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1st Sunday Stroll connects diverse residents of a fast- changing community

It all started with the pedestrian bridge shooting above and across I-25 \u2013 connecting the Highland neighborhood to LoDo. According to Macky Bennett, a Highland resident

Strengthening Neighborhoods grant recipient, this bridge ushered in the neigh- borhood\u2019s transformation. Before it was connected to downtown Denver, Highlands\u2019 cultural and architectural landscape was made up mainly of Italian and

Latino residents living in early 20th century houses. A whirl- wind of development in the past several years has brought sig- nificant change to both this land- scape. Culturally, the area is now home to more Anglos and young families, and has seen an influx of trendy, contemporary shops and restaurants. Architecturally, more modern lofts, townhouses, and duplexes have sprung up seemingly everywhere.

What attracted Bennett, a rela- tive newcomer, to the Highlands most, however, was not the hip new hang-outs, but rather the neighborhood energy, which she terms \u201cvery ethnically diverse and interesting.\u201d It was Bennett\u2019s love for this positive energy and eth- nic diversity that inspired her to create the \u201c1st Sunday Stroll\u201d project, which received a grant of $400 from the Strengthening Neighborhoods Program in June 2009.

According to Bennett, the pur- pose of the 1st Sunday Stroll is \u201cto encourage the entire neighbor- hood to stroll around for thirty minutes on the first Sunday eve- ning of each month.\u201d Bennett adds that this project is also \u201ca free, healthy, all-inclusive activity designed to build positive rela- tionships.\u201d Bennett is especial- ly interested in connecting with long-time residents, particularly

those living near her. The project has encountered some challenges, however, and building these rela- tionships has not been as easy as Bennett had hoped. She specu- lates that the difficulties may stem from the fact that Bennett lives in a \u201cbox\u201d\u2014one of the newly- built townhomes that have raised the ire of some Highlands resi- dents.

The newer developments are seen by some older residents as ruining the historical value of older

Highlands buildings, of creating a mish mash of clashing architec- tural styles, and of increasing the neighborhood\u2019s density. Bennett understands that the mixing of the new and the old is a touchy subject in the neighborhood, and her hope is that the 1st Sunday Strolls can act as \u201ca more natural way of causing things to defrost.\u201d

Architectural clashes, however, are not the only barrier Bennett and her neighbors working on the 1st Sunday Stroll face in building relationships among Highlands residents. To create a more inclu- sive event, they have also learned that they must address language barriers. Right after the flyers and signs were in place for the inau- gural 1st Sunday Stroll, Bennett realized, to her great dismay, that they were only in English. The accidental exclusion of some Highlands residents who could not speak English was a learning opportunity for the planners. For the rest of this year\u2019s 1st Sunday Strolls, Bennett\u2019s mission is to ensure that all of her neighbors are welcome to share in the posi- tive, neighborly energy that the Stroll is celebrating in Highlands.

Jennifer Schneider, a student at University of Denver, works as an intern for The Denver Foundation\u2019s Strengthening

Buy any
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Package in October
and get 4 Hours of

On Sept. 20, a very unusual style of music was released online under the title of Sacred Paths. A live performance in support of the

CD release was staged Sept. 24, at the D-Note in Arvada. The perfor- mance and CD are the culmination of the col- laborative magic of a local jazz quartet with

that of a fresh young hiphop duo. When the two combine, the result is an aesthetically pleasing fusion of nu jazz with compelling and imaginative spoken word.

The jazz component of the play- ers is known independently as Asia Jazz Project, named for sax player and composer Asia Fajardo, who seems to have drawn great inspira- tion from this project \u2013 it represents

\u201cWhen a musician goes to work with other musicians, different energies help you bring out dif- ferent things in yourself,\u201d Fajardo said. \u201cSo whoever I play with I take some of their energy and some of mine too. Since all of this instru- mentally is improvisation \u2013 we don\u2019t have any chords or any scales picked out\u2013 we just listen to each other. So you have to work harder but you have more freedom. That just brings out a different kind of energy.\u201d

The quartet is completed by drummer Antwon Owens, percus- sionist Luis Chavez and pianist Lewis Mitchell Neeff. For the show Sept. 24, guitarist Jim Disner filled in admirably for Neeff, who couldn\u2019t make the gig.

The hiphop component of the project consists of the established duo Molina Soleil and Aju. Molina has recorded two solo EPs, one solo CD, compiled and appeared on a CD to promote the film Papers and, published a book of poetry titled The Age of Revision. Together they have recorded one EP and have another CD due to drop this November.

One might say the manner in which the music was recorded is as fresh and dynamic as the music itself.

\u201cWe started collaborating and rehearsing together in April \u201909 for a string of subsequent performances

we did in Denver that month,\u201d Aju said. \u201cFrom the get-go there was chemistry and a sense of fusion and

flow with the mixing of our sounds, words and energy. For certain pieces, Molina Soleil and I shared our words with the musi- cians first, and then they improvised on the vibe of the spoken

word. For other pieces, the order of the creative process was reversed, as Molina Soleil and I would write to the sounds of Asia Jazz Project\u2019s flow (Asia\u2019s sax in particular).

\u201cIt was total fusion,\u201c Molina added. \u201cThere was really no order. All tracks were recorded in one stream, everyone mic\u2019d up and worked together improvisation- ally. It was pure magic. It is all

about re-connecting with what we already know. It\u2019s contemporary in the sense that we are packaging the music and the message in a mod- ern format. But we\u2019re dealing with ancient wisdom, ancient knowledge and understanding.\u201d

In Sacred Paths and Rise Mantra, the sax and Aju's solo parts are close together because they repre- sent the female energy,\u201d Fajardo interjected. \u201cOn City Night Speaks, I wrote the melody and Aju wrote the words. For Molina's poem, Letters to the Moon, I improvised according to what Molina's words were. This whole CD is very improvisational music.\u201d

Some tracks, like Sacred Paths, seek to awaken intrinsic or ances- tral knowledge and bind it to a modern awareness and/or respon- sibility.

\u201cIn the high-speed world of now, the voices and ways of our antepas- ados oftentimes seem to be dimin- ished and forgotten; the connection between one and one\u2019s environment torn; the alliance between fellow living creatures dishonored,\u201d Aju explained. \u201cIn many ways Sacred Paths is a journey that explores and reconnects many of our lost relations \u2013 especially the ancient wisdom which lives on in our intu- ition, our veins, and our solar sys- tem.\u201d

Fall is here and I hope you pinched all your vines back so they would ripen the fruit already

growing. If not your vines are rushing to create more fruit. Indeterminate toma- toes are the worst. You must keep pinching all

new tendrils. In the fall pollination slows as many of the insects are preparing for cold weather or they are dead.

The rest of this column is devot- ed to apples. This time of year when apples are overflowing at our markets we all wish we had our own tree. I know I miss what I used to have. Most local nurseries have apple trees

the most com- mon trees they have are Yellow and

Red Delicious, Jonathans a

d MacIntosh. Then they begin

to b r a n c h out. Some

have Braeburn and Fuji, others have Sweet Sixteen and Goldrush. There are also Cortland and Wolf River, both very old varieties.

For those of you with very lit- tle space, there are four types of columnar trees offered by Jung\u2019s Seeds and Plants. These trees orig- inally came from Canada.

All apples are touted to be won- derful tasting but there is quite a difference. For instance Braeburn is much better tasting than Gala. Lodi and Duchess are summer

blight. Duchess is moderately sus- ceptible. Many apples are partially self fruit- ing such as Golden Delicious, Haralson, and MacIntosh, but it\u2019s better to have another

tree to ensure good crops. Dolgo and Whitney apples make the best jelly and pickles.

Apple trees take care. Careful pruning increases the vigor of your tree. Pear and apple trees must be sprayed for codling moth. All young apples trees must be wrapped in the fall to prevent sunscald.

This phenomenon occurs when we have sev- eral warm sunny days in mid-win- ter and the trees begin to

break dorman- cy.

Sap begins to rise. Then, of course, it gets cold again and the trunks

Too much trouble? Maybe. But there is nothing headier than standing under an apple tree in the fall and smelling all that fruit giv- ing off scent after a very cool night. If you have a lot of squirrels, forget apples or cherries. Grow plums because squirrels and birds can\u2019t see them. Anyway, there are ways to foil these competitors for your fruit. You can always stick to small fruits.***