It’s hard to get me motivated to drive to downtown Loveland during the week. I drive in the opposite direction when I leave work. The event that sparked my interest yesterday was the screening of the 2015 Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts at the Rialto Theater. The screening was part of the Phyllis Walbye Film Series. If you missed this event last night, you have another opportunity to see the Live Action Shorts on June 10. I would highly recommend attending. I am a huge fan of animated shorts and have only viewed them on my computer. Seeing them on a big screen was fantastic. It is a real toss- up which film was my favorite – A Single Life and The Dam Keeper were a tie, in my mind.

My husband and I had time to kill before heading over to the Rialto last night. First stop, we dropped by The Laureate for a Cider and a beer and to see what fabulous dessert Chef David made that day. We always try and make time to visit with Jacki Marsh at Rabbask Designs when we are downtown. On the way to Rabbask Designs, we noticed a great deal of activity at Origins Wine Bar and Wood Fired Pizza, which is slated to open soon. What a great surprise awaited us when we walked through the front door of Origins. Karin Vandermerwe, head chef, was  cooking sample pizza to test out the new wood fired pizza oven. Karin was a delight to talk to and had some great stories about the origin of the Margherita pizza. The pizza oven is a work of art. We have eaten at many fabulous pizza restaurants in New York City, when we lived in Connecticut. The pizza we sampled last night was as good, if not better, than any we have had in the past.

After leaving Origins, we stopped to look at a bronze sculpture on the way to the Rialto Theater. We are truly blessed to have a large number of public pieces of sculpture and artwork in Loveland. This is a favorite of mine, located on Lincoln Ave. (across from Carl’s Canteen). If you are attending an event at the Rialto, make sure you take a few minutes to walk around and enjoy the beautiful public artwork in the downtown area.