Spring is an interesting season here in Colorado — you’re never entirely sure what you’re going to get. It could be the biggest blizzard of the year, days and days of rain, or nothing but blue skies smiling at me, as the song goes.
With that in mind, my recommendations for welcoming spring tend to lean towards the indoors, just to be safe, but it comes with a caveat — any time you have the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful spring day in Colorado, I suggest you take it.
Mike Birbiglia Stops the Ride in Denver
There are a lot of comedians out there capable of making an audience laugh, but it takes someone special to have an audience leave the show deep in thought. Those are the kind of performances Mike Birbiglia specializes in. His shows, like “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” and 2022’s “The Old Man and the Pool,” are among my favorite comedic achievements, because he connects with our common humanity in a way that is extremely rare.
Birbiglia is coming to the Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Place in Denver, for three performances of his latest show, “Please Stop the Ride.” He’ll take to the stage at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 29, and 6:30 and 9 p.m. on Saturday, March 30. It’s always exciting to see a comic doing new material, so you don’t want to miss this one.
Visit www.paramountdenver.com/event-calendar for all the pertinents and tickets.
A pair of ‘Wonderers’ visit DMNS
April is Earth Month, so what better way to celebrate that than by learning more about the planet and what makes it such a wonderfully beautiful place? You’ll learn all about the planet at “Connecting Worlds: A Conversation with Beatie Wolfe & Aaron Rose,” held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd. in Denver.
Wolfe and Rose are professional “wonderers,” and each has made a mark in the artistic and environmental world. According to the provided information, Wolfe (who has been named by WIRED Magazine as one of “22 people changing the world”) has beamed her music into space and is a UN role model for innovation. Rose is an American film director, artist, exhibition curator and writer who delights in exploring the breadth of the human experience. Together, they’ve created physical media, film and immersive installations.
Head over to https://secure1.dmns.org/adult-programs for tickets.
Learn about the writing process with Jacqueline Woodson
Few contemporary authors are as lauded and beloved as Columbus, Ohio’s, Jacqueline Woodson. An author for all ages, who specializes in books for children and young people, she’s won numerous awards, including the National Book Award, the Newbery Honor and MacArthur Fellowship. Some of her most well-known titles include “Brown Girl Dreaming,” “After Tupac and D Foster” and “Red at the Bone.” In her works, she explores everything from race and gender to class and American history.
Jefferson County Public Library is hosting an evening with Woodson from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Friday, April 5 at Jefferson Jr./Sr. High School, 2305 Pierce St. in Edgewater. In addition to an author talk, it will also feature a Q&A session and a book signing.
Details and registration are available at https://jeffcolibrary.org/jacqueline-woodson/.
Escape the Titanic with Molly Brown
Every April the Molly Brown House Museum, 1340 Pennsylvania St. in Denver, goes all out to mark the tragic sinking of the Titanic and Brown’s survival of the ordeal. This year’s events include a discussion of the ship in pop culture and a Titanic Tea, but the most fun will be the Titanic Escape room event, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 4 and Thursday, April 18.
Participants will put themselves in the middle of the disaster — it’s 1:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912 and they’re stuck in the bowels of the ship as it begins sinking. They must solve puzzles and travel from deck to deck as they attempt to find a spot on a lifeboat before the ship sinks.
For more information on all the events, visit https://mollybrown.org/.
Clarke’s Concert of the Week — Indigo De Souza at the Gothic Theatre
North Carolina’s Indigo De Souza makes the kind of indie rock that is difficult to pin down. It can be anthemic and almost poppy at certain moments, but it has a habit of squirming away and twisting into something you didn’t quite expect. It almost always really and truly rips, and will get under your skin and stay there. Her latest album, last year’s “All of This Will End,” explores a more optimistic worldview, one that celebrates community and focusing on the present.
She’s touring behind the record and is coming to the Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway in Englewood, at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2. Opener HUMBIRD will kick off the evening. Get tickets at www.ticketmaster.com.
Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail.com.