A whole new immersive Disney world

Anyone who has fallen in love with a Disney animated lm knows one of the great joys of the studio’s work is getting lost in the astounding worlds that have been created. Now, fans of Disney can wander through many of their favorite worlds in a much more literal sense, thanks to Disney Animation: Immersive Experience.

“ is year is Disney’s 100th anniversary, so we wanted to do something that really honored all the animators,” explained J. Miles Dale, an Oscar-winning producer and creative director of the experience. “What we created is a little bit educational, a little bit entertaining, and provides access to things most wouldn’t be able to see. It all combines to give that magical experience people have come to expect from Disney.”

Created in partnership with Walt Disney Animation Studios and Lighthouse Immersive Studios, the Disney Animation: Immersive Experience is on display at Lighthouse ArtSpace, 3900 Elati St. in Denver.

As Dale explains it, a trip to the famous Disney archives provided a wealth of inspiration for the creative team as they put the exhibit together. Seeing the early pencil sketches of seminal moments like Cinderella’s dress transformation was awe inspiring for the team.

“It was important for us to show how these characters and worlds were created. When you see how

Coming Attractions

it was made and who made it, you appreciate the animation more,” he said. “I love hearing kids who are inspired to be animator after seeing the exhibit. They feel the magic and see some of themselves in these characters.”

According to provided information, additional exhibit features include interactive features within the projection show that move with visitors, and custom bracelets that light up in sync with the projections and specific movements. There’s also the Gazillion Bubbles effect, where 500,000 cubic feet of galleries are filled with bubbles.

The cumulative effect is to give visitors an experience like visiting one of Disney’s famous parks — one filled with wonder and escape.

“In a way, watching a movie is a passive experience, but this is very active. You are in the movies, immersed by them,” Dale said. “The totality of the experience makes it multigenerational. I can’t really think of anything my mother, me, my kids and their kids could all go to together like this.”

Visit lighthouseimmersive.com/ disney/Denver for details and tickets. disneyimmersive.com.

Sadeqa Johnson brings ‘The House of Eve’ to Tattered Cover e event is free and no registration is required. Find the details at www. tatteredcover.com/event.

Sadeqa Johnson’s newest book, “ e House of Eve,” is a moving testament to an important truth — the more things change, the more they stay the same. An examination of racism and women’s rights in the preRoe era, Johnson blends both wit and powerful humanity to remind all of us how much work there still is to do.

In support of the book — which was selected as Hello Sunshine/ Reese Witherspoon’s February book club pick — Johnson will be stopping by at the Tattered Cover Colfax, 2526 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25. She’ll be speaking with L. Alison Heller, a lawyer and author.

BIFF celebrates power of story in 19th season e 19th annual Boulder International Film Festival is back for another season of brilliant lmmaking, a chef competition and much more.

Running from ursday, March 2 through Sunday, March 5, the festival will be screening 66 lms from 20 countries, with 45 lmmakers and subjects in attendance. According to provided information, the event will also feature the return of the popular Adventure Film Pavilion, the CineCHEF food competition and a live recording of e Hollywood Re- porter’s Awards Chatter podcast with Scott Feinberg.

For those who can’t attend the screenings held at the Boulder eater, 2032 14th St., some of the lms will be able to watch as part of the BIFF at Home! virtual program, running from Monday, March 6 to Sunday, March 19.

Find the full schedule, ticket options and more at bi 1.com.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week — White Reaper at Summit Music Hall

My original pick here was going to be Bruce Springsteen and e E Street Band at Ball Arena, but since tickets sold out pretty much instantaneously (at exorbitant prices, no less), let’s instead turn our attention to another great rock band that’ll be in townKentucky’s White Reaper. e group specializes in the kind of indie guitar rock that has unfortunately gone out of style in the last decade or so. ankfully, their latest album, “Asking for a Ride,” keeps that sonic palette going strong.

In support of the album, White Reaper will be performing at Summit Music Hall, 1902 Blake St. in Denver, at 7:30 p.m. on ursday, March 2. ey’ll be joined by openers Militarie Gun and Mamalarky. Get tickets at www.livenation.com.

Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail. com.

BY JESSE PAUL AND SANDRA FISH THE COLORADO SUN

Kent iry, who has poured millions of dollars into democracy-related initiatives in Colorado intended to boost the power of moderate voters and make political contests more competitive, is advocating for major changes to the state’s primary election process to address what he calls gaps and inequities.

e former CEO of the dialysis giant DaVita’s next political act is backing an e ort to do away with Colorado’s caucus and assembly process through which candidates can make the primary ballot. He also wants the legislature to nd a way to prevent Coloradans from throwing away their votes by casting primary ballots for presidential candidates who later drop out of the race.

If successful, the changes could be iry’s most transformative work yet.

“I’m passionate about democracy,” he told e Colorado Sun in a recent interview. “And it takes work to keep a democracy working.” iry, who is registered as an unafliated voter, was acquitted in April of federal criminal charges alleging that he worked with business competitors to prevent the hiring of each other’s employees. He is pushing the legislature to alter Colorado’s primary processes, but indicated he’s willing to pursue ballot measures if the General Assembly doesn’t act.

“We look every cycle at where we can add the most value,” he said.

In recent years, iry has personally bankrolled e orts to let una liated voters participate in Colorado’s primaries and reimagine the state’s once-in-a-decade redistricting process. Kaiser Health News reported that iry has given at least $5.9 million to Colorado ballot measures since 2011, and all of the initiatives he has supported have passed.

Right now, iry is “extremely supportive” of Senate Bill 101, which would end Colorado’s caucus and assembly process of selecting primary candidates and make signature gathering the only way to make the ballot. e legislation would also let una liated voters sign partisan candidate petitions. iry called the caucus-assembly nominating system “blatantly unfair and blatantly inequitable.” e measure, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, and Rep. Mary Brad eld, R-Colorado Springs, is up for its rst hearing ursday in the Senate State, Military and Veterans Committee. And it’s likely to be quickly rejected despite recent polling commissioned by a group associated with iry showing that the proposed changes are popular with Coloradans.

“It’s unfair because a small group of party insiders control all the management around it and it’s inequitable because there’s lots of voters who can’t, on a weeknight or a weekend, leave work or leave their kids or leave their military base to go participate,” he said.

Opponents of the measure argue it would make it hard for anyone but those who can a ord to collect signatures to run for o ce.

Candidates for U.S. Senate and governor in Colorado must collect 1,500 voter signatures in each of the state’s eight congressional districts. ey can’t reasonably collect all of those on their own, so campaigns pay rms tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to collect signatures on their behalf.

Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat who sits on the Senate State, Military and Veterans Committee, said she will vote “no” on the measure.

“Both of these processes reward the people who do the work,” Gonzales said, noting that she went through both the caucus and assembly as well as the signature gathering process to make the ballot in her rst legislative election.

Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, said Senate Bill 101 would mean “you have to pay to get on the ballot.”

JAZZ

BILLIE HOLIDAY, ELLA FITZGERALD, AND NANCY WILSON ARE JUST THREE OF THE ICONIC WOMEN WE WILL HONOR IN THIS INTIMATE EVENING OF MUSIC FOR ALL JAZZ LOVERS!