4 MAY 4-10, 2023 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 10 PRETTY IN PINK The history of Casa Bonita...so far. BY KARL CHRISTIAN KRUMPHOLZ 14 BLAST OFF! Audacious Theatre’s Space Confl icts parodies Star Wars for May the 4th. BY TONI TRESCA 17 CHEF’S COUNTER At Bruto, Michael Diaz de Leon is redefi ning fi ne dining, one fermentation at a time. BY MOLLY MARTIN 23 HOMEGROWN YouTube channel Pink Sofa Hour spotlights local musicians and gives back to the music scene. BY CLEO MIRZA 6 News 14 Culture 17 Cafe 23 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 26 34 Marijuana TOKE OF THE TOWN ................................ 34 ASK A STONER ......................................... 36 STRAIN GANG .......................................... 38 VOLUME 46 NUMBER 36 MAY 4-10, 2023 E D I T O R I A L Editor Patricia Calhoun Editorial Operations Manager Jane R. Le News Editor Chris Perez Culture Editor Emily Ferguson Food and Drink Editor Molly Martin Cannabis Editor Thomas Mitchell Social Media Editor Katrina Leibee Staff Writers Catie Cheshire, Bennito Kelty, Benjamin Neufeld Senior Contributors Alan Prendergast, Michael Roberts Contributors Amy Antonation, John Bear, Staci Berry, Teague Bohlen, Jake Browne, Hyde Chrastina, Jacqueline Collins, Linnea Covington, Justin Criado, Susan Froyd, Lizzie Goldsmith, Nick Hutchinson, Marty Jones, Danielle Krolewicz, Karl Christian Krumpholz, Kristen Kuchar, Conor McCormick-Cavanagh, Cleo Mirza, Abigail Nueve, Ryan Pachmayer, Michael Paglia, Kristin Pazulski, Adam Perry, Ashlee Redger, Evan Semón, Amber Taufen, Toni Tresca, Kastle Waserman, Juliet Wittman Editorial Interns Julianna O’Clair, Sandra Vo Music Listings Chris Speed A R T Art Director Jay Vollmar P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager Michael Wilson Assistant Production Manager Erin Kirk Graphic Designers Chris Arneson, Tori Bohling C R E A T I V E S E R V I C E S Senior Graphic Designer Allie Seidel A D V E R T I S I N G Account Manager Natalie Proctor Senior Multimedia Account Executives Amy Camera, Aaron Lembke, Danelle Trujillo Multimedia Account Executives Trayl Chaffee, Quincy Lynch, William Savoie, Allison Wissink Marketing and Promotions Manager Heyward Manning Event Marketing Manager Britton Sacharski House Account Manager Anna Hortik Operations Manager Maddie Miller Digital Coordinator Carver Hodgkiss Digital and Advertising Sales Manager Taylor Wheeler Advertising Director Teri Driskell C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Ty Koepke B U S I N E S S Business Manager Sarah Dunahay Financial Accountant Robert Scribner AR Coordinator Stacy Phillips IT Systems Manager Kris Robinson Receptionist Cindy Perez Associate Publisher Tracy Kontrelos Publisher Scott Tobias V O I C E M E D I A G R O U P Executive Associate Editor Andy Van De Voorde Editorial Director Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek Corporate Controller Beth Cook Legal Counsel Steve Suskin Chief Financial Offi cer Jeff Mars Chief Executive Offi cer Scott Tobias V M G N A T I O N A L National Advertising: 1-888-278-9866, www.voicemediagroup.com Senior Vice President of Sales Operations Joe Larkin D I S T R I B U T I O N Westword is available free of charge. 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Periodicals postage paid in Denver. Domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $50 yearly. Postmaster: Send address changes to Westword, P.O. Box 5970, Denver CO 80217. Mailing address: P.O. Box 5970, Denver, CO 80217 Street address: 1278 Lincoln Street, Denver, CO 80203 For retail or classifi ed advertising, call: 303-296-7744 For general information, call: 303-296-7744 For Editorial, email: [email protected] “BEE HERE NOW,” CATIE CHESHIRE, APRIL 27 W H A T ’ S T H E B U Z Z ? Sweet story — literally! — about the bee huts at Capella Ranch. Thanks for sharing it. Rachel Norman Denver I am excited to try the bee huts. I have asthma, and can’t believe I’ve never heard about an apiary as a possible help before! Lisa Martinez Denver I have read about what trouble bees are in around the world and how populations are dropping. So I appreciate what the Pe- tersons are doing to celebrate this important species, and I hope more and more people visit Capella Ranch and experience the bee huts and just how busy bees are! Lara Yu Denver “BEER HERE,” RYAN PACHMAYER, APRIL 27 I N T H E S U D S Great list, Ryan! There will always be a few great breweries missing on a list like this, but it would be hard to argue against any of the ones you named. Mike Lockwood Arvada I defi nitely would not put any of these on the list of the best breweries in Denver. They’re good, but just wouldn’t go on the top. My picks personally: Station 26, Mockery Brewing, Spangalang Brewery, Raices Brew- ing Company, Little Machine, Fiction Beer Co., Denver Beer Co. and Ratio Beer Works. Amanda Martinez Colorado Springs A few on this list seem cool. And our gem isn’t on this list, so it’s still a secret! Jericho Noering Greeley Cerebral Brewing, really? Fifteen bucks for a four-pack of rice lager, or try one of our hazy IPAs, a style that certainly hasn’t been done to absolute death. No Crooked Stave. No Woods Boss. No Black Shirt. Spangalang. The only two that belong on this list are Comrade and Hogshead. Than Jay Denver All Cerebral does is make orange juice beers. Colin Hudson Denver Omitting Station 26 is an oversight of monumental proportions. Boo. Nathan Solheim Denver Y’all again forgot Brewability & Pizzabil- ity. It’s my favorite and not your typical brewery. We need more businesses like this in the community. Art Valdez Denver Where is Launch Pad Brewery on this list? Travesty. John Hall Aurora OMF is an oversight, but a few I agree with, and a few I need to try or retry. Solid list. Paul Fritsky Denver “CANNABIS CALENDAR: 4/20 EDITION,” APRIL 20 W E L C O M E T O T H E M I L E H I G H C I T Y Smoking pot and getting high…seems like something to be proud of and to celebrate. Michael Cleveley Littleton Events like this need to be canceled for good. Robin Selman Louisville Y’all took the fun out of the Mile High Festival! OnDeliTori Fort Collins ON THE COVER ART BY KARL CHRISTIAN KRUMPHOLZ LETTERS T O T H E E D I T O R YOU CAN COMMENT ON ANY STORY AT WESTWORD.COM; SEND LETTERS TO [email protected] Don’t miss a word! The stories in this print edition are just a fraction of the pieces we publish every week on westword.com. For a cheat sheet on all that content, subscribe to our daily newsletter at westword.com/profi le. You can also follow @denverwestword on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. And it’s all free! PHOTOGRAPH BY EVAN SEMÓN
