Author: Susan Viebrock

Bazaar at Telluride High School, December 3-5

 In her poem "One Perfect Rose," the acerbic writer Dorothy Parker bemoans the fact it's her bad luck to always get "one perfect rose," not "one perfect limousine, do you suppose?" from her true love. With money to burn, finding the perfect gift during the holiday season shop off – for your true love or anyone else on the list – is a cinch. On the other hand, most of have to make the thought count big time.

In Telluride, one of the ways to find gifts from the heart is to make them: the Ah Haa School for the Arts is running Xmas classes for adults and kids all month long. However, if you are not inclined to channel your inner Santa's helper, this weekend, in the Telluride High School Cafeteria, the Telluride Council for the Arts & Humanities presents the 2010 Telluride Holiday Arts Bazaar. Hours of operation: Friday, December 3, 5 - 8 p.m., Saturday, December 4,10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sunday, December 5, 11 a.m.  – 3 p.m.

The Bazaar, a local tradition dating back nearly 40 years, has grown to feature the work of about 40 regional artisans. The following is a list of the kinds of items you can check off your shopping list:

[click "Play" to listen to Dr. Brugge's conversation with Susan]

 

Brugge-doug A Three Mile Island in Colorado?

Probably nothing that Hollywood – or lethal.

Well, maybe not.

The infamous accident  took place March 28, 1979, a partial core meltdown in a unit of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Pennsylvania. Three Mile Island crystallized anti-nuclear safety concerns and resulted in new regulations for the nuclear industry. According to Dr. Douglas M. Brugge, the nuclear release at Three Mile Island may explain why there is "public and policy interest in the high-technology, highly visible end of the nuclear cycle."

At the same time, he continues: "The environmental and health consequences of the early steps in the cycle – mining, milling, and processing of uranium ore – may be less appreciated."

 "Bag It," TAB fashion show tix, green gifts, llamas, Daiva's birthday, great discounts (Yoga Center too), lotsa fun

IMG_8172 One down. Two to go. Just about everywhere, the parade of cooking, shopping and wrapping continues. The holiday season that began last week with Thanksgiving picks up a head of speed this week with the Christmas chapter, starting Wednesday, December 1, Noel Nite in Telluride.

Christmas may be time for  a nostalgic wallow in our tinsel-strewn past. The usual suspects on that list include Salvation Army Santas, mistletoe kisses, eggnog toasts, chestnuts roasting, "White Christmas," and twinkling trees. It's also about shop 'til you drop.

Here's an overview of what to expect around town.

[click "Play", Dr. Diana Koelliker talks about the emergency room renovation]

 

New ER 001 The Telluride Medical Center plans to show off its newly renovated Emergency Room at an Open House. The happy event takes place Thursday, December 2, 5:30 - 7:00 p.m., including tours of the renovated facility. The medical staff and employees baked Christmas cookies for their guests, to be served with mulled hot cider.

For 32 years, the Telluride Medical Center has provided health care services to  Telluride and the 7,500 residents scattered throughout the R 1 School District. The Med Center is also the only 24-hour emergency facility within 65 miles. Without the Telluride Medical Center, imagine what long delays could mean to a person in critical need.

[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Karl Straub]

 

The story begins with the Telluride Yoga Festival.

Sunset Telluride Inside... and Out interviewed senior Jivamukti instructor Karl Straub for the second annual Telluride Yoga Festival. This past summer, another Yoga Fest guest, the remarkable teacher, Mark Whitwell, introduced us to yoga instructor/entrepreneur Gail Mondry. Turns out, Mondry is connected to Telluride through her affiliation with the Grand Heritage chain, now running the new and vastly improved Peaks Resorts & Spa.

Recently, Mondry created a new business, Yoga Vacations, dedicated to yoga-based adventures in spectacular settings.

[click "Play" to get Erik's take on what's-for-Christmas]     On Tuesday, November 23, the annual Locals Show at the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art marks the soft opening the holiday/winter season in town. The hard opening is Wednesday, December 1, when locals...

[click "Play" to listen to Peter Decker's conversaton with Susan]

 

Savingthewest Saturday, November 27, 6 – 8 p.m, Telluride's five-star Wilkinson Public Library and Between the Covers bookstore co-host a triple header: authors Peter Decker, Corinne Platt, and SarahLee Lawrence, each with a unique spin on the American West. The readings take place in the Program Room of the Library, followed by a meet-and-greet book signing.

In the comedy hit "City Slickers" about cowboys and mid-life crises, three disillusioned suits decide to participate in a cattle drive from New Mexico to Colorado in order to "find themselves." All's well that ends well: the guys go home. What happens if they had chosen to stay is more or less Decker's tale of woe –  or whoa.

In "Saving the West," Decker revisits the theme of his non-fiction biography of Ouray County, "Old Fences, New Neighbors": the cultural clash between the all-hat-no-cattle urban ranchers and old-time "dirt-bags." (So named by the interlopers.)

[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Erika Gordon]

 

Fly.away The Telluride Film Festival's Sunday at The Palm series continues this weekend with Carroll Ballard's ("The Black Stallion," "Never Cry Wolf') family classic "Fly Away Home" (1996).

"Fly Away Home" is based on the true story of William Lishman's and Joseph Duff's experiments on migrating birds. The pair provided real-life "imprinted" birds for the making of the film, as well as the aircraft, although release of "Fly Away Home" was delayed after a young girl, her father and flight instructor were killed at the controls of a similar small plane that crashed amid a highly publicized transcontinental flight attempt.

TGFA Twenty-five years ago in Telluride, development was in full swing and funk was becoming fashion when Will and Hilary Thompson opened Telluride Gallery of Fine Art at 130 East Colorado, Main Street. Will declared his mission from the get-go "We are in business to showcase the best art out there."

No qualifiers. Not the best art "for a small town," just the best. Period. At times that has come down to showing art for art's sake, for fun, not for profit, but the Thompsons did not seem to care. They were and are in it for the long haul. The response from the greater Telluride community has been overwhelming: many returning to town from off season breaks make the Gallery their first stop in town, just to check in with gallery director Baerbel Hacke and the other familiar faces on the staff to find out what's shaking.

Unknown This post is deeply personal: The award-winnning contemporary painter Riva Sweetrocket is Telluride Inside... and Out's dearly beloved Denver neighbor. She is also an artist in the stable of the Plus+ Gallery, the Mile High City's outpost (at 2501 Larimer) for uncommonly talented artists with something to say, though they usually don't say it in common vernacular. Riva is currently the featured artist at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

A retrospective of Riva Sweetrocket's bold and beguiling pastels, "Riva Sweetrocket: Extra Ordinary," is  on display at Gates Garden Court Gallery through January 23, 2011, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.