5280 Magazine July 2022

The first issue of 5280 I ever held in my hands was the June/July 2001 “Top Of The Town” edition, in which editors and readers selected everything from Denver’s best burger to its most superlative sporting goods store. A bright bouquet of summery flowers graced the cover, and a veritable explosion of must-try restaurants, must-do adventures, and must-visit shops greeted 22-year-old, new-to-Denver me on the pages inside. Those were the pre-Yelp days, of course, so the insights delivered by not only 5280’s editors but also by readers’ paper survey responses—the original crowd-sourcing—were especially illuminating. I wanted to patronize every local company I read about and very nearly did. As I edited this issue, I was reminded of that sensation of impending discovery I had all those years ago. The pandemic forced…

Akalei Brown believes Native American culture is experiencing a renaissance. As evidence, the Denver designer points to this year’s Met Gala, where Indigenous supermodel Quannah Chasinghorse wore custom jewelry made by a Blackfeet and Cree artist. Then again, Brown doesn’t have to look further than her own family to see how interest in Native fashion and beauty is growing: In 2021, her now 10-year-old daughter, Haleakala Brown, and husband, Nick Ohitika Najin, a member of the Mni Coujou Lakota tribe, launched Lakota Body Care, which sells natural soaps inspired by Native fragrances. The family’s first batch sold out in less than an hour and their second in 30 minutes. A Native Hawaiian and Taos Puebloan, Akalei has been sewing custom Native pieces, such as kokum skirts, and selling them through…

COLORADO PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS CENTER 59TH ANNUAL JURIED MEMBERS SHOW July 1 to August 6 | CPAC Nearly 150 Colorado Photographic Arts Center (CPAC) members, both amateur and professional, submitted more than 800 images—representing an array of capturing, processing, and printing techniques—for consideration in the annual competition. This year’s judge, Gregory Harris, the Donald and Marilyn Keough Family Curator of Photography at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, then whittled that mass down to about 30 works, including the Moving Pictures series from Manitou Springs’ Brenda Biondo. But there can only be one Best in Show. Find out who wins the top prize on Saturday, July 9, during the free opening reception and award ceremony at CPAC’s gallery in the Golden Triangle neighborhood. GEORGIA O’KEEFFE, PHOTOGRAPHER July 3 to November 6 | Denver Art Museum If you…

Your home may be your castle, but when you’re dealing with an illness or injury, it’s much more valuable as your infirmary: a safe, clean space where you can get better. Unfortunately, individuals experiencing homelessness don’t have access to permanent shelter where they can recover or receive consistent respite care. Upon being discharged from hospitals, they often return to the streets, where their afflictions can worsen and force them back into emergency rooms. “They end up staying in the hospital for longer than they need to at great cost to the hospital, to the health care system, and Medicaid and Medicare,” says Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) president and CEO John Parvensky. “And their outcomes don’t necessarily get better.” CCH wants to change that reality. This summer, the nonprofit is…

BOOST YOUR BIKE PEDALS If you’re ready for clip-ins, which are more common for road cyclists but are also beneficial to mountain bikers, you’ll reap significant gains. “With a flat pedal, you can only push down,” Zinn says, whereas clip-ins enable you to “pull back, pull up, and push forward” for more power. Upgrade: Local shops, such as University Bicycles in Boulder, will outfit you with the best pedals for your specific riding style; Shimano, Look, and Crankbrothers are all Zinn-approved brands. SADDLE Over more than four decades in the bike industry, Zinn has heard one complaint rear up more than any other: “Their butts hurt.” That’s because stock saddles on bikes don’t fit their perinea. Upgrade: Specialized brand dealers, such as Wheat Ridge Cyclery, receive a gadget called (unofficially) the “asso-meter.” Plop your behind down,…

One night this past spring, a dozen or so people across the country “passed the feather” on a Zoom video conference, taking turns talking about whatever was on their minds. One man said he was grateful for the moon and for the trees. A woman said she was thankful for the lilacs she’d planted a few hours earlier. Everyone was appreciative of the cat that kept walking in front of someone’s computer camera. It was a meeting of the Rainbow Family of Living Light—the alleged band of villains that authorities warn could wreak destruction on U.S. Forest Service land in Colorado this month. Every year, thousands of free spirits meet on public land across the country for the group’s Rainbow Gathering, a weekslong campout and communal prayer for world peace that started…