On July 15, CU Boulder’s Mars mission that has been 8 years in the making so far cleared a major hurdle by passing the Critical Design Review. An independent review board comprised of NASA employees and reviewers from external organizations deliberated over the mission plans for three days, determining if the mission had a valid design, met all requirements, and was backed by the proper research and analysis. With the reviewers’ approval, engineers can now being the manufacturing process.

The University of Colorado began work on Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, in 2003 for the purpose of studying the evolution and loss of Mars’s atmosphere over time and its interactions with the sun. NASA began backing the project in 2008, and since then MAVEN’s design has been reviewed and corrected time and again, going through 28 reviews in the past year alone.

MAVEN is an exciting edition to the legacy of space projects produced by CU Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, or LASP. LASP began its pursuit of space studies 60 years ago, before even the creation of NASA, and is the only research institute in the world that has sent instruments to every planet in the solar system. (Yep, including Pluto.) Along with professional staff, LASP utilizes the skills and growing knowledge of CU grads and undergrads, several of whom are involved in MAVEN’s production.

MAVEN is set to launch at the end of 2013. It will orbit Mars for one year after its 10-month journey to the planet.

The information MAVEN gathers will be pivotal in learning not only more about Mars, but more about our own planet as well. From the information about atmospheric loss, we will be able to understand more about the evolution of the earth and what our planet will be like years in the future. In addition, this mission will pour a total of $250 million into Colorado’s economy, creating jobs both at LASP and at Lockheed Martin in Littleton, who is building the spacecraft.

With the Critical Design Review behind them, MAVEN and the CU team are that much closer to reaching Mars.

Walking along the street on Boulder’s University Hill, you’ll encounter myriad eclectic shops and eateries that form the perfect hangout for CU students and community members alike. Nestled amid the shops on 13^th Street, one inconspicuous store holds a welcome treat for those who wander inside.

Innisfree Poetry Bookstore and Café opened in January of this year, becoming the third poetry-only bookstore in the United States. The shop has a delightfully comforting and faintly magical feel about it, brimming with wooden shelves of verse. It is a place one could easily forget themself in—which is just what its owners Brian Buckely and Kate Hunter want.

Both poets themselves, they named their shop after a poem by William Butler Yeats that begins, “I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree.” Yeats paints Innisfree, a small island in Ireland, as a place of peace, refreshment, and spiritual affirmation, and Innisfree Bookstore echoes that sentiment.

Buckley and Hunter intend it to be a place where poets and people of all interests and backgrounds can mingle and share their creativity. Though new to the Hill, Innisfree has already earned a reputation as a favorite place to hang out, study, and enjoy coffee and conversations.

Innisfree serves Conscious Coffee, this year’s winner of Roast Magazine’s Microbrew of the Year Award. They also holds poetry readings and open mics every Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm. Arise and go to Innisfree to sip a warm mug while you drink in imagery, meter, and rhyme to your heart’s content.

Boulder has long been known for its dedication to being “green,” serving as an example to other cities with its efforts to preserve the city’s natural beauty and support green and alternative energy companies. Boulder now plans to include a ballot measure in November that, if passed, would allow the city to form its own municipal utility in order to secure cleaner energy for Boulder residents.

Boulder has traveled a rough road of negotiations and deliberation to come to this decision. In June, Xcel Energy offered Boulder a deal to add 200-megawatts of wind power to its system if the city signed a 20 year franchise with Xcel. Boulder would be able to use the renewable energy credits to boast a 70% green electricity supply in the first year and a 90% green supply by 2020.

The city planned to include the Xcel deal on the ballot in November along with an option for Boulder to take energy distribution into its own hands, forming a municipal utility that would allow the city more control over the type of energy it bought and to, according to the city, provide energy services at the same or an even lower rate than Xcel.

Negotiations with Xcel continued until last week when the company demanded a third option on the ballot involving a 20-year contract but without the wind energy. Though it would not include as much renewable energy as its first proposal, this option would satisfy Colorado’s mandate of 30% renewable energy by 2020. Without including this third option on the ballot, Xcel said Boulder would be limiting its residents’ options.

Boulder refused the deal. “A franchise by itself would tie the city to a long term energy future that remains largely dependent on coal and a business model that prevents local communities from making decisions about their energy futures,” said City Manager Jane Brautigan.

The November ballot will ask voters to approve a municipal utility and to pay double Climate Action Plan tax in order to get the utility on its feet. The tax money would also pay for plans about where to buy renewable energy, either from Xcel or other power producers.  If approved, the process could take 3-5 years to get up and running, but Boulder believes it will be well worth the money and the wait to control energy distributions for the city and to strive for ever-increasing dependence on renewable resources.

One of the most delightful things about Boulder is its tendency to harbor eclectic and colorful locales around almost every corner. The Dushanbe Tea House is one such place, its bright blue doorway and intricate paneling standing conspicuously among the more standard buildings of downtown Boulder.

At the Teahouse, you can enjoy entrees inspired by traditional dishes of countries such as India, Persia, Japan, and Tajikistan as well as a variety of delicious teas. However, the highlight of the Teahouse may be that it has a history as rich as its food.

The Dushanbe Teahouse was given to Boulder as a gift by the mayor of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Boulder’s sister city (and, as it so happens, the point directly opposite from Boulder in the Northern Hemisphere). For three years beginning in 1987, Tajikistan artisans crafted the interior and exterior, hand-carving and hand-painting the patterns you see just about everywhere you look, including the ceiling, columns, and tables. The Teahouse symbolizes an ongoing dedication to peace, friendship, and respect between two very different cultures.

Recently, I brought a friend from out of state to visit the Teahouse, sample the teas, and enjoy the atmosphere. We sat at a table next to the Fountain of the Seven Beauties, a pond accented with real coy fish and the forms of seven women sculpted from copper, each different in character but similar in elegance. I later found out that the sculpture was inspired by an ancient poem detailing the adventures of a prince and his seven beautiful wives. At the time I only noticed that the sculptured added to the already remarkable scenery.

I ordered the Lily Jasmine Flower tea, described in the menu as “blooming.” To my surprise, my drink was brought to me in a wine glass, and I watched a small green bundle unfurl to reveal a pale pink flower and a string of tiny jasmine blossoms like pearls. My friend enjoyed the Rooibos Chai, which, while less dramatic, still brimmed with flavor.

Boulder’s Dushanbe Teahouse offers a change of pace from more mainstream restaurants as well as a taste of culture and tea that will highlight any afternoon or evening on the town.

Ladies, looking for a fitness change of pace? Try shaking things up with a Pure Barre class. Developed by dancer and choreographer Carrie Rezabek Dorr in 2001, this technique utilizes the isometric holds and tiny repeated motions of ballet dancers to tone and tighten your arms, thighs, seat, and abs.

Each class follows the same structure, but instructors can choose from a variety of moves to keep things interesting. Class begins with a warm-up, including planks and pilates moves, and a series of weight exercises to tone your arms. Then you’ll move up to the front of the room to work on thighs and glutes against the ballet bar. You’ll finish on the floor with a killer set of moves for strong abs. During class you’ll use light weights, a band, and a small exercise ball to maximize your workout. Socks are also required in the studio.

Newcomers, beware. This workout is not for the faint of heart. The first time I stepped into a Pure Barre studio I thought my legs weren’t going to make it. I was surprised at how much I sweated and shook while standing almost still and performing simple movements like tucking my hips under or straightening and slightly bending my leg. These tiny motions are designed to work muscles to failure in order to gain the most strength. After each set, I loved the stretching break, which loosens up every muscle worked to create lean, dancer-like muscles.

Afterwards I was exhausted, but I was hooked. After about a month of classes, I noticed significant improvements in the strength of my legs, arms, abs, and overall stamina and fitness.

Located in Boulder’s beautiful 29^th Street Mall, the Pure Barre studio will provide you with the space to challenge and inspire yourself. If you want to try this workout at home, Pure Barre DVDs are now available, including the new Flatirons series named after the beautiful mountains that form Boulder’s dramatic backdrop.

Though challenging, Pure Barre will push you to new heights of fitness. Stick with it and you’ll have legs you can’t wait to show off.

On Friday, July 22, the Boulder Theater will host an event that very well may rock the globe. For nearly 5 hours  (breaks included) audience members will get a chance to hear about some of the most visionary and extreme projects being developed by young entrepreneurs from around the world.

The event, dramatically titled the Unreasonable Climax, is hosted by the Unreasonable Institute, a Boulder-based organization that is in its second year mentoring, training, and equipping young entrepreneurs with the resources and skills they need to create large-scale social change through business. Unreasonable Fellows speaking at the Climax have gone through a 6-week intensive program at the Institute in Boulder to learn how to make their dreams a reality.

Twenty-five Fellows will speak for 6 minutes each about their projects, adressing such issues as better ways to screen for disease, provide clean water, ease food shortages, and provide education to women in impoverished and struggling countries.

While their projects may seem ideal and perhaps far-fetched, these Fellows have been selected by the Unreasonable Institute precisely because they can succeed. The Institute only trains entrepreneurs who have a strong business idea involving a sustainability or social problem. The Fellow must be able to make their idea must be profitable and, (here’s the kicker) be able to impact more than a million people in 5 years with their vision.

The goal of the Unreasonable Climax is to gain public support and awareness of these revolutionary businesses and to, according to the Institute’s website, “define progress in our time.”

Following the event, audience members are invited to join the Unreasonable Fellows, Mentors, and Partners at the St. Julien Hotel in downtown Boulder for food, music, drinks, and inspiring company. For those who can’t get enough, there will be additional events on Thursday the 21^st and Saturday the 23^rd.

With so many wild ideas, energized people, and radical business plans swirling around, there may be no more unreasonable place to be on July 22 than Boulder, Colorado.

Boulder is known as a progressive town, partly due to its liberal university population and partly because the people who live there tend to be passionate about preserving the beautiful environment around the city that makes it such a great place to live.

There are many “green” businesses in the area, and just about every business makes some effort to incorporate sustainable practices and products. One of the areas in which Boulder really is at the leading edge is renewable and sustainable energy research, thanks to collaborative efforts between the university and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI) was launched in 2009 after years of research and collaboration. The goal of forming the institute was to become an international force in solving the energy challenge through research, education and technology commercialization. With the expert input provided by CU faculty, it was determined that in order to be successful, the institute must be highly interdisciplinary. Integration of the university’s extensive research in renewable and sustainable energy with its strengths in climate and environmental science, behavioral studies, policy analysis, and entrepreneurship is key. RASEI uses a three-pronged approach emphasizing discovery, transformation, and entrepreneurship.

The individuals who make up RASEI believe that a critical aspect of the institute is commercialization. RASEI strives to move new technologies into clean and renewable energy markets as quickly as possible. Increasing commercialization through start-up incubation, collaborations on research and deployment, early engagement of students, strategic giving opportunities, and increased networking between CU community and the business community are all facilitated by the Energy Institute’s business program.

RASEI has also aimed to create a local hub for clean technology commercialization and start-up companies by partnering with the Deming Center, Tech Transfer Office and other institutions on and off campus.

RASEI retains a leadership council that serves as advisers. The council corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, policy makers and academics. The goal of the council is to merge the research capabilities of scientists and faculty with local leaders’ market-based experience and perspective.

Institutes like RASEI and innovative entrepreneurs are what keep the city of Boulder at the leading edge of technology and renewable energy research.

Colorado Shakespeare Festival (CSF) is one of the most famous such festivals in the world and is highly regarded by experts in the field of Shakespearean literature. In fact, in 1992, CSF was named one of the top Shakespeare festivals in the nation by TIME Magazine. And later that same year, the Festival was given the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and the Denver Drama Critic’s Circle Award for “Best Season for a Theatre Company.”

The purpose of the festival is to provide meaning, expand understanding and deepen appreciation of Shakespeare’s texts—through performances, workshops and lectures. The Colorado Shakespeare Festival is tremendously successful and draws as many as 40,000 audience members each season.

The festival began in 1958 with productions of Julius Caesar, Hamlet and The Taming of a Shrew. In 1975, with the production of Cymbeline, the CSF became the seventh theatre in the world to complete the entire Shakespearean canon of 37 plays.

CSF is much more than a series of plays. There are also a number of other CSF programs that accompany the festival, including a sequence of courses called Shakespeare in Production; and Prologue, which is an informal introduction to the evening’s performance by CSF staff members. There are also Green Show activities, a free Actors’ Talkback series, and school outreach programs.

The school outreach program is called “Living Shakespeare.” This program is seen by about 5000 students and teachers each year, and has given over 600 performances throughout Colorado public schools since 1991.

CSF offers community programs as well, including the “Classics 101″ discussion series hosted by the Boulder Public Library, as well as the “Director and Designer” presentations, wherein the public gets and inside view of the production process that takes place before each season opens.

The 2011 season will have a distinct Russian flair to it. Plays will include “The Inspector General,” a 19th century comedy by Russian playwright Nikolai Gogol. This play will be staged indoors on the University Mainstage, and will include a handful of bi-lingual performances, and a team of Russian theater artists will travel to Boulder to helm the show.

The other plays that will show this season are Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors” and “Romeo and Juliet,” and an adaptation of the novella “The Little Prince.” Fans of the festival will be glad to hear that funding has allowed the installation of a full amplification system at the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre that will be implemented in time for the 2011 season.

One of the best places to visit in Boulder if you like art, theatre and dance is the Dairy Center for the Arts. The Dairy Center for the Arts is a non-profit cultural arts organization founded in 1992 and one of the only places in Boulder to experience dramatic theater, comedy, live music, film, dance performances and visual arts under one roof. It is housed in the historic Watts-Hardy Dairy building, which once operated as a dairy storage and processing plant. The Dairy is home to fifteen premier resident arts organizations and offers high quality performing and visual arts experiences. Thousands of patrons participate in classes, workshops, exhibitions, films and dance, music, and theater performances each year.

The center hosts all kinds of shows throughout the year. For example, there’s Playback Theatre West, which is improvisational, “comicathartic” theatre based on using the audience’s stories to entertain, enrich and enlighten. There’s Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s presentation of Crime & Punishment, an award-winning adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s literary masterpiece is set in the mind of the murderer, where he relives and explores the events that drove him to his horrible crime. And if you like dance, check out the Boulder Ballet: Stepping Out 2011. This is Boulder Ballet’s annual contemporary concert which demonstrates the cutting edge of ballet technique and artistry through varied and imaginative choreography.

The center’s Resident Organizations are specifically designed for working with young people. Boulder Ballet, for example, connects with youth through performances and outreach at schools, festivals and special events. The Ballet partners with Boulder Philharmonic to present “The Nutcracker” each holiday season. Students perform in a number of events including the Annual Student Choreographers Showcase, the End of Year Showcase, and others.

The CenterStage Theatre Company offers three to four productions each year, and approximately 300 children participate in theater productions, camps or the summer choral program.

Imagination Makers Theater Company is an adult theater company that performs for children in the Denver-Boulder area. The company performs at 175 or more schools each year. Productions explore complicated issues such as homelessness and hunger.

These are just a few of the Dairy Center’s outreach programs. Art exhibits at The Dairy Center range from professional, accomplished artists working in all types of media from clay to oil to sculpture and found objects to student exhibits.

The Dairy Center can also be rented for special events, and offers spaces that will accommodate anywhere from 85 to 250 people in a beautiful, historic yet modern setting.

One of the most popular venues in Boulder is the Chautauqua Auditorium, which is a historic landmark with a long history. The Chautauqua Movement began in the late 1800s as a means to share cultural and educational experiences with people in small towns. Performers of all kinds, including speakers, educators, actors, and others traveled a national Chautauqua circuit of more than 12,000 sites. This circuit brought lectures, performances, concerts, classes, and exhibitions to thousands of people who otherwise had little opportunity to experience such culture and entertainment.

The Colorado Chautauqua is one of three remaining Chautauquas in the United States today, and it’s the only site that continuously operates and maintains its original structures west of the Mississippi River. Located at the base of Boulder’s Flatirons, Chautauqua Park is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a well-known local landmark situated on 26 acres of land.

The Auditorium, which was built in 1898, has been voted one of the top ten places artists love to play because of its superior acoustics and intimate feel. The Dining Hall was constructed that same year and is now open all year long, offering delicious cuisine to visitors. The Academic Hall is home to Chautauqua’s administrative offices and was the first collegiate-level summer school in Colorado. It was built in 1900. And lastly, the Community House, completed in 1918, is a striking example of Arts and Crafts architecture, though the building has been winterized and renovated.

The Colorado Chautauqua hosts numerous events all year long, from music to dance to films and lectures, and the Colorado Music Festival (CMF). CMF takes place each summer and offers hundreds of performances by extremely talented and award-winning musicians. The upcoming season of CMF includes a five-concert violin mini-festival; “Ansel Adams: America” composed by Chris and Dave Brubeck; a Festival-commissioned world premiere by Patrick Zimmerli;  Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony with the Colorado premiere of Marcel Tyberg’s two movement completion to Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony, and much more.

Visit the Colorado Chautauqua center for any of its varied events and you’ll find yourself in a living history exhibit, where past meets present and creativity abounds. No visit to the Boulder area would be complete without taking in a show at this unique venue.