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June 2009

[click "Play" for Telluride Townie Director, Jacey DePriest]


by Eileen Burns

100_4297 A new definition of the popular bike library will go into the books on Friday, June 26 , as Telluride’s Wilkinson Public Library, in collaboration with The New Community Coalition (TNCC), pioneers one of the first ever libraries to literally check out bikes to locals with a library card.  Yes, berry-pink bicycles, affectionately known as “Telluride Townies,” will be loaned out to adults who have a desire to be more eco friendly and want to cruise town in lieu of driving.

The townie bike was a popular concept years ago, but lost its drive when all the bikes disappeared over a short period of time.  Thanks to Jacey DePriest, director of the Telluride Townie program, a new chapter is being written about this favorite local freebie.  While taking a sustainability class from TNCC Director Kris Holstrom, DePriest was challenged to come up with a program that involved getting the community to adopt a sustainable issue and act upon it.  DePriest borrowed the Telluride Townie concept and gave it a new cover: a home at Wilkinson Public Library.  “People are going to have to be accountable this time around,” stated DePriest.  Locals will have to show their library card to get a key to one of the 20 plus bikes that have been donated, stripped down to a single gear, outfitted with a front basket, and painted bright berry-pink.  There are all sizes and styles of bikes to choose from.  The 4-day rental is free to adults, 18-years of age and older.  Should you be over due returning your bike, you will receive a notice and an extended use fee charge of $5 per day.  Lose it and you will be fined $250, which you can work off with volunteer hours if necessary.


26 June, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Deidra Krois on the Festival]

RF09_poster Ridgway, Colorado, is much more than a bedroom community for Telluride.

The town is famous – or infamous – as the location for several movies, including "How the West Was Won," and one of actor John Wayne's late great movies, "True Grit," (1969), in which Wayne stars as Rooster Cogburn. The True Grit Cafe is filled with John Wayne memorabilia, but as far as we know, no drunken, one-eyed federal marshals.

Ridgway boasts an abundance of wildlife: mountain lions, badgers, deer, elk, bears, coyotes, and bald eagles are indigenous to the area. And a river runs through it.

The Uncompaghre is a great source for trout fishing and this weekend, the focus of Ridgway's second annual River Festival. The Mosaic Community Project, a local nonprofit dedicated to sustainable living practices, environmental awareness, and the arts, organized the FREE watershed celebration,11 a.m – 9 p.m., downtown, in and around Rollans Park.

26 June, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Erik Dalton]

1227724970 Just down the road a piece from Telluride, all day Saturday, June 27, the neighboring town of Ridgway is hosting an all-day River Festival, with activities for kids of all ages. One of the main event sponsors is Telluride's Jagged Edge, the kayaking hub of Southwestern Colorado.

Jagged Edge owner Erik Dalton and store manager Cari Mackey will be on site throughout the day with a fleet of demo kayaks and all the required equipment from the store available for anyone to use for free.

26 June, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Kristin on gladiator shoes]

IMG_0232 According to Telluride Inside... and Out's fashion maven Kristin Holbrook of Two Skirts, this summer in Telluride and around the country the focus is definitely on being a slave to fashion – starting from the bottom up with your shoes.

Gladiator shoes were first spotted in the Spring 2005 collections of Balenciaga and Imitation of Christ, In its four-year run, the style was reinterpreted by designers from Azzedine Alaia to Aldo. The trend really gathered a head of steam when a pair of gladiator spikes were spotted on Sarah Jessica Parker in "Sex and the City," the movie, last summer.

26 June, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Steve Olsen discuss Telluride Wine Festival]
Pic_steve They are here in force. Telluride Wine Festivarians, the people who inhale audibly at the mere mention of the word "Bordeaux"  paired in the same sentence as the words "Chateaux Lafite Rothschild." But few of them condone torture in any form,  including phrases such as "afterthoughts of linden" and "fragrances of toasted milk bread," a few examples on a long list of poetic flights of fancy used to describe the almighty grape.

In winespeak, certain terms are universal – but nearly incomprehensible unless you happen to be in the trade and forced to pronounce words such as "malolactic" to make your assessment understood. (A close translation is creamy.) Unless you happen to be in the trade and are on a mission to make tasting fun by removing the intimidation factor and all the aforementioned pretense. Meet Steve Olson, aka wine geek, and co-director of the 28th annual Telluride Wine Festival.

Grapes may be persnickety. Steve is not.

25 June, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Paolo Canclini]

Foto%20cavaliere%20e%20frutta (Editors note: We have corrected an error later in the story. The Italian Reserve event at the View is Friday, 2:30-4:00)

This weekend, June 25 – June 28, Telluride celebrates great wines and great food, and, for the 28th annual Telluride Wine Festival, local and restauranteur Paolo Canclini (Rustico, La Piazza, The View)  has invited two distinguished guests to town.

There is little doubt where Franco Cavalero of St. Agata or Emiliano Alessi would come down in the ongoing debate among oenophiles between terroirists and wine-making scientists/technophiles: location, location, location.

25 June, 2009 /
[click "Play' to hear Mark English interview]

English_farm_to_market_road_sm Mark English is in Telluride this weekend – at least in spirit. The newest paintings of this great artist/illustrator are now on display Telluride Gallery of Fine Art. The foggy foggy dew image that became the poster for the 28th annual Telluride Wine Festival is also his.

What is the syntax that unifies Mark English's magical, mystical paintings? Are there any governing principles that unite them? If you guessed that images of Native Americans, a ghost rider, a toy town, and farmscape suggest a rural Western past filtered through memory onto a canvas, you would be right.

Mark English was born in 1933 and raised in the rear view mirror town of Hubbard,Texas, which lies northeast of Waco. This no-count address once called Slap-out is a patchwork of farms, cotton fields, and snaking creeks and country roads, just exactly what is pictured in his "Farm to Market Road."

24 June, 2009 /
(Editor's note: Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts opened for business in 1990, and has become a beloved institution, a community center. Ah Haa is all about the triumph of personal discovery. Telluride Inside... and Out is proud to present "Your Ah Haa Moment" each Wednesday.)

by Lauren Metzger

Group Summer is a time for freedom and exploration for kids of all ages and art levels. Let the Ah Haa School for the Arts channel your energy with our full range of four-day art camps and Fabulous Friday one day art classes. Next week your kids could be taking a walk on the wild side exploring the exotic creatures of the jungle and developing their drawing and painting skills in Come On A Safari with Me. They could be  creating their own Garden Gnomes out of clay. We have wide range of fun and creative classes for ages 4+ guaranteed to keep them engaged.

24 June, 2009 /
[click"Play" to hear Doug Frost on the Wine Fest]

Studio His handle is "wine dog" and he is always learning new tricks.

The Telluride Wine Fest is pleased to welcome back film critic Doug Frost. No, we have not conflated our festivals. Yes, we know the 28th annual gathering of poets of pinot is this coming weekend, June 25 - 28,  and that the Telluride Film Festival is not until early September. We are, however, just stating the facts of Doug's robust life.

Doug's bio begins modesty: "Doug Frost is a Kansas City author who writes and lectures about wine, beer and spirits." That is a bit like saying Leonardo was a guy who drew nice lines and invented war machines. All true, but that's just scratching the surface. Doug was only 15 when he had his Archimedes-in-the-bathtub moment upon tasting his first glass of Louis Martini 1968 Special Select Pinot Noir: Eureka! The rest is now part of the history of wine in the making.

24 June, 2009 /