The Road Home

"There's an untold story about this guy who was a muse for several different social movements, and he was born and bred in Denver," says KBDI Channel 12's Heather Dalton. She's talking, of course, about Neal Cassady, aka the notorious Dean Moriarty from Jack Kerouac's Beat bible On the Road. Dalton is attempting to fill the hole in the education of most Denverites: "It really spoke to me that a lot of people in Denver are unaware of what a literary history we have here."

To remedy the situation, Dalton has been working on a new documentary titled Neal Cassady: The Denver Years. Tonight at 6:30 p.m., head to the Mercantile Ballroom in the Wynkoop Brewing Company, 1634 18th Street, for a Denver Beat Evening, a fundraiser for the film co-hosted by Dalton and Joshua Hassel, another producer. Neal's son John Allen Cassady will also be in attendance. The evening includes a buffet dinner, live jazz and an art auction; tickets are $45 in advance, $60 at the door. Call 303-296-1212 or visit www.kbdi.org to get yours.
Thu., March 20, 6:30 p.m., 2008