News Briefs

Aspen

Academy Screenings schedule changes

Aspen Film has announced several changes to the schedule for its Academy Screenings series. The 22nd annual series, which presents screenings of films considered Oscar contenders, opened Monday and runs through Jan. 2 at the Wheeler Opera House. (No screenings are scheduled for today, Wednesday or Dec. 31.)

The screening of “August: Osage County,” set for 8:15 p.m. on Sunday, has been replaced by “The Grandmaster.” Named one of the National Board of Review’s top five foreign-language films, “The Grandmaster,” directed by Chinese filmmaker Kar Wai Wong, is an epic adventure about Ip Man, the martial-arts fighter who trained Bruce Lee.

Also, the Jan. 1 screening of “One Chance,” a true-life British story about a man who becomes an opera star, has been canceled. There will be no film taking its slot.

For full details on the Academy Screenings program, go to http://www.aspen film.org.

Holiday construction restrictions

Construction work in Aspen will be restricted from Wednesday through Jan. 1.

Work crews on projects located in the central resort area are not permitted to do any exterior work that week. Interior work may be permitted with prior approval from the Aspen Engineering Department. Projects that are outside the central resort area can continue under regular regulations over the holiday week. No construction work is permitted on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

For more information, call 970-920-5080 or go to http://www.aspenpitkin.com/departments/engineering.

Christmas music coming to Red Onion

Local musician and live-talent coordinator Trenton Allan will host a special Christmas Eve show at The Red Onion restaurant and bar at 420 E. Cooper Ave. today from 9 p.m. to midnight.

Allan said the show will consist of live music with a blend of irreverent and traditional Yuletide-season songs — everything from the holiday favorite “Jingle Bells” to Robert Earl Keen’s “Merry Christmas From the Family.”

“We want everybody to come, from the families in town with nothing in particular to do to the ragamuffins of Aspen who are looking for something fun without having to pay a lot of money,” Allan said.

There is no cover charge, he said.