Get TIO in your Inbox!

Author: Susan Viebrock

[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Grayson Zulauf]

DSC_7414 Monday, July 27, Dartmouth's Big Green Bus plans to make a stop in Telluride. The vehicle, home for a group of 15 hand-picked Dartmouth students left campus on June 16. Before returning home to New Hampshire, the Big Green Bus will clock more than 12,000 miles through 40 states.

The Big Green Bus is not the first famous bus in America's history. "Further" was a 1939 International Harvester school bus purchased by author Ken Kesey in 1964, for $1,500. "Further" was stripped down and remodeled inside and out for a psychedelic journey across the country with Kesey and his Merry Pranksters on board and up to no good. (Further made a guest appearance at Woodstock.)

26 July, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Ted Hoff on retrievers]

DSC_0176 Telluride Inside and Out's expert dog trainer Ted Hoff is finally emerging from the nursery. To date in his series, Dog's Best Friend,Ted has talked exclusively about bringing up baby: How to train a pup. With this post, he begins to talk about specific breeds starting with the very popular Retrievers, Labs and Goldens.

Author James Michener wrote about the introduction of Labs to Maryland in his novel "Chesapeake":

"A moment later the stevedore appeared on deck leading by a leash one of the most handsome dogs ever seen in Maryland. He was jet-black, sturdy in his front quarters, sleek and powerful in his hind, with a face so intelligent that it seemed he might speak at any moment. His movements were quick, his dark eyes following every development nearby, yet his disposition appeared so equable he seemed always about to smile.

"'He's called a Labrador,' Lightfoot said. 'Finest huntin' dog ever developed.'"

25 July, 2009 /
[click "Play" to listen to Lauren Metzger on the Ah Haa auction]

Auction_poster On Friday, July 24, starting at 5 pm, Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts holds its 17th annual art auction. The fun-raiser is one of the biggest and best parties of the summer season. The theme, "Celebrate Art: Be the Artist You Want To Be," reminds us what the school is all about. "Ah Haa" is an interjection of success – but success can be defined in any number of ways.

Success to Alpine Bank, the title sponsor of the auction, is not just measured in terms of assets on hand. The institution, unique among banks, is all about sustainable growth and supporting non-profits such as Ah Haa that make a difference in the greater community. Success might be a sibling catching his brother or sister in a lie: "Ah Haa! gotcha." Success may be getting the punch line of a joke: "Ah Haa! I get it." Success may be seeing someone or something in an altogether different light.

24 July, 2009 /
[click "Play"  to listen to Daphne and Don]

Someofourfavoritefarmers People come to Telluride in the winter to ski and snowboard. They stay because of the summer.

When the weather cooperates, it is as good as it gets at this time of year. The hills are a riot of wild flowers. The cultural calendar is filled with wonderful things to do at the many world-class festivals and special events. And every Friday, June – October, 10:30 am – 4:30 p.m., the blocks just below Telluride's Elks Park to the Gondola Plaza on Oak Street become a gathering place for the extended Telluride community and guests. Everyone is on a mission to find the perfect tomato, the tastiest meat, mouthwatering cheeses, a lovely bouquet of flowers, just the right piece of jewelry, all available at the Telluride Farmers' Market.

24 July, 2009 /

[click "Play" to hear Kristin Holbrook's discussion on exposed zippers] Zippers expose. But exposed zippers? According to Telluride Inside...

24 July, 2009 /

Auction_poster Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts is community arts center and, from time to time, a place of celebrity. In years past, General Norman Schwarzkopf has shown up for the event, even contributed military paraphernalia and art work. Rumor has it the emcee of this year's event, tonight, July 24, 5 p.m., 300 South Townsend, is none other than Pop artist Andy Warhol, at one time the Michael Jackson of the art world. In the 1960s, it was Warhol who was running the company store when the art world began shedding its idealist trappings and started morphing into the Great American Art Industry. Overnight, Campbell's soup cans and Brillo became icons. Warhol is expected to be accompanied by an entourage.

Also on hand at this year's Ah Haa auction is actress and part-time local Susan Saint James, who created three major works of art in collaboration with painter/teacher Robert Weatherford. Joining her on the runway for the live auction, starting at 7 p.m., are the following artists/donors:

24 July, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Susan's interview with Sally Simpson]

IMG_1104_3 For Telluride local and board member, Ah Haa School for the Arts, Sally Simpson, it was simply a matter of connecting the dots.

Born and raised in Lake Oswego, Oregon, Sally Simpson holds a BA in secondary art education and a masters degree in education from the University of Oregon. She taught art at the middle and high school level in the Oregon public school system for 12 years.

23 July, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Evan Tueller]

Evan_tueller The work of recent Telluride High School graduate (Class of 2009) Evan Tueller reminds us that a bond with the natural world is often an essential aspect of great art, particularly landscapes.

Evan is the youngest of 16 established artists whose work is featured in the live auction at Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts' 17th annual fundraiser. The event takes place Friday, July 24, the old Depot, 300 South Townsend, starting at 5 p.m.

22 July, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Steve Stagner on Americana Music]

In Telluride, Grammy winner Tim O'Brien is the poster child for a hodgepodge of country, folk, bluegrass, blues, rock, and swing simply described as Americana music. The rootsy genre tends to have a comfortable back porch feel – but with a modern twist. Something like a Pendleton blanket fashioned into a jacket by Ralph Lauren only better.

Portrait_EricBibb
Eric Bibb

At the Sheridan Opera House this weekend, starting July 23, Austin native Steve Stagner adds other names to the list of singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists who take old music and serve it up as something familiar yet fresh, be it a honky tonk shuffle from the 1950s or an original bluegrass-inflected tune. The line-up for the 3rd annual Telluride Americana Music Weekend includes North Carolina native Shannon Whitworth, two of Austin's best songwriters, Kevin Welch and Walt Wilkins, troubadour Slaid Cleaves, Tift Merritt, Nashville writer Irene Kelley and acoustic blues musician Eric Bibb.

Steve Stagner is a part-time Telluride local. In Austin, he and his wife, both music buffs, built a small amphitheater in their backyard (seating for 125 give or take) for house concerts featuring friends who happen to be acoustic musicians. Several years ago, the couple started bringing some of their talented friends to Telluride to play the Sheridan Opera House. Stagner is passionate about Americana music, which he defines as "Story-driven acoustic music." KOTO musical director Suzanne Cheavens sums up in her blog:

22 July, 2009 /