Author: Susan Viebrock

5-10 TFF poster Telluride Film Festival Cinematheque, a collaboration between the internationally renowned Telluride Film Festival and the five-star Wilkinson Public Library, is a vehicle for film lovers in the greater Telluride community to watch and discuss great films year 'round. Thanks to programming genius of Festival co-director Gary Meyer, the grand finale of the winter season in the "All About Food" series is the critically acclaimed "Big Night," (1996, 107 minutes). The event takes place Monday, May 10, 5:30 p.m. for the pre-show reception and 6 p.m. for the screening.

"Big Night" is a delicious tale of mouthwatering food and boiling passions. The story is built around a belt-popping pig-out at a Jersey trattoria which can't get no respect. The engaging dramedy revolves around two brothers in the pursuit of the American Dream.

Tea Leaf Green and Cornmeal are joint headliners for a post-PHISH party at Telluride's historic Sheridan Opera House. Shows are August and August 10, 11 p.m. Tickets go on sale at sheridanoperahouse.com at NOON on Saturday, May 8 and will ONLY be on sale at...

Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts's Visiting Artists program, one of the many gems in the wide-ranging curriculum, is a magnet, drawing students to town from all over the country as well as locals.Ceramicist Diana Fayt teaches "Nature on the Surface," June 4...

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Nick Day & Jennie Franks

This summer, the Telluride Repertory Theatre Company celebrates 20 years of providing staged entertainment to the Telluride community.  As part of their summer celebration, the Rep is teaming up with the Telluride Playwrights Festival (TPF) to produce an exciting staged production of Philip Gerson’s new play “This Isn’t What It Looks Like.”  Nicholas Day of the Telluride Playwrights Festival and Great Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal National Theatre Company directs a cast of local talent. The opening is July 15 at Telluride's Palm Theater.

“This Isn’t What It Looks Like” is part of a summer of “Made In Telluride” performing arts, which includes the Telluride Playwrights Festival showcase performances, July 11 and 12, and the Rep's "Shakespeare in the Park"  starting August 18. The Telluride Playwrights Festival and the Telluride Rep look forward to offering a great line-up of summer theatre.

[click "Play" to listen to Susan's conversation with Gunter Pauli]

 

Gunter 9.2007-3 Kris Holstrom of Telluride's The New Community Coalition welcomes her colleague Gunter Pauli, founder of ZERI – Zero Emissions Research Initiatives  –  to town today, May 4, for an informal chat with anyone interested in saving the planet, while putting bread on the table. (ed. note: Pauli will be at Wilkinson Public Library at 7:45 pm) If you are unable to attend the local program, on Wednesday, May 5, Pauli is in Durango, where he speaks at SKA Brewing, 225 Girard Street, 7 – 9 p.m.
Pauli has written several books and a series of "fables" designed to convey complex notions in plainspeak. His newest book, "The Blue Economy: 10 years, 100 innovations 100 million jobs" is an example.


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Monday, May 3: Free film, "Pirate for the Sea," 6 p.m.

A longtime militant environmentalist is held up for close scrutiny in "Pirate for the Sea," a homemade-style documentary in which filmmaker Ron Colby's admiring stance doesn't shroud the downside of the subject's relentless approach. A self-appointed maverick watchdog for mistreated and illegally hunted sea creatures, Paul Watson uses confrontational tactics that could be classified as terrorism, which, along with bloody footage of whales, sharks, and baby seals being slaughtered, makes for some disturbing viewing. Just released on DVD, we are screening this film with special permission of the director, Ron Colby. 

After eight years, Colby completed his film only one week before the 2008 Telluride Film Festival opened. To make "Pirate for the Sea," he participated as a crew member on Watson's voyages to Cocos Island in 2002, Antarctica in 2005, and to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2006. The film includes interviews with Martin Sheen, and Farley Mowat in addition to numerous crew-members.

Editor's note: For eight years, Telluride local/mountaineer Ben Clark and a few friends/professional colleagues have made Spring treks to the majestic mountains of the Himalayas. If you have missed any of Ben's posts, just type "Ben Clark" into Lijit Search to find them all. Sadly, this is likely to be the last dispatch of his most recent adventure.

Benbioshotlr-254x300 "Dispatch 10: So it is done, my ankle is broken

My ankle is broken after my fall yesterday. We iced 8 times, we went through 5 rounds of Ibuprofen and Tylenol and we kept it elevated almost 14 hours before I slept in a compression wrap and elevated for the night. Currently, I believe it wants to ski or hike downhill...because that's the only way it will point! Then I try to move it...ooooh. It looks like a baseball that has soaked in water staining the lower part of my foot with a purple and green base. Yuck.

So...I guess that this Spring, even after our initial and really charged foray onto the hill, we will not be going higher. Jon says so and I just nod. He's a great partner who despite ambition can see the facts. We have gone over every boot-cutting splinting option you can imagine...None will get me back across base camp even. Ha...ohh, we are climbers.

Editor's note: For eight years, Telluride local/mountaineer Ben Clark and a few friends/professional colleagues have made Spring treks to the majestic mountains of the Himalayas. Follow his adventures on Telluride Inside... and Out, including links to his regular podcasts. If you have missed any of Ben's posts, just type "Ben Clark" into Lijit Search to find them all.

Benbioshotlr-254x300 "Dispatch 9: well...hmmmm

Jon and I feel stronger than ever. Our spirits are up, our sense of adventure is high, and today we departed for base camp to begin the summit climb. I love moving in the mountains. The first moment was incredibly invigorating.

The sun highlighted the Southeast ridge. I waved goodbye to our cook staff, I turned.

Then I rolled my ankle in the sand. With a 60 pound pack on. I wasn't 120 paces out of camp. I hit the ground and knew immediately that everything would be okay. Well, almost everything. Well, maybe not the ankle right then. Oh man. Shit, it feels like it snapped in half.
The 32nd annual Mountainfilm Festival will be the biggest ever with more venues in operation, more special guests and more programming. Festival Director David Holbrooke describes Mountainfilm as thriving.
 
“We are particularly excited about the festival this year,” he says. “We have a very strong and varied lineup of films, speakers and artists. We have accomplished mountaineers like Ed Viesturs and Conrad Anker, but we also have artists like Maya Lin and Chris Jordan. We have environmental activists like Dave Foreman and Tim DeChristopher but we also have civil rights activists with two Freedom Riders coming to town.”
 
Among the films to screen in Telluride at the end of May, Holbrooke highlighted the following as examples of Mountainfilm’s depth and diversity:
Editor's note: For eight years, Telluride local/mountaineer Ben Clark and a few friends/professional colleagues have made Spring treks to the majestic mountains of the Himalayas. Follow his adventures on Telluride Inside... and Out, including links to his regular podcasts. If you have missed any of Ben's posts, just type "Ben Clark" into Lijit Search to find them all.

Benbioshotlr-254x300 "Dispatch 8: 20'600' and man it's awesome up here!

You have to be crazy to explore high altitude. Not conventionally crazy, like constantly repeating the same thing and expecting a different result. You have to be comfortable with getting a result that is punishing and optimistically believing the opposite will happen next time. Crazy thing is...it does, every time. That's why flatlanders label it extreme. I guess it defines risk as well.

Jon and I traveled light and high to 20,600' yesterday on our objective, 23,390' Baruntse, it was hard on us. We climbed half our expected five-day route in a little over 24 hours, just three days after arriving in base camp. As much as we enjoyed the scenery and the awkward sensation of oxygenless stupor, we also descended fully to base camp in time for supper. FAST. Today we rest in anticipation of a summit strike in a couple of days. Weather is moving in as the sky is swarming moisture in from the Northwest, a testy condition I have sat through before in a less comfortable position testing my patience.