courtesy Crested Butte

Denver restaurant week

Plan for it now: From Feb. 21-27, a whopping 198 restaurants are participating in Denver Restaurant Week, when you can get a meal for two at some pretty fancy places for $52.80 (tax and tip are extra). Special menus for the mile-high price at each restaurant should be online at www.denverrestaurantweek.com by mid-January. Places like Il Posto, duo, 9th Door, Vesta Dipping Grill and Barolo Grill are participating.

Free dental care

Who needs a free teeth cleaning? Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, 50 Comfort Dental offices in Colorado will offer basic services FREE in the morning, beginning around 7:30 a.m. We've heard mixed reviews of their service, but if you are in a bind and need some basic dentistry work, check it out.

The new JHCC Theatre is donating 25 percent of its weekend ticket sales from "Secret Santa: The Kickin' Killer Crazy Christmas Carol-A-Long" to Project AngelHeart (They make and deliver meals to people with life-threatening illnesses). You've still got today and tomorrow, 12/20 - 12/21, to take in a show while also supporting a worthwhile cause. If you miss it, a benefit performance is planned 12/27, when half of ticket sales will go to Project AngelHeart

You can get tickets ($12-$15) by e-mailing JHCCTheatre@gmail.com, and use the promo code SARA to get discounted tickets!

JHCC Theatre is just five months old and does productions by Denverites

93.3 Hometown for the Holidays winner .... !

The Epilogues won $1,000 as the band that got the most applause at Andrew's on Friday night (part of it may have been they were the last band to play and not everyone got to hear the early bands).

But ROE won the studio time and a gig playing at a Colorado Mammoth game at the Pepsi Center. Roe got a decent amount of applause too Friday, despite the keyboard guy falling off his chair mid song and the vocal mics going out during another song too.

Fulcrum ... maybe better luck next year? After all Roe was at Hometown for the Holidays last year, and this year they got a prize.

CP told us about this game

woxy.com has started counting down the best 97 albums of 2008. Listen in. UPDATE: If you missed it, they'll be replaying it during the holidays

The new album from The Boy Least Likely To won't be out until March 3, but there's a new single for sale on iTunes. You can hear "The First Snowflake" on MySpace before you buy.

Some good stuff this weekend:

Hot IQs have a party 12/19 at the Bluebird, with a premiere of their new video. $8. 9pm



Before that, you might be able to catch Popwreck at the Hi-Dive, 12/19. $6

Also that night is the 93.3 Hometown for the Holidays showdown. Flobots won last year and just look at them now. The top 3 contenders play 12/19 at Andrew's on Lincoln (11th and Lincoln), and a winner will be chosen. You can still cast your votes for the top 3 if you sign up to be a 93.3 music survey member and vote before noon tomorrow, 12/17.

There's also the tree lighting in Vail, Face is at the Boulder Theater for you a cappella fans (but it's sold out so you might some creativity getting tix), and the Omens are at the Lions Lair in Denver.

Holiday Clothing has its launch party at the Marquis Theater, 12/20. $10-$12

Be on "Good Morning America"!

YOU can be on national TV! "Good Morning America" is going to be broadcasting some shots from Union Station tomorrow, 12/5, the same day that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will be in NYC to unveil Denver's holiday window display on GMA. It's happening butt early in Denver (have to obey those East Coast demands!) We're talking 5:15 a.m. to 7 a.m. at 17th and Wynkoop in Denver. To get people to Union Station that early and make sure they're screaming and happy, there will be giveaways of lift tickets to Winter Park, plus tickets for Ski Train, the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets. And get this, the Denver visitors bureau really really would like if you can show up with homemade signs and wearing ski gear! Who says live television isn't staged?