When you work in the news, you meet some memorable people. Will you take a coffee break and allow us to introduce you to some folks we met this year?
Sometimes Denverite reporters bring back stories that are ... hard to summarize.
Thalia Aguilera sold almost everything she owned to save her dog (whose name is Knives) and ended up starting a vintage furniture resale business.
Isaac reports:
"Two years ago, Aguilera took her beloved pet to the vet for what seemed like minor stomach issues. It turned out Knives' heart was failing.
'Getting that diagnosis for her stage III heart failure, I did not want to imagine what it was like to live without her,' Aguilera said. 'And if it meant that I had to sell everything that I had, I did that.'"
But that's not in any way the end of the story for Thalia and Knives.
We love libraries!
And little free libraries are fine, too! (Although a friend of mine calls them "sad little book jails" and some of them ... well, some of them maybe have earned that.)
But: A tiny free art gallery? With tiny little patrons? I love this, and it's the brainchild of Grace Trautman and Evan Hicks, who've put it up near their Overland home. From Dez's story:
"Trautman and Hicks sometimes interact with people stopping by to check out the artwork, but sometimes, they have no idea who is leaving what. So they have codenames.
"There's the shrinker who one day took a 4×4 inch black and white drawing Hicks made and returned it in a shrunken form: a 1×1 inch piece, colored and framed.
"There's also the framer who takes unframed art, frames it and returns it."
Why meet people at a party at 1 a.m. when you could do it at 1 p.m.?
"They were as calm as cucumbers for six guys who don't call party planning their primary profession and yet they were about to throw a party worthy of being called a summer classic.
"Each of them works in a career that requires code switching and shedding certain demeanors, but at this event, this gathering of people who look like them, talk like them, who support them and, who like them, and are looking for a space to be their authentic selves, it's all worth it.
"This sanctuary is Munchies & Mimosas, a brunch day party event bringing the tunes and the drinks to the Denver metro area and providing a hype, safe, cultural and welcoming space for Black and brown faces."
We'd never be able to list everyone we want to re-introduce you to, but ...
Rebecca met a bike mechanic whose specialty is stuff you can't specialize in.
Also, Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington said at a recent press conference that if you really want to understand the airport, talk to the shoeshiners. So Rebecca did.
Isaac met performers in Denver's ballroom scene as they prepared for a November event, "practicing their in-sync walks, moving fiercely with the booming ballroom music that bounces throughout the room."
"'I've loved ballroom since I was in middle school. I remember voguing in my basement,' said Boo Daddy. 'Being part of the house is a dream come true and that is what keeps me coming back.'"
Isaac also met a barber who cuts hair for people experiencing homelessness: "I'm making people feel better. I love that," Cesar Pulido said. "They could be going through the worst time in their life. They get a haircut and walk out of here feeling great, you feel me? That's the biggest thing for me."
Kevin met a drummer playing in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the city.
And Kevin and Steph met a Venezuelan family who arrived in Denver late last year and spent weeks living in an emergency shelter in a city rec center. They met them at a second birthday party.
Desiree met teens at the Healing Words Open Mic hosted by Words to Power, a non-profit organization that hosts spoken word poetry workshops for underserved youth. Its workshops take place in elementary, middle and high schools across Denver and at the Barrio community space.
Kevin also met up with the Colorado Asian Cultural Heritage Center and their lion dancers troupe.
Who do you think we should meet in 2024?
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