Local Brief

Just 4 Us: Handy Dandy Masterpieces

Get your hands on (and in) art during this high-energy, interactive parent-child workshop on June 3, 10 and 17.  Use your very own hands as both tools and models to create unique masterpieces

"Just 4 Us" classes are for 2 1/2 - 5 year olds and their grown-ups. Classes are held at 10am on three consecutive Tuesdays each month and last approximately 45 minutes.

Admission is $18/month for an adult and a child. Reservations are REQUIRED. Call 387-9015 to register. 

Celebration Place is located on the upper level of The Citadel in the Burlington wing.

For more information about the Imagination Celebration and its year-round programming throughout the Pikes Peak region call the Imagination Celebration office at 597-3344.  The office is located at 1515 N. Academy Blvd., Suite 200, 80909.   Or visit the Imagination Celebration web site at www.imaginationcelebration.org . 

Outdoors

Free Red Rock Canyon Guided Hikes Have Started Again

Hike Red Rock Canyon the Pikes Peak region’s newest open space area. Red Rock Canyon marks the transition from plains to mountains with 300 million years of geologic history and vegetation and wildlife from several life zones.

Hike grassy meadows and mountain shrub lands, pass through historic red rock quarries and along sandstone rock formations. Trails are mostly easy to moderate. Route, distance and time vary as new trails are opened.

For the first few weeks allow 1 ½ hours.Guided Hikes are every Thursday at 9:30 am and begin from Red Rock Canyon parking lot on Ridge Road/High Street off of Hwy 24.  Guided hike length and start times will change later in the summer.  For Reservations and directions call The Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau.  685-5089. 

Concert

At The BAC  Thursday, June 5 ~ 3rd Annual Pikes Peak Big Harp Blowdown,  Doors open at 6:30, Performance  begins at 7:00. Tickets available at the BAC in Espresso with Art: $12 for the general public and $10 for Pikes Peak Blues Community and BAC members.           

Saturday, June 28 ~ Manitou Springs School District Music Department Benefit Concert Doors open at 4:30, Performances  begins at 5:30 pm. The Electric Seahorses… band members are Manitou Springs High School students.  The band classifies themselves as kind of indie/punk band.  More band information is found at http://myspace.com/theelectricseahorses.

6:30 pm - Hey Evalinda ~ a compilation of two great Manitou Springs based jam bands; Creating A Newsense and Pale Room.

8:15 ~ Molten Audio Experience ~ Local Manitou Springs 3-piece psycho blast rock noise funk craziness. Nathanial Baker is on bass guitar and flute; Phillip Petty is on drums; Dustin Booth is on keyboards and guitar.  They are loved by all locals and have not played in awhile so it will be a treat.

10:00 pm ~ Unikord ~ a hard rock band in the vein as Spinal Tap meets Motorhead. We love to have tons of fun with a few surprises. Unikord will be releasing their third album on that night also www.myspace.com/unikord.

Concert

Mistura Bela - Beautiful Mixture The Pikes Peak Jazz And Swing Society’s Second Sunday Jazz Affair will be held on Sunday June 8 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Olympian Plaza, 975 S Union Blvd. in Colorado Springs. 

The featured group, Mistura Bela, which means beautiful mixture in Portuguese, includes leader Barbara Ernst, guitar and vocals, John Flores, double bass; Ed Hureau, saxes; and Stefan Flores, drums.

The quartet, currently performing at the Cucuru Gallery Café in Colorado Springs does mostly Brazilian sambas, bossa novas, some Spanish ballads and some Jazz standards while Barbara who has traveled quite a bit in Asia, Africa and Latin America and several times in Brazil sings in Spanish, Portuguese and English.

All area jazz enthusiasts and dancers are invited. Tickets are available at the door and reservations are not necessary. There will also be door prizes, a cash bar plus a cold and hot buffet and desserts available for purchase. Contact Information: Phone: 685-9451 or on the web at www.ppjass.org

Event

Please join the Pikes Peak Group of the Sierra Club for a screening of “Everything’s Cool” on Sunday, June 8, at 7 pm, at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center, 315 E. Costilla, to learn how you can help the Sierra Club and other groups address global warming and climate change in the Pikes Peak region. The doors open at 6 PM for a pre-film reception. There is a $5 suggested donation, and refreshments will be served.

“Everything’s Cool” is a film about America finally "getting" global warming in the wake of the most dangerous chasm ever to emerge between scientific understanding and political action.

While industry-funded naysayers sing what just might be their swan song of pseudo-scientific deception, a group of global warming messengers are on a high stakes quest to find the iconic image, the magic language, the points of leverage that will finally create the political will to move the US from reliance on fossil fuels to a new clean energy economy.

For more information, visit our website, http://www.rmc.sierraclub.org/ppg/, or call Jane at 520-5381.

Entertainment

Join Imagination Celebration at the Pikes Peak Center for our Free Family Festival Day on Sunday, June 8th at 2:30pm featuring the electrifying energy and unbridled joy of KISSIDUGU!

This is a FREE performance, however a ticket is required. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first served basis at the Pikes Peak Center Box Office, 190 S. Cascade Ave., beginning May 23rd.  Call Imagination Celebration at 597-3344 for more information.

In this dazzling celebration of West African percussion and dance, Kissidugu is sure to delight and inspire people of all ages.

The troupe itself is a merging of cultures, with members of varied ancestry and backgrounds. Under the direction of Fara Tolno and Facinet Bangoura, members of Kissudugu have a common goal: to teach and to share the rich musical tradition of Guinea, West Africa.

In the Kissi language of Guinea, Kissidugu means "a safe place" or "a place of refuge." Historically, people from the coast of Guinea had to migrate inland to the mountains and forests to escape wars and slavery. During their performance, Kissidugu creates this same "safe place" for people from all walks of life to connect to each other and their own histories through the power of music and dance.

For more information on Imagination Celebration and its year-round programming, call 597-3344 or visit our website at www.imaginationcelebration.org.

Event

The Chamber Orchestra of the Springs announces “A Midsummer Night’s Music III: Dances in the Garden”, a unique garden party fund-raising event for the Orchestra.  Featuring dance music by Holst, and Grieg, The Capriol Suite by Peter Warlock, and music of Mozart by Judeth Shay Burns and Paul Nagem, this special concert/party will also present small musical ensembles from the Chamber Orchestra playing through out the grounds.  Again, this year, an art show featuring works by local artists will be part of the evening.

This event will take place on Tuesday, June 10th, from 6-9 PM at the beautiful Hillside Gardens at 1006 S. Institute Avenue in Colorado Springs. Tickets for the garden party are  available by calling 633-3649, or will be for sale at the event. The ticket price includes a catered buffet. Wine and other beverages will also be available for an additional cost.

For more information about this event or the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, contact David Ball at 332-5462. 

Event

44TH ANNUAL URBAN LEAGUE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY DAY GALA

Urban League of the Pikes Peak Region Honors Community Members Colorado Springs

The Equal Opportunity Day Gala of the Urban League of the Pikes Peak Region, Inc. will be held Saturday, June 14, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (Circle Avenue at I-25.)

The Urban League of the Pikes Peak Regions’ Equal Opportunity Day (EOD) Awards Gala honors individuals and corporations who perpetuate the principle of equal opportunity and exhibit leadership qualities that result in notable contributions to the cause of equal rights. An additional focus of the EOD gala is the awarding of scholarships to deserving students. This year’s honorees include Jim Stewart, Kathryn Young, William Hybl, Theo Gregory, Rick Price, Barbara Wider, John Henry, Ann Chance, Leah Wells, Viola Gabbin, & Mark Browning, Jr.

The night will include a VIP Reception, awards presentation, dinner and entertainment. We welcome Shed “Can I Vent” G. who will provide entertainment, music will be provided by DuBie. Also, there will be dancing, a Silent Auction with all proceeds benefiting the ULPPR and a cash bar. Black Tie & Cocktail Attire please.

Proceeds from the dinner benefit the ULPPR’s programs and services in our major focus areas: Education, Youth, Economic Empowerment, Advocacy and Civil Rights. To receive information about this year's event, contact the ULPPR at 719-634-1525, or send an email to dwisdom@springsurbanleague.org.

Concert

Irish musician extraordinaire Andy Irvine, often hailed as "one of the legends of Irish music," will perform at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 730 N. Tejon St., Colorado Springs, on Wednesday evening, June 18, 7:30 pm. Doors open 6:45.  Special guests, acclaimed local traditional group Ceol Ceili perform beginning at 7 pm.

Musician, singer and songwriter, Andy has maintained both personal integrity and highly individual performing skills throughout his 40-year career.  His repertoire spans Irish traditional songs, dexterous Balkan dance tunes, and a compelling canon of his own material that defies description.

Andy embodies that spirit with a solo show and wandering lifestyle, plying his trade as archetypal troubadour.  Andy's passion for his music and its stories earned him the description of "Ireland's Woody Guthrie, with a philosopher's ear and a prophet's passionate voice."  (Si Kahn)    

Andy's career--as solo artist and as co-founder of several of the most influential Irish traditional music groups since the 1960's--has taken him from Britain and Ireland throughout Europe, North America, Japan, and Australia.  Visit his website at www.andyirvine.com.

Ceol Céilí have appeared in many regional concerts, including the Pikes Peak Folk Festival, The Rocky Mountain Highland Games and Celtic Festival, The Colorado Irish Festival, Black Rose Acoustic Society and Mountain  Acoustic Music Association concerts. They perform regularly at Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub n Colorado Springs.

Advance tickets are available at Tejon Street Music, 30 N. Tejon, and The Great Southwest, 76 S. Sierra Madre St in Old Depot Square.

For more information, call 634-2405 or e-mail musickstudio@juno.com