Colorado Review

Every Memorial Day Weekend, thousands of outdoor enthusiasts, conservationists and filmmakers descend upon Telluride to enjoy four days of thought-provoking movies that revolve around a certain theme; in 2008 the focus will be on water and the growing global fresh-water crisis. The mission of Mountainfilm in Telluride is “ to educate and inspire audiences about issues that matter, cultures worth exploring, environments worth preserving and conversations worth sustaining.�

But you don’t have to wait until May to view some amazing Mountainfilm in Telluride films. The Mountainfilm on Tour program brings a combination of classics and 2007 films to locations across the United States, including the ski resort town of Breckenridge

Mountainfilm on Tour will show at Breckenridge’s Speakeasy Movie Theatre on the first Monday of the month through March; January 7, February 4 and March 3 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for kids under 12. Tickets are on sale the first night of the show, starting at 5 p.m. Each evening will feature a unique playlist of award-winning films, so you can attend all three events without any repeats.

What’s super cool is that 80 percent of all show proceeds will benefit Mountain to Mountain (a Breckenridge-based nonprofit), in support of the dZi Foundation’s “Revitalize a Villageâ€? project in Nepal. In 2008, Mountain to Mountain is raising funds and awareness for the village of Gudel, one of the poorest villages in the world, located in eastern Nepal. Funds will support the village in community-driven projects such as building schools, teacher training and providing sanitary drinking water for the entire community.

My friend Lisa Raleigh of Redstone, went on one of the dZi Foundation’s volunteer trips to India and Nepal last year. She helped out with some kids’ vision and dental clinics, and she says the experience was life changing in so many ways. In fact, she’s leaving her corporate job to join the dZi Foundation staff and she’s leading a volunteer trip to India this spring! Read about her amazing philanthropic trip here.

Yesterday my family and I were invited to our friends’ new home on the main drag in Redstone, south of Carbondale, along Highway 133. It had been a while since I’d spent some time in this tiny town along the Crystal River, and it was a treat to walk along the .75-mile-long Redstone Boulevard in the early evening. Here, tourists browse in the antique shops, families buy ice cream at the General Store, and kids frolic on the play structure in Redstone Park.

Weekends in the summertime bring community events at the park. The Summer Concert Series fuses “music, art and nature.” My seven-year-old daughter and her same-aged friend were delighted to see a “real Indian” sharing her tribe’s sign language and storytelling with the audience gathered on the grassy lawn next to the river. Artisans showed and sold their wood carvings and jewelry. The final community event held at the park this summer is a concert this Sunday, September 2, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with country and bluegrass music. Daily throughout Labor Day Weekend also find the annual art show at the Redstone Inn.

When the aspens start turning colors (soon in the high country!) a particularly pretty drive is south of Redstone up to McClure Pass. We drove this route in the third week of September last year, just as the autumn foliage peaked. Gorgeous golden orange hues!

(Thanks to Steve at ColoradoGuy.com for the images of Redstone above: the historic town’s welcome sign and the red cliffs above the boulevard.)

Redstone, Colorado