Get TIO in your Inbox!

Around Telluride

17Nemirov This week, a group of 30 artists, the winners of a juried process, are in Telluride for the Sheridan Arts Foundation's Plein Air event, culminating with a show of their work over the Fourth of July weekend. These painters are visiting town from all over the country, except for two: locals Wayne McKenzie and Meredith Nemirov also made the cut.

Both McKenzie and Nemirov  were selected to participate Telluride Plein Air 2008, when Nemirov won the Sheridan Arts Foundation's Quick Draw & Sale, happening this year, Thursday, July 2, 10:30 a.m. – noon, Main Street.

A longtime contributor and instructor at the Ah Haa School for the Arts, Meredith Nemirov is teaching two classes at the school this month.

01 July, 2009 /

Alpine Bank is the big sponsor for the event, the question is will Telluride be the big winner? Eco-entrpreneur and Telluride Outside fly fishing guide David Allen leads The Challenge, a friendly competition among 31 participating mountain towns to reduce consumption of single-use...

28 June, 2009 /
[click "Play" for Telluride Townie Director, Jacey DePriest]


by Eileen Burns

100_4297 A new definition of the popular bike library will go into the books on Friday, June 26 , as Telluride’s Wilkinson Public Library, in collaboration with The New Community Coalition (TNCC), pioneers one of the first ever libraries to literally check out bikes to locals with a library card.  Yes, berry-pink bicycles, affectionately known as “Telluride Townies,” will be loaned out to adults who have a desire to be more eco friendly and want to cruise town in lieu of driving.

The townie bike was a popular concept years ago, but lost its drive when all the bikes disappeared over a short period of time.  Thanks to Jacey DePriest, director of the Telluride Townie program, a new chapter is being written about this favorite local freebie.  While taking a sustainability class from TNCC Director Kris Holstrom, DePriest was challenged to come up with a program that involved getting the community to adopt a sustainable issue and act upon it.  DePriest borrowed the Telluride Townie concept and gave it a new cover: a home at Wilkinson Public Library.  “People are going to have to be accountable this time around,” stated DePriest.  Locals will have to show their library card to get a key to one of the 20 plus bikes that have been donated, stripped down to a single gear, outfitted with a front basket, and painted bright berry-pink.  There are all sizes and styles of bikes to choose from.  The 4-day rental is free to adults, 18-years of age and older.  Should you be over due returning your bike, you will receive a notice and an extended use fee charge of $5 per day.  Lose it and you will be fined $250, which you can work off with volunteer hours if necessary.


26 June, 2009 /
(Editor's note: Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts opened for business in 1990, and has become a beloved institution, a community center. Ah Haa is all about the triumph of personal discovery. Telluride Inside... and Out is proud to present "Your Ah Haa Moment" each Wednesday.)

by Lauren Metzger

Group Summer is a time for freedom and exploration for kids of all ages and art levels. Let the Ah Haa School for the Arts channel your energy with our full range of four-day art camps and Fabulous Friday one day art classes. Next week your kids could be taking a walk on the wild side exploring the exotic creatures of the jungle and developing their drawing and painting skills in Come On A Safari with Me. They could be  creating their own Garden Gnomes out of clay. We have wide range of fun and creative classes for ages 4+ guaranteed to keep them engaged.

24 June, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Andrew Karow]

Dad and Morgan at beach Put the words "green" and "bank" in the same sentence and the conclusion is obvious: we are talking about money, right? In this case, half right. Headed by regional president Andrew Karow, Telluride's Alpine Bank is one of 37 branch locations on the Western Slope, whose primary business is managing its collective total of $2 billion in assets. However, the bottom line at Alpine is not just the bottom line: it is about accomplishing its goals in as environmentally friendly way as possible.

Alpine Bank, which is employee-owned, was one of the first businesses in the country to declare a goal of becoming a paperless environment, and they are well on their way. In 2005, the institution took the next big step, creating a Green Team. As the initiative evolved, Alpine did what banks do: It found a way to measure the success of its good idea. Alpine's Environmental Management System (EMS) is now earning recognition statewide for environmental leadership.

21 June, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Chris' interview]
Chris Szymberski One of the early signs of summer in the Telluride region is the truckloads of fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, meats, fish, and crafts and more to market every Friday.

The Telluride Farmers' Market opened last weekend, June 12.  Now in its seventh year, the Market on South Oak Street features about 40 vendors coming from a 100-mile radius with their wares. They will be manning their booths through October.

Chris Szymberski manages the Telluride Farmers' Market – and he comes by his Carhartts naturally.

18 June, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Kris Holstrom on the greening of Bluegrass]

100_0002 Once upon a time, Telluride Bluegrass meant dumpsters belching the remains of the day that had been marinated in one too many beers drunk from one too many plastic cups. Do you recall the debris littering Town Park, including plastic everything, from water bottles to utensils? Do you remember when the Festival changed its tune?

About 10 years ago, Kris Holstrom saw the festival waste as a resource for compost for her organic farm. The now director of The New Community Coalition began gathering food scraps behind the scenes from the vendors.

 "Initially, I was taking home maybe two pickup truckloads of food scraps from the event."

17 June, 2009 /

[Click the Play button to hear interview with IT Business Consultant, Richard Sink] The tightly knit, yet widespread community of people and businesses associated with Telluride are uniquely poised to take full advantage of the powerful capabilities of social media such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and...

15 June, 2009 /

Telluride eco-entrepreneur/Telluride Outside fly fishing guide David Allen leads The Challenge,  a competition among 31 mountain towns in the Western United States to encourage the use of reusable shopping bags. The Challenge began on March 1st 2009 and will run until September 1st 2009....

14 June, 2009 /

Hey, Telluride! Sign up your young scientists for these classes presented as a collaboration between the Ah Haa School and Pinhead Institute. The classes start July 3d, and space is limited, so make your reservations early.The classes are mixed science and art, and are for...

13 June, 2009 /