August 2010

by D. Dion

_T9J9432 The first time Full Tilt came to Mountain Village, I went up to see my friend race on the downhill course. She is a pro downhill mountain biker, but I hadn’t ever watched a race, and even though I sat with her as she put on her padded suit of body armor I still was in disbelief as I hiked up the course. It looked impossible to ride, full of huge drops, severe turns and impenetrable trees and rocks. Could this be the actual course?

It was. This was probably ten years ago, and already mountain biking had progressed far beyond the old hard-tail bikes and slow, smooth rides I started on. Front shocks, rear shocks, beefy wheel hubs and a full-face helmet—and the body armor—pushed the sport to a whole new level. You could have fit a Subaru beneath some of the jumps my friend went off that day, and the wipeouts were so spectacular that I wished I’d brought a video camera. I was hooked.

by Lauren Metzger
Marketing & Exhibitions Manager
Ah Haa School for the Arts

IndianSummer_wilsonrange-386x0 Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. It brings to mind new clothes, crisp blank notebooks and an abundance of newly sharpened pencils. While school is part of my past (thank god) I am happy that the Ah Haa School for the Arts still supplies it's own fall adventures that allow me to grow creatively and not be graded on.

I know that when I go hiking and exploring in our amazing Telluride backyard, I bring my camera and try my damnedest to capture the scenes surrounding me. And I have to admit I fail miserably. This is not to say that my pictures don't capture the beauty but they sure don't capture the depth of the beauty and the majesty of the landscape. So, I am excited to say that National Geographic photographer Dave Edwards is back this fall to give me some tips in making a strong photograph. Capturing dynamic compositions, learning about light, subject content and artistic elements are sure to help me blow my friends and family away. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and if I can truly learn to capture where I live, I will hopefully leave people as speechless as I am taking the picture when they view the picture.

Kimm Viebrock describes posts like this as "pebbles" or "sand". Telluride's summer rainbows have to be seen to be believed. I looked up from my computer long enough to see this double rainbow, grab the camera and shoot from our bedroom window. The photo can't...

IMGP0588 Telluride Inside... and Out went online for the first time with a short teaser post from Susan on August 18, 2008. There were soon articles by our daughters, Kimm Viebrock and Kjerstin Klein, and a few by me.

In my notes from our early organization meetings I find a comment from the girls that we should consider posting at least "one or two" articles each week to keep the content fresh. The advice seems laughable in retrospect. I'm writing this post on August 16, and our count is 1523, over two stories for every day of TIO's existence!

What's the point of hibernating, when the enemy is out there year 'round? The Telluride AIDS Benefit is no longer limiting its fundraising efforts to the end of February/early March. (TAB 2011 is scheduled for February 28 – March 5.) On August 13,...

[click "Play", Jeb Berrier speaks to Susan about "The Merchant of Venice"]

Merchant_poster The Telluride Repertory Theatre brings back the very popular Shakespeare in the Park series with one of the most controversial play's in the Bard's literature, the tragi-comedy "The Merchant of Venice." The pared-down-to-the-bones production, directed by Jeb Berrier, takes place Saturday August 21 and Sunday, August 22, then again Wednesday, August 25 – Sunday, August, 29, 7:30 p.m. on the Main Stage in Telluride Town Park. (The performance on Saturday, August 28, however, is a 1 p.m. matinee.)

Individuals (like Hitler, and that's a fact) and regimes (like the Nazis) seeking justification for hateful, sometimes murderous policies towards Jews turned to "The Merchant of Venice" and their good buddy Shakespeare. Is the play anti-Semitic? Did Shakespeare knowingly and intentionally write a play that disparaged Jews? Or, was he a writer and visionary whose brilliant mind transcended the prejudices of his age? It is important to remember that just as we are everyone and everything in our dreams, the Bard is famous for speaking through all his characters. Those who choose to believe in Shakespeare's transcendence turn to Shylock's great speech about humanity and revenge, Act 3, Scene1:
Bag it for August 17 Telluride local, actor-director Jeb Berrier is wrapped up like a Christo monument these days - figuratively and literally.

Berrier's most immediate concern is the upcoming Telluride Repertory Theatre's production of "The Merchant of Venice," his debut as a Shakespearian director. Shakespeare in the Park opens Saturday, August 22. 

But when we meet Jeb the Actor in "Bag It," he is covered from head to toe in plastic bags. Directed by Telluride local Suzan Beraza, "Bag It" begs the question, How worried should we be about everyday chemicals? The answer: big time. Jeb, "Bag It's" Everyman, takes the viewer on a tragi-comic journey that explains why.

Tour Operators From Around the Globe Visit August 16-19The Ski Tour Operators Association, also known as SkiTops arrives next week in Telluride August 16-19. For the first time, the largest gathering of tour operators and sales agents has chosen Telluride for their annual summer meeting...