74 MARCH 26-APRIL 1, 2026 westword.com WESTWORD | FOOD & DRINK | MUSIC & VENUES | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | SHOPPING & SERVICES | SPORTS & RECREATION | CONTENTS | way to the metro area last year, inviting audiences to literally step inside the classic bedtime story. Nostalgia hits hard: Adults tear up, kids try to grab the mouse, and ev- eryone wants to touch the yarn. Best Mix of Snakes and Art Denver Art Noodle denverartnoodle.com instagram.com/denverartnoodle Artist Zaida Sever loves her snakes — and she loves educating people about them. We met Sever last fall at Cherry Creek Trail Wall Fest, where she was painting a mu- ral of her ball python, Ramen, in a bowl of ramen. Sever started Denver Art Noodle last year, a project that combines her two passions of snakes and art through visual media and events. “I wanted to see people get scared and overcome it; I wanted to see people get excited and do something they don’t normally get to do,” Sever says. Best New Public Art Rhingo 29th Street and Arkins Court Last summer, a giant sculpture of a rhino was erected in RiNo as part of the Denargo Market project, a multiphase, mixed-use redevelopment led by joint venture part- ners Golub & Company and Formativ that spans seventeen acres of the South Platte riverfront northeast of downtown Den- ver. The sculpture, designed by Sasaki and fabricated by local companies JunoWorks and Eldorado Walls, with structural en- gineering by Craft Engineering Studio, is more than thirty feet tall and 22,000 pounds — and it’s climbable for people of all ages and skill levels. Residents voted to name the structure “Rhingo.” Best New Denver Mural “Tribute to the Westside” 800 Kalamath Street Last fall, MSU Denver unveiled “Tribute to the Westside,” a piece that pays homage to the culture of Denver’s Westside neighbor- hood, telling stories of resilience, displace- ment and artistic presence. The massive mural in the Art District on Santa Fe depicts Chicano and Indigenous imagery, including a boxer, horses and a child in a headdress. The project was a collaboration between students, high school interns, faculty and other members of the community, and it was designed by Mid-Brow Collective. It’s a colorful and meaningful example of what a community can do when it comes together. Best Creative Display of Colorado Pride Brightfl ight Drones brightfl ightdroneshows.com Brightfl ight, the drone company behind Denver’s annual July 3 Indy Eve drone show, various college halftime shows and Visit Denver’s Mile High Holidays drone show, was selected for an even bigger proj- ect this year. In honor of Colorado’s 150th birthday, Brightflight is creating more than forty unique drone shows for events across the state in 2026 to tell the story of Colorado and honor each city or town hosting the shows. “We want people to be proud they live in Colorado, that they’re from Colorado,” Brightfl ight owner Tom Dolan says. “We want people to have that warm and fuzzy feeling that this is their hometown.” Best New Colorado Play The Reservoir by Jake Brasch Denver Center for the Performing Arts Theatre Company 1400 Curtis Street denvercenter.org/about-us/ theatre-company Jake Brasch’s The Reservoir arrived last January with rare emotional precision. The plot revolves around a young gay man struggling with addiction who returns home to Denver, where he reconnects with his grandparents and attempts to rebuild his life. Brasch balances humor, vulner- ability and intergenerational wisdom with striking confi dence for a new work. In a theater landscape crowded with adapta- tions and revivals, The Reservoir stands out for its compassionate portrait of recovery, family and the messy process of becom- ing an adult. The play recently fi nished its initial Off-Broadway run at the Atlantic Theatre Company, and if there is any jus- tice in the world, it will have a long life in the regional theater space. Best Regional Premiere of a Play The Thin Place by Lucas Hnath Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company betc.org Lucas Hnath’s eerie drama The Thin Place asks audiences to consider what might lie just beyond the edges of reality. Under the expert direction of Jessica Robblee, the Boul- der Ensemble Theatre Company expertly embraced that question in its deeply unset- tling production. The play was performed at both The Savoy Denver and Boulder’s Dairy Art Center, and BETC’s staging, led by Madison Taylor’s chilling performance, relied on the audience’s imagination, allow- ing silence, shadow and suggestion to carry as much weight as dialogue. The effect is a theatrical séance that leaves you wondering if you’ve seen the other side or just the limits of your perception. Arts & Entertainment continued from page 72 continued on page 76
