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Author: Susan Viebrock

Attbd337 In its 19th year, the Sheridan Arts Foundation’s Wild West Fest is a week-long celebration of Western arts, culture and customs, which brings inner-city youth along with artists and musical performers from across the nation to Telluride.

 The featured artist for the 2010 Wild West Fest is Brett Schreckengost, who has been represented by the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art for ten years. Brett is a local photojournalist specializing in mountain sports and outdoor adventure photography (and a former colleague from the early, halycon days at the Daily Planet).

10 June, 2010 /
[click "Play" to hear George Patterson talk about differences Wild West Fest has made]

WWF09 029 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.

09 June, 2010 /

Golf_pro The Telluride Ski & Golf Club welcomes Samantha Fritz as Head Golf Professional. Fritz is a PGA Class A Professional and comes to Telluride with extensive experience in the golf industry.

 Fritz graduated in 2007 from Ferris State University with a Bachelor’s degree in marketing and a concentration in Professional Golf Management. For the past three seasons, she has worked at some of the most elite resort facilities in the country, including The Club at Cordillera in Edwards, Colorado, and The Hawthorns Golf and Country Club in Fishers, Indiana. Fritz established and cultivated the women’s golf programs at both facilities. Through extensive lessons, clinics and relationships, she grew both into the excellent programs they are today.
09 June, 2010 /

The Telluride-based New Community Coaltion is hosting a booth at this weekend's Heritage Festival , June 12 – June 13. On Saturday, June 12, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., Colorado Avenue is closed for the festivities. TNCC's booth  highlights a very important technological advancement in...

09 June, 2010 /
[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Dan Mooney]

IMG_2051 Crow Canyon may just a hop, skip and a jump from Telluride, but this world-class archaeological research center represents a long march back in time to explore the rich history of the ancestral Pueblo Indians commonly known as the Anasazi.

Experiential education is at the heart of Crow Canyon's mission, and on June 16,  8 a.m. – 6:30 p.m., the Center, in conjunction with the Telluride Historical Museum, plans to pull out all the stops for a select group of Telluride locals.
08 June, 2010 /
[click "Play" to hear Shelton Johnson's conversation with Susan]

DSC_0406z_0 Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns is a board member of Mountainfilm in Telluride, where his series, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" premiered in 2009. Among the many noteworthy individuals featured in the Burn's classic-in the-making is Yosemite National Park Ranger extraordinaire and author/poet Shelton Johnson.

Shelton Johnson is the featured guest at the Sheridan Arts Foundation's 19th annual Wild West Fest/Chip Allen Mentorship Program (C.A.M.P.), June 7 – 12. He is scheduled to speak at the historic Sheridan Opera House Wednesday, June 9, 7 p.m., about his involvement in the National Parks system and the history of the "Buffalo Soldiers," African Americans who served in WWI and were discovered  to have served in Yosemite as some of the first Park Rangers. The 45-minute Burn's segment from the National Parks series,"This is America," the one featuring Johnson, is also on the evening's program.
08 June, 2010 /
[click "Play" to hear Dr. Deborah Gangloff speaking with Susan]



Dm_2009_PLC_tower_view Crow Canyon Archaeological Center is located in southwestern Colorado, a rewarding day trip from Telluride of a little over two hours each way. Telluride Inside...  and Out visited for a day, doing video interviews and podcasting key players on site. This post is the first in a series you won't want to miss: Crow Canyon is another instance of priceless nuggets under foot and in our own backyard.

 For over 25 years, the on-campus staff has made it its business to study and teach human history, particularly the rich history of the ancestral Pueblo Indians (aka, the Anasazi), who inhabited the canyons and mesas of the Mesa Verde region over 700 years ago.
07 June, 2010 /
[To listen to Erik Dalton talk about the Paddle-With-a-Pro day, click "Play"]

TSyle Spring 08 Fashion-013894 Work first. Fun after. The river clean-up hosted by Jagged Edge happens Wednesday, June 9. (See related post for details.) The very next day, Thursday, June 10, is pay back: Jagged Edge's 2010 Paddle-with-a-Pro Day.


Paddle-with-a-Pro Day is an opportunity to learn the tricks of the trade from the amazing Ruth Gordon, a Jackson Kayak-sponsored pro paddler. Spend the day with Ruth in the Gunnison Gorge, a great stretch of Class III waters just outside Montrose. Attendees also get to demo Jackson Kayaks. Transportation and shuttle costs are picked up by the San Miguel Whitewater Club for this all-day event.
07 June, 2010 /

1Paulie
Paulie Distefano

The Telluride Dance Academy presents its annual recital on Sunday, June 6, 3 p.m. on the stage of the Michael D. Palm Theatre. The theme, "Fresh Twists," suggests a program that reflects new ways of looking at dusty notions about dance and what dance academies teach: students who participated in the Academy's spring session, ages 3 – 18, are scheduled to perform dance forms ranging from classical ballet to hip hop, with all the stops in between.One of those students is the handsome young man in charge of all heavy lifting: Paulie Distefano. And "Fresh Twists"  is great way of summarizing exactly what's happening in his life.

After dancing only six months under the tutelage of the Academy's artistic director/former prima ballerina Valerie Madonia, Paulie, who was born and raised in Telluride, was accepted on full scholarship in to the Joffrey School of Ballet's summer intensive. He leaves just days after his performance. That's the kind of magic even Paulie, a trained magician, could not have conjured.

05 June, 2010 /