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A&E briefs

Daily news staff report

Is there a story from your past, not-so-distant past, or present that you have kept hidden from the world -that you never thought you’d tell -that only an anonymous revealing can help remove the weight of guilt, secrecy or embarrassment from your shoulders? Is your secret something truly amazing that you did for another person but never admitted? Would your secret make jaws drop to hear? Make us bust out in laughter? Make us shed a sympathetic tear? Well, think of the Backstage as your “father confessor.” Tell us it all! And while we’re on the subject of things kept locked away, what about your dreams? We’re talking not only your personal aspirations, but also the images and stories that invade your sleep and leave you scratching your head come the morning. We want to hear each and every one of the juicy details!The Backstage Theatre is launching its Secrets and Dreams Project, a series of unique performances to be produced at the Breckenridge Theatre April 8-23. To realize this ambitious production, we are soliciting submissions from all ages in Summit County in order to create two separate versions of the show: one that shines a light on the secrets and dreams of adults, and one production exclusively geared for, and made available to, youth. Secure drop-off boxes will be placed around the county to receive these submissions in an anonymous fashion.(At time of this writing, locations are still being arranged. The main branch of the libraries in Frisco will be a main drop-off point, as well as Curves in Frisco and the Silverthorne Recreation Center. Check the Backstage website for a complete list of drop-off locations.) Put your information down on a piece of paper, taking care to keep it anonymous. You may submit as many entries as you like. You are encouraged to pour your heart out and confess any and all secrets and dreams you keep inside. (Confession is good for the soul, yes?) No limit to length. No secret or dream is too shocking or too tame for inclusion. Entries will be received from Monday through March 14. At the end of this period, all boxes will be gathered and opened, and shows will be crafted based upon these submissions. Summit County owes a great deal of success to the dreams of its great citizenry. But no community exists without a secret underside that pulses right beneath all that we choose to show to our neighbors, friends, and loved ones. It’s time to shine a light on all that goes unspoken and to give a voice to our aspirations, images and ideas that haunt us, and all those admissions we have – until now – been too afraid to reveal. For more information, visit http://www.backstagetheatre.org.

You have heard this before – a trip to the Galapagos Islands is an unforgettable journey – and the trip for John and Linda Mirro was no different. Visit these amazing islands through Mirro’s slides and talk at the next Friends of the Summit County Library travel series at 7 p.m. today in the Blue River Room of the North Branch Library, 651 Center Circle in Silverthorne.”This was our first trip to the Galapagos. We visited eight islands over a six days,” explained Mirro. “Not only do the flora and fauna vary from island to island, but the entire archipelago chain is moving over a magma plume.”What that means is newer islands exhibit little vegetation and are mountainous, while the older islands are lush with eroded mountain structures. “Each environment contains a different group of animals,” Mirros said. “Islands with large beaches provided refuge for the sea turtles and sea lions; islands with abundant vegetation had Galapagos tortoises. Flamingos were found on islands with fresh water ponds.”Mirro and his wife traveled on a 16-passenger catamaran in January 2010, and on most days the passengers were able to do some snorkeling to get up close to sharks and even the Galapagos penguins. The slideshow is free, but donations are appreciated and help the Friends of the Libraries purchase books and other supplies. For more information, call (970) 468-5887.

The Breckenridge Resort Chamber is offering the public the opportunity to design artwork for the 17th annual Breckenridge Oktoberfest, to be held Sept. 16-18. This event is one of the largest Oktoberfest celebrations in Colorado and draws thousands of visitors to Main Street during the two-day street party. Winning artwork will appear on the 2011 Breckenridge Oktoberfest 0.5- and 1-liter steins and may be used on posters, merchandise, print advertising and other event collateral. Concept sketches are due no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, March 18. Sketches must be no larger than 14″ x 17,” and both horizontal and vertical formats will be accepted. From the submittals, the winner will be chosen by a select panel of judges. Due to the multiple uses of the artwork, we ask that artists use a limited color palette so that it can be readily adapted to the steins, clothing and vector art. Artwork can be submitted to the BRC offices located at 111 Ski Hill Road in Breckenridge, or mailed to the address below. Please contact events director Sally Croker at (970) 453-5074 or scroker@gobreck.com with questions regarding the contest.Breckenridge Resort Chamber, Attn: Special Events, P.O. Box1909, Breckenridge, CO 80424.Once the winning artwork is selected, the winner will be required to submit final art at a poster size of 14″ x 17″. The winning artist will receive a prize package including Oktoberfest swag, steins and beer tickets; his or her artwork will be displayed across Breckenridge and beyond.Past Oktoberfest artwork has included a variety of themes including fall leaves; Breckenridge Ski Resort; Bavarian-inspired landscapes, symbols and figures; and of course, beer. Artists may visit the Breckenridge Resort Chamber to view Oktoberfest artwork from previous years.For more information, visit gobreck.com or call (877) 593-5260.



The Backstage Theatre’s Third Annual Backstage Bash is coming April 1. The topsy-turvy celebration features Wendy Moore directing a collection of community celebrities in an over-the-top night of variety and nonstop fun. Look for details to come at http://www.backstagetheatre.com.

The Art’s Alive Gallery is going green. It will be green for St. Patrick’s Day and also for the environment. Come and see the gallery artists’ interpret “green”. Organic wine from Jackrabbit Hill Winery will be served at the Second Saturday opening, March 12 from 6:30-8 p.m. Please come and bring your friends to this fun new “Wintergreen” show. Also, local landscape painter Joanne Hanson will be the featured Artist for March. Art’s Alive is at 500 S. Main, La Cima Mall, Breckenridge. Call (970) 453-0450 for more information.



Emily Stark, the Colorado director for the Mrs. America Pageant system is announcing that Breckenridge resident Chantelle Huber was recently selected as the new Mrs. Rocky Mountain and will represent her community in the 35th annual state competition to be held Saturday at the spectacular Temple Buell Theater, in downtown Denver. The winner of the state competition will receive a prize package valued at over $15,000 and advance on to compete with 49 other state delegates at the national Mrs. America Pageant and potentially the internationally televised Mrs. WorId Pageant.Celebrating its 35th year the Mrs. America Pageant is the only nationally televised competition to recognize the one person who contributes so much to modem family life – America’s Married Woman! While beauty and physical fitness are key elements in the competition, Mrs. Colorado state finalists are also urged to voice their opinions on marriage, community and important issues of the day.For information on the organization or how to enter the competition visit http://www.mrscolorado.com or contact Stark at the Mrs. Colorado office at (303) 593-1199.

Organizers of the Mile High Music Festival in Denver have announced that they will not host the event in 2011, citing the current economic climate as the contributing factor.”It was not an easy decision to put the festival on hold,” says Chuck Morris, President and CEO of AEG Live Rocky Mountain Region. “We are really proud of the event, and we’re not ruling out the possibility of bringing it back in the future.”For the past three years, the festival hosted top acts such as the Dave Matthews Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, John Mayer, Widespread Panic, Tool, The Fray and Jack Johnson at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.

“An Enduring, Endearing, Extraordinary Love,” just published by Outskirts Press of Denver, is the second novel authored by Terry Mae with Frisco and Summit County as its primary setting. It is the sequel to “An Illogical, Improbable, Incredible Love,” which was published in July. Of the Contemporary Christian Fiction genre, both stories chronicle the unusual whirlwind romance and on-going love story of two people so alike and yet so different. Charlotte Newsome of Charlottesville, Va., is a hard-working country girl, and Dan Trent of Colorado Springs is a workaholic metropolitan businessman. Both are divorced, and both are middle-aged Christians who, by the providence of God, are brought together to find and experience true love the second time around. At times, the books read almost like travelogues, with detailed descriptions of popular places throughout Summit County in the first book and places throughout Mexico and Vancouver, British Columbia, in the sequel. But mostly the books read like a heart-warming love story of two people so deserving of happiness the second time around. The aforementioned series developed as a result of the author’s week-long visit to Frisco and Summit County in the summer of 2007. Charmed by the beauty of the area and inspired by an early Sunday morning service at the Rocky Mountain Bible Church, Mae developed this series and interwove some of its characters and events with another series she has authored.In the companion series of two books, “From Earth’s Sorrows and To Heaven’s Joys,” Charlotte and Dan play supporting roles. Those stories have their primary setting in Cripple Creek, Colo., and tell the story of Chad Stevens, a young Wyoming cattle rancher who runs away from painful memories and finds a new life with values and priorities very different from the past.All four full-length, paperback books are available through online booksellers Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, etc. and an E-book version is available from Outskirts Press.

High Country Conservation Center celebrates the 22nd Annual Tim McClure Memorial Benefit tonight at The Maggie in Breckenridge. Through this event we honor the organization’s founder, Tim McClure. Tim started Summit Recycling Project (SRP) in 1976. Tim was an impassioned activist and spokesperson for recycling, but due to lack of funding was forced to close SRP in 1983. Two years later Tim died in an avalanche.In 1988, Bob and Rose Wentzell reincorporated the SRP, with Tim’s ideals in mind. The following year they started this annual benefit to honor Tim and raise much needed funds for SRP’s programs. The County Government took over the recycling run by Summit Recycling Project, and SRP evolved into High Country Conservation Center (HC3). HC3 has broadened the original mission of SRP and now works in the areas of energy conservation, green building, and recycling and waste reduction. HC3 remains a grassroots organization and is largely supported by local businesses, members, and volunteers.This year HC3 celebrates with music from the local Pine Beatles, a performance of belly dancers, a delicious Italian dinner buffet from Vail Resorts, beer from the Dillon Dam Brewery and a huge silent auction.The event has two goals according to Conservation Center director, Jen Santry: “to raise funds for the High Country Conservation Center’s programs and to throw a great party to celebrate our collective green roots.”Doors open at The Maggie at 6:30 p.m., and the music starts at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

Vail gets hit with a spicy taste of New-Orleans-style fun when CarniVail returns to town March 6-11. Guests will enjoy a week’s worth of Mardi Gras merriment and all the Cajun fixin’s from a crawfish boil to the Fat Tuesday Parade, complete with plenty of beads! CarniVail kicks off Sunday, March 6 on Vail Mountain with the World’s Highest Low-Country Crawfish Boil at Eagle’s Nest from noon to 2:30 p.m. The annual Crawfish Boil will feature Cajun and Creole cuisine like crawfish etouffee, gumbo, king cake and specialty drinks from Grand Marnier. The celebration is also set to include live music from Jonny Mogambo, plenty of complimentary Mardi Gras beads and expos from event sponsors like Muscle Milk, Maui Jim and Rockstar.The CarniVail celebration continues at on Tuesday, March 8 in Vail Village with the legendary Fat Tuesday Parade and Bud Light Street Party. The Fat Tuesday Parade, traveling from East Meadow Drive near Vail Road to Seibert Circle in Vail Village, will get going promptly at 4 p.m. and will conclude with the official crowning of the CarniVail King and Queen and the announcement of the float competition winners. New Orleans-influenced jam-band Frogs Gone Fishin’ will perform at Checkpoint Charlie following the parade.Registration is now open for parade floats, and those interested in participating can get the registration form at vail.com/carnivail or by contacting Kelly Paton at Highline Sports & Entertainment at (970) 476-6797 x111. To close out the week of CarniVail festivities, Mardi Gras favorites Buckwheat Zydeco will perform a free, outdoor concert presented by Grand Marnier at Solaris in Vail Village on Friday, March 11. Hailing from Lafayette, La., and led by musical legend Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural Jr., Buckwheat Zydeco is the preeminent ambassador of Louisiana zydeco music. The gates for this Creole dance party open at 6 p.m.For more information on CarniVail, visit vail.com/carnivail.


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