SeriesFest returns for a blockbuster Season 9

After a bit of a pandemic slowdown, SeriesFest, which celebrates emerging and underserved voices in episodic storytelling, is back bigger and better than ever, over owing with top-notch television viewing for all audiences.

“We’re excited to engage with everybody in the community about all the great stories being told,” said Randi Kleiner, co-founder and CEO of the Denver-based non-pro t. “We’re looking forward to people getting together to be part of great conversations about all the exciting things happening in the industry.”

Running from May 5 through May 10, SeriesFest Season 9 features a wide range of in-competition pilot screenings, panels, workshops and premieres from big studios, including Net ix, Amazon Freevee and Universal Television.

In addition to an array of episode showings, the lineup includes fascinating panels like, “Actors with Disabilities Making eir Mark in Hollywood: What More Needs to be Done,” “ e Art of Adaptation: Beyond the Book” and “Turning Podcasts into Television’s Next Big Hit with Orbit Media.”

As usual, the event wraps up at Red Rocks with a night of special performances — this year the evening features headliner Chelsea Handler and guests Jay Pharoah and Adam Ray. ere will also be a screening of Fox’s “Animal Control,” with star Joel McHale on hand to discuss the show and perform a stand-up set.

Whether audiences attend one of the special events or just catch a screening, they’re in for a television viewing experience that most don’t have — one that features the episodes shown on the big screen and the chance to connect with others.

“So much is happening in the industry right now and that’s what is so exciting,” Kleiner said. “You really have the opportunity to see the shows you love, meet the creators and learn

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something you didn’t know.”

With so many great options, here are two SeriesFest events audiences shouldn’t miss.

‘Grown’ screening —

Many viewers know Jocko Sims from his roles on shows like “ e Last Ship” and “New Amsterdam.” But for “Grown,” Sims explored the power of storytelling in a di erent way — as executive producer, writer and director.

“I’ve been a creator for pretty much all of my life… and this was something I’ve always wanted to do but didn’t have the time,” he said. “But I took the time and made it a priority and it has been such a ride ever since.” e pilot, which won SXSW’s TV pilot competition, is about 14-year-old Rogelio (Josiah Gabriel), who recently lost his father and is struggling with what it means to be an adult. He and his friends Larry (Tristan-Lee Edwards) and Chaz (Giovanni Cristo ) decide to sneak into a strip club, leading to a reckoning about who Rogelio thinks he is and who he wants to be.

“Grown” will be screened as part of the Independent Pilot Competition: Comedy Block 1 at the Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver, at 6:15 p.m. May 17, and will also be shown to local high school students as part of High School Day.

“Grown’s” participation in the festival is a sort of homecoming for Sims — “New Amsterdam” made its premiere at SeriesFest back in 2018. He’s eager to be back to share a story that means a great deal to him and hopes it connects with viewers, particularly students.

“I’d love for the youth to be inspired in whatever way they can,” Sims said.

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“When they see these kids making decisions, both good and bad, perhaps they can learn from that and apply it to their lives.”

‘Primo’ world premiere screening — May 8

For Shea Serrano, a New York Times best-selling author and culture critic, working as creator, executive producer and a writer on “Primo” was a daily reminder of how much creative potential is unlocked when people work together.

“All of these incredibly talented people spent a lot of time working on it and I’m thankful and proud every time I sit down to watch it,” he said. “I watch the show and I see everybody’s ngerprints all over it.” e show, which is executive produced by Michael Schur (“Parks and Recreation”and “ e Good Place”), is based on some of Serrano’s own ex- periences growing up in San Antonio. It follows 16-year-old Rafa Gonzales (Diaz-Silverio) as he comes of age with the help of his mother, Drea (Vidal), and ve uncles.

Amazon will unveil the rst season of “Primo” on May 19, but its worldpremiere screening will be at 8:15 p.m. on Monday, May 8, at the Sie FilmCenter. Serrano and actors Ignacio Diaz-Silverio and Christina Vidal will all be on hand for a discussion afterwards hosted by Diaspora’s Dino Ray-Ramos.

Since “Primo” has its roots in such personal experiences, Serrano was able to ll the show with speci c references and jokes his family and friends will recognize — everything from costume choices to a shout out to a favorite A Tribe Called Quest song. Some shows become like a warm blanket — something viewers can turn on when they need to feel better about being alive, and that was the goal for “Primo.”

“ at’s my ultimate dream for the show — that ‘Primo’ becomes a part of somebody’s lineup in that situation,” Serrano said. “You are unwinding at the end of the day and you watch an episode or two and see what the Gonzales family is getting up to in San Antonio.”

For the full SeriesFest lineup and to secure tickets, visit https://seriesfest. com/.

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

Pat Calkins, 93, who lived with an abundant spirit and endless love of family as a mother, wife, friend, grandmother and great-grandmother, died April 13, 2023, at the High Pointe Memory Care Center in Denver. A celebration of life will be held on July 18, 2023, at the Mount Vernon Canyon Club at 10:00 a.m.

Born July 19, 1929, in Goodland, Kan., Pat grew up on her parents’ ranch outside of Goodland and cemented a love of animals with the farm’s menagerie of horses, lambs, calves, goats, dogs and cats. e family moved into town when she started Goodland High School.

After graduating, she attended Colorado Women’s College in Denver before marrying omas J. Carney in 1948 and moving to Golden, Colo. ey later divorced. eir son T.J was born in 1952 and their daughter Diane was born in 1955. She made their lives fun and strong, and guided her children with skill, verve and self-assurance. She was always active in their activities and many of her own.

Pat obtained a real estate license and became manager of Crestmoor Downs residential complex in Denver in the late 1960s. She also thrived as a homemaker and loved cooking and baking for family members. Holidays, especially, brought out the joy and sharing she gave to so many others, and she worked with children and grandchildren teaching them her skills. Pat married George W. Calkins in 1981 and they lived in Englewood, Colo., until his death in 2014. She also was preceded in death by her parents Lester and Teresa Amack and her sister Phyllis Amack Cichowicz.

Survivors include her son omas J. (T.J) Turner (Deborah) Carney, Golden, Colo; daughter Diane Lee Carney, Glendale, Ariz.; granddaughters Amber Hall, Conifer, Colo., and Sonia (Scott) Moen, Danville, Calif.; grandson Ross (J.J.) Carney, Lakewood, Colo.; and great-granddaughters Alexis Hall and Eleanor and Arabelle Moen.

Also surviving are stepson Bradley Calkins; step-grandson Buzz Calkins; step-granddaughters Hillary Sempel and Darcy Calkins; and step-great-grandchildren Harper, Marin and Bradley Calkins and Ashby and Peyton Sempel. Her longtime personal assistant Jean Diehl also survives. In lieu of owers or other memorials, the family requests support and donations in her name to Danny and Ron’s Rescue (https://dannyronsrescue.org/) and/or e Limb Preservation Foundation (https:// limbpreservation.org/).

ere some see weeds, Erica Davis sees ingredients for delicious soups and salads.

“In urban areas, there are a lot of plants that we call weeds that spring up everywhere, that are widely available to people, that are edible and good,” she said.

Foraging is the act of gathering wild plants from nature, generally to be used for food, and sometimes to make other products. For Davis and other foragers, spring means plants are starting to grow –which means kitchens will soon be full of wild foods ready to be prepared in creative

Across the Front Range and in the mountains, several foragers share their knowledge through cooking classes based on

Davis, who runs a blog called Wild Food Girl, has upcoming classes in Ramah and Fairplay. Her Arvada class this spring has

“I think one of the biggest challenges with edible wild plants is that people don’t always know how to prepare them,” she said. “We all know how to cook spinach, we all know how to make broccoli — but we don’t all know how to cook tumble mustard so that it tastes good. So in my classes, I like to give students that experience of preparing an edible wild plant — or three — in a way that I think they are going to Davis’ classes begin with an hourlong plant walk where students learn the names of plants and safety and sustainability guidelines for foraging. Afterward, she teaches them how to prepare several of the plants they have for-

In the spring, dandelions and wild mustard greens are common staples in her

“People sometimes picture foraging as going out into the forest and picking plants

— and that’s part of it — but I would really encourage people to learn the weeds and make use of them,” she said. “A lot of them are non-native species, so there really aren’t as many ecological considerations with picking them.”

Davis teaches her students to make dandelion green soup from a recipe passed down by an Italian relative. Musk mustard is great in salads, and tumble mustard and field pennycress are fun to ferment, she said.

Beyond the creative and flavorful uses of foraged foods, research from 2019 suggests that wild edible greens harvested in urban areas can be abundant and highly nutritious. The study dubbed wild edible plants “open-source food.”

“This idea that open-source food is out there for anybody to eat and make use of — and then furthermore, it’s organic, it’s free, it’s fresh — I just think that’s a great concept,” Davis said.

Despite their affordability and freshness, wild plants are not all safe to eat. Crystal Baldwin, who teaches wild plant-based classes at her Golden business, Earth Sweet Boutique, said it’s always important to triple-check plants before you eat them.

“I don’t like to frighten people away from… foraged foods because there’s a lot of very safe ones,” Baldwin said. “But I like them to be aware that there are dangerous, poisonous ones that will kill you, and so it’s important to kind of have an idea of what those might be and what to look out for.”

Baldwin encourages those interested in foraging to start by taking classes, working with local experts and reading about which plants are safe to eat.

She also said it’s important to check if plants are near old buildings that could be contributing lead to soil or if plants have been sprayed with pesticides.