Nancy Curtis featured in spring issue of The Wyoming Woman Magazine

The spring issue of The Wyoming Woman Magazine is out and it features a profile of publisher Nancy Curtis, recipient of a 2010 Governor's Arts Award. It was written by Saratoga writer Lori Van Pelt, winner of a 2010 creative writing fellowship in poetry from the Wyoming Arts Council. One astonishing fact from the article: Nancy was a founding member of Wyoming Writers, Inc., and WyoPoets, both of Wyoming's statewide writing groups (WyoPoets holds its annual meeting this weekend in Casper). She's also published three of Lori's books, and books by many other state and regional writers. Get more info at www.highplainspress.com

Rocky Mountain Land Library praises a classic book -- "Sheepwagon: Home on the Range"

The Rocky Mountain Land Library blog waxed eloquently about two Wyomingites in an 11/28 post: 

In 2001, a wonderful Wyoming publisher, High Plains Press, published one of the Land Library’s favorite books, Sheepwagon: Home on the Range. Author Nancy Weidel offered one crisp, concise reason for our admiration: “The sheepwagon is a marvel of practicality and efficiency.”

But there’s more reasons to love this book, with its stories, photographs, and sensitive appreciation for hard lives lived in a starkly beautiful land. This book makes clear that the sheepwagon provided both a bit of warmth, and a touch of home. Weidel: “Designed to provide shelter and heat, mobility, and storage, the sheepwagon was the ideal home for the herder….It could easily be moved by two horses, a most important feature.”

Yes, as you can see, every inch counted, but space also needed to be found for the unexpected. Some sheepwagons had side boxes that “came in handy during lambing, when a weak newborn might be placed there overnight to be revived by the heat of the wagon stove.”

Nancy Weidel is wyomingarts' colleague within the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. She is senior historic preservation specialist at SHPO. Nancy Curtis runs High Plains Press out of her ranch near Glendo. Nancy is a long-time supporter of the state's writers and the statewide writers organization, Wyoming Writers, Inc.

W.C. Jameson to sign books and sing songs this weekend in Wheatland and Glendo

News from Nancy Curtis at High Plains Press:

Remember if you are going to be in the Wheatland area today (Saturday, noon-3 p.m., Book Nook) or the Glendo area tomorrow (Sunday, 3-5 p.m., Micke's), that W.C. Jameson will be signing his new book and performing live music. Jameson has sung with Willie and Waylon as well as being a nationally renowned treasure hunter. Ya'll come!

Gallery Walk in Wheatland on Nov. 18

From photographer Victoria Bennett Beyer in Wheatland:

Meet the people behind some of the best art in Platte County during Wheatland's Gallery Walk, on Thursday, Nov. 18, from 5-8 p.m. There will be refreshments at each of the three stops:

Gilchrist Gallery - 867 Gilchrist Street (shown in photo above)
http://www.gilchristgallery.blogspot.com/

This co-op is home to 16 local artists who specialize in a variety media, from oil and acrylic and watercolor painting to photography to glass art and traditional tole painting. During the holiday season it will also be a great place to find craft items and affordable gifts.

Wyoming Trails Gallery - 1004 16th Street
http://www.wyomingtrailsgallery.com/
You'll need to look closely to see all the items in this gallery, as proprietor Barbara Schaffner has covered every inch of it in quality art. In addition to paintings, you'll find fine jewelry and pottery.

Mark Koons Woodworking - 802 14th Street
http://www.markkoons.com/
Master craftsman Mark Koons (shown in photo) will have his workshop open to the public where you can see his current projects. He will also have discouted work displayed in the windows of the Dance Wyoming Studio (863 Gilchrist Street, two doors down from Gilchrist Gallery). Mr. Koons is offering a 30% discount on these pieces during the Gallery Walk.

For more info on Victoria's work, go to:
Main Site: http://victoriabennettbeyer.com/
Blog: http://victoriabennettbeyer.blogspot.com/  
Photography Shop: http://milemarker.etsy.com/  

Author Diana Kouris earns laurels for her High Plains Press book

This comes from Nancy Curtis at High Plains Press in Glendo: Diana Kouris (left), author of Riding the Edge of an Era, has been doing High Plains Press proud. She was a finalist for both the Zonta Best Woman Writer Award at the Billings Book Festival and the Willa Award which was presented in Wickenburg, Arizona. Diana and I went to both events and had a great time. My friend and former co-editor Linda Hasselstrom (right) traveled with us and came home with the top award at both events. Here we are.

Robert Greer launches new CJ Floyd novel with signings in Denver and Wheatland

Platte County author Robert Greer has a new book featuring Denver African-American bailbondsman/detective CJ Floyd. Entitled First of State, it's a prequel to Robert's seven other CJ Floyd mysteries, set in 1971 after CJ returns from Vietnam and is learning the bail bond business from his uncle. Much of the action takes place in Denver's historic Five Points neighborhood.

Robert Greer will discuss First of State in Denver at the Tattered Cover (Colfax) on Thursday, October 21, 7 p.m., and at Murder By The Book on Tuesday, October 26, 5:30 p.m.; and in Wyoming at The Wheatland Mercantile Book Nook on Friday, November 12, 6 p.m.

Great review of the book by Jenny Shank at New West. Read it at
http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/first_of_state_shows_denver_pi_cj_floyd_earning_his_stripes/C39/L39/

Photo of the Week: Victoria Bennett Beyer

This photo is by Victoria Bennett Beyer of Wheatland is just one selection in her 2010 update to the Wyoming Arts Council Artist Image Registry. The AIR is open to visual artists living in Wyoming. For more info, contact Michael Shay at the WAC at 307-777-5234.

Did You Hear about the Morgans' books -- they come from Glendo's High Plains Press

Nancy Curtis at High Plains Press sends info about her "Add a caption" contest:

Help! Help! This is a frame from the movie Did You Hear About the Morgans with Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sam Elliott, and Mary Steenburgen. The production company bought High Plains Press books for set decoration and here are Sam and Mary with High Plains Press books on their bedside tables. I want to use this shot in publicity like companies do when Lindsey Lohan wears their jewelry. I need a caption. Like "High Plains Press is in bed with Sam Elliott." But better.

We'll give a copy of each of the two books you see in the photo to the person who comes up with the winning caption.

Go to the HPP Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Glendo-WY/High-Plains-Press/134238003265130

ANG's 67th Army Band moves into renovated facility

From an AP story:

The Wyoming Army National Guard's 67th Army Band has moved into a remodeled armory in Wheatland that provides many features of a proper band hall.

The remodeled facility opened this month after a yearlong, $2.2 million renovation.

Members of the band say the new space is a significant improvement over the gym they formerly used for rehearsal in Wheatland and the garage they used in Casper while the renovation was taking place.

The new armory includes storage space, individual practice rooms, and separate practice rooms for the concert band and rock band. The rehearsal areas are surrounded by soundproof walls.

The renovation also added a parade field for marching and drilling exercises.

FMI: http://bands.army.mil/bands/ng/default.asp?UNITNAME=67AB

Victoria Bennett Beyer's "Wyoming" collection photos at Coal Creek Coffee

Wheatland photographer Victoria Bennett Beyer has several photographs from her "Wyoming" collection on display at Coal Creek Coffee (the downtown location) in Laramie for the month of June. Photos include landscapes and livestock portraits taken through the state.

Fabian and Talbot sign books at State Museum

SPCR press release:

Two Wyoming authors, Linda Graves Fabian and Starley Talbot, will be at the Wyoming State Museum, Wednesday, June 9, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 6:30 p.m., to sign their new books, “Douglas,” and “Fort Laramie,” respectively.

“Douglas,” by Graves Fabian and Carol Price Tripp, features a series of historical photographs chronicling the growth of the east-central Wyoming town. The photographs were provided through the generosity of Wyoming Pioneer Memorial Museum Executive Director Arlene Ekland-Earnst.

“Fort Laramie,” by Talbot, features historical photographs of one of the most important frontier outposts of the American West. These photographs are from the Fort Laramie National Historic Sites, state and national archives and the author, Talbot.

Both books are part of the Images of America series, which celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stores from the past that shape the character of the community today.

FMI: 307-777-7022.

Free public arts reception May 20 in Wheatland

Meet members of the Wyoming Arts Councill board and staff at a free reception for the Wheatland community on Thursday, May 20, from 5:30-7 p.m. at Linda and Joe Fabian’s Dance Wyoming studio, 861 Gilchrist in downtown Wheatland.

The reception is being held in conjunction with the Arts Council's May 20-21 quarterly board meeting at the Platte Valley Bank in Wheatland.

FMI: Call the WAC in Cheyenne at 777-7742.

Arts Council holds quarterly board meeting May 20-21 in Wheatland

Public invited to attend Wyoming Arts Council Board events May 20-21 in Wheatland

The Wyoming Arts Council will hold its quarterly board meeting in Wheatland May 20-21.

The meeting will be held at the Platte Valley Bank, 200 16th Street, Wheatland. Agenda items include the decisions on FY11 Grants to Organizations, Arts Education Biennial and Operating Support grants, review of WAC budgets, long-range planning, schedules for the next Governor’s Arts Awards, and advocacy issues.

The board invites individuals and organizational representatives to attend any part of the meeting to observe the board process, and to address the board during the public comment session beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Comments about the agency's policies, funding priorities, on-line granting system, and other arts-related topics are welcomed. For a detailed agenda, please contact the Wyoming Arts Council office at 307-777-7742.

At the conclusion of Thursday’s session, a public reception for members of the community will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. at Linda and Joe Fabian’s Dance Wyoming studio, 861 Gilchrist in downtown Wheatland

The mission of the Wyoming Arts Council is to enhance the quality of life for the people of Wyoming by providing resources to sustain, promote and cultivate the arts.

FMI: Camellia El-Antably, WAC, 307-777-7742 or celant@state.wy.us.

Another Wyoming Spur nominee: Robert Greer

In my earlier listing of writers in Wyoming nominated for 2010 Western Writers of America Spur Awards, I left someone out.

Robert Greer's "Spoon" was nominated in the Best Western Short Novel category. See full list of winners and finalists at http://www.westernwriters.org/spur_award_history.htm#2010

Robert, a writer, editor and physician, spends most of each year at his ranch near Wheatland. He's the author of a number of novels set throughout the West, but mainly in Wyoming and Colorado.

Here's some info about "Spoon:"

SPOON: A NOVEL, Fulcrum Publishing, Hardcover: October 2009, ISBN 978-1-55591-689-3

A novel of the contemporary American West, Spoon tells the story of Arcus Witherspoon, a mysterious half-black, half-Indian, oddly clairvoyant man searching the West for his roots. Hitchhiking near Hardin, Montana, Spoon falls in with a ranching family struggling to keep their ranch afl oat amidst the pressures of hard economic times and an encroaching coal company. Proving himself a gifted ranch hand and mentor, Spoon charges himself with rescuing the Darleys and guiding the family's teenage son TJ on his path to manhood. While Spoon's checkered past includes a prison stint and a navy tour of Vietnam, it is his tenacity, wisdom, and charm that end up defining this quintessential Western man.

Marcia Hensley on the road to promote her book about women homesteaders

Nancy Curtis of High Plains Press in Glendo sends this announcement about one of her authors:

Marcia Hensley, author of STAKING HER CLAIM: WOMEN HOMESTEADING THE WEST, will be giving presentations and signing books at the Torrington Library on Monday, March 29 at 7 p.m.; at the Lusk Library Brown Bag Lunch on Tuesday, March 30, at noon; and at the Platte County Historical Society meeting at the Wheatland Library on Wednesday March 31, at 7 p.m. All events are free and open to the public.

She has a good PowerPoint presentation and her talks always draw lots of input from the audience. Those women homesteaders were something!

WAC holds town meeting 3/25 in Cheyenne

The Wyoming Arts Council is holding its Southeast Region Town Meeting on Thursday, March 25, 6:30-8:30 p.m., in the Sunflower Room on the third floor of the Laramie County Library, 2200 Pioneer, Cheyenne.

More info later...

Jalan Crossland performs solo in Hartville

Jalan Crossland will be playing solo performances at the Miner's and Stockman's Bar, 608 W. Main St. in Hartville on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 19-20.

Hartville is dangerously close to Glenrock, which Jalan sings about in "Don't Taze Me Bro." Those were dangerous days last summer when "Farmer Bud drove a tractor... in the Deer Creek Days Parade" in Glenrock. Farmer Bud ran afoul of the law and what ensued was a "low speed tractor chase." When the cops caught up to the lawbreaker, the elderly tractor jockey begged "Don't Taze Me Bro."

All for naught.

FMI: www.jalancrossland.com

Off to see the wizard in Wheatland

From the Wheaterville blog:

The drama and music departments of Wheatland High School will present L Frank Baum's "The Wizard of Oz" at the high school auditorium, 13th and Oak St., this Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. There will be a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m.

FMI: Wheatland H.S., 307-322-2075