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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 /

[click "Play to hear Susan's conversation with WestCAP's Mary Beth Luedtke ]

 

 

WestCAP office Since getting off the ground in 1994, the Telluride AIDS Benefit has donated over $1 million towards HIV/AIDS education, advocacy and NGOs, from Colorado to Africa. Today, there are a total of six beneficiaries, including Denver Children's Hospital Immunodeficiency Program, Brother Jeff's Community Health Initiative, The Manzini Youth Care Center in Manzini (Swaziland) and the Ethiopian Family Fund. But the mother of them all, TAB's primary beneficiary, is the Western Colorado AIDS Project (WestCAP), a nonprofit that in its infancy helped support a man named Robert Presley in his battle against the virus. Presley was the Telluride AIDS Benefit's muse.

26 February, 2011 /


 

Guess who's coming to Telluride?  The answer is the word-famous Harlem Ambassadors.

Now guess why.

Last year, the Telluride-based One to One San Miguel Mentoring Program showed that it has what it takes to ride tough times: a healthy helping of imagination.

The creative non-profit earned its share of the (shrinking) pie by hosting the region's first ever Top Chef event. The community response was over the top: The Peaks Resort & Spa in Mountain Village, the event venue, was packed to the rafters with crowds of people partying hardy for a good cause.

25 February, 2011 /

[click "Play", Susan speaks with Devin McCarthy and Charlotte Delpit about the Student Show]

 

 

Charlotte & Devin If she has said it once, Telluride AIDS Benefit board member/teacher Sandy McLaughlin has said it a dozen times: the action on the catwalk is not the primary reason the Benefit produces a Student Fashion Show. Read between the lines– clothing and otherwise.

For the Telluride AIDS Benefit, the big idea behind the clothes, the choreography, and the music is that  the pandemic persists largely unabated. The tenacity of the virus drives the need for  prevention education to keep everyone safe and raising money to support the Telluride AIDS Benefit's beneficiaries – The Western Colorado AIDS Project, Children's Hospital Immunodeficiency Project, Brother Jeff's Health Initiative, Manzini Youth Care Project, and the Ethiopian Family Fund – who in turn support those living with HIV/AIDS and their families.

The co-directors of the 2011 Student Fashion Show, February 24, 6 p.m., The Palm, are Charlotte Delpit and Devin McCarthy, two of Telluride's best and brightest teens. Both are also in TAB's (sold out) adult fashion show, Thursday, March 3, and Saturday, March 5.

21 February, 2011 /
[click "Play", Susan interviews David Hollander]

Copy_of_winter From the get-go, founder/director Aubrey Hackman aimed high, starting with the instructors she has invited to her Telluride Yoga Festival. Though every one had a national, even international reputation, the roster did not include celebrity yogis, brands unto themselves, with book deals, fashion lines, and studio franchises. They were individuals like herself who walked their talk: scholars, not pretzels, deep students and scholars of a transformative tradition with roots dating back nearly 5,000 years.
One of them was David Hollander.

Now David, who returns to the 4th annual Telluride Yoga Festival this summer ( July 14– July 1),  joins Aubrey to help launch the first Telluride Yoga Festival in Winter. The event takes place Thursday, March 10 – Sunday, March 13 at The Peaks Resort and includes six yoga classes, morning meditation and evening kirtan, plus full access to The Peaks Spa and Fitness Center, a 21,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility.

20 February, 2011 /
[click "Play" to hear Erik Dalton's conversation with Susan]

 

TLT-5-Carbon In this cyber age, man and machine are more closely aligned than at any time in history. According to Erik Dalton of Telluride's Jagged Edge, the ongoing trend in outdoor gear suggests a close and personal relationship with a Lotus Elise: fast and light.

Over the last few years, the push for lighter and faster gear that is still durable enough to use and abuse has been driven by consumers. Backcountry skiing, snowshoeing, trail running or winter camping, consumers have said they want to be able to go farther with less or lighter gear, allowing everyone to enjoy the journey rather than worry about the weight on their backs.

18 February, 2011 /

[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Ashley Deppen]   This week, Telluride's Two Skirts is focused on a guy from Los Angeles and his tops for Spring. Designer James Perse was born in Los Angeles in 1972. His childhood was split between the...

18 February, 2011 /