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Willow Planting at Lair O’ the Bear: Lair O’ the Bear, a favorite hiking spot for Denverites looking to stretch their legs in the Rocky Mountains, is still languishing after the 2013 floods wiped out vegetation around the park. This week, you can do your part to help Lair O’ the Bear recover. Enjoy the scenery and get some vitamin D while lending a hand planting native willow cuttings with Jefferson County Natural Resource Specialist Tony Auciello. Expect a medium level of strenuousness and a couple hours of work (dress to get your hands dirty and wear closed-toed shoes). After that, volunteers will be treated to lunch and conversation with Auciello, who is sure to share his knowledge and passion for Colorado’s native plant life. Wednesday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Lair O’ the Bear Park, 22600 State Highway 74; Free.
Jane-A-Thon: Put your ski skills to the test his weekend with Invest in Kids’ Jane-a-thon, a full-day, family-friendly ski and snowboard event at Winter Park. Invest in Kids will hook up each participant with a lift ticket and ‘flake tracker’ that logs the vertical feet and speed reached throughout the day. Try your hand at their all-mountain scavenger hunt, participate in contests (ranging from costume to speed, mogul and tree challenges), or just cut loose on the slopes. You’ll also get a lunch voucher and drink ticket for their end-of-day party on the lodge’s third floor. Proceeds benefit Invest in Kid’s two programs: Nurse-Family Partnership, which provides health education and at-home nurse visitations for low-income mothers of small children, and The Incredible Years, a program that helps kids ages 3-5 develop social and emotional skills. Saturday, check-in starts at 7 a.m., after party starts at 3 p.m.; Winter Park Resort ski lodge, third floor; $45, plus a $125 fund-raising commitment.
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Boulder Blind Café: Imagine sitting down to a nice meal, complete with live music and meaningful discussion—and nobody can look at their phones. Now imagine no one can look at anything, at all. It’s pitch-black, your servers are ‘blind ambassadors,’ leading you through a discussion on active listening and a workshop on blindness, and all the while you’re learning to savor your food without sight for the first time. That’s the Boulder Blind Café, cropping up this weekend for the first time this year. The mystery menu will be vegan and gluten-free (save for the bread baskets on every table) to keep the fare accessible to as many diners as possible. Proceeds will go back into building a nation-wide network of blind cafes that promote blindness awareness and provide employment to blind individuals. Some proceeds will also go towards raising guide dogs. Thu-Sat, 6 and 8:30 p.m.; Wesley Chapel, 1290 Folsom St., Boulder; $85, or request a sliding-scale rate
Books and Brews:
If you’re thirsty this Thursday head to Spangalang Brewery in Five Points. One dollar from each beer purchased will go towards Reading Partners, an organization that works to improve childhood literacy by pairing Denver Public Schools elementary students behind in reading with local volunteers who provide special tutoring. Your money will go towards sustaining in-school reading centers where a full-time, paid staff member works with the school, Reading Partners and volunteers to coordinate kids’ learning. If the good cause and Spangalang’s crisp, craft beer aren’t enough to entice you, maybe the raffle give-away Spangalang is hosting will do the trick. Thu, 4-7 p.m.; Spangalang Brewery, 2736 Welton St.; free
