Telluride Arts hosts a telethon/40th birthday party starting Friday, 9/9

07 Sep Telluride Arts hosts a telethon/40th birthday party starting Friday, 9/9

Telluride Arts turns 40 this year. Rather than crashing and burning in a mid-life crisis, the nonprofit also known as TCAH has big plans for the future and is celebrating Big Time.

Telluride Arts is hosting a two-day bash starting with a telethon. (The word is shorthand for “television fundraising marathon,” a way to open wallets that started in the Fifties).  Beginning Friday, September 9, 9 p.m.  and continuing straight through Saturday until  9 p.m., the wild and crazy fundraising spectacle is scheduled to be broadcast LIVE from the The Steaming Bean, HUB (across the street), with the finale from The Sheridan Opera House. Viewers not in Telluride can view on www.telluridearts.org and in Telluride, on Telluride TV Channel 12.

The telethon should be Telluride at its best, an unapologetically over-the-top 24 hours of music, dance, juggling, skits, cooking demonstrations, artists, jello-wrestling, poetry, burlesque (Do I have your attention now?), artist interviews, original videos, kid’s hour, zumba, bands, big personalities – and you.

In France, they called him “Le Roi de Crazy,” (“The King of Crazy”). Whatever you call him, Jerry Lewis is the King Of Telethon. When Telluride Arts needed its own King of Crazy and Telethons, they looked no further than Dan Hanley.

In digestible sound bytes, long-time local Dan Hanley is the Energizer Bunny meets Robin Williams. (On second thought, Robin Williams is the Energizer Bunny.) Imaginative. Super smart. Tireless. Hosting a 24-hour telethon has been Dan’s lifelong dream, but he knew he couldn’t do it alone. Enter Mishky. Yes The Mishky, the prodigal son has returned. Mishky, a pinball wizard, is now a corporate cheerleader based (again) in Telluride. And their buddy, Thrax (aka DJ Apoc), performer, dj, and touring hip-hop artist, was also drafted. The three are like Musketeers, friends since they went to camp together. They have been performing and creating since they can remember: When one has a wild and crazy idea, the others help make the dream a reality.

With a little help from their friends, Dan, Mishky and Thrax plan to employ Jerry Lewis’ winning strategy: high-minded boosterism, which is being just enough to make a difference but not annoying enough to turn people off. (Lewis famously said: “If you find I’m annoying, I’m getting to you…) The goal is to raise $40,000 for arts programs produced by Telluride Arts, a modest sum considering the fact that Lewis managed to raise $1 billion in support of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

The Telluride Council for the Arts and Humanities, now Telluride Arts, was established on November 17, 1971 to nurture a creative cultural environment through programs that integrate the arts into all aspects of community life. For 40 years, Telluride Arts has been forwarding that mission through a variety of arts initiatives and activities.

Telluride Arts’ terrific telethon culminates in a birthday party at the Sheridan Opera House, starting at 7 p.m. September 10. The bash includes dancing, djs and big surprises.

To learn more about the telethon and something about Dan, click the “play” button and listen to his interview.