Old

[to hear Sasha Cucciniello and Colin Sullivan talk about "Reenactments" click "Play"]

IA sheridanrules They all get their 15 minutes of fame: Telluride legends and forgotten characters resurrected: prostitutes, skiers, miners and donkeys in "Inaccurate Reenactments, " a musical comedy commissioned by the Telluride Historical Museum and created by Sasha Cucciniello and her merry band of SquidShow Theatre thespians.

IAskiersandwhores "Inaccurate Reenactments" opened in Telluride in December to packed houses and hosannahs. The FREE encore performance is Thursday, January 28, at Telluride's historic Sheridan Opera House. Showtime is 8 p.m.




It's looking like deja vu at The Peaks Hotel & Spa in Telluride's sister town, The Mountain Village. And that's a good thing.

Way back when The Peaks was Telluride Inside... and Out's next door neighbor, the joint was always jumping. The Peaks' Great Room was a go-to place for locals to meet apres-ski, a hang-out where conversation and drinks flowed unedited and friends applauded friends providing first-rate nightly entertainment. Then the bubble burst way before the bubble burst. Now it's all coming back, ahead of the curve – again.
[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Sasha Cucciniello]

Holmes
Julia Archibald Holmes

The Telluride Historical Museum's Fireside Chat series continues this winter with "Women in Their Words." The event takes place Thursday, January 21, 5 p.m., in the Great Room at The Peaks Hotel & Spa. SquidShow Theatre's Sasha Cucciniello brings historical women to life, with narration by Colin Sullivan.

The list the Telluride Historical Museum came up with is the tip of the iceberg but nonetheless impressive: Chipeta, wife of the paramount Ute chief Ouray, the "Tomboy Bride" Harriet Backus, early skier Marjorie Perry, homesteader Katherine Garetson, botanist Ruth Aston, Julia Archibald Holmes, the first woman to climb Pike's Peak, and all the "Soiled Doves," the prostitutes of the Old West. 

[click "Play" for Susan's conversation with Sherab Kloppenburg]

Quilting2 Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts includes courses in time-honored crafts such as quilting. Up soon, case in point, "Crazy Quilting with Sherab Kloppenburg, Tuesdays, January 26 – March 9, 6 - 8 p.m. (Five classes with a two-week break.)


American quilting has been a constantly evolving amalgam of color and texture, pattern and symbolism since the days of mass immigration from across the pond. Eventually the combinations of styles brought by women from their different homelands blended and became known as the American Melting Pot quilts, and later, patchwork or crazy quilts.

IMG_8474 It was snowing lightly in Telluride this morning, with more snow in the forecast, as the judges made their rounds to pick the winners of this year's CoolSculpt contest.

The finished products were indeed something to behold: beautifully executed, and very imaginative. In the end, the judges must have had a difficult time deciding.

IMG_8482 IMG_8480 The First Place winner ($850) for 2010 is "The White Castle". by D. O. Double-G's, sponsored by Telluride Ski and Golf. This entry featured a castle, complete with towers, stairs, and a dragon clinging to the ramparts. The castle was also attractive to young and old who climbed up to view the Plaza from the walls. Well done, and congratulations.


When I got to the Mountain Village Thursday morning the big blocks of compacted snow had already been delivered. Telluride's CoolSculpt was underway. On Saturday afternoon, January 16, I went back to see what the artists were up to.

I spoke to Colin Sullivan, who was on hand to turn the Ah Haa School's block of ice into a giant Space Invader, complete with a girl with a handheld controller.

Banner5 Dr. Marshall Whiting, a psychologist, is known and respected in Telluride for intelligence, intuition, and empathy. What may not be common knowledge is that her heart is way too big to be confined within the walls of a box canyon. Whiting is the board development chair of Project Concern International.

With over 45 years of experience, Project Concern International is a leading international health organization that saves the lives of children and families around the world by preventing disease and providing access to clean water and nutritious food. The nonprofit reaches over three million people a year with programs in third-world countries to Bolivia to Zambia. Project Concern is on the ground in Haiti today.

Dr. Whiting sent the following appeal to her friends in a morning email:

[click "Play" for Ulli Sir Jesse's comments on the Kindermusik program]

Salsa
Salsa at Ah Haa

Ulli Sir Jesse is that rare being who is universality liked and respected in the Telluride community. Mention her name and people throw flowers, never stones.

Ulli, a long time Ah Haa instructor, begins teaching the next installment of the Kindermusik series, Sign and Sing, on Wednesday, January 20, at the school. The program, consecutive Wednesdays, is now scheduled from 11 – 11:45 am, a change from the times listed in Ah Haa's catalog.
[click "Play" to listen to Joan May speaking with Susan]

IMGP0907 The premise is simple: if we want a sustainable future, if Telluride wants a future at all, the region needs to be prepared. Ready, fire, aim is not an acceptable strategy.

Telluride's Regional Economic Futures Task Force is the offspring of two meetings held in 2008 and 2009: The Regional Sustainability Visioning Process and Thinking Outside the Box Canyon. Its purpose: under the banner of The New Community Coalition, REFTF is meant to help our extended community identify the best – read elegant, efficient and effective – ways to support and enhance our environment and our economy, which are joined at the hip. There is a clear need to leverage existing businesses, while identifying gap opportunities that allow people to remain part of a community that becomes multigenerational.