Sensi Magazine - Southern Colorado (March 2020)

POT’S FIRST POP-UP BOOK TINY HOUSES

The big deal about small living

I S O U T H E R N C O LO R A D O M A R C H 2020

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F E AT U R E S

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Size Matters

Tiny homes are an obvious solution to housing and climate issues. Why isnʼt it easier to find space for them?

In a New Dimension

Paper engineers create the first pop-up book to explore the world of cannabis.

D E PA R T M E N T S

9 EDITOR’S NOTE 10 THE BUZZ News, tips, and tidbits

16 THE LIFE Contributing to your

health and happiness CBN FOR ZZZ Products that help you sleep to keep you in the loop HOROSCOPE What the CRAFT CLASSES Master stars hold for you the art of anything.

WILD WOLVES Will we reTHE NEXT VIAGRA Product introduce these beautiful promises longer-lasting sex. beasts to Colorado?

THE BIG ONE America’s largest hemp processing plant is in Colorado City.

THE SCENE Hot happenings and hip GREEN GAS Beer brewers hangouts around town donate CO2 to growers.

TASTE BUDS The problem GOOD READS Add these with calling food “ethnic” titles to your bookshelf.

CALENDAR March is for SPRING SCRUB Products making music. to refresh your skin

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ON THE COVER Move over, melatonin; CBN puts an end to your struggle with sleeplessness.

50 THE END

NASA remasters the farthest photo of Earth.

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Magazine published monthly

by Sensi Media Group LLC. © 2020 Sensi Media Group. All rights reserved.

EXECUTIVE Ron Kolb Founder, CEO ron@sensimag.com Mike Mansbridge President mike@sensimag.com

B

Alex Martinez Chief Operating Officer alex@sensimag.com EDITORIAL

Stephanie Wilson Co-Founder, Editor in Chief stephanie@sensimag.com Doug Schnitzspahn Executive Editor doug.schnitzspahn@sensimag.com Leland Rucker Senior Editor leland.rucker@sensimag.com

Robyn Griggs Lawrence Editor at Large robyn.lawrence@sensimag.com Helen Olsson Copy Chief Melissa Howsam Senior Copy Editor Bevin Wallace Copy Editor

Aaron H. Bible, Dawn Garcia, John Lehndorff, Mona Van Joseph Contributing Writers DESIGN Jamie Ezra Mark Creative Director jamie@emagency.com Rheya Tanner Art Director Wendy Mak Designer Kiara Lopez Designer Josh Clark Designer Jason Jones Designer em@sensimag.com PUBLISHING Liana Cameris Publisher liana.cameris@sensimag.com Nicholas Sheppard Associate Publisher nicholas.sheppard@sensimag.com B U S I N E S S /A D M I N Kristan Toth Head of People kristan.toth@sensimag.com Amber Orvik Administrative Director amber.orvik@sensimag.com

EDITOR’S NOTE

Back in 2017, when

I was active on Bumble, my bio read as follows: “Small car, tiny dog, micro apartment, big career, huge dreams.” (I go on and off it now; online dating requires the kind of witty texting banter I just don’t have the energy to attempt after writing all day and reading all night, but that’s a story for another issue.) Right now, we’re focusing on the list, which referenced my Fiat 500, my three-pound Chihuahua, and my 239-square-foot apartment.

Minimalist living, maximalist personality; it worked. It wasn’t a tiny home, per se, but it was tiny and it was my home. And I loved it. It was cozy, it was bright and inviting, and it made impulse purchases impossible. Every item I brought into the space had to be carefully considered because space was valuable. If I was on the fence about a shirt or a toaster or a throw pillow, I asked myself what I was willing to part with in order to create room for it on the shelves or in the closet. Living in such a small space as a full-grown adult forced me to use what I already had and to read the books on my shelves. Living in that mini studio taught me to be content.

In Robyn Griggs Lawrence’s feature on tiny homes, you’ll see similar sentiments expressed by people living in such spaces. A celebration of minimalism in a maximalist world, small-space living is a trend that’s still on the rise years after it first came to our collective attention. The article gives you a good sense of why. It may inspire you to seek out your own small spot in which to live. Culling down the arbitrary things you’ve amassed over the last few decades is a cathartic experience that results in a feeling of freedom. As Jack Kerouac pointed out, “If you own a rug, you own too much.”

Enjoy the magazine, however many rugs you may own.

Minimalist living, maximalist personality; it worked. It wasn’t a tiny home, per se, but it was tiny and it was my home.

Best,

Andre Velez Marketing Director andre.velez@sensimag.com Neil Willis Production Manager neil.willis@sensimag.com Hector Irizarry Distribution distribution@sensimag.com M E D I A PA R T N E R S

Stephanie Wilson @stephwilll

Marijuana Business Daily Minority Cannabis Business Association National Cannabis Industry Association Students for Sensible Drug Policy

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Master the Art of…

Whether you want to learn how to make jewelry, mosaics, or watercolor paintings, there’s a class in SoCo for you.

Southern Colorado is a makers’ paradise. If you dream of doing it, someone here will teach you how. This spring, you’ll find no shortage of fascinating classes and inspiring instructors at plenty of great art centers to help you learn new skills or polish up existing ones.

Bemis School of Art

Kismet Mosaic

Jana L. Bussanich Art

Colorado Springs / kismetmosaic.com

Falcon / janalbussanich.com

Learn about mosaic tile through a variety of classes and workshops and Thursday evening open studio.

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Create rings from beads and wire at Earth Expressions: Wire-Wrapped Rings at Bemis School of Art at Colorado College.

March 21 / Colorado Springs / fac.coloradocollege.edu/art-school

Understand watercolor technique and color theory during Wednesday afternoon classes.

CONTRIBUTORS

Aaron H. Bible, Dawn Garcia, Robyn Griggs Lawrence

BY THE NUMBERS

30% THE NEXT VIAGRA? Promescent promises longerlasting sex.

Although PE, or premature ejaculation, doesnʼt have quite the same stigma as ED (erectile dysfunction), it can definitely become a barrier to intimate and meaningful lovemaking. In case you hadnʼt noticed, men tend to reach an orgasm during heterosexual lovemaking about three times faster than women—5.5 minutes vs. 18 minutes.

According to the new brand Promescent, up to two billion women go without orgasms each year as a result. Makers of Promescent, a climax-delay spray, claim it prolongs lovemaking. Check it out for yourself and see if it improves your sex life. promescent.com

Increase in adultuse cannabis businesses in Colorado from 2016-19 SOURCE: New Frontier Data

198 MILES

Span of roads sponsored by cannabis companies in the Clean Colorado program, accounting for two-thirds of all roads actively sponsored SOURCE: Adopt a Highway Maintenance Corporation

28K

Hemp Palace

The nation’s largest hempprocessing plant in Colorado City churns out CBD, CBG, and CBN. Hemp field acreage has quadrupled since the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the crop. As the industry explodes, all those plants need to be stored and processed. A lot of them will end up in Colorado City.

Paragon Processingʼs 250,000-squarefoot, high-security, state-of-the-art facility—the nationʼs largest hemp-processing plant—offers total seed-to-shelf solutions for industrial-scale hemp processing, manufacturing, storage, and white labeling (pretty much everything you could do with the plant once you get it out of the ground).

The plant can store up to 50 million pounds of hemp in a climate-controlled environment that eliminates the threat of mold, and it has an on-site third-party accredited laboratory that can verify whether mold exists (among other tests).

The facility turns one to two million pounds of hemp per month into winterized crude using cryo-ethanol extraction and three-stage molecular distillation, and produces THC-free CBD, CBG, and CBN distillate, which is then sent to a 45,000-square-foot white-label distribution center in Colorado Springs that churns out gummies and other products such as lip balm and sunscreen. paragonprocessors.com

POUNDS Weight of worldʼs largest firework, set off in Steamboat Springs in February

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THE BUZZ

SHARING IS CARING When brewers give their CO2 byproducts to cannabis growers, the whole world wins.

It’s a solution so elegant, you wonder why it hasn’t been this way for years—but, fortunately, it’s launching now.

The State of Colorado, Earthly Labs, Denver Beer Co., and The Clinic have started a pilot program that captures and stores excess carbon dioxide produced during beer fermentation and gives it to cannabis growers who use it to stimulate plant growth. Earthly Labs will capture about 2,000 pounds of CO2 produced by Denver Beer Co. per month and transfer it via holding tanks to The Clinic, which will use it to increase yields.

“These pilot programs combine a few of the things that Colorado is known for: environmental responsibility, craft beer, and cannabis,” Governor Jared Polis said in a statement. “I applaud our state agencies

and private partners for working together on these innovative programs to help protect the Colorado way of life.”

CO2 helps cannabis plants translate light into the energy they need to grow.

Right now, cannabis growers purchase it from power plants and have it shipped across the state. The exchange program will meaningfully reduce the transportation portion of the industry’s carbon footprint, according to the Colorado Department of Health and Environment.

Good Reads

Add these books to your reading list.

Meryl Streep on the Couch by doctor Alma H. Bond is a look at the inner workings of actress and activist Meryl Streep. Bond, a clinical psychoanalyst, is known for her couch sessions with famous women in history like Barbra Streisand, Hillary Clinton, Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and Michelle Obama. Streep approached her when researching the role of psychoanalyst for her film The Psychotherapist and what follows are stories, insights, and a deeper appreciation for Streep as a woman, mother, activist, and actress. Bond was married to the late Streetcar Named Desire actor Rudy Bond.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMAZON.COM

Available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and bancroftpress.com

Itʼs Not How Good You Are, Itʼs How Good You Want to Be

by Paul Arden may possibly be the most encouraging book anyone in the marketing, publishing, or advertising worlds can read. Pages and pages of honest, inspiring anecdotes, quotes, personal stories, and failures and successes make this book a must-read. Answering everyday questions with logical responses, Arden has written a cohesive handbook for navigating through the terrain of life by altering your conditioned mindset. The

message: it doesnʼt matter what job you have or where you are in your journey. His positivity and intellect will make it near impossible not to accomplish something epic in your own life.

Available on amazon.com

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FLAVORS. QUALITY. CONSISTENCY.

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THE BUZZ

BILITIES

BY STEPHANIE WILSON, EDITOR IN CHIEF

1 READING ROOM The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel (Knopf, $27). Showcasing her signature literary prowess, Mandel explores the infinite ways we search for meaning in this much-hyped new release, expected March 24. Also out this month: It’s Not All Downhill from Here by How Stella Got Her Groove Back author Terry McMillan.

2 STREAM THIS Freeform’s The Bold Type. Now in its third season, this sleeper hit could be your new favorite series. It’s mine, in no small part because it centers on three young women working for a New York mag. But also because it’s witty AF, aspirational, and depicts successful women who are defined not by their relationships but by their careers. It’s empowering, and you should watch it for free on Freeform, or on your favorite streaming platform.

3 LISTEN UP NPR’s Life Kit podcast—tools to help you get it together.

And by you, I mean me; I need all the help I can get. Picking out a lightbulb last fall had me staring mouth agape in a store aisle for a half-hour trying to make sense of all the options. After listening to “Picking Out a Lightbulb, Made Easy,” I know which one’s for me. Life Kit’s episodes are short and to the point, offering tips on how to do things like begin therapy; start a book club; master your budget; remove stains; and juggle paperwork, appointments, and repairs–basically how to adult.

4 GROWING TREND Pot in Pots. The Swiss-cheese-leafed Monstera is last year’s “It” plant. Cannabis is the hashtagable houseplant of 2020. Get in on the trend. Depending where you live, you can find clones or seeds at select dispensaries with an easy google—while you’re at it, look up local laws regarding home grows. Cannabis cuttings (a.k.a. clones) are pretty easy to root—check Leafly.com for tips—and you should definitely bring some to your next plant swap.

Spread the word, spread the love.

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SISAL BATH BRUSH

Use Baudelaireʼs sisal bath brush on dry skin before a shower to promote healthier circulation and stimulate new skin cells while brushing away the old ones. $10 / baudelairesoaps.com

DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE OIL

Badgerʼs Deep Tissue Massage Oil has warming, enlivening ingredients such as ginger and cayenne. $18 / badgerbalm.com

JAVA JOLT BODY SCRUB

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“It’s not going away.”

—Colorado Springs City Council president Richard Skorman on cannabis SOURCE: Colorado Springs Gazette

CLEANSE + FORTIFY BOTANICAL TONIC

Maine Medicinalsʼ gentle yet powerful tonic includes a little detox love from dandelion and nettle along with strengthening Reishi mushrooms and lemon balm. $26 / mainemedicinals.com

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CBN for Zzz

Don’t sleep on this lesser-known cannabinoid that may help you sleep.

TEXT STEPHANIE WILSON

Sleep is a vital sign of health and well-being, and I’m an insomniac— have been for as long as I’ve been an adult. I’m also a magazine junkie, so every month I read 16 SOU T HE R N CO LORA DO

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another article about the importance of restful shut-eye and tips to help me achieve it. And I’ve tried them all, to no avail.

I bought blackout curtains, a white noise

machine, and an eye mask. Never much of a coffee drinker, I cut out any remaining caffeine (and became less aggro, but that’s a different story for another issue). I

avoided electronics for an hour before getting into bed; I did nightly wind-down bedtime rituals; I only got into bed when it was time to sleep; I left my devices

in the other room. I even got my dog a heated bed that she preferred over sleeping with me. I tried all these things, but sleep still evaded me.

A brief period of reprieve followed my move to Colorado, as I began experimenting with cannabis as a sleep aid. If I smoked a little before bed, I’d fall asleep only to wake up an hour or so later when the effects had worn off. I tried edibles, which helped me fall asleep and stay asleep for hours. After a few nights in a row of some solid sleep, I remember waking up feeling rested and thinking I had found my miracle cure. But then my tolerance started building, and 5 mg wasn’t doing the trick. Then 10 mg, 20 mg, 30 mg, and next thing I’d be lying in the dark, high and paranoid all night long. Even if I got some decent sleep, I was waking up foggy.

For so many people, cannabis works as an invaluable sleep aid with little to no side effects. That wasn’t the case with me.

Enter CBD. A few years ago, CBD was nowhere; now it’s everywhere. Almost literally. Walk into a convenience store, and boom! CBD gummies by the register. CBD water in the refrigerator. Wander into Sephora, and CBD

serums, body lotions, and moisturizers await. Drive down I-25 and you’ll see stores dedicated to the cannabinoid. Check my inbox, and you’ll be overwhelmed by a thousand unread emails from PR agencies and agents announcing the launch of a new CBD brand or the release of a first-of-its-kind cannabidiol product. And those are only from the last six months.

It comes in all forms: topical pain creams and tinctures, water, and wine. There’s infused water for pets, infused cereals for breakfast, suppository lubes for sex, and infused Flaming Hot Cheeto knockoffs for afternoon snacks.

When it seems we’ve reached the CBD mania apex, someone somewhere thinks there’s another buck to be made off the craze, and CBD toothpicks, hair pomades, candles, workout gear, bedsheets, and pillows hit the already flooded marketplace. Ridiculous, ubiquitous.

Since you’re reading Sensi, I’m going to assume I’m not telling you anything new. So far. But have you heard about CBN? Cannabinol, or CBN, is one of more than a hundred cannabinoids that have been identified in the cannabis plant.

My anecdotal evidence is in: CBN helps me fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up rested time and again. I’m feeling better than I have basically ever. A whole month with full nights of sleep feels like a miracle.

THC and CBD are the two that garner all the attention, and they are the most dominant. A lesser cannabinoid, CBN was actually the first one scientists discovered in the 1940s. It occurs in cannabis in much smaller doses until the plant ages and oxidizes, which causes THC to convert to CBN. And it’s about to get its turn in the spotlight.

Since the FDA classified cannabis as a Schedule I drug in the same category as heroin during the 1970s, researchers have been prevented from studying the plant’s medicinal potential. While that’s changing, there’s a lot of catching up to do, so double-blind, controlled studies and clinical trials have yet to be completed. But anecdotal evidence is in, and CBN is being touted as an all-natural cure for insomnia by cannabis experts and outlets. So, when I saw emails with CBN in the subject line hit my inbox, I didn’t leave them unread. Instead I reached out and asked to try the product being pitched so I could offer my own anecdotal accounts of CBN as a cure for insomnia.

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THE LIFE

aromatic notes of cedarwood, black pepper, and California pine, the Sleep formula is proven to help calm the mind and encourage deep, restorative sleep.

All Mineral products are organically grown on a small farm in Colorado that averages a limited run of only four harvests a year.

No cannabinoid acting independently will express the benefit experienced when consuming the whole plant, so Mineral utilizes the hemp plant in its entirety— stalks, stems, and buds— maximizing the omega fatty acids and vitamins in their extraction process. To keep the product consistent, the brand identified formula-specific seeds from Oregon that produce plants with characteristics incumbent to accomplish the targeted benefits of the MINERAL products.

Sleep Tincture After sourcing the How they describe it: seeds from Oregon, For anxiety-induced Mineral supplies them insomnia. Because you to Waayb Organics in deserve to feel good.

Longmont, Colorado, Formulated for those and Waayb leads the suffering from night time anxiety and inflam- cultivation of the plants on an outdoor, seasonmation, Sleep is a blend of calming cannabinoids al, organic grow. After and terpenes associated harvest, processing, and CO2 extraction, the with sedation to induce a deep, restorative sleep. products go through testing for cannabinoid High in CBD and sequence, terpenes, pesnaturally occurring ticides, and quality.

CBN, coupled with soft

al evidence is in: CBN helps me fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up rested time and again. I’ve incorporated the cannabinoid into my daily routine, and I’m feeling better than I have basically ever. It’s amazing what a little sleep can do.

A whole month with full nights of sleep feels like a miracle.

Don’t just believe me; try it yourself. Like every drug, CBN affects everybody differently.

These two both worked for me.

Editor’s note: With that much quality control, it’s no wonder GQ included Mineral on its “Best Stuff of 2019” list and that Neiman Marcus picked up the line for its stores.

full-flower extraction from organically grown Colorado hemp for a complete cannabinoid profile. Other beneficial ingredients include reishi mushrooms, oatstraw, and ashwagandha for positive mood and $160 for 60 servings mineralhealth.co support of the nervous and immune systems; Prismatic Plants Good skullcap for stress and Night Tincture muscle-tension relief; How they describe it: and valerian root (a.k.a Formulated with CBN nature’s Valium), Caland calming adaptogens, ifornia poppy, and lavthis nighttime formula ender for anxiety and promotes deep sleep and insomnia relief. These boosts immunity during pure, effective, safe inthe body’s overnight re- gredients are formulated pair mode. Its long-term to provide immediate effects include a return relief and continually to a natural circadian enhance health through rhythm, enhanced imlong-term use. munity, improved repro- $70 for a month’s supply ductive health, and more prismaticplants.com energy during the day.

The tincture is made with an adaptogenic blend of CBD, CBN, medicinal mushrooms, and organic herbs. The CBD, for overall health and stress relief, and CBN for insomnia relief, result from gentle

NEXT MONTH: THE TRUTH ABOUT CBD SKINCARE Read all of our CBD coverage on our newly designed website, sensimag.com.

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3 Cannabis Cup Awards ALWAYS 1 Love

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THE LIFE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mona Van Joseph has been an intuitive since 2002. She is an author, columnist, and host of Psychic View Radio. She created dicewisdom.com, which also has a smartphone app. mona.vegas

HOROSCOPE

MARCH HOROSCOPE What do the stars hold for you?

TEXT MONA VAN JOSEPH

you are—and totally step JULY 23–AUG. 22 back from the people Listen to the compliwho are taking advanPeople are about to ment that presents ittage of your good nature. prove to you how much self to you as a critithey love you. March is cism; energies will make MAY 21–JUNE 20 when your gratitude toyou better through jealward people who are ousy and roadblocks. It It’s time to apologize for supporting you will make could be that you realize the things you have done all the difference. it’s time for a change. to hurt people. If your ego won’t let you actual- AUG. 23–SEPT. 22 MAR. 21–APR. 19 ly call them to apologize, write them a “spiritual” There are angels surThere is something to letter telling them you rounding you. Pennies celebrate that presents were unfair to them and and feathers in your path itself to you. To thank the that you are sorry. are likely. This is a month universe for this opporof being aware of how tunity or inspiration, do- JUNE 21–JULY 22 things are lining up for nate to an organization a you. Accept all invitations. few times this month.

“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”

SEPT. 23–OCT. 22 APR. 20–MAY 20 The door to your future couldn’t open any wider. Coincidence will be your Do not try to impress If you want the job, you best friend this month. anyone who isn’t treating can have it. If you want It’s time to drop (old) you well. Please agree that relationship to go ideas that you can’t have with the vibration that to the next level, you what you want…you toyou are perfect the way can have it. tally can. Pay attention!

FEB. 19–MAR. 20

PISCES

LEO

GEMINI

VIRGO

ARIES

CANCER

TAURUS

LIBRA

OCT. 23–NOV. 21

DEC. 22–JAN. 19

Practice saying nice things about people. Do not take on the bad karma right now of backstabbing those who truly do not deserve it. Ask yourself: “Am I basing my opinion on someone else’s agenda?”

When you focus on one thing at a time, you are a genius. Avoid multitasking this month. Better to spend the time to make sure it’s done right the first time.

SCORPIO

PISCES, ENERGIES WILL USE JEALOUSY AND ROADBLOCKS TO MAKE YOU BETTER THIS MONTH. IT COULD BE THAT IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE.

CAPRICORN

JAN. 20–FEB. 18

AQUARIUS

Embrace the high energy of spinning lots of You are the owner of this plates right now. You are lifetime and acting as the chef who has many though you do have the pots simmering, and it’s power to change things time to admit that you will make all the differlike it this way. Thrive by ence this month. You will making the magic hapget a sign that you are on pen with all the resourcthe right track. es available to you.

NOV. 22–DEC. 21

SAGITTARIUS

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THE LIFE WILDLIFE

Welcome, Wolves?

Colorado voters will decide whether to reintroduce the gray wolf in the state— if state legislation doesn’t preempt and prevent their efforts first.

Gray wolves once had the greatest natural range of all terrestrial mammals, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo.

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PHOTO BY JOSHUA FREAKE

TEXT ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE

THE LIFE

PHOTO BY YANNICK MENARD

WILDLIFE

In prehistoric times, about two million canis lupus (gray wolves) roamed and hunted throughout North America, part of a robust ecosystem. As large predators at the top of the food chain, they kept the bison, elk, deer, and coyote populations in check and on the move. The wolves culled herds, and their prey grew stronger as they fled before they could overgraze areas near rivers and streams, their hooves aerating the soil as they ran.

Wolves were a key piece of an ecological balance that was severely tilted when white hunters and the US Army nearly eradicated bison, the wolves’ primary food source, in the late 1800s.

When wolves turned to eating livestock out of desperation, the government moved to protect

Wildlife announced that three females and a male (all siblings) are living in the northwest corner of Colorado, the missing link that would restore their historic range between the Arctic and central Mexico.

Retired animal rights attorney Larry Wiess doesn’t think this presence constitutes repopulation. He wants Colorado to step up the game, and he’s gathered more than 215,000 signatures (111 ranchers by setting boun- percent more than he needed) for a ballot initiaties on gray wolves and hiring field agents to kill tive that would force the state to “develop a plan to them in atrocious ways (shooting was humane). restore and manage gray wolves in Colorado using By the 1940s, only a few the best scientific data hundred wolves were left, huddled in the deep available” and begin reinwoods of Michigan and troducing about 10 wolves Minnesota. In Colorado, per year on the Western gray wolves were hunted Slope by 2023. The initiato extinction. tive also calls for the govGray wolves were kept ernment to pay fair comfrom dying out complete- pensation to ranchers for ly in the US in the 1970s, any livestock they kill. when they were put unThis is the first time der the protection of the voters in the US have connewly signed Endangered sidered reintroducing a Species Act, requiring species, and the initiative state wildlife managers to is getting a lot of attenreintroduce and protect tion. It has also picked them. In 1995, they were up a lot of support from reintroduced to YellowDenver/Boulder, as well as stone National Park. out of state, and that isn’t There are now about sitting well with ranchers 6,000 gray wolves roamand rural voters. “It harding the northern Rockies ly seems fair,” the Grand from Washington to Wyo- Junction Daily Sentinel edming and down in Arizo- itorial board wrote, “that na and New Mexico. This urban dwellers in the Inyear, Colorado Parks and terstate 25 corridor get a

say in whether wolves are good for western Colorado, which is where they would be released.”

State Senator Kerry Donovan, a Democrat who represents seven Western Slope counties, has introduced legislation to postpone reintroduction efforts until the last day of 2025 while state agriculture and wildlife officials determine how and how much to reimburse ranchers. Her bill would cancel reintroduction altogether if the state determines the gray wolf population is already self-sustaining— and nothing’s stopping officials from declaring four rogue siblings to be just that.

Colorado’s stance on wolves is pretty clear—in 2016, the Colorado Wildlife Commission rejected a proposal to reestablish wolves, citing conflict with the livestock industry and big game management—as is the US government’s. US Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, who is from Rifle, is pushing to have the gray wolf removed from the endangered species list because it “no longer meets the definition” of a threatened species.

For wolves in Colorado, getting out the vote along the Front Range appears to be the best shot.

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TAKE ACTION The Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund is leading the campaign to reintroduce gray wolves in Colorado. wolfactionfund.com

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Size Matters

Tiny homes are an obvious solution to housing and climate issues. Why isn’t it easier to find places for them?

TEXT ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE

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PHOTOS BY POVY KENDAL ATCHISON

W

hen I visited Jay Shafer’s meticulous American Gothic– style house in a sun-dappled Iowa City backyard in 1999—shortly after we launhed Natural Home magazine—the Dow had just surpassed 10,000, mortgage credit requirements were melting into oblivion, and America had a bad case of McMansion Mania. Shafer’s 130-square-foot home (yes, you read that right), built for $40,000, was a hard “no” to all that. It was also cozy and inviting, and Shafer described himself as a claustrophile (someone who loves closed-in spaces).

Shafer won the Philosophy and Innovation Award in our Natural Home of the Year contest because his adorable house embodied everything the magazine stood for,

and he wasn’t afraid to say things.

He said that we Americans like our homes like we like our food—big and cheap—and he was the first to figure out that putting a tiny house on wheels makes it an RV and therefore not subject to city and county minimum-size standards and codes. He wasn’t shy about his intention to make tiny homes a revolutionary alternative in a housing market headed for disaster.

“I am certainly not proposing that everyone should live in a house as small as mine,” Shafer wrote in the letter accompanying his contest entry. “Such minimalism would be excessive for most people. What I am saying is that the scale of our homes should be as varied as the spatial needs of their inhabitants, and that it is those needs rather than government regulations and conspicuous consumption that should determine house size.”

Shafer’s message was radical, and largely ignored, in the frenzy leading up to the 2008 crash. But his company, Tumbleweed Tiny Homes, built a following, and he built a name for himself as the godfather of a fledgling tiny house movement (one blogger called him “the George Washington of simple and sustainable living”).

He wrote The Small House Book and was on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Then he lost the company in a business dispute and his house in a divorce, and he was homeless for a while, living in a pigpen inside a shed. Determined never to live that way again, Shafer designed a 50-square-foot home that cost $5,000 in Sebastopol, California. He gives master class workshops at tiny house festivals around the world (including the

Tiny House Festival Australia in Bendigo, Victoria, March 21–22).

“The evolution of tiny houses has paralleled the digital revolution, since this whole tiny thing started at the turn of the century,” Shafer told foxnews.com in 2014. “Once it became possible to have a remote little phone instead of a landline and a wall-mounted flat screen instead of a 2-foot-by-1-foot chunk on the dresser, folks started seeing the potential for living in what basically amounts to a laptop with a roof.”

A Status Symbol for Humble Braggers Though 82 percent of renters say they would like to buy a home someday, according to Fannie LIVE TINY AND FREE Mae, homeownership is at its lowest point since 1965. Ordinary More than twice as many tiny homeowners—68 people can’t afford the Ameripercent compared with can Dream (median listing price: 29 percent of all US $310,000). In the Bay Area, home- homeowners—have no buyers paid twice their annual in- mortgage, and 78 percent their own home. come for a house in the 1960s; to- own SOURCE: thetinylife.com day, they shell out nine times their yearly salary. Only 13 percent of millennial renters in the United States will have enough cash to put 20 percent down on a house in the next five years, according to an Apartment List survey.

Tiny homes are much cheaper, with prices ranging from $10,000 to more than $200,000 (averaging about $65,000), and operating and maintaining them costs a lot less.

When the International Code Commission made changes to its residential code to facilitate tiny house construction in 2018, it reported lifetime conditioning costs as low as LEFT: The dining table in 7 percent of conventional homes.

Jay Shaferʼs 130-squareThat reality is driving the spike foot home can be taken in interest in tiny homes, which down and stored in a closare getting a lot of attention as a et when not in use.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF LAND ARK

Interior and exterior of the Land Arkʼs Drake model from Rocky Mountain Tiny Homes.

solution to the affordable housing and homeless crises, with the added bonus of being kinder to the planet than a traditional three-bedroom/two-bath. Whether they live in tiny homes for financial reasons or not, climate-aware homebuyers get a status symbol that flaunts their honorable choice to reduce their footprint and live with less—no easy thing to do, even in this post-Kondo age.

It doesn’t hurt that tiny homes—generally defined as homes with less than 400 square feet—are now readily available in every style, from your basic shed to sleek Dwell-worthy models.

You can buy plans and build a tiny house yourself or pick out one online and have it shipped to you.

“The scale of our homes should be as varied as the spatial needs of their inhabitants, and that it is those needs rather than government regulations and conspicuous consumption that should determine house size.”

—Jay Shafer

You can even order one on Amazon. Used tiny homes, along with inspirational stories and information, can be found at sites like tinyhousefor.us, tinyhousetalk.com, and tinyhouselistings.com.

Tiny Home Nation: 10K Strong More than half of Americans would consider a tiny home, according to a National Association of Home Builders survey. Potential buyers and just-dreamers flock to check out micro-houses, “schoolies” (converted school buses), and vans at tiny home festivals like the Florida Suncoast Tiny Home Festival in St. Petersburg (March 28–29) and the People’s Tiny House Festival in Golden, Colorado (June 6–7). But the reality is that only about 10,000 people in North America—the lucky ones who have managed to find parking spots—actually live in tiny homes.

Like anything that disrupts the norm in a conformist capitalist culture, building a tiny home in a world of ticky-tacky boxes is not easy. The good news is that times are changing, as municipalities

WORRIED ABOUT RESALE VALUE? Homes under 1,200 square feet appreciate at 7.5 percent annually, about twice the 3.8 percent appreciation average for 2,400-square-foot houses

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SOURCE: realtor.com

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN TINY HOMES

Interior and exterior of the Letʼs Get Stoked model from Rocky Mountain Tiny Homes

consider tiny home villages as a way to house the homeless and marginalized communities. Still, most states only allow tiny homes to be parked in rural areas (Massachusetts, California, Florida, and Oregon are somewhat more lenient). Because most zoning laws in the United States don’t have a classification for tiny houses, most owners have to follow Shafer’s lead and register them as RVs, trailers, or mobile homes.

In most places, zoning ordinances won’t allow you to buy land, park your tiny home/RV, and live happily ever after. You either have to rely on the kindness of family and friends with backyards or pay a monthly park fee to rent a space in one of the tiny home villages cropping up across the country. Park Delta Bay, an RV resort in Isleton, California, now has a row reserved for tiny homes. At Village Farm, an RV resort that’s turning into a tiny-home community in Austin, Texas, residents pay about $600 to $700 a month to park and use the services.

Slowly, city and state governments are responding to homebuyers’ demands for tiny home opportunities beyond RV resorts.

Portland, Oregon, (but of course) has relaxed its ordinances to allow for everything from tiny house communities to tiny house hotels.

In Rockledge, Florida, citizens demanded zoning changes allowing for a pocket neighborhood with homes ranging from 150 to 700 square feet. A tiny home community for low-income residents is under way on Detroit’s west side, and Vail, Arizona, built two dozen 300- to 400-square-foot houses for schoolteachers.

Advocacy groups have been paving the way for tiny homes since Shafer and a few friends founded the Small Home Society in 2002, and they’re seeing a resurgence.

In 2017, a group of University of California-Berkeley students launched the Tiny House in My Backyard (THIMBY) project to promote research and development and raise awareness of tiny house communities. Operation

Tiny Home is a national nonprofit that helps people “maintain a life of dignity” through high-quality tiny housing and empowerment training programs.

TRY TINY In Canada, activists calling them- Think you might love a selves Tiny House Warriors are tak- tiny house? airbnb.com, vrbo.com, glampinghub. ing the revolution to the next level, com, and getaway.com all placing “resistance-homes-onhave tiny home listings to sample the lifestyle. wheels” along the pathway of the proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline.

“We are asserting our inherent, God-given right to our lands,” says Kanahus Manuel, a leader of Tiny House Warrior. “We’re defending what’s ours, and tiny homes are how we’re doing it.”

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Paper-engineering obsessives create the first pop-up book to explore the world of cannabis.

In a New TEXT LELAND RUCKER

DIMENSION 30 SOU T H ER N COLORA DO

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GET YOUR OWN

Dimensional Cannabis: The Pop-Up Book of Marijuana Poposition Press, $50 marijuanapopup.com

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF POPOSITION PRESS

C

ollaboration is a wonderful thing. When my friend Rosston Meyer told me a few years ago that he was planning a pop-up cannabis book, I thought it sounded like a great idea. I knew Meyer ran an independent publishing house designing popup books in collaboration with artists. Meyer is a designer with a passion for art and pop culture, so I imagined his books were a modern upgrade of the old-school pop-up books I played with as a child—3-D elements and foldouts, tabs to pull and wheels to spin— but with a modern aesthetic that appeals to adults. “A pop-up on pot would be cool to flip through and play with,” I remember thinking. “I hope he does it.”

A few years later, Meyer came around to show me a physical mock-up of his pot-themed popup, which he’d titled Dimensional Cannabis. What he showed me was a modern art form I wasn’t aware existed. Yes, the book featured 3-D elements and foldouts, with tabs to pull and wheels to spin, but what I had pictured was similar only in concept. These were intricate and elaborate kinetic paper sculptures that painted a picture and brought it to life. I was blown away. So, when he asked if I’d be interested in writing the words to go on the pages before me, I signed on immediately.

Altogether, Dimensional Cannabis took more than three years to complete, with a total of nine people contributing to the final product published by Poposition Press, Meyer’s independent publishing house. A small press, Poposition designs, publishes,

and distributes limited-edition pop-up books that feature artists or subjects that Meyer finds of deep personal interest. He got started in the genre in 2013, when he started working on a collaboration with Jim Mahfood, a comic book creator known as Food One. The resulting Pop-Up Funk features Mahfood’s diverse designs transformed into interactive three-dimensional pop-ups. The limited-edition run of 100 copies were all constructed by hand.

Since then, Poposition has worked with a number of contemporary artists to publish titles like Triad by cute-culture artist Junko Mizuno and Necronomicon by macabre master Skinner.

Meyer has been fascinated by pop-up books since he was a kid, and in 2013, he began concentrating on paper engineering and book production. “After making a couple books focused on just artists, I thought that creating a popup book about cannabis would be a good idea,” he says. “There’s nothing else like it in the market, and there’s an audience for adultthemed pop-up books.”

For Dimensional Cannabis, Meyer collaborated with Mike Giant, a renowned American illustrator, graffiti writer, tattooer, and artist. Giant’s medium of choice is a Sharpie, and Giant’s detailed line work is instantly recognizable.

An avid proponent of cannabis, Giant illustrated the entire Dimensional Cannabis book.

Giant and Meyer met at a weekly open studio Giant hosted in Boulder. “When the idea of doing a pop-up book about cannabis came up, he asked if I would illustrate it,” Giant says. “I’ve been an

advocate for cannabis use for decades, so it didn’t take long for me to agree to work on the project.”

Meyer began by sending Giant reference materials to visualize. “I’d get it drawn out, hand it off, and get some more stuff to illustrate,” Giant says. “He’d send me previews of the finished pages as we went.

It was really cool to see my line drawings colored and cut to shape.

That process went on for months and months until everything for the book was accounted for.”

The process of making pop-up books is called “paper engineering.” I love obsessives, and the engineers who put this book together, make no mistake, are the ones who spend endless hours figuring out the tiniest details of the folds and materials necessary so that water pipe emerges every time you open the paraphernalia page.

“David Carter and I started talking about the idea a couple years prior to actually starting on the book,” Meyer says. “The initial concepts for each spread were figured out, and a different paper-engineer peer was asked to design each spread so that the book had variation throughout.”

Dimensional Cannabis is divided into six pages, or spreads, covering the cannabis plant’s biology, medical properties, cultivation, history, and influence on popular culture. The paraphernalia page features many items we associate with cannabis consumption over the years in America, from rolling papers and pipes to vaporizers, dabs, and concentrates—and that foot-long bong that miraculously appears as you turn the page.

One spread opens to the full plant, with information on its

LEFT: Dimensional Cannabis includes six pop-up pages, including this colorful, meditating figure that dominates the medical spread. It was designed by Isabel Uria.

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Left: The paraphernalia spread shows the many ways people consume cannabis, and includes many items, including a clear, acetate bong, rolling papers, and a vaporizer. It was produced by Ray Marshall, who, Meyer says, “basically knocked it out of the park on his first version.”

Below: Well-known illustrator Mike Giant provided the cover, with Kevin Steele providing the coloring for the bookʼs six pop-up spreads

unique and fascinating properties. Another opens to a colorful, meditating figure with text about the healing properties of cannabis. One page is dedicated to its cultivation possibilities, basic genetics, and the differences between indoor and outdoor growing.

The history spread takes us back to the beginnings of the curious and long-standing connection between humans and cannabis. Engineer Simon Arizpe had worked with Meyer before and jumped at the chance to work on that one. “I wanted it to be Eurasian-centric as the viewer opens the page, showing the early uses

of cannabis in ancient Vietnam and China,” Arizpe says. “As the viewer engages with the pop-up, cannabis’s use in the new world spreads across the page,” he adds.

“We decided [to focus] on moments in time that were either politically relevant, like weed legalization, or culturally significant, like Reefer Madness.”

Arizpe feels like the entire project is an example of what can be done working with talented people outside the traditional publishing engine. “Rosston came up with an idea that has a big following and made it happen,” he says.

“It is pretty exciting when people can do that out of nothing.”

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For Meyer, who says he likes a good sativa when he’s working, the project was a labor of love that spans all his areas of interest. “Not only was this a great experience putting together such a unique book, but having different paper

engineers work on each spread made this a real collaboration,” he says. “There have only been a couple pop-up books produced with a roster of engineers. Dimensional Cannabis is for cannabis lovers and pop-up book collectors alike.”

POP-UPGRADE If the book alone isnʼt enough to decorate your coffee table, Poposition Press offers two more ordering tiers, complete with extra merch to maximize your enjoyment.

The Collectorʼs Edition ($240) includes an enhanced pop-up book with gold-foil case wrap, a foil-stamped slipcase, The Good Stuff enamel pin, and a Hemp art print on hemp paper.

The Connoisseur Edition ($420) comes with a wooden laser-etched slipcover, two sets of enamel pins, a Dope art print, and a Gramps art print, both on hemp paper.

Meyer originally conceived a scene showing people looking at the book, which morphed into a celebration of the universality of the plant in many cultures and people throughout history.

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Linger is known for farm-to-street with a spin on ethnic eats.

Taking out Ethnic Food Critics say “othering” food makes cultures feel perpetually foreign.

TEXT JOHN LEHNDORFF

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PHOTOS COURTESY VISIT DENVER

It’s hard to take any culture’s claim to culinary purity seriously because invasion, intermarriage, and migration have brought new flavors and ingredients from around the world. But it wasn’t

always easy: imagine the consternation the day the first cook in Italy served a tomato sauce made with a foreign vegetable widely considered poisonous.

Whether labelled “international” or “global”

or “multicultural,” the implication is that “ethnic” food is not exactly all-American cuisine—it’s made by ethnic minorities and typically expected to be inexpensive.

The issue is being debated in the food world, as some suggest that the word “ethnic” is inherently racist. A few newspapers have discontinued italicizing non-English words in food stories because doing so highlights foods and peoples as “foreign.”

And it’s a fair point: why do we italicize chicharron, but not spaghetti?

Controversy also arises because some chefs don’t want to be hyphenated. They are “American,” not “Italian-American” or “Ethiopian-American.” Other critics see the ethnic food aisle at supermarkets as the last fortress of “us” vs. “them.”

The buzz around labels indicates we are still just a little touchy and confused about the whole subject of ethnicity—especially in Colorado, with its large immigrant community.

According to state statistics, more than 600,000 (about 10 percent) of current Coloradans were born in other countries.

Fully half of the population (including me) was born in other states, so

there are many “others” living here, and it has done wonders for the food in this state.

Denver’s Ethnic Mixed Message If you look on Yelp for “best ethnic restaurants” in Denver, the algorithm delivers you menus for Ethiopian (Queen of Sheba), Uzbek (Samarkand), Burmese (Urban Burma), Turkish (Bosphorus), Indian (Spice Room), Cuban (Cuba Cuba), and Syrian (Jasmine), among others. Denver’s many Mexican eateries barely register on the Yelp list.

The Mile High City’s tourism bureau put out a recent restaurant guide labeled variously as “ethnic” and “international.”

The roster featured Asian fusion, Chinese, Cuban, Ethiopian, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, and Middle Eastern dining spots. Mexican is lumped under Latin and South American.

Curiously, French food is considered ethnic, but Italian, Spanish, and German fare is not. Hawaiian food is included on the list, even though it’s all-American.

Meanwhile, in Boulder, Yelp’s “best ethnic food” search suffers from some confusion.

The results recommend

Back in the 1960s, the first Taco Bell opened in Boulder with a tiny menu featuring tips on pronouncing the exotic “taco” and “burrito.”

Some of the globeʼs oldest written recipes were recently translated from the Babylonian. One of the two dishes labeled “foreign” is an early version of chicken potpie.

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THE SCENE

El Five serves Spanish and Eastern Mediterranean small plates and drinks in its funky, buzzy LoHi penthouse.

Ras Kassa’s Ethiopian restaurant, Tibet Kitchen; Flower Pepper Chinese Restaurant; and Ali Baba Grill, along with The Med, which dishes “ethnic” fare like pizza, ravioli and paella.

with Asian and Mexican ingredients. King Soopers labels its ethnic section “International Foods,” and this is where you’ll also find Jewish foods. As at many supermarkets, there is a separate “Kosher” shelf—much like Who Gets Put in the the gluten-free section.

Ethnic Aisle?

Costco doesn’t count If you order groceries because foods there get on Amazon, ethnic food placed randomly, making pops up under the Inter- shoppers wander through national Food Market the store looking for cobanner ranked by the conut milk and bargains. most popular cuisines: Safeway boasts an aisle Asian, Indian, and Latin. labeled “Hispanic Foods In visiting many of the and Asian Foods,” plus metro area’s supermara “Pasta” section for all ket chains and smaller things Italian. Howevstores recently, worlds er, the rice mixes—like of differences exist in Rice-A-Roni; Cajun rice; how culinary ethnicity is and Near East couscous, handled. pilaf, and risotto—minAt Walmart, ethnic is gle like the United Nacalled “International,” tions of carbohydrates. but is mainly stocked At Whole Foods Market,

the items are separated as much by dietary religion—GF, dairy-free, keto—as ethnicity, but an “International” aisle shelves everything from Thai noodles to organic chipotle chiles.

Trader Joe’s has a looser organizational vibe.

There’s a comingling of

the world’s great oils and vinegars, aged cheeses, and coffees. However, in the freezers, the Mexican vegetable entrees are segregated from the Asian vegetables, with Beijing-style soy sauce and Trader Joe’s No. 1 favorite item: Mandarin orange chicken.

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is

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THE SCENE

what ethnic means. My dad was born in Austria, and my mother’s parents emigrated from Sicily.

I used to say I was half Sicilian and half Austrian, but now that doesn’t tell half the story of my roots all the way back to the old country: Africa.

Like America, I’m a chunky stew, not a smooth fondue. Stews are satisfying entrees that meld ingredients that still retain some individual identity. EthWith locations in RiNo and LoHi, Cart-Driver is inspired by the carrettiera, or cart-driver, who brought nic traditions and foods goods from Southern Italyʼs farms to its villages via horse-drawn cart, stopping along the way to serve aren’t ditched at the dishes to the people he met. door, even as newcomers Critics suggest that Savory Spice—which and is stocked with a assimilate into the US. this “us” vs. “them” carry some ethnic foods. peculiar smorgasbord This makes America approach to shopping To gain a different of Italian pizza, Middle rich—and absolutely a subtly reinforces racism perspective on ethnicEastern beverages, barbe- much better place to eat. and that Asian ingrediity, take a trip to Asian cue sauce, Skippy peanut Dining out has proven ents should be spread superstore H Mart (in butter, Slavic jams, Nutel- to be the surest way to throughout the store.

Aurora or Westminster) la, and waffle mix. overcome cultural barriWould putting the hoisin or Arash International ers over time. Once you sauce next to the ketch- Market (in Aurora) on How Ethnic Are You? meet the maker of the up make shopping easier a Thursday afternoon.

Wikipedia’s big-tent ap- pupusa or baklava you or more complicated?

You will be surrounded proach to cuisine catego- love, it’s harder to stick And for whom? by a bustling world of ries lists all of us under their family and culture If you are looking for Americans from several Ethnic and Religious in the “other” category. an authentic ethnic mar- continents spread across Cuisines from Albanian In the end, it’s all Amerket, Yelp’s Denver search whole aisles devoted to all the way to Zambian. ican food made by Amerioffers a wealth of choic- rice noodles, tea, kimchi, But DNA tests such as cans for Americans. es: M & I International and flatbreads.

23andMe have changed Let’s eat!

Market for Russian and At H Mart, food gets European goods, the unsentimentally subdiclassic Pacific Mercanvided mainly by nationtile Company, and the ality: Korean, Chinese, Middle Eastern-oriented Japanese, Filipino, and Diyar International Mar- Indian. Mexican food ket. Only one Mexican gets its own aisle, with supermarket cracks a Puerto Rican shelf the ranking, along with tucked into one corner. two gourmet markets— Only part of one aisle is Marczyk Fine Foods and labelled “Euro Grocery” M ARCH 2020

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Lehndorff authored Yum! The Guide to Auroraʼs Ethnic Eateries and Markets in 2014.

He hosts Radio Nibbles Thursdays on KGNU (kgnu.org).

At Zeppelin Station, Vinh Xuongʼs traditional banh mi sandwiches are served on fresh baguettes with pickled veggies, herbs and house-made sauces.

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THE SCENE CA L E N DA R

March is a month for music lovers, with concerts ranging from the Spanish Harlem Orchestra to “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin,” a record show, and a three-day Leftover Salmon party at the Broadmoor.

Punk Night in the Highlife

Mar. 1 Stargazers Theatre & Event Center, Colorado Springs stargazerstheatre.com

Mar. 7 Highlife Promotions, Trinidad newlegendsmag.com/events/hl37

Banff Mountain Film Festival Mar. 3–4 Stargazers Theatre & Event Center, Colorado Springs stargazerstheatre.com

Willy Porter

10th Annual Colorado Springs International Women’s Day Celebration

Mar. 6 Friends House Concerts, Colorado Springs willyporter.com

Mar. 7 The Pinery at the Hill, Colorado Springs iwd-coloradosprings.org

Guitar wizard and storyteller Willy Porter makes his 11th appearance.

This year’s theme is Planet 50/50 by 2030: Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change.

TEXT ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE

March can be a cruel month in Colorado. Spring is in the air, but, all too often, so is snow—just to remind us that winter ain’t over yet, bitches. Don’t let it get you down. Get out and take advantage of this month’s incredible opportunities to hear world-class musicians and be a part of one-of-a-kind events, from the Black Jacket Symphony playing Dark Side of the Moon to a musical comedy featuring Jimmy Buffett favorites. Or cruise a home and garden show and get a jump on your summer garden. (It will be here before we know it.)

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Midwest Punks bring it from South Dakota (where punk still rules?).

PHOTO COURTESY OF BLACK JACKET SYMPHONY

On the Calendar

Bluegrass Showcase

THE SCENE CA L E N DA R

LEFT: BLACK JACKET SYMPHONY RIGHT: SPANISH HARLEM ORCHESTRA

30th Annual Super Show & Swap Meet Mar. 7 Colorado Springs Event Center coloradospringseventcenter.com

15th Annual Flavor of Pueblo Mar. 12 Pueblo Convention Center pueblounitedway.org/ flavorofpueblo

32nd Annual An Iliad Pueblo’s Original Mar. 12–29 UCCS Cybersecurity Building, Home Expo Mar. 7–8 Colorado State Fair Ag Palace, Pueblo pueblohba.wixsite.com/ homeexpo

Black Jacket Symphony Mar. 8 Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts, Colorado Springs pikespeakcenter.com

The symphony will perform Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety

Taste of Pikes Peak Mar. 8 The Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs tasteofpikespeak.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPANISH HARLEM ORCHESTRA

An Evening with Corb Lund Mar. 10 Luluʼs Downstairs, Manitou Springs lulusdownstairs.com

Escape to Margaritaville Mar. 11 Pueblo Memorial Hall escapetomargaritavillemusical.com

Colorado Springs uccspresents.org/ events/2019-20/an-iliad

Homer’s age-old tale is reinvented by one actor and one musician.

Moors & McCumber Mar. 13 Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts, Palmer Lake trilakesarts.org/event/ moors-mccumber

Celtic Spirit Mar. 13–14 Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts, Colorado Springs csphilharmonic.org/ concert/celtic-spirit

High Time with Realta Mar. 15 Stargazers Theatre & Event Center, Colorado Springs stargazerstheatre.com

Colorado Springs Record Show Mar. 15 Masonic Center, Colorado Springs coloradorecordshow.com

Spanish Harlem Orchestra: La Salsa Dura Mar. 20 Ent Center for the Arts, Colorado Springs events.uccs.edu/entcenter

Heller on piano in the intimate Music Space.

Boogie at the Broadmoor Mach 20–22 The Broadmoor hotel, Colorado Springs boogieatthebroadmoor.com

This 13-piece orchestra sparkles with the energy and precision of Leftover Salmon Latin Jazz and New hosts DeadPhish York-style salsa.

Orchestra, Andy Frasco, and more at this 40th Anniversary three-day festival.

Celebration with Nora McInerny Mar. 20 Penrose House Garden Pavilion, Colorado Springs pikespeakhospice.org

The author and host of the podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking will speak at this Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care celebration.

Through a Glass Darkly Mar. 20–26 Heller Center for Arts & Humanities, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs uccs.edu

David Spade Mar. 21 Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts, Colorado Springs davidspade.com

Colorado Comic Con Mar. 27–29 Colorado Springs Event Center mightyconshows.com/ show/colorado

Classic Film Series: Some Like It Hot Mar. 28 Rockrimmon Library, Colorado Springs ppld.org

Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Scholars and artists Jack Lemmon star gather for this in this classic. annual symposium on human fascination with the apocalypse.

Women’s Fly Fishing Film Night and Social Mar. 20 Anglerʼs Covey Fly Shop, Colorado Springs anglerscovey.com

Jazz in the Round Mar. 20 Pikes Peak Community College Downtown Studio, Colorado Springs ppcc.edu

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P R O M O T I O N A L F E AT U R E C E R I A B R E W IC NL GI E CN OTMN PA AM NY E

Replicating Innovative Beer Success A new line of THC- and CBD-infused beer comes to market from the master of brewing royalty.

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hile major breweries are still circling the issue of creating a cannabis-infused nonalcoholic beer to bring to market, Ceria Brewing Company has created a new brand of beer conceived and brewed by Keith Villa, one of the top brewmasters in the country. Villa is one of a select few people who’ve earned a doctorate in brewing from Belgium.

He created the popular hot-seller Blue Moon for MillerCoors in 2015.

After the success of Blue Moon, Villa retired in 2018 from the company and quickly saw another brewing challenge—and opportunity—in the cannabis industry: to repeat his success with an innovative product.

terms of how long it takes for the effects to kick in,from just 10 minutes for some consumers to as long as 25 minutes. “It’s certainly less time than edibles and more time than alcohol,” Villa says. “By the time they are done with their first can of Indiewave, most people feel the effects.”

Nonalcoholic, noninfused versions of Grainwave and Indiewave will be coming to Total Wine and More stores in February. A 2.5 mg lager is also in the works.

Villa says the company is looking to “By the get into the Denver social consumptime they tion venues, seeing it as a great fit, as are done soon as those venues figure out the with their legal requirements.

Getting a stronger beer is probfirst can of lematic, he says, since 10 mg is the Indiewave, maximum amount allowed per state most people regulations for a single-serve product.

“Once we get above 10 mg and up to feel the 100 mg, those servings have to be in effects.” a resealable container—which is difficult to do with a carbonated drink— —Keith Villa, brewmaster and it has to come with a dosing cup like a NyQuil cup, to measure a 10 mg standard serving from the bottle,” Villa says.

Ceria’s nonalcoholic THC-Free infused beers are available in 24 states, and the brand hopes to expand its THC-infused beers by one to two states each year, depending on federal cannabis legalization actions. “It’s a big market for both of those beverages,” he says, adding that having cannabis-infused beer might be a preferable means of consumption for consumers who are nervous about the effects and the perception of being a cannabis consumer.

Ceria Brewing launched its first product, Grainwave, in December 2018. It is a Belgian-style white ale like Blue Moon, carefully replacing the alcohol with 5 mg of THC. (It’s illegal to sell products containing both alcohol and THC.) Ceria recently launched its second product, Indiewave IPA, again removing the alcohol, but this time replacing it with 10 mg of THC plus 10 mg of CBD. “We are rolling it out to as many dispensaries as we can,” Villa says.

“We started with The Green Solution Recreational Marijuana Dispensary chain of stores, [where the IPA] sold out. And now we are past the exclusivity stage with them.”

Ceria Brewing Company He says that the THC-infused beer Craft Brewery product is different from edibles in ceriabrewing.com

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EXPERIENCE THE TRIFECTA, WHEREVER YOU ARE FLOWER OIL KIEF 1

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Visit www.kaviar.co/colorado to find a dispensary near you!

P R O M O T I O N A L F E AT U R E M E D I C A L LY C O R R E C T

Cannabis Edibles Rev Up A maturing industry wants health and wellness products, plus more offerings for the canna-curious.

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edically Correct has always been on the leading edge of new ideas for edibles. Its incredible line of edibles was one of the first branded edibles on the market.

And it was one of the first companies to introduce microdosed edibles, in 1, 2, and 3 milligram doses, made for the cannabis novice or the canna-curious.

In response to consumer demand, Medically Correct is exploring another concept with fast-acting nanotechnology which will appear in a new product line called Quiq. “Quiq will be in products like a tincture or a gummy,” says

of that list,” Bishop-Tindall says. “We want to play in that category and hope to have a product out there by March.”

Bob Eschino, founder and president of Medically Correct, says that the brand has a lot of different irons in the fire right now in terms of new product ideas. “All of these products are coming from our 10 years of experience in this market and where the market is going to go,” Eschino says. “It’s starting to really mimic normal food. So we are looking at healthy additives for protein shakes and juice shots, and we want to do a lot of things geared toward health and wellness. We think that we can attract more of the canna-curious into the market by providing products that are more like supplements.”

He says that Medically Correct is seeing minor cannabinoids like CBG and others becoming more affordable, and that will allow the brand to do more and more interesting things with the cannabinoids.

Eschino is interested in other ideas, such as cannabis consumption “un-do” products. “If we can prove that you can go out and get high, and then you take this pill and the effects go away, that would be a real game changer.”

“There is such a great appetite out there with today’s consumer for luxury food products, and luxury chocolate is at the top of that list” —Liz Bishop-Tindall, executive director of marketing for Medically Correct

Liz Bishop-Tindall, executive director of marketing for Medically Correct. “With edible products in the Quiq line, you will feel the high a lot faster, 10 to 20 minutes or so, but you’ll also come off of that high faster, probably within 90 minutes to two hours.”

“This product will make it less scary for people to try and to help them know exactly what is going to happen, to a certain extent,” she says.

Another product line in the works is Nove, a luxury chocolate brand. “There is such a great appetite out there with Medically Correct today’s consumer for luxury food prod- Cannabis Edibles ucts, and luxury chocolate is at the top medicallycorrect.com M ARCH 2020

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PEACH BELLINI

STRAWBERRY MARGARITA

SATIVA

WITH A HINT OF SALT

CBD/THC 1:1

PINA COLADA INDICA

P R O M O T I O N A L F E AT U R E WA N A B R A N D S

Cruising Steadily over a Bumpy Road The industry reset hasn’t affected one of the industry’s leading makers of edibles as it rolls out another new product line.

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taying current with customer demands, developing the next great product, and surviving in the industry for years has been the modus operandi for Wana Brands, one of the first Colorado companies to bootstrap its way into the cannabis edibles space.

Wana Brands, now operating in six additional states, was one of the first to create and market a successful, recognizable edible brand—its line of gummies. It also sells tarts, drops, vapes, and extended-release capsules.

Wana Brands has recently developed

concert, for example. It kicks in quickly, you can enjoy the concert, then drive home safely.” That product is hitting the market now, she says.

Whiteman says that Wana is going to have several quick-onset products coming out soon, including three different quick-onset tinctures.

Wana Brands has been able to survive the tumultuous ups and downs of the edibles business through its simple business model. “We were not publicly traded and didn’t have a ton of money, so we have always operated profitability because we had to,” she says. “Because we have been able to build such significant volume, we have been able to spread our overhead. And that is a key part of it.”

The cannabis business is in a sort “This of recovery and reboot phase right business now. Important lessons have been changes learned. Over the last few years, multistate operators have expanded and evolves into different states. “These vertically rapidly, integrated operations are really three and there completely different businesses with almost no overlapping skill sets—cul- is no resting tivators, manufacturers/producers, and retail,” Whiteman says. “When on your you are biting off five or six or seven laurels.” different states at a time, it’s almost like you are launching something like —Nancy Whiteman, 15 to 20 different businesses. That’s CEO an expensive thing to pull off and very difficult from an organizational skill set point of view.”

Can Whiteman relax now that things are going pretty well at Wana?

“Never,” she says. “This business changes and evolves rapidly, and there is no resting on your laurels.”

new, quick-acting gummies where the psychoactive effect comes on within 15 minutes, lasts for two to four hours, and then goes away. “That is a really cool product,” says Nancy Whiteman, CEO of Wana Brands. It’s developed with an encapsulation technology, and instead of going through the first-pass metabolism in the liver, like other edibles, which give the user a heavy body high, the new quick-onset product goes right into the bloodstream. “It feels very much like an inhalation high,” Wana Brands she says. “So, it’s not as intense. It’s Cannabis-Infused Products a perfect product if you are going to a wanabrands.com

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NASA rem 50 SOU T H ER N COLORA DO

MARC H 2020

It’s been 30 years since NASA’s Voyager mission snapped its last photo, just before it soared into interstellar space. NASA called it “a family portrait of the solar system,” and it showed Earth as a vague, lonely spot occupying about a 10th of a single pixel. The image would become forever entwined with Voyager imaging scientist Carl Sagan’s book Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space, published four years later, in which Sagan called Earth “a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.”

To celebrate the photo’s anniversary—and remind us again how small we really are—NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory released a new version of the pale-blue-dot image remastered with color-balancing technology that didn’t exist in 1990.

Now—perhaps even more so than in 1990, when most of the world was blissfully unaware of the dangers of climate change—Sagan’s words in Pale Blue Dot ring true. “There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world,” he wrote.

“To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”

COURTESY OF THE NASA JET PROPULSION LABORATORY

Earth from

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