August 2011

[click "Play", Susan speaks with Martin Klabunde]

 

 

“Music is medicine and plays an important part in cultivating a deeper awareness; it allows our spirit to move into the spirit world where this transformation occurs," Martin Klabunde

150x197-images-stories-CA-Martin_Adungu_StPhillips-II Remember the old Beach Boys song about "good vibrations." There's a variation on that theme this coming weekend at the Telluride Yoga Center.

Friday, August 19 – Sunday, August 21, the Telluride Yoga Center hosts "Collective Awakening," which begins with a night of indigenous music, followed by a day of meditation, sacred music, drumming, dance and ceremony and then one day of Adungu (Ugandan bow harp) and drum classes. As an added bonus (though not part of the workshop), Telluride Yoga Center owner/yoga instructor Kristin Taylor's Sunday morning class will be accompanied by live music. 

[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Jeb Berrier]

 

 

As You Like It poster Last year, after a five-year time out, the Telluride Repertory Theatre brought back  its very popular Shakespeare in the Park with a production of  "The Merchant of Venice."

"Merchant of Venice" is not light fare. It deals with racial profiling in the person of Shylock (said Merchant), whom the Bard portrays in a somewhat grotesque, anti-Semitic caricature. Ultimately "Merchant" is about the complex nature of humanity: none of us are without prejudice. All of us reflect shades of gray. This year, the tone changes. Jeb Berrier returns to direct, but this time, one of the Bard's most popular comedies.

[click "Play" to hear Lisa Jacobs' conversation with Susan]

 

Linnea poster The laid back lux of Spa Linnea is just one of many reasons tourists might choose to stay at Hotel Madeline. "That's nice," you say as a local, "but what's in it for me?" Turns out, plenty.

On Sunday, August 21, 10 am – 3 p.m., Spa Linnea hosts a launch party of a new line, Naturopathica, and everyone, guest, local, is welcome to come to enjoy mimosas, light bites, a mini-facial, body melt foot therapy, a mineral makeup makeover and a spa gift.  And should you fall in love with the place– which you will after all that pampering – Spa Linnea has a SpaFit Monthly Member program anyone can join.

[click "Play", Steve Gumble talks to Susan about the Taos Mountain Music Festival]

 

Taos Music poster Steve Gumble (and his SBG productions) is the force behind the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, now in its 18th year and a sold-out success annually. So what's a nice guy like that doing in a place like Taos? The short answer: Making a good thing better.

Friends and producers of the Taos event were not in the Festival producing business like Steve. Their day job was running the mountain. So, they approached their friend Steve to grow a musical event with loads of promise.

The third annual Taos Mountain Music Festival takes place this year on Saturday, August 20 and Sunday, August 21. Northern New Mexico's music event of the summer features headliners Matisyahu, Railroad Earth, Ozomatli, and Leftover Salmon. Additional festival performances include Donna the Buffalo, Jackie Greene Duo, Afroman, Orgone, Dangermuffin, Langhorne Slim, Shannon McNally and Hot Sauce, Ryan McGarvey and Mariachi Luz de Luna.

 

Editor's note: The 31st annual Telluride Shroomfest takes place next weekend. For an overview by Grand Poobah Art Goodtimes, follow this link.

Into the woods. It's a ritual this time of year in the Telluride region, where knives are drawn and the normally warm and chatty locals turn stone cold and stare blankly when asked one simple question: "Where do you hunt?" In Telluride, shrooming is a competitive sport.

And Josh Klein is no exception to the rule. When the subject is mushrooms, his bottom line is "Don't ask. Won't tell." Which gets really tricky when part of Josh's job is arranging special events such as fungi forages for guests and friends of his employer, the top drawer Hotel Madeline in Mountain Village.

[click "Play", Susan talks with Rev. Pat Bailey]

 

Contemplation Garden Once upon a lifetime ago, Telluride Inside…and Out visited the Ryoan-Ji Zen Garden in Kyoto, Japan. The mystical place consists of raked gravel and 15 moss-covered boulders, arranged so that when viewed from any angle other than above, just 14 of the boulders are visible at one time. The big idea: only when we achieve enlightenment can we see all 15 at once.

Now let's take that idea home to Telluride, where Reverend Pat Bailey and Christ Church have created a variation on the theme of Ryoan-Ji. In the church's brand new contemplation garden, grass replaces gravel and stones are for sitting as we look up at our "boulders," the giant peaks that surround our box canyon. A Celtic cross, a Buddha and a cairn are set among the flowers, inviting everyone into the spiritual world of his choice.

August 11 to 18, 2011

Visible Planets: Morning: Mars and Jupiter Evening: Saturn

Leo/Aquarius Full Moon Love and Joi de Vivre

Lovers There are two Leo/Aquarius full Moons each year – one when the Sun is in Leo (Jul./Aug.) and one when the Sun is in Aquarius (Jan./Feb.) These lunations take place in the middle of summer and winter, respectively, when electromagnetic forces peak and seasonal energies surge. I often call these the two full Moons “party Moons” because they are filled with the strong, passionate power of the Leo/Aquarius polarity – strength of heart in both the individual and collective psyche – and the manifestations are found in every home, brothel, bar and bedroom; on the street, in the country, on the field, in the garden, at the theatre and in the galleries. We feel the desire to laugh and play, connect with others and indulge in fun and frolic, kiss and hug, toss and tumble. This is the time to celebrate life - in all its guts and glory - to love it like a lover and enjoy each and every precious moment of living and breathing here on this beautiful planet Earth.

[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Art Goodtimes]

 

 

Mushroomposter "The mushrooms have two strange properties: the one that they yield so delicious a meat; the other that they come up so hastily, as in a night, and yet they are unsown," Francis Bacon, "Naturall Histories, 1624.

In Telluridespeak, the event is known as "Shroomfest." The 31st annual Shroomfest, aka Telluride Mushroom Festival  – billed as  "nation's oldest mycological conference exploring all things fungal & enthogenic" – happens next weekend, Thursday, August 18– Sunday, August 21.

Gary Lincoff of the New York Botanical Garden is the keynote speaker for the 2011 Telluride Shroomfest and one of the leading mycologists in the world. Specifically he plans to explore subjects such as Mushroom Identification: How to Do It and Live to Tell About It and The Philosopher’s Stone, or How Mushrooms Can Save You Thousands of Dollars in Therapy and Free You from the Prison of Time and Space  as well as lead forays, identification slide shows and ID workshops.

By Jane Minarovic

 

If you have been fortunate enough to have attended a Mudd Butts Mystery Theatre Troupe production in the past 21 years, you have seen how the imagery of prop master Mike Stasiuk makes the narrative come alive. When he is not backstage creating fantastical masks and props out of cardboard boxes, newspaper, and paint, Mike creates whimsical sculptures from a variety found objects from his studio in Portsmouth, NH. He has had sculpture in private and corporate collections and is also published in books such as Found Object Art 1 and 2. He is represented by the Clark Gallery in Lincoln, MA and the George Marshall Store Gallery in York, ME.

Many of the Mike's magical props will be auctioned off after Sundays production.

See below for the Mudd Butts' cast list: