Susan Polis Schutz Premiers Film in Boulder

Susan Polis Schutz, founder of Blue Mountain Arts, is premiering her first documentary film "Anyone and Everyone" this weekend in Boulder. Polis Schutz, also an accomplished author, has created a compassionate film sparked by her own experiences about how families of all backgrounds react to a gay son or daughter coming out. Read on for more information.

Click the image to see the full size.

Taking a break - See you in the fall!

We're taking a little time to feel the sand between our toes and dip our proverbial feet in the ocean. Now if only we could be there in body and and not just spirit! However, we will we continue to periodically update the Cairn Log with some tasty tidbits until the next issue arrives so be sure to check in once and a while.

Have a great summer - we'll be seeing you soon!

Summer Laughs and Eats. El Centro Su Teatro Style

As John Kubler writes:

El Centro Su Teatro presents A Bowl of Beings, directed by Hugo E. Carbajal, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:05, July 20 - 28 at El Centro's outdoor performing space, 4725 High Street. Performances will feature the company's famous outdoor summer menu including hotdogs, hamburgers, and fresh roasted corn and chile. Come early and bring your appetite.

A Bowl of Beings was created by the California theater troupe Culture Clash, and was featured on the PBS "Great Performances" series. The play asks important questions like: What is the future of the term Chicano? Where can a Chicano find a good slice of pizza? and What exactly is a Tropical Anal Mist?

July 20 -28, 2007

Friday and Saturday at 8:05 pm

All performances are:

Friday and Saturday nights at 8:05 pm
El Centro Su Teatro's
North Playground
4725 High, Denver, CO 80216
Tickets: $15/general, $12/students and seniors
Comadre Group rates available

For more info and tickets:

(303) 296-0219 or
elcentro@suteatro.org

Tasty Drink Ideas From Vodka 14

Just in time for the Fourth and what is promising to be a very warm summer, our friends at Vodka 14 have provided us with some summer drink ideas.

In case you haven't heard of it, Vodka 14 is made by Boulder's Altitude Spirits (a long-time Cairn supporter) and is an award winning USDA certified organic vodka.

Enjoy these cocktails and as always, drink responsibly!

Organic Lemon Drop: Mix 2 oz. of Vodka 14 with organic sparkling lemonade over crushed ice. Garnish with fresh lemon wedges and fresh basil leaf sprigs for incredibly fresh taste and aroma.

Green Hawaii: Pour 2 oz. of Vodka 14 shaken on ice with fresh organic pineapple juice to taste. Add an additional 1 to 2 oz. splash of chilled sparkling water. Garnish with fresh wedge of pineapple and fresh mint leaves.

Chili Mango: Combine mango juice to taste with a generous 2 oz. pour of Vodka 14 on ice. Garnish with red Serrano or red Thai peppers skewered with a wedge of lime.

Smoothie 14: In a blender, combine 1 cup organic rice milk, 1 cup sliced ripe banana, ½ cup fresh ripe sliced strawberries, ½ cup crushed ice, ¼ teaspoon of organic vanilla extract and 4 oz. of Vodka 14. Blend. Garnish with whole fresh strawberry and mint. Serves two generously.

Green Russian: Combine 2oz of Vodka 14 with your favorite iced organic, fair trade coffee. Add 1 oz. organic light cream or half-and-half. Garnish with chocolate or carob bar shavings and present with cinnamon stick swizzle.

Caipiroska (a.k.a. Brazilian): Place 4 lime wedges and a tablespoon of sugar in the bottom of an 8 oz. glass and muddle. Cover with crushed ice, fill glass with vodka, and serve.

My bosses made me write about pie

The guys who run this magazine forced me to blog under the point of a gun. Not really. It was more like non-monetary coercion with a loofah.

Anyway, I'd like to let y'all know about the best piece of pie in the state of Colorado. (Note to perverts: stop laughing.)

If you're down in Buena Vista, you should stop by Jan's Restaurant and order a piece of Candy Apple Pie. It's so good, you'll slap your grandma. Cooked apples drizzled, well drenched, with caramel. The concoction is so perfect, one wonders why no one thought of it before. It's so good, you forget to notice the crust.

I don't remember how much it cost, but it wasn't much. It's the perfect top-off (Note to perverts: stop laughing) after summiting one of the nearby Collegiate Peaks or taking a raft down the Arkansas River.

Jan's Restaurant
304 Hwy 24 South
Buena Vista, CO 81201
(719) 395-6940

Get some custom bling from Cronin Jewelers

There is a wonderful custom goldsmith in Boulder whose name is Bill Cronin and his store is aptly named Cronin Jewelers.

It is rare that jewelers now-a-days have a full goldsmith shop in-house. That is what Cronin has. Everything is made on the store premises. No shipping out to some foreign land or some faceless person in Hoboken, NJ. Cronin works in all types of metal, with a specialty in platinum and gold settings.

Their work is top notch and the staff maybe the most genuinely friendly people in the jewelry business. I know all this from personal experience. When you enter the store you may see Bill walking around with his jewelers' loops draped over his bushy hair.

Cronin Jewelers is located in North Boulder in the Ideal Market shopping center.
1235 Alpine Ave.
Boulder, CO 80304
303-440-4222

You can view a sample of Cronin's custom jewelry portfolio on their website.

It's only Monday, but it is never too early to look to the weekend.

Visit artist Angela Prond and other talented artists at the Summer 2007 Art Market. June 9th and 10th between 10am-5pm at 200 Grant St. in Denver.

Angela was featured in Issue 4 of Cairn Magazine (pg. 22-23) as our Cairn Gallery artist profile. Angela takes a different take landscape painting. In her own words:

"I have always been inspired by the landscape. I love being outdoors. As a kid, I never sat in front of the TV. At every opportunity, I was out the door and experiencing nature firsthand. I did have an inclination at that age that I wanted to be an artist, but didn't know what that meant until I went to an art school for my bachelor's degree in oil painting. It took me four years to learn how to paint what I felt when I looked at a landscape. Experiencing nature is not just how you see it, but what you feel when you are there; I try to communicate that within my paintings using color, abstraction, and collage. Colorado has some of the most beautiful landmarks I have seen and I’ve only just begun. Traveling to see new places is also inspiring. As an artist, I try to express the excitement of seeing a new place on the canvas."

One of Angela's latest work is entitled "Breckenridge":

(click on image for larger version)

The Summer 2007 Art Market, is a prelude to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. The event is on June 9th and 10th between 10am-5pm at 200 Grant Street.

For more info visit Art Students League of Denver's website or click on the flyer.

On June 18th 'Smack' for a Cause

A lot of us play golf for its enjoyment. Nothing like spending a morning or afternoon outside, smacking a little white ball all over the place. And yes 'smacking' is the correct term when it is I who is hitting the golf ball. Even if you don't like golf you can still support a great cause, while hanging out with some friends.

On June 18th Keep Jack Jumping is hosting the 4th Annual Jumping Jack Charity Golf Tournament at the Ranch Country Club in Westminster. The usually private country club, opens up their doors to all for this annual event.

The Jumping Jack Golf Tournament and Keep Jack Jumping, benefit Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy and to find a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. DMD affects about 1 in 3000 boys every year in the US. It is a cause worth playing golf for and more importantly helping find a cure for.

Keep Jack Jumping was founded in 2003, when Jack, a local boy, was diagnosed with DMD. You can read more about Jack's story on their website.

If you have some time, want to have some fun, and want to support a good cause, please sign up for the golf tournament by clicking on the image below.

Rachel Hawthorn Exhibits New Work

Rachel Hawthorn, a photographer who has shot not one, but TWO covers for Cairn (#1, #3) is currently exhibiting new original work at Vertigo, a gallery located at 960 Santa Fe in Denver. In her words, this exhibit is a "...continuation of my investigation into the way our memories are shaped by the domestic spaces in our history."

The exhibit opened earlier this month and runs until May 28th, so there's still time to check it out and show your support!

Get Pumped - Radical Reels this weekend!

The Banff Mountain Film Festival is presenting high-adrenaline outdoor films as part of their touring Radical Reels film event this weekend in various Colorado locations.

FASTER, STEEPER, HIGHER, DEEPER! Want to see the hottest collection of high-adrenaline outdoor films in your town? Radical Reels, an evening of exciting action films at the Banff Mountain Film Festival, is now hitting the road. For the past several years, the Radical Reels night in Banff has featured a special screening of the wildest high-adrenaline films entered in the Banff Mountain Film Festival. So many action films were being submitted to the film festival that they could not fit into the regular screenings, resulting in the creation of the hugely successful Radical Reels evening presentation.

There are three local showings of this great heart pumping event:

Sponsored by REI (tickets can be purchased at the door at any local REI location):
Fri 4/13/07, 7:00 PM
American Mountaineering Center
710 10th Street
Golden, CO
Tickets & Info

Sun 4/15/07, 7:00 PM
CU Boulder Campus, Chem 140
Tickets & Info

Sponsored by Larimer County Search and Rescue:
Sat, 4/14/2007, 7:00pm
CSU Lory Student Center Theater
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado
Tickets & Info

Join the Burma Lifeline Effort

Make yourself available on April 11th for the following presentation:

Extreme Trekking: Backpacking Medics in Burma's Eastern War Zones

Speaker: Voravit Suwanvanichkij, M.D.
Research Associate, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

At risk to their lives, medics have been backpacking into Burma to provide primary care and to systematically document the health crisis occurring along Burma's eastern border. Burma's brutal military dictatorship forbids international humanitarian aid in these regions and engages in widespread atrocities against the ethnic minorities there. The backpacking teams have now documented a healthcare crisis on par with better-known humanitarian catastrophes such as Darfur, Ruwanda. and Cambodia following the rule of the Khmer Rouge. "Dr. Vit" will share the story of these backpacking medics and the conditions they have documented.

Boulder-based Burma Lifeline is co-sponsoring this event with the Boulder Public Library. Burma Lifeline is supporting small clinics in northern Thailand that provide medical services, including backpacking teams, to Shan areas of Burma. Most of the current backpacking teams are serving ethnic minorities further south.

Time: Wednesday, April 11, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Place: Boulder Public Library Auditorium

You can read about Burma Lifeline and its founder, Inge Sargent, in
Issue 4 of Cairn Magazine.

Red Carpet Gala in Colorado

Support Little Voice this Saturday, March 24th, by attending the Shooting Stars red carpet gala at the Comcast Media Center.

"A Hollywood Evening of Dinner, Dancing and Surprises to Benefit Little Voice."

Little Voice is a non-profit who use film and video to promote social change. The three year Shooting Stars campaign is set to kick off with a bang this Saturday. All proceeds are tax deductible and proceeds will go towards their goals of Social Media Campaigns, Films, Outreach and Education, and the Little Voice Center.

The Gala will include entertainment from the Crystal Swing Band and up-and-coming - funk, rock, soul - group Something Underground.

Tickets can be purchased online.

Friday Lowdown

It's Friday, and if you're hankering for something to do, look no further than these two fine Cairn Magazine Partners:

For those of you in Denver:
Bovine Metropolis Theater - Denver's improv theater group brings you the original sketch comedy show "Cows on a Plane", which they describe as "an edgy sketch comedy that explores American society and culture through swift-paced original songs and chaotic off-beat scenes." This is the last weekend, so check it out. Friday and Saturday night at 8pm.

For those of you in Boulder:
The Dairy Center for the Arts - All weekend, the Boulder Ballet School will present "The Emperor's (Really) New Clothes" - a great family event. Tomorrow night Playback Theater West will perform their unique brand of improv theater at 8pm. Be prepared to participate!

Burnt Toast Never Tasted So Good

Another posting from Boulder...

Burnt Toast is a restaurant located on The Hill in Boulder. Burnt Toast has the ambience of an old town coffee shop that eschews symmetry in favor of the beauty of the found object. The staff is welcoming, the food delicious, and every Thursday night, they have a wine tasting. It's a laid-back social affair, involving several bottles, loosely chosen around a theme. Attendees are typically of varying degrees of sophistication but no less eager to sample the selected vintages and to nibble on the fruits, cheeses, and meats provided by the restaurant. I've found that the tastings are inconsistently attended. One night, it might be standing room only and on other nights it could be an intimate affair with you, your friends and the hosts. The only sure thing is that you'll enjoy yourself.

A little over a week ago, they swapped wine for bourbon, and we tasted everything from "moonshine" to varieties that had been aged for almost two decades. It was a quiet night, with myself and some friends the only ones in attendance. I always felt a bit out of my league when it comes to tasting wine. But bourbon is less demanding. It seemed much easier to zero in on the qualities you liked and didn't like. Overall it was a fine night. I'm not sure if and when they'll do bourbon again, but if you have a free Thursday night, and a penchant for good food and wine in a relaxed, inviting atmosphere, check it out.

Hip-Hop on the Brain

I guess we were a little ahead of the curve on this one.

A few months after Cairn featured an article on Colorado hip-hop (Fall/Winter '06), both the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post featured articles on the subject. To its credit, the News at least attempted to talk about the local scene, discussing Cafe Nuba (also featured in our Fall/Winter issue), but named few artists. However, they also took the time to define "breakdancing" just in case you missed the '80s. Check out their stories here (News) and here (Post), and some interesting commentary on each of their articles here.

This weeks AV Club (in the Onion) also had a nice bit of discussion for folks like myself: Is Hip-hop relevant to middle-aged white guys?

Boulder Community Round-up

We have some upcoming events to share for those of you in Boulder, or for those of you willing to make the trip here.

Our friends at The Dairy Center for the Arts have several upcoming events. For dance lovers, the Boulder Ballet presents "Without Borders" - three works that exhibit the range of ballet today. Shows start Thursday and run through the weekend. More info at the Boulder Ballet.

Also this weekend at the Dairy is the the play "Deathtrap", a thriller presented by the Real Players, a student film and theater organization.

The Dairy Gallery is having an opening on March 2nd from 5-7pm(yes, a first Friday) featuring works by Joshua Persky, Jim Cook, Mark Ivins, and more. More info on these events at The Dairy

Finally, on Friday, Feb 23rd, a benefit to save the Boulder Co-op will be going down at the Elks Club in Boulder from 4pm - 1am. There'll be all kinds of events for kids (earlier) and adults (later) alike. More info at The Boulder Co-op page.

Issue 3 Rocks!

To Whom it May Concern:

I have recently read your third issue and really enjoyed it. It is wonderful to have a local magazine that highlights so many wonderful cultural aspects of Colorado. I understand that you are a new magazine but I wanted to comment on the article written by Tom Murphy on Colorado's hip hop. There is a fabulous scene of underground hip hop in the area and I have come into contact with several artists who are starting out but have phenomenal talent. Their lyrics are heartfelt and original and the beats make you want to groove. However, it is a shame that all of these underground acts do not unite to get their voices heard nation wide. But I appreciate the acknowledgment to these artists who have so much talent and deserve much more credit. I am looking forward to your next issue!

Sincerely

Laura L Lemon

Cairn Log : The Cairn Magazine Blog

Welcome Everyone - To the Cairn Log, the official Cairn Magazine Blog.

We've decided to throw our proverbial hat into the ring of internets and see what this crazy virtual world has to offer. We'll be joined by some writers who've contributed to the magazine as well as some new voices, who will be writing about events, goings on, and offering reviews and of course lots of opinions on everything in the arts, music, outdoors, and beyond.

Check up on us frequently! If you are interested in blogging for us...just drop us a line at editor@cairnmag.com.

The Cairn Crew