WEEK OF JULY 17, 2025
VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 32
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Residents blast Teal’s ‘communist’ accusation Commissioner’s claim came after home rule was crushed by voters BY JULIA KING SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
“Mary Poppins,” the musical, played at the Parker Center for Arts and Entertainment last winter.
COURTESY OF PARKER ARTS
PACE Center celebrates 15 years New acts, events slated for upcoming season BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In the past 15 years, residents in and around Parker have come to know the Parker Arts and Cultural Event Center — the PACE Center — as a hub for entertainment. Before the PACE Center was built, residents were accustomed to having to go to downtown Denver for exciting entertainment, but today, those same quality shows are available right in people’s backyard – and they don’t have to pay for parking, said Carrie Glassburn, cultural director at Parker Arts which oversees the PACE Center. “People can come here and bring their family, still go out to eat and not break the bank like they might have for other entertainment,” Glassburn said. With a 534-seat theater, Glassburn said that the intimate setting allows for per-
formers and artists to really connect with the audience. She added that the PACE Center continues to bring new people into the theater, averaging about 30-40% new attendees each show. “When they get here and they see that we’re affordable and we’ve got quality shows that are really convenient, it’s everything that they love,” Glassburn said. This season, there is even more to love. From magic to fashion to dinosaurs, the entertainment lineup for the 2025-2026 season has something for everybody. “We’ve got even more variety this year,” Glassburn said. “We try to find some things for people who have never been to the theater before, especially young children, all the way up to our aging adults.” In addition to returning musical performances by the Parker Symphony Orchestra and the Parker Chorale, sev-
eral Friday nights will feature the Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra which offers a mix of salsa, swing, jazz manouche and more. The PACE Center will host numerous noteworthy live concerts — Devon Allman’s Blues Summit country artist Chris Cagle; Grammy nominated pianist Jim Brickman; and Celtic music with Natalie MacMaster, Donnell Leahy and the Celtic All-Stars. The music doesn’t end there, as there are musical theater performances that will bring fairytale fun and take audiences through the decades. Shows include “Shrek the Musical,” “BritBeat: The Immersive Beatles Tribute Experience,” “Neil Berg’s 50 Years of Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Electric Avenue: The 80s Movie Soundtrack Night.” There are shows for the younger generation as well, including “Dinosaur World Live,” a theatrical adaptation of “Goodnight Moon” and the Family Discovery Series.
VOICES: 10 | CALENDAR: 15 | PUZZLES: 16 | CLASSIFIEDS: 17
If you’re looking for a good laugh, there are comedy performances by national standup comedians like Adam Ferrara, Ryan Hamilton and the 2015 winner of “America’s Got Talent,” ventriloquist Paul Zerdin. The season also includes performances by psychic medium Matt Fraser, comedic clairvoyant Peter Antoniou, the Magic of Rob Lake and and thrillers like the 360 ALLSTARS, which is a high-octane urban circus that blends breakdancing, basketball, BMX and beatboxing. The holiday classics will return, along with new events such as Reel Stories: AANHPI Voices in Film — a one-day film festival celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander narratives. Tickets for the season are on sale to Parker Arts members now. They go on sale to the public on July 22. Find more information at ParkerArts.org or call 303805-6800.
Douglas County residents flooded a July 8 Board of Commissioners meeting to ask for apologies from Commissioner George Teal, following his suggestion that opposition to the county’s failed home rule initiative might have been backed by the Chinese Communist Party. During a KNUS radio interview ahead of the June home rule special election, Teal said he and fellow commissioners Abe Laydon and Kevin Van Winkle had been briefed on an ongoing federal investigation concerning the communist party’s alleged funding toward nationwide “No Kings” George Teal protests, and suggested those influences could have filtered down to a local anti-home rule campaign. “Here’s a nationwide (effort), funded by China, funded by a communist organization that is actually trying to work against the people of Douglas County having a say on local control issues,” Teal said on KNUS on June 23. Teal later told 9NEWS he was referring specifically to the political committee “No Little Kings” in Douglas County, an opposition group led by Highlands Ranch resident Dr. Eiko Browning, who Teal named specifically. Browning, a Japanese-American oncologist, contributed about $14,000 of her own money to oppose the home rule measure. Teal told Colorado Community Media he referenced Browning “only in her capacity as the registered agent for the “No Little Kings” issue committee, which was filed as a statewide, not a local, issue committee.” Some are concerned that Teal’s claims about Browning have deeper implications. Though the July 8 meeting agenda included no items related to the home rule ballot measure, over a dozen residents showed up to ask that Teal retract and apologize for his statements concerning Browning. “Recently, we’ve seen misleading and inflammatory claims made by a member of this body, specifically false allegations SEE TEAL, P5
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