29 Dec Telluride Fire Festival: Cooler Than Burning Man…Literally
Inaugural event ignites Wednesday, January 14 and burns hot through Monday, January 19. Tickets here.
Some like it hot.
And in the Telluride region the New Year is off to a flaming start thanks to two locals, Erin Ries and Chris Myers. From the fire in their bellies emerged a fabulous phoenix: the first ever Telluride Fire Festival.
“The Telluride Fire Festival was born out of yearly sojourns at Burning Man in Black Rock City, NV, where spectacular moving and stationary art is on display everywhere. Telluride has a thriving arts community and we want to offer up our region as a new platform to help amplify this dynamic, singularly spectacular art form,” explains Ries.
Designed as “a community celebration of excellence in interactive fire arts,” the inaugural event brings an interactive fire art experience to Telluride’s Main Street and the pedestrian plazas of Mountain Village.
Like the Black Rock desert love in, the Telluride Fire Festival features multi-storied, fire-emitting “art cars” and burn barrels and other larger-than-life, animated, blazing art installations. Fire artists and dancers are also scheduled be on hand to offer spontaneous performances in the streets.
And here’s more smokin’ news: because the event takes place in the cooler climes of our quaint, historic township (elevation 8,750 ft.), with just 2,500 year-round residents, all that sizzle comes without the heat or the five-hour-long lines of car traffic to get in and out of town (as in the desert).
Which are a few of the reasons why the nascent Fire Fest can claim to be a whole lot, well, cooler than Burning Man.
The Fire Festival opens Wednesday, January 14, with opening receptions at Mélange and Telluride Gallery of Fine Art showcasing a wide array of fire-themed art, including installations.
The next day, January 16, when darkness falls, Main Street and the Mountain Village Plaza become the centers of the action.
And to raise the temperature in the house even higher, on Saturday, January 17, starting at 9 p.m., First Fest celebrates fire arts at an exclusive Gala.
Produced in conjunction with Deep Creek Experimental, this exclusive and over-the-top fundraising event takes place inside and outside of a subterranean mine off Deep Creek Road.
Party goers will be entertained by the Samurai Gypsies, a sexy, high-energy quartet with a Latin twist. Hors d’oeuvres, libations, lavish decor, fiery art installations, rockin’ music and theatrical surprises round out the evening not to be missed.
Free shuttle to the mine from the court house on Main Street starts at 8:45 p.m.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday also offer free workshops on fire spinning.
To appeal to a growing national audience for this specialized artistry, the Telluride Fire Fest brings regional and nationally recognized fire artists to the Telluride region to celebrate their medium.
Guest talent includes mural artist and kinetic sculptor Duane Flatmo; metal sculptor and Burning Man art car builder Jamie Vaida; fire performers Fractal Tribe; Telluride architect, metal artist and Burning Man fire artist Anton Viditz Ward.
Phoenix Dragon of Fire, an art car by Captain Carburetor and Kismet (AKA Charlie & Gail Holthausen)
Alvin Sessions of Grand Junction and Vaida collaborated to produce a fire art car specifically to be showcased at the Telluride Festival.
Their collective vision brings to life a motorized “Miners Shack,” with its roof on fire. The “Mutant Vehicle” was fashioned from found and historic objects, specifically a chopped 1989 Ford Transporter Van.
In addition to all the free outdoor events, ticketed entertainment is also on the program.
Currently scheduled for January 16 is the MarchFourth Marching Band, an internationally renowned American music-and-performance group based in Portland, Oregon. M4 combines musical artistry – led by a 5-piece percussion corps and 6-part brass section– with such dazzling visuals as stilt-walking, acrobatics, dancing and hooping. In other words, it is not your mother’s marching band.
Because the Festival is a community-wide, community-supported event, local establishments will join in the fun by customizing their usual goods and services to the festival’s fiery atmosphere. There will be fire-themed art exhibits at local galleries and flaming food on restaurants’ weekend menus.
“Fire is at the very core of human existence. It transformed our ability to survive,” says co-founder Chris Myers. “Today, it remains critically important to mankind’s survival. The human fascination with fire inevitably led it to become an art form.”
Funds for the free Festival are raised through grants, ticketed events, donors, and sponsorships.
For more information about the Telluride Fire Festival or to become a sponsor or volunteer, or to submit a fire installation for consideration, go to www.telluridefirefestival.org, or email erin@telluridefirefestival.org.
About the founders and the Fire Fest board:
Erin & Chris – she’s the one in the flaming pink wig –one hot couple, founders of Telluride Fire Festival.
Erin Ries is a 23-year resident of Telluride with a proven track record in running complex and large-scale events such as the Telluride Wine Festival and the Telluride Ski Resort’s Prospect Bowl Grand Opening. When it comes to transforming a vision into reality, she knows how to make it happen. Erin is its Event Director of the Telluride Fire Festival.
Erin’s partner, Chris Myers is a former Town Councilman for Telluride, wholly committed and connected to the community. And as an entrepreneur/founder of his own lighting business—enLIGHTen—11 years ago, he understands the power of light and will be utilizing his skills as a lighting designer to transform an other-worldly mine into a luxurious and lavish space for the fundraising gala.
“The Telluride Festival relies on input from the six-person Board of Directors, each of whom is steeped in the world of art and business, a rare combination,” said Ries. “They range from a chef/owner of a five-star restaurant to an award-winning filmmaker, Executive Director of another local nonprofit, Director of Telluride Theatre. These talented individuals participate in frequent meeting, and temper the Festival’s vision with reality.
Telluride Fire Festival Advisory Board:
Chris Myers, Board President, Owner/enLIGHTen
Melissa Sumpter, Costume Designer & Partner/Mélange
Suzan Beraza, Founder/Reel Thing Films
Sasha Sullivan, Artistic Director/Telluride Theater
Stash Wislocki, Executive Director/TAB & Producer/MountainFilm
Chad Scothorn, Restaurateur
Audrey Marnoy, Marketing Strategist and Philanthropist
About the Telluride Arts District:
The Telluride Arts District is a Colorado Certified Creative District, and works in partnership with the Town of Telluride, Colorado Creative Industries, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Telluride Arts District offices are located in the historic Stronghouse at 283 South Fir Streetand at Gallery 81435 at 230 South Fir Street.
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