16th annual Chocolate Lovers Fling, 2/5

03 Feb 16th annual Chocolate Lovers Fling, 2/5

[click “Play”, Susan talks with Meehan Fee about the “Fling”]

Telluride’s San Miguel Resource Center’s Chocolate Lovers Fling, the non-profit’s only major public fundraiser, takes place Saturday, February 5, 7:30 – 11:30 p.m., at the Telluride Conference Center in Mountain Village. This year’s theme: “Heroes and Villains.”

Interesting challenge.

The paradigm of hero versus villain dates back to the split between God and the Devil, when the villain came to be defined as everything the hero is not, a model that is fast fading into the mists of time. Viewed through the lens of pop culture today, who is good and who is bad is about as clear as mud.

When James Bond first appeared on the silver screen in 1962 in “Dr. No,” his license to kill gave him a kind of hip immorality, endowing the character with a cold-blooded ruthlessness quite antithetical to the Knight In Shining Armor do-gooder from days of yore. Think Dexter (now) versus Superman (then). Or the cast of reality TV’s “Lost?” What we find on “Lost”  are very messed up would-be heroes, who mostly need to be saved from themselves.

Still, a Flingster could look to literature – check out the characters in the Brothers Grimm– or the daily news –Obama, Palin, Rush, Rachel, etc. – or to the American Film Institute’s list from 2003 of the 100 greatest screen characters, 50 heroes and 50 villains, for costume ideas.

Among the villains from AFI: Alex Forrest, “Fatal Attraction,” The Wicked Witch of the West, “The Wizard of Oz,” Darth Vader, “Star Wars Episode V,” Hannibal Lecter, “The Silence of the Lambs,” Michael Corleone, “The Godfather, Part II,” Gordon Gekko, “Wall Street.”

Among the film heroes: Indiana Jones, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Rocky Balboa,”Rocky,” Han Solo, “Star Wars,”  Harry Callahan,”Dirty Harry,” Erin Brokovitch, “Erin Brokovitch,” Karen Silkwood, “Silkwood,” and Zorro, “The Mark of Zorro.”

Among my heroes are the staff of the Resource Center – Nancy, Melanie, Kara, Karla, Megan, Angela, Wendy, Pam – and the advocates, people who walk their talk of helping others to help themselves move from unhealthy to healthy relationships, a goal of the non-profit institute.

The centerpiece of the Chocolate Lovers Fling is its chocolate banquet, this year featuring variations on the theme, “Heroes and Villain,” rendered in chocolate prepared by regional chefs. The legendary DJ Harry is once again scheduled to spin tunes all night long for your dancing pleasure. And there’s a silent auction with a wide range of items from jewelry to trips.

To learn more about this year’s Fling, click the “play” button and listen to Fling committee member,  Meehan Fee’s, interview.