Telluride Inside... and Out

Cornell Gunter's Coasters star New Year's Eve at Telluride's Opera House

[click "Play" to hear Susan's interview with Donald Pinkney]

Cornell Gunter's Coasters co-star with Marvelettes at Telluride's Opera House on New Year's Eve. The evening is a dance party that also includes light fare, a champagne toast at midnight, and party favors. Along the way, expect a few yucks.

The original Coasters were an American r&b/rock and roll group which enjoyed a string of hits in the late-1950s. Beginning with the hits "Searchin'" and "Young Blood" their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting/producing team of Leiber and Stoller. Although the Coasters originated outside of mainstream doo-wop, their recordings were so frequently imitated, they became an important part of the doo-wop legacy through the 1960s.

Telluride Adaptive Sports Program: A birthday

It snowed in Telluride for my birthday. Snowed hard, and kept it up all day. After a dry spell, that's a good thing.

Another good thing?  When one is pleasantly surpised by the generosity (particularly the generosity of spirit) of others. The James family lives mostly in Ohio, but has a home in Telluride. I have skied often over the last several years with young Katie James, a most delightful child.

Last year the family learned that my birthday was on a day Katie was skiing with TASP, and brought a birthday cake. Cake, accompanied by lots of hugs from Katie, was an unanticipated pleasure.

This year they upped the ante: lunch for all, topped off by two cakes. And more hugs. How lucky can one guy get? Thank you, Bill, Holly, Katie and Will. You helped make a great birthday even better.

Telluride Inside... and Out looks at 2009

As Telluride Inside... and Out completes its first full year, we thought it might be appropriate to take a look back at 2009. We traveled outside Telluride from time to time, and covered some of those trips, but this article is just about one memorable year in the San Miguel Valley.

This is probably a good time to provide a "road map" to those of you who may be new to Telluride Inside... and Out. "How do I navigate this website?"

Fashion Thursday: Champagne chic

[click "Play" to hear Kristen Holbrook's take on what to wear New Year's Eve]

It's two down, one to go. Telluride Inside... and Out's fashionista Kristin Holbrook of Two Skirts is all about helping you cross the finish line of the holiday trifecta in high style. (That's why Fashion Friday comes a day early this week.)

New Year's Eve 2009 not only signals the end of a really gnarly year, but also the end of a decade. (Remember the Millenium, an historical Edsel if there ever was one? Where did you park all your Y2-K survival gear?) Sartorially speaking, this is the one night a year you get a free pass to go for broke. But where to begin?This season has been all about accessories: bib necklaces, clutches, tights, even blazers. How to put it all together to sparkle plenty – but without looking like yesterday's Christmas tree?

Listen to Kristin's podcast for clues about cork-popping couture.

Nuggets from the Nugget: "The Princess and the Frog" and "The Blind Side"

Telluride's Nugget Theatre resumes with "The Princess and the Frog" and "The Blind Side" for the week of January 1-7. That's 2010, folks. How did we get to 2010 so soon?

For information on the two films, see last week's Nuggets. For reviews and trailers, see the Nugget website. For showtimes, see below.

Your Ah Haa Moment: Bruce Gomez at New Year's Eve gala

Bruce Gomez was the very first artist Will and Hilary Thompson, owners of the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art, signed for their stable when they opened their new gallery on Main Street (130 East Colorado) in 1985. Will Thompson first saw Bruce's work in a Denver gallery, but the timing was not right to work with a pastel artist. Will was buying and selling original graphics exclusively, but he recalled thinking: "This kid really has something."

Remembering How to Pray, in Town Park, December 2009

by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

Make me more breath than gasp,
more glide than grunt, more thrust
than thud. Slide me, fly me, soar and
coast me, skim and skate me. Rush
and whoosh me. Give me wings in my feet,
give me race in my thighs, give me dash,
give me lilt, give me sprint in my push,
there is hush in my wish, there is awe
on my lips. O legs be lissome. O arms be swung.
O lungs be vast. O breath be song. O skis
be susurrous. O winter, be snow-deep, be long.

TNCC: Looking Back, Looking Ahead

by Kris Holstrom

It always surprises me when the end of year sneaks up and taps me on the back. I’m convinced the speed of life accelerates annually. Regardless, the end of the year and end of a decade is an excellent time to look back at what was accomplished and to look forward to the work to come.

TNCC highlights in 2009:

Alacazem 2009.12.24

December 24 to 31, 2009

Visible Planets: Morning: Mars and Saturn  Evening: Mercury and Jupiter

Feliz Navidad - Merry Christmas!

I'm south of the border, down Mexico way, celebrating Christmas on the shining Sea of Cortez. Cactus, tortillas and guacamole, que viva!

I can't believe this magical, mystical world. The Mother Earth presents us with the most awesome presents of swaying palms, sparkling snow, glistening oceans and jagged peaks. I'm stunned by the abundance of this incredible planet. Whether we're in Telluride skiing two feet of powder, snorkeling in Cabo Pulmo or dancing under the waxing Moon, we are an living and breathing the love and life of our true Mother, the Mother Earth.

Feliz Navidad - Merry Christmas!

New Year's Eve gala at Telluride's Sheridan Arts Foundation: Part 1, she said

[click "Play" to hear Farrah's conversation with Susan]

Everything old is new again New Year's Eve at Telluride's historic Sheridan Opera House. The gala celebration is a walk down memory lane –  "50 years of Motown featuring The Marvelettes & Cornell Gunter Coasters" – plus small eats, champagne, and party favors.

In the white picket fence Eisenhower era, America had all the trappings of rama-lama-ding-dong innocence, but the headlines suggested otherwise: Communist witch hunts, polio, the hydrogen bomb, the Korean War, racial segregation, James Dean and "Rebel Without a Cause," Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." Oh, and Doris Day and Ed Sullivan.