"Honoring Our Heroes" Balinese Gala Benefit for Fourmile Fire Fighters is Dec. 3

A Spectacular Evening of Balinese Music and Dance

Benefits Boulder's Fourmile Fire Fighters

Friday, December 3, 7pm
First United Methodist Church
1421 Spruce St., Boulder

The allure of the Indonesian island of Bali comes to Boulder!

Shimmering metallophones...stirring gongs and drums...exquisite costumes, sets, and dances..."Honoring Our Heroes" Balinese Gala is a wonderful way to start the festive season.

This spectacular evening of Balinese music, dance and cuisine honors Boulder's Fourmile Fire Fighters, and features a rare appearance by the mythical Barong lion for a processional/ purification ceremony and the popular Barong dance.

Proceeds will go to help rebuild the four mountain fire departments devastated by the Fourmile Fire (Fourmile, Sunshine Canyon, SugarLoaf and Gold Hill). Volunteer firefighters also provide the first medical response to emergencies in the mountains. Your support of these heroes is greatly appreciated and needed!



Gala ticket includes:

* Concert with preferred seating * Reception with Indonesian cuisine * Live music by Boulder's Musha Marimba ensemble * Meet the Artists and Firefighters. Gala tickets are $40/Adult; $30/Students & Seniors; $20/Children 12 and under and must be purchased by Tuesday, November 30.

Concert Only tickets are also available in advance and at the door, and are $15/Adult, $10/Student, Senior and Children 12 & under.

Purchase tickets online at Gamelan Tunas Mekar's website, or call 303-433-3782 to make reservations by phone.


A FESTIVE FAMILY EVENT

The concert features new and traditional dance pieces with guest Balinese dancers Ni Ketut Marni, Luh Made Didik Dwi Wahyuni, and I Putu Tangkas Adi Mayena and Boulder dancers Linx Selby and Jeanna Del Vecchio.

A special highlight will be the Lion Barong appearing in a traditional Bala Ganjur processional which is believed to clear negativity and assist in purification and rebirth.

The four mountain fire chiefs and the firefighters who lost homes have been invited to lead the processional as the Barong dances down the aisle to the stirring sound of gongs. Residents whose homes were destroyed and other firefighters will be invited up front to form the "villages" to which the Barong will bring blessings.

Dance and instrumental pieces will be performed on the gamelan angklung instruments, imported from Bali in 1976.

A Gala Reception will follow, featuring the festive music of Boulder's Musha Marimba, along with traditional Indonesian cuisine including Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce, Vegetarian Lumpia (Indonesian egg roll), Perkedel (corn fritters), Kue Singkong (gluten-free Kasava cake) with Shredded Coconut, Pisang Gorang (fried, batter-dipped bananas) and more. The artists and guest firefighters will also be available to meet with Gala attendees.

With prices starting at $10, "Honoring Our Heroes" Balinese Gala is a wonderful family event.


NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS

"When our daughter Linx decided to return to Boulder this fall for her senior year, she started dancing with a world-renowned Balinese music ensemble," says Linda Jade Fong. "Her first performance was at an international benefit just after we returned to our still-standing house after being evacuated for over a week during the Fourmile fire. So it gave me the idea of asking the group, named Tunas Mekar, if they'd come to Boulder, bring their spectacular color, music and dance, and do a Fourmile Fire benefit.

They enthusiastically agreed to help us and even bring the magnificent Barong lion (pictured top right) in a rare appearance. Not only is Linx a Fourmile Canyon resident, but several other members of Tunas Mekar are from Boulder, so they will be performing for neighbors and friends who lost their homes."

TICKET PRICES

Gala Ticket - includes preferred seating and Gala Reception: $40/Adult, $30/Seniors & Students, $20/Children 12 and under

Concert-only Ticket: $15/Adult, $10/Student, Senior & Children 12 and under

Purchase tickets online at the Gamelan Tunas Mekar website or make reservations by phone using the Tunas Mekar ticket hotline: 303-433-3782.

ABOUT GAMELAN TUNAS MEKAR

Tunas Mekar performs the indigenous music of the island of Bali, Indonesia. Modeled after typical village groups found throughout Bali, and learning by traditional methods under the direction of Artist-in-Residence I Made Lasmawan, Tunas Mekar provides audiences with a glimpse of one of the world's most fascinating cultures.

Gamelan Tunas Mekar is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is sponsored in part by the University of Denver Lamont School of Music.

An unique classical organ and Phantom of the Opera concert at Boulder High

Boulder High Orchestras present their Winter Concert featuring Saint-Saens "Organ" Symphony No.3. A special digital church organ, which gives the experience of a real pipe organ--in stereo!--has been brought in for this event. It will be played by BHS senior Ambrose Soehn. Under the direction of Dr. Katherine Mason, the three BHS orchestras will also perform music by Vivaldi, Dvorak, and Schubert as well as selections from Phantom of the Opera.

7p.m. Tuesday, November 30, Boulder High Auditorium. Free.

"Dance2Donate" Fourmile Canyon Benefit Concert on 11/11

Local Music Production Company to Hold Benefit Concert featuring Fresh2Death, FieVeL & LoLo, Eminence Ensemble, 2Dubaii and the CU Buff Gold Dance team

On Thursday, November 11, Souls In Action Entertainment along with Heydontjudge.com are putting on a benefit concert for the tragic Four Mile Canyon Fire, donating a portion of the proceeds to the Community Foundation of Boulder County. The concert is going to be held at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver, and includes a local line-up of great electronic music.

Souls In Action Entertainment is an innovative music production company founded in the fall of 2009 by Miss Lulu Clair, a Colorado native. The company strives to use music and artistic expression to help evolve popular culture into a uniting force around the world, especially in time of crisis. SIA is completely committed to their mission of bringing the latest in musical and artistic talent into communities and using them to raise awareness for various social issues, causes and movements. SIA lives by the notion that everyone in our world is connected somehow by one thing, and that is the love we all share for the arts and especially music.

FOUR GREAT ACTS

The night will feature Fresh2Death, a live musical collaboration duo from Boulder, CO. The duo including DJs Greg Fisk and Ben Samples, has performed alongside many up and coming producers/DJs such as Mimosa, Eliot Lipp, Ana-Sia, Lazer Sword, Savoy, Pretty Lights, VibeSquad, Boombox, and many many more. Opening for Fresh2Death will be; FieVeL & LoLo, an electronic DJ duo from Aspen, Eminence Ensemble, a progressive dance rock band based out of Boulder, and 2Dubaii, a 2 person Electro-Rock Music collaboration from Durango. All of the artists will be donating their time to the cause.

RIDE THE BUS TO THE EVENT!

The Basics Fund will be donating party buses to and from the event. The CU Buff Gold Dance team will be donating their time to perform at the event. Reserve your spot to ride to benefit with the Basics Fund on the Basics Fund website.

Tickets are being sold for $12 in advance at the Cervantes Masterpiece website, and $14 day of the show. The show is at 9pm, doors at 8pm. More information can be found on SIA’s blog.

Donations to the Fire Benefit can be made at Community Foundation website.

Fairview High School presents the epic Broadway musical Les Misérables

Broadway’s legendary musical Les Misérables will be presented by Fairview High School beginning Tuesday, November 9. This Tony Award-winning musical is an epic saga of one man's escape from social injustice. After Jean Valjean's parole from prison for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family, he is haunted by a constant cloud of suspicion and distrust. Les Misérables, one of the greatest musicals ever written, is an inspirational story of love, courage and redemption. This sensational and dramatic show is not only a superb adventure but also a powerful social document. Families should know the show is rated PG based on adult themes.

Les Misérables was composed in 1980 by French composer Claude-Michel Schönberg on a libretto by Alain Boublil, The musical is based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel of the same name. Set in early nineteenth-century France, the plot follows the stories of the characters as they struggle for redemption and revolution. An ensemble that includes student revolutionaries, factory workers, and others joins the lead characters. The Tony Award winning score includes the songs "I Dreamed a Dream," "Do You Hear the People Sing?," "One Day More," "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables," "A Little Fall of Rain," "Master of the House," and "On My Own."

Fairview High School, long known for its professional-level musical productions and broad range of student talent, is presenting an extended run of Les Misérables opening on November 9. The production is presented by 82 cast members, 20 band and orchestra members and 26 crew members from the Fairview High School student body. Female lead roles have been “double cast” to accommodate the extensive student talent. The diverse student cast includes members of the varsity football and tennis teams, notably Javert played by Matt O’Connor and Comberferre played by Will Kuelthau. In fact, in order to allow these talented student athletes to also perform in the musical, no shows have been pre-scheduled for the evening of November 12 and the matinee on November 13. These will be added as additional shows, depending on the playoff status of the Fairview football team.

If you have seen a Fairview musical production before, you will know that Les Misérables is a must see! If you are new to the amazing sets, costumes, lighting and talent presented on the Fairview stage, then you’re in for a theatrical treat!

Les Misérables
A musical by Alan Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg
Book by Victor Hugo

School Edition specially adapted and licensed
by Music Theatre International and Cameron MacKintosh

Directed by Janice Vlachos and Tracy Warren

November 9, 10, 11, 13 at 7:00 p.m.
November 14 at 2:00 p.m.
Fairview High School Auditorium
1515 Greenbriar Blvd., Boulder

Tickets: $10, Reserved seating (checks and cash only)
To Purchase, visit the box office November 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12 from 11:45 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Also, the box office will open 30 minutes before each show.
For more information: (720) 561-3253 or e-mail FHSLesMisTix @ gmail.com
www.fairviewhs.org/musical

Free Screening of "Race to Nowhere" Documentary Nov. 4

The Watershed School is sponsoring a free screening of the national documentary "Race to Nowhere" on November 4, 2010 at 7:00pm at the Backdoor Theater in Nederland.

It will be followed by a short panel discussion led by Boulder County educators. This documentary is about the pressure our culture puts on students and the detrimental effects of that pressure on young people today. Race to Nowhere is a call to action for families, educators, and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens. Please contact your school community to let them know about this important film! Initial reactions from teachers and parents alike indicate this film is "not to miss". You can view the trailer and more information at Race to Nowhere website.