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Culture

[For Ben Sollee's conversation with Susan click "Play"]

Ben_main You have seen Ben Sollee with his cello on the Telluride Bluegrass Festival's Main Stage, performing with Abigail Washburn, and with Bela Fleck in the Sparrow Quartet. But this time when he steps onto the stage in Telluride's Town Park Friday morning, 10 a.m., Ben Sollee will be all alone in the morning sun. And he will shine.

Ben Sollee looks like central casting for the son in the father/son Patek Philippe watch ads that appear, well, like clockwork in The New York Times Sunday magazine: a handsome preppy with a geek bent. But looks, as we know, can be deceiving. Ben Sollee was not to the manor born. His roots are in the blue grass of Kentucky, where his grandfather owned a farm. Not to put too fine on point on it, the tag line for those watch ads, however, does ring true: "Begin your own tradition." That's just what Ben is doing – with great success.
14 June, 2010 /
[click "Play" to hear Keller Williams in conversation with Susan]

Keller:Keels 2010 credit Melissa T. Colombo I'm just saying. Throughout its wild and wooly history, Telluride has been a haven for misfits and miscreants, so Keller Williams fits right in no problem. I mean this is a guy whose latest album is entitled "Thief." No accident.

For "Thief," Williams' first ever all-covers collection, the iconoclastic one man band broke with tradition and enlisted the help of the husband and wife team of Larry and Jenny Keel, a former Telluride guitar champ and bassist respectively.
14 June, 2010 /
[click "Play" for Pastor Pat's conversation with Susan]

Pat_bailey_photo Telluride's Christ Presbyterian Church launches a series on luncheon talks about world religion on Wednesday, June 16, noon – 1:30 p.m.. The event takes place downstairs at the church, 434, West Columbia Avenue, across the street from the Telluride Elementary School. (Lunch and the program are free.)

A defining characteristic of human society is tribalism, a tendency to huddle in groups with common ideas/characteristics that set themselves apart and often at odds with groups that don't share their views. Tribes breed distrust and engender fear. The fear is of "they" who cannot be trusted. "They" who could be a danger. "They" who is The Other. Religious groups are tribes. And crimes committed in the name of God, Allah, Ishvara, Yahweh, you name it, against The Other are legend throughout history. (The Crusades and the Holocaust are just two examples among hundreds, perhaps thousands). How to staunch the venom and learn to live together?
14 June, 2010 /
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.”

13 June, 2010 /

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."

12 June, 2010 /

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).

10 June, 2010 /

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.

10 June, 2010 /