Colorado Music & Dance Telluride Telluride Festivals: Colorado Music & Dance Telluride Telluride Bluegrass Festival Telluride Festivals
by maribeth
Comments Off on Telluride Bluegrass for All on KOTO
Telluride Bluegrass for All on KOTO
A Quintessential River View of Telluride Last Week Before the Crowds Arrived
Oh yeah, it’s that delightfully delicious time of year again. It’s warm and sunny, lush and green and the rivers are running as fast and deep as a Peter Rowan refrain on a summer solstice night. For many, this is the best time of year in Telluride, Colorado and by tomorrow the population of town will swell to its annual peak as festivarians disembark for the 41st annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival.
Colorado Mountain Living Outdoor Adventures Podcasts Telluride Telluride Festivals Writing & Books: Colorado Mountain Living Mountainfilm Outdoor Adventures Podcasts Telluride Telluride Festivals Writing & Books
by maribeth
Comments Off on Talking Wild with Cheryl Strayed
Talking Wild with Cheryl Strayed
Cheryl Looking Down at Crater Lake During Her Trek on the PCT
I consider a movie to be good when I find myself thinking about it the next day. My barometer is the same for a book although with most good reads I find myself thinking about them while I’m reading them as well as in the days or weeks after I finish them. That’s been the case with Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Cheryl Strayed, a superbly crafted memoir that dazzles your senses every step of the way. Her story moved me so much that I plan to read it again, something I never do. Although why wouldn’t I? From beginning to end, I was gripped by this powerful tale of transformation, this raw account of one woman’s life-changing journey both literally and figuratively. Plus, as I learned in Wild, Cheryl often reads books more than once, so I’m eager to crack hers second time around.
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Art & Culture Hotels & Lodging Telluride Festivals The Southwest Utah: Art & Culture Hotels & Lodging Telluride Festivals The Southwest Utah
by maribeth
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Telluride, Monument Valley and the Oscars
In Living Color: Monument Valley
How about those Oscars? Wasn’t it a great show? I was thrilled that I had seen most of the films nominated for an award here in our little mountain town of Telluride, Colorado way back in September. Yes, just as in recent years, many of the movies that gained high acclaim from the Academy of Motion Pictures were shown here in T-ride—either as premiers or sneak peeks—during the Telluride Film Festival (TFF) long before they were officially released. Telluride’s selection of films seems to be filled with Oscar contenders more so than the lineups presented at other renowned film festivals in New York, Venice and Toronto.
Much of the Oscar buzz takes place before and after this annual awards show. I was thrilled to tune into CBS Sunday Morning, one of my all-time favorite TV shows, to see Monument Valley: Mother Nature’s scene stealing movie star, last Sunday. It was a wonderful segment that featured the extraordinary sense of place of this iconic site and the many Oscar-worthy movies filmed there including “The Searchers,” “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,” “Back to the Future,” “Forrest Gump” and many more. This majestic landscape has appeared in dozens of films as well as countless commercials. Almost a half a million visitors go to Monument Valley every year, largely because of the prominence it has enjoyed in the movies. Thanks to Harry Gouding and his wife, Leone (known as Mike), film director John Ford discovered Monument Valley and its perfect setting for great western movies and feature films. This was highlighted in the CBS piece although Goulding’s Lodge and its terrific Trading Post Museum, which also showcases the history of movie-making in the area, were scarcely mentioned.
Art & Culture Colorado Telluride Telluride Festivals: Art & Culture Colorado Telluride Telluride Festivals
by maribeth
Comments Off on Post Telluride Film Festival Reflections
Post Telluride Film Festival Reflections
TFF Banner Over Main Street
Brad Pitt, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong’o from 12 Years a Slave in Telluride
When was the last time you saw a double feature at the movies? Well, I went to one three nights in a row this past week and I’m still processing my emotions from what I took in. I watched films that inspired and moved me, entertained and informed, some of which have been billed as big contenders for this year’s Oscars. (See Can Telluride Continue to Steal Venice and Toronto’s Thunder? and In Toronto, the Oscar Smackdown Gets an Early Start) No, I don’t live in New York or L.A. This wonderful opportunity for film viewing was provided yet again here in Telluride, Colorado as part of the after-the-festival doings of the Telluride Film Festival. These three evenings of post festival movie watching have always been one of my favorite parts of this great festival and as time goes on and the festival rises in importance, I realize just how lucky I am to take in these films, some of which were shown as sneak peeks at this year’s 40th anniversary festival, scooping other world renowned festivals such as those of Venice, Toronto and New York. (Read Film Reviews from the Telluride Film Festival: Alexander Payne and Many More Pleasures and for more of the lowdown.)
Art & Culture Colorado Podcasts Telluride Telluride Festivals: Art & Culture Colorado Podcasts Telluride Telluride Festivals
by maribeth
Comments Off on Telluride Film Festival Celebrates Forty Years
Telluride Film Festival Celebrates Forty Years
Hot Off the Press: Bruce Dern and Robert Redford at this Year’s Telluride Film Festival
I’m powering through this post, since I have to head out soon to work at a Telluride Film Festival event for VIPs. No one is especially starstruck in Telluride, including me. But still, Robert Redford is in town (a big first) with other notables such as Francis Ford Coppola, Ralph Fiennes, Joyce Maynard and who knows who else will be a part of this year’s fortieth annual Telluride Film Festival. “Gravity,” a film starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, is set to premiere at The Werner Herzog, film fest’s new theater, so those two biggies just might show up as well. No, I’m not starstruck but it is fun to get up close and personal with these film-world forces, particularly when you see them relaxed and happy in our beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado.
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Colorado Mountain Living Outdoor Adventures Telluride Festivals: Colorado Mountain Living Outdoor Adventures Telluride Telluride Festivals
by maribeth
Comments Off on More Mountainfilm 2013 Highlights: High & Hallowed and Running Blind
More Mountainfilm 2013 Highlights: High & Hallowed and Running Blind
High & Hallowed: Everest 1963
Mountaineering and remarkable physical achievements have been a big part of Mountainfilm, a world renowned festival in Telluride, Colorado, since its origin in 1979. In addition to watching films that raise social awareness, I love taking in adventure films that thrill and inspire me on many levels. This year was no different and the two that stood out for me the most were “High & Hallowed: Everest 1963” and “Running Blind,” both of which made their world premiere at the festival.
“High & Hallowed,” a visually stunning film, juxtaposes the first American summiting of Mt. Everest in 1963 with a recent attempt. Filmmakers David Morton and Jake Norton skillfully tell the story of Everest past and present by marrying old footage with new. It’s also the tale of the West Ridge route, an Everest ascent that has only been achieved once back in 1963 by Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld, two members of the original American team. Jim Whittaker was the first to plant the American flag on Everest on the already then-established South Col route, yet even more remarkably, Hornbein and Unsoeld followed up on the same expedition with the West Ridge ascent. Some consider this to have been an even more astounding feat than putting a man on the moon; all acknowledge this as having been one of the most daring climbs in history. And it hasn’t been successfully repeated since.
Being Green Colorado Outdoor Adventures Podcasts Telluride Telluride Festivals Travel: Being Green Colorado Outdoor Adventures Podcasts Telluride Telluride Festivals Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on Mountainfilm, The Last Ocean and Travel to Antarctica
Mountainfilm, The Last Ocean and Travel to Antarctica
The Last Ocean Penguin
I’m grateful to live in Telluride, Colorado, a town that’s both environmentally aware and full of social consciousness. We’re far from perfect, although as I travel to other parts of the world, I realize how down-to-earth and forward-thinking most of us Telluriders are and how that effects the way in which we live. From our desire to embrace the outdoors on a daily basis to championing a cause such as eliminating the use of plastic bags, most of us live more tuned in to our little slice of paradise—as well as the rest of the world—each and every day.
Mountainfilm, an important Telluride festival founded thirty-five years ago, is perhaps part of the reason for this awareness. Or, maybe it’s the reverse in that Mountainfilm is able to flourish in Telluride, a community that greatly values the outdoors and being a steward of your surroundings. Regardless, Mountainfilm and Telluride go hand-in-hand and whether here in T-ride or on the road, Mountainfilm is dedicated to educating and inspiring audiences about issues that matter both in Telluride, Colorado and all over the planet.
There’s so much to glean from Mountainfilm that it’s hard to zero in on one particular film, talk or art exhibit. I typically do, however, and this year “The Last Ocean,” a documentary about the last most pristine body of water on earth, touched me the most. From the opening scene of a penguin scampering across the blinding-white ice to glorious views of whales, seals and other remarkable creatures frolicking in crystal-clear water, I dove into this film with great enthusiasm. As the film played on, I became increasingly heartbroken about how man is impacting this seemingly unspoiled sea, known as the Ross Sea, located in the Southern Ocean. I learned that although Antarctica, the land mass that borders the Ross Sea, is protected by international accords, the water surrounding it is not. Sadly, commercial fishing has made its mark in recent years, so much so, in fact, that this remarkable marine ecosystem is now in peril.
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Colorado Outdoor Adventures Podcasts Telluride Telluride Festivals Travel: Colorado Outdoor Adventures Podcasts Telluride Telluride Festivals Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on Hawkeye Johnson: Guide, Hiker, Filmmaker and Telluride Adaptive Sports Program Fundraiser Extraordinaire
Hawkeye Johnson: Guide, Hiker, Filmmaker and Telluride Adaptive Sports Program Fundraiser Extraordinaire
Hawkeye AKA Michael Johnson
“Working as a prison guard makes you appreciate life’s freedoms even more,” says Michael AKA Hawkeye Johnson. Hawkeye’s job as a prison guard for over two decades drives him in both his work with TASP (Telluride Adaptive Sports Program) as well as in his creative and outdoor endeavors. Clearly, he’s a guy that’s determined to help people make the best use of their lives, no matter what’s thrown their way.
Is it possible to embrace the great outdoors after you’ve suffered a life-changing injury? Damn right it is and through Hawkeye’s work with TASP and his two films, “Off the Hook” and “Load Bearing,” we see that people can live fully regardless of their special needs. Hawkeye teamed up with fellow filmmaker and TASP volunteer Craig Stein for both films, shorts which premiered on separate occasions at Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride, Colorado.
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