Culture

World Premiere of Tom Shadyac’s "I Am", Record Attendance Highlight 32nd Annual Festival

Telluride, Colorado (June 8th, 2010)Mountainfilm in Telluride enjoyed record attendance this year with more than 15,000 seatings in theaters, up some 25% from 2009. Despite sunshine and warm temperatures, often deterrents to theater-goers, Mountainfilm venues operated at or near capacity throughout the Memorial Day weekend. “We benefited from several factors,” said Mountainfilm Executive Director Peter Kenworthy. “We received very favorable regional press leading up to the event. The weather lured a lot of people within driving range who might otherwise not have come. And, word-of-mouth momentum has been building steadily the past three years.”

HistoricalPoster_WESTFEST Telluride is crazy about Squids. And not just breaded and served with a side of marinara or aioli sauce. We like ours on stage.

Saturday, June 12, is the first day of the second annual Heritage Fest, which continues through Sunday, June 13.

Heritage Fest is a celebration of the history of the Telluride region. The family fun includes lots of activities especially for the young and young at heart: Galloping Goose Railcar Rides at the Ah Ha School, Stagecoach rides down Main Street, demonstrations of sheep sheering, blacksmithing, double and single jack drilling and gold panning, a Nickel Grab at the county courthouse, face painting at Ah Haa, more contests in Elks Park, and a reenactment of the Butch Cassidy bank robbery. The five-star Wilkinson Public Library is showing films in keeping with the historical theme: "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "We Skied It."

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).

Letterstojuliet_smallposter-1 Robin-hood-poster Telluride's Nugget Theatre is showing two movies the week of Friday, June 11- Thursday, June 17.

"Robin Hood" is a holdover from last week and is an updated version of the old story. Don't expect a lot of merry doings in the forest with his Merry Men, and Maid Marian has morphed into the "Widow Marion." "Robin Hood" is rated PG-13.

The setting is Verona, the home of Juliet Capulet, and people still write to Shakespeare's timeless heroine for advice about their lovelives. These are answered by modern day Dear Abbies, including a young American woman who finds a letter from 1951 and takes it upon herself to have the letter's author return to Italy to see if she can find the object of her long-ago passion. Rated PG. Bring your own history and see if the film moves you.

See the Nugget website for trailers and reviews, and below for movietimes.

[click "Play" to listen to Paulie's conversation with Susan] The Telluride Dance Academy is holding its Spring Recital, Fresh Twists on Dance this afternoon, Sunday, June 6. Susan did a podcast interview with Paulie Distefano that was supposed to be...

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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.