The subdudes lost bassist Johnny Ray Allen, one of the band’s founding members, on Friday. Allen passed away Aug. 8 in his home in New Orleans. He was 56 years old.

The concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at The Arvada Center (6901 Wadsworth Blvd., will pay tribute to the subdudes’ fallen member, and the band is inviting Colorado fans to help them remember Allen.

John Magnie, Tommy Malone and Steve Amedee, the band’s other original members will dedicate the show as a tribute to Allen. The band was based in Colorado for key milestones such as the signing of its first major record deal. Magnie, Malone and Amedee plan to begin their set on Sunday as a trio. They then were joined by Tim Cook, subdudes bassist from 2002 to 2012.

Tickets are $25 to $37, and available at www.arvadacenter.org/on-stage/the-subdudes-2014 or by calling 720-898-7200.

The subdudes, circa 1990.

The end of summer is approaching and back-to-school is around the corner, so many locals might assume Elitch Gardens will be coming to a close as well.

However, the downtown theme park keeps its doors open through Nov. 2, with special events. Still ahead in the Fall is the Spirit Fest cheer-leading competition, Martial Arts Day, the 2nd Annual Brew Festival, Pet Parade, and of course the highly anticipated month of Fright Fest: Zombie Apocalypse.

With many members of the amusement park’s seasonal staff headed back to school soon, Elitch Gardens is looking to immediately hire many more employees for the upcoming months.

As park hours shift back to weekends throughout September and October, seasonal positions are available for college students in the area who want to earn some textbook money as they start the new semester.

With almost three months left of theme park fun, several departments are looking for hundreds of candidates with a variety of skill sets and experience. Immediate opportunities are available in food service and ride operations. Interested applicants must visit www.elitchgardens.com/OpenPositions/ as soon as possible and complete a Snag-a-Job application online for the department they wish to join.

For more information, Elitch Gardens human resources can be reached at 303-595-0880 or EG-HR@ElitchGardens.com

Wheat Ridge will celebrate its rich agricultural heritage with the 45^th Annual Carnation Festival on Friday and Saturday. The two-day affair has been revamped this year and features a variety of new elements, including a street fair, expanded beer garden and food court, exotic Italian car show and improved kids activities.

The festivities, which typically draw 25,000 attendees, will run from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, and 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday at Wheat Ridge’s Anderson Park (4355 Field Street).

The Zoppe’ Italian Family Circus again will serve as the festival’s main attraction, entertaining audiences in the same tradition as their ancestors did more than 160 years ago. The Zoppe’ Circus special engagement in Wheat Ridge runs from Friday through Aug. 24 with 13 public performances plus the Automezzi Italian Exotic Car Show from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday and an Italian Village featuring Italian beer, wine, food and gelato.

The festival also offers a range of entertainment and attractions, including:

• Live music;
• A neighborhood parade followed by the 38th Avenue Fair;
• A fine arts show;
• KidsZone with carnival games and inflatables;
• Chili cook-off;
• Artisan exhibits;
• Nightly fireworks.

The festival also provides plenty of opportunities for residents to connect through such events as a pancake breakfast, spaghetti dinner (featured on both Friday and Saturday nights), a community softball game and a pie bake-off.

One of the state’s longest running celebrations, the festival pays tribute to Wheat Ridge’s history as the “Carnation Capital of the World.” During the 1960s, the city boasted 32 different carnation growers and sent a bouquet to the White House every Monday morning, which was displayed in the front foyer with a card stating, “With compliments to our nation’s capital, Wheat Ridge Colorado, Carnation City.” The Carnation Festival was created when Wheat Ridge was founded in 1969 to celebrate and honor the carnation industry.

“The Carnation Festival is an event that reminds residents of Wheat Ridge’s agricultural roots and offers the chance to celebrate our proud traditions,” said Wheat Ridge Mayor Joyce Jay.

For more information, visit www.thecarnationfestival.com.

The Dunkin’ Donuts store in Edgewater (20th and Sheridan), will donate 20 percent of sales on Tuesday to benefit Tennyson Center for Children. The more you buy, the more you help kids living at Tennyson.

This promotion is good for both in-store and drive-through sales and it goes all day long, from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m.

Eavesdropping on a Facebook post: “Let’s not think about Robin Williams dying. Let’s think that Mork finally got to return to Ork.”

The cat crazed, no doubt, will take to the proposed Denver Cat Company’s Cat Cafe like a cat to catnip.

But for moi? If I even walk by the space (to be determined either on East Colfax or South Broadway), I will require oxygen. For those of you, like me, who are severely allergic to felines, you’ll want to cross the street.

As first reported on www.denver.eater.com, there’s a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to open Denver’s first Cat Cafe, where folks and felines meet and mingle while sipping and snacking.

For the cat kind, it’s a paw-sitive proposal to blend humans with resident cats who will lend their inner zen to the eatery. Check out the website at www.denvercatco.com. Here’s an excerpt:

“Here at Denver Cat Company, we cannot imagine anything more delightful than a roomful of cats – and we believe there are many folks out there who feel the same way.

“Hence, a community space and café that features resident cats, modeled after the cat cafés of Taiwan, Japan, Europe, and now hopefully, North America.  As book lovers, we also expect to add a bibliophilic dimension to the café.”

“The concept is simple: a cat café features cats in residence, with visitors purchasing entry passes, usually for an hour, to enjoy the privilege of hanging out with the café cats. Beverages and snacks are also often on the menu, but there are no hard and fast rules besides the mission to provide kitty companionship to cat lovers.”

See the whole Denver Eater story at www.denver.eater.com/archives/2014/08/07/denvercatcafe.php.

Colorado Rockies player Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki, Charlie Blackman, Michael Cuddyer, Jhoulys Chacin, Nolan Arenado, Charlie Culberson, Tyler Chatwood and Wilin Rosario, tested their bowling arms at Lucky Strike in the Denver Pavilions last week to support the Carlos Gonzalez Foundation’s first annual Stars And Strikes Celebrity Bowling Classic.

Guests noshed on Lucky Strike’s coconut shrimp, grilled cheese sliders, jerk sliders, Belgian fries, salmon lollipops and a buffet with barbecued and grilled vegetarian pizza. The players bowled, played ping-pong and pool, took pictures with guests and participated in the silent and live auction benefiting the Carlos Gonzalez Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club of Colorado and Denver Children’s Advocacy Center.

Other notables in attendance were Matt Barnes (Los Angeles Clippers), Scott Hastings (former NBA player), Vinnie Castilla (former Colorado Rockies player) and Ryan Spilborghs (Rockies broadcaster and former Rockies player).

Boulder-based writer Claire Walter, who has a nose for noshery news, caught my attention with a blurb she found at www.zagat.com, which included Denver to the Vail Valley as one of the restaurant guide’s “11 Awesome Foodie Day Trips Across the U.S.”
Here’s what Zagat said: “Technically, you can scoot from Denver to the Vail area and back in a day. But with four food-and-booze festivals scheduled in the next few weeks, we’re tempted to hang out all month long. The Beaver Creek Wine & Spirits Festival (ran) Aug. 8-10. Flavors of Colorado in Avon is happening Aug. 15-17, while Edwards craft-beer and music bonanza Ed Fest occurs Aug. 16. Gourmet on Gore wraps it all up in Vail Village on Labor Day Weekend.

“What to Eat & Drink: For some of the most innovative, upscale takes on Colorado cuisine going these days, check out Beano’s Cabinin Beaver Creek and Mountain Standard in Vail Village. Meanwhile, The Rose in Edwards couldn’t be more charmingly funky, from the smartly crafted cocktails to globally influenced shareables like avocado fries with soy aioli and chiles rellenos en nogada.

“While You’re There: If you can’t figure out how to enjoy Vail Mountain at a glance, you need to get out more. Betty Ford Alpine Gardens is a good place to start.

“Transportation Time: Two hours in optimal conditions. In reality, give it three.”

For more of Zagat’s eatery recommendations in Denver, go to www.zagat.com/denver.

Moe’s Original Bar B Que and Cloud 9 Adventures are holding a contest to win a trip for two to Jam Cruise 13, a musical adventure aboard a cruise ship to exotic ports from Jan. 6-11.

The contest winner and a guest will receive a $1,000 flight voucher, double occupancy balcony cabin, one night hotel stay and two tickets to the pre-show in Miami. The contest runs online through 10 p.m. our time on Sept. 30. The winner will be announced by Oct. 6. To enter, visit www.jamcruise.com/moes. There is no purchase necessary and one entry available per person.

“In addition to the contest, we are also excited to have Moe’s Original Bar B Que’s founding partner Mike Fernandez as a featured late night chef,” said Cloud 9’s Nate Sadler. “Moe’s Original Bar B Que will also sponsor a sauce contest where Mike will be a judge along with one of the featured musicians.”

Cruise-ship guests will experience shows from more than 25 bands including Pretty Lights, Umphrey’s McGee, The Word, Galactic, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, G. Love & Special Sauce, Lettuce, Charles Bradley and the Extraordinaires, John Scofield Uberjam Band and Snarky. For more information about Jam Cruise, visit www.jamcruise.com.

Years after learning to fire roast meats in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Fernandez, Ben Gilbert and Jeff Kennedy founded Moe’s Original Bar B Que in 2001 in Vail. Moe’s Original Bar B Que has 31 locations in Alabama, California, Colorado, Georgia, Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The fast-casual restaurant chain features Southern recipes passed down for generations.

Moe’s has three locations in the metro area: 2727 S. Parker Road, Aurora; 3295 S. Broadway, Englewood and 530 N. Broadway, Denver.

For additional information about Moe’s, visit www.moesoriginalbbq.com.