In its 40 years in existence, Swallow Hill music has given outlet to thousands’ musical ambitions, education and fandom through its classes, concerts and community outreach work. When one considers an impact that big on the metro area’s musical community, it’s no wonder the organization is being inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.

The organization is joined by The Mother Folkers (a group of 21 female folk musicians) as well as Dick Weissman, a world-class musician, author and educator and Walt Conley, one of the founding fathers of Colorado’s folk scene in this year’s hall of fame inductee class.

“We’re beyond honored to be inducted and what an amazing group of inductees,” said Paul Lhevine, CEO of Swallow Hill. “It’s a wonderful recognition of Swallow Hill’s role in the community for all these years and an acknowledgement that we’ve added enormously to the creative class in the area.”

Presented by Comfort Dental, the induction ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Swallow Hill’s Central Presbyterian Church, 1660 Sherman St. in Denver, and also doubles as a celebration of Swallow Hill’s 40th anniversary. The evening will include performances by 20 current and former members of The Mother Folkers, Harry Tuft, Dick Weissman, a tribute to Walt Conley and more.

Tuft founded Swallow Hill in 1979 and in the years since, it’s grown into the second largest acoustic music school in the country. And while it’s largely known for as a school and concert venue/promoter (it brings in about 64,000 audience members to its 250 annual events) Lhevine has made community outreach a key priority.

“We have three major programs: music therapy program, a K-12 program that provides interactive performances and an early childhood program that focuses on areas with high poverty rates,” he said. “This recognition is the pivot point that caps our first 40 years and looks to the future.”

Previous inductees into the Colorado Hall of Fame include John Denver, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Glenn Miller and promoter Barry Fey. As musician and executive director of the hall of fame explained, highlighting the breadth of musical talent in Colorado is a key goal for the organization.

“With the hall of fame, we can bring greater knowledge about Colorado’s incredible musical heritage to a bigger audience,” he said. “Some of these people may not be OneRepublic or Nathaniel Rateliff, but we want to recognize that the talent pool here is just breathtaking.”

For more information and tickets to the induction ceremony, visit www.cmhof.org.

Finding a new expression of the holy

Altars have been a way for cultures all over the world express devotion to the divine. And that devotion gets a new expression in the Museo de las America’s exhibit, Altar’d Continuum: Resistance and Empowerment in Sacred Spaces.

Running through Feb. 1 at the museum, 861 Santa Fe Drive, the exhibit pairs contemporary artists alongside religious ofrendas, retablos, and other iconography from the museum’s collections, the exhibition illustrates the altar’s inherent transcendence of time and space, according to provided information. This allows a new context to be given to these traditional spaces.

Get the details at www.museo.org/exhibition/current-exhibition/.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week - Lizzo at the Fillmore

In two of the three weddings I’ve been to in the past months, there was one song that made attendees absolutely lose their minds on the dance floor — Lizzo’s “Juice.” And it’s easy to see why. Like the woman herself, the song is powerful, funny and catchy as all get out.

On her major label full-length, “Cuz I Love You,” Lizzo has firmly established herself as one of the preeminent popstars of our time. Her fanbase if devoted and passionate, and if you want to know why, catch one of her two shows at the Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St. in Denver, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15 and Wednesday, Oct. 16.

Head over to www.livenation.com

Cinematic stories from indigenous tellers

There is no end to the stories from Indigenous peoples the world over, and film is a great way to share those stories with audiences. To that end, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science has partnered with the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management and the Denver American Indian Commission to present the 16th Indigenous Film and Arts Festival.

The festival kicks off at the museum, 2001 Colorado Blvd., on Thursday, Oct. 10 and runs through Wednesday, Nov. 13. In addition to the museum, films will be screened at the University of Denver Davis Auditorium, Room 248 Strum Hall, 2000 E. Asbury, and History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway.

For information and screenings, visit www.denver.org/events/.

Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail.com.