Red Desert Rendezvous and Art Show June 17-19

Photo by Ken Driese

From the Wyoming Association of Churches:

We welcome your participation at the Red Desert Rendezvous and Art Show scheduled in and around Rock Springs for June 17-19.

The Rendezvous will offer people an opportunity to come and experience the Red Desert first hand with tours and an evening educational session on June 18. The goal of our collective effort for Red Desert Week and the Red Desert Rendezvous is to focus attention on this spectacular and mostly unknown piece of Wyoming's landscape and to do what we can to protect this important part of our heritage. Many in our coalition of Red Desert supporters would love to see the best parts of these lands designated a National Conservation Area while others would be content to see responsible federal and state agencies work to protect its unique features.

For a guided tour, you must sign up in advance.  There are four tour options. The tours are limited to 20 each per BLM requirements.  Registration will be on a first come, first serve basis.  Travel costs for gas will be shared.  You will be contacted to confirm your reservation and for specific directions. 

For the dinner, we also need advance registration and payment by June 13th. The Red Desert Rendezvous dinner is on Saturday, June 18, 5:30 pm at the Young at Heart Senior Center, 2400 Reagan Avenue, Rock Springs.  The dinner is $16 per person payable to the Wyoming Association of Churches on line at the link below or by check sent to:
Warren Murphy
50 Diamond View Drive
Cody, WY 82414

All other events are free – Also at the Young at Heart Senior Center, Saturday, June 18
Reception with an art show, 3 – 5:30 pm
Key note speaker and panel, 7 pm

Ecumenical Service for the Earth on Sunday, June 19 at 1 pm, at an outdoor site yet to be selected.  Plan to be there by 12:30 and bring a picnic lunch!

Overnight camping is allowed in the Red Desert.

A small block of rooms for June 17 and 18 are being held until June 15 at the new Comfort Inn & Suites in Rock Springs at 2622 Commercial Way. Call 307-362-9100 and ask for the BOCES block.  The cost is $99/night and includes breakfast.

Click here to Register

Robert Greer addresses NAACP banquet -- and signs books -- June 4 in Cheyenne

The multi-talented Robert Greer will come to the Cheyenne Holiday Inn on Saturday, June 4, to speak at the annual banquet of the Wyoming NAACP. His theme will be the contributions that African-Americans made to the history of the West. He will sign copies of his books from 6-7 p.m.. Dinner will follow, with Dr. Greer's speech at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 per person, $50 per couple. You can purchase tickets for the event by calling Abe Stevenson at 307-634-8304 or Bennie McLaughlin, 307-634-5527.

When he's not writing, Dr. Greer is a professor of pathology, medicine, surgery and dentistry at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. He also holds a master's degree in creative writing from Boston University and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Miami University of Ohio, his alma mater.


Greer has lived in Denver for thirty years. In 1986 he founded The High Plains Literary Review and continues to serve as its editor-in-chief. He is the author or co-author of three medical textbooks and over 125 scientific articles. His short stories have appeared in dozens of national literary magazines and his short story collection, Isolation and Other Stories, published in 2000 by the Davies Group Publishers, is also wonderfully illustrated. 

Greer has been involved in cancer research at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center for more than thirty years. In 1983 his research group was the first in the world to report a synergistic link between smokeless tobacco use and human papillomaviruses in certain cancers of the mouth. That research foundation is the basis for the plot of his novel, The Devil's Hatband, the author's first novel featuring Denver bail bondsman and detective CJ Floyd. Several of his novels are set in Wyoming.


Spoon, Greer’s 2009 novel of the contemporary American West, won the Colorado Book Award for literary fiction. It also was a finalist for the Western Writers of America Spur Award and received the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union 2010 Media of the Year Award. Wyoming’s Craig Johnson, author of Another Man's Moccasins and The Dark Horse , had this to say about the novel: "With Spoon, Robert Greer tells the story of a modern-day range war in wildfire prose both taut and lyrical."

Greer also reviews books for a Denver National Public Radio affiliate, KUVO, and raises cattle on a ranch in Platte County, Wyoming. 

WhatFest fund-raiser April 23 in Laramie

This is a fund-raiser event for WhatFest this summer! Come down Front Street Tavern (Sweet Melissa's) in Laramie for good times, good people, and good music with John Kirlin and the High Plains Drifters, J. Shogren and Guests, Jeff Duloz and Niles Mischke, Shotgun Shogun, and Patrick Harrington.

2011 Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal debuts at Green River Rendezvous July 7-10 in Pinedale

The fifth annual (2011) Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal will debut at the Green River Rendezvous July 7-10, 2011, at the Museum of the Mountain Man in Pinedale. For more information, see the 2011 Journal. The 2010 Journal can be purchased online in the Trading Post. Application deadline for papers for the sixth annual Journal is September 1, 2011.

"One of the most admired novelists in the world" addresses Mountain West Arts Conference

Not in Wyoming, but within striking distance:

As a teen, Chris Abani was imprisoned by the Nigerian government for his writings. Abani now teaches at University of California Riverside and will be the keynote speaker at the 2011 Mountain West Arts Conference May 5 at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center, West Valley City, Utah. The event includes the Governor’s Leadership in the Arts Awards ceremony. FMI: 801-236-7550, kwoslager@utah.gov, http://artsandmuseums.utah.gov/resources/professional_development/conferences/index.html

More about the keynote speaker:

Chris Abani is one of the most admired novelists in the world today. He is also an evocative speaker whose talks -- near musical in their fluidity, heartbreak and joy -- mix the personal and the political. His luminous and very funny insights are a vital statement on the redemptive power of art to battle tyranny and to remind us of our common humanity. "Happiness," he has said, "is learning to live with difficulty and grace." Abani is the recipient of the PEN Freedom-to-Write Award and many other prizes. His bestselling novel, Graceland, about an Elvis impersonator in Lagos, won the Hemingway/PEN Prize. His other works of fiction include The Virgin of Flames, Becoming Abigail, and the award-winning Song For Night, about a child soldier who has lost his voice. All three were named a New York Times Editor's Choice.

Call for entries: Aspen ECO Fest exhibition

The Red Brick Council for the Arts in Aspen, Colo., seeks entries for Aspen ECO FEST Juried Art Exhibition which will take place June 2-23, 2011.

Entries are open to all artists. Art must be made from recycled and/or reclaimed objects.

Entry forms are due on Friday, April 15, 2011. Images will be accepted on CD only. Images must be at least 300 dpi and 1 mg in jpg format. Artists will be notified by email of jury’s results on May 2, 2011. $25 per artist for up to two entries.

FMI: www.aspenecofest.com; info@aspenart.org; 970.429.2777

Volunteers needed for RMTA Festival in Cheyenne

The Cheyenne Little Theatre Players are looking for people to volunteer for the Rocky Mountain Theatre Association Festival Feb. 9-12 in Cheyenne.

The festival will involve theatres from throughout the Rocky Mountain region including showcase performances, workshops, keynotes, and theatre competitions and auditions.

Volunteers are needed in various capacities each day. Below is a list of the dates and volunteer opportunities.

Wednesday February 9th:
Registration 8:00-4:00
Volunteers needed=2
10:00-1:00
Volunteers needed=2 (Timer and a Stage Manager)
2:00-3:00
Volunteers needed=2 (Timer and Stage Manager)
Performance-DRACULA
7:30 South High School
Volunteers needed=House Areas (Ushers, etc)

Thursday February 10th:
Registration 8:00-4:00
Volunteers needed=2
10:00-11:30
Volunteers needed=2 (Stage manager and Timer)
2:00-3:30-Performance at Mary Godfrey
Volunteers needed=1 (Stage Manager)
Performance 7:30
Volunteers needed=House Areas (Ushers, etc)

Friday February 11th:
8:00-4:00-Registration
Volunteers needed=2
10:00-1:00
Volunteers needed=2 (Timer and Stage Manager)
1:00-4:00-Tech Olympics-Maria
1:00-4:00-Bill Bowers-Mary Godfrey
Volunteers needed=1 (Stage Manager)
Performance 7:30
Volunteers needed=House Areas (Ushers, etc)

Saturday February 12th:
8:00-4:00-Registration
Volunteers needed=2
Performance 7:30
Volunteers needed=House Areas (Usher, etc)

BIG NEED!!!!!
2 Cocktail Hour Sponsors!
($250 each fee to sponsor)

If you are interested in volunteering, please email your contact information to dheying@cheyennelittletheatre.org

We will then pass this onto the organizers of the event.

For more information please go to www.cheyennelittletheatre.org or www.rmta.net

"Wild West Month" at Children's Museum of Denver

In conjunction with the National Western Stock Show, January is “Wild West Month” at the Children's Museum of Denver

Here’s some info:

Saddle up and ride on down to the Museum to join in on Wild West activities and events all month long. The Children's Museum of Denver is stepping back in time to the ol' Wild West where they'll explore what life was like way back when! Yeehaw!

Bruce Richardson: Wyoming leaps into the future as a great arts state

Many Wyomingarts readers have read Bruce Richardson's columns in the WAC's Wyoming Artscapes newsletter. Bruce stepped down as Wyoming Arts Council board chair this past summer, but is still on the board. He writes eloquently about Wyoming and the arts. Here's an op-ed piece that was published in the Oct. 10 Casper Star-Tribune:

Wyoming is a top arts state, right now!

By Bruce Richardson

The report on cultural activity in Wyoming released this week by the Wyoming Arts Council and presented by Governor Freudenthal tells a dramatic and important story. Wyoming is a leading state for culture and the arts with a ranking ahead of every state in the Mountain West except Colorado. Overall we are 34% ahead of the regional average. Many would identify New Mexico, with Santa Fe and Taos, as a national arts leader. It’s good, but not as good as Wyoming. We have more photographers, writers, choreographers and visual artists per capita than regional and national averages and we buy and sell visual art at an astounding rate: 123% higher than the national average. Leading the way is Jackson, perhaps the top arts town in the United States with an overall ranking an incredible eight times larger than the national average. Cody is three times the national average and we find strengths across the state with a wide distribution of creative jobs in many places.

I am not surprised. Everywhere I go I meet artists, see art making, hear about new books being written, meet musicians and mainly see regular folks singing, dancing, writing songs and going at photography in a serious way. An Arts Council survey of folk arts in Crook County found great work being done on almost every ranch and a report on Sheridan and Buffalo found 1,123 people working in the creative economy. Any weekend in Casper has a blitz of readings, performances, gallery openings, and museum activities. A list of what’s happening would fill this page.

The CVI statistics still may puzzle some. In absolute numbers a lightly populated state comes up short. Of course we have fewer photographers than California, but what really matters in arts and culture is not total numbers, but concentration. The CVI measures that. Wyoming, about the size of Cincinnati, has five large art museums (including one of the best for Western art), five professional symphony orchestras (including probably the best summer orchestra in the US), some ten playhouses, a concentration of bluegrass festivals and more, much more.

So what do we do about this?

• Congratulate ourselves! We’re a top arts place and plenty creative! Great scenery and great culture! And we’re just getting started.
• Treat the arts and creative economy as a serious part of the Wyoming economy worth investment and attention from the Business Council and economic development units everywhere.
• Realize that arts education is workforce development and the best way to build a creative workforce. How about arts integrated throughout the curriculum? How about putting arts in the Hathaway Success Curricula requirements? How about a Wyoming Arts High School? The town that builds that school will be a magnet and will leap into the future.
• Recognize that arts and civic vitality go together. Careful studies from the University of Pennsylvania show that places with high art activity have more active citizens, better living conditions and, this just in, happier people. See the piece about San Luis Obispo in last week’s Parade magazine. Smart city governments support the arts.
• Use arts in tourism promotion. The CVI shows that people come to Wyoming to buy art and they buy lots. Let’s lure more of this business.
• Keep at it. Arts and creativity are the ultimate individual activity. Go out and write a song and sing it online, build a kiln, give a kid a fiddle, have some folks over for music, buy a painting and you are doing something for yourself and everybody else.. No wonder that this individualist, can-do state has so much art and so many people are playing and working to build a creative future. Bravo!

Bruce Richardson (brichard@uwyo.edu) is a board member of the Wyoming Arts Council. 

WWInc at MPiBA this weekend; MPiBA director resigns

Lisa Knudsen, Colorado-based director of the Mountains and Plains Indpendent Booksellers Association, has announced she is leaving at the end of the year. Many booksellers in Wyoming are members of this organization. The big MPiBA convention will be held in Denver this weekend. Look for the Wyoming Writers, Inc., table. Here's info about the event from Anne Heberelin, who coordinates the WWInc table with John Nesbitt:

Mountain & Plains Independent Booksellers Association (MPIBA) holds their exclusive expo every September. Booksellers, book distributors, publishing houses, and upon occasion editors and agents attend looking to place book orders, market their latest publications, meet their customers, and search for new talent. By participating in this event WWInc. members have an opportunity to market their works, meet their public, and maybe network a book signing.

This event is one where you can “put yourself out there” from a safe place, in the company of friends and fellow writers. This year’s event takes place September 23 – 25th. The event is being held at the Denver Tech Center Marriott. There will be a wrap-up article in the next WWInc. newsletter.

More on Knudsen here

Julianne Couch essay in New West

Laramie's Julianne Couch teaches at UW, works as a free-lance writer, is a member of the Wyoming Arts Council artist roster and is a Wyoming Writers, Inc., board member planning the group's 2011 conference. She's also working on a new book. Whew! She notifies wyomingarts that she just published her first "official" piece in New West. Here are the opening paragraphs:

Shaded under a cluster of evergreens in the Medicine Bow National Forest, I watch the family of our friend Mark deliver part of him back to Wyoming from where he lived in Missouri, a few months after his death.

About 50 friends and family gathered to witness Mark’s wife and daughter scatter his ashes into a swift and shallow mountain stream. His dust the color of bentonite disappears like fiber powder into the waters of Douglas Creek. Part of Mark is bound for the Platte River, then will leave Wyoming for the Missouri River, then the Mississippi, then finally, the Gulf of Mexico and the ocean beyond.

You will want to read the entire essay at http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/a_western_sense_of_place_knowing_who_we_are_by_where_we_are/C39/L39/

"Deeper," new extreme snowboarding film by Teton Gravity Research of Teton Village, debuts in September

Regional tour dates:

9/15/2010, Salt Lake City, Brewvies
9/22/2010, Denver, Oriental Theater
9/23/2010, Boulder, Boulder Theatre
9/24/2010, Fort Collins, Lory Student Center

"Wildflower gardening" is the next topic of the Slosson Lecture Series at WTP Historic Site

Press release from the Wyoming Territorial Prison Historic Site in Laramie:

Beth Babcock has more than 20 years of master gardening experience and will present her collection of pressed and dried wildflowers and share tips and hints on wildflower gardening August 17 at the Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site. This Free public event begins at 6 p.m. at the Prison Building Dining Hall.

Beth Babcock speaks nationwide as the Native Plant and Wildflower Chairperson for the Wyoming, Rocky Mountain Region, and National Federation of Garden Clubs. Her research takes her into local mountain ranges and community gardens where she continues to learn the best ways to grow and preserve wildflowers.

This will be the third lecture of the 2010 May Preston Slosson Lecture Series, a new event this year at the Wyoming Territorial Prison.

The May Preston Slosson Lecture Series brings to life the historic lectures of May Preston Slosson, who became America’s first female Prison Chaplain when she was appointed to her post at the Wyoming Territorial Prison in 1899. Her lecture topics included religion, chemistry, poetry, and classical literature, and were presented in the Prison Dining Hall for the enjoyment and education of inmates and community members.

The Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site, 975 Snowy Range Rd. Laramie, is open daily 9 a.m.-6 p.m. For more information, call Misty Stoll, (307) 745 -3733.

Musician/poet Ken Waldman tours Wyoming this fall -- open dates still available

If you haven't already, pick up the beautiful new 2010-2011 program, "Everything ARTCORE." Cover design is by Eric Lewis and AdBay's Jason Yocum  and Travis Gray designed and produced the program.

ARTCORE plans a busy year for Casper arts lovers: Denver Taiko at Japan Arts Day (Sept. 11); Equality State Book Festival on Sept. 24-25; and Lazer Vaudeville on stage Oct. 14 and conducting school residencies while in Casper. One of wyomingarts' favorites is musician and poet Ken Waldman, who performs at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church on Friday, Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m. He plays original fiddle tunes and reads poems from his many books that include Nome Poems, based on his years teaching and performing in Alaska, and Conditions and Cures.

Ken tells wyomingarts that he has some open dates in his Wyoming and Colorado touring schedule.

Monday, October 4, 8 a.m., Ken begins a week-long residency at North Elementary School in Lander. Following a swing through Colorado that includes stops in Montrose, Telluride, Manitou Springs, Vail, Steamboat Springs and Denver, Ken will be back in Wyoming.

After his stop in Casper, he'll be off to Pinedale where, on Nov. 8, he begins a week-long residency in the schools. On Saturday, Nov. 13, 8 p.m., he performs with Jalan Crossland at the South Lincoln Events and Training Center in Kemmerer. He's off to Lander for five days of residencies sponsored by PALS. And then he travels to Vermont for the next leg of his national tour.

Ken has several open slots in his schedule. Wyoming schools, libraries and non-profit organizations can apply online for a Wyoming Arts Council Open Door grant to fund Ken's foray into your town. See details on the WAC web site at http://www.wyomingartscouncil.org/. Just click on grants on the page's left sidebar and take it from there. For more info, call the WAC at 307-777-7742.

Learn more about Ken's books and music at http://www.kenwaldman.com/

WESTAF will host call-in grant sessions

From a press release:

The Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), is now receiving applications for funding for the second year of its Visual Arts Touring (VAT) program. The application deadline for this second round of grants is August 1, 2010. The VAT program is a competitive grant program that awards up to $50,000 to visual arts organizations to support the preparation and touring of visual arts exhibitions of important regional artists. Projects must take place between October 1, 2010 and September 30, 2012. Additional information about this program and full grant guidelines can be found at http://amp.cgweb.org. This project has been generously underwritten by the National Endowment for the Arts.

WESTAF will sponsor three call-in sessions for interested parties to learn more about the program and ask questions. These calls will be held on Wednesday, June 16th at 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time, Wednesday, July 7th at 2:00 p.m. Mountain Time and Wednesday, July 21st at 2:00 p.m. Mountain Time. To sign up for these sessions and to receive a call-in phone number
and access code, please contact Robin Schaefer at: robin.schaefer@westaf.org

FMI: Robin Schaefer, Information Specialist, WESTAF, 303.629.1166, www.westaf.org,
robin.schaefer@westaf.org

"Flakes, Jugs and Splitters" slide show and book signing June 2 at UW

From a UW press release:

"Flakes, Jugs & Splitters: The Geology of Rock Climbing," a free slide show and book signing by geologist, writer and climber Sarah Garlick, is scheduled Wednesday, June 2, at 7 p.m. in Room 133 of the University of Wyoming Classroom Building.

A UW alumna, Garlick brings the stories behind the boulders, cliffs and mountains of the world's top climbing destinations. She tells about granite, limestone and sandstone features gleaned from her adventures in Yosemite, Patagonia and Newfoundland.

"Offering an irresistible combination of plucky adventure stories and well-informed, clearly explained science, Sarah Garlick's presentation of the award winning ‘Flakes, Jugs and Splitter' was the surprise hit of the 2009 Banff Book Festival. Don't pass up an opportunity to hear Sarah speak," according to reviewer Freddie Wilkinson.

Cross Country Connection and the UW Outdoor Program sponsor the presentation. For more information visit: www.rockclimbinggeology.com or call (307) 721-2851.

Photo: Spectacular geology such as this is featured in Sarah Garlick's "Flakes, Jugs and Splitter." She will sign copies of the book and show slides Wednesday, June 2. (Jim Surette Photo)

Discover "East of Yellowstone" with geologist and author Bob Carson

Geologist and professor Robert J. Carson has just written a new guidebook for northwest Wyoming titled East of Yellowstone. Recently published, the book covers geology of the Clarks Fork Valley, the nearby Beartooth Mountains and Absaroka Mountains, and the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming and Montana-all areas outside the eastern border of Yellowstone National Park.

On May 26, 11 a.m., Carson shares his work in a slide show and talk at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center's Coe Auditorium. The presentation is free to the public, and afterward, Carson autographs copies of his book at the Center's Museum Store where his book is for sale.

Covering some 166 miles in the region, Carson's book has five separate road logs to guide area visitors through the Beartooth Mountains and along the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway and adjoining roads to vistas of rugged mountains and scenic valleys. Of particular interest are the enigmatic Heart Mountain detachment, the Absaroka volcanic activity, and area Pleistocene glaciation. The book has seven geologic maps and ten topographic maps with trails outlined as well as an extraordinary collection of photographs.

Carson is the Grace Farnsworth Phillips Professor of Geology and Environmental Studies at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. He earned a BA in geology from Cornell University at Ithaca, New York; an MS from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and a doctorate from the University of Washington.

His interests lie in the earth and environmental sciences, and he teaches courses that deal with resources and pollution, human interaction with the biosphere, glaciers, volcanoes, water, landforms, and natural hazards. A whitewater guide and a member of the American Alpine Club, he has led field trips in Africa, Eurasia, South America, and throughout North America. His other books include Where the Great River Bends and Hiking Guide to Washington Geology.

The Historical Center's Draper Museum of Natural History Curator Dr. Charles R. Preston calls the Carson book, "A robust and highly engaging portrait of the geological history and features of one of the most fascinating natural theaters in the world. This book will absolutely enhance your understanding and appreciation of the Greater Yellowstone region."

For additional information, contact Jennifer McDonald at jenniferm@bbhc.org or 307-578-4121

For general information, visit http://www.bbhc.org/ or call 307-587-4771.

Register now for Mountains-Plains Museums Association conference in Rapid City

Registration is now open for the Mountains-Plains Museums Association's annual conference September 13- 17 in Rapid City, S.D. Theme for this year is "Monumental Visions: Carving the Future for Museums."

REGISTER NOW TO GET THE CHEAPEST RATE NOW! Go to http://www.mpma.net/

* Premier educational/ networking event for leaders, volunteers, staff
* Tours of some really incredible museums, sites and galleries
* Sessions featuring new trends and solutions

Lots of workshops, tours and sessions offered

Workshops include:
1. Cleaning Museum Artifacts
2. Research Techniques
3. Your Vision - Your Exhibits
4. The Exhibition that Keeps on Giving
5. Carving the Future for Area Teachers
6. Interpretive Writing
7 Insurance 101: Protecting Your Collection
8. Can't you get a Volunteer to Help?
9. Inexpensive, Quick Custom-Made Mannequins

Tours:
1. Lincoln Tour: Northern Hills (Lead and Deadwood)
2. Roosevelt Tour - Northern Hills (Sturgis, Belle Fourche, Spearfish)
3. Washington Tour - Central Black Hills (Crazy Horse, Hill City,
Winery, Keystone)
4. Jefferson Tour - Southern Hills (Mammoth, Hot Springs, Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park)

Sessions: Here's a sampling of the many that will be offered.

Sessions for Students
Re-Enactors
Security on a Budget
Exhibits on a Budget
Websites on a Budget
Funding Sources
Native American Artists
Archival Collections
Building A Museum
Sessions for Small Museums
Sessions on Controversial Issues
Engaging Indian artists, historians
Copyright in Digital Collections
Designing a Temporary Exhibit
Textile Care Strategies
Collecting Materials from the Present
Budget Challenges
Identifying Fakes and Forgeries
Fundraising in Tough Economic Times
Accreditation Advice
Museum Studies Programs
Collections Conundrums
Leadership in Collections Practice
Barcoding
Funding Museum Publications
HVAC - installing correctly
Web Security and networks
IMLS: Opportunities and Resources
Planning Your Museum or Cultural Center
Storage Facilities
Disaster Plans that Really Work
Murals for your Exhibit
Victorian Clothing
Stewardship of a Historic Preserve
What Art Can Teach Us About History
Volunteers in Collections
Identifying Fossils in your collection
Care of Native Collections
Planning Collections Facilities
First Person Narratives
College/Museum Partnership
Thinking Big with Small Budgets
Museums and Technology
Visual Thinking Strategies for art
State Historical Societies--What they do
Identifying and caring for Quilts

Wyoming Plays the WYO: Gary Small & the Coyote Brothers May 8

Gary Small & The Coyote Brothers perform at the WYO Theater in Sheridan on Saturday, May 8, 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $9-$20.

Info from the WYO Theater web site:

Wyoming is a big place with big talent and even bigger history and pride. For the past two years Wyoming Plays the WYO has served as a terrific presentation of what brilliant skill the performers in the Cowboy state possess and this year is no different. In our special Native American edition of the show we’ll feature singer/songwriter/rocker Gary Small and the Coyote Brothers and many phenomenal Wyoming natives who will light up the stage with their talents. Gary Small is a western man all the way, he was raised in the wilds of Wyoming and Montana and is a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. Perhaps we should call it Wyoming ROCKS the WYO, come and see for yourself! FMI: 307-672-9084

Gretel Ehrlich will lead Wilderness Writer's Retreat Aug. 6-9

From a press release:

Join Gretel Ehrlich and the Wyoming Wilderness Association in a journey into the Rock Creek recommended wilderness in the Bighorn National Forest August 6-9 for adventure, reflection, and writing.

Wyoming-based author and poet Gretel Ehrlich will lead workshops and readings during the Wilderness Writer’s Retreat. Gretel is an accomplished author of This Cold Heaven, The Solace of Open Spaces, and The Future of Ice, among other works of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Gretel Ehrlich’s essays, short stories, and poems have been included in many anthologies and publications. She has received many prestigious awards and is currently at work on a novel.

Are you a writer? All levels and varieties welcome!

Do you feel comfortable in the backcountry? We will be out for 3 nights and 4 days (with a fabulous camp cook and main camp equipment supplied).

Can you hike uphill carrying a mid-sized pack for 5 miles? The horses will carry camp in, but you’ll have to pack your personal gear.

Scholarship Information: Two full tuition scholarships are available for the 2010 Wilderness Writer's Retreat. Successful applicants will have demonstrated financial need in addition to an aptitude and vocation in the field of writing.

To apply, please submit the following to WWA, PO Box 6588, Sheridan, WY 82801 by noon on June 7, 2010:

Your name, mailing address, phone number and email contact information

Tax return receipt for 2009

One 1,000-word essay demonstrating why your participation in the Wilderness Writer's Camp will have value.

An additional sample of your work in the form of poetry or prose, at least 3 poems/pages.

Essays and writing samples will be judged for composition and development of style, and winners will be announced by noon on June 28.

Fee for the Wilderness Writer's Retreat is $700.

FMI: Contact Sara at the Wyoming Wilderness Association -- 307-672-2751; sara@wildwyo.org; 325 E Loucks St., PO Box 6588, Sheridan, WY 82801