The Clumsy Lovers return to OysterGrass

The Clumsy Lovers from Canada are the headliners for Saturday, July 26, 10 p.m., at the Oyster Ridge Music Festival at Triangle Park in Kemmerer. The free festival is July 25-27.

Here's more info from the festival's web site:

The Clumsy Lovers are the hottest band coming out of Canada today. Their "Raging bluegrass Celtic rock," style has inspired other neighbors to the north such as The Duhks. Often imitated but never surpassed, Clumsy has released their seventh album "Smart Kid".

The band has spent much of the last ten years on the road with more than 1,500 live shows to its credit.

The Clumsy Lovers have been a festival favorite since the beginning, having graced our stage on five previous occasions. We feel like the whole OysterGrass experience is somehow embodied in these talented and deep spirits. Don't miss their triumphant return for an unprecedented sixth appearance on Sat. July 26.

Clumsy Lovers My Space

Clumsy Lovers Website
Videoclip from ORMF 2006

"Ballad of Gopher Gap" on stage in Buffalo

The Johnson County Arts and Humanities Council presents the summer melodrama "The Ballad of Gopher Gap" on July 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31 and Aug. 1, 7:30 p.m., at the New Hope Worship Center (old Masonic Lodge), 185 N. Main St., Buffalo. Tickets at the door are $4. Advance tickets are $3 apiece through the Chamber of Commerce.

FMI: JCAHC President Colleen Donahue, 307-684-2559.

Lila McConigley performs in hometown Casper

Lila McConigley (shown at right) and Tenors UnLimited will be featured in a concert on Wednesday, July 23, 7:30 p.m., at Natrona County High School in Casper.

Here’s some background on the event from the ARTCORE web page:

In fourth grade, Lila McConigley volunteered when Marcia Patton asked who from the Casper Children’s Chorale was trying out for a solo. A year later, she sang a duet with her sister, Nina, when the Chorale and the Wyoming State Choir performed "Carmina Burana" in Avery Fisher Hall. From that night, she set her sights on becoming a performer and going to New York.

Lila studied music at St. Olaf College, singing and touring with the world famous St. Olaf Choir. She then moved to New York and worked at Sesame Street, as well as singing in a choir at Juilliard and directing a children’s play at Lincoln Center. Still greatly inspired by opera, Lila went to Florence, Italy to study and perform with famous maestro and renowned Italian tenor, Franco Pagliacci, for three years.

In the spring of 2003, Lila was accepted into London’s Royal Academy of Music’s post-graduate course in musical theater. She graduated with distinction and went straight into her West End debut in Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Bombay Dreams.” She has sung with Elton John, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and she is the regular guest Diva of famous British opera group, Tenors UnLimited.

Here’s another bit of news from Nina McConigley, Lila’s sister:

Lila is performing with the London-based group, Tenors UnLimited. They perform across Europe and are known as "The Rat Pack of Opera."

It's a funny twist, as Lila is marrying one of the "Tenors," Paul Martin, in Casper a few days post-concert. So the concert is a fun way for Lila to introduce Wyoming to his group. They are having a Western wedding, but the concert will be a fun mix of classical and non-traditional music.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band headlines Beartrap

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will perform at this year's Beartrap Summer Festival on Casper Mountain at 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 20.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is Jeff Hanna, guitars/vocals; Jimmie Fadden, drums/harmonica/vocals; Bob Carpenter, keyboards/accordion/vocals; and John McEuen, banjo/fiddle/guitar/mandolin.

The band recently won a Grammy for Best Country Instrumental for "Earl's Breakdown." The song features Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Jerry Douglas and the late Vassar Clements. The band is touring the West in July and August, playing old favorites and music from the critically acclaimed CD "Welcome To Woody Creek," which celebrated the NGDB's 40th anniversary in 2007.

The band's official web site is The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

FMI: http://www.beartrapsummerfestival.com

Shakespeare's "King John" tours Wyoming

The Wyoming Shakespeare Festival has been performing “The Life and Death of King John” by William Shakespeare around Wyoming since July 2. Here are the remaining performances:

July 18, 6:30 p.m., Court House, 731 C Street, Rock Springs
July 19, 4 p.m., Green River, Stratton Meyers Park
July 20, 2 p.m., Pinedale, American Legion Park
July 23, 6 p.m., Lander City Park
July 25, 6:30 p.m., Gillette College, Gillette
July 30, 6 p.m., Lander City Park
July 31, 12:30 p.m., children’s performance, “Hamlet,” Location TBA
August 1, 7 p.m., Casper, Nicolaysen Art Museum
August 2, 4:30 p.m., Cheyenne Botanic Gardens

FMI: http://www.wyoshakes.com/

Pullen & Gagliano talk books July 22 at B&N

Barnes and Noble Booksellers, 1851 Dell Range Blvd., Cheyenne, continues its summer reading celebration with a book signing and presentation by author Eugene Gagliano of Buffalo and author/illustrator Zak Pullen of Casper on Tuesday, July 22, 2 p.m.

Eugene Gagliano is a Wyoming Arts Council roster artist and author of children's books "C is for Cowboy" and "Four Wheels West," and books for teen readers.

Zak Pullen's illustrations have been featured in Sports Illustrated, the New York Times Book Review, Esquire, and many other publications. His new book, "Johnny Appleseed -- A Trail of Trees," will be out in the fall. His illustration of a cowboy and horse reading a book together is the logo of the Equality State Book Festival in Casper.

FMI: B&N at 307-632-3000.

Hawaiian Pa'ina Party at Plains Hotel

The Historic Plains Hotel in downtown Cheyenne presents a "Wyoming Pa'ina Party" on Friday, July 18, 6-9 p.m.

Planned to tie in with Cheyenne Frontier Days and its celebration of the Hawaiian cowboys' contribution to the event, the Plains Hotel party features entertainment by Ekolu Na Paniolo, hula dancers, and Jon Chandler and the Wichitones.

Dinner will include salads, pulled pork, Chicken Pineapple Bake, corn on the cob and cobbler.

Tickets are $25 per person and can be purchased at the Plains (307-635-3311) or at The All Around, 8214 Hutchins Dr. (seven miles east of Cheyenne, I-80 and Campstool Rd.), 307-632-9053.

Call for entries: Dahl Arts Center in Rapid City

The Dahl Arts Center is looking for artists working on innovative approaches to traditional or contemporary forms of "The Art of Personal Adornment."

Don't miss this opportunity to show your work in the newly renovated and expanded Dahl Galleries in Rapid City, S.D., opening in January 2009.

Artists from states within 500 miles of Rapid City, S.D. are welcomed to submit materials to be considered for an inaugural exhibition in the newly expanded Dahl galleries.

Artists are required to submit four (high-quality digital) images representative of work created in the last two years. All work must be original, made by the artist, and completed within the last two years. Submitted works are open to a full range of processes and materials. Categories include but are not limited to: beadwork, metalsmithing, lapidary, natural materials, non-traditional materials and glasswork. Invitations to participate in the exhibit will be based on creativity, innovation, quality, consistency and craftsmanship of the work as shown by the images submitted. Entry Fee: $25. Jurors: Ken Bova, Elizabeth Bucheit and Bently Spang.

One of a trio of shows celebrating the grand opening of the newly expanded Dahl Arts Center in January 2009, this exhibit is designed to explore the breadth and depth of personal adornment through objects created by artists in South Dakota and its adjacent states. Cash awards will be presented. On-line and printed publications will be produced in conjunction with the exhibition.

Entry postmark deadline - August 15, 2008

Dahl Arts Center, 713 Seventh St, Rapid City, SD 57701

Download entry form with exhibit details at http://www.thedahl.org. Call 605-394-4101 x200 to request one by mail.

"Wyoming Ranches" doc airs tonight on PBS

Dean Peterson, Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources videographer, sends this notice:

Tonight at 7:30 our department-produced documentary, "Wyoming Ranches: Twilight of a Legacy," will air on Wyoming PBS. Produced by Dean Petersen and Nancy Weidel in association with the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office, this half-hour documentary examines the changing face of ranching across the Cowboy State. This is the second half-hour documentary we have shown on TV this year and hope to keep them coming.

FMI: Dean Peterson at 307-777-3740.

Wyoming photos just what "Doc" ordered

"Lake Marie Sunrise," digital photograph by Doc Thissen, 2007

Daniel "Doc" Thissen of Laramie is the latest addition to the Wyoming Arts Council's Artist Image Registry (AIR). Doc spends a lot of time traveling the roads and back-country of Wyoming "seeking unusual photographic opportunities." He took the above photo of Lake Marie in the Snowy Range just at sunrise. Although Lake Marie may be one of the most photographed spots in the state, what makes this shot different, Doc says, is the stillness of the lake in a spot notorious for its constant wind. This photo earned Doc first place in the "waterscapes" category of the 2007 photography contest sponsored by the Albany County Tourism Board. The Laramie Chamber of Commerce used "Lake Marie Sunrise" on the cover of its 2008 guidebook. Doc runs his own photo studio in Laramie. For more info, go to http://www.docspix.com/.

For info about joining the WAC Artist Image Registry, call Mike Shay at 307-777-5234.

Kennedy essay in fall issue of Puerto del Sol

A new essay by Laramie's Jeffe Kennedy, "Hemlock & Mistletoe," will appear in the fall issue of Puerto del Sol magazine, published by New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.

Here's an excerpt from Jeffe's website:

For the first time in my life, I could not decorate for Christmas. It almost makes me weep to type the words, yet I could not bear to pull out one strand of lights. Once David convinced me to cancel our annual extravagant party, because I was too fragile for the additional pressure of cleaning and decorating and cooking, I had thought I might do simple things as the mood struck me. Perhaps I'd decorate our six-foot bougainvillea with some of the pearl lights our guests admired every year, perhaps add the clear glass balls I bought just a few weeks ago, with an eye towards replacing the tatty gold and red satin ones. But I couldn't do even that little. Our friends are
understanding of our canceled party - even the ones to whom I'd given invitations already, then reneged. They're disappointed - "You know your party is the event of my Season," said one - but supportive. I feel like I've let my neighbors down, with our dark house and invisible trees. But all you have to tell people is that your dad - though they may know the relationship hasn't always been an easy one - is dying and they forgive you any breaches.

But I have a Christmas secret I dare not speak aloud: Leo has chosen to die. He picked out the date.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Jeffe is a recipient of a WAC creative writing fellowship and a Blanchan/Doubleday writing award. She's also featured on the WAC Artist Roster. You can bring her to your community for a reading, workshop or presentation through an Arts Across Wyoming grant. FMI: http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/artistroster0809/artistroster.htm#kennedy

Californian Kay Ryan named U.S. Poet Laureate

The Library of Congress announced on Thursday that California poet Kay Ryan will serve as the 16th U.S. Poet Laureate, succeeding New England poet Charles Simic.

Ryan was born in California in 1945 and grew up in the small towns of the San Joaquin Valley and the Mojave Desert. She received both a bachelor's and master's degree from UCLA.

Ryan's awards include the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, a Guggenheim fellowship, an Ingram Merrill Award, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Union League Poetry Prize, the Maurice English Poetry Award, and three Pushcart Prizes. Her work has been selected four times for The Best American Poetry and was included in The Best of the Best American Poetry 1988-1997.

Since 1971, she has lived in Marin County in California. She has taught the same remedial English course at the College of Marin in Kentfield, for more than 30 years.

(Thanks to Guy Lebeda of the Utah Arts Council for forwarding this announcement.)

AVA fired up about Raku workshop

Family Day July 19 at UW Art Museum

From a UW press release:

The University of Wyoming Art Museum's second annual Family Day is scheduled for Saturday, July 19.

Families are invited to meet internationally-known artist Patrick Dougherty, observe his work-in-progress on Prexy's Pasture and create their own sculptures.

Dougherty will talk with families about his unique sculpture created from saplings. Families will have the opportunity to learn more about Dougherty's creative process and how he forms locally-found and harvested saplings into a sculpture that is a response to, and inspired by, the site on which they are created. Families may then return to the museum to create their own sculptures from saplings or other materials provided by the art museum.

Two sessions with the artist are scheduled. The first session begins at 10 a.m. and the second session begins at 1 p.m., both at the art museum; then, accompanied by Education Curator Wendy Bredehoft, participants will travel to the installation site to talk with the artist. Families returning to the museum will be able to work on their sculptures until 4 p.m.

"It has been fascinating to watch this sculpture take form over the past two weeks," Bredehoft says. "On Saturday it should be at that stage where viewers can still see the construction process undertaken by Patrick and his Laramie assistants while imagining what the final sculpture will look like."

Dougherty is on location to create a sculpture for the Art Museum's exhibition of public art, "Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational." Seventeen large-scale sculptures are being installed on campus and in Laramie over the summer.

The Wyoming Arts Council sponsors Family Day activities. Additionally, the museum store's inaugural Trunk Show will be held from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in the museum's lobby. Laramie jeweler Jennifer Durer is the featured artist.

"Imagine learning from the masters" is a guiding principle of the UW Art Museum's programs.

The museum is located in the Centennial Complex at 22nd & Willett Drive in Laramie. The museum and store are open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free.

FMI: www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum or the museum's new blog, www.uwartmuseum.blogspot.com

Auditions Aug. 4-6 for "Oliver!" in Cheyenne

Auditions for the Cheyenne Little Theatre Players' production of "Oliver!" are August 4, 5 and 6, 6:30 p.m., at the Mary Godfrey Playhouse in Cheyenne.

Children and young people (5-18 years old) ONLY on August 4. Adults, children and young people may all audition August 5 and 6, with child and youth try outs first each evening.

Everyone should bring a 90-second recording of a song of your choice and be prepared to do a cold reading from the script. Accommodations will be made for children who are not yet reading.

"Oliver!" will be directed by Becky Tish.

FMI: Rose Wagner at rwagner@cheyennelittletheatre.org.

C.J. Box joins bookfest fiction panel

C.J. Box, author of the Joe Pickett mystery novels, will join the Equality State Book Festival's panel of fiction writers Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper. Box's eighth book, Blood Trail, the latest in the travails of Wyoming Game and Fish Warden Joe Pickett, came out in May from Putnam to still more favorable reviews.

Don't miss Box and novelists Tina Welling, (Crybaby Ranch), Bob Roripaugh (The Legend of Billy Jenks), and Laura Pritchett, (Sky Bridge), judge of this year's Wyoming Arts Council fiction fellowships, speaking about their lives and craft on a panel called "Making Up Stories in the West", starting at 2:45 p.m. Novelist and University of Wyoming fiction instructor Alyson Hagy (Snow, Ashes) will moderate.

Mark your calendar now! The festival runs three days at Casper College and various spots around town. Check www.equalitystatebookfest.com for all the details.

Registering for workshops, the banquet, and for exhibit tables at the day-long book fair is now even easier. Just click on the "Register" link at http://www.equalitystatebookfest.com/index.php/pages/registration/, and you'll be taken to a secure server where you can pay by credit card. Or if you prefer, print out the form and send in a check. But sign up soon--workshop space and exhibit space are limited.

And if you are an author with at least one book in print and would like to reserve a 15 minute reading slot between 9 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, September 20, please contact Kathy Coe to set up a time. And tell your friends! People who sign up soon will have their names listed in our big festival program that goes out to 50,000 subscribers to the Casper Journal and the Casper Star-Tribune.

Questions? Contact Laurie Lye, chair, at Llye@caspercollege.edu.

Dean Peterson wins two Telly bronze awards

Dean Petersen, the very talented videographer with the State Parks and Cultural Resources Public Information Office, recently learned that he won two Telly bronze awards for his documentaries, "Wyoming Folks: Folk Art Encounters in the Cowboy State," and "Lee Alley: Back From War."

According to sponsoring organization's web site:

"The Telly Awards honor the very best local, regional, and cable television commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions, and work created for the Web. Since 1978, our mission has been to strengthen the visual arts community by inspiring, promoting, and supporting creativity. The 28th Annual Telly Awards received over 14,000 entries from all 50 states and 5 continents."

In his spare time, Dean is an independent filmmaker.

Food costs put crimp in arts program

A plea from the AVA Center in Gillette:

Higher Food Costs are Hurting AVA’s Art & Leadership Program!

If you have extra food to donate, the Art & Leadership Program can use your help.

We could use fruits, veggies, bread, wraps, granola bars, bagels, crackers, pretzels, lunch meat, cheese, etc. If you bring it, we'll use it. Homemade food is always welcome.

Part of our program is to encourage healthy eating, so no junk food please.

Also, donations to the Art & Leadership program are welcome to help us make it through this summer’s high costs.

For this first session (July 14-24) we have 35 people to feed two snacks and one lunch per day, for the next session (July 28-August 5) we have 45 people to feed each day. Food can be delivered to AVA Community Art Center, 509 W. Second St., anytime during business hours, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Thanks for your help!

FMI: Ariane, AVA Center, 307-682-9133 or info@avacenter.org

Craig Johnson's book tour by motorcycle

Mystery writer Craig Johnson of Ucross has hopped on his motorcycle and is continuing his regional book tour on two wheels. Here's the schedule:

I'll be in Missoula, MT tonight (Monday, July 14) at Fact and Fiction at 7 PM with Neil MacMahon. Seattle Mystery Bookstore on Wednesday, July 16 at noon and then at Whodunit Books in Olympia at 7 PM on July 17. In Portland, I'll be at Murder by the Book at 6 PM on July 18, which is a Friday, and then I'm off to Paulina Springs Books in both Redmond (4:30) and Sisters (6:30) on Saturday, July 19. It's on to Sunriver July 20 for a Sunday signing/barbecue -- love those events with food -- at Sunriver Books at 5 PM. On to Utah and Salt Lake City at The King's English on Tuesday, July 22 at 7 PM and The University of Utah Bookstore at 12:30 PM July 23. Back to the home state on Thursday, July 24 with an event in Cody at the Newstand there and at the library at 7 PM. Meeteetse the next evening with a library event at The Chocolatier at 7 PM. It's the library at Powell the next day at 1 PM and then home and almost August. Hope to see some of you on my travels.

"As You Like It (Redux)" in Laramie

From a University of Wyoming press release:

A new drama troupe, The Merely Players, will bring to Laramie Shakespeare's "As You Like It (Redux)," July 18-20 at 4 p.m. in Washington Park, off the corner of Rainbow and 19th streets.

The Bard's humorous tale of true love and brotherhood follows a noble family as it exchanges the intrigues of the court for the charms of a pastoral life. This outdoor production is free and open to all ages.

The Merely Players is an ensemble devoted to bringing Shakespeare to the people who were the first to enjoy his work: people of every class, creed and level of education.

"We want to take Shakespeare ‘off the pedestal' and provide a fast-paced, accessible adaptation of his work in a relaxed setting," says Anna Brownsted, who helped to adapt the script and create the stage directions for the outdoor venue. "Presenting this play in a found space has allowed us to create a unique production that emphasizes the actor/audience relationship, making the action up-close and personal."

This program is appropriate for audiences of all ages. With a cunning cutting of the original text, the players give the often hard-to-understand language of a conventional Shakespearean play a more modern sound. Though the play still uses the Bard's original language, it has been made more accessible to a modern ear, and it is great for those with little to no previous experience with Shakespeare.

The Merely Players' producer, Kari Kontour, stresses the event's informality.

"We invite everyone to find a blanket, bring your family and friends and perhaps even a picnic lunch, and enjoy theatre in a more ‘coming-on' disposition," says Kontour. "The production runs only three days. Don't miss your chance to be a part of the most refreshing theatre the summer has to offer."

Big West Fest combines art and music

The Big West Arts Festival Aug. 2-3 at Sheridan College in Sheridan features booths by more than 50 artists and a variety of talented musicians from throughout Wyoming and the West. You'll see some familiar names from the Wyoming Arts Council artist roster in Jeff Troxel, Fireants, and Laughing Bird. For more on the WAC roster, go to http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/artistroster0809/artistrosterlist08.htm

These are the performers for the 2008 Big West Arts Festival:

SATURDAY, AUGUST 2
9:30 – Bob Wyatt – Bagpipes
10:00 – Jess & Brandon
10:30 – Tabitha Horsley
11:00 – “Auntie Annie’s Antelope Play” or “Ham on the Range”
Noon - The Pickin’ Chicks
1:00 – Ethan Chartier
2:00 – Doug Andrews
3:00 – Jeff Troxel
4:00 – Fire Ants
5:00 – “Auntie Annie’s Antelope Play” or “Ham on the Range”
6:00 – Gary Small & the Coyote Bros.
7:00-9:00 – The Craft Brothers
9:00-11:00 – Jalan Crossland

SUNDAY, AUGUST 3
9:30 – Bob Wyatt – Bagpipes
10:00 – Church Family Singers
11:00 – “Auntie Annie’s Antelope Play” or “Ham on the Range”
Noon –J & M Blue Routes Review
1:00 – Laughing Bird
2:00 – Jeff Troxel
3:00 – “Auntie Annie’s Antelope Play” or “Ham on the Range”
4:00 – Down from the Mountain
5:00 – 7:00 – Powder River Boys

Correction: New home for Gillette melodrama

On June 18, we posted an item about performances of the Gillette Community Theatre's summer melodrama. We listed the wrong venue! Mary Wegher, GCT board members, tells us that the melodrama has moved from the WPA Building in Cam-plex Park to the New Life Wesleyan Fellowship Hall, 1000 Comanche Avenue in Gillette. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, July 18, 19, 25 and 26, and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 27.

Tickets are available at the Gillette Chamber of Commerce, 314 South Gillette Ave. FMI: 307-689-4341.

Free band concerts in the park

The Cheyenne Community Band will perform on Thursdays, July 17 and Aug. 7 and 21, 7-8 p.m., at the William N. Brimmer Amphitheater, 4603 Lions Park Drive, Cheyenne.

These events are free and open to the public.

Kids: Play in the mud at AVA Center!

The AVA Center in Gillette announces its "Mud Week! Kids' Pottery Workshop" July 21-25, 3-5 p.m.

Here’s a description:

Come play in the mud with us! Learn how to make a pot on the pottery wheel and make slab, pinch, and coil pots. Use the extruder and slab roller to make items you can use. Class fee: $60; Members: $55. Please contact our office for member discount. Scholarships are available upon request, and pre-registration is required. The registration deadline for this class is July 18.

FMI: 307-682-9133.

Artist reception 5-6 p.m. today at Cheyenne Y

The Cheyenne Family YMCA is holding a reception from 5-6 p.m. Friday, July 11, for artist Bob Child of Fort Collins, Colo. (his painting, "Camron Ram" is featured in photo). Child is the YMCA's featured artist of the month for July. The reception is free and open to the public (you don't have to be a Y member to attend).

FMI: Chris Shay, 307-634-9622.

No fiction -- "Pulp Function" at the NIC

Paper, that humble material that we use daily and take for granted, becomes material for art in Pulp Function, on exhibit at the Nicolaysen Art Museum & Discovery Center in Casper from July 11 through September 28 -- with an opening reception on FRiday, August 8, starting at 6 p.m.

This exhibition explores all aspects of paper as a medium for art, including vessels, jewelry, clothing, furniture, books and sculpture.

FMI: http://www.thenic.org/

EDITOR'S NOTE: The "Pulp Function" exhibition will be on display during the 2008 Equality State Book Festival in Casper Sept. 18-20. The book fair and other bookfest events will be held at the Nicolaysen Art Museum on Saturday, Sept. 20.

New roster artist: Carolee Bowen, Evanston

Carolee Bowen is an oboist from Evanston. For several years, she's appeared on the WAC artist roster with her chamber music group, Trio Dolce.

Carolee is familiar with standard woodwind quintet repertoire and as a freelance oboist, can sit in with your community or professional orchestra for concerts, or substitute in chamber groups, performing as if she had been playing with the group all season. She taught oboe at her private music studio for ten years, and also taught band in the public school system.

Carolee currently performs as principal oboist with the Murray Symphony Orchestra of Salt Lake City, Utah, plays in various chamber groups, such as Trio Dolce, and is in the progressive Celtic band Cranachan.

Contact: (307) 679-2348 or caroleebowen@gmail.com

New roster artist: Andy Nelson, Pinedale

Andy Nelson is a cowboy poet and performer from Pinedale who's a new Wyoming Arts Council roster artist.

An energetic and high-spirited cowboy poet and humorist, Andy offers the history, heritage and hilarity of the cowboy culture through traditional poetry and story telling. During his childhood and adolescence, Andy’s greatest influence was traveling with his father to his many farrier jobs. As an adult, Andy worked as a ranch hand in southern Idaho for several years.

Andy brings humor and authenticity to his performances, entertaining audiences across the U.S. and Canada. Most recently, he has performed as a featured artist for the Colorado Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Arvada, and at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering at Elko, Nevada.

Contact: (307) 367-2842 or andy@cowpokepoet.com; http://www.cowpokepoet.com/

Writing on the river with Page Lambert

Page Lambert, WAC creative writing fellowship winner and former resident of Sundance, is working with The Women’s Wilderness Institute to run a five-day writing workshop for women Sept. 24-28 on the Green River. The retreat features daily, interactive writing seminars and one-on-one sessions with Page while canoeing through Utah’s Labyrinth Canyon.

Page is a veteran course leader who has inspired hundreds of women in their personal writing. One of her past courses was featured in the January 2006 issue of Oprah Magazine as “One of the Year’s Top Six Great All-Girl Getaways.”

“Page Lambert’s river writing trips provide a unique opportunity to examine, evaluate and energize both your work and life. Her love of western landscapes and respect for everyone attempting to understand, describe and preserve them are contagious,” said Sureva Towler, Writing from the River’s Edge 2007 participant. “The adventures Page shepherds spread insights and inspiration faster than tamarisk can invade a riverbank, and they’re fun.”

As guest teacher on The Women’s Wilderness Institute “Writing from the River’s Edge” course, Lambert brings years of experience working with women writers and a natural passion for the wilderness. She was one of fifteen writers selected to contribute to Writing Down the River: Into the Heart of the Grand Canyon. Her memoir, In Search of Kinship, was a Denver bestseller.

The five-day retreat includes an introduction to canoe travel, water safety and basic camping techniques and is appropriate for writers and canoers of all levels. The trip begins and ends in Grand Junction, Colorado. The price for the course is $850, which includes all meals, canoeing and camping equipment.

Page Lambert is available for interviews about the trip. Contact Wendy Gruenberg Wray, marketing director of The Women’s Wilderness Institute, at 303.938.9191.

Depot Museum offers concerts during CFD

The Cheyenne Depot Museum is hosting Rhythm by the Rails, Downtown Cheyenne’s Free Concert Series, on the Depot Plaza during Cheyenne Frontier Days from Friday, July 18th to the Saturday Night Street Dance on July 26. Regional bands will be performing, as well as a variety of headliners including Susie Luchsinger and Pake McEntire on Sunday, and Bitter Creek on Cheyenne Day/DDA Day at the Depot.

FMI: http://www.cheyennedepotmuseum.org.

West Nebraska Art Center features retrospective of Alice Sacks' paintings

"Wyoming Winter" by Alice Warfield Sack

The West Nebraska Arts Center, 106 E. 18th St., Scottsbluff, Nebraska, is featuring a retrospective of the work of Alice Warfield Sack Aug. 1-29. An opening reception will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 1.

Sack died two years ago in Torrington at the age of 95. Much of her work features Wyoming landmarks, such as Devils Tower, the Tetons, and the Snowy Range. She was born in San Francisco and spent her early years on the Pacific Coast before moving to Denver in the 1940s. She spent her later years in Torrington, Wyo., and Scottsbluff.

According to a press release, Sack's work was featured in the Art Center's first one-person exhibit. She was a member of the North Platte Valley Artists' Guild and the Wyoming Arts Association. She showed her work throughout Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Nebraska, but also exhibited in New York City, Maine, and Massachusetts. She received more than 100 awards during the course of her long career.

According to long-time friend Amy Sadle in Gering, Neb., Alice Sack died with no dependents. So, all of the work in the exhibit is for sale. Profits will be used to provide scholarships for artists over 40 years old. CDs of the work are available by calling 308-632-2226.

The WNAC is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon-5 p.m. on Saturday.

FMI: http://www.nebraskarts.com/wnac/

Dougherty sculpture to be installed at UW

From a University of Wyoming press release:

Artist Patrick Dougherty will spend the next three weeks in Laramie to create a large-scale sculpture made of saplings for "Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational."

The latest of 16 sculptures for the exhibition, Dougherty's artwork will be installed on Prexy's Pasture on the University of Wyoming campus.

This week, Dougherty began harvesting truckloads of saplings from Bath Ranch and Deerwood Ranch near Laramie. The saplings will be cut, sorted, bundled and transported by truck to UW. Within days, Dougherty's structure will begin to emerge as he and dozens of assistants assemble the saplings into a unique work of art.

Dougherty has created nearly 200 site-specific sculptures in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia over the past 20 years. His work has been displayed at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Wash., and the American Crafts Museum in New York City, among other places.

Dougherty comes to Wyoming following his most recent installations for the Garden of the Arts in France, and Sculpture in the Parklands in Ireland.

He has received many honors and awards, including the Pollack-Krasner Foundation Grant, Henry Moore Foundation Fellowship and several grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Dougherty's work has been the subject of more than 100 articles and reviews in publications including The New York Times and the Washington Post.

In addition to the installation of his sculpture, Dougherty will discuss his work at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 23, at the Albany County Library, 310 S. 8th St. A reception follows.
"Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational" is being organized by the UW Art Museum, various agencies in the City of Laramie and the Albany County Public Library. Sculptures will be placed or created on location through July. The exhibition will be on view from Aug. 1 through July 31, 2009.

"The exhibition will offer extraordinary educational opportunities for students of all ages to learn about the artists, their creative processes and the behind-the-scenes view of just how these large-scale works are created and placed," says Susan Moldenhauer, director and chief curator for the UW Art Museum.

For more information on "Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational," go to the Web site at http://www.uwartmuseum.blogspot.com/.

IN THE PHOTO: Chief Preparator Sterling Smith, Artist Patrick Dougherty, and Museum Intern Jedediah Cracco deliver a truckload of saplings to Prexy's Pasture for the installation of Dougherty's sculpture. Photo courtesy of the UW Art Museum.

New Deal-inspired photos to tour Wyoming

From a Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources press release:

A traveling exhibit featuring the photos of New Deal inspired Wyoming projects will be on display at venues throughout the state beginning next month.

The exhibit, celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the New Deal, features 14 large-format contemporary black-and-white photographs taken by Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources photographer Richard Collier. Wyoming Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Program Administration sites are depicted in the Collier photographs.

The New Deal, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s massive Depression-era program to put Americans back to work, resulted in an alphabet soup of federal programs. Millions of people took part in these programs resulting in a myriad of projects. Americans planted trees, created parks and zoos, wrote plays, recorded histories, created paintings and photographs, and built highways, bridges, dams, courthouses, schools and stadiums.

Among the structures chronicled in the photographs are the Museum and Castle at Guernsey State Park, a band shell in Lingle, a swimming pool in Veteran and the Wardwell Hanger in Bar Nunn.

The exhibit is currently scheduled to be on display at the following locations:

• August-September, Carbon County Library, 215 Buffalo Street, Rawlins
• October–November, Uinta County Museum, 36 10th Street, Evanston
• December, Fremont County Library, 1330 West Park, Riverton
• January, Park County Library, 1057 Sheridan Ave., Cody
• February, Weston County Library, 23 West Main St., Newcastle
• April, Sublette County Library, 144 South Tyler Ave., Pinedale
  

If interested in hosting the traveling exhibit during the coming year, please contact Nancy Weidel at 777-3418 or nweide@state.wy.us.

New roster artist: Matt Daly, Jackson

Matt Daly is a writer who lives in Jackson. He's a new addition to the Wyoming Arts Council artists' roster.

Since 2003, Matt has offered poetry and prose writing workshops for elementary through high school students, using creative writing as a method for students to discover their unique artistic voice. He has incorporated various classroom disciplines into his workshops including biology, ecology, chemistry, social studies, language arts and visual arts. Matt’s goal is to help students see writing as an opportunity to make art, and he often utilizes peer editing, public readings and performances as integral parts of the student writing process. His most recent project involved high school students writing and illustrating comic strips communicating science concepts learned in the classroom.

Contact: (307) 732-1181 or mrdaly@earthlink.net

For more information about the WAC roster, go to http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/artistroster0809/artistrosterlist08.htm

Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering

The Fifth Annual Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering will be held July 18-20 in Encampment, with activities ranging from a stick horse rodeo and melodrama to cowboy music and poetry.

The Cowboy Gathering begins Friday evening, July 18, with a cowboy shootout at 6 p.m. by The Gunslingers. This comedy performance about the Old West is followed by a melodrama presented by the Grand Encampment Opera Company in the historic opera house. After the melodrama, singers, poets and musicians are invited to the Campfire Jam at Grand ViewPark.

All of these events are free and open to the public. For a full schedule, go to http://www.grandencampmentgathering.org/.

The Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering is organized by ranchers, musicians, poets and writers living in the area as a way to help preserve and promote ranching and cowboy culture and lifestyle. It is co-sponsored by the Grand Encampment Museum with assistance from the Town of Encampment, Town of Riverside and many businesses and individuals in the Platte Valley.

GTMF holds open rehearsals each Friday

The Grand Teton Music Festival holds open rehearsals at 10 a.m. in Walk Festival Hall in Teton Village on the following dates:

July 11, July 18, July 25, August 1, August 8 and August 15.

According to the GTMF web site, it's "a unique opportunity for listeners to observe the Festival Orchestra in preparation, as the final dress rehearsal prior to each weekend orchestra concert is open to public audience."

Students attend free. Adults $10. All tickets general admission

Bill Studebaker, Idaho poet who often toured Wyoming, dies in kayaking accident

Some of you may remember talented Idaho poet Bill Studebaker from his Tumblewords tours of Wyoming in the 1990s. This sad news about Bill comes from today's Idaho Statesman newspaper:

Family and friends of the late Idaho poet and kayaker Bill Studebaker, who died while kayaking on the Salmon River last Friday, will hold a public memorial service for him from 2-3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Rick Allen Community Room at the Herrett Center for Arts and Science on the College of Southern Idaho campus in Twin Falls.

Studebaker retired several years ago after spending about 30 years as an instructor in CSI’s English Department and director of the school’s Outdoor Program. The 61-year-old was also a well-known Idaho poet, essayist and outdoor photographer.

Presentations at the service will be from family members, Gino Sky of Boise, author of Appaloosa Rising, Idaho Humanities Council Director Rick Ardinger, Herrett Center Director and long time friend and colleague, Jim Woods, and one of Bill’s closest friends, Rod Burks.

Friends and family say Studebaker loved rocks and brought at least one home from each of his outdoor adventures. Instead of flowers or other mementos, the family invites memorial attendees to bring a rock of their own, if they wish, to honor him.

Herrett Director Jim Woods said the rocks will be added to the rock landscaping at the Herrett Center.

The Herrett Center for Arts and Science is at the College of Southern Idaho campus, 315 Falls Ave.

UPDATE (July 9): From Rick Ardinger, director of the Idaho Humanities Council:

The family is putting together a memorial "service" for Bill at the College of Southern Idaho Herrett Center in Twin Falls on Saturday, July 12, 2.p.m., followed by an outdoor gathering at Rock Creek Park in Twin Falls from 3:30 to 7:30 or so, depending on when the formal service ends.

Bill's daughter Tona is asking that those attending the Rock Creek Park gathering bring their own lawn chairs, food, and beverage of choice (beer's OK in the park). She is renting a PA system and those who wish to say a few words about Bill or read something are welcome to participate.

Meanwhile, Bill's friend Bruce Reichert of Idaho Public Television has put together a nice remembrance of Bill on the IPTV website with links to television clips of Bill from "Outdoor Idaho" episodes. Go to http://idahoptv.org/outdoors/oi_stories.cfm

Cards can be sent to Bill's wife Judy Studebaker at 2616 East 4000 North, Twin Falls, ID 83330.

"Artistic Discovery 2008" exhibits student art

Visitors to Cheyenne can take in the annual summer gallery exhibit of student artwork at the Wyoming Arts Council.

"Artistic Discovery 2008" showcases 24 two-dimensional and a dozen three-dimensional works by Wyoming students. The work was displayed in April at the annual High School Art Symposium in Casper. Outside judges selected 25 2-D pieces for Congressionaql Art Awards. First place went to an acrylic painting, "Rocking Horse," by Kirsten Garber of Sheridan High School. It will be displayed for a year in the hall that connects the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C., with the House of Representatives offices. The 24 honorable mentions are included in the WAC Gallery show.

New roster artist: Rod McQueary

Rod McQueary is a cowboy poet from Recluse in Campbell County.

Rod has been performing cowboy poetry and humor for the better part of twenty years. While best known for humor, he is most proud of his collaborations with fellow cowboy poet Bill Jones, with whom he coauthored an acclaimed healing series of poetic work on Vietnam, Blood Trails. Rod has written Thinking Out Loud, a syndicated column and radio show, and has written, consulted, and assisted on numerous commercial projects, as well as publishing articles, book reviews and poetry in RANGE Magazine, American Cowboy, Buckaroo, and Between Earth and Sky. He’s been a favorite as a featured poet for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada.

Contact: (307) 685-8248; lazy2@vcn.com

Register online now for Equality State Bookfest workshops, book fair and banquet

The Equality State Book Festival offers a slick new online system to register for the event's workshops, banquet and book fair. We may be a bit biased because we serve on the ESBF planning committee. But we also understand the difficulties in assembling a registration system for any event. The Wyoming Arts Council still is searching for the most efficient and cost-effective way to register people online for its Governor's Arts Awards events and biennial Wyoming Arts Summit.

While most of the offerings of the Equality State Book Festival are free, there are fees for the Friday (Sept. 19) banquet, Saturday (Sept. 20) book fair tables and the four writing workshops (Sept. 18-19) conducted by University of Wyoming creative writing faculty. Workshop leaders this year are Alyson Hagy, Beth Loffreda, David Romtvedt, and H.L. Hix.

Each two-day workshop is limited to 20 students each on a first-come, first-served basis. All workshops will be held in the Strausner Student Center and run two-and-one-half hours each day. You can earn .5 Casper College continuing education units (CEU) per workshop. Fees are $75 for non-students and $50 for students.

Book fair tables go for $75 for commercial entities and $50 for nonprofits. Banquet tickets are $25 apiece.

Register online now, especially for the workshops as space will go fast.

Wyomingarts blog sends its kudos to the tech-savvy IT people at Casper College, host and main sponsor (along with the Casper College Foundation) of the bookfest.

Check it out at http://www.equalitystatebookfest.com/index.php/pages/registration/

Eagle Spirit Dancers in Lander July 9

Eagle Spirit Dancers of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe perform their living history by demonstrating traditional dances on Wednesday, July 9, 7 p.m., at the Museum of the American West, 1445 W. Main St., Lander. Join in a friendship dance after the main performance. Free.

FMI: 307-335-8778, www.amwest.org.

July 21 lecture on Hawaiian quilting

Hawaiian quilter Nancy Lee Chong will talk about her work and conduct a trunk show on Monday, July 21, 7 p.m., at Creative Ministries, 600 Carlson Rd., Cheyenne. Admission is free for members of Cheyenne Heritage Quilters; $5 for non-members.

FMI: 307-638-2002.

Off Square Theatre Company in Jackson presents "Always... Patsy Cline"

BBHC hosts "Houlihan" Wyoming premiere

The Wyoming premiere of "Houlihan," a "lively and entertaining feature-length documentary about the Northern Range cowboy," will be held on Monday, July 14, 6 p.m., in the Coe Auditorium at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody. The showing is free to people who buy an admission to the museum.

The film was made by Susan Jensen and Paul Singer. The music is by Ian Tyson.

FMI: www.tapadero.com

New roster artist: Sue Wallis

Sue Wallis, a poetry performer from Recluse in Campbell County, is a new member of the Wyoming Arts Council artists' roster.

Currently serving as a Wyoming Legislator for House District 52, Sue and her husband Rod McQueary (also a WAC roster artist) operate the Wallis Ranch in northeastern Wyoming. Sue performs poetry recitations, and has taught writing workshops to adults and youths of all ages, and for several years has taught at Gillette’s Advocacy for Visual Art (AVA) for their “Leadership for Girls” summer program. In 1994, Sue was commissioned for poetry that reflected the spirit of the West. Her six poems were set to a symphonic score, Sagebrush Suite, which was performed at the cowboy gathering in Elko, Nevada. In 2005, this work was transformed into a ballet, and Sue again recited her poetry for the performance.

Contact: (307) 685-8848 or sue.wallis@vcn.com

Call For Entries: Pavement Saw Press

Pavement Saw Press Transcontinental Poetry Award is now accepting entries.

Electronic and mailed entries must meet these requirements:

1. The manuscript should be at least 48 pages of poetry and no more than 70 pages of poetry in length.
2. A one-page cover letter. Include a brief biography, the book's title, your name, address, and telephone number, and, if you have e-mail, your e-mail address. This should be followed by a page which lists publication acknowledgments for the book. For each acknowledgement mention the publisher (journal, anthology, chapbook etc.) and the poem published.
3. The manuscript should be bound with a single clip and begin with a title page including the book's title, your name, address, and telephone number, and, if you have e-mail, your e-mail address.
4. The second page should have only the title of the manuscript. There are to be no acknowledgments or mention of the author's name from this page forward. Submissions to the contest are blind judged.
5. There should be no more than one poem on each page. The manuscript can contain pieces longer than one page.
6. The manuscript should be paginated, beginning with the first page of poetry.

Each year, Pavement Saw Press will publish at least one book of poetry and/or prose poems from manuscripts received during this competition. Selections are chosen through a blind judging process. The competition is open to anyone who has not previously published a volume of poetry or prose. The author receives $1000 and five percent of the 1000 copy press run. Previous judges have included Judith Vollmer, David Bromige, Bin Ramke and Howard McCord. This year David Baratier will be the judge. All poems must be original, all prose must be original, fiction or translations are not acceptable. Writers who have had volumes of poetry and/or prose under 40 pages printed or printed in limited editions of no more than 500 copies are eligible. Submissions are accepted during the months of June, July, and until August 15th. All submissions must have an August 15th, 2008, or earlier, postmark. This is an award for first books only.

If you wish to send via regular mail your manuscript should be accompanied by a check in the amount of $20 made payable to Pavement Saw Press. All U.S. contributors to the contest will receive books, chapbooks and journals equal to, or more than, the entry fee. Add $3 (US) for other countries to cover the extra postal charge. Do not include an SASE for notification of results, this information will be sent with the free book. Do not send the only copy of your work. All manuscripts are recycled and individual comments on the manuscripts cannot be made.If you wish to submit electronically, use http://www.pavementsaw.org/pages/transaward.htm.

Do Palma quilt featured in "Fabric of Legacies"

A quilt by Cheyenne's Do Palma is part of the 27th annual "Fabric of Legacies" International Art Quilt Exhibition at the Lincoln Center Galleries in Fort Collins, Colo., through Aug. 20. Award jurors are Susan Crouse-Kemp and Louisa Smith.

Do Palma will join other exhibit artists at the opening reception on Friday, July 18, 5-7 p.m.

FMI: http://www.ci.fort-collins.co.us/lctix/galleries-now.php

New West sponsors summer photo contest

RULES: You must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States. Your photos must have been taken in the Rocky Mountain region, defined as New Mexico, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana, during the summer of 2008.

FMI: http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/h2ography_give_us_your_best_water_shot/C41/L41/

Paul Taylor tells stories of the outback

The National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson presents Paul Taylor, an acclaimed performer on the WAC artist roster, sharing stories of Aboriginal and European Australia on July 16.

Two programs will be available, and each presents a great opportunity for guests of all ages. The activities accompany "Ritual Abstractions: Aboriginal Art of Australia and New Guinea," an exhibition that hangs in the NMWA through November 2.

The recipient of several national awards, Taylor will lead the Museum's Family Fun Days activity on Wednesday, July 16 at 2 p.m. People of all ages will have an opportunity to make boomerangs. The program will last about one hour and is free for members or with Museum admission.

Taylor will be performing the didgeridoo (an ancient Aboriginal musical instrument) and telling stories of the Australian Outback at 7 p.m. The event will be held at dusk near an open fire (weather permitting) on the Museum's terrace overlooking the National Elk Refuge and Sleeping Indian. The evening's activities are free for members, or $10 for non-members.

FMI: Zeenie Scholz, 307-733-5437.

For opera, Wyomingites look south

It’s a challenge to find opera in Wyoming.

But our neighbors to the south in Utah and Colorado (or way down south in Santa Fe) do have some excellent opera offerings this summer.

For example, the Central City Opera in Central City, Colo., presents “Susannah” by Carlisle Floyd from July 5 through Aug. 10. The opera is “a glimpse in to small town America. This retelling of the Apocryphal biblical tale of Susannah and the Elders takes place in rural Tennessee. The story concerns a heroine falsely accused of immoral behavior when seen bathing in a creek by the church elders.”

For ticket information, go to http://www.centralcityopera.org/.

Nina McConigley: "Cowboys and East Indians"

The Virginia Quarterly Review has published Nina McConigley’s story “Cowboys and East Indians” in its summer 2008 issue. The story's set in Laramie. To read an excerpt, go to http://www.vqronline.org/articles/2008/summer/mcconigle-cowboys-indians/

Nina just returned home to Casper after a year working for a publisher in Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra. She has an MFA in creative writing from the University of Houston, where she was an Inprint Brown Foundation Fellow. She is the winner of a Barthelme Memorial Fellowship and served as the nonfiction editor of Gulf Coast: a Journal of Literature and Fine Arts. She has worked as a writer for the Casper Star-Tribune and as writer-in-residence for Writers in the Schools in Houston. She’s at work on her first novel.

Nina’s also serves on the planning committee for the Equality State Book Festival, set for Sept. 18-20 in Casper.

August groundbreaking planned for new Washakie Museum & Cultural Center

The summer issue of "Mammoth News" from the Washakie Museum in Worland carried some big news.

The Washakie Museum & Cultural Center plans to break ground for its new facility in August. The building will house approximately 5,000 square feet of permanent exhibit space, 2,000 square feet of temporary and traveling exhibit space, and a banquet/meeting room with a kitchen.

CTA Architects and the Sargent Legacy LLC are working together to complete the building plans. The museum board and staff are planning the content for the exhibits with ECOS Exhibit Designers. They're also been consulting with historians and museum experts such as Dr. George Frison, Dr. Phil Roberts, John Davis, Dr. Marcel Kornfeld and Mike Bies.

Funding for the museum comes from the Newell B. Sargent Foundation.

For updates on the new building, go to http://www.washakiemuseum.com/.

"A Tale that Goes from Bad to Verse"

The Cheyenne Old-Fashioned Melodrama presents “The Rhyming Rapscallion” or “A Tale that Goes from Bad to Verse" or "Dirk and Tallen Handsome" at the Historic Atlas Theatre. The play was written by Brooks Reeves and Rory Mack. Director is Rory Mack and assistant director is Brooks Reeves.

Shows are on July 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21-26, 27, August 1, 2. 7 p.m. all dates. There are additional performances at 2 p.m. on July 20 and July 27. There are also 9:15 p.m. performances July 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and at 9 p.m. on August 1.

Tickets are $10 for July 11, 12, 16, 17, August 1, August 2. They are $14 for adults and $10 for students July 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27.

FMI: 307-638-6543 through June 25; 307-635-0199 after June 25.

Here’s a synopsis from the Cheyenne Little Theatre web site:

This year’s titillating tale begins in the Last Chance Calamity Mine, where the vicious villain, Dirk Degenerate, has tightly trapped our hapless heroine, the tantalizing Truly Sweetenuff. Degenerate, a dangerously debauched desperado, is threatening to blast our beauteous belle to bits when, suddenly, at the last possible moment, just when it seems there is no hope left, our hero, the pricelessly plucky Tallen Handsome, rescues the pulchritudinously passionate Truly and valiantly vanquishes Degenerate, who is inadvertently blown to bits himself…or is he? Our rousing recount resumes 20 years later when Tallen and Truly, contentedly co-joined in matrimony, commiserate over their son, Hardly Handsome. Hardly is a distinct disappointment to his forlorn folks, for he does not fancy himself in the family’s hero business. Instead, the lack-luster lad longs to be a…gasp…POET! The charmingly compelling cast also includes: Ol’ Homer DeRange, a guitar toting “cowboy narrator”; Charity Case, a rough and ready cowgirl; a marvelously mute villainess; and a mysteriously malevolent figure from the past plotting his revenge on the Handsomes. This delightful diversion is packed with a plentitude of laughs that will tickle the funny bone of the entire family.

ARK Creative Arts Center joins UW project

This news comes from the University of Wyoming Art Museum's blog:

The artists at the Creative Arts Center of ARK Regional Services are working on a large-scale sculpture made of sheet metal for the University of Wyoming Art Museum's major exhibition of public art, "Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational."

Inspired by Alexander Calder's large, colorful and whimsical stabiles and guided by visual arts coordinator Debbie Garner and local artist Alison Arnold, ARK artists are creating their own interior designs for the yet-to-be-named sculpture. People will be able to walk both around and inside the sculpture, which will be placed in front of the Creative Art Center at 1174 N. 4th St.

"This project is an exciting artistic experience for the participants," says Mary Arnold, manager of the Creative Arts Center. "They are learning about Alexander Calder, a renowned American artist, as well as three-dimensional design, group cohesiveness and the process and production of public sculpture.

"The Creative Arts Center provides opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities to explore and express their creativity and learn and grow in an integrated and enriched community environment.

"We are thrilled that ARK agreed to participate in this community-wide celebration of art," says Susan Moldenhauer, director and chief curator of the UW Art Museum. "The efforts ARK's administration, teachers, and residents to create a special work or this exhibition are remarkable."

The ARK Creative Arts Center won a 2006 Wyoming Governor's Arts Award for its innovative arts programs for adults with intellectual disabilities.

"Greater Tuna" at Centennial Theatre

The Centennial Community Theatre in Centennial launches its new season with performances of "Greater Tuna" on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays July 11-13, 18-20, 25-27, and Aug. 2 and 3 (no Aug. 1 show). Performances will be at the Trading Post Dinner House. Dinner will not be served as part of this show. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for seniors and students.

The Dinner Theatre shows this season will be "Arsenic and Old Lace" Oct. 31-Nov. 16; "An Evening of One Acts" Jan. 8-21, 2009; and a comedy to be announced May 29-June 14. Dinner theatre tickets are $27 for adults and $25 for seniors and students.

The Centennial Community Theatre season is partially funded by a $3,500 grant from the Wyoming Arts Council.

FMI: 307-399-7226.

New roster artist: Jenny Dowd

Jenny Dowd, Jackson, visual artist

Jenny’s professional training lies in ceramics and fibers, although she draws, sculpts with metal, as well as does printmaking, papermaking and collage work. Currently the administrative assistant and volunteer coordinator at the Art Association of Jackson Hole, she also instructs beginning and intermediate wheel-throwing ceramics and beginning drawing and fiber classes. She assists with youth classes and has taught outreach clay and mixed media classes to local school children through the Journey School, part of the Teton Science School in Jackson. In 2004, she received a studio assistantship at the Penland School of Crafts. Her work was included in the 2008 Governor's Capitol Art Exhibition at the Wyoming State Museum.

Contact: (307) 413-5399 or jenny_k_dowd@yahoo.com; www.jennydowd.com

New WAC artists' roster available online

The online version of the new Wyoming Arts Council artists' roster is available for your perusal at http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/artistroster0809/artistrosterlist08.htm.

WAC added eight new artists to the 2008-2009 roster, adding up to 57 talented Wyoming musicians, poets, storytellers, visual artists, dancers, and performing groups. You can choose an artist, and then bring him/her/them to your community through the WAC's Arts Across Wyoming grant category. Go here to apply.

The print version of the roster will be mailed with the August issue of Wyoming Artscapes, the WAC's quarterly newsletter.

FMI: 307-777-7742.

Yellowstone Jazz Festival July 11-12

The schedule has been announced for the 21st Annual Yellowstone Jazz Festival in Cody:

Friday July 11:

Free admission: Sheets Family, 6-8 p.m. in the Cody City Park

Admission $10, Walt Andrus, jazz singer, 8-11 p.m., Holiday Inn in Cody

Saturday July 12, admission $15 for adults and $30 per family (kids 12 & under free), noon-6 p.m. food is available. Saturday Jazz on the Lawn at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody:

Noon, Buffalo High School Jazz Combo
1 p.m., Ruth Ahlers

2 p.m., Tribute to Frank Sinatra featuring Walt Andrus
3 p.m., Yellowstone Big Band (18 piece big band directed by Neil Hansen and pictured above)
4 p.m., Alex Nauman, guitarist
5 p.m., Tribute to Frank Sinatra featuring Walt Andrus

Tickets will be available at the door and at The Thistle in Cody and Chambers of Commerce in Cody and Powell.

No Fog West presents "Talking to Terrorists"

Information from the No Fog West Theater Company in Sheridan:

In keeping with many of the themes and theories we developed from our experiences working on "The Laramie Project", we chose "Talking to Terrorists" by Robin Soans for our summer 2008 tour (July 31-Aug. 16).

The verbatim play is compiled from interviews with terrorists from around the world, foreign service workers, hostages and others whose lives have been affected by terrorism.

The play’s candid but tactful approach to a complicated and salient issue provides an ideal platform for a discussion on wider-ranging issues. as actors and students, we are particularly interested in the simultaneous vagueness and persistence of the term terrorism and the universality of the issue. to further stimulate conversation, we plan on hosting a community discussion on terrorism in conjunction with our performances in each community we visit.

Of the many exciting opportunities "The Laramie Project" has given us, perhaps most exciting is the offer of a residency at the Ucross Foundation, an artists’ community outside of Sheridan. After a three-week residency there in July, we will tour for three weeks with an eight-actor cast, stopping in Sheridan, Salt Lake City and McCall, Idaho (click here for tour dates).

New Roster Artist: Christopher Amend

Christopher Amend, Gillette, visual artist

Now a self-employed artist, Chris (pictured at right) taught art for thirty-two years at the elementary, high school and college levels. His strong belief that material and technique should serve idea rather than the other way around has led him to hold numerous workshops on that topic. He has worked on several projects with Advocacy for Visual Arts (AVA) in Gillette, including adult classes in life drawing, beginning drawing, and archival matting techniques. He has also served as a guest artist for the “Arts and Leadership” summer youth program at AVA, and has conducted weekly life drawing sessions there since 2003.

Contact: (307) 299-0659 or camend@vcn.com; www.chrisamend.com. To bring Christopher to your community through an Arts Across Wyoming grant, go to the WAC web site and click on the applications link.

Nine Wyoming artists receive purchase awards at 2008 Governor's Capitol Art Exhibition

Ginny Butcher,"Winter Sage," Oil, 18"x24"

Nine Wyoming artists received purchase awards totaling more than $12,500 during the Governor’s Capitol Art Exhibition reception held at the Wyoming State Museum on June 26.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal presented purchase awards at the event to Bunny Connell of Sheridan, Dan Hayward and Travis Ivey of Laramie, Rom Hinz of Douglas, Claire Leon of Story, Mike McClure of Lander, Lynn Newman and Do Palma of Cheyenne and Edie Reno of Gillette.

Additionally, Palma received the People’s Choice Award, a selection made through voting of those in attendance at the reception. Ginny Butcher of Evansville (her work is pictured above) received the Bobby Hathaway Juror’s Choice Award from Juror Constance Mohrman, exhibits manager of the Wildlife Experience Museum in Parker, Colo.

The pieces receiving purchase awards will be included in the Capitol Art Collection and be eligible for display in the offices of the state’s five elected officials. The governor, first lady, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, state superintendent of public instruction and representatives from the Division of Travel and Tourism selected the purchase award recipients.

The Capitol Art Exhibition is on display at the Wyoming State Museum, located at 2301 Central Ave. in Cheyenne now through Aug. 30. Remaining pieces are available for purchase. The entire collection can be seen online at artsparkshistory.com. Call 307-777-7022 for more information.

WAC makes changes in grant programs

Just in time for the new fiscal year, the Wyoming Arts Council has announced an increase in funding for most of its Ongoing Grants.

These grants are for arts projects or events taking place between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. Applicants may receive funding from each WAC grant category once per year (July 1-June 30).

The WAC Board recently approved an increase in funding limits for these Ongoing Grant programs:

• Arts Access project grants increase from $1,000 to $1,500
• Arts Across Wyoming project grants increase from $500 to $600
• Folk Arts project grants increase from $1,000 to $1,500
• Folk Arts festival grants increase from $2,000 to $2,500
• Open Door project grants increase from $750 to $1,000
• Technology in the Arts project grants increase from $2,500 to $3,000
• Arts Access festival grants have been added, with funding to $2,500

Before now, each of these Ongoing Grants required a one-to-one cash match to be eligible for the above listed grants. While the one-to-one cash match is still preferred, the WAC Board specified that 50 percent of the match can now be through in-kind donations, either merchandise or time. This change applies to all Ongoing Grant programs listed above except Technology in the Arts.

Applications in the Ongoing Grant categories will be accepted online only, unless special arrangements are made.

FMI: http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/

Firefighters help kids with reading

Join Raising Readers in Wyoming and the Casper Fire Department for an hour of reading fun at Fire Station 3 in Casper on Monday, June 30, at 9 a.m. After the reading session, Casper Fire Department personnel will lead the children on a tour of the station. All are welcome to attend this free event. FMI: Jennifer at Raising Readers, 307-577-9748.

Snowy Range Fest offers "Rounding Third"

The final theatre production in the University of Wyoming's 2008 Snowy Range Summer Theatre and Dance Festival, "Rounding Third" runs July 8-12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center studio theatre in Laramie. Tickets cost $10 for the public, $8 for senior citizens and $5 for students. For tickets call (307) 766-6666 or go online at www.uwyo.edu/finearts.

Directed by UW Professor Leigh Selting, the play follows Don and Michael, two mismatched coaches and fathers who are stuck together leading a team for the duration of the Little League season.

"This is a perfect summer show. Extremely funny and topical, it speaks to anyone who has ever had a child involved in competition, or played themselves," says Selting.

This production of "Rounding Third" features Brandon Taylor and Michael Legg, both members of the Actors' Equity Association, the labor union representing American actors and stage managers in the professional theatre.

Taylor is a 2005 UW alumnus whose recent credits include: "Tango" (UCSD/La Jolla Playhouse) and "The Deception" (La Jolla Playhouse).

Legg is the director of the Apprentice/Intern Company at the prestigious Actors Theatre of Louisville whose recent credits include "Our Town" (Triad Stage), the film "February One," (official selection for the 2003 Telluride IndieFest) and appearances on television's "Law & Order: SVU."

Capitol Art Exhibition reception today

This reminder comes from Milward Simpson, director of Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources:

I'd like to invite you all to attend the annual Governor's Capitol Art Exhibition Reception taking place this evening from 5-7 p.m. in the State Museum in Cheyenne.

True to form, there's some fantastic art this year, great live music, an appearance by the Governor and First Lady and several of our elected officials, the chance to vote for a "People's Choice Award" and the naming of this year's purchase awards.

This is one of our more high-profile annual agency events and it's a chance to support the work of our colleagues in the State Museum.

Hope to see you there!

New Roster Artist: Bryan Ragsdale

As noted in a June 13 post, the Wyoming Arts Council has added eight new artists to its roster. The WAC now has 57 artists, writers, performers and folk artists eligible to be brought into Wyoming communities through its Arts Across Wyoming grants.

The new roster will be up on the web site early in July. You can view it -- and find details about grants -- on the WAC web site. The printed version of the roster will be inserted in the August issue of the newsletter.

Over the new few weeks, wyomingarts blog will highlight the new roster artists. Bryan Ragsdale (shown in accompanying photo by Linda Coatney) was one of the performers at last week's NIC Fest in Casper. Here's his info:

Bryan J. Ragsdale
Green River – singer/songwriter
Born in Wyoming’s high desert, Bryan comes from a long line of cowpokes and Wyoming heroes. He writes and sings songs about all things Wyoming, and is proud to be an outdoorsman, conservationist, husband, father and veteran. His performance on KTWO TV in February 2008 enabled him and his sponsors to send his CD, "Wyoming Melodies," to hundreds of troops serving overseas. His song, Wyoming Melody, will debut in June as the theme song for the television show, “All Girl Getaways,” on Lifetime channel’s “Fine Living” series. He earns high praise for his presentation on composing songs, and his performances “leave a piece of Wyoming in everyone” that hears him. FMI: 307-871-0851; wyomingmelodies@yahoo.com; http://www.wyomingmelodies.com/; www.myspace.com/bryanragsdal

NPR's Stamberg to speak in Jackson

Press release from the University of Wyoming

National Public Radio's special correspondent Susan Stamberg will speak Tuesday, Aug. 12, at 6 p.m. at Spring Creek Ranch, 1800 Spirit Dance Road in Jackson.

Reservations for the event, sponsored by Wyoming Public Radio and the University of Wyoming Libraries, are due by Aug. 1. The cost is $100 per person, which includes dinner and a reception. To make reservations, call 1-800-729-5897 or visit www.wyomingpublicradio.org

Broadcast journalist Stamberg was the first woman to anchor a national nightly news program, NPR's "All Things Considered," for 14 years. She hosted "Weekend Edition Sunday," and now serves as guest host of NPR's "Morning Edition" and "Weekend Edition Saturday," in addition to reporting on cultural issues for all the NPR programs.

She has received many honors, including the Edward R. Murrow and duPont Awards. She has been inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame and the Radio Hall of Fame.

Stamberg is the author of two books including, "Every Night at Five: Susan Stamberg's 'All Things Considered Book'" and co-edited "The Wedding Cake in the Middle of the Road."
One of the pioneers of NPR, Stamberg has worked at the network since 1971.

Local musicians make good in Seattle

One-time Laramie County Community College students Chad Siebken and Quintin Musgrove will be taking their music to the Internet this week. The two Cheyennites are members of a music trio, Crimes in Modern Architecture. They'll be performing on a streaming radio show on Wednesday, June 25, 3 p.m., and Saturday, June 28, 5 p.m. Go to http://www.hollowearthradio.com.

UW takes vertical dance to Greenland

Two University of Wyoming faculty members recently presented a vertical dance performance at the Katuaq Culture House in Nuuk, Greenland.

The performance by Margaret Wilson, assistant professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, and Neil Humphrey, professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, included three solo works and two duets augmented by video of the Greenland landscape and choreographed for the Greenland venue. While in residency in Nuuk, Wilson and Humphrey also discussed long-term collaborative planning with the Nordic Institute of Greenland and met with high school students to discuss UW and vertical dance.

The professors' visit to Greenland was partially sponsored by the Office of International Programs at UW and was intended to seed interest in future projects involving university students and faculty.