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Health and Fitness

[click "Play" to hear Kristin's conversation with Susan about Spring]

 

 

Tucker fashion Here's the good news: at the height of Spring Break, Telluride's Two Skirts was slammed. We personally saw customers marching across Main Street with BIg Bags from the store at around 10 p.m. one night. Here's the bad news: everyone was too busy to record Fashion Friday. But we're back and into the first week of Spring, which started this year on March 20.

In Spring, a young girl's fancy turns toward vibrant colors and patterns: the brand, "Tucker" springs to mind.

Since 2005, Tucker by Gaby Basora has developed a reputation for signature prints and vintage-inspired silhouettes inspired by, well, a hodgepodge of inputs. According to the designer, she may be turned on by "Marguerite Duras, a drawing made by her son, the way a tree looks when she bikes by it, the French schoolgirls she saw when she was a little girl visiting Paris in the 1980s.

24 March, 2011 /
[click "Play to hear Bill Kurtain's conversation with Susan]

 

Bill Kurtain Winter in Telluride is all about snow sports: alpine and cross-country skiing and snowboarding. Summer in Telluride is all about festivals, hiking, biking, fly-fishing, golf, fun on the water and now –  cue drum roll – tennis. This summer, follow the bouncing ball "uptown" to The Peaks Resort and Spa in Mountain Village, where Telluride's premiere hotel plans to serve up getaway tennis retreats for locals and guests starting in June.

The Peaks is the new home of William Kurtain and his Winning Touch Tennis pro staff, in residence to lead four-day (Wednesday – Sunday) tennis immersions focusing on high-energy, play-based drill patterns and positive reinforcement, his "Progressive Learning Program."

22 March, 2011 /

[click "Play", Kristin Holbrook talks about 10 years of Two Skirts]

 

Les Girls This month, Telluride's Two Skirts celebrates its 10th anniversary.

For the Greek mathematician Pythagoras, 10 was the symbol of the universe and the number that expressed the whole of human knowledge. For the ancient Maya, "10" marked the end of one cycle and the start of another. And for director Blake Edwards, "10" was the top of the bodaciousness scale, the symbol of Bo Derrick.

For Two Skirts, "10" represents another day in the office. But what an office.

11 March, 2011 /
[click "Play", Amanda and Katy talk to Susan about the Fashion Show]

 

 

Runway, 2010 TAB The Telluride Student Fashion Show, co-directed by Charlotte Delpit and Devin McCarthy, was a tour de force of directing and choreography, setting the bar pretty darn high for TAB's sold-out gala fashion show on Saturday, March 5. (Get on the waiting list and live in hope.)

Just how high? According to Telluride AIDS Benefit board member Sandy McLaughlin: "We just got our latest totals: we raised $8020 so far from show last night! Highest amount ever!"

Bravo ladies.

Now on to the Main Event.

04 March, 2011 /
[click "Play" to hear Judy Kohin talk about trash to fashion]

 

 

Foam paper dress Note: Fashion Friday is Two Skirts' regular column about fashion trends and hot designers. But this week Kristin Holbrook generously turned over her real estate to the Telluride AIDS Benefit. Next week, look for our tribute to Two Skirts, celebrating its 10th anniversary.

For six year running, Beau Staley of Telluride's Dolce Jewels and Katey Brunini, a world-famous designer in his stable, have donated a line of Katey's bling to accessorize the clothes worn by the models on the catwalk of the Telluride AIDS Benefit Fashion Show. Not for nothing: the bold, beautiful line of silver warrior cuffs, shin guards, gold compass pendant, and Italian Renaissance sundial rings is all about  aggression and strength, attributes that underly TAB: The Telluride AIDS Benefit takes an aggressive stance towards the virus through prevention education, aided and abetted by its five beneficiaries, which also offer strong shoulders to people living with HIV/AIDS.

The Telluride AIDS Benefit in general and the fashion show in particular came into being as a tribute to the life of one man, Robert Presley, an outrageous, in-your-face, fearless, funny, fabulous fabric artist, who died in 1997 of AIDS. The man lacked the gene for moderation.

03 March, 2011 /

Dream big Let's start with the something more. Anyone who knows him knows Stash Wislocki, the Telluride AIDS Benefit's executive director, operates on all four burners. When an idea catches his hair on fire, he pursues it until it happens. For years, there has been a disconnect – perceived or real – between what happens at TAB's fashion show extravaganza and the work of the five beneficiaries. Between the glam slam on the catwalk and life on the front lines dealing with individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS. Long-time model Molly Wickwire Sante had an idea that would help bridge that gap.

Similar to the mentorship model established by Telluride-based One to One San Miguel Mentoring Program, TAB's models would "adopt" kids, even families, who are part of the Children's Hospital Immunodeficiency Program (CHIP), a clinic with the Denver Hospital. If Stash has his way, this pilot program will grow into something bigger and more comprehensive.

01 March, 2011 /
[click "Play" to hear Katy Parnello's conversation with Susan]

 

 

Katy Parnello Stash Wislocki, the Telluride AIDS Benefit's executive director, is no gusher, but mention the name "Katy Parnello" and breathless superlatives start flying. With good reason.

Katy Parnello is a multi-media event unto herself: co-creator/co-owner of a successful fashion label, dancer/choreographer, and actor. This year Katy adds one more notch to her increasingly heavy belt: she is the 2011 director of the Telluride AIDS Benefit's fashion show. The Sneak Peak is Thursday, March 3, and the gala is Saturday, March 5. (Both shows are sold out and there is a waiting list.)

The fashion label, Onerary (pronounced “honor-ary”), a collaboration between Katy and Danielle DeRoberts, was inspired by the Greek word "Oneraria," which means “in a dreamlike state.” Founded in 2004 right here in Telluride, Onerary is a fair trade clothing line for women that merges forward-thinking design and functionality, striving to blur the lines between work and play. (For an early intro to Onerary, see this 2009 post on Telluride Inside... and Out.)

28 February, 2011 /
[click "Play" to listen to Susan's conversation with Annie Clark]

 

 

Annie Clark, pup Telluride's first ever Winter Yoga Retreat at The Peaks Resort & Spa is the brainchild of the woman who founded the Telluride Yoga Festival, now entering its fourth year. Aubrey Hackman created the winter event as a kind of teaser for the far more extensive summer program.

The Winter Yoga Retreat takes place over a long weekend, Thursday, March 10 – Sunday, March 13. Its program includes morning and evening Yoga, meditation and kirtan to enhance times spent on the mountain and at The Peaks world-class spa.

28 February, 2011 /
[click "Play" to listen to Jodie Wright talk about the auction items and her involvement with the Telluride AIDS Benefit]

 

Laura Linney
Laura Linney

No doubt about it. The Telluride AIDS Benefit's fashion show is the insider ticket of the winter season. Both evenings, this year, the sneak peak Thursday night, March 3, and the gala on Saturday, March 5, sell out in the blink of an eye.

(However, you can still email TAB's executive director Stash Wislocki to get on the waiting list.)

But in the middle of the fabulous booty and threads, it is easy to lose sight of the goal: AIDS prevention education and helping those living with HIV/AIDS through TAB's beneficiaries, five non-profits in all, whose tireless efforts extend from Colorado to Africa. The only way that work continues is by keeping the pump (TAB) primed, which means raising money. Which is why the Telluride AIDS Benefit's fearless leader, board chair Jodie Shike Wright, works around the clock to develop packages to auction off on the runway after the catwalk at both shows.

Among the irresistible goodies for 2011:

27 February, 2011 /