Since its permanent settlement in the 1850s, the City of Boulder has been a Western hub of thought, culture, and appreciation for natural beauty. Since the 1980s, Boulder’s uniqueness has allowed it to participate in the international sister cities program, a program whose ongoing success is reflected throughout the city. Boulder shares a bond with seven sister cities all across the globe (in Tajikistan, Nicaragua, China, Mexico, Japan, Cuba, and Kenya); through these bonds, Boulder has experienced an objectively positive exchange of culture. The international sister city movement began in 1947,... Read More

Every face has its own story, but this one tells two. This is a true face of Boulder, Colorado. A face that can always be found downtown. A face that has its own spirit and lives as part of another. A face that really is a window to the soul. This isn’t only the face of a man wise beyond his years; this is part of Boulder’s collective, figurative “face”. A character that gives Boulder some of its own character. This face tells a story of the people who live here. People who are creative, active, and appreciative. People with depth. People who welcome creations such as this one into the... Read More

“Skating in general is an individual activity so people might think that there isn’t much of a culture or community, but we do come together. I remember when friend of mine was going through his final stages of ALS. To keep him out of a nursing home, some of the Boulder skating community came together to help fund the medical care so that he could live out his final days in the comfort of this own home. Skaters might have been thought of as punks, not educated, and be up to no good but I think the story has changed.” -Sam    Read More

“People have been surprised to find out that I’m gay. Is it based on how I talk? How I dress? Some parts of my personality fits into the perceptions of gay men, like caring about dressing ‘nice’… But what does that actually mean? Sometimes I wonder where I fit in. Am I a portrayal of gay culture?… I’m a gamer. I’m a graphic designer. I live for music. I’m a basic nerd. I am me.” -Dean Dean is a graphic designer originally from Alaska.  Read More

“Click, clack, click, clack”.. You are standing in line at Amante Coffee and you peer behind and expect to see a horse, or maybe a girl in high heels. Actually maybe it is a tap dancer. You first look down  and notice glossy white shoes, high socks, and the most muscular legs you have ever seen on a chick. As you continue to gaze up you soon realize that this hairless girl is actually a transvestite! The perfectly smooth legs had you thinking one way, but the tight spandex shorts quickly revealed the other! You continue to scan upward and soon realize that this transvestite is actually... Read More

Sunday’s can sometimes be a bit of a drag – a day to sleep in, run errands, and dread work the next morning. Therefore, when it comes to finding something fun on a Sunday night, the struggle is real. On Sunday nights the majority of Boulder is a quiet community nestled in the foot of the Flatirons. Little do we know, the Bohemian Biergarten is booming every Sunday night with their gut-busting Comedy Show. That’s right, the Bohemian Biergarten is turning those lazy days into Sunday Funday. The laughs come at a $5 entrance fee, and begin Sunday at 7pm, and continue for a 2nd show at 9:15pm.... Read More

It’s a fantastic city, Boulder, but the longer you live here, the more accustomed you’ll become to mountains, sunshine, craft beer, and socially liberal ideas. You run the risk of forgetting that not every city is environmentally conscious and dog-friendly all the time. Here are some things to keep in mind if you leave town: Not everyone is ultra-fit. Boulder has consistently been ranked as one of the fittest cities in the country. It is a hotbed of marathoners, bikers, runners, hikers, skiers, snowboarders, unicyclers, hoola-hoopers, etc. As soon as you get out of town though, you’ll realize... Read More

    It’s time for the Super Bowl! I wonder how many of the athletes playing are consuming cannabis on a regular basis. Chances are, quite a few. Cannabis and football has been a hot topic over the past few years as more former NFL pros have come out of the green closet to advocate for its use as a medicine. Highlighted in Season 2 of the Netflix show, Disjointed, the Gridiron Cannabis Coalition got to make a public service announcement calling for the use of cannabis over opioids. The Gridiron Cannabis Coalition’s “mission is committed to the evolution of the natural healing elements... Read More

A group of bold women in Pakistan are fighting to desegregate public spaces, one cup of chai at a time. Roadside tea stalls or coffee shops in Pakistan—known as “dhabas”—are generally unwelcoming to female patrons. In various parts of Southern Asia, it is culturally unacceptable for women to frequent public spaces or communal spots regularly. In these painfully patriarchal rural and urban communities, women are not encouraged to socialize publicly or move around on their own freely. But Desi feminists are fighting against these sexist standards by claiming typically segregated places like... Read More

This weekend, get a taste of Burning Man in Boulder without the dust. The equivalent of more than half of Boulder paid a small fortune to pilgrimage to the playa this week for the 29th annual Burning Man.   While that journey is a rites of passage that has changed many lives, Boulder can be a microcosm of that same transformational culture with way less fuss. Burning Man is much more than just a party in the desert.  It has become a cultural catalyst, a new paradigm of consciousness, and a global community with home-bases right here in the Front Range. The Burning Man philosophy is based... Read More

Boulder is an interesting paradox with its culture. It is both black and white at the same time yet none of those fifty shades of grey in between. You have the opposing ends of the spectrum co-existing in a unique balance while not veering a whole lot towards the middle. Extreme is the name of the game. This concept can be found in Boulder’s politics, income levels, fitness, diets and plenty of other lifestyle elements. We want to connect with each other yet we want to stay true to our environmentally conscious roots and unplug. We want to think and act globally yet local community and economy... Read More

This past year, as a CU student, I have been witness to many changes on campus; all of which are good, progressive changes. Polly McLean, a professor in the Advertising school at CU created and teaches a class called Gender, Race, Class and Sexuality in Popular Culture. This class allows students to explore the modern world of popular culture through media. By doing so, students learn about the gender binaries that have forever dominated the way in which females and males are classified and identified. However, this past year has brought about massive changes in relation to binaries. In the news... Read More

I don’t totally dislike the horror film genre. I just prefer not to be incredibly disturbed and grossed out while watching a movie because, honestly, I’m good at traumatizing myself in real life. Although I’m not afraid of the dark and I prefer to live alone, I’m also kind of a jumpy and paranoid person. I get startled when my light-footed boyfriend comes up behind me just to ask a question and if a friend who drives home late at night forgets to text me upon her safe arrival then I’ll assume the worst—that she died in a car crash. Since I’m slightly morbid, I do like some genres... Read More

On Monday, April 6, the CU Creative Writing Association with support from the CU Cultural Event Board and the CU English Department collaborated to put on a reading and panel featuring three talented and inspirational poets. The show was titled Code Switching and Recoding Language, in which the three presenters spoke powerful words and shared  images that depicted the struggles that people who break the societal binaries face. These performers highlighted the various issues of oppression that stem from the lack of acceptance, expressed stereotypes and general lack of knowledge and education that... Read More