Telluride Inside... and Out

Fundraiser for Telluride Playwright's Festival

Last Saturday, July 11, Kimberly and John Kirkendoll hosted a party to support Sparky Productions' Telluride Playwrights' Festival. Jennie Franks' event is in its third year, and the quality of the theatre is getting better with each year. There is one more evening to see a reading at the Sheridan Opera House. Tuesday night, July 14, we will see Todd Kreidler's "The Small Legacy." If the previous offerings are a guide, we will see some great writing and (though it is a reading, no sets, costumes, movement) great acting. We'll see you at the Opera House at 7:00 pm.

Photos by Sophie Price and Jeff Price, slide show edited by Clint Viebrock.

[double click to view in larger format]

Maribeth Clemente At Between the Covers on July 14

Travel writer Maribeth Clemente will be doing an event Tuesday, July 14th, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Between the Covers Bookstore.  July 14th is Bastille Day, the French equivalent of our 4th of July, and Maribeth, our resident French expert, feels it’s a good occasion to celebrate all things French. 

Maribeth lived eleven years in Paris and has written four travel books on France including her most recent book, “The Riches of Paris:  A Shopping and Touring Guide,” that she will be signing at the event.  Each of her books emphasizes the culture, history, tradition and savoir faire of this top travel destination. 

French wines will be poured by Steven Craig from The Wine Mine at Pacific Street Liquors .  Sweet and savory canapés, hors d’oeuvres and petits fours will be generously provided by La Marmotte, The New Sheridan Chop House, Jean-Louis and other fine purveyors of French treats in Telluride.

This is an occasion for Francophiles to unite.  Maribeth encourages people to come and ask her questions about travel to France and/or how to best embrace the French language and culture.  She also welcomes any stories people have to share about France.  Berets and baguettes are optional.

You can learn more about Maribeth at her Web site/blog, BonjourTelluride.com.  Maribeth is also the host of Travel Fun, a talk show on travel that airs every other Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. on KOTO. 

Nicholas Day: Telluride's July 4

Nick Day, internationally known actor, sometime Telluride near-local, friend, has been in Telluride for about two weeks this time around. Nick is a key element in Jennie Franks' Telluride Playwrights' Festival, on- going, hosting actors' workshops, participating in readings. It goes on.

Nick was on hand for the 4th of July in Telluride, and has consented to let TIO publish the column he wrote for folks back home in England. Read it and ask yourself: "Am I/ are we really doing all we could to preserve this place we call home, Telluride, the wider world?"

Thanks, Nick.

Greenwich Time

by Nicholas Day

I’ve just had the privilege of spending Independence Day in small town America. It was an exciting and – unexpectedly – moving day. It celebrates the astonishing courage and determination of a people in defence of their rights, and brought the community together in a proud demonstration of what they are and what they stand for.

CAST bag challenge: Telluride vs Aspen

[click "Play" to learn about Aspen's involvement]

by Eileen Burns

I recently spoke to Aspen representatives Katherine Dart, Special Projects Coordinator for CORE which stands for Community Office for Resource Efficiency and Ashley Cantrell, environmental health specialists for the city of Aspen about their involvement in the Colorado Association of Ski Towns (CAST) Challenge. 

CAST has been holding a plastic bag challenge since March 1st, with more than 30 ski towns participating including neighboring Aspen.  The concept is to reduce consumption of single-use, disposable shopping bags by using your own bag.  Participating stores keep a record of reusable bags being used between March 1st and September 1st and when the totals are in, the town with the highest per capita bag reuse rate will win a $10,000 grant from sponsors Alpine Bank and PCL Construction to install a solar panel system at a public school for the winning community.

Dog's Best Friend: when curls turn to horns

[click "Play" to hear Ted Hoff's advice on your 6 mos- 1 year-old pup]

This week, Telluride Inside... and Out's dog expert, Ted Hoff of Cottonwood Ranch and Kennel, tells us what to do when things go to the dogs with your adorable pup.

We all know the old adage about the girl with curl: when she was good, she was very, very good. When she was bad, she was horrid. Between the ages of six months to one year, seriously irksome behaviors crop up in pups that used to sport halos. Bet we can run down a check list.

Pups develop early Alzheimers and forget every thing we've taught them. They jump up. They dig. They play aggressively with humans and other dogs.

Click the "play" button on Ted's podcast to hear his advice.

Sparky's Playwrights' Festival: fundraiser Saturday, July 11

The play's the thing....

Jennie Franks and Sparky Productions brings the 3rd annual Telluride Playwrights' Festival to town this week. The idea is to get playwrights and actors working together to develop new plays. The general public is encouraged to attend workshops and readings to give the playwrights the feedback they need to refine their scripts.

Last week was the preview. The Telluride Playwrights' Festival opened with a reading at the historic Sheridan Opera House. Written by Jennie Franks, the one-act black comedy, "Dr. Freeman & Hilda,"  is ostensibly about the famous lobotomist Dr. Walter Freeman. Jennie, however, is a keen, sometimes harsh chronicler of society's foibles, and she generally paints with a much broader brush.

George Clinton, and Parliament-Funkadelic to Rock Telluride Town Park July 11th

[click "Play" to hear Eileen's airport (noisy)  interview with George Clinton on his way to T-Ride]

Yes, Telluride funksters and funksterettes, the godfather of Funk himself, George Clinton will headline the 13th annual KOTO Doo Dah today, in Town Park, with opening act Rusted Root.  The legendary architect of P-Funk has  also been called one of the most important innovators of funk music, next to James Brown and Sly Stone.  Clinton came from a background in R and B and went on to create a new genre of music.

His leap from doo wap to psychodelic space rock was influenced by many artists, including James Brown, Jimi Hendrix.  According to his bio, "Parliament and Funkadelic dominated and revolutionized the music scene in the latter half of the Seventies—particularly in 1978 and 1979, when they racked up four #1 R&B hits: “Flash Light,” “One Nation Under a Groove,” Aqua Boogie” and “(Not Just) Knee Deep.” Clinton’s main collaborators during Parliament-Funkadelic’s heyday included keyboardists Bernie Worrell and Walter “Junie” Morrison and bassist William “Bootsy” Collins."  George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on May 6, 1997.   Clinton recently released a solo album titled George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love, which is largely a cover with many great songs such as Fever, Gipsy Woman and Let the Good Times Roll.  Gangsters features guest appearances from many artists including Sly Stone, Santana  and Red Hot Chilly Peppers and gospel great Kim Burrel.

The Telluride Yoga Fest: brief history and appraisal

[click to hear Lanie Demas on Telluride Yoga Festival]

In the summer of 2007, Telluride local and Jivamukti instructor Aubrey Hackman had just returned from her third yoga teacher training, a four-week intensive taught by lineage founders David Life and Sharon Gannon. Her bum wrist, the result of years of cumulative stress from hitting it hard on the mat, was really acting up. The wrist is an extension of the heart chakra, the center of emotions such as love, happiness, compassion and loving oneself in a non-egoistic way. The message came through loud and clear.

Scott Blossom and Chandra Easton return to Telluride Yoga Fest

For Telluride Yoga Festival board member, teacher, and healer Scott Blossom and for his wife, Chandra Easton, also a gifted teacher and healer, 2009 was a transformative year. For starters, Scott and Chandra had a second child, Tejas, now nine months old.

Scott Blossom also experienced a major shift in direction in his professional life, a career change triggered by a trip to India with his long-time hatha yoga teacher, Shadow Yoga founder Zhander Remete, and his Ayurvedic mentor Dr. Robert Svoboda. The epiphany was related to a discovery: the synergy between Shadow Yoga and the two other disciplines in which he is highly trained, Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine.

One of the results? After five years as a rising star on the national teaching circuit  (last year, Yoga Journal named Scott Blossom and Chandra Easton two  of  the "21 under 40" Yoga teachers shaping the future of yoga)   Scott decided to significantly curtail his travel schedule both to be to be with his family and to be able to offer more focused and in-depth Yoga studies in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Telluride Rocks to the Rhythms of Rusted Root at KOTO Doo Dah

[click "Play" to hear Eileen's interview with Michael Glabicki]

by Eileen Burns

There may be another tarp run in Telluride Town Park on Saturday, July 11th.  Rusted Root rolls into town kicking off an evening of invigorating and energetic music that promises to leave townies dancing all night long.  Gates opening at 3 P.M. with the ultimate jam band,  Rusted Root, taking the stage at six followed by the Godfather of Funk, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic.

Rusted Root’s bluegrass/rock sound has always been heavily influenced by world music such as African, Native American and Latin America, and their long awaited new release Stereo Rodeo is climbing the charts.