It's construction season. Thank you for your patience.
Jul 10th, 2009 by admin
If you live in Northern Colorado, and love barbecue, Loveland is the place to be this weekend. The event, held in downtown Loveland at Fifth and Cleveland, starts today at noon and runs through tomorrow evening.
This is the third year for the Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned event. Each year, the event draws more competitors and more hungry barbecue fans. 49 teams are scheduled to compete in this year’s event. Admission is free, and food is purchased with $1 poker chips.
We attended Loveland Loves Barbecue for the first time last year, and were seriously impressed. Downtown was buzzing and the smell of smoking meat permeated the air. We made our way slowly through the event, eating pulled pork sandwiches and sampling from different vendors and competitors – it was a perfect way to spend an afternoon and we plan to do it again this year.
The 24th Annual Cherry Pie Celebration will also be held tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. at Peter’s Park (503 N. Lincoln Ave., outside the Loveland Museum Gallery). Pies, ice cream and beverages will be available to purchase and admission is free.
Both the barbecue and cherry pie events run simultaneously with Summer Fest in the Rockies, a wine, food and music event held at the Foote Lagoon at Civic Center Park, just east of downtown. For more on Summerfest visit, Engaging Loveland’s Website.
Also tonight, Night on the Town, Loveland’s very own art walk. Galleries and shops put out a spread of food and drinks to entice customers into their stores, and several downtown restaurants run Night on the Town specials.
All four events are within walking distance of one another.
Need help finding downtown Loveland? From I25, go West on Eisenhower Blvd. (Hwy 34) approximately 4.3 miles to Cleveland Avenue. Turn South (left) onto Cleveland. You will run right into historic downtown Loveland, located on and around 4th Street.
Downtown Loveland
Loveland may be known for sculpture, but it’s quickly gaining a reputation as a place for great barbecue!
Loveland Loves Barbecue 2008
(photos by H. M. Kerr-Schlaefer)
Jul 10th, 2009 by admin
Photo by H.M. Kerr-Schlaefer (The Elders at Loveland’s Foote Lagoon on July 9, 2009)
Celtic music is in my blood, literally. My Scottish and Irish genes co-mingled to make me an undeniable descendant of the Celts, complete with red hair and freckles and a propensity to sunburn. From childhood the tunes of the fiddle, drum and bagpipe have inspired me to move. Throughout my life I have loaded up on Celtic music CDs from Celtic Women to the Proclaimers, if the music was related in some way to Ireland or Scotland, I had to have it.
Over four years ago, at Loveland’s Foote Lagoon, I was introduced to a band called The Elders, and I am now a disciple. Since that fateful summer evening, my husband and I have seen the Elders perform over a ten times. We have bought all their CD’s and regularly give their CD’s as gifts (we are working to convert others to The Elders discipleship).
Hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, The Elders formed in 1998, and have gone on to become a successful and well loved band. Every summer they pull in over 3,000 people to Loveland’s Foote Lagoon, making them the most popular group by far to ever play the venue. This year, the band broke it’s own record by drawing over 4,000 people to the Northern Colorado venue.
The Elders live show is a must-have life experience. Their on-stage energy is truly infectious. Though the group calls their style “Arse-kickin’ music from the heartland,” front man Ian Byrne, from County Wicklow, Ireland gives the band an authentic Irish flare. The talent of the band members is mind blowing. Guitarist Steve Phillips, violinist Brent Hoad, bassists Norm Dahlor, drummer Tommy Sutherland, and keyboardists Joe Miquelon, always appear to be having as much fun as the audience. I especially love watching Brent Hoad; he flies through the notes on his fiddle at such a furious pace I expect to see smoke rising from the strings.
The audience at an Elders show is diverse and depending on the venue, there are often entire families in attendance. When the band visits the Loveland, a number of pint-size dancers collect at the edge of the lagoon and predictable end up in the murky waters.
The Elders are also gifted songwriters. From fish tales and pub tales to more somber themes such as the historical struggles of the Irish, each song tells a story and paints a picture. I particularly enjoy the fact that the words of each song are intelligible and singing along becomes inevitable.
There will be many chances this summer to see The Elders perform live. Last night the band played at the Foote Lagoon in Loveland and here’s where they will be over the next several days.
July 10, Cheyenne, Wyoming – on the Plaza – free, 5:30 p.m.
July 11-12, Littleton, Colorado – Colorado Irish Fest – both evenings
July 14, Aspen, Colorado – Belly Up - free show, starts at 10:00 p.m.
July 15 Crested Butte, Colorado - Wednesday night summer concert series- Red Lady Stage at 5:30pm
To see The Elders entire schedule, go to www.eldersmusic.com.
Jul 4th, 2009 by admin
1. “Saving Private Ryan”
2. “Forrest Gump”
3. “Apollo 13″
Jul 3rd, 2009 by admin
Believe me guys – Megan Fox’ hotness does not make up for how truly bad this movie is. Director Michael Bay should be ashamed of himself. Unfortunately, it seems he’ll be laughing all the way to the bank.
Jul 3rd, 2009 by admin
Another list of the top 100 books, as decided by Newsweek (for what that’s worth!).
I counted 29 I’ve read, many more I’ve started but not finished. Regarding several others, I’ve seen the movie, but not read the book.
I was happy to see my favorite book, “The Age of Innocence,” made the list at #78. I would have put it much higher.
Read the article here: Newsweeks top 100
How many have you read?
Jun 19th, 2009 by admin
May 25th, 2009 by hmks
This movie is a sequel to the 2006 movie “Night at the Museum.” In the first movie, Larry Daly (Ben Stiller) discovers the museum he guards comes to life at night, thanks to… continue reading this Movie Review.
May 14th, 2009 by hmks
“Spamalot” opened to a full house last night at Denver’s Buell Theater. It’s the shows second run in Denver. Written by the Monty Python alum Eric Idol as a spoof of the movie “Monty Python’s and the Holy Grail,” this play is even more ridiculous than the movie. Thankfully, I’m a fan of ridiculous and it seemed most of the crowd at last night’s show were also fans of ridiculous.
The first act of the play follows the original movie with the addition of several silly songs. The second act, following intermission, has a fairly nonsensical storyline, but the crowd didn’t seem to care. The songs are still hilarious, even as the plot gets more and more absurd.
John O’Hurley of Seinfeild fame, plays King Arthur, a deep-voiced, rather self-absorbed character. He is the straight guy to all the outlandish characters around him. Veteran Broadway actress Merle Dandridge plays the Lady of the Lake with a set of lungs that will knock your socks off. The rest of the mostly male ensemble are veterans of the stage.
Just as irreverent as all Monty Python productions, this play has more dancing nuns than the “Sound of Music.” “Spamalot” can be summed up as jokes about bodily functions, jokes about bodily appendages being mangled or cut off, and scantily clad girls running around the stage. If you are a fuddy-duddy, you probably won’t like it. However, if you always look on the bright side of life, I think you’ll like this one.
I mean, come on, dancing nuns are really, really, really funny.
NOTE: We sat in the far corner of the balcony. The acoustics for this particular show weren’t the best. Because this show features songs with a ton of words being sung at mind-blowing speeds, it’s very difficult to pick up all the word of the songs from this vantage point.
May 13th, 2009 by hmks
The mayor of HeidiTown is headed out to see Monty Python’s ”Spamalot” tonight.
It’s going to be laughing, smiling, dancing and singing, and tomorrow there will be a review, so stay tuned.
Cheers! And remember, always look on the bright side of life.