4 JULY 31-AUGUST 6, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 7 BOOK IT Time for Colorado to give itself a real birthday gift. BY PATRICIA CALHOUN 10 READ ALERT! Ten must-read recent releases by Colorado authors. BY TEAGUE BOHLEN 12 A NOVEL EXCUSE Escaping Denver was always part of the plan. Just not this plan. BY TEAGUE BOHLEN 15 ROLLING IN DOUGH Dumplings are a popular dish in cuisines around the world... and in Denver. BY HELEN XU 17 IT’S GETTING WEIRD Pink Lady Monster breaks genre molds with a whimsical new album, Ponk. BY KRISTEN FIORE 10 Culture 15 Cafe 17 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 18 24 Marijuana CANNABIS CALENDAR ............................ 24 ASK A STONER ......................................... 24 VOLUME 48 NUMBER 49 JULY 31-AUGUST 6, 2025 E D I T O R I A L Editor Patricia Calhoun News Editor Thomas Mitchell Food and Drink Editor Molly Martin Interim Food and Drink Editor Gil Asakawa Music Editor Emily Ferguson Culture Editor Kristen Fiore Social Media Editor Katrina Leibee Staff Writers Catie Cheshire, Brendan Joel Kelley, Bennito L. Kelty, Hannah Metzger Senior Contributors Alan Prendergast, Michael Roberts Contributors Teague Bohlen, Hyde Chrastina, Jacqueline Collins, Justin Criado, Audrey Ferrer, John Flathman, Susan Froyd, Jason Heller, Nick Hutchinson, Danielle Krolewicz, Karl Christian Krumpholz, Kristen Kuchar, Skyler McKinley, Abigail Nueve, Ryan Pachmayer, Kristin Pazulski, Adam Perry, Evan Semón, Amber Taufen, Toni Tresca, Kastle Waserman, Helen Xu Music Listings Matthew Jones Editorial Intern Alexander Hernandez Gonzalez Cover Designer Monika Swiderski P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager Michael Wilson Assistant Production Manager Erin Kirk Graphic Designers Kami Miller, Tori O’Connor 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 Senior Multimedia Account Executives Amy Camera, Aaron Lembke Multimedia Account Executives Remy Diamond, Nate Easley, Martin Ellison, Trey Konsella, Kirby Quick, Allison Wissink Operations Manager Carver Hodgkiss Digital Sales Coordinator Anne-Grace Hartman Director of Digital Sales Alan Heath 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 Director of Business and Operations Russell Breiter 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 Editorial Director Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek Editorial Operations Director Bridget Thomason Director of Membership and Community Development Jennifer Robinson Audience Strategist Allison Stephenson Audience Development Director Dallon Adams 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. Additional copies of the current issue may be purchased for $1, payable in advance at the Westword offi ce. Westword may be distributed only by authorized Westword distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of Westword, take more than one copy of each issue. C O P Y R I G H T The entire contents of Westword are copyright 2025 by Denver Westword LLC. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, with- out the express written permission of the Publisher, Westword, P.O. Box 5970, Denver CO 80217. Back issues may be purchased for $2 each plus postage from the Westword offi ce (issues older than six weeks subject to availability). The Best of Denver 2023 is $6 plus postage. Story reprints are available for $1 plus post- age; call 303-296-7744 to place an order, or check our archives at www.westword.com. Westword (USPS478230) is published weekly by Denver Westword LLC, 1278 Lincoln Street, Denver CO 80203. Peri- odicals postage paid in Denver. Domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $100/year or $50/six months. 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 general information, call: 303-296-7744 For Editorial, email: [email protected] ON THE COVER PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MONIKA SWIDERSKI 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 JACKSON DAVIS “ALONG FOR THE RIDE,” BRENDAN JOEL KELLEY, JULY 24 F O R Y O U R A M U S E M E N T We should be so lucky that the South Park team takes over Lakeside Amusement Park! Just imagine what they could do with a Donald Trump funhouse. Hillary Robbins Denver You know what disappoints me the most about Lakeside Amusement Park? They have this big, beautiful vintage entrance that has lights all over it. At night, the front of it is completely dark. Unpainted, dilapidated, abandoned-looking...and this is what Den- ver has to offer? The people who built this place intended it to be warm and inviting. It is supposed to be lit up and full of fun! What it looks like is drab and sad. Randal Friedman Denver The people who built Lakeside didn’t intend for it to be warm and inviting — they intended for it to be a place to drink. It was considered the “rowdy” spot early on, as it was owned and operated by a brewer. It was the Krasner family that made it a warm and inviting place, which I believe it still is. Logan Flanagan Denver The park is in slow decline but still fun, just not quite the way I remember it used to be. I pray that someone or some group will come forward and help renovate and reinvigorate it. The centerpiece of the park is its classic Cyclone roller coaster, which has not operated for three years now. Gregory Andersen Denver “TOAD WARRIORS,” KRISTEN FIORE, JULY 24 O N T H E T O A D A G A I N Thanks for this well-written and researched article! I didn’t know boreal toads were so scarce, and it was very interesting to read about how this important process is done, where, and by whom, as well as to under- stand the life cycle and other details about these tiny, virtually invisible but valuable creatures. Great job! Douglas Smith Carlsbad, NM “SONIC BLOOM,” EMILY FERGUSON, JULY 24 S O N I C B O O M Love seeing DOGTAGS blow up! They’re amazing musicians and even better humans. Emma Coleman Denver “HEAT MAP,” KARL CHRISTIAN KRUMPHOLZ, JULY 10 B R I G H T O N B R E A C H M E M O R I E S Kool article by Karl Christian Krumpholz. As a longtime Denver native, I loved it. Ivan Lustig Denver “Across the street, two men argue un- derneath the shade of a tree.” This hilarious observation describes this area perfectly! Well done, Karl. Chris Pedone Golden Your cover story highlighting Brighton Boulevard was very nice. The cover headline asked, “Where is the art?” I have owned and curated Plinth Gallery at 3520 Brighton Boulevard for well over twelve years. Your author needs to do some further research. Jonathan Kaplan Denver Love Karl Christian Krumpholz’s work. As a lifelong Coloradan, just wanted to point out that McNichols Arena is not now Ball Arena. Ball Arena was the Pepsi Center; McNichols was torn down prior to that. Raul Martinez Arvada Editor’s note: Plinth is the gallery on the second page of the feature...but we blew it on McNichols. Thanks.
