More than 900 of Denver’s business and civic leaders gathered May 29 for the 53rd Downtown Denver Annual Awards Dinner presented by Polsinelli as the stories of six award winners, representing projects, programs and milestone anniversaries were shown through short videos, sponsored by Comcast.

Since 1962, the Downtown Denver Annual Awards program has allowed the Downtown Denver Partnership to recognize the accomplishments that have transformed our center city each year.

“It is so important to pause and reflect every year on the big ideas, accomplishments and successes that have changed the landscape of our city and inspire all of us,” said Tami Door, Downtown Denver Partnership president and CEO. “These six award winners are setting an incredible example of what it means to contribute to making this city stronger, we are proud to honor their significant achievements.”

Here are the winners:

1801 California St.

For investing in and transforming one of Downtown Denver’s most iconic office buildings into a state-of-the-art space that has re-energized the commercial core by attracting new business tenants, creating an inviting environment, and activating the ground floor and plaza with new amenities.

Cadance Union Station

For taking the lead in housing development in the Denver Union Station neighborhood, building 219 units of rental housing, sending a message of confidence for development, attracting new residents to Downtown Denver, and complementing the adjacent transit uses.

Denver Car Share Permit Program

For establishing a creative and unprecedented car sharing permit program through a collaborative process, making it possible for multiple car share companies to enter the Denver market and ultimately paving the way for greater mobility options for downtown Denver residents, employees and visitors.

IMA Financial Group Building

For the crucial private investment that was essential in securing funding for the redevelopment of Denver Union Station, fulfilling IMA’s vision of building a distinctive headquarter office building in Downtown Denver that serves as the north anchor of the multimodal transportation hub.

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Denver 125th Anniversary

For 125 years as Downtown Denver’s first commercial real estate firm, demonstrating a constant commitment to Downtown, providing leadership to key Downtown planning efforts and contributing to an economically viable urban core.

Trinity United Methodist Church 125th Anniversary

For sustaining and growing Downtown Denver’s first church, establishing its permanent home on 18th and Broadway in 1888 that became a symbol of pride for a growing city, as well as continuing to serve not only its congregation, but also the community throughout its 125-year history.

For more about the award winners, go to www.downtowndenver.com.

Cyndi Lauper and other girls (and boys) who just wanna have fun were spotted at Lucky Strike in the Denver Pavilions Tuesday afternoon.

While there, Lauper bowled with a few of her staff while they ate crudités, fish tacos, guacamole and short rib tacos. I’m also told that she is much better suited as an awesome singer, as she bowled a 58.

Lucky Strike staff noted that the celebrated singer was “very, very nice.”

Food-truck fare, fresh air, gorgeous views, live music and a great cause, the ninth-annual Civic Center EATS will return on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning Tuesday through Oct. 9 (excluding June 5, July 3, Aug. 28 and Sept. 2).

A portion of the proceeds benefit the Civic Center Conservancy, the nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring, enhancing and activating downtown Denver’s historic Civic Center Park. Civic Center EATS provides an opportunity for downtown employees, residents and visitors to experience Civic Center, enjoy an outdoor lunch, listen to live music and connect with the community. Shaded tables and an on-site ATM are provided.

Civic Center EATS is presented by the Civic Center Conservancy and produced by Hobnob Events with support from community sponsors: Pioneer Natural Resources, The Denver Post Community, Denver Parks and Recreation, Southwest Airlines, Noble Energy, Callahan Capital Partners, Hogan Lovells, JE Dunn Construction and Sherman & Howard.

For a list of vendors, go to www.civiccenterconservancy.org/event-civic-center-eats-2014_74.html.

Chef Daniel Sturm, formerly with the Wynn in Las Vegas, has been named the new executive chef of the storied Brown Palace Hotel.

Sturm has also worn the top toque at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, and he graduated from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas with a degree in hotel administration.

Culinary Connectors, a Denver-based company that leads tasty tours of local eateries, is holding its second annual Toques & ‘Tails chef and bartender competition from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday (May 22) at Casselman’s Bar & Venue, 2620 Walnut St., a benefit for Share Our Strength.

This event will highlight the local chef and bartender talent through a competition that will include compulsory rounds for bartenders as well as food and cocktail pairings. Guests will have the opportunity to taste the dishes and cocktails of the competing restaurants and vote for their favorites.

“The guests at the event will have the opportunity to mingle with some of Colorado and the country’s best culinary talent,” said Becky Creighton, president of Culinary Connectors. “All of the judges are from out of state and are well accomplished in their respective fields.”

The eight competing restaurants will be judged on a compulsory round, best dish, best cocktail, best pairing and overall winner.

Competitors are: Justin Brunson and Raquel Tully of Old Major, Theo Adley and Brian Smith of The Squeaky Bean, Troy Guard and Gerard Collier of TAG, Matt Selby and James Menkal of Central Bistro & Bar, Rich Byers and Ben Anderson of The Corner Office, Brandon Biederman and Ryan Layman of Ace Eat & Serve, Alex Figura and Brandon Brough of Lower48 Kitchen and Scott Parker and Michael Cerretani of Sessions Kitchen.

Judges are: Anu Apte, bartender, Seattle, Wash.; Nico de Soto, international mixologist; Liza Weisstuch, writer, “Whisky Advocate”; Tiffany Derry, chef and co-host of “Hungry Investors” and Clayton Chapman, James Beard Foundation nominee, chef/owner of The Grey Plume.

Tickets, at $45 for general admission and $75 for VIP with a 6 p.m. entry, are on sale at www.toquesandtails.com.

“Classically Cannabis,” Colorado Symphony Orchestra’s attempt to connect with the pot-preferring community through music, has been tweaked after consultation with the City of Denver and the symphony’s legal team.

When the smoke cleared, instead of the concerts being billed as public events, the symphony will hold the May 23, July 18 and Aug. 15 concerts as private fundraising events.

“When the Colorado Symphony learned of the City of Denver’s concerns about the perceived public nature of the event series, and following widespread media coverage generated by the events, we contacted the Denver City Attorney seeking clarification and a modified approach to be in compliance with the City’s interpretation of the laws,” according to symphony spokeswoman Laura Bond.

After consultation with City Attorney Scott Martinez, the Colorado Symphony has made the following modifications to clarify “Classically Cannabis” structure as a private event:

* The Colorado Symphony has removed public information about “Classically Cannabis” from its website and agreed to refund all ticket purchases through May 12.

* Attendance to the concerts will be by invitation only. Events will be limited to a closed list of VIP guests managed by Edible Events Co. No reservations or requests for invitations to the events will be accepted from the general public.

*  In consultation with Martinez, the Colorado Symphony also determined it no longer needs the two special events permits it had previously applied for from the City of Denver because of the events’ private nature. Therefore, the Colorado Symphony is in the process of withdrawing the permit applications.

“From the beginning, our goals have been to support fundraising for the Colorado Symphony and to reach out to a culturally diverse audience,” said Jerome H. Kern, Colorado Symphony CEO and Co-Chair of its Board of Trustees. “We’re pleased to present these events in a way that will allow us to pursue these goals and move forward with the business of operating the Colorado Symphony.”

“Classically Cannabis” marks a new partnership between the Colorado Symphony and the industry that supports legal cannabis in Colorado, which is expected to contribute more than $67 million in tax revenue to the State of Colorado in 2014. Culminating with a public concert at Red Rocks on Sept. 13, Classically Cannabis is projected to generate nearly $200,000 for the Colorado Symphony.

“Classically Cannabis” events will feature musical performances from Colorado Symphony chamber ensembles as well as food and beverages. Held at Space Gallery, 400 Santa Fe Blvd., the series is sponsored by Ideal 420 Soils, with additional support from The Farm of Boulder, Gaia Plant Based Medicine and Wellspring Collective. In-kind sponsors include Three Tomatoes Catering and Vicente Sederberg LLC. All proceeds benefit the Colorado Symphony.

Biz2Credit.com, an Internet business credit service, has named Denver the third Best Small Business City in America in a report released Monday.

The ranking of the top 25 best small business cities was based on a weighted average that includes annual revenue, credit score, age of business (in months), cash flow, debt-to-income ratio, incorporation (C-Corp or LLC vs. sole proprietorship) and business owners’ personal credit scores, according to the press release.

“San Jose remains the center of innovation and new business job creation in the U.S.,” said Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora, who oversaw the research. “Surprisingly, Detroit-Dearborn scored very well in large part because of the auto industry’s rebound and the growing technology sector in the area.”

Meanwhile, despite being the nation’s financial hub and a city with a thriving economy, the New York City metro area ranked only seventh in the Biz2Credit’s Best Small Business Cities ranking because of the high cost of doing business.

Houston dropped from the top spot last year. “The oil boom in Texas has slowed a little, and business growth is not at the pace that we saw last year.”

For this analysis, Biz2Credit defined small businesses as companies having fewer than 250 employees or less than $10 million in annual revenues. The Top 25 Cities for Small Business in 2014 are:

1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
2. Detroit-Dearborn, Mich.
3. Denver
4. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.
5. San Francisco-Oakland, Calif.
6. Las Vegas, Nev.
7. New York metro area
8. Atlanta, Ga.
9. Washington, DC metro area
10. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla.
11. Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.
12. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.
13. Sacramento, Calif.
14. Indianapolis, Ind.
15. Houston, Texas
16. Chicago, Ill.
17. Portland, Ore.
18. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
19. Phoenix-Scottsdale, Ariz.
20. Charlotte, N.C.
21. San Antonio, Texas
22. Seattle-Tacoma, Wash.
23. Jacksonville, Fla.
24. Philadelphia, Pa.
25. Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla.

The Clyfford Still Museum, in the heart of Denver’s arts district at 1250 Bannock St., is offering community members free admission on select days for specific county residents throughout the summer.

Upcoming free admission dates are:

• Adams County, June 11
• Arapahoe County, June 18
• Boulder County, July 2
• Broomfield County, July 16
• Denver County, July 30
• Douglas County, Aug. 13
• Jefferson County, Aug. 27

For more information about the Clyfford Still Museum, visit www.clyffordstillmuseum.org.

The Wall Street Journal’s weekend print edition features an “Insider’s Guide to Denver” where actress AnnaSophia Robb, MCA museum director and former star square dancer Adam Lerner, chef/restaurateur Jennifer Jasinski and retailer Mark Hansen weigh in on their favorite restaurants, shops, hotels and museums in the Mile High City.

The article, which is posted at http://on.wsj.com/RwrgWJ, asks each “insider” to name a few of their favorite things in Denver.

Robb’s picks: Red Rocks Amphitheater, the Clyfford Still Museum, Sweet Action Ice Cream, Snooze restaurants and The Grizzly Rose.

Lerner’s list: The Source collection of restaurants and specialty shops on Brighton Boulevard, the beer walk from the lower Highland across the pedestrian bridge to 16th Street and the Denver Beer Company, Colt & Gray restaurant, The Populist eatery and Fancy Tiger Clothing.

Jasinski chose: Williams & Graham speakeasy, The Bluebird Theater, JJ Chinese Dim Sum Seafood Restaurant, Garbarini and TRVE Brewing Co.

Hansen faves: Cafe Europa for breakfast, Sputnik Cocktails, Washington Park, Larimer Lounge and Devil’s Head Fire Lookout for hiking.

The WSJ added “don’t miss” recommendations: The Brown Palace Hotel, the Squeaky Bean restaurant and Tribella women’s clothing shop geared toward female triathletes.

Red Rocks Amphitheater was one of the top choices for Denver insiders in a Wall Street Journal guide to the Mile High City’s top places to see.