Old Events

[click "Play",Dolce's Beau Staley discusses turquoise]

 

Earth Turquoise ring This is your month, Telluride's Sagittarii and Capricorns. And your birthstone, December babies, is turquoise – also blue topaz and Tanzanite. (Guess December is big on alliteration.)

But turquoise is the most popular and the oldest of December birthstones, found on artifacts dating back 5000 years in ancient Egypt (the tomb of Tutankhamen was filled with turquoise bling and Cleopatra used the ground up stone in her eye paint), Sumeria and Mesopotamia. Turquoise" means "Turkish Stone," in French and France is where the first deposits were found in the ancient world, before the first mines in Egypt. Turkey is the route the gemstone took when first introduced into Europe.

 Jen Julia, director of Telluride's Sheridan Arts Foundation's Young People's Theatre is one twisted sister– and that's a good thing. Generally speaking, when it comes to adapting chestnuts for her actors, Jen goes her own way. This time, she is following the crowd. Sort of...

Take Disney's latest (the 50th) animation,"Tangled," the story of Rapunzel, about an exiled princess who has never been to a hairdresser. In this version, the girl has been shut up in a castle by the evilest of evil stepmoms in the Disney pantheon, Mother Gothel, because her golden hair has the power to heal wounds, cure disease and reverse the aging process. (Hmm, hair as Botox.) Throw Pixar's bravura effects into the mix and voila, everything old is brand spanking new.

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:

 "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.

Snapshot 2010-11-28 12-19-01 Telluride’s all-women rock and roll band, The 525s, are taking the stage at the Last Dollar Saloon on Noel Nite, Wednesday, December 1, starting at 10 p.m. Telluride audiences last saw the band in April at the KOTO Street Dance, when The 525s had six members. Since then, the group has slimmed down to a lean, mean quartet.

“We found ourselves getting drawn in too many directions, musically,” said guitarist and songwriter Suzanne Cheavens. “Pulling back to just guitar, drums, bass and vocals helped us define our sound. We’re really excited. We love the dynamic and have had a lot of fun working up our new songs.”

Originally called MachSchau and a graduate of Mark Galbo’s Rock and Roll Academy’s short-lived but fruitful Ladies Rock program, The 525s have been a working band for a little over two years. The four core members of the group, Cheavens, singer Baerbel Hacke, bassist Cindy Eckman and drummer Molly Papier – all Lawson Hill residents – rehearse in Hacke’s basement studio.

[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...

Ski The Himalayas, a film chronicling three climbers' 2009 and 2010 attempts at climbing and skiing 23,390' Baruntse is now available on Dish Network Pay per View in HD and SD today through April 14,  2011.  In the 90-minute documentary, ski mountaineers Ben Clark,...

[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.)

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.