Sheridan Arts Foundation Celebrates Wild West Fest #30!

29 May Sheridan Arts Foundation Celebrates Wild West Fest #30!

Telluride’s Sheridan Arts Foundation celebrates 30 years of the Wild West Fest (WWF). The event takes place June 4-10, 2023, a week of empowering activities for 37 kids from various Boys and Girls Clubs of America including Mobile, AL; Wichita Falls, TX; Farmington, NM; and Nucla and Naturita, CO.

The Sheridan Arts Foundation ensures these kids attend at no cost to their families by providing all lodging, meals and activities for the week, totaling approximately $45,000 annually. This substantial fundraising goal is achieved largely by generous contributions made by our local, regional and national patrons and granting foundations. While program costs continue to rise, the Sheridan Arts Foundation still sets donations of $1,500 as the threshold to become a child sponsor.

Go here for more about the history of the Wild West Fest

Go here for more about the Sheridan Arts Foundation.

Monday through Wednesday, the youth, ages 12-18, will partake in the Chip Allen Mentorship Program (CAMP), the defining component of the Wild West Fest. At CAMP, the young people partner with professionals in the fields of fly-fishing, outdoor adventure, rock and roll, Native American and modern dance, and the Life on the Ranch mentorship which explores the responsibilities and adventures of tending to the land and caring for livestock and hobby farm animals.

The CAMP program prioritizes each child’s personal and individual needs to ensure a positive learning experience so that all kids return home with a greater self-confidence, personal awareness and a firm grasp on new skills. Mentors this year are Joel Kirkoff, Paul Horrigan and Chris Loccisano (fly fishing); Mark Galbo (music/Rock and Roll Academy); Nikki Cooper (Outdoor Adventure); Ken and Talon Duncan of Yellow Bird Productions and Hiep Witzel (Native American and Modern Dance); and Ashley Deppen at Camel Valley Ranch, Kayla Brack at Schmid Ranch and Justin Shupp at Telluride Sleighs and Wagons (Life on the Ranch).

While in town, the kids stay in condos in Telluride and Mountain Village sponsored in part from Alpine Lodging Telluride, Mountain Lodge, Exceptional Stays and AvantStay. They enjoy food from Telluride landmarks such as Brown Dog Pizza, Rustico, OAK, Esperanza’s and Baked in Telluride.

To celebrate the landmark 30th anniversary of the Wild West Fest, the Sheridan Arts Foundation added the Wild West Fest Roundup, a day of free family events for the public. That takes place Friday, June 9 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

The Roundup includes face painting, an Alpine Bank-sponsored nickel drop, Butch Cassidy reenactment, Telluride Photo Booth, stagecoach and buggy rides from Y-Hitch Suffolk Punch Horses, blacksmith and sheep-shearing demonstrations, a Native American dance performance with Max and Brittney Flinn and performances from the Rock and Roll Academy and Native American and Modern Dance CAMP mentorships.

Kids from the other mentorships will also get the chance to share a little of the knowledge they have gained through the program by sharing anecdotes and personal achievements and challenges.

The public is welcome to enjoy two different concerts during the week with Colorado legends Big Head Todd and the Monsters on Thursday, June 8 and Six One Five Collective on Friday, June 9, 2023. Tickets are available for both shows at www.SheridanOperaHouse.com.

The public is also invited to meet artist Molly Perrault and view her collage, “Be Open,” the official image of the 30th annual Wild West Fest. Meet Molly on Friday, June 9, 2-4 p.m. in the SHOW Bar at the Sheridan Opera House.

Molly spent over 40 hours creating “Be Open,” with her signature collage technique. Using tiny shards of found colors and textures carefully cut from magazines, the artist strives to create the illusion of oil paintings without paint. Some of the papers she used to construct this image of possibility, hope and the beauty of the West include old Wild West Fest posters from the previous 30 years. The hard work and support given to the past 29 Wild West Fests are symbolized in the scraps of old  posters that build upon one another to create Molly’s image of unlimited potential. After all, our present and future begin with our past.

With a focus on rendering landscapes, Molly Perrault enjoys slowly reconstructing places that have been a source of inspiration, adventure, and comfort for her.

Molly graduated summa cum laude and received her BFA from Louisiana State University. She debuted her first solo exhibition, “Regeneration,” at the Telluride Arts HQ Gallery and has also displayed her work at MiXX Projects + Atelier.

Molly is currently represented at Slate Gray Gallery in Telluride. In 2019, the artist was awarded “Best in Show” at the Annual Ouray County Arts Association Fine Art Show and 1st Place in Ah Haa School for the Arts’ Annual Juried Exhibition, 12″x12″.

Molly’s “Be Open,” 18″x 24″, is available for purchase for $3,500 (including a tax letter for $900) with a portion of proceeds going directly to the Wild West Fest program. (Contact Ronnie at 970.728.6363 ext. 1 or ronnie@sheridanoperahouse.com to take home this iconic piece of art or to sponsor a child and learn more about the program.)

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

(Bold events are open to the public.)

SUNDAY, JUNE 4

Youth arrive from Mobile, AL, Wichita Falls, TX, Farmington, NM, Denver, CO, Nucla/Naturita, CO
Dinner catered by Baked in Telluride

MONDAY, JUNE 5

9 A.M. Orientation at Elks Park
10 A.M. – 3:30 P.M. WWF CAMP
4:30-7:30 P.M. Wild West Fest Kick-Off Celebration and BBQ at the Down Valley Placerville park. Everyone can join us next to the pond for food, games and prizes! Open to public, donations welcome for the BBQ. WWF youth will have the chance to paddle board, sponsored by Mountain Adventure Equipment.

TUESDAY, JUNE 6

9:30 A.M.-3:30 P.M. WWF CAMP
4:30- 7:30 P.M. Schmid Ranch Western BBQ for participants, supporters and sponsors with food catered by OAK.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7

9 A.M.-3 P.M. WWF CAMP
5 P.M. Sponsored dinner at Rustico Ristorante

THURSDAY, JUNE 8

9 A.M.-3 P.M. Circle K Ranch that features hikes, games and horseback rides
6-8 P.M. Pool Party at Telluride Park Pool with pizzas donated by Brown Dog Pizza
8 P.M. Big Head Todd live in concert at the Sheridan Opera House, ticketed event

FRIDAY, JUNE 9

11 A.M.-3 P.M. WWF Roundup at Elks Park, Oak St. Park, Main St. and the Sheridan Opera House. FREE and open to the public, includes live music with Max and Brittney Flinn, stagecoach rides, face painting, sheep shearing and blacksmith demonstrations. Sluicing for Wild West Fest participants provided by the Telluride Historical Museum.
2-4 P.M. Artist reception at the SHOW Bar with official Wild West Fest artist Molly Perrault
5 P.M. Dinner at the SOH, catered by Esperanza’s
8 P.M. Six One Five Collective live in concert at the Sheridan Opera House, ticketed event.

SATURDAY, JUNE 10

Kids head home!

Wild West Fest, more:

In 1991, Sandra and Keith Carradine held a Wild West Roundup at Carsten’s Ranch with celebrity friends like Mel Gibson, Rodney Crowell and Brian Dennehy to raise the much-needed funds to save the historic Sheridan Opera House from demolition and establish the Sheridan Arts Foundation, the 501(c)(3) non-profit that owns and operates the Sheridan Opera House. During the Roundup, the idea to share the beauty and culture of Telluride with youth from the Boys and Girls Clubs of America was born.

The Carradines and the Sheridan Arts Foundation officially kicked off the program with Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver skiing with gold medalist Franz Klammer with the help of community member Mickey Salloway and his relationship with Telluride Ski and Golf.

In 1995, WWF moved to the fall when 28 kids and seven counselors from Farmington, Denver and the Ute reservation participated. Youth worked in mentorships with Daryl Hannah in drama; Rodney Crowell in songwriting; and professional rodeo cowboy Larry Mahan in horseback riding.

The next few years included Daryl Hannah hosting the entire week; celebrity cutting events with Christie Brinkley; performances from the Supremes; and expanding the program to include 35 kids from various Boys and Girls Clubs of America including Atlanta.

Other celebrities like Mac Davis, Rickie Lee Jones, Peter Bogdanovich, Franz Weber, pro golfer Peter Kostis and Dennis Weaver all donated their time in the late 1990s

Kids participated in the beloved Main Street parade alongside the Riata Ranch Cowgirls when the program was moved to the Fourth of July. Featuring Kansas Carradine, the kids and Cowgirls demonstrated their show-stopping trick riding and roping skills. With corporate sponsorships including Coca-Cola (still a sponsor today) and Chevy Trucks, participants grew to as many as 50 kids and included Telluride locals.

In 1998, beloved father, friend and Wild West Fest supporter Chip Allen tragically passed away. The Sheridan Arts Foundation honored his devotion to Wild West Fest by officially naming the three-day, skill-building program that pairs WWF youth with experts in their field the Chip Allen Mentorship Program or CAMP.

In 2003, Wild West Fest was moved to the first week of June making it easier to obtain the necessary lodging and services donated by local businesses. Other than a two-year hiatus during COVID, the SAF continues to bring kids from all over the country and the region for a week of empowering mentorship filled with A-list talent and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

The SAF hopes to continue the program for another 30 years..