Mike Corso recreates the past

Nice article in Sunday's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle about Mike Corso, our colleague in the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. By day, Mike manages all of our web sites and is building the WAC's new Online Artists Image Registry. In his free time, he dons the guises of Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson or Wyoming Territorial Governor John A. Campbell. Mike will play the part of Gov. Campbell today from 1-4 p.m. at the Wyoming History celebration at the Historic Governor's Mansion in Cheyenne. Read the article: Becoming part of the past - Wyoming Tribune Eagle Online

Summer's coming (eventually) to northwest Wyoming

From "Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam" exhibit at the BBHC

Despite the continuing snow, Wyomingites in know that summer is drawing near when the roads open in Yellowstone National Park and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody expands its hours. Here's info about the latter::

On Sunday, May 1, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center shifts into its summer season schedule -- open daily 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. The summer schedule remains in effect through September 15.

The busy season brings four special exhibitions to the Center. On tap for this year are:
• Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam, a photography exhibition, April 15-Aug.7.
• Arapaho Journeys: Photographs and Stories from the Wind River Reservation, April 29-October 2.
• Beauty Behind Barbed Wire: Arts and Crafts from the Heart Mountain Internment Camp, June 1-Sept. 6.
• Dressed Just Right: An Evolution of Western Style from Function to Flamboyance, June 3-Oct. 2.

Other activities this summer include:
• Plains Indian Museum Powwow, June 18 – 19.
• National Day of the American Cowboy celebration, July 23.
• Buffalo Bill Invitational Shootout, August 11 – 13.

Committed to connecting people with the Spirit of the American West, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center weaves the varied threads of the western experience—history and myth, art and Native culture, firearms technology and natural history—into the rich panorama that is the American West. The Center, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, operating its spring schedule of 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. through April 30, moves to summer hours of 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. May 1. For general information, call 307.587.4771 or visit www.bbhc.org.

UW American Studies Program explores Laramie's Historic Westside Neighborhood April 20

The Albany County Historic Preservation Board will hold a public meeting at the historic westside of Laramie on Wednesday, April 20, at 7 p.m. in the Civic Center Auditorium. Research, historic photos and architectural survey of the area conducted by UW's American Studies Program will be presented. 

FMI: Alliance for Historic Wyoming 

Wyoming PBS and UW hold free screenings April 20 of new film about the Civil Rights struggle

"The Wind that Shakes the Barley" wraps up Casper College Multicultural Film Festival

The third and final film of the Casper College Multicultural Film Festival, “Exploring Ireland Through Films,” is The Wind That Shakes the Barley, which tells the story of two brothers, Damien (Cillian Murphy) and Teddy (Padraic Delaney) involved in a guerrilla war between Britain and the Irish Republican Army in the years immediately following World War I. The film, directed by Ken Loach, will be shown on Friday, April 15, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Wheeler Auditorium, located in the Wold Physical Science Center, Room 103.

“This film was chosen so that we could explore the sectarian divisions inherent in Irish society and politics,” said Erich Frankland, film festival co-director.

In his review, published in the Chicago Sun Times, movie critic Roger Ebert said: “You don't have to know about the history of ‘the troubles’ in Northern Ireland to be swept up in the human drama of The Wind That Shakes the Barley, which won the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.”

Casper College English instructor and film festival co-director Patrick Amelotte will lead the post-film discussion.

The Wind that Shakes the Barley is free and open to all and is sponsored by the Casper College Honors Program, the Casper College International Studies Program, and Casper College.

FMI: Lisa S. Icenogle, 800-442-2963, ext. 2372

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.

Cheyenne's Al Weiderspahn will deliver keynote address at Preserve Wyoming Conference

Keynote speaker Alvin Weiderspahn will discuss his efforts to rehabilitate Cheyenne’s Grier Building during a Preserve Wyoming Conference, April 29-30 in Casper.

The conference is sponsored by the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office in partnership with Wyoming Main Street, Alliance for Historic Wyoming, Casper Historic Preservation Board, Wyoming State Historical Society and Yellowstone Garage.

Weiderspahn’s rehabilitation of the Grier Building is the state’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified project.

Other session topics during the conference include building restoration projects, the future of Wyoming’s historic schools and case studies of school preservation. Also, an advocacy session on preservation issues will be held with Wyoming legislators.

An awards ceremony will highlight the outstanding work and efforts of Wyoming’s Certified Local Government organizations and the Wyoming Main Street Program.

A walking tour of downtown Casper and the Yellowstone District will be held April 29 with a tour of Natrona County High School on April 30.

To register for the conference, please visit http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us. Persons with questions are asked to contact Ashley Rooney at 307-777-7566 or aroone@state.wy.us.

Teddy Roosevelt revisited

Teddy Roosevelt came by for a short visit at the office this morning. He was on his way down to the Historic Plains Hotel for the kick-off of their 100th anniversary.

Historic Plains Hotel hosts 100th birthday bash today

From the Historic Plains Hotel in downtown Cheyenne:

Join us in the main lobby of The Historic Plains Hotel this afternoon (March 9) as we celebrate our 100th Birthday with an open house and a visit from Teddy Roosevelt, whom frequented Wyoming and did not visit the Plains Hotel until late 1911 after it’s opening, where he began his desires to form a new Republican party, which eventually became the fformation of the Bull Moose Party.

This is the first of many more birthday events this year.

The event is open to the public and we will offer birthday cake, ice tea and kick off our year long birthday celebration of 100 years of hospitality.

Each month we will offer specials and events surrounding 100 years of hospitality to the residents of Cheyenne and to numerous guests over the past 100 years.

We hope to have you stop in and celebrate the first of many celebrations in the year ahead, recounting 100 years of Hospitality, while creating new memories and living the history of today.

Events to Follow will be reenactments and reflections of significant events over the past 100 years, inviting local guests, celebrities and guests whom have played a significant role in The Historic Plains Hotel.

Brush up on your historic broom-making skills at free Territorial Prison workshop March 18

From Wyoming State Parks:

The Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site in Laramie will hold a free workshop for the public and potential volunteers, 18 years and older, who are interested in the art of constructing 1890s brooms.

Featured Broom Historian, Mark Parsons, Berthoud, Colo., will conduct the “hands-on” workshop on March 18, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Participants will learn the basic methods of broom construction utilizing vintage and replica broom making equipment to create their own handmade broom for decorative or functional use. Discussion of the history of brooms and broom making will be included. All skill levels welcome.

“A broom is such an ordinary object and yet it can be very reminiscent of a simpler time.” Deborah Amend, superintendent of the Wyoming Territorial Prison said. “Brooms were a commonplace, functional item in every household. In 1892 the Prison, recognizing the potential revenue from the broom industry, began producing brooms commercially, using convict labor, and shipped them all over the United States, Hawaii and internationally as far away as Asia.”

This workshop is also offered to educate and train any new volunteers who would like to refine their broom making skills and do living history presentations during the site’s summer season by volunteering to work in the Prison Industry Building. Selected volunteers will receive appropriate uniforms, training and historical information related to convict industries at the prison.

For additional information or to register for the workshop call 307-745-6161. The Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site, located at 975 Snowy Range Road in Laramie, opens for the season on April 30 and will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. until October 31.

FMI: Deborah Amend or 307-777-7878

Colcannon performs March 18 in Laramie

Colcannon will perform Friday, March 18, 7:30 p.m., at the Laramie Plains Civic Center Theatre, 710 Garfield, Laramie. This Celtic music group has developed a distinctive, inventive, and contemporary musical style while still keeping in firm touch with the heart and essence of traditional Irish music. Colcannon's concerts are renowned for their energy, for singer and frontman Mick Bolger's irrepressible sense of humor and sly wit, and, of course, for the music: music that expresses flights of joy, deep sorrows, and an unquenchable zest for life. FMI: dsoules@laramieplainsciviccenter.org

Attention Citizens! Don't Panic! It's just the "War of the Worlds Radio Drama!"

War of the Worlds Radio Drama 
Adapted by Howard Koch
Directed by Dan Jaspersen
Presented by Cheyenne Little Theatre Players

Performance Dates:
February 18-20

Location:
Historic Atlas Theatre, downtown Cheyenne

Back in 1938 Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater broadcast an original presentation of HG Wells science fiction classic, War of the Worlds. This event was historic in that the dramatic nature of the broadcast actually fooled many listeners into believing that aliens from Mars had launched an invasion of the earth.

Order tickets online here.

Contact Dana Heying at the CLTP office at 638-6543 for more information.

Cast List:


Neil Carroll                           Announcer Two
                                                Observer
                                                Operator Four
Charles Hall                         Prof. Pierson
                                                Secretary of Interior
Kristi Lichtfuss                    Carla Phillips
                                                Commander
                                                Operator Two
John Lyttle                           Stranger
                                                Policeman
                                                Smith
                                                Gunner
                                                Operator Five
Renee Macey                       Mercury Theater Announcer
                                                Wilmuth
Rodger McDaniel                Orson Welles
                                                Capitan
                                                Officer
Sonya Shutter                     Announcer Three
                                                McDonald
                                                Operator Three
                                                N.Y. Announcer
Trevor Nowotny                    Foley Artist
Jenny Wagner                      Foley Artist

Program change for Feb. 10 Wyoming State Museum presentation

Due to poor travel conditions, tomorrow night’s (Feb. 10) Wyoming State Museum Lecture Series program has been changed to “Rest and Refuel Along the Lincoln Highway,” by Heyward Schrock.

The program is 7 p.m., tomorrow and free and open to the public.

Traveling by automobile has been a popular pastime for Americans. Finding the necessary lodging and refueling business along the roadside have become standard normal activities today.

Using historic photographs, Schrock will discuss early roadside automobile-related businesses that offered services to travelers on the Lincoln Highway through Wyoming.

This program replaces the earlier scheduled Melanie O’Hara presentation of “Cow Town Victoriana.”

For more information about this and other State Museum programs, please call 777-7022. The Wyoming State Museum is located in the Barrett Building, 2301 Central Avenue in Cheyenne.

LCCC plans flurry of events leading up to March 29 visit by author and activist Greg Mortenson

Laramie County Community College sends out this updated list of activities the school has planned for the run-up to author Greg Mortenson’s March 29 visit:

Tuesday, March 22.       

·       MOVIE: 12:00-2:00 in the student lounge. Charlie Wilson’s War  (popcorn and snacks will be provided).

·       PUBLIC DISCUSSION: 6:30-8:00pm in CCI 129/130 (The Centennial Room). Prints of Central Asia: Peggy Kelsey’s Afghan Women’s Project.

o      An exhibit of Ms. Kelsey’s prints will go up in the Ludden Library in early February.

o     A reception in the library will follow Ms. Kelsey’s talk on March 22

Wednesday, March 23.

·       ETHNIC LUNCH: 12:00-1:00pm in CCI 1219/130 (The Centennial Room).

·       ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: 1:00-3:00pm in CCI 1219/130 (The Centennial Room).  Dr. Marianne Kamp, Dr. Mohammed Salih and Arshi Nisley will discuss Women and Islam: Confronting Misconceptions.

Thursday, March 24.

·       MOVIE: 12:00-2:00 in the student lounge. The Kite Runner (popcorn and snacks will be provided)

Friday, March 25:

·       BOOK DISCUSSION: 12:30-1:30pm. Discussion of Greg Mortneson’s book  Three Cups of Tea and/or Stones into Schools.  Students interested in participating should contact Jennifer McVay for information and to make arrangements.

LCCC students will be visiting local schools to discuss Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea. Where appropriate they will also be discussing the children’s edition Listen to the Wind.

Instructors at LCCC have integrated readings from Mr. Mortenson’s books into course curriculum.

The LCCC Ludden Library will be creating displays that look at life in Central Asia.

Finally, we hope to have LCCC students prepare poster presentations that examine different aspects of life in Central Asia.

FMI: David Marcum, LCCC Instructor of Political Science and Director of Government Studies and International Studies, 307.778.1220.

Questions that relate to Greg Mortenson’s actual visit on March 29 should be directed to the LCCC Foundation at http://www.lccc.cc.wy.us/

Call for entries: Cheyenne Depot Museum Foundation

From the Cheyenne Depot Museum Foundation:

The foundation is presenting an opportunity for Wyoming and surrounding area artists to participate in a railroad art competition to develop a collection of artwork that represents the history of the railroads of America and how they helped build our Nation into the society it is today. The subject focus of this competition is artful renditions depicting the events, people, machinery and historical locations in all periods of time from the inception to the construction of rail and railways in their current form today.

Artists are asked to be historically correct in their presentations and will be judged on the accuracy of the details of their works.

All mediums will be accepted but must be ready to hang or place with accompanying info (title, media) when they arrive at the Depot by 5:00 PM on Monday May 2, 2011.

Interested parties are encouraged to get their entry forms turned in no later than February 15th 2011.

Entry forms should be sent to:
The Cheyenne Depot Museum Foundation
PO BOX 704
Cheyenne, WY 82003

Prizes will be awarded to the top three winners:
First place, $1,000
Second place, $750
Third place, $500

FMI: Gordon Horton at 307-421-7897 or the Cheyenne Depot Museum Foundation at 307-637-3376.

"African American Life in Wyoming" exhibit at State Museum through March 31

In celebration of Black History Month, the Wyoming State Museum is featuring “African American Life in Wyoming,” a traveling exhibit on display through March 31.

Produced by the State Museum and State Archives, this photographic exhibit explores the daily life and many contributions of African Americans in Wyoming.

African Americans have long been a part of Wyoming’s history. The vast wilderness and natural resources of the frontier initially attracted mountain men, adventurers, and fur traders like James Beckwourth and Edward Rose.

Following the Civil War, blacks migrated west in search of better economic, social and political opportunities. Once here, they organized social organizations and cultural activities. They became homesteaders, cowboys, soldiers, businessmen, miners and politicians.

This photographic exhibit explores the daily life and many contributions of African Americans in Wyoming.

To inquire about this and other traveling exhibits available to museums, libraries, schools and other cultural institutions throughout Wyoming, please contact the Wyoming State Museum at 777-7022.

"Cow Town Victoriana" Feb. 10 at State Museum

Carbon County Arts Guild features "Montana and Wyoming -- Past and Present" in February

The Carbon County Arts Guild in Red Lodge, Mont., sends this news about an upcoming exhibit:

Feb 1-28:  Pat Schermerhorn and Jane Stanfel Exhibit “Montana and Wyoming – Past and Present”.  Enjoy the work of these two fine Western artists in the Guild’s Main Depot Gallery.  Free and open during normal Arts Guild hours.  For more information, call the Arts Guild in Red Lodge at (406) 446-1370.

Feb 11:  Artists Reception.  Meet Pat Schermerhorn and Jane Stanfel, the artists who are featured in the Guild’s Main Depot Gallery during the month of February.  4-6 pm with a gallery talk at 5 pm.  The reception is free and open to all.  Refreshments will be served.  For more information, call the Arts Guild in Red Lodge at (406) 446-1370.

Hip-hop artist Common to perform at UW as part of Martin Luther King, Jr., Days of Dialogue

From a UW press release:

Hip hop artist and actor Common will be the keynote speaker at the 10th annual Martin Luther King Jr. March and Days of Dialogue (MLK/DOD) celebration Jan. 17-21, at the University of Wyoming.

Common's speech, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18 in the Wyoming Union Ballroom, is free and open to the public. The speech is only one of the varied activities for the week-long celebration.

"When charged with planning the 10th celebration of the Martin Luther King Jr. Days of Dialogue and March, we as a committee, felt that it was important to discuss as many pieces to diversity as possible. We are covering many issues including race, sexual orientation, veterans and religion," says Kate Steiner, MLK/DOD co-chair.

This year's theme, "A Decade of Defining Diversity Through Dialogue," recognizes and celebrates the 10 years of continuing emphasis on diversity through dialogue. UW community members honor the continuing impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his life and ideals through this celebration. The week of activities serves as a renewal of UW's commitment to making the campus and Wyoming a more welcoming and empowering place for people from different backgrounds, heritages, orientations or abilities, Steiner says.

Common, one of hip hop music's more poetic and respected lyricists, has recorded more than seven albums and partnered with Kanye West to produce albums resulting in four Grammy Award nominations. Additionally, they also were nominated for two MTV Video Music Awards including Best Hip Hop Video.

He launched the Common Ground Foundation in 2007, which is dedicated to the empowerment and development of urban youth. In the children's books he has written, the themes focus on utilizing the culture of hip hop to foster a better understanding of self respect and love. He also has begun a burgeoning acting career, staring in such films as Smokin' Aces, Street Kings, American Gangster, Wanted, Terminator Salvation and Date Night.

Many other activities are scheduled throughout the week.

An annual march from the Albany County Courthouse to the Wyoming Union kicks off the events at 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 17. The Dr. Willena Stanford Community Supper follows at 4:45 p.m.

Another highlight of the week will be the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble performance at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19, at the Laramie Plains Civic Center. The ensemble's ideal is to honor diversity and inclusiveness through a vision of dance as the universal language of movement that turns the world into a sanctuary transcending boundaries of culture, class and age.

"Different After War" tackles the topic of how and why military veterans are different after war and how that impacts daily living. Retired Army National Guard Major D.C. Faber will discuss the issue from 1-3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, in the Wyoming Union Family Room.

Known for its confrontational style, Dead Prez will perform at 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, in the Wyoming Union Ballroom.

Other activities include student service projects, panel and book discussions, a master dance class, a conversation with the actors in The Race Show and a program with the Beehive Collective. All events are free and open to the public except The Race Show, which requires the purchase of tickets, available at the door. Individuals with disabilities needing accommodations in order to participate should contact Steiner at (307) 766-3296.

For a complete list of activities, visit the Web site www.mlkdod.com .

Photo: Hip hop artist Common is the keynote speaker during the 10th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. March and Days of Dialogue celebration Jan. 17-21, at the University of Wyoming.

Deselms Fine Art & Custom Framing moving to Whipple House

Wyomingarts came across this news from Harvey Deselms on Facebook:

Coming December __ 2010 -- the new home of Deselms Fine Art and Custom Framing, 300 E 17th Street, Cheyenne. Formerly known as The Whipple House (and once an Italian restaurant). This historic building is shown in photo above.

Says Harvey: "Art makes a great gift, if even for yourself, this holiday season and it's less I have to move.... I will be calling some of you to help.... please!"

More good news for downtown Cheyenne.