"The Art of Storyelling" this weekend at Casper's Corridor Gallery and Wind City Books

"Glitch" by Karla Oceanak with illustrations by Kendra Spanjer. Spanjer's work will be featured in "The Art Of Storytelling"
art show and book sale in Casper Nov. 30-Dec. 1.

From the Nov. 23 Casper Star-Tribune Weekender section:

The Corridor Gallery and Wind City Books in downtown Casper present an art show and book signing celebrating “The Art of Storytelling.”

The gallery show features original artworks used in illustrated books by artists Bruce MacPherson, Aumi K. Perry, Zachary Pullen and Kendra Spanjer. In conjunction, Wind City Books will host these illustrators and many Wyoming authors in an all-day book signing.

MacPherson, of Vienna, Va., has illustrated for magazines, newspapers, games, books and national advertising campaigns. His clients include Mattel, National Geographic Society, New York Times, Texas Roadhouse Restaurants, Radio Shack, Red Robin Restaurants and many more.

Perry, of Casper, earned her fine arts degree from the University of Wyoming in 2001. She then studied drawing and painting under Hans-Peter Szameit and Sanna Tomac for three years. She has also studied with noted painters John Michael Carter and David Leffel. Aumi’s paintings have been featured in shows, galleries and private collections across the U.S.

Pullen’s character-oriented illustrations have been seen in The New York Times Book Review, Sports Illustrated, Esquire, GolfWorld, The Wall Street Journal and many other publications. His first picture book, “The Toughest Cowboy or How the Wild West was Tamed,” garnered a starred review from the School Library Journal and was placed on the Texas Blue Bonnet Master List for 2006-2007. His second book, “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” also received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. He lives in Casper.

Spanjer divides her time between being “a writer who illustrates” and “an illustrator who writes.” She and Karla Oceanak are the co-creators of an alphabetically-inspired graphic novel for middle grade readers: the Aldo Zelnick Comic Novel Series, published by Bailiwick Press. Titles so far include “Artsy-Fartsy” (December 2009), “Bogus” (June 2010), “Cahoots” (May 2011), "Dumbstruck” (August 2011), “Egghead” (May 2012), “Finicky” (September 2012) and “Glitch” (November 2012). She lives in Fort Collins, Colo.

Details:

Gallery show: Opening reception is 7 p.m. NOV. 30 at the Corridor Gallery, 120 E. Second St. The show will continue from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. DEC. 1. It is free.

Book signing: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. DEC. 1 at Wind City Books, 152 S. Center St. The art show illustrators will be joined by authors Craig Johnson, Gayle Irwin, Cat Urbigkit, Walter Jones, Curt Wendleboe, Kendra Spanjer, Bill Sniffin, Margo Bean and Gene Gagliano.

Info: www.windcitybooks.com, www.thecorridorgallery.com

Bring your songs, stories and poems to open mic night March 28 at Laramie County Public Library

"Paul "Walking Stick" Taylor on stage in Laramie Aug. 12

Paul Taylor performs at Laramie Plains Civic Center in Laramie on Friday, August 12, 7:30 p.m.

By sharing the stories and music of Aboriginal and European Australia, acclaimed performing artist and educator Paul “Walking Stick” Taylor helps bridge cultures. His latest CD, "Cooee!," recently won six national awards, including: the NAPPA and Parent’s Choice Gold Award 2003 for Storytelling, NAPPA Honors Award 2003 for Music, and a 2004 Storytelling World Award. Cooee!, a follow-up to Taylor’s albums Walkabout, Matilda & the Dreamtime and Doo Bee Doo, showcases a collaboration between Taylor and Don Spencer, the Australian children’s TV personality who The New York Times calls “the Crocodile Dundee of Kids' Music”. Taylor and Spencer interweave now-traditional Aussie favorites such as “Waltzing Matilda” with tales reaching back to the earliest history of the country’s first people

Partially funded by a grant from the Wyoming Arts Council. Tickets: http://www.laramieplainsciviccenter.org/Tickets.aspx

Call for artists: ArtCorps in Central America

Calling all artists!

Join ArtCorps and strengthen sustainable development in Central America with your creative talents.  Through theater,storytelling, music, digital media and other creative facilitation techniques, ArtCorps Artists educate and inspire people to participate actively in improving the environmental, health and social conditions in their communities. Each ArtCorps artist works directly with a local development organization that is an expert in its field, strengthening their work through the arts.

Artists will:

• Work and live in his or her host community from January 2012 through December 2012.  Artists have the option to extend their stay for a second year if agreed upon by the host organization. 
• Receive room and board, medical insurance and a small personal stipend.
• Receive training and technical assistance from ArtCorps staff in the region in order to integrate ArtCorps methodology into the host organization.

Apply now for opportunities in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Belize!  For info and initial application, visithttp://www.artcorp.org/Become-an-ArtCorps-Artist. The early application deadline is May 15, 2011 and the regular deadline is June 20, 2011.

Explore Dreamtime and Aboriginal art with Paul Taylor and Yidumduma Bill Harney

Yidumduma Bill Harney

At the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson:

First Sundays Celebration: Explore Dreamtime, Aboriginal Designs, with Paul Taylor and Yidumduma Bill Harney
Sunday, February 6
11:00AM – 5:00PM Free for area locals!
1:00 – 2:00PM Art Project: Australian Aboriginal Designs
Chrystie and Esperti classrooms
This month, children are invited to color lizards, birds, and snakes in the style of Australian aboriginal art. The aboriginal people of Australia have expressed themselves through a form of geometric painting for thousands of years. These paintings tell the stories of dreamtime, myths of spirituality, community, and survival. Contact Jane Lavino or call (307) 732-5417 for details.

Paul Taylor and student

Community Performance Series: Paul Taylor and Yidumduma Bill Harney
Sunday, February 6
2:00 – 3:00PM
Cook Auditorium
Free for area locals!
Yidumduma Bill Harney is one of the last living Elders to grow up in the full ceremonial tradition of his people in Northern Australia. Harney teams up with Australian storyteller, musician, and honorary tribal member Paul “Walking Stick" Taylor, a member of the Wyoming Arts Council artist roster, for a performance of storytelling, native percussion, songs, and haunting didgeridoo music. They will share the essence of their homeland as they explore seasonal change and rhythms in honor of our Change of Seasons exhibition. Contact Jane Lavino or call (307) 732-5417 for details.

2nd part of EO Wilson's interview with Jeff Lockwood

If the box/screen doesn't appear, just click on the play icon at bottom left and the video will start.

Interview by Jeff Lockwood with EO Wilson

This just in from Jeff Lockwood, Professor of Natural Sciences & Humanities at UW:

The reason I’m sharing this with you is that the interview focused on Wilson’s novel, Anthill. He provides an exceptionally eloquent account for why fiction and literature are vital to modern science—indeed, he suggests a moral obligation of scientists to cultivate their capacity as storytellers in order to communicate vital knowledge to the public. In short, the preeminent biologist in the world provides a compelling argument for why an ongoing collaboration between writers and natural scientists is critical to our society. So, if the university administrators that adore science (quite honestly, I do) ever needed a reason to foster the MFA program in creative writing, here it is.

This is the first part of a two-part interview:

Hiking the nonfiction trail with Lee Gutkind, Part 2

This view of the Tetons is in the late afternoon,
after we'd hiked around the lake.

If you're interested, read part 1 here: http://wyomingarts.blogspot.com/2010/10/if-memory-serves-me-part-1.html

Back in Dubois, we checked into our motel and cleaned up, for dinner at the Rustic Pine Tavern.

We settled into a bottle of Kendall Jackson before our steak dinners arrived. Throughout the night, we told our non-fiction stories about compulsive strangers who just as compulsively disappeared, never to be found again, harmonic healing on a backyard deck and levitating at slumber parties, and deep subjects that broached believing in a spiritual power as opposed to we’re a product of evolution.

Having turned out the all the lights, and us not taking the hint, the bartender came to our table and said, “I hate to be rude, but I’d really like to close up so I can go home and go to bed.” We were the only three people left in the bar (we’d moved into the bar after dinner) except for her and her two friends; it was not quite the midnight hour. We quickly obliged, and made it down the street to another open, but mostly deserted, establishment. Just after we’d arrived, the previous bartender and her two friends showed up. Terry had decided we needed to play pool, and had racked the balls. Somehow, we formed teams. Team Lee and Linda only won because Team Terry scratched twice on the eight ball. I think the teams were organized because Terry was a pool shark, and this would be the only way we had any chance at being contenders.

The next morning was a late start, truth be told. Lee was incredibly chipper after his three cups of large coffee from Kathy’s, the best coffee he’d had so far in Wyoming, he said. Terry was working the crossword, and I was sipping my orange juice and taking tiny bites of my toast and dippy egg, what my daughter and now my grandchildren, call a sunny side up egg.

We loaded up and drove to Grand Teton National Park. Construction on Towgatee Pass looked as if it would take several years to complete, but has moved forward since I passed over it at the end of August. There has been a tremendous amount vegetation shear-off in the the making of steep slopes along parts of the road. We were all convinced that a few added passing lanes could have sufficed to mitigate the traffic problems there.

We drove to the trailhead of Two Ocean Lake, so named because the drainage that flows out of the northeast end of the lake ends up in the Gulf, and the drainage that flows out of the southwest end ends up in the Pacific. The rated easy trail, at one time in the not too distant past, used to circumvent the lake, but for some reason, has been closed off from meeting the west side trail at the south end. You can hike the 4.2 miles over to Jackson Lake Lodge from this point. The Two Ocean Lake trail is about 7.5 miles long.


Not the best view of Two Ocean Lake, but we were almost
at the south end of the lake. You can see the old growth
forest on the west side.

 Terry had hiked the trail numerous times, it’s her favorite, and we were able to make the loop, but for new hikers, this would be confusing and frustrating, as they would have to turn around and go back the same way they came, if they didn’t feel confident enough to look for either side of the trail, the west side being more difficult to find in the forest. She also knew that we should hike the eastern side first. That trail is less shaded and the sun beats down on you. On the western side, old growth forest mostly meets the shoreline and is a cool hike during a hot afternoon. The ground on that side was still damp. Terry and Lee had a discussion about why it was so hard for scientists to admit to the mystery of life. Said Lee, "But what is story without mystery?" Also, that he would now sometimes, when talking about story and mystery, be using the word mystery in place of the word story.

We returned to the Cowboy Café in Dubois and at 4:30 PM, were eating dinner. At 5:30, and were on the road back to Casper and had resumed the telling of our fictional story.

Claudia, now Claudia/Irene and Joe decided to go on a writing workshop in Yellowstone to spend some quality time together, but Joe was afraid to get his feet wet, and wouldn’t cross the river. Claudia/Irene came down with pneumonia, and found herself somewhat attracted to the very ruggedly handsome doctor who was treating her at the hospital. Joe had met Yvette Francois and they stayed out all night on a date. Meanwhile, the Sheriff decided to find Claudia/Irene and sent a telegram to his son, the doctor, asking if he’d seen them. The doc was called away to the emergency room, and threw the note down on the floor because he was not all that happy to hear from his father, because of the love he professed he had for Claudia in the note, seemingly not even thinking about or mentioning his former wife, the good doctor’s mother. Claudia/Irene however picked up the note and read it. She was entirely won over by the love that the Sheriff professed for her in the note and decided then and there to get back to him somehow. She began hitchhiking and low and behold, a carcass-removal Forest Service employee picked her up. She couldn’t stand the smell coming from the back of his carriage, as he had only picked up skunks that day. The horse spooked and the carriage fell over the side of a cliff, taking the employee, too. Claudia/Irene decided she would ride the horse back to where The Sheriff was.

From here the details become…sketchy. There is a need to hunt and kill the albino wolverine for food; Joe needs to make a blow gun for this purpose, which he learned to do from an elder in the rain forest, although he had to use poisonous mushroom paste instead of poison from an Amazon frog; an avalanche; a ride down the river on a log, onto which Joe jumps while holding the still live wolverine, no longer afraid of getting his feet wet after a long stint in counseling; suddenly the water disappears into a black hole and only the Sheriff is left balanced on the cliff of the falls; he will dedicate the rest of his life to studying this “mystery;” Claudia/Irene, Joe and Yvette Francois go to a restaurant and are served french fries…whoops not yet. A man at the restaurant usurps the french-fry-on-sandwiches idea, goes to Casper and opens his own restaurant, but when the owner of the original idea finds out, does away with him. Claudia/Irene sees a stranger in the back of the room, and they are instantly attracted to each other, but before he and Claudia/Irene can get together, he has to go swim forty laps, play two rounds of golf and run twenty miles; they open up their own restaurant back in Meeteetse, where Claudia/Irene, whose stage name is Mindy, sings. You may have guessed that there were “personal details” feeding this half of the story line. Credit Lee for that impetus.

Lee said, "There is no hope for bringing this story around, so I am just going to tell you the name of the restaurant." So, back in the 1950s, truckers delivered their wares to the warehouse district, called The Strip, in Pittsburgh. Produce deliveries never really started until around midnight and when the truck drivers finished unloading their trucks, these guys were hungry. Only one restaurant was willing to open—at 3 AM—for this special clientele. Primanti’s is their name, and putting french fries on every sandwich and, eventually, into chef’s salads, was, and is to this day, their game. After nearly seventy years, Primanti’s has several locations. Lee says you now see guys in tuxes and women in formals eating there. “And that is why you,” Lee concluded, “in Casper, Wyoming, have been served a chef salad with french fries in it.”

It was close to nine when we dropped Lee off at his hotel. He had a very early morning flight out. We hugged and told Lee to come back to Wyoming soon. There is always the promise of more stories to tell.

Linda Coatney

Hiking the nonfiction trail with Lee Gutkind Part 1

It all started with french fries in my chef’s salad. I thought maybe a couple had unintentionally fallen off another plate, unnoticed by the cook or the waitress, and landed at the edge of the contents of my bowl. But as I ate, I realized the french fries throughout were mixed in too flawlessly to be accidental.

Interesting image I found of Lee

I finally mentioned this in the car to my lunch pals, Mike Shay and Lee Gutkind. It was the first day of the Equality State Book Festival, and we were headed back to the Goodstein Library for the Wyoming Arts Council’s Fellowship readings. Non-fiction was the genre this year, and Lee had been the judge. He would also be reading after the fellowship winners had read, staying for the festival and be part of the nonfiction panel discussion, and then he and longtime friend Terry Rasmussen, English instructor at Casper College, were going hiking around Dubois for a day or two before Lee had to get back to Pittsburgh.

Lee had brought with him the first edition of the new magazine format of Creative Nonfiction, of which he was founder and is still editor. The first issue of Creative Nonfiction came out in 1993 as a literary journal--what turned out to be the only place publishing nonfiction exclusively. But subscriptions/circulation had dipped in recent years, and the staff was looking for a way to bring back the readership.

The new design contains features on nonfiction, as well as nonfiction from new sources, such as blogs and science and technology as narrative. As Lee says in his editorial from this revamped first issue, “In fact, creative nonfiction is the fastest growing segment of the academic writing community and is, even in this dismal economic cycle, one bright spot in the publishing world, continually increasing its share of the market.” Subscriptions are now climbing, and their sales are up thirty-five percent.

So back to french fries. “Doesn’t that seem a little counter intuitive, putting french fries in a green salad?” I asked from the back seat.

“I know the name of the restaurant that started that food trend,” Lee says.

“It’s a trend?” I asked skeptically. “So, what’s the name?”

“I will tell you the name of the restaurant if you buy a subscription to Creative Nonfiction.”

It wasn’t quite that quick of a cut-to-the-chase, but you get the idea where this is going. The mystery of the restaurant’s name hung in the air, at least for me.

The next day at lunch, Terry asked me if I wanted to go hiking with her and Lee. I wasn’t sure that I could. I seemed to feel I had things to do. Lee, who overheard the invitation, said, “I will only tell you the name of the restaurant if you go hiking with us.”

“Oh great,” I whined to Terry. “He said he would tell it to me if I bought a subscription, now it’s if I go hiking.” Lee overheard me, and his telling of the name vacillated vaguely back to hinging on me buying a subscription.

At the event’s ending banquet that evening, Terry asked me if I was going. “Yes, I’ve decided to go.” I’d already bought a two-year subscription that afternoon after the nonfiction panel discussion. “Will you tell me now?” I asked him after I handed over my check.

“If you want me to,” he’d said coyly.

“Oh, I can hear it on the trail. I’m patient.”

We left Casper Sunday morning under a clear autumn sky and summer-like temperatures. The region had been (and still is as of this writing) under a high-pressure weather system for the previous month-and-a-half, and the weather was going to hold for at least the next seven days.
Sometime around Powder River, Lee suggested that we should tell a collaborative story, upon which the ending would lead to his revealing the name of the restaurant in question. Terry began the story, and knew enough that it should include french fries, but wasn’t fully aware just yet of why.
 

We, well they, covered a lot of ground with (some of the names have been changed to protect the unaware) Claudia, Jack and the Sheriff getting to the chopping up of a potato as well as Jack, and both being thrown into a pot on the stove, heated by wood that Claudia had to split (my contribution, as well as something about carrots). The Sheriff became worried about Jack’s whereabouts, knocking on Claudia’s door, where he could finally let loose his hidden attraction for her, and she for him. A stranger named Joe appeared while Claudia was unconscious in the garden while picking vegetables for the salad she was going to serve the Sheriff, and Jack’s skull was offered, or asked for, as some kind of souvenir to take back home, after Joe and Claudia recognized themselves as long-ago-separated mother and son in a fluke of identity. 

 
Fortunately for the story’s sake, we had gotten to Dubois and it was time for lunch at the Cowboy Café. Lee ordered a chef’s salad and I asked the waitress if they put french fries in their salad. She gave me an odd look and shook her head no. Lee and I laughed, and Terry wanted to know more about the french fry/salad thing.

After lunch, Terry driving, we arrived at the trailhead at Brooks Lake that would lead us to Jade Lake, ranked an “easy” hike by trail standards. All along the mountains, Aspen stands uttered their brilliant yellow color with certainty, no matter that the temperature was still in the upper seventies or low eighties.

Early afternoon. A few hikers and a string of packhorses were making their way down the trail that we were headed up. We were at the north end of Brooks Lake and a few gusts had kicked up. A couple of dogs wandered around, half wet from wading into the lake. We were finally ready. It was a five-mile hike up to the first of the two Jade Lakes.

Soon, we were up the first hill of the trail, and into the coolness of the pine forest, stopping occasionally to catch our breath after a steep climb, or just to take in some stunning vista. A woodpecker had found what sounded like a hollow tree and was beating out a message that echoed around the tops of the trees. We reached upper Jade Lake about 4:30 PM. The lake is so named because the water is just that color, which is not an illusion; nor does the color of the water change depending on how the sun is hitting it. A deep lake, you can see the shore drop away just two feet from the water’s edge.

Upper Jade Lake

We pulled out our cameras and took some pictures. Alas, there is not one with all three of us. I didn’t know how to operate my time delay, and by the time Lee figured his out, Terry was ready to get going, reminding us that bears liked to nap during the hot afternoon, but rouse when it begins to cool off. We’d also heard there’d been a carcass discovered on the south trail, which would be attracting scavengers. She had bear spray, but would only use it if she were about to be attacked. “Well, I guess we’re out of luck, Lee,” I laughed uneasily.

Terry wanted to see where lower Jade Lake was, so we hiked just a short distance and saw it rather far below from our vantage point. It would have been a heck of an uphill hike out, and we just didn’t have the time before it would be dusk.
 
Read Part 2 herre:  http://wyomingarts.blogspot.com/2010/10/hiking-nonfiction-wyoming-trail-with.html
 
Linda Coatney

Brooks Reeves: "Why I Love Interactive Fiction"

At Wyomingarts, we know Brooks Reeves as a theatre guy. He's written plays and melodramas for the Cheyenne Little Theatre Players. One of his plays, "The City that Cried Wolf," was produced for the 59E59 Theaters in Manhattan and received a favorable review in the New York Times. He's acted in productions in Wyoming and Colorado, currently involved in a reader's theatre put on the Bas Bleu Theatre in Fort Collins.

He also participates in interactive fiction.

What is interactive fiction?

Since Wyomingarts bloggers know next to nothing about it (except what we read online), we shall let Brooks the blogger tell it at The Quiet Sunday: Why I Love Interactive Fiction

Meet the Equality State Book Festival authors: John Vernon

Another distinguished author appearing at the Equality State Book Festival Sept. 24-25 in Casper:

John Vernon is a Massachusetts native who now lives in Colorado. He was educated at Boston College and the University of California at Davis, and has taught at the University of Utah and Binghamton University (S.U.N.Y.) He is the author of eleven books, including the book of poems Ann, the memoir A Book of Reasons, and the novels La Salle, Lindbergh's Son, Peter Doyle, All for Love: Baby Doe and Silver Dollar, The Last Canyon, and Lucky Billy. His work has appeared in Harper's, Poetry, American Poetry Review, The Nation, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times Book Review, and many other magazines, journals, and newspapers. Two of his books have been named New York Times Notable Books of the Year, and he has been awarded two National Endowment for the Arts grants.

Vernon is the 21st faculty member at Binghamton University to be named a Distinguished Professor and now teaches there each spring semester. For the rest of the year, he lives in the mountains of northern Colorado and combines a routine of writing and mountain climbing. In Colorado, he is also affiliated with the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

John Vernon will be on stage for “Imagining Billy the Kid: A Reading from Lucky Billy” on Friday, Sept. 24, 7:30-8:30 p.m., in the Aley Fine Arts Center Durham Hall at Casper College. The event is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Anglers tell whoppers at Laramie Co. Library July 13

Fishing experts Mike “Hack” Patterson and Marvin Nolte, present “Hook, Line and Sinker: Fish Stories at the Library,” an engaging evening of stories, traditions and tips in the Sunshine Room of the Laramie County Library, July 13, at 7 p.m.

Patterson, owner of Hack’s Tackle and Outfitters in Saratoga, and Nolte, a salmon fly tier from Bar Nunn, encourages the audience to participate in the evening’s discussion.

Folklorist Andrea Graham from the University of Wyoming facilitates the conversation with the invited anglers. Graham has been documenting Wyoming’s rich fishing heritage and contemporary culture as part of a larger project titled “Art of the Hunt: Wyoming Traditions.”

An exhibit of fishing gear made in Wyoming is also on display.

The exhibit and programs are part of “Fishing Traditions,” a project of the University of Wyoming American Studies Program, the Wyoming Arts Council Folk and Traditional Arts Program, and the Laramie County Public Library, with funding from the Wyoming Humanities Council.

The Laramie County Library is located at 2200 Pioneer Avenue in Cheyenne.

Please call the Wyoming Arts Council at 634-3561 for more information about this program.

"Dont Taze Me Bro" sings the Jalan Crossland Band in Casper Feb. 12

Jalan Crossland Band
February 12, 2010 • 7:30 p.m.
John F. Welsh Auditorium, Natrona County High School, Casper

Co-Sponsors: GAPWEST Broadcasting and the Parkway Plaza.

Partial funding is from the Wyoming Arts Council through the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Schneider Fund in the Wyoming Community Foundation, the McMurry Foundation, Natrona County School District No. 1, and the City of Casper.

"There ain't much to see in a small town, but what you hear sure makes up for it" is the old adage. In Ten Sleep WY, population 307, what you'll hear - more often than not - is a clanky old banjo ricocheting off the storefronts and buttes, like a renegade .22 rifle shell. This clamor is Jalan Crossland, local trailer park troubadour, spinning yarns and painting portraits of the lives and people of the rural Rocky Mountain West. "Gossip is even better when you sing it" says Jalan.

Crossland's primary tool of musical expression has always been the guitar. In 1997, Jalan placed 2nd at the Winfield, KS. National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition, and 1st in the state flatpicking contest of his Wyoming home. These added to dozens of regional championship awards, attest that his playing is"...so dexterous that when he stops at the end of a song, you realize you forgot to breathe"--The Weekly News, Rapid City SD.

Crossland's songs are vivid, first-hand accounts of life in the small towns and backcountry of 21st century America. Like the people they portray, the songs are tough and honest. They also reflect the tremendous heart and soul of their colorful characters. The sound glides along on the wheels of a country music clearly not to be mistaken for mainstream. Old-time and bluegrass are present, but treated to the creative freedom of rock-n-roll.

"More than just a great picker, Crossland's performances feature graceful delivery and genuine character"--Planet Jackson Hole, Jackson WY.

Crossland and his band have recorded 3 CDs; 'Poorboy Shanty', 'Moonshiner', and 'Trailer Park Fire & Other Tragedies'. They perform full-time, throughout the U.S., Europe and Australia. Jalan has opened on several tours with alt-country legend, Robert Earl Keen, and shared stages with many of the biggest musical acts in the nation.

Tell a story, win a prize

From the Cheynne Little Theatre Players:

Tell an impromptu story (not memorized or read) based on an established theme (i.e., “My Brush with the Law,” “The Worst Date I Have Ever Had,” “My Parents Still Don’t Know the Whole Story About…,” etc.). A Master of Ceremonies will introduce the panel of judges, explain the rules and perform the first story to get things started. Each participant must register to perform before the storytelling begins and the order will be randomly selected. Each story must stay within a 5-7 minute time limit.

The Story Slam starts at 7:30 p.m. and ends at 9:30 p.m. It will be held at the Atlas Theatre, 211 W 16th St., Cheyenne. Two winning stories will be selected — first place and runner-up. The popular audience vote will be added to the judges’ overall scores. Each winning story will receive a prize. This is an adult event not appropriate for children.

The admission fee is $5. FMI: 307-635-0199

The theme for the Story Slam on Saturday, December 5, will be: “My brush with the law…”

"Christmas on the High Plains" just over the border in Spearfish Nov. 19

Cowboypoetry.com is (not surprisingly) a great site for regional events featuring cowboy poets and musicians. Today, the site is promoting an event in Spearfish, S.D., which is not technically in Wyoming but close enough to Crook and Weston and Niobrara counties to hear the twang of the performers' voices.

Here's the info:

The popular Heritage of the American West Performance Series in Spearfish, South Dakota, is returning to the High Plains Western Heritage Center under new direction.

The original monthly show was started by Kay Jorgensen and Jim Thompson (Live! with Jim Thompson) of Creative Broadcast Services and ran for ten years, with its final show in August, 2009. Francie Ganje — the director of the shows under CBSI — has worked, with others, to continue the series.

A November 19 show, "Christmas on the High Plains," features the Cambria String Band. A pre-show exhibit and reception hosts well-known regional authors, artists, and photographers, including Mick Harrison, whose painting, "A Christmas Tale," is the show's poster and theme (the painting was a 2005 Art Spur subject); Custer author and Black Hills historian Paul Horsted with his newest book, Crossing The Plains With Custer, and cowboy and landscape photographer Les Voorhis.

A December show, with details to be announced, will feature South Dakota poet Ken Cook and Montana singer, songwriter, and poet Bob Petermann.

Find details at the High Plains Western Heritage Center web site and read about the new Heritage of the American West and find show details in our feature here.

"Stories from Cuba and Other Places"

In celebration of Latino Heritage Month in October, Teton County Library in Jackson presents Lucía González, an award-winning author, storyteller and children’s librarian. Her presentation, "Stories from Cuba and Other Places"/Cuentos cubanos y de otres parajes, will take place from 6-7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7, in the library's Ordway Auditorium. Free and open to the public. For ages 4-7. Presented in English and Spanish.

A library press release says: "González is a dynamic and versatile performer who enchants audiences with string stories, puppetry, and anecdotes about growing up in Cuba and coming to America."

Contact: Latino Programs Coordinator, Patty Rocha, 733-2164 ext. 237 or procha@tclib.org.

Old West storyteller takes on both sides of law

From a story in the Billings Gazette:

CODY - In the Old West, lawmen and outlaws were often inexorably linked in a strange, symbiotic relationship with the mention of one not really complete without the mention of the other.

Storyteller Jim Garry talks about the two groups at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. The presentation takes place in the Boone and Crockett cabin of the Cody Firearms Museum and is free with admission.

Garry is a folklorist, independent researcher, author and founder of Great Plains Lore and Natural History Inc. He's worked as a wilderness guide, teacher, cowboy, horse wrangler, camp cook, folklore collector and storyteller.

His many years spent working with and collecting stories from cowboys and cowboy musicians has given him a breadth of knowledge that he shares through his writing and speaking engagements.

Garry earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the School of Natural Resources at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He's participated in the Wyoming Humanities Council Speakers Bureau and has served as an artist-in-residence for both the Montana and Wyoming Arts Councils.

He was also a recent research fellow for the Center's Cody Institute for Western
American Studies.

In October, Garry shares his perspectives on Lewis and Clark on Oct. 17 and "the art of the hunt" on Oct. 24. Both talks are also at 2 p.m. in the Boone and Crockett cabin.

For information, contact Megan Wasp at meganw@bbhc.org or 307-578-4028.

UW Vertical Dance returns to Vedauwoo

From a UW press release:

The University of Wyoming's 2009 Snowy Range Summer Theatre and Dance Festival concludes Aug. 22-23 with three vertical dance performances at Vedauwoo.

In addition to watching dancers twist and turn from ropes dangling from Vedauwoo's rock formations, the audience will listen to a musical story of the history of the rocks, animals and plants in the area, narrated by Australian storyteller Paul Taylor.

Performances begin at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23. Tickets cost $6, and may be purchased at the Fine Arts ticket office or the Union ticket office. For more information, call the Fine Arts ticket office at (307)766-6666.

"Each year, we try to bring a new story or idea to the vertical dance performance at Vedauwoo," says Margaret Wilson, University of Wyoming dance professor who choreographs the event. "We are delighted to have Paul working with us this year. The story will add a narrative component that will augment the choreography."

The performance area is 14 miles east of Laramie on Interstate 80 off the Vedauwoo exit. Shuttle buses will take patrons from the outer, free parking area outside Vedauwoo to the trailhead leading to the performance setting. Patrons should plan to leave Laramie at least one hour before the start of the performance.

Vertical dance is a unique blend of modern dance using ropes and the natural contours of rock to allow free-flowing aerial movement. Since 1998, the presentations in the natural rock formations at Vedauwoo have offered audiences a breathtaking set to view dance, says Wilson. She is assisted by Neil Humphrey, UW geology and geophysics professor, who coordinates the rigging and choreography.

Photo: Kathryn Rochelle dances in the air during a previous University of Wyoming vertical dance performance at Vedauwoo. (Skip Harper Photo)

Ft. Caspar Museum: "Impressions of Wyoming"

"Impressions on Wyoming" is a free summer lecture series at Fort Casper Museum in Casper. Each lecture will be held at 7 p.m. each Wednesday through July 22.

Here's the line-up:

JULY 1: Rebecca Hunt, a Casper native and professor at the University of Colorado in Denver, will lecture about Neal Forsling's contributions to the arts and humanities in the West.

JULY 8: Phil Roberts, associate professor of history at the University of Wyoming, will discuss the role of oil exploration, drilling and refining in the development of Wyoming's culture, society and institutions, with an emphasis on Central Wyoming.

JULY 15: Julianne Couch, associate lecturer of English at the University of Wyoming, presents "Jukeboxes and Jackalopes" which explores bars as places of storytelling and community.

JULY 22: Danny Walker, Wyoming's assistant state archaeologist and an adjunct professor of archaeology at the University of Wyoming, will highlight Legend Rock State Petroglyph Site and twenty years of archaeological investigation.

FMI: Erin Rose at 235-8462, http://www.fortcasparwyoming.com/.

Pat Mendoza drops by to show latest film

Denver-based storyteller and musician Pat Mendoza has spent two decades making trips to Wyoming to perform in schools, libraries and arts centers. He dropped by the Wyoming Arts Council today to talk about his latest interest -- filmmaking. Pat, a Vietnam veteran, is making a new short film about a highly-decorated woman military veteran from Wyoming. He brought us copies of his 2008 film, "In the Shadow of Giants: A Return to Makin Atoll." As is always the case, Pat has almost as many stories about the making of the film as he has included in the film itself. It's the product of seven years of research, which included travels around the U.S. and a jaunt to the South Pacific. You can view a clip from the film here: http://web.mac.com/patmendoza/Site/The_Shadow_of_Giants.html

And more info about the film from Pat's web site:

In the Shadow of Giants: A Return to Makin Island, a film by Pat Mendoza, is the remarkable true story about the recovery of the remains of the 19 Marines who were killed in action in WWII. They were buried on the island and their remains were discovered 58 years later. The recovery was made by The U S Army’s Central Identification Lab Hawaii (now called JPAC--Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command).

This film clip is part of a full hour production about, not only the recovery, but of the men who served in Carlson’s 2nd Marine Raiders in 1942. On August 19, 2006. the U.S. Navy christened the ship the USS Makin Island (LHD8) to honor that engagement.

Traditional song "E Papa" and the "Marine Corps Hymn" arranged by Pat Mendoza. Song is performed by Makin Islanders and Pat Mendoza. "Marine Corps Hymn" performed on flugelhorn by Steve Wiest. Narration and music by Pat Mendoza and Steve Wiest