10 Littleton Independent December 27, 2012
South MetroLIFE 10-COLOR-LIFE
Lots of spots to take eve of your senses
A mountain biker pedals along a trail in the Backcountry Wilderness Area of Highlands Ranch. Staying fit is a common new year’s resolution; other top resolutions for 2013 are to enjoy life to the fullest, lose weight and learn something exciting. File photo
Resolve resolutely Gain success with New Year’s plans By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com It’s the time of year for the ultimate transformation exercise with a longstanding tradition — the New Year’s resolution. The practice of making a resolution at the annual turn of the calendar is rooted in ancient civilizations, many of which had customs that mimicked the modern-day commitment to realize a self-improvement promise, according to the website 123NewYear.com. The site looks at ancient Babylonians and Romans, who would begin the New Year by making promises to their deities, and the knights of the medieval era, who took vows at the beginning of the new Christian year. The practice to resolve a positive change in the coming year is permanently ingrained
in modern customs.
Top trends
At the cusp of 2013, the resolution trends for the coming year include a promise to spend more time with family, adopt healthy lifestyle changes, reduce stress, manage money more efficiently and acquire a new skill. According to a study conducted by the University of Scranton Journal of Clinical Psychology, the top 10 resolutions for 2012 were: to lose weight; get organized; spend less/save more; enjoy life to the fullest; stay fit; learn something exciting; quit smoking; help others pursue their dreams; fall in love; and spend more time with family. The statisticians at the university estimate that 45 percent of Americans usually make a New Year’s resolution, and each year only 8 percent are successful in achieving their resolution. Based strictly on the numbers, it appears that the adage “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” extends to the resolution busi-
ness. According to the university’s Dec. 13 publication, each year 39 percent of people in their 20s achieve their resolutions, while only 14 percent of those older than 50 do the same. The upside is that those who make an explicit resolution are 10 times more likely to attain their goals, compared with those who do not.
Tips for success
The experts at 123NewYear recommend the following steps to ensure you stick to your goal and experience success with your 2013 resolutions. • Start slow, one resolution at a time. • Be clear about your goal; people lose drive with vague resolutions. • Make a plan; being organized produces better results. • Don’t wait for New Year’s Day, plan early to be ready for a Jan. 1 start. • Learn from your past mistakes to avoid repeating them. • To maintain high motivation, be positive about your resolution.
‘In Situ’ about to take place Artists bringing show to CVA By Sonya Ellingboe
sellingboe@ourcoloradonews.com From Jan. 4 to Feb. 9, Metro State University’s stimulating Center for Visual Art will invite a viewer to contemplate her/his surroundings. Are things what they IF YOU GO seem — or someThe Center for Visual Art thing else altogethis located at 965 Santa Fe er? Drive, Denver. Open Tues“In Situ” features days through Saturdays. four artists, who are Admission is free. Phone: also creating instal303-294-5207, Metrolations at Denver StateCVA.org. Parking is International Airavailable at the gallery. port, to bring extensions of their outdoor investigations — all situated inside — to the CVA. Kim Dickey, Humberto Duque, Isabelle Hayeur and Ximena Labra come from Canada, Mexico and Colorado and will install continuations of their DIA work at the CVA in the Santa Fe Art District, opening on
the First Friday on Jan. 4 with a public reception. Kim Dickey, from Boulder, creates detailed ceramic gardens, such as her hedgelike “Inverted L Beam,” covered with hundreds of little leaves. It could be part of a Victorian maze, or is it a fairy garden — or a criticism of those who want to control the shapes nature forms? Humberto Duque of Mexico City assembles installations with everyday objects — kitchen timers here — which speak to the times spent waiting for something to happen, especially while watching a baseball game. Isabelle Hayeur is a Canadian artist who creates large landscapes from photo collages. The assorted sites may not relate, may be scarred and may show evidence of the lack of human caring for our environment that is too often evident. Ximena Labra, also from Mexico City, calls her work “public space intervention projects.” Her photographs of a spot where an event has recently occurred leave the viewer to figure out the story. Items may be carelessly dropped, littering a site. Imagine who has been there and what they were doing.
Kim Dickey, Inverted L Beam. Courtesy photo In addition to the work by the above four, CVA has invited some young artists from the La Alma neighborhood to exhibit invented toys and documentary photographs in the Emerging Artists Gallery, part of a project with the Boys and Girls Club and Denver Housing Authority. It’s hoped these young people will connect with contemporary art.
You can’t swing a streamer around town without hitting an event or venue where you can ring in the New Year. Here are some highlights of the evening festivities guaranteed to score a midnight smooch: • Light the night during Denver’s explosive fireworks displays at 9 p.m. and again at midnight above the 16th Street Mall, the Mile High City’s mile-long pedestrian promenade. Between the fireworks shows there will be DJs, live music, magicians, balloon artists and outdoor ice-skating, while horsedrawn carriages clatter up and down the street. For information on New Year’s Eve packages and deals at some of Denver’s finest hotels, ranging from the luxurious to the budget-friendly, go to www.milehighholidays.com. • The Children’s Museum of Denver will ring in New Year’s Eve like New York’s Times Square with ball drops every hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Children of all ages can count down the ball drops and make fireworks with their feet when they jump on massive sheets of bubble wrap. Free with admission. • The Denver Zoo is hosting “Bunk With the Beasts,” where parents can leave their kids to explore Zoo Lights and celebrate sleepover-style in a safe environment. The evening includes pizza, snack and breakfast for $65 per member or $75 for nonmembers. • The Colorado Symphony Orchestra will keep New Year’s Eve classy with a Vienna-themed selection of waltzes, polkas and classics beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Boettcher Concert Hall. Tickets are from $25 to $88. • The Crowne Plaza Denver International Airport Convention Center, Colorado’s largest hotel event space, is throwing a NYE Block Party with the takeover of seven hotels within walking distance. Tickets are $49 to $79. • Dance in the New Year at a massive celebration at the Colorado Convention Center, the biggest and most extravagant venue in Denver. Tickets are $50 to $150. • The annual White Rose Gala at the Hilton DoubleTree DTC is a night of living theater where you are part of a musical and theatrical performance. Tickets are $59 to $499. • 1515 Restaurant on 1515 Market St. is ringing in the New Year with a tantalizing tasting menu created by Chef Garren Teich, inspired by famed Chef Auguste Escoffier, who created the first-class menus for the Titanic. The early seating reservations taken from 5 to 6 p.m. Dec. 31 feature a decadent three-course menu for $40 per person (not including tax and gratuity), and late seating reservations beginning at 6 p.m. features four courses for $60 per person (excluding tax and gratuity). Guests at both seatings will receive a complimentary glass of champagne and musical entertainment. Reservations are required by calling 303-571-0011 highlighting or by going to http://www.1515restaurant.com/index. php/new-year-s-eve. • Bring in the New Year with local vocal Hazel Miller and her band at Coohills, 1400 Wewatta. Coohills is featuring three options for the event: Enjoy a casual evening in the bar with a limited a la carte Parker continues on Page 17