Perched in a massive loft apartment two stories above Santa Fe Boulevard, I sit on a couch and watch as The Union, the freshest new art gallery in the district, begins to bloom.

An engrossing amalgam of urban art and culture, The Union brings something to the First Friday art scene that was sorely missed—soul. Resident and curator Kevin Carroll sits next to me, on the phone with the members of the graffiti art syndicate “SWS,” whose work will be on display at the gallery during October’s First Friday art walk.

Julie Larson recently visited Monoglia as a journalism student for the University of Colorado at Boulder. She shared her experiences in words and photographs in her travel log - A Mongolian Adventure .

The following gallery is a compilation of new photographs, not included in her travel log, and some of our favorite photos from her experience.

In the obscure world of air guitar, Denver’s Randy “Big Rig” Layman may be the next king of airness.

Summertime in Aspen kicks off weeks of concerts, and in June, that roster included Ani DiFranco and the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Festival. Predictable offerings, for sure. But it also included something a bit more esoteric…one of 24 U.S. Air Guitar Regional Championship events (which this year included Aspen as well as Denver).

Before the Democratic National Convention rolls into town and Barack Obama gives his acceptance speech at Invesco Field, another political icon will unveil his candidacy. The Dr. Seuss for President campaign kicks off at Gallery One Writer’s Square on Aug. 15, just 10 days before the city is overrun with Democrats.

As one of Denver’s most innovative theater companies, Buntport has been known to stretch their resources in creative and sometimes absurd ways.

A donation of synthetic ice became the impetus for “Kafka on Ice,” which Westword named the Best Experimental Play in 2005. A van, table, Tonka trunk and an old-fashioned hair dryer were transformed into multi-layered sets, a character and the captain’s chair of an intergalactic garbage ship.

I love sitting in the front row at the theater. The live action that makes plays so appealing in the first place is amplified in the front row: the sight and the smell of sweat, the glistening tears, the flying spit.

Spit was flying all over the place during the opening beat-boxing overture of Curious Theatre Company’s The Denver Project.