Mardi Gras’ tiniest parade
Saturday. Now that we’ve made it past the January-mid-February void, there’s plenty to look forward to in the cultural realm. That includes drinking holidays like Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day — the first of which is taking over a few Denver venues this weekend.
Among the cheekiest is Call to Arms Brewing’s 7th Annual Mardi Gras Party featuring “the world’s tiniest Mardi Gras parade,” as organizers wrote. The craft brewer is again celebrating in style with a crawfish boil, barbeque, full brass band, king cake, and, yes, The World’s Tiniest Mardi Gras Parade “featuring local breweries that have constructed their own miniature floats to parade down the Tennyson Street alleyway.”
It takes place starting at noon on Saturday, Feb. 18, with the brass band playing at 3 p.m. and the parade starting at 4 p.m. Free admission. 4526 Tennyson St. in the Berkeley neighborhood of Denver. 720-328-8258 or calltoarmsbrewing.com
Jazz and theater — you know, for kids
Jazz music and theater fall in with opera, classical music, ballet and other performing arts that may seem a bit esoteric for kids. That’s never the case, actually, and Denver cultural players are doing plenty to combat that stigma with affordable, kid-friendly shows.
That includes Dazzle Jazz, the city’s finest purveyor of thereof, and its monthly Kids Saturday Matinee shows. The next one arrives Feb. 25 with “Animal Farm,” an interactive comedy-and-music experience (it’s not based on the book of the same name) that starts at 2 p.m. and costs $5 at dazzledenver.com.
Before that, however, is the JCC Mizel Arts and Culture Center’s reopened Denver Children’s Theatre, and its performances of “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.” Based on a book written by Kate DiCamillo, the play is a kid-friendly exploration of emotional vulnerability as seen through the eyes of a toy rabbit.
The 45-minute play’s public performances run at 10 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 20, and Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 10 a.m., and at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19, and Feb. 26. Tickets: $10 each at the Elaine Wolf Theatre, 350 S. Dahlia St. in Denver. 303-316-6360 or jccdenver.org/denver-childrens-theatre-2023
Get high with Banff
Tuesday-Thursday. Canada’s Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival returns to the Boulder Theater Tuesday, Feb. 21, through Thursday, Feb. 23, with another bevy of “outdoor storytelling and filmmaking” that finds an especially friendly crowd in outdoorsy Colorado.
“Each evening features a completely different film playlist that takes you on explorations of remote landscapes and mountain cultures to adrenaline-fueled action sports,” organizers wrote. “The films in this year’s World Tour are sure to captivate and amaze the explorer within you.”
Doors open at 7 p.m. at 2032 14th St. in Boulder. The all-ages tour stop, one of 40 worldwide, sells out every year so don’t sleep on getting tickets. $25-$27.50 per night, via 303-786-7030 or bouldertheater.com.
FamilyFest at Wings Over the Rockies
Saturday. The Lowry neighborhood’s Wings Over the Rockies, the state’s official air and space museum, always has a worthy, hands-on exhibition going amid its display of jets, historic planes and more. This weekend, however, is FamilyFest, a roving “parent, baby and kids festival” that has lately gotten more renown thanks to moving to Wings, according to organizers.
The Saturday, Feb. 18, event showcases dozens of activities and shows, including “Ghostbusters” characters, Clifford The Big Red Dog, the Diaper Derby “crawling race” for babies 12 months and younger (and now, a Toddler Derby), prizes, local museums, resources for new parents, vendors, cookie decorating, dance lessons, games and (phew) a lot more.
Admission for kids under 12 is free. Adults are $10 in advance, $15 at the door. 7711 East Academy Blvd. in Denver. See the schedule and learn more by calling Wings Over the Rockies, 303-360-5360, or visiting familyfests.com. And don’t forget Wings’ Free Days, where admission is completely free for all, on Monday, Feb. 20 (Lowry) and Tuesday, Feb. 21 (Centennial location).
