By John G. Miller, DENVER DAILY NEWS
It’s time to pull your flapper dresses and zoot suits out of the attic. They’re partying down like old times once again in Union Station, only this time the revelry is about the past meeting the future.
The Union Station Advocates, a group devoted to the redevelopment and historical preservation of the venerable train station, is hosting a fundraiser tonight to benefit a recreation of the original Welcome/Mizpah arch that adorned the station from 1906 to 1931.
“A Night in Old Union Station” is a costume optional affair from 7-11 p.m. The $40 “Speakeasy” tickets are sold out, but $100 Main Dining Hall tickets and $200 Oyster Bar tickets are still available. So far, more than 850 people are scheduled to attend.
“It’s a big neighborhood rally,” said Dana Crawford, a co-chair of the Union Station Advocates Board of Directors.
Honorary chairmen of the gala event at Union Station, located at 17th and Wynkoop, are Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, his wife Helen Thorpe and District 9 Councilwoman Judy Montero. Other attending luminaries are District 10 Councilwoman Jeanne Robb and Denver City Auditor Dennis Gallagher.
Several disparate musical styles are provided to assist in dancing the night away, including Eohippus, a jazz, Latin, and funk outfit. The Denver Municipal Band is greeting guests as they arrive with their high-powered big band sound.
“We have an 11 singer a cappella group,” said Crawford. “They’re called the New Wizard Oil Combination, from when there were traveling medicine shows.”

Food and entertainment
Cuisine for the event is being donated by a number of prominent LoDo restaurants, including shrimp from McCormick’s Fish House, crab from Morton’s The Steakhouse, and gumbo from Gumbo’s Louisiana Style CafŽ. Oyster Bar ticketholders will have reserved seating on the mezzanine ala Grand Central Station, with wine provided by Dry Creek Vineyard. Main Dining Hall ticketholders will receive a gourmet dinner buffet, while Speakeasy tickets can enjoy free Coors and light dinner fare.
Entertainment includes troupes of mimes, contortionists and palm readers. Historic attire is encouraged, and there will be a prize for best costume. The evening will culminate in the Great Hall reception room, where its 65-foot ceiling will provide the backdrop to a finale planned by Al Kraizer, LoDo Jazz Fest creator, and Charlie Prideaux, producer of Times Square’s annual New Year’s Eve ball drop.
The original arch said “Welcome” on both sides, and with its 2,194 light bulbs the 70-ton structure stood outside of Union Station to greet newcomers to the city. It was christened on July 4, 1906 by then mayor Robert Speer declaring that it “is to stand here for ages as an expression of love, good wishes and kind feelings of our citizens to the stranger who enters our gates.”
After Denver hosted the 1908 Democratic convention, it was noticed that the arch was actually welcoming travelers to leave as well as arrive. The entrance to the station was replaced with the Hebrew word “mizpah,” the parting salutation found in Genesis 31:49: “The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.” The arch was demolished in 1931 when the city decided it was a traffic hazard. Tickets for “A Night in Old Union Station” can be purchased RSVP at www.blacktiecolorado.com with RSVP code USA10/15. Tickets are also available at King Soopers, The Oxford Hotel, or Kentwood City Properties across from Union Station. For more info, visit www.anightinoldunionstation.com or www.unionstationadvocates.org.

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With more than 200 patrons in attendance, the event featured 30 different beers from 15 Colorado breweries, paired with 23 menu items using food from five Colorado farms, and all prepared by 17 chefs from the Culinary School of the Rockies, The Colorado Statesman reports.

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By Gene Davis, DENVER DAILY NEWS
Jane Seymour’s resume isn’t as much impressive as it is awe-inspiring.
Maybe you know her from playing a Bond Girl and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, or from creating the immensely popular “open hearts” design series, or from one of her beloved books or paintings. In short, unless you’ve successfully secluded yourself from pop culture for the past three decades, chances are that you’re familiar with Seymour in some way.
“There’s never enough time for the things I want to do,” she told the Denver Daily News. “ Every day I can think of things I want to get better at; I think that’s part of the joy in life, discovering and creating new things.”
Seymour has never been short of motivation. As a child she wanted to become a ballerina, but her family couldn’t afford the shoes or tuition for classes. But instead of giving up or moving on, she successfully applied and got a grant to ballet school.
And several years later, while her friends were running lemonade stands, she successfully started and maintained her own clothing company.
“I’ve never understood the word bored,” she laughed.

Near-death experiences
Three near-death experiences, one of which caused her to leave her body, caused Seymour to look at life differently, she said.
“I’m so grateful to be able to have more time on earth,” she said. “I made a pact that I want to help other people and try and make a difference in the world.”
Seymour’s “open heart” philosophy is her most notable attempt to make that difference.What started as a series of original watercolor and oil paintings of two open hearts linked together has morphed into a universal symbol for love and hope. Seymour got the idea for the design from her mother’s advice: “If your heart is open, love will always find its way in.”
“It’s about being able to open your heart enough to let go of Tuesday, because Tuesday is done, and be receptive to the possibility of being aware of the moment you have now,” she said. “It’s a way of dealing with the challenges in life.”

Book
The Golden Globe and Emmy-award winning actress last year released a book to accompany her “open hearts” series. The collection of love-related stories, poems and quotes is an ideal gift for anyone going through a hard time or period of transition, Seymour said.
This Friday and Saturday, Seymour will present her artwork in person at Jared The Galleria of Jewelry at Centennial Promenade. Following an introduction from The Madden Museum of Art, Seymour will paint with children from ArtReach Denver, as well as pose for photos and host a brief autograph session featuring her “Open Hearts” book.
“It’s amazing to get to meet people face to face and hear their stories,” she said. “They’re the unsung heroes, as far as I’m concerned.”

Where: Jared The Galleria of Jewelry at Centennial Promenade, 9535 East County Line Road in Englewood
When: Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
Information: JaneSeymour.com

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By Matt Masich, LAW WEEK COLORADO
DENVER — For 30 years, the august visages of history’s most revered lawgivers have kept silent watch over the Colorado Supreme Court’s law library. But Hammurabi, Socrates, Abe Lincoln and the rest of the great thinkers depicted on Angelo di Benedetto’s “Lawgivers” mural will be homeless when the Colorado Judicial Building is demolished in May — and no one knows where they’ll end up.
The building’s occupants — the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and law library — will be moving to as-yet-undetermined temporary quarters before taking permanent residence in the Ralph L. Carr Justice Complex in 2013.
Will “Lawgivers” move with the courts into their new home?
“The mural will be removed from the soffit area and may be turned over to the history museum staff for their decision on appropriate placement or ongoing exhibition,” said Bill Mosher, project manager for construction of the new justice complex.
That’s as close to a plan as anyone has. Spokesmen for the judicial branch and historical society have said no definite plans have been made for the mural’s future use.

The most memorable feature
The 74 panels of “Lawgivers” were mounted on the ceiling of the judicial building’s cut-out first floor in 1978, a year after the building opened.
The mural was paid for with a $100,000 gift from Denver lawyer Otto Friedrichs and his wife, Helen. Di Benedetto, a Central City-based artist, was commissioned to paint the mural depicting 60 people who helped further the rule of law. The portraits are arranged in roughly chronological order, beginning with ancient Babylonian ruler Hammurabi, whose code of laws is the oldest in recorded history, and ending with Earl Warren, the U.S. chief justice whose court made landmark civil rights decisions.
“Lawgivers” currently hangs directly over the skylight of the basement-level law library. For many library visitors, the sight of the mural viewed through the skylight is the most memorable feature of the library.
To glean some perspective on its history, Law Week Colorado talked to Frances Campbell, the Supreme Court librarian from 1964 to 1994. First of all, she said, the mural wasn’t originally intended to be seen from the library.
“People always thought the library was designed with the skylight over the top. The library wasn’t originally designed to be that way — it was supposed to be on the second floor of the building,” Campbell said.
The opening on the ground floor came about because of a conflict between the judicial branch and the Colorado Historical Society over which got to face Civic Center Park.
“The reason for the big opening under the judicial building is so the historical society could look through that opening to see the Civic Center,” Campbell said.
The judicial building was also supposed to be one story taller, with a parking garage in the basement, Campbell said. But budget cuts prevented that extra story from being built. To make up for the reduced space, the library was moved from the second floor to the basement, and the underground parking garage was eliminated. The skylight was added to provide some natural light for the library.

Leaving the chandelier behind
“Lawgivers” wasn’t an immediate hit with library employees.
“When the mural was first put up, people weren’t convinced it was great art,” Campbell said. “They’re kind of funny pictures, so at first people would joke about them quite a bit, to tell you the truth. But I would guess with time, people have come to think of it as part of the building.
“If you look at the stained glass in the [state] Capitol building, that’s not great art, either, but it’s a part of the monument — it’s part of the history.”
Campbell isn’t sure how the mural could be integrated into the new building, and suggested that even if it can’t be preserved in its complete form, individual panels of the mural could still be exhibited at the new justice complex.
But the mural might end up becoming another Supreme Court relic that was too unwieldy to survive the move from old building to new. Campbell recalled a dilemma the court faced when it moved from the Old Supreme Court Chambers in the state Capitol to its present location in 1977.
“When the Supreme Court was going to move into the new judicial building, their chambers had a huge, huge chandelier — and it’s still there [at the Capitol]. The justices wanted badly to take that with them. They planned for it to be in their new courtroom in the judicial building, but they finally had to realize that because of its size, there was no way they could take that chandelier with them.”
Under Colorado law, a budget equal to 1 percent of the Carr justice complex’s $257 million price tag must be set aside for a public art project.

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By Gene Davis, DENVER DAILY NEWS
With Native American art often being synonymous with baskets, jewelry and carvings, it’s refreshing to see an exhibition breaking the mold by focusing on contemporary art from the expansive indigenous community.
“Currents: Native American Forces in Contemporary Art” features the work of seven contemporary Native American artists. The exhibition, which is opening tonight at the Metropolitan State Center for Visual Art, is a far cry from the clichéd image that pops up when many people think of art created by a Native American.
“I think that so many people have this idea of Native American art in the traditional forms,” said Cecily Cullen, assistant director and curator for the Metropolitan State College of Denver. “It really is a culture that is alive and well and growing.”
The Metro State Center for Visual Art’s mission statement calls for presenting progressive contemporary art from artists of diverse backgrounds that will engage viewers in new ways of seeing. “Currents” fulfills the mission while providing a captivating exhibition at the same time, said Cullen.
“Currents” was partially curated by a work-study student who had an interest in learning how to curate a show, specifically one dealing with Native American art. After mulling over what such an exhibition could be like, the school did research on artists who were indigenous but fulfilled their goal of showing progressive contemporary art.
Two of the seven featured artists that the school decided to focus on — Nicholas Galanin and Melanie Yazzie — will be in attendance at tonight’s opening ceremony and will give short talks about their works. The event, which is open to the public, kicks off at 7 p.m.
“It’s a way to open your mind about what Native American art can be and should or shouldn’t be,” Cullen said. “Each of the artists addresses issues of contemporary society as well as indigenous cultures and heritages. It’s really kind of a show about identity.”

Where: Metro State Center for Visual Art, 1734 Wazee St.
When: Through Nov. 7
Information: MetroStateCVA.org

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CURLING UP WITH A GOOD BOOK … AND A DOG — Dan Danbom, owner of Printed Page Bookshop at 1416 S. Broadway, hangs out in the store with shop dog Lola. Denver Daily News photo by Tad Rickman.

By John G. Miller, DENVER DAILY NEWS
With the sad economic state Colorado is currently in, not to mention a world taken over by the Internet, it takes a large amount of “chutzpah” to open a new bookstore in downtown Denver.
But that’s exactly what Dan Danbom, and his partner Nancy Stevens, have done this month. Printed Page Bookshop, located at 1416 S. Broadway, officially opened its doors on Aug. 16 with a special exhibit of banned books.
Visitors will have a chance to win a shopping spree at the store if they can guess which of the selected books on display have never been the target of censorship on political, religious, social or sexual grounds.
And according to Danbom, even in 2009, acts of censorship still abound.
“Narrow-mindedness and bigotry are still flourishing,” he said.
Formerly a communications and marketing executive for Xcel, Qwest and US West, Danbom has always had a love for books. A longtime book reviewer for the Denver Post, as well as reviewing for the prestigious Bloomsbury Review, Danbom resigned his executive position to pursue his love full time.
“I basically traded in my high-paying, low-satisfaction job for a low-paying, high-satisfaction job,” says Danbom.
The bookstore is in a historic Victorian house, and is also home to 10 other book dealers, among them Pat Grego, former owner of the Denver Book Mall. Together they share the rent and the manpower necessary to operate the store.
Such an arrangement is key to the operation; one of the biggest reasons bookstores close is the interminable hours the owner is required to spend in them, with no hope of vacation time in sight.
The Victorian house also has an ambience and spaciousness that sets it apart from other stores.
“(Some) bookstores are a lot of little cubby holes that are hard to navigate through,” Danbom said.
Danbom’s marketing experience is coming in handy, as he has taken on the promotional responsibilities for the bookstore. From the Web site to the banned book promotion, he is attempting to create a buzz that will ensure many potential customers.
Printed Page Bookshop is open Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
For more information, call 303-777-7653 or visit www.printedpagebookshop.com.

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By Gene Davis, DENVER DAILY NEWS
Beauty might reside in a smile, but honesty always lies in the eyes.
So goes the theory behind “The Witness Archive” — an intense exhibition of large-scale psychological portraits by artist Halim Alkarim. The exhibition, which is showing now at the Robischon Gallery, attempts to gain truth on the universal human experience by focusing on the faces, and more specifically the eyes, of individual people. Alkarim, an Iraqi native, was first inspired to start “The Witness Archive” after traveling to Beirut in 1985.
“His observations of the women there revealed a truth in their eyes that the veiled garments could not fully mask,” says a press release from the Robischon Gallery. “These encounters, followed by the remembered gazes of countless others who were equally unable to voice the violent reality of their lives, led Alkarim to a sense of duty to express what he saw.”
Alkarim was further pushed towards his humanitarian mission after his conscription to Iraqi military service during the first Gulf War. This period of life was a crucial influence on Alkarim and his heart, according to the Robischon Gallery.
To achieve many of the photographs in “The Witness Archive,” Alkarim applied layers of white latex to his models’ faces in order for them to“ become representative of an ageless, universal, identity.” The models then put on wigs and reflective contact lenses before being photographed through screens of translucent paper.
“Within the illumination of both technique and medium, each figure’s intense, colored eyes convey what for many reasons had to remain unspoken,” says the press release. “This essence, in the artist’s words, ‘offers a cultural bridge against those forces in the world that would separate us.”

Where: Robischon Gallery
When: Through Sept. 12
Information: RobischonGallery.com

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By Peter Marcus, DENVER DAILY NEWS
A hero to potheads across the nation, local marijuana advocate Mason Tvert continues his smokin’ streak with Amazon.com best-selling book “Marijuana is Safer.”
His first book aims to convince supporters and opponents alike that marijuana is a safer recreational alternative to other substances like alcohol.
“Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?” is co-written by fellow pot experts Paul Armentano, deputy director of The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and Steve Fox, director of state campaigns for the Marijuana Policy Project.
A launch event for the book will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at 8 Rivers Cafe, 1550 Blake St.
Tvert became famous in Denver for leading voters to legalize the simple possession of marijuana in 2005. When police and city officials ignored the will of voters by continuing to arrest people for the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana, Tvert and his organization, Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, fought back. A subsequent voter-approved initiative in 2007 made the cops promise to make marijuana their “lowest law enforcement priority.”
The 2007 initiative created the Marijuana Policy Review Panel, which includes both city leaders and citizens with the aim of holding police to the voters’ demand of not arresting people for the simple possession of weed. The panel worked. Earlier this year Tvert announced that marijuana prosecutions dropped 21 percent.
He hopes to continue that trend with “Marijuana is Safer.”
“There’s been a great deal of debate surrounding marijuana and marijuana laws, but too many Americans are still unaware of the fact that marijuana is far safer than alcohol,” Tvert told the Denver Daily News Thursday. “The book’s message that marijuana prohibition, paired with current alcohol laws, is driving people to drink is something many people haven’t considered — we’re trying to highlight the fact that we’re not trying to promote a drug, we’re trying to provide an alternative, a safer alternative to alcohol.”
The book uses research and scientific evidence to compare and contrast the relative harms and legal status of both marijuana and alcohol. In the end, there has never been a documented case of someone dying from marijuana use, but every year 100,000 Americans die from alcohol-related causes.

Big seller
Readers must be interested in the topic — as of press time last night, “Marijuana is Safer” was listed as No. 17 on Amazon.com’s top 100 bestsellers, making “Marijuana is Safer” the all-time top-selling marijuana-related book on Amazon.com.
The book has been endorsed by medical and psychology professors, law enforcement officials, former New Mexico Republican Gov. Gary Johnson, an executive with the conservative-leaning Cato Institute, a former executive with the American Civil Liberties Union, and even by professional athletes.
“It’s going great, more and more people are coming to realize marijuana is safer than alcohol, and as a result, more and more people are open to discussing reform and allowing adults to make the safer choice,” said Tvert. “Support for marijuana reform has grown every year here in Denver and it certainly seems to be growing on the national level.”
The outspoken pot advocate believes reform will happen on a state-by-state basis. SAFER ran a statewide voter initiative in 2006 attempting to legalize the simple possession of marijuana, but voters rejected the question. Tvert believes, however, that support is growing.
A similar initiative is currently being carried in Breckenridge — a marijuana advocacy group in the mountain town has successfully qualified the initiative for the November ballot.
And as states consider their fiscal woes — exacerbated by the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression — some, like California, are considering legalizing and taxing pot to help with budget shortfalls.
On the federal level, Congressman Barney Frank, D-Mass., is working on legislation that would remove federal penalties for personal marijuana use.
Part of the mission of “Marijuana is Safer” is to get the book into the hands of lawmakers to encourage them to craft marijuana reform policies. Tvert is asking supporters to not only buy a copy of the book for themselves, but also for their state representative.
“This isn’t about being pro-drug,” he said. “This is about being pro-safety, pro-health and pro-good public policy, and allowing adults to make the rational, safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol if that’s what they prefer so that we’re no longer driving people to drink.”

“Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?”
Book Launch Event
WHEN: Sunday, 2-5 p.m.
WHERE: 8 Rivers Cafe, 1550 Blake St.
COST: $20 buys you a copy of the book; $30 gets you a copy and one sent to a lawmaker
BOOK INFO: Paperback; Chelsea Green Publishing; Authors: Mason Tvert, Paul Armentano and Steve Fox

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By Gene Davis, DENVER DAILY NEWS
A new Denver concept art gallery is splashing together art with good old-fashioned fun.
The Color and Light Galleria is trying to “bring art to the community and community to art” with several events this month. For instance, on this Wednesday, affiliated artist Janie McGee will present a painting to Cleo Parker Robinson Dance to celebrate the dance school’s contributions to the Denver community.
The artwork — an original framed acrylic painting depicting Robinson’s life in dance —boasts the colorful style that McGee is known for.
“Bringing to light the work of local artist is a goal of Color and Light Galleria,” said a statement from Terri Clauss, the gallery’s founder. “And to that end, this piece of art is being donated as an ongoing celebration of Ms. Robinson’s contribution to the Denver art community, inspiring not only dancers but artists as well.”
Furthering the gallery’s mission, Color and Light will also donate several prints to the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance’s gala. The prints will be sold at the event, and part of the proceeds will go towards replacing the floor in the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance’s rehearsal studio.
The Color and Light Galleria acknowledges that an economic downturn doesn’t seem like an opportune time to start an art gallery. However, a press release from the gallery states five reasons why Clauss did exactly that. The reasons, which range from pure defiance to a love of what art does for people and societies, are enough reason to check out the gallery for its guts alone.
Additionally, the gallery strives to promote the art created here in Denver, bringing “some of the work that is in closets and basements out for everybody to enjoy.”
“Color Light Galleria strives to help everyone find the artist that speaks to their individual soul,” says the press release.
Where: 1422 E. 22nd Ave.
Information: 303-831-4777, Color-N-Light.com

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By Gene Davis, DENVER DAILY NEWS
Escape to the mountains this weekend for an affordable art show benefiting a good cause.
The Mountain Art Gathering is entering its 11th year in Keystone. The art show includes works from 13 professional artists and three Summit High School students.
“We bill this as a classic art show and sale, even if you don’t want to buy anything, it’s a lot of fun to peruse and check it out,” said Michael Langlois, director of events for the Summit Foundation.
Anyone who buys art will be helping out the Summit Foundation, the largest nonprofit in Summit County. Over the first 10 years, the Mountain Art Gathering has raised over $500,000 for the foundation, which then puts that money back into the community.

Family friendly
The Mountain Art Gathering is again billing itself as a family-friendly affair. Throughout the weekend, the art show will offer children’s art activities as well as plenty of events to keep the adults occupied.
“The kids could do something while the parents go in and check out the artwork and talk with the artists,” said Langlois.
This year marks the second time the Mountain Art Gathering is working with select high school artists. The professional artists leading up to the event have mentored three Summit High School students this year.
The mentorship gives the high school students an opportunity to see what the industry is about — from the creation to the sale of the artwork, said Langlois. In fact, Langlois said he recently saw that one high school student who participated last year had a professional art showing at a local gallery.
“Involving the high school students has really added to our event greatly,” he said.
For anyone looking to make a weekend getaway out of the art show, the Summit Foundation is running discounted rooms through ResortQuest.com. Lodging through the Web site starts at $68 per night.
“It’s a great way for folks in Denver to be able to take a little time out of this busy summer, get up in the mountains and enjoy some free and fun activities,” said Langlois.

Where: The Pavilion at Keystone in River Run
When: Friday-Sunday
Information: SummitFoundation.org

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