20-Calendar
20 The News-Press
December 18, 2014
Making ugly meaningful Hideous holiday sweaters bring folks together, merchant says By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com Hold on to your crocheted stocking hat with your knitted mittens — ugly Christmas sweater season has arrived. “It’s about laughter, happiness,” said Elizabeth Blume, owner of the Clothing-XChange consignment store in the Oakbrook Shopping Center. “It’s really about feeling part of something.” Blume realized last year that the ugly sweater craze was really catching on. “It’s just become a phenomenon,” she said. Dec. 12 is now “National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day,” when everyone is supposed to don the most catastrophic cardigan they can find and go on about their business as though everything was normal. “Wear it to school, to work, to a funeral, to your sister’s wedding,” reads the website at www.nationaluglychristmassweaterday. org. “Got an important interview on Friday? Oops, tough luck. Worried the judge will increase your sentence if you show up to court in an ugly Christmas sweater? Sorry bud, no exceptions.” Then, on Dec. 20, the Ugly Sweater Run 5K will commence from Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, a benefit for Save the Children’s “Make the World Better with a Sweater” campaign. “If you want to wear spandex under your sweater and race fast, that’s cool, but you’re missing the point,” according to the event’s website. “This is a fun run to burn some calories before slamming some hot chocolate
Elizabeth Blume is jumping on the ugly Christmas sweater craze in a big way. Photo by Jennifer Smith and Sam Adams.” For Blume, hopping on the ugly sweater bandwagon was a no-brainer. Back in the ‘80s, she studied fashion in Paris, got a master’s degree in international business and marketing and ended up in Hong Kong designing sweaters for The Limited. A husband and two kids later, she settled in Castle Rock and fed her passion for the garment industry by working at the Cotton Kloset consignment store in Parker. Blume calls the owner of that store, Sandy Yates, her inspiration for opening Clothing-XChange in 2010.
Now, she hopes to pass that same inspiration onto her own employees. “I’m so blessed to be able to employ people,” she said. “I want to be a mentor. I want to emulate Tim Gunn (of Project Runway fame), where he mentors people into their next thing.” Her thing this holiday season is scrounging up the worst, mostly vintage, sweaters she can find and making them even more delightfully tacky. She can add blinking lights, ornaments, garland, tinsel — any and all the accoutrements of Christmas. “We try to find things you can’t really
find anywhere else to make them unique,” she said. Fortunately, she hasn’t faced the horror of discovering any sweaters she designed in the “ugly sweater” pile. “But there have been some that have come pretty close,” she laughs. For her, the sweaters are just one more way to bring tradition and togetherness to families and friends throughout the season. “They’re unifying, equalizing. They put everyone on a level playing field,” she said. “I love Christmas, and the reason for the season. I just love God.”
THINGS DO THEATER/FILM
ORIGINAL CHRISTMAS musical
THE GREATER Castle Rock Art Guild presents a holiday concert from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21, in the intimate Art on the Edge Gallery, 314 Wilcox St., Castle Rock. The CSU Faculty Wind Quintet will perform a mix of classical, jazz and holiday favorites. Tickets can be purchased at the gallery or from members. Call 303-814-3300.
cooking, history, gardening, biographies and much more. Sale hours are 9 a.m. to noon most days. Call 303-795-3961.
CASTLE ROCK Orchestra to perform
DROP OFF gifts to be wrapped while you shop, dine or work out, and then pick up wrapped gifts when finished. Gift wrapping offered from 9-11 a.m. and 5-7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 22 and Tuesday, Dec. 23, at Boutique Dance Academy, 880 W. Happy Canyon Road, Castle Pines. Fundraiser is organized by the dance academy’s booster club. Donations are appreciated. Contact Sherri Light, 575-693-2989.
THE CASTLE Rock Orchestra presents its Xmas at the Movies concert featuring music from holiday classics and the Disney hit film “Frozen.” The performance is at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21, at First United Methodist Church of Castle Rock, 1200 South St. Suggested admission is $5 per person. Visit www.CastleRockOrchestra.org.
HOLIDAY GIFT Wrapping Fundraiser
LIVE NATIVITY
ART
SOUTH SUBURBAN Art Exhibits
GOODNESS GRACIOUS! Productions presents an original Christmas musical, “All I Want for Christmas,” co-written by local residents Dave Privett and Marilyn Spittler. Show times are 7 p.m. Fridays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, through Sunday, Dec. 21, at Deep Space Events Center, 11020 S. Pikes Peak Drive, Parker. Go to www.goodnessgracious.org or call 303-968-4157 for reservations and more information. HOME FOR the Holidays LONE TREE Arts Center presents its Home for the Holidays show from Thursday, Dec. 18, to Wednesday, Dec. 24 at the Lone Tree Arts Center, Main Stage, 10075 Commons St., Lone Tree. A sensory-friendly performance is at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21. Go to http://lonetreeartscenter.org/
LOCAL ARTISTS will have their work on display through Jan. 2 at South Suburban Parks and Recreation centers. Trish Sangelo will have two shows, both of which include works done by her Arapahoe Community College students who took a trip to Italy with her this summer. Her photography students’ photographs taken in Italy will be on display at Goodson, 6315 S. University Blvd., Centennial, 303798-2476. Sangelo’s painting students will showcase their Italian paintings at Douglas H. Buck, 2004 W. Powers Ave., Littleton, 303-797-8787. David Simms’ photographs will be exhibited at Lone Tree, 10249 Ridgegate Circle, Lone Tree, 303-708-3500. Visit www. sspr.org or contact Darcie LaScala at 303-483-7072.
MUSIC/CONCERTS
HAND BELL Holiday Concert
THE CASTLE Rock Community Ringers Hand Bell Choir performs a holiday concert and dessert at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19, at Christ’s Episcopal Church, 615 Fourth St., Castle Rock. Tickets available at the door. Contact Sharon Ferris, skferris60@gmail.com. HOLIDAY CONCERT
EDUCATION SCOTLAND THEN and Now
CONJURE: A Handsome Little Devils Production FROM THE group that brought you Handsome Little Devils comes an offbeat magical romance with the charm of Penn and Teller, the spectacle of David Copperfield, gut-busting comedy and a side of tragedy. Conjure is the lightheartedly macabre tale of a quirky magician who must, with the help of the audience, bring back his loving, bumbling, dead assistant to perform the magic show of a lifetime, er, after-lifetime. Show is presented Saturday, Dec. 27, and Sunday, Dec. 28.
CORNERSTONE CHURCH, 9941 Lone Tree Parkway, presents a live nativity from 5-7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21, and from 3:30-7:30 p.m. Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, with the addition of Christmas Eve services at 4 and 6 p.m.
EVENTS
HOLIDAY OPEN Castle
RING IN the holiday season with a free event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21, at the Winter Solstice and Holiday Open Castle. Share in the magic of the holidays with Santa, Mrs. Claus and the castle staff. Get pictures taken with Santa, and enjoy hot drinks and tasty treats. Wandering carolers fill the castle with music and hoiday cheer. Guests can build a craft in Santa’s workshop. Bring an unwrapped toy to donate to Toys for Tots. Cherokee Ranch and Castle is at 6113 N. Daniels Park Road, Sedalia. Go to www.cherokeeranch.org. HOLIDAY BOOK Sale THE ANNUAL Friends of Bemis Library holiday book sale is open from now until
Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, at the library, 6014 S. Datura St., Littleton. Donated books are in pristine condition and are gift-worthy. Book subjects include crafts,
SCOTLAND HAS a fierce national identity and deep historical ties with the United States. The future of this country is somewhat uncertain, however, given the national referendum on independence on Sept. 18, 2014. The lasting implications of this vote may not be clear for some time, but at a minimum, it highlights a segment of the population that is unhappy with the status quo and looking for change. Join Active Minds from 10-11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 19, as we explore the Scotland’s history, its current situation, and the future direction the country may be heading. Program is at the Malley Senior Center, 3380 S. Lincoln St., Englewood. Call 303-762-2660 to RSVP. If parking in the lot, get pass from inside center EDITOR’S NOTE: Calendar submissions must be received by noon Wednesday for publication the following week. Send listings to calendar@coloradocommunitymedia.com. No attachments, please. Listings are free and run on a space-available basis.