feelings of relief.

The authors note that while neither cannabis nor opioids are first-line treat-

ments for chronic pain, both are commonly used when other treatments fail to provide sufficient pain relief.

At least in the U.S., the reason the CDC recommends against prescribing opioids for chronic pain has to do with their addictive qualities and the current opioid crisis, which is claiming the lives of over 80,000 Americans every year. Just in Colorado, there were 1,289 opioid overdose deaths in 2021, which accounted for 68% of all drug overdose deaths in the state that year.

Conversely, the reason cannabis isn’t widely prescribed to treat chronic pain is because of its federal prohibition, even though it is a naturally occurring, nonaddictive medicine that is all but impossible to overdose on.

According to these findings, cannabis could potentially act as an alternative treatment for chronic pain patients. For those who haven’t found current treatments effective or who don’t want to take prescription medications to manage it, cannabis could be an effective alternative, or a supplement to other treatments, one that’s equally effective as opioids.

“In sum,” the authors concluded, “the results lend support to the notion that the psychoactive effects of [cannabis] are relevant to its therapeutic effect on pain, in line with suggestions in previous literature.”

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

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