Classes, Lectures & Forums - Colorado Community Media

Turn off the news and make some art at low-pressure workshops for adults hosted by A Good Day For Art: Dec. 6, Spirit Art, make Inspiration Cards and a Serenity Paper Doll; 6 or 13, Artist Trading Cards, make & trade miniature art; 14, Paper Doll Workshop, simple, classic one-of-a-kind paper dolls; 20, Process Art, a simple creative painting method. Call 303-369-1952 for south Denver location, times and info, or visit www.agooddayforart.com.

Films and cooking workshops pay tribute to Marlene Dietrich in this month’s Fresh City Life offerings, in addition to other free cultural programming for adults, at the Denver Public Library:

The Marlene Dietrich Film Series Lily of the Lamplight screens classics on Tuesdays, 6:30-9p.m.: Dec. 9, Blonde Venus; 16, Scarlet Empress.

Chef Shellie Kark pays tribute to Marlene’s desire to communicate through cuisine with technique-savvy cooking demos, Saturdays, 10:30a.m.-noon: Dec. 6, Classic Coq au Vin (Chicken braised in red wine); 13, Mexican Wedding Cookies and Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheels.

All events held in the Level B2 Conference Center of the Central Library, located at 14th Ave. Pkwy. & Broadway. Registration needed: www.denverlibrary.org/fresh or 720-865-1205.

Learn to turn old cloth into new treasures at TACtile Arts Center, 7777 E. Hampden Ave. Classes offered at TACtile this month include: Remaking Sweaters with Donna Christopher, slated for Sat., Dec. 6, 10a.m.-1p.m., (class repeats Jan. 10, 1:30-4:30p.m.) Learn to make Chenille Scarves with Ann Carlson, Sat., Dec. 13, 1:30-4:30p.m. Wiley Sherer teaches Kaleidoscope of Junk Mail, Dead Tech Jewelry, Fused Plastic as Fabric and Newspaper Baskets on Thur., Dec. 18. Call for course fees, details.

Drop in to work on a project, get help, make friends and hang out at free Weekly Wednesdays, 5-8p.m. (except Dec. 24 & 31). Different crafts and mentor each week: fashion sewing, beading, weaving/knitting, embroidery & needlecraft and more.

Create warming salts & scrubs, and tasty treats in Yuletide Gift Making, a free clinic at Apothecary Tinctura, 2900 E. 6th Ave., a medicinal herb store & clinic, Tues., Dec. 9, or Wed., Dec. 17, from 6:30-8:30p.m. Whip up homemade lotions and creams to spice up cold winter nights in Luscious Lotions & Fabulous Creams, Sun., Dec. 7, 4:30-7:30p.m.

Holiday Champagne & Shopping Nights – with wines, cheese & chocolates – held Thur., Dec. 11, 5-8p.m., and Sun., Dec. 14, 4-7p.m.

Call 303-399-1175 to sign up; visit www.apothecarytinctura.com for details.

Come premeditate with us! Community Meditations on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of every month (Dec. 8 & 22) at 7p.m., 854 Pearl St. Beginners welcome. Yoga for children is offered during the childcare program.

Also, Free Yoga every Sunday (except fifth) at 10:10a.m., at Washington Street Community Center, 809 S. Washington St. Beginners welcome! Call MJ at 303-433-6280 for info.

Explore the history and controversy surrounding Tibet, the Dalai Lama and China’s claims to the nation in Tibet, at a free Active Minds presentation Wed., Dec. 17, 10a.m., at Malley Senior Center, 3380 S. Lincoln St. RSVP: 303-762-2660.

At Tattered Cover Bookstore, 2526 E. Colfax Ave.: The History of Colorado reveals the roles of native peoples, and mineral and oil industries in the 38th state’s past, Tues., Dec. 9, 12:30-1:30p.m. Free.

Probe the origins of Christmas trees, holiday lights, eggnog, holly and mistletoe in Holiday Traditions Unveiled, Wed., Dec. 17, 2:30-3:30p.m., at Cherry Oaks, 6800 Leetsdale Dr. Free, RSVP to Cherry Oaks: 303-331-9963.

Info: Jeff Robertson at 303-320-7652 or info@activemindsforlife.com.

Remodeling? Get expert advice on the planning, budget, design and maintenance at Old Home/New Space: A Guide to Remodeling, a free seminar at Classic Homeworks, 3430 E. 12th Ave., Tues., Dec. 9, 6:30p.m. Seating limited; register at www.classichomeworks.com. Info: 303-722-3000.

Learn holiday decorating using what you already have, natural materials and your artistic skills in Holiday Decorating & Party Planning, a special presentation at Workshop for Women, 47 W. Alameda Ave., Tues., Dec. 9, 10a.m.-noon or 6-8p.m. $25. To register, call 720-290-9667.

Women-only home maintenance classes offered monthly; morning and evening sessions available. Call 303-284-6354 or visit www.workshopforwomen.com for schedule.

The fairy godmother of ski-boot fitting drops into Cherry Creek’s Outdoor Divas, 2717 E. 3rd Ave., Tues., Dec. 9. Ski racer Jeannie Thoren will offer free private fitting sessions, helping women make this ski season a comfortable one.

Call 303-320-DIVA for appointment or more information.

When disaster strikes, the cavalry can’t always make it. So consider Citizen Emergency Response Training, a free, 16-hour disaster preparedness and response training held Tues. & Wed., Dec. 9 & 10, 8a.m.-5p.m., at Denver Police District 3 Community Room, 1625 S. University Blvd. Learn skills, then help support local emergency response agencies. Limited to 40 participants. Registration/info: 720-865-7600,www.denvergov.org/oem, or DenverCERT@denvergov.org.

Pick up the nuts & bolts of putting on a television show through classes at Denver’s public access TV station, Denver Open Media, in the Microbusiness Development Center, 700 Kalamath St.: Intro to Studio Production (Dec. 10 & 11); Field Production Workshop (17 &18). Coming in January: Digital Storytelling. Visit www.denveropenmedia.org or call 720-222-0160 for details and other classes.

Learn to negate knotheads’ negativity at a free Laughter Yoga Class, Thur., Dec. 11, noon, at Schlessman YMCA, 2625 S. Colorado Blvd. Simple laughter exercises and gentle yogic breathing enhance people’s ability to laugh and smile when dealing with negativity. Info: B.J. or Chris, 720-524-2776.

Investigate a year-round greenhouse needing no supplemental heat in Sustainable Greenhouse Design, Sat., Dec. 13, 1-5p.m., at Denver Botanic Gardens, 1000 S. York St. Penn and Cord Parmenter show how they used recycled materials and water in their design, located on a 8,120-foot mountain in southern Colorado. Cost: $49/$56 non-member, +$10 walk-ins.

The final Body: Yoga & Plants class – Sixth & Seventh Chakras – is Mon., Dec. 8, 6:30-8:30p.m., providing yoga instruction and a workshop to create teas, oils or essences from plants. Cost: $48-$53.

For list of all December (and 2009) classes and to register, visit www.botanicgardens.org or call 720-865-3580.

Abstract acrylic painter Michael Gadlin presents Demo and Dialogue, a live art demonstration/discussion, Sat., Dec. 13, 1-3p.m., at the Art Students League of Denver, 200 Grant St. This monthly event showcases faculty artists at work. $7/$5 members.

ASLD provides beginning to advanced instruction for adults, children and teens, in drawing, painting, mixed media, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics and fiber art. Pre-registration required for all classes/events: www.asld.org, 303-778-6990.

A half-day Learn to Meditate course will be held Sat., Dec. 13, 9a.m.-1p.m., at Avalokiteshvara Buddhist Center, 1081 Marion St. Pre-register, $30. General Program Buddhist Meditation classes held Wednesdays, 7p.m., & Sundays, 10:30a.m. Also: daily chanted prayers, advanced study programs and free stress-buster meditation. Info: call 303-813-9551 or www.meditationincolorado.org.

Transition Denver hosts The Transition to a Sustainable 21st Century Energy Economy, Tues., Dec. 16, 7-9p.m., at the Mercury Café, 2199 California St. ($5 donation). Heidi VanGenderen talks about her quest for new ideas for using remaining fossil fuel supplies to bring forward a sustainable 21st-century energy economy. She’s been working on energy, climate change and sustainability issues for more than 25 years, focusing on education, project construction and policy.

Transition Denver is part of a world-wide Transition Town movement for a creative transition from oil dependency to local, resilient communities. Info: Dana Miller, 303-300-3547, or email pompomdana@comcast.net, or Kenzie Davison at sacreddynamics@gmail.com.

Learn to craft your businesses’ story so people remember it and remember you in How to Tell Your Story, the next Business Success Series presentation of the Cherry Creek Chamber of Commerce, Tues., Dec. 16, 7:45-9:15a.m., at 101 Monroe St., $15 (free for Chamber members). RSVP to www.cherrycreekchamber.org or 303-388-6022.

Center for Spiritual Living Denver will present Angels Among Us – Art For the Soul, a lecture and workshop, Fri., Dec. 19, 6:30-9p.m., at 1420 Ogden St. Info: 303-832-5206, info@csldenver.org.

Celebrate the return of the sun in the Irish Celtic tradition at Moondance Botanicals’ Winter Solstice Celebration, Sun. Dec. 21, 4p.m., 601 Corona St. Donations will benefit Colorado Youth At Risk.

Seasonal classes: Boycott the malls and create herbal gifts that support and nurture body and Earth in DIY: Handmade is Best, Sat., Dec. 20, 1-5p.m. Cast pure aromatherapy candles with soy wax to light and warm winter evenings in Aromatherapy Candles, Tues., Dec. 9, 6-7:30p.m., $25. Bring youngsters to play, create and be empowered in Gift-making For Kids! Sat., Dec. 13, 1 & 2p.m. (ages 5-8) or 3 & 4p.m. (ages 9-14), $25.

Also, 4th Thursday Spa Party (Dec. 18), an evening of pampering for $10, champagne and chocolate included! RSVP, call 303-263-7275 or email moondance25@hotmail.com.

Imagine a Great City: Denver at 150 presents the events, people, communities and politics that shaped Denver over the past 150 years. The new History Colorado exhibit can be explored at the Colorado History Museum, 1300 Broadway, providing programs a-plenty for people perplexed by the past.

Attend the next First Friday lunchtime program, Jan. 2, 12:15-1p.m. to learn about Mary Elitch Long: Gracious Lady of Elitch’s Gardens, who in the 1800s helped her husband transform an apple orchard into Elitch’s Zoological Gardens (Denver’s first zoo), a wonderland of exotic animals, orchards, and gardens. Bring or buy lunch; free cookies/drinks. $4/$5.

Find out the favored cuisine of miners in 1859, and how Denverites’ palettes have since changed, in Denver Dining, circa 1859, a Tours & Treks tea, Sat., Dec. 6, 1-3p.m., at the Oxford Hotel, 1612 17th St.

Reservations required for all events: 303-866-4686; www.coloradohistory.org.

Grow community gardens and be a better gardener through Denver Urban Gardens’ Master Community Gardener program. Designed to give Denver’s community gardeners better skills in the development, maintenance and running of their community gardens, the weekly classes run from February to April, providing 30 hours of instruction in exchange for 30 hours of volunteer garden work. Contact 303-292-9900 or dirt@dug.org for details.

Winter classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute – for men and women “55 and better” – begin Jan. 12, offering a variety of academic courses for older learners pursuing high-level, life-long learning with like-minded peers. A community outreach program of DU’s University College, courses include: Great Decisions 2009; Agatha Christie: a Miss Marple Sampler; Psychoanalytic Ideas for Everyday Living; and Blood & Thunder – Kit Carson. Classes held Mon.-Thur. at Central Christian Church, 3690 Cherry Creek Drive S. For schedules, prices and more, visit www.universitycollege.du.edu/olli, or call 303-871-3090.

Mi Casa Resource Center For Women provides good, free advice on common legal problems every Legal Night the third Tuesday of each month (Dec. 16), 5:30-7:30p.m. Attorneys are available to provide legal guidance in areas including housing, employment, credit problems, family law, immigration, etc. Held at Mi Casa, 360 Acoma St. Info: 303-573-1302.

The Inner Connection Institute is a center for spiritual growth and psychic development, offering classes in meditation, healing and clairvoyance. Call 303-282-9439 for a free newsletter, or come by the free aura healing clinic, held each Wed., 6-7p.m., or on Thur., noon-1p.m., at 4101 E. Louisiana Ave., Suite G-1 (entrance around the back of building).

Meditation and Buddhist philosophy classes are held Thursdays, 6-8p.m., in Cook Park, using the Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness and Sogyal Rinpoche’s The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Call Deb Rosenberg, 303-695-0499, for location and details.

¿Habla usted Español? Haroldo’s Spanish conversation group takes place on Fridays, 9:30a.m.-noon, at Washington Park United Church of Christ, 400 S. Williams St. Advanced conversation, reading, translation and grammar. Info: 303-733-9693.

Girls and women can learn effective physical, verbal and psychological protection techniques to fend off attack in ongoing classes offered throughout Denver by RAAP – Rape Assistance and Awareness Program.

A workshop for partners, family and friends of sexual assault survivors (not for survivors themselves) – Someone I Love Was Sexually Assaulted – is held Sat., 9a.m.-noon, every other month. Call for specific dates. For information, call 303-329-9922, ext. 302, or visit www.raap.org.

Learn to play flamenco guitar like a gypsy with Master Teacher and Educator Rene Heredia at the Flamenco Center for Guitar & Dance, 602 S. Emerson St. Gypsy dance classes also available Friday evenings at Artistic Body & Development, 520 Cherokee St. Email gypsyproductionsinc@comcast.net or call 303-722-0054 or for details on either program.

Red hot (but cool) dance, theatre, poetry, and music events are served up every month at the Mercury Café, 2199 California St. For info about a wide variety of community happenings at The Merc, most open to all ages, call 303-294-9281 or visit www.mercurycafe.com.

Nurture mind, body and soul at a free weekly class at Advanced Health Solutions, 1777 S. Harrison St., #100: Iyengar Yoga, Tuesdays at 5:30p.m. & Fridays, 10a.m. & noon; Laughter Yoga, Mon. & Wed., 6:15p.m. (first class free).Info: 303-996-4663 or www.immediatehealing.com.

Medical Qigong classes promote health with simple movements, meditations and self-massage, every Wed., 6:30-8p.m., at A Living Arts Centre, 2231 S. Platte River Dr. The oldest branch of Chinese medicine, Qigong benefits circulation, digestion, respiration, daily energy level and immunity; classes taught by Pat Wigner Isaacs, LAc, MQP. Info: www.alivingartscentre.com or 303-780-2840.

Gently improve strength, flexibility and balance in a beginning Taoist Tai Chi Society taijiquan (tai chi) class, held at 1060 Bannock St. Each four-month course teaches 108 movements and basic angles. Health Recovery classes held weekly. Next classes start in January; visit www.colorado.usa.taoist.org or call 303-623-5163 for details.