Danielle Pafunda: "The Dead Girls Speak in Unison"

This poetry news comes from an Oct. 29 post on the Owen Wister Review web site:

Danielle Pafunda is an assistant professor of gender & women’s studies and English at the University of Wyoming. She has authored such books as Iatrogenic: Their Testimonies, My Zorba, Pretty Young Thing, and the forthcoming Manhater. Her poem “The Dead Girls Speak in Unison” is today’s Poem-a-Day offering from www.Poets.org.

Congratulations, Danielle! You can find out more about Danielle by visiting her blog, or you can just Google her name.

Help wanted: Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is looking for people to take tickets and check credentials and several other tasks at the event in nearby Park City, Utah, from Jan. 20-30. Get more info at http://webapp.sundance.org/jobs/index.asp. Film festival updates now on Facebook.  

Award-winning poetry inspired by stint in Wyoming

Poet William Notter’s “Holding Everything Down” (Southern Illinois University Press) was just awarded the High Plains Book Award in the poetry category. Notter grew up on the plains of northeastern Colorado, and currently lives in Richmond, Virginia. He spent three summers as an interpretive guide in Wyoming’s Bighorn National Forest, which inspired his poem “Morning News in the Big Horn Mountains.” Here’s an excerpt:

Morning News in the Big Horn Mountains

The latest movie star is drunk just out of rehab,
two or three cities had extraordinary killings,
and expensive homes are sliding off the hills
or burning again. There’s an energy crisis on,
and peace in the Middle East is close as ever.
In Wyoming, just below timberline,
meteors and lightning storms
keep us entertained at night. Last week,
a squirrel wrecked the mountain bluebirds’ nest.
I swatted handfuls of moths in the cabin
and set them on a stump each day,
but the birds would not come back to feed.

Buy the book and read the rest.

(Info gleaned from New West Online)

Call for entries: International Forest Film Festival

For more information on this press release, contact: Lisa Samford, Executive Director, Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, (307) 733-7016, lisa@jhfestival.org or Sylvia Chen, United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat. chen14@un.org

Jackson Hole, WY – An International Forest Film Festival competition to mark the International Year of Forests, 2011 has named Vance Martin, Jan McAlpine, and Cristina Mittermeier as the judges who will select winning films from 18 finalists in six categories.

The International Forest Film Festival competition, launched by the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival and the United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat, will announce the finalists in December 2010, and the winners will be honoured at the global launch of Forests 2011 at UN Headquarters in New York in February 2011.

“The International Forest Film Festival offers a unique opportunity to bring the issues and objectives of Forests 2011 to a global audience,” said Ms. McAlpine, director of the United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat. “The power of cinematic art is universal. It connects with people all over the world on a personal level. The International Forest Film Festival will spread the message of Forests 2011 in that same powerful manner.”

Winning films will first be showcased at the global launch of Forests 2011 in New York, and will then be screened at other festivals and events around the world throughout the year. The film festival is part of a global effort to raise awareness on the importance of forests, their relationship with people and the sustainable management, conservation and development of all types of forests.

While the overall theme for the film submissions is “Forests for People,” specific film categories will explore the multitude of ways that people interact and benefit from forests. From the social, cultural, economic or spiritual aspects of the “360 Degrees on All Things Forest” category to highlighting uniquely dedicated individuals in the “forest heroes” category, the competition seeks to take an all-encompassing approach to forest issues. A full description of guidelines and categories is available at www.forestfilmfestival.org. Films made since 2000 are eligible for entry, and submissions will be accepted until November 30th 2010, through www.WithoutABox.com.

Vance Martin has been president of The WILD Foundation since 1983. An innovative leader known for bridging the interests of people and nature, he has lived extensively overseas, worked in over 45 countries, and helped to establish many non-profits. An avid supporter of the role of culture, media and the arts in helping solve environmental issues, he has also written and/or edited 10 books and many articles. Vance has also served on the boards of numerous organizations such as the Cheetah Conservation Fund, Friends of Peace Parks, Conservation & Preservation Charities of America, Fulcrum Publishing, Wilderness Foundation (South Africa), Wilderness Foundation (UK), International Conservation Caucus Foundation, and others.

Jan McAlpine is the Director of the United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat, having held that position since November 2008. She has a long experience in international forest policy, initiatives and negotiations and has been part of the UNFF and its predecessors for 15 years. Over the years she helped shape important actions, decisions and resolutions, notably as a negotiator on issues relating to international forest and timber trade at the White House, and as the Senior Advisor and lead for Forests in the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC.

Cristina Mittermeier is the President and Founder of the International League of Conservation Photographers, whose work with leading scientists, policy makers, government leaders and conservation groups produces the highest-quality documentary images of both the beauty and wonder of the natural world and the challenges facing it. As a photographer and writer, Cristina has co-edited nine books. From the popular to the scientific, Cristina’s work has appeared in major magazines around the world. Her evocative images focus on demonstrating the important relationship between human cultures, especially indigenous people and biodiversity.

Troxel & Krieger on stage Nov. 13 at Basin City Arts Center

Wyoming Arts Council roster artist Jeff Troxel and Trevor Krieger, dynamic guitar & fiddler duo, will perform at the Basin City Arts Center in Basin on Saturday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. Guitarist Jeff Troxel and fiddler Trevor Krieger bring a concert of traditional and contemporary fiddle and folk music along with their original songs to the Basin City Arts Center. Both of these award-winning musicians began playing at an early age and both have racked up significant musical accomplishments.

Find out more about Jeff and his music at http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.aspx?epk_id=151907

"Hold Me" at Clay Paper Scissors for next Arts Design and Dine event Nov. 11 in Cheyenne

Clay Paper Scissors in downtown Cheyenne presents "Hold Me," a show by Meghan Cochrane, for November's Art, Design and Dine. The opening is on November 11 from 5-8 pm. Meghan's work consists of hand-embroidered baby dolls and scrap quilts. To learn more about her work visit the Art, Design and Dine blog at http://www.artdesignanddine.blogspot.com/  or check out the Facebook Fan page.

FMI: Clay Paper Scissors Gallery & Studio, Cheyenne. On Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/claypaperscissors
 
Meghan's Artist's Statement:

I started this series my senior year of college after seeing an installation that incorporated thread. I was compelled to revive the embroidery skills I had learned as a kid. Little did I know that it would jump start my explorations in the fiber arts and change the direction and focus of my work.

I wanted the interaction with my embroidery to be tactile. So often embroidery is framed on a wall or blends into furnishings and is forgotten. I started embroidering into baby dolls because there is the unmistakable urge to hold and touch a baby doll. The images I embroidered are all symbolic of ideas or events that occurred in my life during the embroidery process. Each baby doll becomes a diary entry. They interpret my transition from college to the working world.

The quilts were created to use up the beautiful fabrics that I would find at thrift stores. I wanted to work with unconventional combinations and patterns to explore the idea of being swaddled in rags.

If you would like more information on Meghan and her work visit her blog at http://www.themechanicsdaughter.blogspot.com/

Dave Rowswell at Glen Garrett's Gallery for Art Design & Dine on Nov. 11

Dave Rowswell is the featured artist at Glen Garrett's office on the corner of Capitol and 17th Street in Cheyenne. He will be showing his charcoal drawings, monotypes, and alabaster sculpture. Dave is the 3D instructor at East High School and is passionate about his work as a teacher and as an artist. Stop by on Thursday, November 11, from 5-8 p.m. and say hello to Dave. Just one stop on Thursday's Art Design & Dine tour of downtown Cheyenne.

Sheridan Open Studios Show & Sales Nov. 12-14

Eighth annual Sheridan Open Studios Show and Sale will be held on these dates and times: Friday, November 12, 4-7 pm; Saturday, November 13, 10-5 pm; Sunday, November 14, 11-4 pm. There will be 15 artists at 7 locations. See the map.

Warren Keldsen (a.k.a. WarrenZ): "Let your light shine/In this crazy town"

Warren Keldsen (a.k.a. WarrenZ) dropped by the Wyoming Arts Council offices this afternoon. He wanted to talk about grants for individual artists -- so we did. He also said that he plays most Tuesday and Thursday at Suite 1901 in downtown Cheyenne. Suite 1901 features live music almost every night. Food and cocktails too.

Warren left Wheatland to play in the Austin and Nashville music scenes. For an Americana singer-songwriter, those are about the toughest places to ply your trade. He's now finishing up his fourth CD and living in Cheyenne and encouraging ecveryone to go out and enjoy live music.

He's at Suite 1901 on Tuesday, Nov. 9. He then takes a vacation and will be back on Nov. 23.

Wyomingarts went to Warren's Myspace site and listened to his songs. We suggest you do the same. Listen to "This Town." You'll hear Austin and Nashville in it. Wyoming too. Go to WarrenZ at Myspace Music

Comedian Eddie Ifft at UW Nov. 12

Looking for a good laugh? Comedian Eddie Ifft performs Friday, Nov. 12, at 9 p.m. in the University of Wyoming Union ballroom. The Friday Night Fever event is free and open to UW students.

Ifft was one of the five finalists in the recent MySpace/Sierra Mist Stand Up or Sit Down Challenge. He has appeared on NBC's hit show "Last Comic Standing II," Comedy Central's "Premium Blend," BET's "Comic View" and "Chelsea Lately." Ifft has performed with Dave Chapelle, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Robin Williams.

For more information contact Friday Night Fever at (307) 766-6340 or by e-mail at fnf@uwyo.edu .

Photo: Comedian Eddie Ifft from NBC's "Last Comic Standing II" will perform at the University of Wyoming Friday, Nov. 12.

Call for proposals: San Diego Airport

Willie LeClair at Uinta County Library

Wood carver Dave Buckles interviewed for online magazine

Read the complete interview here: http://www.examiner.com/artisans-in-national/a-life-close-to-nature-the-great-outdoors

Also, see Dave's work at this site, where you can also purchase items: http://www.etsy.com/shop/casualcarver

Going to be in New York City In January? Free tickets available for Jazz at Lincoln Center

The National Endowment for the Arts and Jazz at Lincoln Center announced today that free tickets are available for the January 11, 2011 NEA Jazz Masters Awards Ceremony & Concert. Tickets can be reserved online or in person at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, located at Broadway at 60th Street, ground floor, open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., as well as Sundays, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Limit two tickets per person.

The 2011 NEA Jazz Masters are Hubert Laws, David Liebman, Johnny Mandel, and the Marsalis Family—Ellis Marsalis, Jr., Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, and Jason Marsalis. In addition, the 2011 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy is awarded to Orrin Keepnews. Go to http://jalc.org/concerts/details309a.asp?EventID=2504 for more information.

The 2011 NEA Jazz Masters Awards Ceremony & Concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Rose Theater at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center at Broadway at 60th Street and feature the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis in a program dedicated to the honorees’ works. Joining the orchestra will be several of the honorees performing, including Mr. Liebman, Mr. Laws, and the Marsalis Family. The evening also will feature video tributes to each of the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters.

The awards ceremony and concert will be broadcast live on WBGO Jazz 88.3FM based in Newark, New Jersey, and Sirius/XM Satellite Radio's Real Jazz Channel 70. WBGO also will audio stream the event live on their website at wbgo.org.

Prior to the concert, the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters and their fellow NEA Jazz Masters will gather for a group photo opportunity. Members of the press who want to attend the concert or who would like to participate in the photo opportunity must reserve a place in advance. Please contact Liz Stark (202-682-5744 or starke@arts.gov).

In addition to the awards ceremony and concert, the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters will participate in a panel discussion exploring their careers, moderated by A. B. Spellman. The panel will take place on Monday, January 10, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. in the Varis-Leichtman Studio at Jazz at Lincoln Center at Broadway at 60th Street. The event is free and seating is open to the public on a first come, first served basis.

Getting ready for Christmas at the Historic Governor's Mansion

The Wyoming Historic Governors’ Mansion will close November 5 through December 2 to prepare for the “Tinsel Through Time” exhibit.

An opening reception for the exhibit will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on December 3.

Tours of the mansion during the closure are available by special appointment.

The Historic Governors’ Mansion is located at 300 E. 21st Street in Cheyenne. Please call 777-7878 for more information or to make an appointment. Admission is free.

Find out how your arts organization can apply for AmeriCorps grants during conference call

This comes from Rachel Goslins, Executive Director, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH), in partnership with Americans for the Arts and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, is pleased to invite you to join one of two
conference calls hosted by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) on November 10, and November 12, 2010 at 1:00 p.m..

This October, President Obama issued a Proclamation in recognition of National Arts and Humanities Month in which he wrote, "By supporting the fields that feed our imagination, strengthen our children's education, and contribute to our economy, our country will remain a center of creativity, and our society will stand as one where dreams can be realized."

The PCAH is very aware of the great work organizations do in communities across the country, and we will continue to work on raising the visibility of the field and the resources available to it at the federal level. In that vein, we have been working with CNCS to ensure that AmeriCorps grants are available for qualified arts and humanities organizations working in community service, as well to increase the pool of eligible arts organizations that apply for these funds.

As you may know, deadlines are approaching for applications to AmeriCorps for 2011. If you think it makes sense for your organization, we encourage you to apply. To help you in this process, you are invited to hear an overview of AmeriCorps opportunities, alert you to upcoming deadlines, and advise you on what the Corporation is looking for in a successful application.

There will be time for questions and answers at the end of the discussion. The information required for registration is below.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is hosting a conference call to discuss AmeriCorps funding opportunities for organizations focused on education and youth.

In the AmeriCorps State and National grant competition this year, CNCS specially seeks to focus investment on national service programs that improve academic outcomes for children, youth and young adults. This
focus reflects the extensive experience and past success of national service programs in education, and aligns with the reform efforts of the Department of Education. AmeriCorps grants are awarded to eligible organizations to recruit, train, and manage AmeriCorps members who serve as part of the solution to pressing problems facing communities across the country.

To join us for an overview of funding opportunities and learn more about our interest in supporting educational initiatives, please register for one of the following calls:

November 10; 1:00 PM: http://americorpsedcall2nov10.eventbrite.com/

November 12, 1:00 PM: http://americorpsedcall1nov12.eventbrite.com/ 

There will be Magick in Memphis!

From the Wyoming Blues and Jazz Society:

 We're proud to be sponsoring a band in the International Blues Challenge, for the first time in our history. The “IBC” is a very prestigious competition for the top, not yet professional, musicians around the world. Another Kind of Magick from Cheyenne will be competing in the Youth Challenge, as they are all still teenagers, and will compete in the band competition open to all ages.

This talented group will be performing Saturday, Nov 27 in the Parkway Ballroom, in Casper, with special guest Erica Brown lending her support. The concert is free and open to all ages to attend and enjoy. A $5 donation at the door would be much appreciated, as all proceeds go to help finance the trip to Memphis in February. The concert will start at 7:30 PM, and the Parkway will be offering a Memphis theme buffet for only $10 from 7 until 8, in the ballrooms. Buffet tickets must be purchased in advance at the Parkway front desk, or at Platte River Music, 134 S Center. Bring the entire family down after the Christmas Parade and enjoy the music of these talented teens, while helping them get to Memphis to represent Wyoming.

This year’s recipient of the Ray Patterson Memorial Scholarship will also be announced that night. A deserving music major at Casper College will be awarded $500 towards next semester’s expenses. Please come and support Wyoming’s representatives in this major endeavor. The Wyoming Blues and Jazz Society- “Keepin’ the music ……LIVE” for over 10 years. Contact Lou 259-8725, or email wybluelou@hotmail.com with any questions.

Call the Parkway 235-1777 for a special room rate that night of just $55.00. Sponsored by the Parkway Plaza, Poor Boys and the WonderBar.

Nostalgia Days festivities at Niwot, CO include ongoing cultural exchange

“Eagle Catcher,” (left) a massive carving in red willow by Eddie Running Wolf, Northern Cheyenne, at Niwot, Colo. north of Denver, is part of an ongoing cultural exchange between that community and the Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming, whose ancestral home is in the area and whose noted Chief Niwot (Left Hand) gave the town its name. The carving was dedicated during Niwot’s annual Nostalgia Days.

The current piece adjoins another he carved, which he describes as his interpretation of the way Chief Niwot might have looked at the age depicted in the sculpture, and it will adjoin a third that will portray an Arapaho woman or woman and child with Niwot Ladies Club funding support.

It’s all part of an ongoing cultural exchange that began as a Warming of the Hearts Coat Drive for the Wind River Reservation and evolved into the tree sculptures, said Mike Anfinson, president of nonprofit Ni-wot Prairie Productions, which was a sponsor of the project.

William C’Hair, co-chairman of the Northern Arapaho Language and Culture Commission and co-host of the “Eagle Catcher” dedication ceremony, said of the homelands area, “It was not so much that the land belonged to us, but that we belonged to the land,” and the Arapaho still feel a connection to it.

In an address to dedication attendees Sept. 11, C’Hair said he represents the past, while Harvey Spoonhunter, Northern Arapaho tribal chairman, represents the present, and Jola WallowingBull, development coordinator for the Arapaho Educational Trust, represents the future.

Spoonhunter described the tribe as the largest organic beef producer in the U.S., noting, “We’re also going green here.” WallowingBull, the first enrolled Northern Arapaho woman to earn an engineering degree, described an $8 million Sky People Higher Education Capital Campaign to serve nearly 10,000 tribal members, even though “philanthropy is new for all of us.”

Read the complete article at
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/national/Carving-a-contemporary-tribute-to-history-106321188.html   

Evening of improv Nov. 6 at Historic Atlas Theatre

Ozymandian Improv Show this weekend at the Historic Atlas Theatre in downtown Cheyenne.

Saturday, November 6, 7:30 p.m. Doors will open for ticket sales at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $8 for Adults and $5 for students

Want to laugh so hard that week-old undigested Halloween candy comes shooting out your nose?

Ozymandian Theater is back from their three month Yeti Hunt in the Canadian Rockies to bring you an an evening of hilarious improv comedy!

The proceeds of the show will benefit the Cheyenne Little Theatre Players who have been so incredibly generous in their support of our shows and the other charities that we contribute to.

Alex "Wherever You Will Go" Band in Casper Nov. 12

Alex Band

November 12, 2010 • 7:30 p.m.

Durham Hall, Aley Fine Arts Center, Casper College

The inspiring sound of Alex Band’s powerful, emotionally charged voice is immediately recognizable to millions of music lovers, thanks to modern-day classics like “Adrienne,” “Our Lives” and the chart-topping hit “Wherever You Will Go,” which Billboard recently named the #1 Adult Pop Song of the Decade. And though We’ve All Been There, Band’s solo debut (released June 29 on his own AMB label through EMI), contains the first new material we’ve heard from the former leader of The Calling in half a decade, “Wherever You Will Go” (which he wrote at 16 and released at 19, remarkably enough) remains a staple of the Adult Pop format, while “Our Lives” is a heavily used bumper on ESPN and other sports programming.

If his fans feel that Band is long overdue for a return to the spotlight, the L.A. native has himself been chafing at the bit to make his return throughout the last five years, which he spent in musical exile. But the time has finally come for that voice to inspire us once again. “I’ve lived with these songs for years,” says Band, “and the whole point is to share them with everybody now.”

Describing the title song, which opens this stunningly widescreen album and sets up its thematic breadth, Band says, “It’s definitely about my own struggle, but I think everyone can relate to what I’ve been through from experiences in their lives. I think everything I’m talking about on the record is pretty universal. And knowing now that I’m writing for different cultures, with fans around the world, it’s important that what I’m writing about is generalized enough that people can take the songs in their own way. ‘We’ve All Been There’ is almost like a mantra—‘Here I am…these scars on my hands…doing what I can’—with this chorus behind me singing, ‘We’ve all been there.’”

FMI: http://www.artcorewy.com/