Author: Susan Viebrock

[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Christopher Crockett]

 

Chris Crokett In a manner of speaking, Telluride's Pinhead Institute has sky high ambitions. The non-profit's programs latest program designed to promote science literacy is the upcoming Stargazing Series, ahem, starring astronomers from the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ.

It is clear humans have always observed the sky. The roots of astronomy, the natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects – stars, planets, comets, nebulae, star clusters and galaxies –  extend back before written records.

 


also on the bill, Mountain Man

The indie rock group Blind Pilot returns after two years to Telluride's historic Sheridan Opera House for an encore concert on Monday, July 18, 8 p.m. (Doors and bar open at 7:30 p.m.)

Blind Pilot literally pedaled its way to success. The group now numbers six – Israel Nebeker (vocals, guitar), Ryan Dubrowski (drums),  Dave Jorgenson (keyboard, trumpet), Kati Claborn (dulcimer), Luke Ydstie (upright bass, vocals),banjo, vocals), Ian Krist (vibraphone), but it began as a duet between Israel and Ryan, two modern-day minstrels whose initial bike tour along the West Coast to perform was cut short when their wheels were stolen outside San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art.

[click "Play", Susan speaks with Kristin Holbrook about Paige Hamilton's bags and "Clutch for the Cause"]

 

Coco_rust_web Relationships are everything in the town of Telluride. For better or for worse. The San Miguel Resource Center kicks in when interpersonal dynamics go on the fritz. It is the region's only nonprofit serving victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Kristin Holbrook, owner of one of Telluride's most popular Main Street boutiques, is a board member of the Resource Center. Last year, she hatched a plan for an unconventional fundraiser for the non-profit: Clutch for the Cause, launches this year on Thursday, July 21, with a cocktail party at Two Skirts, 4 – 7 p.m.

[click "Play", William Missouri Downs and Susan talk about "Forgiving John Lennon"]

 

Nako and Jennie "Forgiving John Lennon" is the featured production at  the 5th annual Telluride Playwrights Festival, July 13 – July 17, at venues around town. "Forgiving John Lennon" takes place at the historic Sheridan Opera House, Thursday, July 14 – Saturday, July 16, 8 p.m.

The Telluride Playwrights Festival opens with a Play Slam Wednesday night, 9 p.m. at the Steaming Bean, where would-be actors and writers get to strut their stuff.

Three staged readings take place over the weekend. Saturday morning, July 16, 10 a.m., the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art presents "Mrs. Prescott and Mrs. Russell" by Judy GeBauerr. Sunday morning, July 17, 10 a.m., Gallery Room,  the historic Sheridan Opera House hosts "Float," by Gary Leon Hill. (Free pastry and coffee included.) The featured play reading takes place Sunday, July 17, Sheridan Opera House. "American In Hiding" is newest work of returning playwright Tracy Shaffer, whose "(W)hole," workshopped in Telluride at the Playwrights Festival then went to on a critically acclaimed Denver run.

[click "Play" to hear Will Thompson's conversation with Susan]

 

Illustrations by top 10 children's book luminaries featured

Sendak drawing
image courtesy of
Animazing Gallery

How do big-time art shows happen in a small town like Telluride? Start with a visionary.

In the winter of 1985, Telluride was beginning to percolate anew: entrepreneurs starting snapping up property; among them, Will Thompson, who bought the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art space the day after he and wife Hilary arrived in town to ski.

[click "Play", Susan talks with Nicole Finger and Robert Weatherford]

 

Event kicks off with Intimate Live Auction Thursday, 7/21. Main event is Friday, 7/22

Ah Haa auction poster The auction is Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts' biggest and most important fundraising event of the year. Proceeds go towards supporting the school's operation, especially programming and workshops. The theme of the 2011 happening is James Bond: "License to Create."

New this year, the auction begins Thursday, July 21, 5 – 7 p.m., with an Intimate Live Auction of 4 Works of Art. The evening of champagne and hors d'oeuvres includes a preview of Friday night's silent and live auction line-up and an opportunity to bid on four works of art, exclusively created for this mini auction by artists Julie McNair, Amy Schilling, Andy Ward and board member/teacher Robert Weatherford.

[click "Play" to listen to Susan's interview with Taylor Hicks]

 

Taylor Hicks You'll find the announcement on his website, big and bold: "Taylor Hicks will perform at the 35th Telluride Jazz Celebration in Colorado on August 6, at approximately 7 p.m.!"

In case you've been living under a rock, "American Idol" is the reality TV program that showcases emerging young singing talent, with each season's winner selected by viewers. Season 5, 2006, Taylor Hicks earned the title handily with over 63.4 million votes. And he did it by singing songs people can whistle, proving the legendary producer Simon Cowell wrong – probably for the first time ever in Cowell's storied career. Just ask him. (Cowell famously said Hicks would never make to the final round. Later he had to eat his words.)

[click "Play", Allison English talks about her path to Yoga]

 

AllisonEnglish Allison English among the top tier list of presenters scheduled to teach at the 4th annual Telluride Yoga Festival, July 14 – July 17

Allison is a certified Forrest Yoga instructor and faculty teacher trainer at Pure Yoga. She has completed over 1000 hours of training through the Foundation and Advanced Forrest Yoga Teacher Certification programs and was voted "Best Yoga Instructor – Chicago" in 2008. Nevertheless, Allison is not content to rest on her laurels: she continues to deepen her teaching skills and intensify her personal practice by attending workshops, teacher trainings, and intensive practices with her guru, Ana Forrest.

Sankar Headshot Since 1984, the Telluride Science Research Center (TSRC), has been dedicated to providing meeting services for scientists. TSRC’s mission is to inspire substantive scientific inquiry, breakthroughs, and discoveries by hosting scientific meetings in an open environment conducive to productive collaboration and positive contributions to research, policy, and education. TSRC is proud to bring its Town Talk science lecture series to the regional community for the 9th season.

The series continues Tuesday, July 12, 6 – 7:15 p.m., at the Palm Theater, with a lecture by Sambhav N. Sankar on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the mother of all oopsies. Admission is free. A review of the background of the spill requires a look back at the headlines in April 2010.

[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Mark Whitwell]

 

Mark-whitwell Telluride Inside... and Out celebrates the return of guest presenter Mark Whitwell to the Telluride Yoga Festival, this year, July 14 – July 17. And this one is personal: no teacher influenced by personal practice or my teaching more than this wise, funny, compassionate man whom I got to know at last year's event.

Mark Whitwell thumbs his nose at the circus of gonzo asanas (postures), focusing instead on the elegant simplicity of breath-generated movement. He learned how to develop an authentic yoga practice based on the specific needs of the individual sitting at the feet of the master,T. Krishnamacharya.