Hey, there’s an elephant on my street; how he got there I’ll never know.

If you’re in the vicinity of Curtis and 18th streets on Saturday, don’t be surprised to see an elephant lumbering toward The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Denver.

The elephant entry signifies the third and final air jordan spizike wedding ceremony between an East Indian doctor and his American wife. Three ceremonies are planned with the last being an Indian tradition of having the bride arrive at the reception location aboard an elephant being trucked in from California for the occasion.

I’ve been told that there will be street closures and off-duty police officers along the route. “I understand they’ve taken out tons of (city) permits,” said a source. Representatives from the mayor’s office could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

Get your grill on

It’ll be a hot time in the old town when a slew of chefs fire up their grills and serve up sliders during the fourth annual Hot Rocks Griller Challenge, a fundraiser for the Denver Health Foundation’s men’s health programs, from 6 to 9 p.m. June 13 at Elway’s Cherry Creek.

Roughly 16 of the top local chefs will get their grill on to compete for top honors in the slider competition where the winner is determined by popular vote. Attendees can purchase chips (votes) from $5 to $100, and flip chips into the receptacles on their favorite chefs’ tables. Each chef will concoct a creative slider plus a side dish that will be paired with a wine.

The heated competition represents some of Denver’s best culinary talent including: Steve Ballas (Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs), Robert Bogart (Elway’s Downtown), Michael Bortz (City Bakery), Jamey Fader (Lola, Big Red F Restaurant Group), Troy Guard (TAG, TAG Raw Bar, Madison Grill), Jennifer Jasinski (Rioja, Bistro Vendome, Euclid Hall), Simon Purvis (EDGE Restaurant), Paul Reilly (formerly of Encore), Matt Selby and Brandon Biederman (Vesta Dipping Grill, Steuben’s), Goose Sorensen (Solera), Darrel Truett (Barolo Grill), Tyler Wiard and Aniedra Nichols (Elway’s Cherry Creek), Elise Wiggins (Panzano) and Sean Yontz (El Diablo).

Denver’s own Chris Daniels and the Kings will provide musical entertainment. Guests can also “pay to play” the Hyde Park Jewelers High Striker test of skills game. Event chairs Michael Pollak (Hyde Park) and John Elway (Broncos, Hall of Fame) will fan the fun.

Tickets are $100 apiece or $250 for early admission and entrance to the VIP Lounge. Purchase them at denverhealthfoundation.org.

In memoriam

Hank Dire, owner of the iconic Bonnie Brae Tavern, died Monday at age 84. Hank had worked at the family restaurant since he was 5 years old.

Most Precious Blood Catholic Church, 3959 E. Iliff Ave., will be the location for a memorial service at 10 a.m. Monday.

Another long-time Colorado restaurateur Timothy Lee Galloway died last November, but the current issue of  issue of Golf Digest tells the touching story of how his son, Winn, took his dad for a round of golf at Pebble Beach where Tim scored a hole in one.

Tim worked at Boulder restaurants including Flagstaff House, adidas neo Red Lion Inn, Potter’s, the restaurants at the Boulderado Hotel and Cork n’ Cleaver.

Check out the Golf Digest story (have your hanky nearby) here.

Dad’s day

Four local men may be captains of industry and pillars in the community, but they are most proud of being a dad.

Walt DeHaven, vice president and general manager of CBS4; Steve Erkenbrack, president and CEO of Rocky Mountain Health Plans; Greg Feasel, executive vice president and COO of the Colorado Rockies and Jeff Jones, co-president and CFO of Vail Resorts, were lauded Wednesday night during the Father of the Year Awards, a fundraiser for the American Diabetes Association.

The ballroom at the Grand Hyatt was packed with supporters who were treated to touching video tributes from children of the honored fathers.

Evening emcee CBS4 anchor Jim Benemann warmed up the crowd with some of his own “dad-isms”.

“I remember my dad fondly for the things he taught me such as, ‘Oh, I’ll give you something to cry about.’ Or, ‘Because I said so, that’s why.'”

Speaking of dear old dad

Are you tardy to the dad’s day party? There’s still time to make Father’s Day brunch or dinner reservations. Go to opentable.com to see a list of special Father’s Day feasts.

Eavesdropping on a man watching The View: “They should just call this,’ We All Talk at the Same Time.'”

Be sure to like my Facebook page! Also, here’s where you go to get my column emailed to you Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I’m now the social-media liaison for the Mile High Chapter of the Colorado Restaurant Association, so read my latest restaurant news there. My email: penny@blacktie-llc.com.

Rockmount Ranch Wear, the snap-front shirt manufacturer with a retail outlet at 1626 Wazee, had a truck-load of attention from musicians, Hollywood types and a glossy magazine last week.

Cowboys & Indians, a top-notch Western lifestyle publication, features Eric Stonestreet from the popular TV sitcom Modern Family wearing a lot of Rockmount shirts in the June issue.

In the opening line of the nine-page magazine spread, powerlins ii Stonestreet says that he “loves Rockmount” and that his personal wardrobe includes several shirts.

The article features him in a wide cross section of Rockmount’s collection including a shadow plaid, check, stripe and solid shirt.

Stonestreet came into Rockmount’s LoDo flagship store when the show debuted and bought a shirt-load of shirts.

“We love it when talented people appreciate what we do,” said Rockmount president Steve Weil. “Our secret weapon as a small family business is when celebrities help promote the brand because they are into it. These are not paid endorsements and mean a lot more because they are their personal taste.”

Also indulging in Rockmount last week were the Black Keys while on tour in our state, the British band Arctic Monkeys and folks who where shopping for Shawn Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter in town for a charity concert for Denver Academy.

Eric Stonestreet in a Rockmont shirt.

Brunch bunch

Solera on East Colfax and Grape and Coohill’s on 14th and Wewatta tested out new brunch menus Sunday on friends and family. Both restaurants will debut the breakfast-lunch meals on Mother’s Day Sunday.

Our crew started at Solera where we nibbled on the buttermilk pancakes with whipped butter and maple syrup; the Solera scrambler with foraged muschroom creme fraiche, grilled bread and shaved black truffle; the breakfast burrito with smoked pork, sweet corn, crispy potato and house-made green chili and Croque Madame, the French classic sandwich with ham, Swiss cheese, apricot mostrada and sunny side up egg with sauce Mornay.

Then we bellied up to a four-top at Coohill’sfor a spicy bacon Boody Mary, beignets with strawberry orange syrup, prosciutto benedict, brioche BLT and the omelet du jour with asparagus.

Both brunches are worth some munches.

Hudson home hears more pitter patter

Denver jobs guru Andrew Hudson (former spokesmodel for Mayor Wellington Webb and Frontier Airlines), and his wife, Christine Marquez-Hudson, welcomed baby No. 2 Mateo Lucas Hudson to their happy home on April 30.

Mateo (Spanish for Matthew) was born at 9:24 p.m. at Sky Ridge Medical Center. Big sister Julia calls her baby bro “Matato”, as in potato.

“It’s a great name if he’s a jazz musician or if he’s the Broncos QB (or both!),” boasts proud papa Andrew. “He does have great bass playing fingers.”

Andrew reports that mom and baby are doing fine, powerlins ii femmes with plenty of sibling doting from Julia and half-brother Nick.

“It’s hard to describe all the emotions you go through when you welcome a new child into the world,” Andrew says. “Very overwhelming and then you immediately jump into the hard work of taking care of a baby and figuring out the new rhythm your life is now in.”

Mateo Lucas Hudson’s first picture.

It takes a village

Before I ventured to Sonoma County wine country last week on behalf of Inspirato, the Denver-based luxury vacation club, I rounded up a posse of stylists and on-camera consultants to ready me for the trip to videotape segments to promote the magnificent Manzanita house in the Mayacama Resort above Healdsburg that is available for Inspirato members.

Denise Snyder at Mariel in Cherry Creek North helped me pick out a camera-worthy wardrobe, the venerable Denver’s 7 anchor Bertha Lynn gave me on-camera pointers and Pamela Grieve-Stromberg from Posh the Salon tamed my tresses so that Eden, the on-site hair and make-up pro from Brush Salon in Healdsburg could get me ready for my close-ups (but not too close).

I want to also thank Katherine Strauss at Inspirato for the assignment and video producers Tom Hoch and Justin Dersham from WinkInc., a Denver-basedmulti-media production company. We had way too much in the name of “working”.

Eavesdropping on a woman on Facebook: “One would like to think that the Secret Service was smart enough to get serviced secretly.”

My Facebook page has moved. Be sure to like it! Also, here’s where you go to get my column emailed to you Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. My email: penny@blacktie-llc.com.