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Week of February 23, 2023
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
JeffcoTranscript.com
VOLUME 39 | ISSUE 31
Lakewood Flavors of Casa Bonita fill Next Gallery in annual art show hosts tree sale
to increase city canopy and help save its urban forest
Catch the Casa Bonita-themed works of art until March 6 BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
What could be better than dripping sopapillas from Casa Bonita? A statue of dripping sopapillas from Casa Bonita. This statue and many more Casa Bonita-themed works of art can be found at Next Gallery in Lakewood, in the same plaza as the famous pink-towered restaurant, as it hosts a Casa Bonita Art Show. Artists from down Colfax Avenue all the way to Georgia have submitted entries for the show, which runs until March 6. “It’s always had sort of a quirky reputation,” said Betsy “Dolla B” Rudolph, a resident artist and organizer of the show since its start. She explained that since Next Gallery was priced out of its previous space in 2017 and moved to Lakewood, it’s been hosting the Casa Bonita Art Show. “We needed to sort of get our name out, let the neighborhood know we were there,” Rudolph said. “And, also let the neighborhood know we were approachable and not like a fancy-pants art gallery.” So, creating a whole show on the “quirky” restaurant next door was her idea to do that. “It was a great way to attract SEE GALLERY, P2
BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Landscaping is not on the top of the list of importance in low-income families and neighborhoods barely paying the bills, but Lakewood is trying to change that by making trees more affordable. This isn’t purely for the looks of a nice front yard, however. Lakewood needs more trees for its urban forest to survive. According to Lakewood Forestry Supervisor Luke Killoran, who is in charge of almost 8,000 acres of Lakewood trees, the goal is to increase canopy cover of the young city. The increased cover will lower surface temperatures in heat, but also improve air quality, stormwater reduction and carbon sequestration. The biggest pressure to increase the canopy though, according to Killoran, is the Emerald Ash Borer. A foreign bug introduced to the U.S. decades ago, the Emerald Ash Borer eats Ash trees which make up almost a quarter of all trees in Lakewood. They were found in Arvada only last year. “It will destroy and it will kill every single Ash tree in our community,” Killoran warned. Next Gallery’s Casa Bonita Art show runs until March 6.
COURTESY OF NEXT GALLERY
SEE TREE SALE, P2
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 26
CLOCKING CONNECTIONS Speed dating as an alternative to swiping P16