College student

Here's a great story--about a man who was told he was too old as a volunteer at a hospital, and instead went to... Just goes to show we're never too old to learn. Makes me feel not so goofy about going to grad school in the early half of my second century of life. http://goodnews.msnbc.msn.com/?section=goodnewsfeeds&dataId=23101247&source=msneditorial/&gt1=25064

In fact, do a websearch of "97-year-old student" and you get a selection of stories about several "mature students" who have gone back to school.

Linda

For all you jazz lovers out there

From an NEA press release:

NEA Jazz Masters Award Ceremony and Concert to Be Heard Worldwide

Audiences are encouraged to listen online on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, at 7:30 p.m EST (5:30 p.m. MST)

This year's NEA Jazz Masters award ceremony and concert will have unprecedented reach--the program will be heard on terrestrial and satellite radio as well as online. WBGO Jazz 88.3FM based in Newark, New Jersey and Sirius/XM Satellite Radio's Real Jazz Channel 70 will broadcast the event live with WBGO's Gary Walker and Sirius/XM's Mark Ruffin as co-hosts. In addition, WBGO and NPR Music will audio stream the event live on their websites at http://www.wbgo.org and http://www.npr.org/music.

For the entire press release, visit http://www.arts.gov/news/news10/2010-NEA-Jazz-Masters-broadcast.html

"Dog Sees God" at LCCC Playhouse Jan. 29-30

From Facebook:

"Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead," an independent production in conjunction with Laramie County Community College's ADIOS. Shows will be in the LCCC Playhouse on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 29-30, 7:30 p.m . Admission is $5 per person.

Directed by Cheyenne's Anna Katen, "Dog Sees God" is the unathorized parody of the characters from Charles Schultz's comic strip "Peanuts." What would happen if they lived in a world full of sex, drugs, and... high school? Charlie Brown and his friends grow up in this tale of unknown love, unbelieveable loss, and sweet dance music.

***PLEASE NOTE***

Dramatist Play Service may describe this show as a comedy, but it definetly isn't. THIS SHOW IS RATED R for adult language and content, sexual language and content and an all around adult theme. PLEASE make the SMART decision and DO NOT bring children to this production. They WILL NOT be admitted.

GTMF launches winter concerts on Jan. 15

The Grand Teton Music Festival's winter concert series begins Friday, January 15, as the Chicago-based group, Axiom Brass, presents a program at Walk Festival Hall.

The winter series is rounded out by performances featuring the Festival's esteemed musicians in performances of classical chamber music for String Quartet (Friday, February 12), and Woodwinds and Piano (Friday, March 26).

For details, contact Amanda Flosbach, GTMF, 307.732.9957 or amanda@gtmf.org

Afton offers opera in hi-def from the Met

The Star Valley Arts Council is presenting "The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD" at the Afton Civic Center in Afton.

Performances of live, professional, classic opera will come to the valley via satellite feed.

Audiences will experience a full-length production and a behind-the-scenes look during intermission.

Here's the schedule:

"Carmen" – Georges Bizet
January 16, 2010 at 11:00 am
Expected Running time: 3 hours, 30 minutes,1 intermission

"Simon Boccanegra" – Giuseppe Verdi
February 6, 2010 at 11:00 am
Expected Running time: 3 hours, 40 minutes, 2 intermissions

"Hamlet" – Ambroise Thomas
March 27, 2010 at 11:00 am
3 hours, 43 minutes, 2 intermissions

"Armida" – Gioachino Rossini
May 1, 2010 at11:00 am
Expected Running time: 4 hours, 19 minutes, 2 intermissions

FMI: http://www.starvalleyarts.org

Call for entries: Hillman Prizes

The Sidney Hillman Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 2010 Hillman Prizes for work published in 2009.

For the Book, Broadcast, Magazine, Newspaper and Photography categories, please complete and submit this page. Then send four copies of the nominated work, along with a cover letter including background and/or why you believe this work is deserving, to the foundation at the address on the right hand column of this page.

For the Blog category, please make your nomination online by completing the extra fields at the bottom of this form, as indicated. No printed copies of the nominated work are needed.

For photojournalism entries, we would most like to see publications, but scanned work on discs is also acceptable.

Deadline for nominations is January 31, 2010.

FMI: http://www.hillmanfoundation.org

Governor's Arts Awards Gala

Don Butler, Western Saddle; cover design, Laura Patridge

The 28th Annual Governor’s Arts Award Gala will take place on Friday, February 12, 2010 at Little America in Cheyenne. The social hour begins at 6:00 p.m., with entertainment by Fat City Mardi Gras Band from Riverton. Dinner follows at 7:00 p.m., with entertainment provided by the first place student winners of the Wyoming State High School Drama Tournament.

Tickets are $50 each. Dinner is a mixed beef and seafood grill with salad and dessert, and there is a vegetarian option available. Governor Freudenthal will present the awards to the 2009 recipients. They are Don Butler of Sheridan, Mayor Duane Evenson of Gillette, Naoma J. Tate of Cody, Louise Wesswick of Rock Springs, and the Wyoming Educators of Secondary Theatre, a statewide arts organization.

For more information, or to register, go to http://www.wyomingartscouncil.org/, or call 307-777-7742. Registration forms can be filled out online and emailed or printed off and faxed.

The premier sponsor this year is GE Energy.

"The Hobbit" journeys to Pinedale

On Friday, January 15, 7 p.m., Canadian puppet theater group Theatre San Fil return to Pinedale, this time bringing their award-winning production of the "The Hobbit," the classic tale of Bilbo Baggins! At the Pinedale Auditorium. For ticket info, go to http://www.pinedalefinearts.com. For more about Theatre San Fil, go to its web site or youtube

Cultural Trust Fund applications now online

Grant applications for the next round of the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund (WCTF) are now available on the agency’s website, http://www.artsparkshistory.com.

The mission of the WCTF Board is to serve the citizens of the state by supporting Wyoming’s culture and heritage through grant funding of innovative projects for the enjoyment, appreciation, promotion, preservation and protection of the state’s arts, cultural and historic resources. The program will also look to support and invest in Wyoming institutions that support the state’s culture and heritage.

The WCTF can provide grant funding for all forms of arts and culture, including but not limited to, visual arts, performing arts, crafts, design arts, media arts, literature, folklife and traditional arts, humanities, historic and architectural preservation, community cultural celebrations and cultural corridors.

FMI: Renee Bovee, WCTC Administrator, at 307-777-6312.

The application postmark deadline is May 1 for projects beginning after July 1.

Laramie County Library kicks off 2010 with humor series

Troy Rumpf blogs this from the Laramie County Public Library:

For the next 12 weeks we’re going to bring you six different themes to encourage you to try new genres, new books, and new authors. And even if the bi-weekly theme isn’t your cup of tea, we hope you’ll just take the time to sit back and enjoy a great read – whether in print, in audio format, or even an e-book.

We’re kicking the season off with something that really works well for all ages: Humor. While planning this, I was amazed at the bounty of humor-based materials that can be found at the library; I never thought about looking to mystery or sci-fi genres for anything funny or comedic, but oh how wrong I was. Actually, my personal preference for humor writing includes two of my favorite authors, David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs (and FYI – if you ever get a chance to see them in person, DO SO!), and my colleagues as well as some great Southern friends swear that Celia Rivenbark has made them laugh out loud more than any other writer.

So here we go – feel free to post comments about your favorite funny books, about what you’re reading right now, or what even gets you excited about reading. Thanks for taking part – and we’ll see you at the library.

Post your comments at http://lcls.wordpress.com/

Call for entries: Cheyenne Int'l Film Festival

From a press release:

The Cheyenne International Film Festival (CIFF) is a production of Wyoming Community Media and is set for May 14 - 16, 2010, at the Historic Atlas Theater in downtown Cheyenne.

CIFF is accepting movie entries in four categories: Feature films, Wyoming Showcase, Short films and CIFF Promo Videos. Click the tabs to learn more and enter. CIFF will notify you only your movie has been selected around April 1, 2010.

WCM offers a variety of programs throughout the year including: (1) the Cheyenne International Film Festival (CIFF); (2) the Wyoming Film Institute training and outreach; (3) The Shoot Out Cheyenne 24 Hour Film Making festival. CIFF offers audiences an opportunity to see films from around the world and network with and learn from producers, director, writers and photographers.

WCM offers year-round community educational outreach programs and screenings including the Shoot Out Top-10 films, the Wyoming Film Institute and the Film-related tourism conference.
WCM is creating a strong community-based infrastructure to support film and digital media. Our main goal is to democratize the movie business and create a space for movie makers to screen their works.

FMI: http://www.cheyenneinternationalfilmfestival.org/

Winners announced for 2010 WAC Blanchan & Doubleday writing awards

The Wyoming Arts Council is pleased to announce the winners of the 2010 Blanchan/Doubleday writing awards.

Recipient of the Neltje Blanchan Memorial Writing Award for nature writing is W. Dale Nelson of Laramie. He will receive a $1,000 prize for "A Retrospect of Poems." Honorable mentions in this category go to Marcia Casey of Wilson for a group of poems entitled “Purl” and Jenn Koiter of Laramie for her creative nonfiction entry, “Labyrinth.”

Recipient of the Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Writing Award for women writers is Nina. S. McConigley of Laramie. She will receive a $1,000 prize for her short story, “Fenced Out.” Honorable mention goes to Michelle Sherwood of Green River for a novel excerpt, “Trona.”

Judge for this year's competition was Aaron Abeyta, an award-winning poet and novelist who teaches at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado.

The competition is sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council and funded by artist and arts patron Neltje.

For more information about the Wyoming Arts Council’s programs for individual artists, contact Michael Shay at 307-777-5234 or mshay@state.wy.us

Call for entries: Del Sol Press Poetry Prize

From Web Del Sol:

Deadline for the 2010 Del Sol Press Poetry Prize contest is March 15, 2010.

We invite contest submissions from both emerging and established poets, published or unpublished. In keeping with the philosophy of Web del Sol, we are only interested in the very best poetry, regardless of source or type.

Finalist manuscripts will also be considered for publication.

Winner receives a $1,200 Honorarium, paid in Summer 2010; book publication by Del Sol Press in fall 2010, in The Annual Del Sol Press Poetry Series; and 20 copies of the winning book.

Eligibility: Poets who are at least 18 years of age and who live inside or outside the United States.

Translations are eligible.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable (as long as you let us know immediately if the manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere).

Individual poems from the manuscript may have been published previously in magazines, journals, anthologies, chapbooks, or self-published books, but must be submitted in manuscript form. Published books in poetry or other genres do not disqualify contestants from entering this contest.

Employees, volunteers, and board members of Web del Sol, their partners, spouses, and immediate families, and immediate family, friends, and former students of the judge are not eligible.

Competition Guidelines
Deadline (postmark): March 15, 2010.
50 to 100 typed manuscript pages, each poem starts on a new page.
$18.00 contest fee; Please make checks out to Web Del Sol.
Include two cover pages: one with your contact information (phone, email, address), and one with the title of your collection (minus your name). Your name should not appear on the manuscript itself.
Type or word-process on standard white paper, on one side of the page only.
Paginate consecutively with a table of contents.
Bind with a binder clip (no paperclips, please).
Attach publications acknowledgments if any.
Include a stamped, self-addressed postcard for notification of receipt of manuscript.
Please keep a copy of your entry. Manuscripts not selected for publication will be recycled.
Multiple submissions are acceptable; include an additional reading fee of $5.00 with each.
Postmark no later than March 15, 2010 and include $18.00 contest fee to: Del Sol Press Poetry ContestWeb del Sol AssociationP.O. Box 1550Tuscaloosa, AL 35403ATTN: Katie Shinkle/Contest Coordinator

Queries to Katie Jean Shinkle, Contest Coordinator. Email: katie@webdelsol.com

The judge for the 2010 poetry prize will be Joel Brouwer.

Paul Taylor performs in Basin Jan. 8

The Basin City Arts Center, 121 S. Fourth St. in Basin, presents Paul “Walkingstick” Taylor in concert featuring “Matilda and the Dream Time” at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 8.

Paul is a Wyoming Arts Council roster artist. He is an Australian storyteller, didjeridoo player and educator who shares the culture of his homeland.

Tickets available at the door are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors 60 and over, $5 for kids 12 and under, and $35 for an immediate family.

For more information, call Wendy at 307-568-2915.

Legislative Artwork Donation Program Selection Committee meets Jan. 11

From a SPCR press release:

Members of the Wyoming Legislative Artwork Donation Program Selection Committee will meet to review seven artistic pieces donated during the past year for display in the State Capitol Building.

The meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m., January 11, in Room 302 of the State Capitol.

During the meeting, the Committee will review the artwork donated by five Wyoming artists and decide whether to formally accept the donations, attend to any framing or matting issues of the artwork, approve signage and determine the location where the pieces will be displayed on the second and third floors of the Capitol.

Additionally, the Selection Committee will review a proposed artwork donation schedule and establish a timeline for the next round of promotion and marketing for the program.

The goal of the Wyoming Legislative Artwork Donation Program is to acquire and showcase appropriate artwork that represents Wyoming. The artwork will be exhibited in the Senate and House of Representative chambers, the respective chamber lobbies and galleries, and possibly expanded to common areas on the second and third floors of the Capitol.

The artwork may be acquired for display through donation, temporary loan or direct purchase.

Selection Committee members are Senators Wayne Johnson and E. Jayne Mockler, Representatives Pete Illoway and Mary Throne, former Senator John Hanes, former Representative Pat Nagel, Wyoming Arts Council Manager Rita Basom and Wyoming State Museum Manager Manny Vigil.

For more information about the Legislative Artwork Donation Program, please contact Renee Bovee, Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources, 2301 Central Avenue in Cheyenne, 82002; 307-777-6312.

Call for entries: Tonya Jackson Talent Expression Program

The Tonya Jackson Talent Expression Program has announced its first Talent Expression Show.

Artists with a disability, or those recovering from substance abuse, may submit work in any art form --- music, sculpture, painting, poetry, photography, etc. -- by Feb. 1, 2010.

The art exhibition and presentation of prizes will be held March 4, 2010.

FMI: Marcus Jackson, 307-635-3363, imperialmac@hotmail.com or Tammy L. Gamino, 1623 Central Ave., Suite 4, Cheyenne, WY 82001, 307-432-4033, tammy.peoplefirst@bresnan.net.

Noted author/researcher Dr. Randall Eaton to speak at outdoor education symposium

Dr. Randall Eaton, author of "From Boys to Men of Heart: Hunting as Rite of Passage," will be the keynote speaker at the Big Horn Basin Outdoor Education Symposium on Saturday, Jan. 16. He will speak at the morning session at the Days Inn in Thermopolis at 10:05 a.m. His topic will be "Finding New Pathways in the Old." At 7:05 p.m. at the Worland Community Center, he will talk about "Hunting as a Rite of Passage."

Dr. Eaton has written and edited 14 books. They include "Cheetah: Biology, Behavior and Conservation of an Endangered Species (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1974), which was recognized by the American Library Association as “one of the outstanding scientific-technical books of 1974.” "The Cheetah: Fastest Race on Earth, (Dutton, 1981)" was recognized as “An outstanding science book for young readers,” by the National Science Teachers Association-Childrens Book Council Joint Committee.

Two other recent books are:
"The Orca Project: A Meeting of Nations," an anthology of story, essay and poetry, published in fall 1998.
"The Sacred Hunt: Hunting as a Sacred Path," a 1998 anthology of story, essay and poetry.

For more information of the symposium, contact Eric Decker, Worland, 307-347-3946 or eric.decker@wy.usda.gov

Paul Taylor performs in Casper Jan. 15

Wyoming Arts Council roster artist Paul Taylor performs in concert on Friday, Jan. 15, 7:30 p.m. in the John F. Welsh Auditorium at Natrona County High School in Casper.

Co-Sponsors: KCWY-13 & Mount Rushmore Broadcasting, Ramada Plaza, & Nicolaysen Art Museum.Call 265-1564 for details of a three-day Mural-making project. 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.

From the ARTCORE web site:

Paul Taylor, Australian storyteller, didjeridoo player and traveler, came to the U.S. from Adelaide, South Australia, on the invitation of Bobby Bridger and the Adelaide-Austin, TX, sister city program. Bridger is a descendent of the legendary western pioneer, Jim Bridger. In 1986, Paul acted as guide for Bobby Bridger on an extensive tour of South Australia. Bridger performed his acclaimed one-man show "Ballad of the West," on tour in the outback and to the Pitjantatjara Aboriginal community. Bridger invited Paul to Texas and then to Wyoming to act in "Ballad of the West" at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Attending the Jackson Hole Centennial Rendezvous in 1990, Paul was given the name of "Walking Stick." Paul loved his visit to the U.S. and decided to return in 1992 for an extensive walkabout of the U.S. He is based in Laramie, Wyoming - the heart of America's outback. Paul graduated from the University of South Australia with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work in 1980. His interest in the Aboriginal culture of his own country is born from time spent as a social worker among the Aboriginal people and was introduced to the tradition of storytelling and the music of the didjeridoo. Paul is mentored by Yidumduma Bill Harney, custodian of the Wardaman culture in Australia's Northern Territory. In the mid-eighties Paul trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, UK. He worked professionally as an actor and clown, joined a circus show and performed throughout England, Scotland and Wales. He returned to his homeland and worked for the Adelaide Festival of Arts and in regional theatres throughout Australia. Paul has won 6 National awards including NAPPA Gold Award, Parent's Choice Gold Award and Storytelling World. Paul's credits include: New Orleans Jazz Festival, National Geographic, and Disney Music Center LA.

2010 dates announced for "Literature and Landscape of the Horse"

Page Lambert has announced dates for the 2010 Literature and Landscape of the Horse. Here are some details:

When: Dates for 2010: May 29 - June 3
Where: the beautiful Vee Bar Guest Ranch near Laramie, Wyoming
What's Included: Lodging and meals, writing and riding instruction, lodging, tack, and your own special horse for the entire 5 days
Price: $1450.00 $100 discount if you attended the 2008 or 2009 retreats. Invite a friend!
Payment & Cancellation Policy: Download PDF
Deposit:To reserve your space, send $300.00 deposit to Page Lambert (by February 1), 26037 Mountain View Road, Golden, Colorado 80401. Questions? Phone Page (303) 842-7360 or email http://www.pagelambert.com/mailto;page@pagelambert.com
Leaders: SHERI GRIFFITH handles the "horsey" aspects of the retreat (along with the fabulous Vee Bar wranglers). PAGE handles the literary aspects and will provide journals.
FMI: http://www.pagelambert.com/

Art Works for Wyoming deadline approaching

Art Works for Wyoming grants are due December 31, 2009. Applications may be submitted electronically. Guidelines and e-grant login may be found on the Council's website.