Won’t You Take Me To... Monkey Town

In 2003, the very first Monkey Town — a video art and dining experience — launched in a private loft space in Brooklyn, NY. After a 19-month run, Monkey Town 1 was followed by Monkey Town 2 (also in Brooklyn) and Monkey Town 3 (in Manhattan). Now the monkeys have taken flight, and Monkey Town 4 makes its first debut outside of NYC, landing in Denver’s RiNo neighborhood for a three-month limited engagement. So, what the heck is Monkey Town? On Tuesday-Saturday nights, two seatings (the first at 6 p.m. and the last at 8:30 p.m.) allow 32 lucky people to see a two-hour presentation of works featuring 18 video artists and filmmakers. Attendees are seated inside a 24-foot seamless floating cube, where they take in glorious digital artworks, while also enjoying local food and live performances. Monkey Town 4 partnered with local restaurants The Populist, City O’ City, and WaterCourse Foods, along with supperclub Noble Swine, to create the tasting menus and wine pairings accompanying each night’s showcase. Menus will be somewhat seasonal and are likely to change at the beginning of each month. Vegan and vegetarian diners will also be accommodated. On Tuesdays, diners can enjoy three courses with wine for $50. The offerings Wednesday through Saturday will include five courses (plus the pairing) for $80. Your admission, your meal, your drinks, and your gratuity are all included! The program’s artists hail from all over, but half of the featured artists are Colorado’s own. Artists were curated by Monkey Town staff with assistance from local institutions like the MCA Denver, Denver Digerati, Plus Gallery, and the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. Check out all the participating artists’ work: Shana Moulton, Takeshi Murata, Peter Burr, Phil Solomon, Kelly Monico, Will Rahilly, Laleh Mehran, Johanna Billing, Jeremy Couillard, Agnes Bolt, Theo Angell, Milton Melvin Croissant III, Jonathan Monaghan, Chris Coleman, Alex McLeod, Quintin Gonzalez, Montgomery Knott, Evan Mann. Tickets for each month’s events go on sale the first week of the month preceding, so snag April tickets beginning the first week of March and get May’s tickets the first week in April. Who: Monkey Town 4 What: Video art installation and dining experience When: February 27—June 1, 2014 Time: Two seatings each night, 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Where: EXDO Hall, 3545 Larimer Street How: Purchase tickets online Answer all your burning questions at: http://www.monkeytown4.com/about/ Keep up with all the monkey business on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. —by Leah Charney Leah Charney is sassy yet classy and is most excited by the things she can't stop writing about, like food, music, and people. She directs operations for the WideFoc.us team, which is just a fancy way of saying she is chief cat herder.