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December 2009

Pirateradio_smallposter Disneysachristmascarol_smallposter Telluride's Nugget Theatre is showing "A Christmas Carol" and "Pirate Radio" Friday-Tuesday, December 4-8. There will be three FREE screenings of "Astroboy" on Wednesday and Thursday, December 9-10.

From Disney comes an animation of Dickens' timeless "A Christmas Carol" with Jim Carey as the voice of Scrooge.

In the 1960s, the BBC would only schedule a minimum of popular music. To fill the void Radio Caroline (the Pirate Radio of this movie) was broadcasting rock 'n' roll from a ship offshore, and therein lies the tale. Come for the music if nothing else.

Astroboy_smallposter "Astroboy" is a robot with super-human powers. What's left to want? Acceptance, of course. And that's the nature of this story.

See showtimes below, and the Nugget website for trailers and reviews.

03 December, 2009 /

You may have seen them last Fall on Letterman, but if you missed the show at Telluride's Sheridan Opera House on December 2 with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, you missed one hell of a show. And right there in the front...

03 December, 2009 /


[click "Play" to hear Sally Davis speak about her Ah Haa class]

Art_heart Telluride is no different. As contact sports go, there is nothing quite like the four weeks before Christmas. The games begin tomorrow night, December 2, Noel Nite, when stores in town officially open for the winter season. Not looking forward to the crowds (or the debt)? You can say "no" to consumerism and "yes" to creative and original presents from your imagination and heart. A 2005 study by the Center for a New American Dream showed that almost 80 percent of Americans wished the holidays were "less materialistic." And that was then, this is now. For meaningful alternatives to ready, aim, shop, sign up for classes at the Ah Haa School for the Arts.


02 December, 2009 /

[click "Play" to hear Dr. Webster talk about pre-European Southwestern textiles] Telluride Unearthed, a lectures series at the Telluride Historical Museum, continues on Thursday, December 3, with guest speaker Dr. Laurie Webster. The subject: "The Telluride Blanket in Context: An Overview of...

02 December, 2009 /

by Kris Holstrom

Tn_EnglewoodSmall (1) The night was cold, but a small crowd gathered in Telluride at the east end of Colorado Avenue last night. Hot chocolate (the best!) was provided by Telluride Truffles. Conversations were wide ranging. What was this crowd gathered for? To spread the light.

Telluride downtown merchants have been meeting for the last several weeks and last night, the  tangible result: lights. Merchants really wanted to see the town lit up for the holidays, because bright lights equal upbeat, cheery. And we’ve always had the beautiful big tree full of colored lights at the West End of the commercial district to set the mood. But what about the East End of town? Nothing, nada, zilch, until Monday night, thanks to many who are lending a hand: business owners, council members, and people on the street are donating to purchase and fund new LED lights on the town lampposts and newly lit trees on the East end of Telluride's Main Street. These lights, purchased both through Timberline Hardware and the Telluride High School Y.E.S. Club, are LEDs or Light Emitting Diodes, and highly energy efficient.

02 December, 2009 /

Wiz of Oz Telluride's Sheridan Arts Foundation's Young People's Theater begins its 11th season with director Jen Julia's adaptation of the MGM classic (1939) "The Wizard of Oz," one of the most popular musicals of all time.

"Everyone can identify with Dorothy, the bewildered yet brave farm girl, on her journey through Oz," explained Jen.  "What's more, the songs are catchy, and the lyrics, almost tongue twisters, are extremely clever."

The production, performed by 33 students, grades 6, 7, and 8, includes all the usual suspects: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," "If I Only Had a Brain," "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead," "We’re  Off to See the Wizard." But in keeping with the YPT tradition Julia established, the show has some non-traditional elements, including a few songs from the musical, "The Wiz," to spice up the action.

01 December, 2009 /

2__#$!@%!#__unknown The Telluride AIDS Benefit starts selling tickets for its Gala Fashion Show Noel Night, tomorrow, December 2, 232 West Colorado Avenue, (TREC Offices), 5 – 8 p.m., just one day after World AIDS Day and 26 years after the the "virus" was announced in France.  Swine Flu may be the cause celebre du jour, but sadly, HIV/AIDS is still with us, even if the plague is no longer grabbing headlines. (The most recent AIDS-related headlines were around a new vaccine that proved to be a bust.)

World AIDS Day, which opened for business in December 1988, is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice, and improving education, which is more or less the mission of the Telluride AIDS Benefit, which specifically states their goal is "to fight HIV/AIDS by heightening global and local awareness, as well as generating financial support for educational programs and client care, particularly in Western Colorado."

01 December, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Amy Boebel]

PB293770 The holiday season in Telluride comes with all the traditional trimmings: chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, folks around town dressed up like Eskimos, twinkling lights, eggnog, office parties, ho-ho-hoing. At the center of all the action is the Christmas tree, which takes over our living rooms like good old Uncle Joe and Aunt Sadie, likewise decorated.


Several years ago, some Long Islander had the bright idea to sell faux upside-down trees, which made a real wrinkle in the holiday's novelty sweepstakes that year. The idea: a person could put more presents under an upside down tree. Topsy-turvey trees take up less room, and more of your prized ornaments would be at eye level. That one, however, went out with Beanie Babies and Pet Rocks. But the idea of pre-decorated trees still has legs.
01 December, 2009 /