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Things to do around Denver this weekend
28th Denver Jewish Film Fest Saturday-march 17:
Given how long films take to make, the titles at this year’s 28th Denver Jewish Film Festival are not deeply topical Middle East meditations. Rather, they’re about building bridges, organizers said. “The festival is not only for those who are Jewish, but anyone looking to experience artistic connection,” said Stephanie Herm, COO of Jewish Community Center Denver and Mizel Arts and Culture Center, where the event is hosted, in a statement. “This year’s festival includes a wide variety of films that cover a multitude of topics, and we hope the festival brings people together to support the Jewish community. To enhance the festival and the experience we’re offering Q&AS after some films and even a Challah-making session.”
Screenings and events run Saturday, March 9-March 17 at 350 S. Dahlia Street in Denver. Buy tickets and check out the full schedule of 20 documentaries, narratives and shorts jccdenver.org/arts-culture/festivals.
The Funny Final Four
Wednesday: Comedian Gabby Gutierrez Reed, of Denver’s Firecracker Comedy group, is leading a team in this year’s Funny Final Four competition at Comedy Works, and her Wednesday, March 13 showing includes a list of estimable local stand-ups including Andrea Vahl,
Josh Emerson, Liv Carter, Lizzy Wolfson and Luke Gaston (and the Comedy Works-approved Hannah Jones and Matt Cobos), among others.
The Funny Final Four is a series of competitions starting with five teams made up of a captain, two pro comics, and ten New Talent comics, Comedy Works wrote. “Every show, a different team will perform the funniest, most creative show they can produce. A panel of judges will award points and tally up the total at the end.” See who makes it through when the finals continue in April at both clubs (including Comedy Works South in Greenwood Village) with the finale on May 1. Ticket for the 21-and-up shows of Round 1, also on March 20 and March 27, are $14 at comedyworks.com. Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier gets close-in Saturday: French musician Laetitia Sadier has made her name as a crucial member of experimental lounge-pop pioneers Stereolab, but her solo career is just as sweeping, layered and delicately wrought. Sadier can usually be seen at Denver’s mid-sized theaters, but on Saturday, March 9, she plays the intimate Lost Lake, 3602 E. Colfax Ave., to support her gorgeous new solo album “Rooting for Love.” Presented by 105.5 The Colorado Sound, the 16-and-up show (and under-16 with a ticketed guardian) starts at 8 p.m., with tickets for $17. lost-lake.com
Jurassic Quest’s massive footprint
Friday-sunday: Denver is accustomed to hosting big tours, but there’s a hardly bigger one for kids than Jurassic Quest. The touring, interactive event takes over a huge swath of Colorado Convention Center each year with life-sized animatronic dinosaurs (including some you can sit atop), bounce houses, mini-carts, presentations, actual fossils and photo ops galore.
New this year: A bigger Excavation Station, more rides, new dinos (the Utahraptor and Giganotosaurus),
and a selfguided scavenger hunt
— all included with general admission. Check out the sprawling exhibition Friday, March 8-Sunday, March
10, at 700 14th St. in Denver. Tickets for the 9 a.m.8 p.m. event are $29-$46, with additional costs for some rides and activities, at jurassicquest.com.