Sunday, August 24, 5 - 7 p.m., doors open at 4:30 p.m.
Colorado Convention Center

Fresh City Life, The Nation and Rocky Mountain PBS present Outside of Convention: From Fannie Lou Hamer to Barack Obama, How the Civil Rights Movement Changed American Politics.

This event will feature the Honorable John Conyers, House Judiciary Chair, U.S. Representative from Detroit, Michigan, and the longest-serving African-American Congressman; composer, conductor and musician David Amram and the David Amram Trio; political writer John Nichols; the Colorado Children's Chorale; the over 200 faces and voices from the City of Denver captured on video for our special I Am – The Library project; Colorado based musicians and special surprise guests. It will be suitable for all ages and musical and political tastes.

Tickets for Outside of Convention will be available at all Denver Public Library locations starting Saturday, August 16. If you have any questions about how to pick up your tickets please e-mail Dr. Audrey Sprenger at asprenger@denverlibrary.org.

More events featuring David Amram

Photo by Ashley Vaughan.

I Am - The Library is an ethnographic video project, which documents the everyday ways a public library is used. Set in and around the Denver Central Library a few weeks before the 2008 Democratic National Convention, it is inspired by the social and oratorical work of the Reverend Jesse Jackson, a former presidential candidate who's life's work as a civil rights activist was triggered when, as a twenty-year old college student, he fought to desegregate his hometown public library.

The film takes its title and finds its rhythm in Jackson's 1971 speech, I Am - Somebody, a rallying call and response poem, which invites people to stake their political claim by simply declaring who or what they are, be their status small, flawed or tired. In making I Am - The Library, Fresh City Life's Audrey Sprenger along with Emily Crenshaw and Mary Grace Legg of the Denver-based Production Company Lockerpartners asked over two hundred residents of the city of Denver to do the same, then asked them to speak out for their public library, as a way to make clear the very obvious but also very often overlooked social truth that the stories of our lives and, in turn, our identities, are also the story of our structural institutions, whether we believe in or regularly engage with these structural institutions or not. 

Inter-cut with footage shot at some of the free Fresh City Life events that took place at the Denver Central Library between January and July of 2008, Sprenger, Crenshaw and Legg invite you to add your face and voice to this story at Fresh City Life's next free public event of the 2008 year, Outside of Convention. Some extra footage of our film is posted below.

Saturday, August 2, 10:30 a.m. - 12 noon
Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center

Summer is a great time of year because of the wide availability of different kinds of fresh locally grown produce. Chef Juan Carlos Huerta demonstrates how to make several different types of fresh fruit tarts, from the simple to the artistically complex. Learn how to make a basic dough, fillings and how to finish and decorate fruit tarts that are as sumptuous to look at as they are to eat. Chef Huerta received his culinary education at L’ Ecole Supérieure de Cuisine Française in Paris, then followed that up with further pastry training at the atelier of world famous Chef Pierre Hermé. Chef Huerta is now the pastry chef for the Denver Country Club. Recipes and samples included.

Saturday, August 16, 10:30 a.m. - 12 noon
Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center

Herbalist and popular Fresh City Life instructor Susan Evans will demonstrate bringing flowers to the dinner table as more than just decoration. A delight to the eye, nose and palate; what could be more sensuous than cooking with flowers? Discover the taste sensations of the flower border with herb blossom canapés, savory chicken curry salad with flower confetti, and decadent scented geranium cream with black pansy syrup. Recipes and samples included.

Sunday, August 17, 9:30 - 11 a.m.
Alamo Placita Park
This class is full, registration is closed.

Without our help, Nature fills her garden with an abundance of wild herbs. Join herbalist Susan Evans on a guided walk in one of our favorite urban roadside attractions - Alamo Placita Park at Speer Boulevard between Emerson and Ogden. This informative walking tour reveals the many edible and medicinal plants that grow wild in our area. Discover the history, folklore, and practical uses of wild herbs in food, as medicine and for body and home care. Step outside and be amazed at the “weeds” you’ve been stepping on all these years. For more info on Susan Evans, go to chrysalisherbs.com.
This class is full, registration is closed.

Sunday, August 3 or Sunday, August 10, 1 - 4:30 p.m.
Central Library, Level 1 Fresh City Lounge
Both sessions of this class are full, registration is closed.

With the help of talented paper artist and expert, Gail Lindley of Denver Bookbinding, learn a new, exciting project to showcase photos, collage work or your own poetic musings. These clever handmade boxes drop open when the lid is removed; they’re kinetic, interactive and quite simply adorable. Fun to make for yourself or as a gift – you’ll complete a box in this class and have all the skills needed to make more. And, you will want to make more! All materials included.  For more info about Gail Lindley, go to denverbook.com.
Both sessions of this class are full, registration is closed.

Mondays, August 4, 11 and 18, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Central Library, Level 1 Fresh City Lounge
All sessions of this class are full, registration is closed.

Just in time for crisp, autumn weather – learn a traditional craft in our three-part beginning knitting class. Our talented instructors, Jani Fellows and Heather McKenzie, will teach you all the basic techniques of hand knitting while you create a beautiful first project. Information about materials provided to all confirmed registrants; patterns provided. All sessions of this class are full, registration is closed.

Tuesday, August 5, 5:30 - 8 p.m.
Central Library, Level 1 Fresh City Lounge

Brand new for 2008! Bring your knitting or any favored handwork and watch a great movie with us – Bette Davis’ smash hit The Letter, 1940 directed by William Wyler. Davis created a sensation playing bad in this film noir story of a woman whose duplicitous love life ends (or in this case begins) with a gun, a letter and a dead guy on the verandah.

Partnering with Denver Open Media, and sponsored by Westword and Westwood College, Fresh City Life launches its newest interactive, community venture. Submit films now through February 16, 2009. EyeBelieve Independent Filmmakers Festival will be held Spring 2009 (date to be announced). Check out believe.denveropenmedia.org for details. 

Check out these great classes hosted by our partner, Denver Open Media, to get you started making a standout short film.   

View the EyeBelieve Photo Gallery as seen in Westword.

Join Fresh City Friends to support the 2008 Fresh City Life classes and events.

In appreciation for your gift, you'll receive:

• Special recognition in the Fresh City Life brochures
• Invitations to VIP events
• Acknowledgment in the Annual Report

Fabulous Fresh City Friends $1,000+
Fresh City Friends $500+

Thank you to our first Fabulous Fresh City Friends, Steve Savageau and Reba Lee!

For membership information, contact Laurie Romer, Denver Public Library Friends Foundation, at LRomer@denverlibrary.org or call 720-865-2050.

For information about Corporate Sponsorship, contact Brenda Cook at 720-865-2046 or bcook@denverlibrary.org.