Telluride's Sheridan Arts Foundation: 19th annual Wild West Fest, all week
[click "Play" to hear George Patterson talk about differences Wild West Fest has made]Last Monday, Mountainfilm in Telluride ended with the kind of feel-good announcement that has become par for the course for the world-changing event: Dr. Rick Hodes had contacted a colleague, a back surgeon, and Prudence, a young woman from Mali, who had beguiled the crowd with her angelic voice and smile, suddenly has a shot to emerge from the wheelchair that has confined her twisted torso since childhood. The crowd yelped and cried for joy: it was Christmas in May.
Now it's Christmas in June for about 50 young people from Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Big Brothers/Big Sisters, thanks to the Sheridan Arts Foundation's 19th annual Wild West Fest and enrichment education at C.A.M.P. (Chip Allen Mentorship Program), a weeklong celebration of Western arts, cultural and custom. The Wild West Fest, like so much of Mountainfilm, One to One, and other local non-profits helps change the world one young person at a time.