Holly, Alaska! at Dairy Center

This new musical is a heartwarming tale of a local group of community theater players who have been creating an annual holiday pageant for more than 100 years in the tiny town of Holly, Alaska. When the town council decides the show will not go on, the actors pull out all the stops to ensure this tradition will continue. It’s a music-filled story full of love, connection and “holiday revelry in the goofiest kind.” Was playing at the Dairy Center for the Arts through December 31.

Festo Festo: Planina, Gora Gora Orkestar & Upsherin at Mercury Cafe

Part of an ongoing monthly series at the Mercury Cafe, Festo Festo celebrates the traditional Jewish sounds of raucous Klezmer and Balkan music with local groups Upsherin and Gora Gora Orkestar. This New Year’s Eve, they stepped it up another notch, adding Panina to the mix. Klezmer is based on the Hebrew words, k’lei zemer, which means “a vessel for sound.” And you couldn’t find a more fun, dance-friendly vessel in which to ring in the new year than the Mercury Cafe Ballroom in Denver on Dec. 31.

In My Body exhibit at Dairy Center

For fans of visual arts, The Dairy Center is a wonderful place to visit with a widely varying calendar filled with artists of all kinds. Right now you can catch In My Body, which combines two bodies of artwork for local artist Courtney Griffin. This series of paintings highlights several seasons of change for the artist, as she was recovering from major surgery and in the first weeks of her first pregnancy. As her body began to change so, too, did her art. This exhibit seeks to answer the question, “What ways can we celebrate the new shapes our bodies make?” Visit TheDairy.org for more information.

I Hate Hamlet at Longmont Theatre Company

What happens when an actor has to perform in a play he is terrified to do? And what happens when that play is one of the most legendary plays of all time? This is explored in the hilarious comedy I Hate Hamlet opening Jan. 26 at Longmont Theatre Company. I Hate Hamlet is the story of a television actor, Andrew Rally, who is unsure about starting rehearsals for the titular show. He is visited by the ghost of the legendary actor John Barrymore, who introduces him to a grand tradition of previous Hamlets before him. Tickets are $32.50 online at longmonttheatre.org. 513 Main Street, Longmont. 303.772.5200

MediaLive: Technology as Healing at BMOCA

Man’s connection to technology is explored in this new exhibit titled MediaLive: Technology as Healing, now open at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. The exhibit features the work of eight different artists who use a variety of mediums to explore the complex global challenges of our time through technology. MediaLive presents, in various interpretations, how humans can transform their art practices into sustainable action. See MediaLive through Jan. 14 at 1750 13th Street in Boulder. Admission to the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Arts is now pay-what-you-can. Visit www.bmoca.org for more information.

Lewis Black at Boulder Theater

Few comedians in the world can deliver an absolutely thundering rant on nearly any topic with as much fury and hilarity as longtime maestro Lewis Black, and it appears this may be one of your very last chances to see it all happen in person. The two-time Grammy Award winner for comedic albums The Carnegie Hall Performance (Comedy Central Records, 2007) and  Stark Raving Black (Comedy Central Records, 2011) stops in at the Boulder Theater on Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. on the Colorado leg of his Goodbye Yeller Brick Road tour — being billed as his “final” tour. Tickets start at $45, get more information at BoulderTheater.com.

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Small-Town Spooks
This kind of thing is exactly why you don’t live in the city. Only in a cozy small town such as Longmont can you have a costume parade for the whole populace without worrying too much about some nut job protest group ruining all the fun (hopefully). Bring the kids in their Spider-Man and Fairy Princess best to the St. Vrain Memorial building along with the cameras. The parade route heads east to Main Street (on Longs Peak Avenue), then down Main to 3rd, before winding back north on Main, where the kids hit local shops for Trick or Treat Street. The only thing missing is Aunt Bea. 10 a.m., Oct. 25, 700 Longs Peak Ave., Longmont, 303.651.8404

No Cow Tipping!
Aside from crop circles and roasted corn, cornfields also happen to be awesome for losing yourself. At least, that’s what Anderson Farms says. The self-proclaimed oldest corn maze in Colorado brings everyone out in October as things really get hopping. Pick your own pumpkins, ride wagons, feed animals, practice cow milking—pretty much everything you ever wanted to do on a farm that’s legal. Sept. 20-Nov. 2, 6728 WCR 3 3/4, Erie, 303.828.510.

Watch out, Sandler
Remember that Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore flick where she’s an amnesiac who keeps reliving the same day, forcing Sandler to win her affection over and over again? 40 First Dates was Wedding Singer meets Groundhog Day, and actually pretty funny. Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lindsay Abaire took the same premise and made it more interesting with Fuddy Meers, adding a big dash mystery to the script. Oct. 31-Nov. 15, Longmont Theatre Co., 513 Main St., Longmont, 303.772.5200, , $15+

Since You Can’t Do the Mall Crawl
Colorado’s Halloween traditions have never quite lived up to the good ol’ days of the Mall Crawl on Pearl Street. But since hooligans and overzealous Boulder politicians ruined the fun, we’ve often had to head into Denver for something cool. Not this year—try Nissi’s for a night of dance music and costumed revelry with cover band Deja Blu. Their library includes everything from Joe Cocker to Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin to James Brown. 7:30 p.m., Oct. 31, 2675 North Park Drive, Lafayette, 303.665.2757, $12

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