Washington Park Profile 090822 by Colorado Community Media

COMMUNITY JAMS Denver’s Largest Bluegrass Jam takes place Sept. 25 P13 ABOVERISINGDRUGABUSERiseAboveColoradocelebratescapstonemural P16 talkLocalREADSDENVERGREATauthorsbooks P6 career,WORKFORCETRAININGTHEYouthEmploymentAcademyhelpswitheducationgoals P11 FREEDigital and print community newspaper founded in 1978.SEPTEMBER 2022 WashParkProﬁle.com

The Roots Collective is celebrating its grand debut with a Metaphysical Fair from 6-9 p.m. on Oct. 8. The Roots Collective consists of three businesses located in Capitol Hill’s 1400 block of North Ogden Street. All are owned by Denver resident Nikki Hazamy, pictured above. The businesses are: The Corner Beet, a vegetarian restaurant that opened in August 2014, cornerbeet.com; Rooted Heart Yoga & Wellness, which was established in November 2018, rootedheartyw.com; and Balanced Root Apothecary, which had its soft opening in March, balancedrootapothecary.com.Hazamymoved to Denver from Detroit in 2013. She started out selling juices on the corner of 14th and Ogden when the current building’s current landlord approached her and offered her a quaint corner space to house the juices. This led the way to establishing The Corner Beet. Hazamy continued her vision of offering holistic health to the community with the opening of Rooted Heart Yoga & Wellness and Balanced Root Apothecary, completing the collective.Theapothecary offers organic, handmade products made by local small business and vendors. “Every person who has walked through our doors, whether it be the Corner Beet, Rooted Heart of Balanced Root Apothecary, has been an integral part creating this collective,” Hazamy said. “When you ﬁnd balance, you ﬁnd healing, and we hope The Roots Collective can be exactly that for you.”

Ace StationHardware-Alameda

The Roots Collective

The Capitol Hill location is the salon’s second location. The Glam House got its start in 2016 when owner and founder Alexandria Grado started serving customers out of the basement of her southeast Denver home. In September 2018, The Glam House expanded to its ﬁrst storefront location at 4085 E. Mississippi Ave. in Denver’s Belcaro neighborhood.

A Facebook message posted on Aug. 14 reads: “Thank you to all our customers, who’ve been with us longer than this year or have just found us because of our awesome new location — we appreciate you all so much and will always do our best to continue to provide you with the most odd and unusual Denver has to offer.”

The Learned Lemur, an oddities and antiques collector’s shop that got its start in 2015, celebrated the one-year anniversary of its brick-and-mortar shop at 2220 E. Colfax Ave. in August.

“It is an exciting time for Denver’s growth right now, and soon our location will become a multi-story residential development,” Carlson said in the news release. “During the pandemic, we were an essential business and experienced record sales volume, and we’ve continued to do well the past couple years even with rapidly rising labor costs, growing crime and shoplifting affecting our business. However, a combination of factors including continued supply chain challenges, increasing prices and the redevelopment of the shopping center where we’re located have made it obvious that it’s time for us to make a change.”

The Learned Lemur will be exhibiting at The Oddities & Curiosities Expo, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 1 in Hall F of the Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St. in Denver. To learn more about The Learned Lemur, visit learnedlemur.com.

On Aug. 9, the Station,Hardware-AlamedaAce417S.Broadway, announced that it would be closing.Inanews release, the store’s owner, Andy Carlson, attributed the closure to changes in the city of Denver and the redevelopment of the Broadway Marketplace shopping center.

The Bank of Denver The Bank of Denver closed its Golden Triangle Branch at 606 W. Colfax Ave. on Aug. 31. In May, BusinessDen reported that the reason for the closure was because the branch had experienced a decline of customers during the past two years.

MILESTONES,

In August, Zaidy’s Deli & Bakery celebrated the one-year anniversary of reopening in its new location at 600 S. Holly St. in Denver’s Washington Virginia Vale neighborhood.TheJewishdeli had a 35-year history serving the community when it closed SEE P3

The Golden Triangle branch had been serving the community for more than 40 years, according to the bank’s website. It was one of three branch locations. The other two will remain open. They are located at 800 E. 17th Ave. in Uptown and 530 S. Holly St. in Washington Virginia Vale. The Saucy Noodle Ristorante — a Denver restaurant known for its slogan, “If you don’t like garlic… go home!” — closed in August. The Saucy Noodle operated at its 727 S. University Blvd. location for nearly six decades.According to a message on the restaurant’s website, the closure is attributed to an eviction by the landlord. Westword reported that a Certiﬁcate of Demolition Eligibility Application notice was posted on the restaurant’s front door, and that the building was purchased by a property developer on July 15 this year. “For 57 years, we have had the privilege of sharing with you our family history, recipes and oversized meatballs, and we are so grateful to have had this opportunity to cement ourselves as a part of Denver’s history, while meeting so many wonderful people along the way,” the message on the Saucy Noodle’s website reads. “We will never forget the many thousands of memories that have been made here, and we are endlessly grateful to have shared them with you.”

The Glam House performs all hair color, cutting, extension and barber services, specializing in balayage color services and various types of extensions to best suit a person’s hair type and goals.

The Learned Lemur

“This announcement is bittersweet because we have become friends with many of our customers over the past 16 years,” Carlson said in the news release. “We consider this neighborhood our home. We will miss our employees, neighbors, customers and friends, and I’m sure they will miss us, too. But we’ve had a good run and are leaving with our heads held high.” According to the news release, the Carlsons will be investing in an IT infrastructure services company called DilSe.IT, which delivers services to more than 120 customers including more than 40 Ace Hardware stores.

September 1, 20222 Washington Park Proﬁle

To learn more about The Glam House, visit theglamhouse.com.

Zaidy’s Deli & Bakery

The Glam House celebrated its one-year anniversary of opening its Capitol Hill location, 1433 N. Ogden St., in August.

The store served Denver’s Baker, Platt Park and Wash Park neighborhoods since 2006. It was owned and managed by Carlson along with his wife, Claudette.

Catherine Teutsch plays the accordion and sings during a Wednesday evening Denver RetroGrass Jam Band jam session in August. Story on Page 13. PHOTO BY CHRISTY STEADMAN

Explore eleven museums and historic sites across Colorado, including the History Colorado Center in Denver.

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Cherry Creek North location in October 2020. It got its start by original owner Gerard Rudofsky, who stayed on in a consultant role when the restaurant changed hands to father-and-son team Max and Joel Appel and Beth Ginsberg. Zaidy’s is a local mainstay for matzo ball soup, potato latke sandwiches, pastrami and other New York-style Jewish comfort foods. New developments to the restaurant include smoking its own salmon and roasting its own meats, and an in-house bakery. To learn more about Zaidy’s Deli & Bakery, visit zaidysdeli.com. The Ten Penny Store The Ten Penny Store, 250 N. Broadway #110, celebrated its ﬁve-year anniversary in hoodPlattopenedAsWashingtonAccordingAugust.totheParkProﬁle’sformercolumn,BusinessUsual,thestoreinDenver’sParkneighbor-inAugust2017.

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Join now and learn about the people and cultures that have shaped our beautiful state.

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KeyBank/Warren Village KeyBank recently provided a $250,000 grant to WarrenWarrenVillage.Village is a nonprofit residential community that serves homeless or housing insecure singleparent households. It has a location in the Cheesman Park neighborhood, another in northwest Denver and is expanding to southwest Denver. The grant is expected to benefit a minimum of 300 individuals annually, states a news release. It will “provide coaching for a minimum of 150 Warren Village alumni, a 10% increase in the number of participants who earn a college degree, and a 10% increase in the average annual salary for existing participants working full time,” states the news release. “This generous investment from KeyBank will enhance our adult self-sufficiency program and extend our reach with much-needed services for singleparents in our community,” said Warren Village’s CEO Ethan Hemming in a news release. “Ultimately, the financial support will strengthen our impact in the Denver community.” To learn more about KeyBank, visit key.com. To learn more about Warren Village, visit warrenvillage.parentorg.

It has another location in Trinidad that opened in February.The vintage shop sells curated clothing, records, jewelry, art, gifts and other curiosities. To learn more about The Ten Penny Store, visit tenpennystore. com. FROM 2

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Christy Steadman | csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

and-out years of the oil bust and court-ordered school busing for racial integration. In your opinion, why do Denver residents enjoy reading books that are set in their community? I started writing my Denver stories to fill a gap in published fiction about my hometown. Eventually, many writers started flocking to Denver, but most of them still set their work elsewhere. Finally, during the last decade or so, there have been more great works of fiction set in Denver than I could name. I love reading fiction set in Denver. It gives me the sense that we writers are trying to work out what it means to be from Denver and what the city’s essential character is, while affirming that the stories of our community matter. What’s next? For many years, I have been researching the history of Denver’s graffiti artists, focusing on the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when the area that is now called LoDo was an abandoned teenage wasteland of empty factories where street artists reigned. I am working on a novel in which a character who was a graffitiartist teenager during the ‘90s becomes an architect in contemporary Denver, and she has to decide where her loyalties lie as the city’s rapid gentrification threatens her friends and family.

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Washington Park Proﬁle 7September 1, 2022 Request 1(half)

As stand-up comics say, I want to slay my readers. If the poem is funny, I want them to bust a gut reading it; if it’s sad, I want to see tears. What do you hope people gain from reading your poetry?

Do you believe people can relate to the characters in your book(s)? If so, in what ways and why? The characters are the most important part of the Northfield Saga, even more than the post apocalyptic world or plot. Mark Northfield is a character people can relate to because he wears his heart on his sleeve. Above all else, he has a genuine heart, and a gentleness that conflicts with the rough world he lives in. Everyone can relate to that feeling of not quite belonging somewhere. What’s next? There is a lot more to come. The Northfield Saga still has two more books to go, so Mark Northfield’s journey continues. I have a set of stories planned past that, but nothing I’m ready to reveal quite yet.

“Bearing the Body of Hector Home” and “A Nightmare on Horseback” will both be coming out in 2023. The former is coming out in early January, the latter in April.I’m(also) working on a manuscript about gun violence and politicians’ pitiful response to the carnage. Where to get the books The usual online booksellers; Apprentice House Press, apprenticehouse.com; and FutureCycle Press, futurecycle.org.

Where to get the books The most direct way to obtain the first two books in Fisher’s The Northfield Saga series is through his website: calvinfishermedia.com.

Where to get the books The usual online booksellers, the Tattered Cover Book Store, the Boulder Book Store and Matter Books.

I’d hope readers gain an insight into what it feels like to be human, at least to me, from my poems. And that I’m not just spraying words on a page to be clever, but that there’s an emotional and intellectual connection between us.

ﬁction is sharing a journey with characters. When characters are compelling or likable, their struggles and triumphs mean a lot more to the reader. The story as a whole is something the reader forms a deeper connection with. I hope, when readers walk away, they take a small piece of Mark Northﬁeld’s heart with them.

FROM PAGE 6 COOPERMAN

SHANK

What’s next?

portant part of the Northﬁeld Saga, website: calvinﬁshermedia.com.

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FROM PAGE 6 FISHER

HIGHLIGHTING AUTHORS

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Karen Jones-Diller, DVM

WANT TO HELP?

thedentistsonpearl.com

• Rescued 41,559,471 pounds of food with support from grocery store partners in its 2022 ﬁscal year.

Washington Park Veterinary Clinic

TO FOOD ACCESS ELIMINATING BARRIERS

• Share information about food rescue organizations. Find a nearby food distribution center by using the Food Locator search on the Food bank of the Rockies website.

We are a full-service veterinary hospital providing care for your small companion animals as well as exotics. Gladly excepting new clients please call to schedule your appointment today.

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Its been 6 years, and The Dentists on Pearl still want to get to know you! So, come on in or call today to schedule an appointment for the entire family. We will create a plan that will help you achieve and maintain a completely healthy smile! We accept most insurances and are accepting new patients! 1905 South Pearl Street 303.498.9207 thedentistsonpearl.com 393 S. Pearl St. • www.washingtonparkvc.com303-871-8050·OfﬁceHoursM-F

• Food Bank of the Rockies: Gather and Sow, 5:30-10 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Denver Botanic Gardens Chatﬁeld Farms, 8500 W. Deer Creek Canyon Road, Littleton.•Denver Food Rescue: Food Rescue Ride and Block Party, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 17 at York Street Yards, 3821-3893 Steele St. in Denver. AT A GLANCE Denver Food Rescue, 3840 York St #245 in Denver

• O ers 23 no-cost grocery programs.

• Serves 15 Denver-metro zip denverfoodrescue.orgcodes.

Its been 6 years, and The Dentists on Pearl still want to get to know you! So, come on in or call today to schedule an appointment for the entire family. We will create a plan that will help you achieve and maintain a completely healthy smile! We accept most insurances and are accepting new patients! Dr. Stratil and Dr. Wright We’re STILL making it personal! 1905 SOUTH PEARL STREET 303.498.9207

Its been 6 years, and The Dentists on Pearl still want to get to know you! So, come on in or call today to schedule an appointment for the entire family. We will create a plan that will help you achieve and maintain a completely healthy smile! We accept most insurances and are accepting new patients! Stratil and Dr. Wright STILL making it personal! SOUTH PEARL STREET 303.498.9207

Dr. Stratil and Dr. Wright

ELICIA HESSELGRAVE SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA F

We Don’t Waste, 5971 Broadway in Denver

• Serves seven Denvermetro counties.

Events: • We Dont Waste: Fill a plate for hunger, 5 p.m. Sept. 8 at ReelWorks Denver, 1399 35th St.

Dr.

• One-third of the distributed food is fresh produce, with 49% of it coming from grocery foodbankrockies.orgrescue.

WPVC

Food rescue organizations are nonproﬁts and rely on monetary donations and volunteers to keep things running. But there are other ways Denver-area residents can support their community members in need.

Food Bank of the Rockies, 10700 E. 45th Ave. in Denver

• Utilize yard space for gardening and contribute a portion of the yield to a food rescue organization.•Makegood grocery shopping choices — buy what you need and use what you buy.

1905

With loving hearts and caring hands, we take the time to help you provide the best care for your pets.

September 1, 20228 Washington Park Proﬁle We’re STILL making it personal! 1905 SOUTH PEARL STREET 303.498.9207 thedentistsonpearl.com

We’re

BY ood insecurity is ubiquitous.“Allofus are just one poor step, one medical emergency, one financial reversal, one financial devastation away from food insecurity,” said Arland Preblund, founder and executive director of We Don’t Waste, which is a food rescue organization based in Denver. “It would be nice to wake up and not have to go to work (because) that would mean we solved the crisis of food insecurity.” As defined by Letisha Steele, executive director of Denver Food Rescue, a food rescue organization is “any organization whose whole role is to prevent excess waste from ending up in landfill.’’ Denver Food Rescue and We Don’t Waste are just a couple of the many food rescue organizations in Denver. These organizations have a shared mission: to prevent food waste by providing meals for those suffering from food insecurity. What a waste According to Recycle Track Systems, Inc., 1.4 million tons of edible food is discarded globally, with the U.S. alone contributing 80 billion pounds annually.Ediblefood is thrown away for a number of reasons, including excessive spending behaviors, arbitrary or confusing “sell by” and “use by” dates and because of a culture of perfection — meaning, a consumer expectation of aesthetically perfect produce.Preblund used a bell pepper as an example. “At the grocery store, if a yellow bell pepper has too much green on it, it goes to landfill because it isn’t perfectly yellow,” Preblund said.

thedentistsonpearl.com

Kaizen Food Rescue, Aurora • Feeds 300 families a day.

• Provided 6.7 million meals last wedontwaste.orgyear.

• Redistributed nearly 5 million pounds of food from landﬁll in kaizenfoodrescue.org2021.

Culturally-appropriate foods Often, food rescue customers also have the option of choosing what they’d like to take home, rather than being handed a variety box filled with unfamiliar foods. It’s important to look at the makeup of communities, and the foods that are preferred in that com munity, Desai said. “Different regions have different demographics,” she said. For example, a Spanish-speaking community may prefer items such as masa flour, jackfruit, dried beans and tortillas. Communities with a population of Asian and Pacific Islanders may prefer Thai basil, wa ter spinach, rice, ginger and white and green onions. Another benefit to curating the foods for specific communities fur ther prevents food waste by ensur ing the preferred foods are supplied.

Refugees helping their community Kaizen Food Rescue is another organization contributing to sig niﬁcant food waste reduction by providing produce donations and meals to community members fac ing food insecurity. It got its start in 2019 by Thai Nguyen, a Vietnamese diaspora.

Year round, play based programs focusing on social development and academic enrichment for toddlers through Private Kindergarten. Popular Summer Adventure Camps for post Kindergarteners-age 12.

“In a perfect world, everyone would have access to fresh, nutri tious foods,” said Aditi Desai, vice president of marketing and com munications for Food Bank of the Rockies. “It would be wonderful if food rescues were obsolete, if every one had what they needed.” She added it may happen “some day.” But for now, Denver-area food rescue organizations have stepped up to help community members in need by taking the problem of food waste and turning it into a solu tion. They provide free food to the public at food pantries, distribution centers, community gardens, co-ops and even free farmers markets. This is accomplished by partnering with grocery stores, restaurants, conven tion centers, caterers and even local farmers to receive donated and lowcost purchases of food. However, food rescues aren’t solely about preventing food waste. Food sovereignty and ofcustomersculturally-appropriateofferingfoodstoareadditionalmissionsfoodrescues.

“I started Kaizen after volunteer ing for my children’s school to pick up fresh food. After seeing all the surplus food at Food Bank of the Rockies, the idea came up to open our own food pantry,” Nguyen said. “Many food pantries didn’t have fresh produce and that’s what most immigrants and refugees prefer. So we created a culturally responsive food share program.” Kaizen serves as a conduit for community members and spe cializes in assisting refugees and immigrants in the area. In addi tion to food rescue, Kaizen hosts workshops to assist community members with building conﬁdence in speaking with local legislators about establishing neighborhood coops, advocating for food justice and reducing barriers. Mu Dah Di of Aurora is a refu gee from Burma who began her food rescue journey as a customer at Kaizen Food Rescue. However, she realized there are other under served people in her community that she wanted to help, so she started her own food share with Kaizen’s support. “To me, it’s pretty much under standing where you are coming from,” Di said. “Knowing how hard it is to live in this country without knowing the language, among other barriers. Reaching out to them (and) helping them out.” Di hosts her food share program once a week at New Freedom Park in Denver. She takes great pride in this“Itwork.gives me a sense of completion and makes me happy to know that people have food at the end of the day,” Di said.

A solution to a growing problem

FROM PAGE 8 FOOD

Washington Park Proﬁle 9September 1, 2022 3 4140 E. Iliff Ave. Denver CO 80222 • (303) 757-3551 • iliffpreschool.com

He added that grocery stores will also reject a bell pepper that is considered flawed. For example, if it only has three chambers, even though the flavor difference between a three-chambered bell pepper is unnoticeable from that of a four-chambered bell pepper. Though the U.S. throws away 3040% of its edible food, a 2021 survey conducted by the Denver Depart ment of Public Health & Environ ment estimates that 33% of Denver residents face food insecurity. The pandemic shed a light on how many people can be at risk when supply chains fail, Steele said, add ing that recent inflation hikes have exacerbated the issue. But in addi tion to job losses and breaks in the supply chain, there are some areas where fresh food is simply not avail able. These areas are commonly referred to as food deserts.

“We call them food apartheids,” SteeleMerriam-Webstersaid. deﬁnes apart heid as “a former policy of segre gation and political, social, and economic discrimination against the nonwhite majority in the Repub lic of South AccordingAfrica.”toSteele, food deserts refer to areas where food cannot grow, and food apartheids exist when an area is not being invested in — such as, for example, the result of a failing system or other barriers that have been in place for many years, Steele said.

Free dignity “People should have the dignity to have food sovereignty,” Steele said, “regardless of race, origin (and/or) economic status.” Unlike government-provided food assistance programs with strict hours, limited availability and requirements, many food rescue organizations do not request per sonal information, nor do they set parameters for people to qualify for food donations. As such, they are a stop gap for those in need, ﬁlling in where the government programs

fallSomeshort.people may be afraid to provide personal information, fear ful that their insufﬁcient govern ment assistance may be taken from them, Preblund said. By eliminat ing requirements for demographics and other reporting, food rescue programs honor those who are in a vulnerable position with dignity, Preblund added.

Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of the Proﬁle.

LINDA SHAPLEY lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.comPublisher

Making use of birdhouse gourd

Birdhouse gourd can complement a garden, and the harvest can be used for craft projects such as birdhouses or ﬂasks.

A publication of

There are many ways to dry the gourds, but the easiest way is to keep the gourd fruits on the vine until the ﬁrst freeze, then harvest and store them in a cold, dark and dry area like a basement or garage. Check them once a while and turn each gourd to prevent molding. After the gourds are dried, you can drill a small hole to make your birdhouse.Inlatefall in the garden, the humorouslyshaped gourds hanging from the garden structure always remind me of the story, “The Secret of the Magic Gourd,” which I stumbled upon when I was a third-grade grade elementary student in Japan. The book was written by a Chinese author, Zhang Tianyi, in 1958. It is about a young boy named Wang Pao who discovers a magic gourd while he was ﬁshing. The gourd grants him anything he wants, yet the power of the magic gourd changes his life upside down. This book’s slightly dark storyline — and a latter half of psychological suspense — gave me a strong impression I still remember: Looking at a pile of gourds I have harvested, I cannot help feeling if one of these gourds might have some magical power to grant me anything I want…

Ebi Kondo

CHRISTY STEADMAN csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.comEditor

FROM EDITORTHE

The second opportunity for team building was not put on by the company at all. My coworker, Rylee Dunn, was performing with her band for the Englewood Block Party on Aug. 27. I had never seen Dunn’s band perform before, so this was a treat, in addition to seeing all my coworkers smiling and introducing each other to the people who are important in their lives. My colleagues and I all have different things going on in our lives, and different hobbies and interests outside of work. Perhaps none of us would have ever met or crossed paths if we didn’t work together. But despite that, we’ll always have one thing that binds us together — we are each a part of Team CCM. And that is a powerful bond.

We welcome letters to the editor. Please include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone.

Email letters to csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

S ince Japanese beetles came into to our garden life, it has been almost impossible to keep my grape vine presentable in Le Potager garden, as the beetles skeletonize almost all leaves in the summer. It looks terrible on the pergola in the middle of the garden, as the brown grape vine contrasts with the rest of garden, which looks so lush and green.Idecided to matchmake this sad grapevine with birdhouse gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) to cover up the destroyed leaves. It worked perfectly. The gourd climbed up on the grape vine happily and produced aromatic white flowers, which later became the humorously-shaped fruits, perfect for craft projects. Now I must think whether I should make bird houses or flasks. You can grow birdhouse gourd very easily. Seeds can be directly sown into the fertile garden bed in late May — after the last frost date in your area — or start a few weeks earlier indoors, then transplant to your garden. The gourd vine likes a sunny site with well-drained fertile, moist soil. Once your seedling starts taking off, let it grow until the main vine can reach the structure where you would like your gourd to climb on. Then, prune it to develop the lateral branches to encourage it to produce more female flowers.

AUDREY BROOKS Business abrooks@coloradocommunitymedia.comManager

LOCAL

Ebi Kondo is the associate director of horticulture for the Denver Botanic Gardens

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.comManager

Probably my favorite thing about baseball is the seventh inning stretch and seeing Dinger — which I always mistake for “digger” in reference to Colorado’s history of digging for gold in the Rocky Mountains — come out and rouse up the crowd.Itwas a fun game. I’m not a sports writer, so here is a recap I found on espn.com by the AP: “Brendan Rodgers and Ryan McMahon hit backto-back home runs in a six-run seventh inning, and the Colorado Rockies held off the St. Louis Cardinals 8-6 on Thursday to secure their ﬁrst series win since the All-Star break.”

Birdhouse gourd is a type of tropical hardshelled squash (which is part of the cucumber family, Cucubitaceae) native to northern Africa. It was cultivated by people 10,000 years ago and spread all over the world because it is easy to grow, and the fruits were used as a water bottle or ﬂask, food storage, ﬂoating devices, musical instruments and more.

The gourds produce both male and female white flowers on the same vine. You can easily identify the female flower, as the bottom of the flower is swollen into the shape of a small gourd.

T eam building is so important. While Colorado Community Media has always put on in-house work functions — and we have opportunities to attend training sessions with our media partners at the Colorado Sun — I never realized how important it is to get to know your colleagues outside of the workplace until the opportunity came up twice in August.Ournewsroom is a relaxed environment — we’ll often have casual conversations amongst each other about things going on in our personal lives. But it is still a work environment, and often, these conversations are prompted by a story one of us is covering, or how we relate to a piece of breaking news we hear about. For example, when President Joe Biden announced his student loan forgiveness plan earlier this month, we in the newsroom started talking about our own college experiences.OnAug.11, a group of us played hooky from work to attend a Rockies game. For the record, it wasn’t actually playing hooky because it was a “Mandatory Fun” day. A few of met at the ofﬁce and rode the light rail to Coors Field, taking advantage of the Zero Fare for Better Air program, which offered free RTD transit through August. No matter how many times I’ve ridden the light rail downtown, this time seemed like an adventure — maybe because it was with my colleagues rather than friends or family.Werode the train from our Englewood ofﬁce, then the Free Mall Ride on 16th Street Mall to Union Station and walked the rest of the way the baseball stadium, chitchatting about random topics all the way. Once at Coors Field, we met up with even more of the CCM team, already in their seats enjoying the game. And we had more not-work-related conversations.

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September 1, 202210 Washington Park Proﬁle 10-opinion

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career, education goals

Youth helps people obtain

COURTESY OF DENVER HOUSING AUTHORITY

Employment Academy

“provides paths for youth to take outside of the traditional pathway,” Hancock said. “It gives them an opportunity to explore as much as they can.” Employers in the community also have the opportunity to get involved, particularly with the networking component and exposing youth to all the job opportunities there are out there, Hancock said. For example, putting on an artist meet-and-greet or hosting the youth for a tour of a commercial kitchen.“We’re able to pull out any interest they may have,” Laurita said of the youth. “We serve every individual uniquely, (and) we work with them through all their barriers.”

From a young age, Rudy JimenezDiaz knew he had an interest of going into the culinary field. His stepdad was an excellent cook, and was always trying new techniques and encouraging his family to try new things. JimenezDiaz also enjoyed working alongside his stepdad with the familyowned taco truck. But Jimenez-Diaz was not at all interested in pursuing a higher education.“Iwasinterested in getting to work,” the west Denver resident said. “I was tired of school.” Then he learned of a program called the Youth Employment Academy.“Theydefinitely got my career going,” said Jimenez-Diaz, who is now 27. “I’ve learned all the best and the worst of a kitchen. I’m happy for all the opportunities.” Jimenez-Diaz started with YEA right out of high school. He completed the program’s internship, then continued his culinary education at Emily Griffith Technical College in Denver. Currently, Jimenez-Diaz is a chef at the Osage Café & Mercado. In this role, he comes up with recipes, helped start the wholesale kitchen for the mercado and teaches YEA culinary classes in Spanish alongside his colleague Carolina Olivas. YEA teaches “people to be successful in the workforce,” said Annie Hancock, the executive director of YEA and the director of resident and community connections for the Denver Housing Authority. “It’s allowing them a safe space to make mistakes and create the solutions.” YEA is a nonprofit program of the Denver Housing Authority. In the early 2000s, DHA received a grant to fund case managers to help underserved youth with barriers they may be facing — homelessness, food insecurity and socialemotional wellness, for example. This grant led the way for the formation of YEA, which organized so that after the grant funding, the program could be sustainable and supported year-round. Starting out with the culinary arts in 2007, YEA has since expanded and now offers hands-on training for youth age 14-24 in the three main fields: culinary arts, customer service and retail management and the creative industries. It does this through its Art Street, 1079 Osage St.; Decatur Fresh, a grocery market at 995 N. Decatur St.; and the Osage Café & Mercado, 1015 Osage St. YEA “offers real-life experience and training for the workforce,” said Lori Laurita, the operations manager of social enterprises for DHA. “It’s about learning what their (the youths) strengths are, and what their interests are, and growing from there.”

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Laurita said that one of the reasons YEA is successful is because everybody has different experiences. They’re not all positive experiences, but those are also life-lessons learned. “We don’t have to solve the bigger picture (immediately), but we can solve the problem that’s right in front of us,” Laurita said.

“I’m proud of every individual who comes through our program,” Laurita said. “I consider everybody a success. And it’s because of these success stories that I do this.”

Becoming successful in the workforce

From left, Rudy Jimenez-Diaz, Carolina Olivas and Marisol Anchondo-Olivas gather for a photo during an event catered by the Youth Employment Academy.

Youth in the program are connected to mentors, and they also work together on projects. Hancock pointed to the recent Edible Arts project. With this project, the youth learned the importance of growing your own food. The youth used elements of art to highlight the plants growing in the Mariposa community garden in Denver’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. They “brightened it up,” Hancock said, with edible art — kale, dill, mint and more. The plants then were used by the culinary students at the Osage Café, and the neighborhood’s residents also have access to the garden and the plants growing there, Hancock said. In such, while YEA is a youthserving program, it also works to provide larger support for the neighborhoods in-and-near the social enterprises’ locations, particularly with food access, Hancock said.“We’re at the table from the beginning, talking with the community and responding,” she said. “We’ll continue to be responsive to what the neighborhood asks for.”

BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The main goal of YEA is to help the youth obtain their goals — whether it be employment, such receiving hands-on training in a career; or education, such as earning a high school diploma or GED, or pursuing post-secondary education.YEA

The youth learn to become part of the solution. They learn to help others and be a part of the community, she added.

BY DANA KNOWLES, BRIAN WILLIE ROCKY MOUNTAIN

PBS

PHOTO BY ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

All are welcome at the Free Spiritual Community. The organization offers a place where addicts in recovery and their loved ones can go and feel at home with no judgement and no shame. “Our tag line is we don’t do shame and our mission is breaking the silence of addiction. And that shame piece is important, especially if they’re coming from addiction or loving someone in their lives who’s battling addiction,” explained Ryan Canaday, a pastor and the community’s founder. Free Spiritual Community is located near the University of Denver in a former church, and offers programs that include everything from recovery meetings, traumainformed yoga classes, Saturday night sober events and now, its new pay-what-you-can Free Café sells coffee roasted by Wagon Coffee Roasters.Previously profiled by Rocky Mountain PBS, Wagon Coffee Roasters is a company that employs women in recovery. Free Café is also managed by people in recovery. “To give people an opportunity for employment who would maybe otherwise not have it because of the past, the checkered past that they have,” explained Canaday when asked about the café’s mission. “Here we want to give second chances and third fourth and fifth chances.” ments where they’ve been told you need to change or else or if you want to be one of us you need to give this up and here we say you’re welcomed and affirmed exactly as you are,” Canaday said. For Alix Glasgow, one of the most important parts of her recovery journey is community, being around other people living similar lifestyles with similar goals and outlooks.“Whenyou’re struggling or need a hand to reach out to you, that’s what this community gives you,” she said. “It’s so cool to give back to the community that gave me my life back, first and foremost!” Canaday’s message will always be the same for those who need to hear it: reach out, ask for help, then put in the work. And no one is ever alone. “We do this journey of recovery together,” he said. This story is from Rocky Mountain PBS, a nonprofit public broadcaster providing community stories across Colorado over the air and online. Used by permission. For more, and to support Rocky Mountain PBS, visit rmpbs.org.

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A new café in Denver is run by and for people in recovery Free Café is located near the University of Denver.

“Part of the function of Cameron is to be in service to the community,” said Bill Kirton of Denver, who served as the church’s pastor for about 16 years until he retired in 2008. “People love music, and we need it during difﬁcult times. Especially now.”

Washington Park Proﬁle 13September 1, 2022 Request 2 BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The third Denver’s Largest Bluegrass Jam was originally slated to take place in 2021, but was postponed a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Teutsch said she is “beyond excited” for the event this year.

Andrew Torres plays the banjo during an evening jam session. Tom Connole, jam leader, plays the guitar during a Wednesday evening Denver RetroGrass Jam Band jam session in August.

Cameron church, 1600 S. Pearl St. in Denver’s Platt Park neighborhood, hosts community bluegrass jams led by the Denver RetroGrass Jam Band every Sunday and Wednesday. On Sept. 25, Cameron will host the Denver’s Largest Bluegrass Jam. This event will serve not only as a family-friendly event that the entire community is invited to, but also as a fundraiser for the church’s building fund which will support restoration of the church’s magnificent stainedglass“Musicdome.has been at the heart of Cameron since the beginning of time,” said Catherine Teutsch of brings something beautiful to the community, in terms of the cultural fabric.”Teutsch’s band MicroGrass will kick off the Denver’s Largest Bluegrass Jam festivities with an outdoors performance at 11 a.m. At 12:30 p.m., everyone will head indoors for the community jam to be led by the Denver RetroGrass Jam Band. This jam, which will last until 2 p.m., will take place in the church’s sanctuary, under the stained-glass dome. Everyone and all abilities are welcome at Denver’s Largest Bluegrass Jam, Teutsch said. Every instrument is welcome, and musicians of all skill levels will be able to participate. Those who do not have instruments are encouraged to come and sing — chords and lyrics for every song will be“Theprojected.coolthing about bluegrass is that it is such an accessible music for people,” Teutsch said. Additionally, Denver’s Largest Bluegrass Jam “is quite unlike any other bluegrass jam because it’s very inclusive.” In addition to the jams, the Denver’s Largest Bluegrass Jam will feature vendors, information booths, light refreshments will be available for purchase and Swallow Hill Music — a Denver-based nonprofit music school — will be bringing an instrument petting zoo. The goal for this year’s Denver’s Largest Bluegrass Jam is to have at least 150 people participating in the jam and raise $10,000. Because the funds raised from the jam will be a donation to the church, the donors — in this case, the jam organizers — are able to stipulate what the donation can be used for, Teutsch said. Therefore, proceeds from the jam will go to Cameron church’s building fund, which, in turn, will help the structural integrity of the building, including the leaking dome/roof, Teutsch added.Cameron United Methodist Church was built in 1913, and is a designated historic site. Kirton said its stainedglass dome was created by Watkins Stained Glass Studio — which has been in business in Colorado since 1868 and today is still family-owned, located off South Broadway in Englewood, according to its website. The RetroGrass community jams also have a long, local history. They got started at Swallow Hill Music roughly 15 years ago, said Tom Connole of Denver who serves as the jam leader. When a space and noise conflict with Swallow Hill’s music classes came about, the jams relocated to a coffee shop off Broadway in Denver called Strange Grounds, Connole said. When that venue closed, Cameron church offered its venue for the jams, with rent being only that RetroGrass provides music during service four times a year, Connole said. This current partnership and agreement has been in place for about five or six years, Connole said.

Pickin’ Cameron church

Cameron United Methodist Church is more than just a building. It serves its congregation as a faith-based gathering place, but it is also a place that welcomes all sorts of community-wide events — everything from children’s Halloween costume contests to local merchant meetings. And bluegrass jams.

“It is gratifying to see the joy on people’s faces to have live music back,” she said. Connole echoed her excitement. “It is a social event,” he said, adding that he is looking forward to “giving the community the opportunity to help the church, sing some songs, play some instruments — and have some fun.”

Jim Bradney plays the ukulele during the Denver RetroGrass Jam Band jam session.

PHOTO BY CHRISTY STEADMAN

Denver’s Largest Bluegrass Jam takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cameron United Methodist Church, 1600 S. Pearl St. in Denver’s Platt Park neighborhood. A suggested donation of $15 will benefit the church’s building fund, which will go toward maintenance and repair of the church’s stained-glass dome. For more information, contact Catherine Teutsch at CatherineT@ comcast.net.

This year is the third Denver’s Largest Bluegrass Jam. The ﬁrst took place in 2017, and the second in 2019. In 2019, about 115 people showed up, and about $6,500 was raised for the church’s building fund, Teutsch said.

and singin’ to beneﬁt

Denver’s Largest Bluegrass Jam takes place Sept. 25

Network would be complete in nine years

Jonathan Pira in his West Colfax neighborhood on May 31 as he goes door to door collecting signatures for a ballot measure that would raise fees to fund the construction and repair of sidewalks across the city.

PHOTO BY HART VAN DENBURG/CPR NEWS

walks and ﬁll in gaps where sidewalks are nonexistent. the“Notinitiative.onlyare people and maintaining of sidewalks — currently a responrepair and build new sidewalks across the entire city Denverite, visit denverite. com.

French immersion school opens in new schoolhouse

“This is our second year at FASD. Sophie’s grandparents are native French speakers and continue to be amazed at how much her French has improved. And on a recent trip to Paris, people couldn’t believe she was born in the U.S.,” Dumas said. The pièce de résistance? Burck lovesthat tuition doesn’t cost parents one dollar - or euro, for that matter. “You can clearly see why I’m such an advocate,” Burck said. “Kids get a private school education at public school cost. Free and available to everyone. Which is most deﬁnitely not the case at other French-immersion schools around the United States. I looked hard and I found scores of tuition-based private schools starting at, minimum, $20,000 a year for elementary, $40,000 for high school. The very same curriculum they have, we have. I love that.”And what do the FASD kids love? They serve French fries. Très magniﬁque

Students at the French American School of Denver say “bon jour” to their new City Park West schoolhouse. The school is located at 2350 N. Gaylord St. in Denver. COURTESY PHOTO

“Literally, one quarter after I enrolled him at FASD, he improved exponentially in writing and oral skills, and he’s now a superb reader in both French and English,” Burck said.

Burck and parents love the fact that FASD does not teach common core mathematics, which has scored more than its fair share of criticism. Instead, math courses are taught using Singapore math, which Bidan said is ranked No. 1 Burckworldwide.saidforhis son, enrolling in FASD was a godsend, as he had fallen a “oui” bit behind in phonics.

Free tuition, open enrollment, improved test scores among pupil perks

The French American School of Denver is located at 2350 N. Gaylord St. in Denver.While FASD is o ering grades K-4 for the 2022-23 school year, it plans to build out one grade per year to reach K-8 status.Noprior French knowledge is necessary to attend. To learn more about the school or for more information about enrollment, visit fasd.org.

BY CANDY PETROFSKY SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Berets aren’t a mandatory school uniform requirement, but you can bet they’d look pretty chic on the precious, petite pupils who comprise the French American School of Denver, which is currently back in session and already earning top marks for its new schoolhouse.“

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Emmanuel Bidan, FASD’s director of curriculum, said all schools outside France are subject to evaluation and inspection by the National Education Ministry and the Agency for French Education. In addition, all FASD school curricula surpass Colorado state standards, Bidan added. “I ﬁrmly believe that learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things,” he said.

All FASD teachers must be licensed and native French speakers. All FASD students learn and must show proficiency in phonics, vocabulary progression, grammar, verb conjugations, reading comprehension, oral dictation, poetry, text memorization, spelling, songs and even cursive writing. “The Two-Way Immersion model requires almost complete immersion for kindergarten — 90% French to 10% English,” said Suzanne Acheson, head of FASD. “This accelerates French learning to breathtaking speeds, and it gives students the opportunity to excel academically, socially and culturally.” They excel on the international job market, too. According to the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs website, more than 300 million people speak French. It is the fifth most widely spoken language in the world, and it’s the second most widely learned. Jean Claude Ndefu, a leader in the Denver Congolese community, is impressed with FASD’s outreach efforts to ensure African families who speak French know about the school and how to enroll in their children. FASD officials want to make sure all parents know they have a choice where their children go to school — and that they are not required to attend any institution in which their neighborhood is zoned.“Bybeing here, my people are struggling in a lot of stuff. This is the opportunity we give our kids to learn this amazing language and I will fight for this school to be here in Denver,” saidParentNdefu.Audrey Dumas said some wonder if her daughter Sophie was born in France, because her French is just as good as her English.

Oui, oui. We just secured a new longterm lease in City Park West for the 2022-23 school year and beyond,” said parent volunteer Julie Burck. “The teachers, administrators and parents like me are just thrilled to welcome all the children, from all over Denver, into our beautiful new schoolhouse.” Serving kindergarten through fourth grade, FASD is Denver’s first and only accredited, tuition-free French-immersion charter school. Its open enrollment is available until full, or Oct. 1, whichever comes first. Since immersion means the teachers and kids communicate almost entirely in French, every day, school officials say kindergarten enrollment is best to lay the foundation for fluency.

According to the French Ministry of Education, Two-Way Immersion models, regardless of the languages, indicate improved scores in math, reading, vocabulary, mental flexibility, problem-solving skills and increased high school graduation rates. FASD states a Two-Way Immersion model is a specific type of dual-language education that allows students to learn a second language, while continuing to develop their first language.

Let’s get schooled Burck, and other parents and administrators, believe FASD is the crème de la crème. Here’s why.

“I have done my homework and when you learn what I’ve learned about Two-Way Immersion models — and how fast these kids soak up the language and how the schools just set these kids up for success in life — you’ll understand why I’m so passionate, in particular, about FASD,” Burck added.

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Youths across Colorado say no to drugs and yes to community projects

To learn more about Rise Above Colorado, visit riseaboveco.org.

A group of teens with Rise Above Colorado and youth mentors gather for a photo in early August as they were working on Rise Above Colorado’s 50th capstone mural, which is located on a building at 788 S. Broadway in Denver.

Allison Dame, 15, a teen action councilmember with Rise Above Colorado, works on the organization’s including the 50th capstone mural.

Brooke Goodwin, 10, spray paints a mural in early August. The mural was a project of Rise Above Colorado, which is a statewide substance prevention nonproﬁt for youth.

“It’s sharing the positive choices that most teens make,” he said. That’s how the murals come in. In early August, about 40 teens created the organization’s 50th youth-led mural project. It is located on the outside of a building at 788 S. Broadway, which borders Denver’s West Washington Park and Baker neighborhoods.Themuralsprovide the youth with “a sense of completion and ownership,” said Rise Above Colorado Program Director Jonathan Judge, who has been involved with all 50 murals. “They see it (a mural project) from beginning to end with their ideas and concepts. The catalyst is always theRiseyouth.”Above Colorado started the youth-led murals in 2015. They are located across the state, with a number of them — including the 50th capstone mural — in Denver. For the 50th mural, the youth worked with Denver artist Pat Milbery, who is known for his Love This City murals that can be found throughout Denver. Milbery said he enjoys working with the teens. “If you can help pass the lessons, vision and wisdom to the younger generations — and do it with fun — it resonates through as an enjoyable process,” Milbery said. Through working on the murals, the youth learn to believe in something and it teaches them the importance of collaboration, Milbery said.

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“A lot of times, we don’t get heard,” Dame said. “But we have very strong opinions on what the world should look like and what we can do for positive change.” But Dame also enjoys being part of the organization for the social aspect, she said. “I love helping people, and being kind is one of my life values,” Dame said. Rise Above Colorado “is a large and very kind community to be a part of.”

The 50th mural in Denver is located where Broadway turns into Lincoln, just past I-25 heading north. Here, the youth are “putting their mark on a wall that, on average, 500 or 1,000 cars will drive by each day,” Milbery said. “They get a sense of achievement.”Though Rise Above Colorado may be best known for the youth-led murals, the murals are not the only community-involvement avenue that the organization offers.

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“Not everyone is going to serve the community in the same way,” said Andrea Macias, who volunteers on the organization’s board of trustees. “Rise Above Colorado gives youth the platform to serve their community how they see fit.” Macias, now 25, got involved with Rise Above Colorado when she was 14. A Rise Above Colorado project that she and her peers worked on when she was a teen is a website with all the “good, bad and ugly” about drug use, Macias said. The website has nonbiased information about drugs — complete with nonbiased facts, stories, solutions and alternatives to drug use. “We learn a lot from our peers. A lot the time, our peers are our biggest influence,” Macias said. “The website was written by teens for teens (because) more times than not, teens will make the right choices when presented with nonbiased information from their peers.” Now a resident of Henderson, Macias grew up in west Denver and has always been active in her community. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Denver in 2021, graduating with a major in history and a double minor in critical race and ethnic studies and sociological studies. She is currently employed as a college recruiter for Emily Griffith Technical College in Denver.Asafirst-generation college graduate and a woman of color, Macias said she believes it’s important to do her part to bring the community up with her. “A lot of these issues, such as drug abuse, impact communities of color disproportionally,” Macias said. She added that by sitting on Rise Above Colorado’s board, she is able to be a part of that mentorship and guidance.“Justbecause I struggled, it doesn’t mean that others have to,” sheRisesaid.Above Colorado got its start in 2009 as the Colorado Meth Project. In 2014, it broadened its focus to all substance use prevention and changed its name to Rise Above Colorado. Rise Above Colorado also partners with other community and youth-serving organizations, such as Denver Public Schools and Denver Health.RiseAbove Colorado “has the ability to highlight the best in our youth and our communities,” said Pamela Gould, director of Jefferson County Communities That Care, which is a program of Jefferson County Public Health that partners with Rise AboveGouldColorado.recalled a recent conversation that she had with a father who said his tween-aged son was struggling with making good decisions. Rise Above Colorado “was a breakthrough for him,” Gould said. “It was just being a part of something and being involved with art and community” that helped the son.

BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

For the past seven years, thousands of Colorado teens have decided to “rise above” and paint murals instead of using drugs.Empowering them is the Rise Above Colorado, a statewide substance prevention nonproﬁt that provides teens with “information, resources and healthy lifestyle alternatives to help them choose a life free of drug abuse,” according to its website.“When youth feel connected and a sense of belonging in their community, they’re much less likely to use drugs and alcohol,” said Rise Above Colorado Executive Director Kent MacLennan.MacLennan added that it’s not just a “don’t do drugs” message.

Littleton’s Allison Dame, 15, has been involved with Rise Above Colorado for a little more than a year. As a teen action councilmember, she serves as an advisor and helps her peers have their voices heard.

COURTESY PHOTO

The Denver Philharmonic Orchestra’s 75th anniversary season kicks o on Oct. 7. The season features six concerts and will run through May 25. The concerts will take place at Central Presbyterian Church, 1660 Sherman St. in Denver. Tickets cost $27 for adults, $19 for seniors, $12 for students and children age 12 and under are free. Season tickets are available for a discounted price. The Denver Philharmonic Orchestra is a nonproﬁt semi-professional symphony orchestra founded in 1948. To learn more or to see a lineup of the 75th anniversary season’s concerts or to purchase tickets, visit denverphilharmonic.org.

Danielle Ryan, a class of 2021 graduate of the Denver College of Nursing, recently received the prestigious Diseases Attacking the Immune System (DAISY) Award for extraordinary nurses. “The DAISY Award is an international recognition program that recognizes registered nurses who exemplify nursing values by exhibiting extraordinary compassion, courage and integrity in every situation,” states a news release. It is one of the highest honors a hospital nurse can receive, the news release states. Ryan is a resident of the Denver Tech Center and currently works at Denver’s Rose Medical Center. The Denver College of Nursing, 1401 19th St., is a higher education institution dedicated exclusively to educating students for the diverse opportunities o ered by careers in the medical ﬁeld. To learn more, visit denvercollegeofnursing.edu.

PHOTO BY AMANDA TIPTON PHOTOGRAPHY

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Rocky Mountain Communities, a Denverbased affordable housing nonproﬁt, is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a fundraising event 6-9 p.m. Sept. 29 at the St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal School at the Mosaic Community Campus, 1800 N. Pontiac St. in Denver’s South Park Hill neighborhood. The event includes a cocktail hour and dinner, and will honor Steve Barbier, founder of the nonproﬁt.

Tickets cost $100 for individuals and $1,000 for a Rockytable.Mountain Communities develops and manages housing communities across the state, and provides services and programs to its residents to ensure success, sufﬁciency and independence.Tolearnmore about Rocky Mountain Communities, or to purchase tickets to its 30th anniversary fundraising event, visit rockymountaincommunities.org.

STAFF REPORT

Celebrating 30 years of building brighter futures

How it works is parents apply for the support, and funding is provided on a need-based sliding scale.

Soon, Colorado will have universal preschool, which means every family across the state will be able to send their 4-year-old to preschool at no cost to families. The Denver Preschool Program will serve as Denver’s Local Coordinating Organization.Therewill be about 30 LCOs — which were determined geographically — in the state, and each LCO will have the ability to put together a community plan that will work best for that particular community, said Elsa Holguin, president and CEO of Denver Preschool Program.

To learn more about the Denver Preschool Program, visit dpp.org.

Denver Preschool Program expanding as statewide universal preschool comes

As a mother, Vegas wants her children to be able to pursue any educational goal they want — whether it be college or any other path of their choosing.

Preschool provides a base for learning

BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Denver Preschool Program offers training programs for teachers, as well as grants, stipends and sign-in bonuses to help address the teacher shortages. “Teachers are struggling,” Holguin said. “We’ll do anything we can to help teachers enter, and stay, in the early childhood profession.”

Statewide universal preschool will help expand the Denver Preschool Program

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Five-year-old Kaia Vegas loves to swim.And thanks to the Denver Preschool Program, her mom was able to use the money that would have been used for preschool tuition to get Kaia involved with extracurricular activities, like swim lessons and dance“Educationclasses.gives your kid an advantage,” Kalelia Vegas said. “It opens them up to so many things.” Vegas is a single mom working fulltime as an engineer at a member’s club in Cherry Creek. She also has a son, AJ, who is junior at Denver South High School. Both AJ and Kaia were able to attend preschool because of the tuition assistance Vegas got from the Denver Preschool Program. The Denver Preschool Program has a mission to get children ready for kindergarten by providing resources and funding assistance so that all Denver families are able to send their children to preschool. It got its start in 2006 and is funded by a sales tax ballot initiative that Denver voters approved two years prior. Every 10 years, it goes back to voters for re-approval.

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Denver Preschool program is already well-established serving families with 4-year-olds, so it is focusing on expanding its programming to be able to serve even more Denver families, with statewide universal preschoolFundingcoming.fromthe state for universal preschool will cover preschool for 10 hours a week per 4-year-old, Holguin said. Because the Denver Preschool Program already has funding from the sales tax to serve Denver’s 4-year-olds, statewide universal preschool will help supplement Denver Preschool Program in that it will be able to offer preschool for more than 10 hours a week, Holguin said. This means families in Denver will be able to send their child to full-day preschool, which helps families who are unable to afford the cost of childcare beyond the 10 hours a week that their children are in preschool, Holguin said. And that’s not all — the Denver Preschool Program will be expanding its 3-year-old pilot program. The 3-year-old program allows families to enroll their child in preschool at 3 years of age, versus 4. “This has been a dream of ours,” Holguin said. “Now, it ﬁnally has funding.”Holguin said that the Denver Preschool Program has known there was a need for families to be able to send their children to preschool beginning at age 3 for a long time. The last time that Denver Preschool Program was on the ballot for reapproval was 2014, and back then, voters said yes to expanding the program to 3-year-olds, Holguin said.

Denver Preschool Program piloted its 3-year-old program last year with 300 children in high-need households. It will offer it to 600 children in high-need households for the 2022-23 school year. By the 2023-24 school year, all high-need households will be able to enroll their 3-year-old in preschool, Holguin said.The Denver Preschool Program deﬁnes a high-need household as one that has an income of less than $60,000 a year for a family of four. “For the ﬁrst time in Denver, highneed families will be able to get two years of free, full-day preschool for their children,” Holguin said. “It is really exciting that we’re able to do this.”

“Every day, she had something to tell us,” she added.

Denver Preschool Program working to solve teacher challenges Denver Preschool Program serves about 60% of all 4-year-olds in Denver.Ithasa roster of about 260 providers it works with — 60% are Denver Public Schools and the other 40% are community providers, Holguin said.All, however, are quality preschools. This means each school has to be licensed, insured and have a quality rating of three stars or higher from Colorado Shines, which is the state’s quality rating and improvement system provided by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood.“TheNo.1 indicator of a quality preschool is having quality teachers who are supported and properly compensated,” Holguin said. Therefore, Denver Preschool Program offers support to providers — including coaching and resources — to help them grow and ensure they meet the three-star or higher rating, HolguinAdditionally,said.

all

Preschool provides children with an advantage Kalelia Vegas believes her son AJ had an advantage in his education because she enrolled him in a learning environment — preschool — at an early age. “He got a base (for learning) that was built on year after year,” Vegas said.Likewise, Vegas believes her daughter, Kaia, is at an advantage as she begins kindergarten this year. Vegas said it’s like the old saying, “it takes a village to raise a child.” Kaia attended preschool at Denver’s Hope Center, a Black-led nonproﬁt that offers early childhood education and a vocational program for adults with disabilities. “She loved Hope Center,” Vegas said. “It helped mold her to become a successful kindergartener.” Vegas said a child’s learning continues at home, and added that Kaia’s teachers at Hope Center “did the work during the day, and I did it atKaianight.”would come home and talk about everything she learned through the school’s programming, such as book club and international days, Vegas said.

Kaia Program.Preschooltheceivedmothersistancetuitionthankspreschooltowasten,kindergar-headingday.graduationhercelebratesVegaspreschoolNowintoVegasableattendtotheas-herre-fromDenver COURTESY OF KALELIA VEGAS

Staging a performance like the one Bandaloop specializes in requires a great deal of planning and a site visit that includes both a feasibility and an artistic study. As Estrella explains it, each performance takes elements of the community and site history and works them into the show. “The dance is informed by what’s already there, what’s moving in the spaces and what the community is going through,” he said. “I hope audiences come away dreaming up creative enterprises of their own.” Some other performances that Ahmad-Post is excited about include A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, which is described as “a contemporary dance company galvanized by Black culture and history.” The performance will include their full-length work, “An Untitled Love,” set to the music of D’Angelo. Another is Manual Cinema presents “Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster.” Based on Mo Willems’ children’s books, the show blends projection, DIY cinema and music with enchanting“Theresults.show is the most delightful thing in the world and is fun, interactive and speciﬁcally-designed for young audiences,” Ahmad-Post said. “Building a schedule with more work for all ages is a great way to connect forNoeverybody.”matterwhat show people see as part of the season, there will be something that moves them. Audience members frequently attend performances even though they’re unfamiliar with a work because they trust that the quality will be of the very highest, Ahmad-Post said.

A free performance by Bandaloop, a dance group that uses rock climbing gear to perform on vertical spaces, will kick o the Robert and Judi Newman Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Denver’s 20th anniversary season. Bandaloop performs on Sept. 29, and the season will run through May 19.

The Newman Center is using the event as an opportunity to get as many people involved as possible — the event will kick off an afternoon that includes food trucks and performances by the Denver-based groups Playground Ensemble, Presenting Denver and students from DU’s Lamont School of Music.

“The good thing about our reputation is that audiences know they can walk into the room for anything we’re doing and they can trust it will be good,” she said. “That’s an amazing thing to hear from your audience.”

BASIL TSIMOYIANIS

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“This season is so much bigger — last year we had around 15 shows and this year it’s around 26,” said Aisha Ahmad-Post, executive director of the Newman Center. “We’ve been thinking about how we connect with our campus and the community at large, and that has led to us taking more risks this year.” The center, 2344 E. Iliff Ave., kicks off its 20th anniversary season on Sept. 29, with a free performance from Bandaloop. It runs through May 19 with jazz vocalist Cyrille Aimée. During those seven months, audiences will get to explore everything from concerts and cinema to family-friendly theater and comedy.

“Part of the risk-taking this season is ﬁnding ways to better connect our communities, and we’re doing that through the range, not just of the types of work, of stories told,” Ahmad-Post said. “What makes us unique is that being on a university campus allows us to bring best-inclass performers to Denver that can’t be found anywhere else.” That theme of community connection is captured perfectly with the Bandaloop performance. The company takes a truly unique approach to the art of dance, blending it with rock climbing technology. “The lineage the movement comes out of is the dance lineage, but it is performed in vertical spaces using rock climbing gear,” said Melecio Estrella, artistic director with the company. “The audience can look up and see a dancer performing 200 feet off the ground. We’ll be performing on a smaller building at the University of Denver, and that proximity to the audience offers more intimacy.”

Newman Center celebrates 20 years bigger than ever

For a full schedule of the Robert and Judi Newman Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Denver’s 202223 season, visit newmancenterpresents. com.

Reaching the milestone of two decades in operation is an achievement that any arts organization should rightfully celebrate. But add in that it’s the ﬁrst full season since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Robert and Judi Newman Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Denver has a lot to celebrate.

BY CLARKE READER SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

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PHOTO BY HART VAN DENBURG/CPR NEWS

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Sandra Ruiz-Parrilla, a North Denver artist and environmental justice activist, at the Museo de Las Americas on Friday, Aug. 11, 2022. Some or her students’ art hangs behind her as part of an exhibit about Latino health and justice.

The legislation allocated more than $2.5 million this year for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to target pollution in communities with lower incomes and more people of color by creating a state-level environmental justice program.

The Environmental Justice Act also created an ombudsperson role within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment who will be responsible for creating a system the public can use to ﬁle complaints about environmental justice problems.

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The tool program officials developed to track environmental health hazards, called Colorado EnviroScreen, helped them rank the risk in counties and census tracts based on dozens of health and environmental factors. The Colorado tool, which has a public website, is based on a similar one run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Colorado version has more state-specific details and data, including asthma hospitalizations, cancer rates and proximity to traffic or other sources of“Thispollution.isthe tip of the iceberg,” said David Rojas, an environmental epidemiologist and professor at Colorado State University who helped develop the data tool. “If something is highlighted in the map, probably there are many more things happening at the same location.” Rojas, who also sits on the new Environmental Justice Advisory Board, is already interested in adding more health data and training residents to use the tool, he said. Though it’s not a solution for areas that bear the brunt of Colorado’s pollution, he hopes the information helps residents question state officials about their environmental problems.“Mygoal is that this tool can help trigger the demand from the community to say, ‘We need attention here,’” he said. This story is from CPR News, a nonprofit news source. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.

Once the environmental justice grants are available, state ofﬁcials said they hope it invites a ﬂurry of proposals from local governments, tribal nations and community organizations.Theadvisory groups will also make recommendations to the Polis administration and state lawmakers about environmental justice policy. A draft of those recommendations created in June included changing the names of power plants named after Native American tribes, such as the Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo and the Cherokee Generating Station in Denver, both of which are operated by Xcel Energy.

The employees and advisory groups spent much of the last year visiting those neighborhoods, including through an October tour that Ruiz-Parrilla led around Globeville and Elyria-Swansea.

Sandra Ruiz-Parrilla has organized walking tours, planted trees and curated art exhibits to draw attention to the environmental hazards in Denver’s Globeville neighborhood.There’s the constant noise and foul smells coming from construction sites, Interstate 70 and the nearby Purina pet-food plant, she said. There is also the soil under the homes, contaminated by industrial smelters from decades past. But getting state officials to go beyond increasing their awareness and taking steps to fix those problems has been a long process, she said.“It’s hard to really fight and raise your voice, because they don’t really hear us in our neighborhoods,” Ruiz-Parrilla said in Spanish. More than a year after Gov. Jared Polis signed the Environmental Justice Act into law, state officials say they are working to earn the trust of Coloradans who are disproportionately impacted by pollution and other environmental risks.

The department hired a team of workers focused on environmental justice, formed advisory groups and launched a new data tool to track environmental risks across the state. Later this year, program staffers will announce an estimated $400,000 in grants for projects that track and curb pollution in neighborhoods facing disproportionate environmental health hazards.

“True community engagement with disproportionately impacted communities takes relationship building,” said state Sen. Faith Winter, a Democrat from Westminster who sponsored the legislation that started the environmental justice program. “They’re working on listening, but that’s a culture shift as well for these Ruiz-Parrillaagencies.”saidthat while she appreciates state and local interest in Globeville’s issues, agencies often “pass the buck” when it comes to taking responsibility and ﬁnding solutions.“Wedon’t want them to see us with pity, we don’t want them to see us as contaminated. Because we’re not,” she said. “What we want them to do is to ﬁx the problem, and it hasn’t happened yet.”

“I’m truly excited to be able to share such a big part of Mexican culture,” said Trevizo. “It is also an honor to be able to share our culture with people whose culture is not Mexican — to share and teach why we love Mexican culture so much.”

BY CHANCY J. GATLIN-ANDERSON SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA In 2017, a teenaged William Trevizo joined his father’s mariachi band, Mariachi Aguila de Denver. Needing a violin player, the band recruited the classically-trained student who quickly fell in love with the vibrant melodies and joyful rhythm of mariachi.Nowa22-year-old music performance student at Metropolitan State University of Denver, Trevizo is a part of the all-state youth ensemble, Mariachi Estelares de Colorado — a prestigious performance group within the mariachi community.

Mariachi festival coming to Levitt Pavilion on Sept. 25

The yearly music festival is a time when the Denver Latinx community comes together to celebrate mariachi, which is a Mexican music tradition dating back to the early 18th century. A typical mariachi band consists of several instruments including vocals; guitar; vihuela; guitarrón, which is an acoustic bass; violin; and trumpet. Oftentimes, a mariachi band will have several of each of these instruments. This year, the concert boasts Mariachi Estelares de Colorado as the opening act and the world-renowned Lupita Infante performing alongside Mariachi Sol de Mi Tierra, which is a local Mariachiband.Estelares de Colorado is the ﬁrst all-state youth ensemble in mariachi. After a lengthy nomination and audition process, 12 exceptional student musicians were selected, representing communities across Colorado — Denver, Commerce City, Longmont, Pueblo and Westminster.“I’mreallyexcited to perform with Colorado’s ﬁrst all-state mariachi, Mariachi Estelares de Colorado,” Infante said. “It’s a beautiful venue, and I’m really looking forward to connecting with the audience and creating lasting memories.” Infante will headline the festival with her bold, regional Mexican sound. Being the granddaughter of the late mariachi superstar Pedro Infante, Lupita Infante has more than 50,000 followers on Instagram and more than 75,000 on Facebook. She has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy awards.“Pedro Infante was one of the world’s greatest singers of mariachi music. Lupita is now carrying forth his legacy,” Trujillo said. “She represents the future of our youth as presented by our historical music.” Lupita’s 2021 Grammy-nominated debut album, “La Serenata,” opened the door to stardom while paying tribute to the tradition and beauty of her heritage. She believes in the in the power of progress and advocates for woman empowerment throughout her music within an industry historically dominated by men.“Mariachi for me is the most beautiful and elegant music of Mexico. It is a living part of our culture. In it, there is a past that created the music and over time — much like our traditions — it has evolved, traveled and inspired many hearts,” Infante said. “When you hear mariachi music, it takes you on a journey through time and space. For me, it is how I connect with my ancestors, to my father, and my grandfather.”

COURTESY PHOTO Lupita Infante, granddaughter of the late mariachi superstar Pedro Infante, will headline the Viva Southwest Festival de Mariachi, which takes place Sept. 25 at Levitt Pavilion Denver. For more information on the Viva Southwest Festival de Mariachi, or to purchase tickets, visit vivasouthwestmariachifestival.lcac-denver.org/

The ﬁfth annual Viva Southwest Festival de Mariachi is coming to Ruby Hill Park as part of the Levitt Pavilion Denver’s Free Summer Concert Series. The event will take place from 5-7 p.m. Sept. 25 at 1380 W. Florida Ave in Denver. A ticketed VIP reception begins at 3 p.m. The MSU Department of Music and the Latino Cultural Arts Center of Colorado have teamed up to provide the night of music, food, drinks and fun for Denverites, families and anyone who loves traditional Mexican music and culture. “This festival provides the greater community with a unique learning experience,” said Lorenzo Trujillo, festival director and mariachi instructor at MSU. “It is unique because there is no other place where our youth can study mariachi music with other students from throughout the state, and to learn from the great mariachi teachers from throughout the nation. The concerts provide an enjoyable experience with music provided by our youth where everyone beneﬁts from the joy and pleasure of mariachi — the music of Mexican people.”

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William Trevizo sings at a mariachi performance. He, along with the other musicians part of the all-state youth ensemble that make up the Mariachi Estelares de Colorado band, will be performing at this year’s Viva Southwest Festival de Mariachi at Levitt Pavilion Denver.