wyoming artscapes

W Y O M I N G

WYOMING ARTS COUNCIL NEWS • SUMMER 2014

WAC manager bids farewell ......................................................PAGE 2

Governor names new board members................................... PAGE 22

Summer arts classes for teachers ......................................... PAGE 28

Poetry Out Loud state finals .................................................... PAGE 30

cover storyHot Tunes, Cool Nights: Summer in Wyoming PAGE 4

That’s not all. We invite you to like us on Facebook, where you’ll find updates, photos and videos from WAC events and WAC-funded events. Please feel free to post your own arts-related status updates on our page – some of you do already. We’re on Twitter, too, and there’s a WAC YouTube site. Here are the links to the WAC’s presence on the web:

http://wyomingartscouncil.org

https://www.facebook.com/wyomingartscouncilhttps://twitter.com/wyomingarts

https://www.youtube.com/WyomingArtsCouncil

Wyoming Arts Council online

The Wyoming Arts Council launched its new web site more than a year ago and visitation

is brisk. It features timely info on deadlines for grants and fellowships, as well as dates for our quarterly board meetings, Governor’s Arts Awards and other WAC events. Take a look at posts on our blog (labeled “featured news” on the home page) that give details on arts events all over the state as well as news from the WAC. Read back copies of this newsletter (soon to get a new look!) and visit our video library for intriguing short films from Governor’s Arts Awards, “Art of the Hunt” and other subjects. We welcome news from Wyoming arts organizations and artists. Contact Michael Shay at the WAC, 307-777-5234 or [email protected].

our MissionThe Wyoming Arts Council (WAC) provides leader-ship and invests resources to sustain, promote

and cultivate excellence in the arts.

WAC StaffRita Basom : ARTS COUNCIL MANAGEREvangeline Bratton : OFFICE MANAGER

Katie Christensen : ARTS EDUCATION SPECIALIST Camellia El-Antably : DEPUTY MANAGER/WAC

EVENTS AND VISUAL ARTS SPECIALIST

Annie Hatch : FOLK AND TRADITIONAL ARTS/ UNDERSERVED PROGRAM SPECIALIST

Michael Lange : COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND THE ARTS SPECIALIST

Karen Merklin : GRANTS MANAGER Michael Shay : COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING/

LITERARY ARTS SPECIALIST

WAC BoardJanelle Fletcher-Kilmer (Chair) : LARAMIE

Stefanie Boster : CHEYENNENeil Hansen : POWELL

Chloe Illoway : CHEYENNENina McConigley : LARAMIE

Sharon O’Toole : SAVERYKaren Stewart : JACKSON

Erin Taylor : CHEYENNETara Taylor : MOUNTAIN VIEW

Holly Turner : CASPER

magazineArtscapes is published quarterly and supported

with funding from the Wyoming Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.

wyomingartscouncil.org

Managing Editor : Michael ShayPhotographers : Richard Collier, Michael Shay

Printing : Little Ol’ Printshop

wyoming arts council2320 Capitol Avenue • Cheyenne, WY 82002 Phone: 307-777-7742 • Fax: 307-777-5499

Hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. wyomingartscouncil.org

ON THE COVER: The Wild Festival in Jackson Hole will feature the Nature’s Beauty competition. In this photo, Jackson High School student Oliver Hollis captures Nature’s Beauty model Hanneke Bouvmeester as typical spring snow falls on Jackson.

table of contentsManager’s Message ....................................................2

Hot tunes, cool nights: summer in Wyoming

Getting wild in Jackson Hole ................. 4

The art of rodeo in Cheyenne ................ 8

Not-so-strange brew: art, music and

craft beer .............................................. 12

Behind the scenes in Buffalo .............. 16

Summer events calendar .................... 20

Welcome to new board members .................. 22

ArtsReady library .............................................. 24

Art is everywhere .............................................. 26

Summer arts classes for teachers .................. 28

Poetry Out Loud ................................................ 30

Upcoming events .............................................. 33

The time has come for me to retire, and to bid a fond

farewell to the artists and arts organizations I have worked with over the past 26 years at the Wyoming Arts Council. I have known a number of you for that entire time, and have come to know so many more over the

years. I will miss the WAC, and all of you, and the excitement that the arts generate in our great state.

I was hired as the WAC’s secretary/office manager by Executive Director Joy Thompson in the sum-mer of 1988, at a time when I was still learning to use a computer! I remember being involved in the project to bring the New York Philharmonic Orches-tra to play at the 1989 Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson Hole. I even got to drive part of the NYPO Chamber Music Ensemble to several com-munities prior to the big event at the GTMF. I knew I had found the best job ever!

Within a year or so I was promoted to the WAC’s fiscal officer position, and worked on balancing the agency’s budget, paying all of the grants and all other things fiscal. I loved it!

When the State of Wyoming reorganized in 1990, the WAC became part of the Department of Commerce, and all fiscal personnel were to be moved into the administrative division of that department. Fortunately, Joy Thompson wanted me to stay at the WAC, and offered me a chance

to move up into the world of arts specialists by building a performing arts program. I was all for it, and not just because I had a degree in theatre and loved to sing. It was a pleasure to oversee the performing arts fellowships and other opportunities for Wyoming performing artists. I also began assisting with the Governor’s Arts Awards.

A few months later, we switched things around so that I became the community development coor-dinator for the WAC, overseeing grant programs to non-profit arts groups in the state, many of which are performing arts presenters. When Joy Thomp-son left to pursue other interests, I served as the acting director of the WAC for about 9 months prior to the hiring of John Coe as the new WAC executive director. I continued my work in community devel-opment, and later also served as deputy director to John Coe for the remainder of his time at the WAC. During this time period, the Department of Commerce morphed into the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources (SPCR). These were some exciting years.

After John Coe left in 2003, I again served as the acting director of the WAC for several months, during which we created the “100 Days of Arts” campaign to raise $100,000 in 100 days to match a funding challenge by the Wyoming Legislature. With the help of many arts groups and individuals from all across the state, and even ex-Wyomingites from the Denver area, we were able to meet that challenge, making an additional $200,000 avail-

manager's message

Leaving My Dream Job

PAGE | 2 Wyoming arts council

able to grant through WAC programs that next year.Milward Simpson became the new WAC executive director in 2004, and I continued serving as the deputy director. We worked together to increase state funding for WAC programs over the year and a half before Mr. Simpson accepted the position of Administrator for the Division of Cultural Resources in the Department of SPCR, and later became the department director. When Mr. Simpson left the WAC in 2006, I became the Arts Council manager (E.D.) and have had the pleasure of working with many wonderful staff members, WAC Board members and Department of SPCR personnel over the past eight years.

Some highlights include:

• Holding the first Arts Summit and the WAC’s 40th birthday celebration in Casper in 2007, featuring nationally known speakers, and many Wyoming artists.

• Taking the Governor’s Arts Awards to the “next level” with gala events at first the Taco John’s Events Center, and then at the beautiful new Little America conference center.

• Successfully getting funding to reinstate operating support grants at the WAC – one of my “bucket list” goals. We still need to make this funding permanent, instead of repeated one-time appropriations.

• Creating a communications and marketing plan for the WAC, which brought us a new logo and a new “look” to all of our printed materials.

• Hosting a National Assembly of State Arts Agencies Leadership Institute in Jackson Hole in the fall of 2013, bringing arts leaders to Wyoming from all across the U.S.

• Helping to make the “Art of the Hunt” exhibition, which features Wyoming artists who make exquisite hunting and fishing gear, a reality in 2014, after many years of research and preparation.

This has truly been my “Dream Job,” and I thank everyone that has been a part of my last 26 years at the WAC. It is now time to move on to other opportunities, and to more time with my family. But don’t count me out of the arts just yet! I plan to be directing or acting

in community theatre productions, creating some art pieces, and singing any chance I get. I may even do some events planning and other contract work with local, regional or national arts groups. Wherever my life path takes me, I will never forget my time at the WAC, and the wonderful artists and arts folks I have known through this work.

Thanks to you all! I’ll see you on the “artist side” of Wyoming arts.

Rita Basom Wyoming Arts Council Manager

This has truly been my “Dream Job,” and I thank everyone that

has been a part of my last 26 years at the WAC.

PAGE | 3artscapes • summer 2014

summer Preview

The first-ever Wild Festival June 15-21 in Jackson promises to be a mix of whimsy and wildness and

sound economics.

It’s a blend of three stand-alone events held in Jackson Hole each summer: the Teton Raptor Center’s Raptorfest in Wilson, the Plein Air Festival at the National Museum of Wildlife Art and the Fire Festival, recently renamed the Solstice Street Fair. Each event had its own planners, its own budget and its own audience.

Why not combine these three community events and schedule them during a slack time in summer’s tourism frenzy?

According to Wild Festival Executive Director Marylee White: “The impetus for the festival was the idea that if arts organizations and artists joined together we could create something that none of us could do alone.

The notion of sustainability that runs through the Wild Festival helps to feed the idea of “sustainable tourism.”

Getting Wild in Jackson Hole“Sustainable tourism is the notion that visitors drawn to our community can support and sustain a community asset, which in this case is the arts community,” White said.

The issue of sustainability also reinforces the environmental themes that run through the

week-long series. The festival’s combination of events emphasizes its mission “to deepen our connection to nature through the arts.”

The week-long festival includes the following:• Father’s Day Raptor-

fest celebration at Wilson’s Raptor Center

• Eating WILD• Steamroller Printing• Community Jazz Band

Concert• Nature’s Beauty

Competition, in which teams of artists gather blossoms, grasses, buds, sagebrush, twigs, etc., and use

those items to decorate a live model into a “living, breathing work of art.”

• PUSH Physical Theatre performance of “The Natural World”

• Plein Air Festival at the National Museum of Wildlife Art

“The impetus for the festival was the idea that if

arts organizations and artists joined together we could create something

that none of us could do alone.


• Solstice Street Fair and Species Parade• Jackson Hole Mountain Games

A week-long art camp will be offered as well as children’s workshops that explore a variety of nature and art-centered themes. There will be bird-watching excursions, puppet-making workshops, and “Random Acts of Art” that include a traveling art gallery, street performances and traveling swarms of dragonflies. Jackson Hole’s landscape figures into the mix. It’s the gateway to two sprawling national parks and home to elk herds, wolves and grizzly bears. Outdoor recreation plays a key role in Jackson’s lifestyle.

“We want to explore the wildness of our place and what it means to us,” said White. “We’re good at looking out to the wild places. We sometimes need help looking in to find out why the wild is important to us. The arts are the key to find out what we’re feeling.”

It helps that Teton County leads the state – and many of the neighboring Rocky Mountain states – in the Creative Vitality Index (CVI) issued annually by the Western States Arts Federation.

According to WESTAF, the Creative Vitality Index is “an annual measure of the economic health of an area’s creative economy through year-to-year and geographical comparisons based on data from a selection of creative occupations and arts organi-zation income figures.” Statistics for the CVI are collected through the IRS, Department of Labor and state, local and regional organizations.

The state’s first CVI was compiled for the years 2006-2008 and measured 1.04 compared to a national average of 1.00. Regionally, Wyoming’s CVI ranked second only to Colorado (1.10) in a comparison of the states’ creative economies, and

Jackson bonfires celebrate the solstice.

continued on page 6


continued from page 5

was in the upper half of all states, according to the CVI study. In a comparison of Wyoming’s creative economy with the six other Mountain States, Wyo-ming’s CVI ballooned to 1.34, meaning the Cowboy State posts an index 34 percent higher than the average of its neighbors.

We all know what happened in 2008. During the Great Recession, the arts community took its hits along with all other economic sectors. When measured in 2011, the CVI was at .92. Not bad, especially when compared to regional CVIs. Colorado was first with a 1.16 CVI. Wyoming was second, followed by Montana, Utah, New Mexico, Idaho and Arizona. In comparison, the state’s western region, which includes Jackson, showed a 1.32 CVI. From 2006-2008, Teton County showed a CVI of 7.96, nearly eight times the national average. It’s dipped since, but still shows why its public and private arts resources are the envy of other cash-strapped communities.

Not surprisingly, Jackson is dependent on tourism for the livelihood of many of its residents. Millions of tourists flow through the county annually. But there still are “soft spots” in the season that could use a boost. The first part of June is one of them.

Wild Festival planners convinced the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board to lend support from lodging tax revenue designed to promote Jackson Hole in the shoulder seasons. This is how White made the pitch in her successful grant request: “According to the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce Business Barometer, hotel-motel occupancy rates during the week of June 16-22, 2013 ranged from 78 percent in town to 71 percent in the outlying area. The WILD Festival’s goal is to boost that rate into the 90th percentile by drawing tourists to Jackson for the six-day festival.”

She expects to generate 2,000 visitors from out-side the community and expects “full-on local participation,” estimating that a crowd of 4,000-5,000 will attend the street fair on Saturday, June 21.

“We hope that this will develop a rapport with people willing to travel for cultural tourism,” White said.

Tourism industry research shows that tourists interested in arts and culture stay longer and spend more than the average traveler.

The Wild Festival is just another step along the path of making Jackson “an international center for arts and nature.”

To help the event develop as “an art-making festival for all ages,” White has initiated a series of puppet-making workshops in the school. The

puppets will be involved in a number of the Wild Festival events, notably the Species Parade.

Massachusetts artist and educator Sarah Kariko emphasizes the intersection of art and nature in her work. She

“We hope that this will develop a rapport with

people willing to travel for cultural tourism”


visits Jackson regularly and was enthusiastic when asked to teach local artists how to build giant pup-pets. These local artist-educators went out to local schools to instruct students. High school artists made 25 big puppets for the festival parade. Sixth graders made masks and dragonflies. And second- and third-graders got into the act with their own wildlife-based art.

In April, the Art Association held a three-session puppet-making workshop to create “a sixteen-foot embracing Mother Earth Puppet to anchor the Species Parade.” Melissa Malm and Valerie Seaberg helped community members make a big, expressive papier mache face, build the puppet infrastructure and sew its clothing. On June 12, people are invited to the National Museum of

Wildlife Art to make a “spirit animal” mask for the Solstice Street Fair & Species Parade.

The parade will arrive in the town square just in time for the evening’s traditional Wild West shoot-out. White said that there will be some “interaction between the shoot-out gang and the animals,” but didn’t elaborate.

The day will end with a tribute to the old Fire Festival. “We’ll light bonfires after dark” which will act as a symbolic way “to extend the light of the longest day of the year.”

Find out more about the Wild Festival by going to www.wildjacksonhole.org or the organization’s Facebook page.

Art Fair Jackson HoleThe Art Association of Jackson Hole just celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2013. It puts on the annual summer Art Fair Jackson Hole (formerly the Mountain Artist Rendezvous) and will celebrate its 49th year of producing the show. Art Fair Director Amy Fradley said that this event “may be Wyoming’s largest juried fine art and craft fair attracting artists and patrons from across the country.”

The shows will be held in Miller Park in downtown Jackson on July 11-13 and August 8-10 (10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday/Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday›s). There will be 150 artist booths, as well as an artist demonstration booth, children’s art projects, entertainment and food and drink options offered by the Art Association.

“We are proud to support working artists by providing a consistent, quality show in which to sell their work and interact with the buying

public,” Fradley said. “And we are equally proud to provide such a wonderful art experience for both the locals and the tourists visiting our beautiful mountain town.”

FMI: www.jhartfair.org/index.htm, 307-733-8792

2013 Art Fair Jackson Hole


summer Preview

At 118, Cheyenne Frontier Days is a bit older than any human living in The Cowboy State.

That’s a good reason to call it “The Daddy of ‘em all.” Or maybe “The Great-Granddaddy of ‘em all.”

Whatever you call it, it spells economic development for Laramie County. Up to 200,000 tourists visit Cheyenne during the 10-day event. The National Finals Rodeo is a big draw, as are the night shows, dubbed in CFD television ads as the nation’s “largest country-western music festival.” Thousands of people eat free pancakes at the Historic Depot Plaza while UP and BNSF locomotives chug by. There are the parades and the Indian Village and Wild Horse Gulch. Lots of carousing, which make the bars and restaurants happy.

The events bring millions of tourist dollars into Cheyenne and surrounding communities. Many travelers make Frontier Days a stop on a tour around the state that takes in Yellowstone and Devils Tower, a stay at a dude ranch, a visit to the Wind River Reservation and a stop to see Aunt Fran in Ten Sleep.

Every 15 years or so, CFD funds a survey to study the numbers. Runyan Associates from Portland, Ore., conducted the 2012 study. It

found that tourists coming to town for CFD inject $25 million into the local economy through direct spending, including $4.8 million on food and beverages at restaurants and bars, $2.7 million on overnight accommodations, $6.5 million on entertainment and recreation, and $10.6 million on retail purchases. All of that spending generated $460,000 in local tax revenue and $566,000 in state tax revenue.

How does Wyoming’s arts and culture fit into all of this? It probably fits within the “entertainment and recreation” or maybe “retail purchases” sections – but also goes beyond that.

Some folklorists consider the rodeo and everything that surrounds it as part of the world of folk arts. “Buckaroo culture” is a term used by folklorist Hal Cannon, one of the founders of the Western Heritage Center in Elko, Nevada, site of the world-renowned annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Coincidentally, Cannon is married to

writer and Laramie County, Wyo., native Teresa Jordan who was CFD rodeo royalty back in the day.

Buckaroo culture is all around you on the CFD grounds. Traditional blacksmiths and chuckwagon cooks ply their trades at Wild Horse Gulch. Vendor stalls include lots of “cowboy kitsch” but also handcrafted horse gear made of leather, horsehair

Cultural tourism is a big part of Cheyenne Frontier Days

Some folklorists consider the rodeo

and everything that surrounds it as part of the world of folk arts.


and other natural materials. Native American culture and crafts are highlighted in the Indian Village, where you can see performances by the Little Sun Drum and Dance Group from the Wind River Reservation.

And then there’s the artwork. The CFD Old West Museum is a sprawling building in Frontier Park adjacent to the arena and stock corrals. It’s home to most of the four-wheel conveyances that you see rolling down Capitol Avenue on parade days.

As always, it will host the annual Frontier Days Art Show and Sale. This is the 34th year that it will exhibit the work of 60-some of the country’s top contemporary western and wildlife artists. It opens on July 17. Festivities begin with a pre-view at 3:30 p.m., followed by a reception at the Wyoming Governor’s Mansion at 4:30 p.m. View the art and meet the artists from 6-8 p.m. A western dinner and cocktails are served throughout the evening while the sale takes place at 8 p.m. Dance into the night to a live band. Tickets to the festivities are $145 each. Proceeds benefit the Old West Museum.

Exhibit opens to the public at 1 p.m. on Friday, July 18. All art remains on display throughout Cheyenne Frontier Days, July 18-27.

“The Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show and Sale is one of the most respected and prestigious western art exhibitions in the Rocky Mountain Region. We are able to attract top artists who use canvas, wood, alabaster and bronze to capture the real West,” said Jim Hearne, chairman of the Western Art Show and Sale Committee.

“There isn’t a better place to see how the everyday life of the cowboy, the lives of Native Americans, and the great American West and its wildlife make an impression on these outstanding artists,” he said. “A visit to Cheyenne Frontier Days wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Old West Museum to see and experience the outstanding works of art on display.”

During Frontier Days, the museum is open daily

continued on page 10

Little Sun Drum and Dance Group


from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Museum admission: Adults $10. Laramie County residents and kids ages 13-18, $5. Military, senior and group discounts. Children l2 and under are free. A cell phone audio tour is available by dialing 307-316-0079.

Visit the new exhibit in the museum’s newly-renovated gallery – “Cheyenne Frontier Days: A Frontier Phoenix.” Trace the history of the rodeo from 1897 through 1907 and discover the characters – two-legged and four-legged -- that bring this history to life.

For more information, call 307-778-7202 or visit online at http://cfdartshow.com

The Cheyenne Depot Museum Foundation on the other end of town will be holding its 2014 RailART Show and Sale through Aug. 1. This third annual event exhibits the work of nationally celebrated artists who make the history of railroads their subject. While Native Americans lived and hunted on the high prairie for thousands of years, the city of Cheyenne itself was founded as a rail camp when the Union Pacific arrived in 1867. The renovated depot, completed in 1887, is a work of art in itself and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2006. Here’s more from the Cheyenne Depot Museum web site:

The Union Pacific Depot is the last of the grand 19th century depots remaining on the transcontinental railroad and one of the best articulated examples of the Richardsonian

Romanesque style in the West, designed by one of America’s most distinguished architects (Henry Van Brunt) at a pivotal point in his practice. The Depot formed a strategic point along the Union Pacific Railroad, America’s first transcontinental rail line, and was easily the Union Pacific’s most grandiose facility west of its starting point at Council Bluffs.

Please contact the Cheyenne Depot Museum at 307-632-3905 or visit www.cheyennedepotmuseum.org.

A new arts project sponsored by LightsOn! will be situated downtown this summer. The “Our Faces: Portraits of Laramie County” exhibit will take place on the ground floor of the Historic Hynds Build-ing across from the Depot Plaza. “Our Faces” will feature more than 100 photos of Laramie County residents by professional photographer and Wyo-ming Tribune-Eagle photo editor Michael Smith. During Frontier Days, Smith will be at the Hynds taking professional photos of county residents. His goal is to photograph one percent of Laramie County’s 95,000 residents.

A smattering of these photos will be displayed in the Hynds’ windows during June. A “soft opening” of the exhibit will be held on July 4 for locals. The gallery will be open in July and August, with ex-tended hours during CFD.

Smith’s inspiration comes from the work of J.E. Stimson who documented daily life in Cheyenne a century ago.

“It started to dawn on me that these were the same faces that I see every day when I am out, right here in 100-year-old photos,” Smith told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in a Dec. 15, 2013 article. “It got me thinking about the types of people who live here, in this tough environment. The types of people who take pride in their home on the high plains. I want to document that, so 100 years from now, someone else can see the similarities I see, and at the same time, find out what the link is between all of them that makes them want to live here.”

To be a part of the project, drop by the Hynds this summer or call the WTE at 307-633-3117.


Florida Georgia Line in concert


Three art exhibits will be on display this summer at the Wyoming State Museum. Award winners from the annual Wyoming High School Arts Sympo-sium will be exhibited June 2-Aug. 30. The long-awaited “Art of the Hunt” show from the Wyoming Arts Council will be up and running July 18. And don’t miss “Traveling Trout” through Sept. 19. “Traveling Trout” features a series of three-foot-tall trout sculptures that were decorated by Wyoming high school students as part of a statewide art competition. Offered by the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, with the assistance of the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund and Friess Foundation among others. The museum also in-cludes permanent exhibits featuring Native Ameri-can and cowboy cultures, dinosaurs and mining history. Get more information at http://wyomu-seum.state.wy.us/

Art Design & Dine, Cheyenne’s in-town art tour, takes place the second Thursday of the month, April through December. Its July 10 event falls before CFD, but you might want to look at some of the participating venues while you’re in town. While Western art is the most visible type on the Cheyenne scene, take a look at local contemporary art at the new Clay Paper Scissors Gallery at 15th and Carey and at Rotten Apple Ink, 218 W. 17th St. Rotten Apple bills itself as an “upscale tattoo studio.” If you drop in for a tat (or even if you don’t) you can check out the art in the lobby gallery or take a peek at the paintings by Shane (there’s a Western name for you), who’s also one of the staff etching superheroes and video game characters onto locals’ arms and backs. Go to http://www.rottonappleink.com/

Another popular arts-oriented event is the annual Cowgirls of the West Brunch and Fashion Show on July 21 at Little America in Cheyenne. It includes a fashion show, silent auction, guest appearance by CFD Rodeo Queens and – of course – food. Reserve your seats by calling 307-632-6068 or visit the Cowgirls of the West web site at http://www.cowgirlsofthewestmuseum.com/.

The organization has a museum and emporium at 203 W. 17th St. It features locally hand-crafted and made-in-Wyoming jewelry, saddles, artwork,

note cards, clothing and home décor. It also sells antiques and collectibles.

Military culture is yet another subset within cultural tourism, one that is part history, part nostalgia and part patriotism. It enters the picture with the annual Fort D.A. Russell “Muskets to Missiles” open house July 18-20. Historic home tours, military reenactments and tours of Minuteman III and Peacekeeper missile systems are on tap.

The fort got its start in 1862 when President Lincoln approved plans for a military installation in the Wyoming Territory to protect the first transcontinental railroad. The U.S. Cavalry established Fort D. A. Russell at a military post in 1867, the same year Cheyenne was founded.

When Cheyenne Frontier Days was born in September 1897, troopers of Battery A of the 76th Field Artillery at Fort D.A. Russell fired the cannon announcing the beginning of this western celebration. Ersatz cannons still announce the start of the four parades held downtown during Frontier Days.

Imaginary villains and heroes battle it out on the Atlas Theatre stage during the annual four-week run of the Old-Fashioned Summer Melodrama. The CLTP puts on two shows a night during Frontier Days, often to packed, rowdy crowds. Last year’s offering was “The Treasure of Sara’s Padre” and was written and directed by local theatre stalwart and educator Rory Mack. By the time this year’s show rolls around, the historic downtown theatre will have undergone the latest round of interior renovations.

CLTP board members envision the 126-year-old venue as a live entertainment and arts hub for downtown Cheyenne. They hope that the Atlas will add to an energized downtown as it gets new life with more restaurants, brewpubs and shops.

To contribute to the crowd-funding project to renovate the Atlas, go to http://communityfunded.com/projects/d3witt/historic-atlas-theatre-renovation/. Get more info about CLTP at http://www.cheyennelittletheatre.org.


It’s tough to find a town of any size in Wyoming without its own craft brewery. In fact, you can find

craft brewers in places as small as Ten Sleep (pop. 260) with Ten Sleep Brewing Company which bills itself as “the first brewery in a barn in Wyoming.”

Jackson is more tourist mecca than small town, but it boasts a unique nanobrewery named Melvin Brewing at the rear of Thai Me Up Restaurant, which dwells in the shadow of Wyoming’s largest beer maker at Snake River Brewery. Nanobreweries may be small but they can be mighty. An Imperial IPA from Thai Me Up won a

gold medal at the World Beer Cup competition in April.

No matter their respective sizes, twenty of the state’s craft brewers met April 4 and 5 at the Wind River Brewing Company in Pinedale to craft its annual collaboration brew. Brewing artisans turned their attention to “steam beer” with the proposed name of “Steamboat” after the famed bucking bronco of the official Wyoming logo. Each brewer brought kegs of their own brewing water and other ingredients to add to the mix. Brewpubs around the state will offer this limited edition

summer Preview

Not-so-strange brew: heady mix of craft beer, music,

art and the outdoors

Grant Farm


brew during Craft Beer Week May 12-18.

There’s enough variety in craft beer that some bistros restrict their offerings to “Made in the Rocky Mountains” selections. This summer, Up in Smoke barbecue restaurant in Buffalo plans to offer an all-Wyoming selection on its ten beer taps.

Brew fests have cropped up in a dozen Wyoming communities. One of the largest is the Wyoming Brewers Festival held every Father’s Day weekend in Cheyenne. Last year, the festival moved from downtown’s Depot Plaza to Frontier Arena where all of the Frontier Days action happens in July. But organizers found that the change of venue was confusing so decided to move back for this summer’s offering. And instead of having more than 100 regional and national brewers on tap, the event will pare its offerings to craft brewers. Live music is part of the brewfest, along with food, lots of food.

Neighboring Colorado, a pioneer in craft brewing, racked up $1.6 billion in sales last year. Coloradans are thirsty, but those numbers also represent “beer tourism.” The Visit Denver web site has a page called “The Denver Beer Triangle” which is described this way: “The area between Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins is often called ‘the Napa Valley of Beer.’ “The apex of that triangle rests just 40 minutes south of the Wyoming border, with a dazzling collection of Fort Collins craft brewers and the huge Anheuser-Busch Brewery, with its stable of a dozen beer-

wagon-pulling Clydesdale horses. Not surprising, then, that Cheyenne’s Freedom’s Edge Brewing Company just moved to a larger site across from

The Historic Depot – and just down the street from Shadows Brewpub -- and also opened a nanobrewery in Old Town Fort Collins.

Those hops, it seems, are bringing in a lot of cabbage.

Some nine million tourists visit Wyoming annually and spend more than $3 billion. So-called arts and cultural tourists spend more and stay longer than other travelers. Those travelers prefer genuine experiences to canned entertainment. They want to hear local music, see local art, eat local cuisine and drink local beverages. So, if you can combine all of those things

into one event, such as a brewfest, you’ve created an event that draws tourists and locals alike.

John Garcia, owner of Lookout Brewing in the Asheville, N.C. area, sums up the business

They want to hear local music, see local art, eat local cuisine and

drink local beverages. So, if you can combine

all of those things into one event, such

as a brewfest, you’ve created an event that

draws tourists and locals alike.


Say Cheese (and beer)!

artscapes • summer 2014 PAGE | 13

Small-batch feel. It’s a trend that

takes on many forms.

strategy employed by crafters of all kinds. “Large business has a place in our economy,” said Garcia, who buys most of his ingredients from North Carolina and other American sources. “But our community in the Asheville area seems to prefer variety, creativity and the small-batch feel to what we consume.”

Small-batch feel. It’s a trend that takes on many forms. San Diego holds its Bankers Hill Art and Craft Beer Festival at an historic abbey. It features San Diego craft breweries, art installations from local artists and local food by some of the best-known chefs and restaurants in the city. Right Brains Brewery in Traverse City, Mich. (pop. 14,674), holds its “Arts & Beer Fest” every January. The township of Skippack, Pa., (pop. 3,754) holds an annual brew fest to get people to come to town and visit its folksy shops and restaurants. Attendees can sample beer from more than 50 regional breweries while they dine on the patios of local bistros. They’re entertained by live swing, blues and rock music on two stages.

Promotions for the July 12 Downtown Laramie Brewfest in Depot Park invite visitors to “come for the day, stay for the weekend and sample a smorgasbord of local and regional brews while listening to live music.” Brewfest is hosted by the Downtown Laramie Business Association and the Laramie Main Street Alliance as a fundraiser for historic downtown. Funds have added new lighting and bike racks and a series of murals by local artists. It’s also spawned scads of downtown events, such as historic walking tours and the Downtown Mash up in early September, which combines a classic car show, arts festival, live concerts and pep rally for UW athletics. As

for the brewfest, its attendance is helped by the fact that the venue is adjacent to downtown and takes place on the final weekend of Laramie Jubilee Days. More info at http://www.laramiebrewfest.com/

On Saturday, July 5, Cody will hold is first Yellowstone Beer Fest to raise money for the Wounded Veteran Charity and Operation Finally Home-Cody. It features live music, food vendors and craft beer on the Park County Complex Lawn, 1501 Stampede Ave.,

from 2-7 p.m. For more information, contact Trent Cole at 928-853-5920.

Southwest Wyoming is the site of the Evanston Brewfest on Saturday, July 19, 1-5 p.m. It’s

continued from page 13Fluffy Buffao at the 2013 Lander Brew Fest


sponsored by Evanston Main Street and Roundhouse Restoration, Inc., at downtown’s Depot Square. Activities include “live music, great food, the annual Big Deal on a Big Wheel races, and 60 different beers from 22 breweries.” Last year, more than 1,500 people came to town for the brewfest and organizers expect more this year. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the gate. FMI: http://evanstonchamber.chambermaster.com/events/details/evanston-brewfest-2397

Evanston may be the state’s new hotbed for brew-oriented celebrations. On June 22, it hosts the Beer, Brats and Bluegrass Festival. The beer and brats will cost you but music won’t. Jackson’s Screen Door Porch heads the line-up. The weekend gets started with a Home Brew Contest on Friday, June 20. Get the lowdown at https://www.facebook.com/bluegrassevanston

Not all of these beer festivals are located in historic downtown districts. Lander takes a different approach to its June 13-14 event. As you might expect from a community that’s home to the National Outdoor Leadership School and the annual Climbers Festival, Lander’s brewfest is geared to sports and outdoor adventure.

Here’s a description from the brewfest web site:

Lander Brew Fest has enjoyed a steady growth since the first one in 2002. Starting out in the small Jaycee Park on Main Street with less than 200 participants, the Fest has grown to a two- day event with over 2,000 lovers of stouts, pale ales, amber ales, browns, wheats and lagers -- and a ‘jillion’ variations of each -- among the crowd faves. Even if the weather isn’t perfect, the beer always is -- and we all keep coming back for more!

Hundreds of visitors have attended from surrounding states and enjoyed the food, music,

fun and, of course, BEER! Lander is perfectly suited to host a brew festival. Located in western Wyoming at the base of the Wind River Mountains, visitors enjoy premier rock climbing, fishing, biking, camping, and other outdoor activities before they cool down with a few frosty brews. CHEERS!

The Fremont Area Road Tour (FART) bike ride takes place the same weekend, and includes a discounted ticket to the brewfest. The Central Wyoming Speedgoat Rugby Club will hold its summer rugby tournament.

Great music from regional bands should keep things hopping. Friday night’s entertainment includes Bad Intentions followed by Justin Beasley and After the Rodeo. Saturday will kick off with Earl Wear & Haywire and the night ends with Grant Farm.

To purchase tickets for this year’s Brew Fest, stop by the Lander Chamber of Commerce, 160 N. 1st St., or go to http://www.landerbrewfest.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the gate.

The event has an array of sponsors which shows a great community buy-in: Fremont Toyota, Wyoming.com, county10.com, Holiday Inn Express, Wind River Wireless, Trihydro, Ameri-Tech Equipment Company, Phat Foam, Lander Regional Hospital, Holiday Lodge, The Forge, Lander Area Chamber of Commerce, Shoshone Rose Casino, Wyoming GCID and Rodney’s Collision and Custom Center.

Lander hosts a series of summer events. The Lander Art Center is one of the sponsors of Riverfest, which features an art show, water sports, cultural events and – dare we say it – locally brewed beer at the Lander Brewing Co-mpany, part of the Coalter Block restaurant group on Main Street. See a Lander summer events calendar at http://www.landerchamber.org/


Planning goes on year-round for three-day Big Horn Mountain Festival

summer Preview

This article, headlined “It takes a village,” appeared in the April 9 issue of the Buffalo Bulletin. Reprinted by permission.

By Andy Kerstetter

Every year for the past 10 years, the Big Horn Mountain Festival has

brought bands and music lovers together from near and far for a frenetic few days of music, food and fun.

But after the festivities die down, the bands leave, the people disperse and the Johnson County Fairgrounds return to normal, a small group of Buffalo residents still have the festival on their minds.

The Big Horn Mountain Festival committee consists of about nine dedicated individuals who ensure the festival returns to Buffalo the following year.

For Paul Jarvis, the committee member in charge of choosing, booking and scheduling each festival’s lineup of performers the work on the following year’s festival begins almost the day after each festival ends.

On the upswing

Jarvis prides the festival for their propensity at finding bluegrass, folk and Americana performers across the U.S. who are of top-notch quality and who are near the beginning of their careers.

“We’re pretty good at catching bands when they’re on the upswing,” he said, adding that some groups who appeared at earlier festivals went on to achieve wider success.

Catching emerging talent also helps to keep the festival’s costs down. Jarvis estimated the festival carries an average total cost of about $75,000, including the fees for booking the artists.

“That’s a lot less than some festivals, and a lot more than some other festivals,” he said.With a main stage and secondary stage to fill up with a variety of stellar performers for 2 1/2

days, Jarvis has a full plate each year. As soon as one festival is finished, he immediately begins researching bands to bring to the following year’s

Jarvis prides the festival for their

propensity at finding bluegrass,

folk and Americana performers across the U.S. who are of top-notch quality and who are near the beginning of their careers.


festivities, making sure to nab some returning bands who achieved high acclaim through the festival’s annual surveys of concertgoers as well as some new blood to inject some fresh music into the festival.

It’s not always easy to get some groups who performed in the past to return, mostly for monetary reasons, Jarvis said. Some of them achieve such success after their appearance at the festival that they become too expensive to bring back. One such group is the Steep Canyon Rangers, who appeared at three festivals in 2005, 2006 and 2007, but who later became more well-known and began touring with Steve Martin.“We’ve been trying to get the Steep Canyon Rangers to come back for three years,” Jarvis said.

But Jarvis doesn’t consider it a bad thing that

some acts become a little too pricey after the festival.

“We like to think the festival helps them along a bit,” he said.

While the burden is mostly on Jarvis’ shoulders to work throughout the year on finding and scheduling the festival’s entertainment, the event itself couldn’t happen without a few dozen extra helping hands.

It takes a village

The committee relies heavily on volunteers to produce the festival. Volunteers help with everything from setting up and tearing down equipment and tents to coordinating camping,


Foghorn Stringband


vendors and security.

“We’ve had a pretty good core group of volunteers through the years,” said Lisa Griffith, festival volunteer coordinator. “But we also see a lot of new faces.”

Committee member Lynn Young said they have had some dedicated volunteers who have helped every year with vital festival operations. It helps when such volunteers return, Griffith said, because they already know what to do.

“We couldn’t put on the festival without those major volunteers,” Young said.

The number of volunteers needed to successfully run the festival varies, though Griffith said there were about 125 volunteers last year.

“We could even have used a few more,” she said.

Although some regular volunteers already have stepped forward, Griffith is looking for more volunteers. Even though the festival is still four months away, it’s never too soon to pledge oneself as a volunteer, she said.

“I’m getting to the point now where I want to get the word out,” she said. “It takes a village to do this, it really does.”

Volunteering isn’t all toil and drudgery, though; people who volunteer get free admittance to the festival as well. It’s a fun time, Griffith said, and many volunteers who step forward decide to continue volunteering for future festivals. “After they volunteer once, they’re hooked,” she said.

Jarvis said that in addition to volunteers, sponsors are the other key component to putting on a good festival, or any festival at all.

“We’ve had a lot of good sponsors over the years, some of them donating anonymously,” Young said.

Jarvis said the volunteers and sponsors demonstrate how regional the festival is, although it is stationed in Buffalo. With many volunteers coming from Sheridan, Gillette, Casper and out of state, the festival has a regional impact. “Many of our best sponsors are out of Sheridan,” he said. And that regional focus is part of what makes this festival special, Jarvis said.

A regional effort

The festival committee members are often so busy planning for the following year and going about their daily lives that the fact that this year marks the festival’s 10th anniversary sneaked up on some of them.

“I just kind of woke up one day and realized this was the 10th year,” Young said. “I thought, wow, we’ve been doing this for a long time.”

Although they don’t have anything in particular planned to commemorate the 10th anniversary, the simple fact that the festival has lasted for 10


Jeff Troxel


Janet Goss winner of Johnson County Public

Library Quilt ShowSomeone has been busy canning, or is it quilting? “Jar Quilt” by Janet Goss won best-in-show honors in a vote by library visitors during the Johnson County Public Library annual quilt show in Buffalo in March. Goss finished her quilt early in 2014. She said: “It took about five years to collect the vegetable and fruit patterns used in the quilt. I thought the pattern was just the answer to my collection. I like things that are a little different to add color and change to a room.” The quilt is machine pieced and machine quilted.

years is reason to celebrate, Jarvis said.

Jarvis said the festival has outlasted many other music festivals over the years, many of which succumbed to financial woes after the Great Recession in 2008. “A lot of festivals were decimated by the financial collapse,” he said.

The Big Horn Mountain Festival didn’t emerge entirely unscathed from the collapse, however. Jarvis said the festival’s growth from 2005 to 2007 was incredible, but the recession put a damper on that development.

“In the first three or four years, the growth was exponential,” he said. “But after the collapse, people were doing a lot of belt-tightening.”

As a result, the festival has stayed a relatively similar size since 2008, although it has increased in size by very small increments, he said. But they would have liked to grow more.

“We’d like to get larger eventually,” Jarvis said, adding that in the future they might start looking at bigger headliner bands and even move the

main stage to the grandstand at the fairgrounds and use the current main stage as the second stage.

Nevertheless, the committee is happy the festival has survived as long as it has, and they credit its diversity of programming and regional emphasis for its longevity. “It’s an interactive festival, not just a performance event,” Young said.

While many people come to hear the bands play, others have come to love the festival’s interactive components, such as the Parking Lot Pickin’, when festival campers and musicians stay up late into the night jamming together after the concerts are over; the guitar, banjo, mandolin and fiddle contests, including the Wyoming State Championships for banjo and mandolin; the instrumental workshops and Saturday night Band Scramble; and the now-annual Old-Time Dance.

“It’s about engaging versus just playing,” Young said.

For more information about this year’s festival, visit www.bighornmountainfestival.com.


June6-7 – Cheyenne Hispanic Festival, Cheyenne; www.cheyennedepotmuseum.org/

6-8 – 40th Annual Wyoming Writers Conference, Sheridan; www.wyowriters.org

7 – Hiwater Hoedown at The Yard, Saratoga; www.facebook.com/theyardsaratoga

7-8 – CultureFest 2014, Worland; www.cityofworland.org/

9-July 4 – Cody Country Art League 49th annual art show, Cody; www.codycountryartleague.com/

12-14 – Riot Act Theatre Company’s “Annual Series of Shorts,” Jackson; riotactinc.org/

13-15 – Celtic Musical Arts Festival, Cheyenne; www.cheyennedepotmuseum.org

16-19 – 23rd Black Hills Quilting Retreat, Mallo Camp; www.tribcsp.com/~quilt/

19-21 – Eastern Shoshone Days and Powwow, Ft. Washakie; www.easternshoshone.com, 307-332-3532

19-21 – Big Horn Country USA Camping & Music Festival, Sheridan; www.trailsendconcertpark.com/show-schedule.html

21 – Midsummer’s Eve Celebration, Casper Mountain; visitcasper.com/do/midsummers-eve-celebration

21-22 – Plains Indian Museum Powwow, Cody; centerofthewest.org/calendar/plains-indian-museum-powwow/

22-28 – Bighorn National Forest Plein Air Celebration of Wildflowers, Spear-O-Wigwam Mountain Campus; www.facebook.com/BighornForestCelebrationofWildflowers

26-28 – Flaming Gorge Days, Green River; www.flaminggorgedays.com/

26-28 – 2014 Jackson Hole Writer’s Conference, Jackson, www.jacksonholewritersconference.com

27-29 – NIC Fest, NIC Art Museum and grounds, Casper; www.thenic.org

27-29 –Donkey Creek Festival, Gillette; donkeycreekfestival.com/

July3-Aug. 16 – Grand Teton Music Festival, Teton Village; www.gtmf.org/

5 & 12 – Summerfest, Buffalo; 307-217-0056 or [email protected]

5-13 – Jubilee Days, Laramie; www.laramiejubileedays.net/

7-11 – First People’s Powwow, Sheridan; www.sheridanwyoming.org/festivals-and-events/first-peoples-pow-wow/

July 7 & 21, Aug. 4 – Hot Notes, Cool Nites concerts, Lander; 307-855-2000, ext. 2214

Hot tunes, Cool Nights – A Sampler of 2014 Wyoming Summer Events

arts & the community


11-13 – 10th annual Big Horn Mountain Festival, Buffalo; www.bighornmountainfestival.com

11-13, Aug. 8-10 – Art Fair Jackson Hole, Jackson; www.jhartfair.org/index.htm, 307-733-8792

12 – International Day, Rock Springs, [email protected]

12-13 – Gold Rush Days, South Pass City; www.southpasscity.com/events.html

14-18 – Music Arts Theatre (MAT) Camp, Evanston; www.youngmusicians.net/new/matcamp/

17-27 – 34th annual Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show & Sale, Old West Museum, Cheyenne, www.cfdrodeo.com/rodeo/event/97

18-20 – Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering, Encampment; www.grandencampmentgathering.org

18-20 – 10th annual Targhee Fest, Alta; www.grandtarghee.com/summer/music-festivals/targhee-fest.php

20 – 4th annual Wyoming Blues Challenge, Casper; www.wyobluesandjazz.org/BluesChallenge.php

25-27 – Oyster Ridge Music Festival, Kemmerer; oysterridgemusicfestival.com

August2-3 – Beartrap Summer Festival, Casper Mountain; beartrapsummerfestival.com

6-10 – Quilt Guild Show and Sale at Headwaters, Dubois; www.headwaterscenter.org

8-10 – NoWoodstock XIV, Ten Sleep; nowoodstock.com

8-10 – 27th Annual Targhee Bluegrass Festival, Alta; www.grandtarghee.com/summer/music-festivals/bluegrass-fest.php

9-10 – Wyoming Old Time Fiddle Association State Contest, Douglas (during State Fair); wyomingfiddle.org/

15-16 – 17th Street Arts Festival, Cheyenne; 17thstreetartsfestival.com/

15-16 – Art on the Green, Green River; [email protected], 307-872-0514

16 – RIVERFEST: Art and Music in the Park, Lander; www.landerartcenter.com/riverfest2014

16 – Great Dam Day, Buffalo Bill Dam & Visitor Center; www.bbdvc.com

23 – 10th annual Mountain Village Outdoor Quilt Show and Story Days celebration, Story; www.chickadeecharms.com/contest.htm

29-31 – Snowy Range Music Festival, Laramie; snowyrangemusicfestival.com/

Find a more comprehensive list at on the WAC web site at http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/news-media/2014-summer-events/. Wyoming Travel & Tourism has a searchable list at www.wyomingtourism.org/events

Artist Dave Rowswell at the 17th Street Arts Festival in Cheyenne


wac board

WAC announces new board members and new executive

committee officers

The new Wyoming Arts Council board chair is Janelle Fletcher-Kilmer of Laramie. Neil Hansen of Powell

is the new vice-chair, and Tara Taylor will serve as the member-at-large.

Gov. Matt Mead appointed three new board mem-bers. They are Chloe Illoway of Cheyenne, Nina Mc-Conigley of Laramie and Sharon O’Toole of Savery. Tara Taylor, an arts educator from Mountain View, was appointed to a second three-year term on

Chloe Illoway“I’m pleased that I can be involved again in the cultural life of Wyoming,” said Chloe Illoway, who lives in Cheyenne and served nine years as executive director of the Cheyenne Symphony. “I look forward to serving on the Arts Council.”

Illoway served four years on the symphony board before hiring on as the director. A certified public accountant, she said that most of her experience was in business – including a stint as manager of the Cheyenne Eye Clinic — but hadn’t spent much time managing arts organizations. As symphony director “I got lots of experience in writing grants and working with the Arts Council,” she added.

She is married to former Wyoming legislator Pete Illoway.

the ten-member board.

The WAC’s departing board members are Duane Evenson of Gillette, Chessney Sevier of Buffalo and Jennifer Lasik, formerly of Kemmerer now liv-ing in Evanston, Ill.

Meet them all at the WAC’s next board meeting in Saratoga on June 5-6. For more information, con-tact the WAC at 307-777-7742.

Gov. Matt Mead appoints three new WAC board members


Nina McConigley

Nina McConigley was born in Singapore and grew up in Casper. She holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, where she was an Inprint Brown Foundation Fellow. She is the author of the story collection Cowboys

and East Indians. She also holds an M.A. in English from the University of Wyoming and a B.A. in Literature from Saint Olaf College. She is the winner of a Barthelme Memorial Fellowship in Non-Fiction and served as the Non-Fiction Editor of Gulf Coast: a Journal of Literature and Fine Arts. Her play, Owen Wister Considered, was one of five plays produced in 2005 for the Edward Albee New Playwrights Festival, in which Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Lanford Wilson was the producer. She has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and for The Best New American Voices 2009. Her story “Curating Your Life” was a notable story in Best American Nonrequired Reading 2010 edited by Dave Eggers. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Virginia Quarterly Review, American Short Fiction, Memorious, Slice

Sharon O’'TooleSharon O’Toole and her husband, Patrick, are ranchers in the Little Snake River Valley on the Wyoming-Colorado border. They are the fourth generation on the six-generation family ranch. The O’Tooles raise cattle, sheep, horses, dogs and children on their high country ranching operation. The transhumance operation stretches from north of Steamboat Springs, Colo., to Wyoming’s Red Desert.

O’Toole is a writer and poet. She writes extensively on western

Magazine, Asian American Literary Review, Puerto del Sol, and Forklift, Ohio. She was the 2010 recipient of the Wyoming Arts Council’s Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Writing Award and was a finalist for the 2011 Flannery O’Connor Short Fiction Award. She is at work on a novel and teaches at the University of Wyoming.

“I am deeply honored to join the Wyoming Arts Council Board,” McConigley said. “I feel passionately about the arts in Wyoming, and look forward to helping make decisions that will shape arts and creative work in Wyoming. Wyoming as a state is a creative inspiration for me and for many, and I am eager to learn about artists working and creating in the state, as well as the many incredible programs that encourage and foster a love of creative endeavors.”

Antonya Nelson, author of Bound and Nothing Right, has this to say about Cowboys and East Indians: “What I love about this collection of stories is its wit and warmth. McConigley’s characters are “the wrong kind of Indians living in Wyoming,” and their struggles as exoticized and denigrated community members could be, in a less interesting writer’s hands, yet another scolding tract on America’s guilty conscience. Instead, this book celebrates human pluck and humor, a new sensibility for a new time, when everyone is both at home and utterly alien in the contemporary American west. A terrific read.”



literary arts

ArtsReady Offers Free Library of Emergency

Preparedness Resources

ArtsReady, a national initiative of South Arts, is a tool designed to prepare arts organizations to con-

front nearly any emergency through business continu-ity and readiness planning. As part of the program, ArtsReady offers a comprehensive (and growing) free library of articles, tips, and resources. The ArtsReady Library provides advice and articles on a number of possible emergencies, from floods to bomb threats, as well as insurance advice, quizzes, and examples of evacuation plans.

“ArtsReady was developed as a service for arts organizations of all sizes, styles, and capacities,” explains Mollie Quinlan-Hayes, South Arts’ Deputy Director and Director of the ArtsReady program. “Our library is a place where you can download a variety of resources to fill in gaps in your business continuity plan.”

To access the library, visit www.ArtsReady.org, and click the “Library” link in the upper navigation menu. From there, you can either search for specific content or browse through the articles based on subject.

“Emergency preparedness is more than just backing up your files and having an evacuation plan,” continues Quinlan-Hayes. “Arts organizations have a responsibility to their community. In the immediate aftermath of a crisis, arts organizations are one of the first places people will turn to for solace.” One of the recent items

posted to the library is an article from The Atlantic recounting the importance of the Boston Symphony in addressing the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963.

Another recent addition to the Library is related to the National Weather Service’s Hurricane Preparedness Week, which is the last week of May each year. “ArtsReady was conceived following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” continues Quinlan-Hayes. “For a lot of our country, with the annual hurricane season comes a need for regular alerts, and a need to be continually aware of weather conditions.”

ArtsReady is built on the principle of community design, which means that organizations that have experienced crises share lessons learned and best practices with the ArtsReady community. The online tool, professional development and technical assistance offerings, educational materials, and Library content continue to grow based on the experiences and cumulative knowledge in the fields of arts management and emergency preparedness.

“ArtsReady is an interactive project, constantly adjusting and addressing emerging issues and lessons learned,” recounts Quinlan-Hayes. “We regularly update our content based on feedback from everyone involved in the program. For instance, after a webinar in which a constituent asked for guidance on active


shooter situations, we identified and posted an FBI-developed resource for houses of worship and other public spaces that translates to arts spaces as well.”

Quinlan-Hayes says, “South Arts has made the Library a go-to resource for arts administrators and organizations across the country. It’s just one element of the online ArtsReady toolkit, which guides organizations to develop their own readiness plan. The ArtsReady program as a whole can truly encourage and ensure that arts organizations prepare for any emergency, and have business continuity plans no matter what crisis may strike.”

issues, and the relationship among landscape, animals and people. She is widely published as an author, essayist and editorial commentator.

Pat and Sharon have three children. Their daughter, Meghan and her husband Brian Lally, live on the ranch with their children, Siobhán, Seamus, Maeve and Tiarnán. Meghan also served on the Wyoming Board of Agriculture, and she and Brian are active in community service. Daughter Bridget lives in Denver with her husband, Chris Abel, where she works in public relations and he serves agriculture in the food business. Son Eamon and his wife Megan live on the ranch with their sons, McCoy and Rhen. Eamon is a horseman and natural resource manager, and Megan is a nurse.

You can read some of O’Toole’s work on her blog at http://ladderranch.wordpress.com/ which, she said, “traces the activities and life on the ranch, from the mundane to the fabulous.”

Here’s one of her poems:

Spring, Sort OfWinter hesitates To leave us now Even as the summer solstice Swings towards us. Every day longer Than the last, May moon bearing down.

Drifts still heave Across roads, Hide under willow shadows, Crust in wind blown heaps. Shimmering curves Tracing north slope hilltops, Mocking green meadows.

Buds push toward Dreams of leafy lushness Nipped at night by cold Zipping them up tight. Sunshine finally bearing down Warmth coaxing that first Fine green to burst forth.

Springs surge up, Trickles grow into torrents Streams press into creeks, The river pushing its banks And beyond, soaking meadows The roar replacing, finally Winter’s long frozen silence.


WAC Board - Sharon O’'Toole continued ...


art is everywhere

Pictured clockwise from top left: Bao Bao Cultural Dance Group at 17th Street Arts Festival, Cheyenne; Wyoming’s Secondary Art Educators’ Teacher of Year Marianne Vinich with students, Riverton (photo by Ernie Over, County 10); Art Fair, Jackson (photo by Benjamin Carlson); UW cast of “Working,” Laramie; LCCC student art exhibition, Cheyenne.


Pictured clockwise from upper left: Traditional dance at Yiddish Food Festival, Cheyenne; JR Butler of Hulett with lynx taxidermy art; UW Singing Statesmen perform for legislators; cast of “Godspell,” Sheridan College.


arts education

Teachers will be “Starstruck” this summer in Laramie

By Katie Christensen

According to leading U.S. arts and education organizations, including Americans for the Arts, National Guild for Community Arts Education and the National Education Association, the arts are part of a balanced education, providing America’s learners with essential skills and knowledge they need to be productive, college- and career-ready citizens. Listed as a core academic subject of learning, the arts are supported by a rigorous set of Wyoming education standards that provide and improve sequential arts learning in our public schools.

Many Wyomingites value a quality arts education in our schools. By investing in certified arts educators, students gain the opportunity for a sequential, standards-based education in the arts. In an ideal situation, certified non-arts educators in schools (math, science, English language arts, etc.) also expand students’ opportunities for arts learning by providing curricular connections among the arts and other subjects.

The three-legged stool of strong arts education is built with certified educators, both in and out of the arts—legs one and two— with the third leg provided through Wyoming’s cultural organizations, community arts organizations, and teaching artists like our WAC Roster Artists. From this community based support, students gain deeper, additional, often standards-based arts learning experiences through opportunities provided outside of the school day. It is the convergence of the contributions of all partners and opportunities that provides a quality arts

education for our students. It takes a village, a community and a whole state of support. Our statewide arts advocacy organization, Wyoming Arts Alliance, puts it best: “Together we are stronger!”

Despite the rich body of data demonstrating how students benefit from quality arts education, many American children lack access to it in their schools. Wyoming is fortunate to have music and visual arts educators in most of our schools, but we still have further to go! Let’s ensure these arts specialist positions are maintained at current levels, or even increased. Better yet, what about adding dance programs to every high school? And providing theater opportunities for our elementary aged youth? We believe that the inequity of access to quality arts education must be addressed. Too often, arts education is squeezed out of America’s public schools. Let’s not see that happen any more in Wyoming schools.

An education without the arts is inadequate. Therefore, we call on our public policy leaders to provide a systemic and rigorous arts education for all students in all public schools by leveraging the expertise and experience of the partners involved in arts education. Here at the Wyoming Arts Coun-cil, we encourage certified arts educators, commu-nity arts providers and certified non-arts educators to provide quality arts education for their students by collaborating together in support of improved instructional and classroom practices. Opportuni-ties provided by the Wyoming Arts Council and our partners this summer will help to bolster these important relationships and provide professional development opportunities for growth.


From July 28 – August 1, our partners in Laramie at the UW Art Museum will host their annual Summer Teaching Institute, Transforming Learning: Art and Science Collaborative: Consider the Universe. Community educators and K-12 teachers alike can benefit from this hands-on, interactive workshop. Join us as we consider how art and science intersect as investigative processes. With UW Science Camp participants, explore a variety of materials and methods that might be used in art and science classrooms, inspired by the exhibit Starstruck: The Fine Art of Astrophotography, science theories and new explorations.

This Summer Teaching Institute is a great model for the ideal partnership of certified arts, certified non-arts and community partners coming together for the benefit of all education, including arts learning. The cost for participants is $150 per person, with a $50 non-refundable pre-registration fee or you can bring teams and receive a discount: $150 for first participant, $125 for second partner, $100 for any additional partners, $50 non-refundable pre-registration fee for each partner. All partners must register together. (3 PTSB or UW credits.)

This summer WAC is sponsoring additional professional development opportunities designed with teachers in mind. Participants are eligible to receive PTSB or UW Continuing Education credits. All of these opportunities are crucial ways to further strengthen teaching and learning skills in and through the arts, grow and build teacher networks, and learn something altogether new. For more information about pricing and registration, please contact Katie Christensen at 307-777-7109 or via email at [email protected]. Here are the rest of the summer courses:

On June 18 - 20, WAC Roster Artist Amelia Terrapin will lead Mobius Moves in Jackson. Immerse yourself in an exciting, whole-bodied approach to learning! We will explore different ways to use creative movement to teach concepts like sound energy, states of matter and patterns. This approach is designed to reach learners of all types (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) and make learning fun. This workshop is great for music,

PE, and classroom teachers looking for an active way to keep a diverse group of learners engaged. The cost is $125 for the workshop – meals and lodging not included. Lodging can be added to your registration in advance for an additional fee. (2 PTSB or UW credits.)

Visual arts and English language arts teachers should head to Buffalo on June 22 - 27 for Issues in Teaching Printmaking: Book Arts and Creative Writing. This course will be an intensive study on the basics of printmaking and its role and potential in the classroom, combined with an exploration of creative writing ventures easily adapted for classroom use. Goals are to have each participant find new methods of creation within the classroom, and each participant will print, write, and stitch their own book to take home and implement in their own classroom. Many elements of “the book” will be explored – both literary and visual – and ample workshop time provided. Mid-week adventure includes an art and writing studio field day in the Bighorn Mountains. Cost is $225 for the six days, for the workshop only. We also encourage visual arts and English language arts teachers to come in teams and are offering a partner discount-- $225 for the first participant, $175 for second partner, $150 for any additional partners, teams must register together. Lodging is also offered to all participants for an additional fee. (3 PTSB or UW credits.)

To finish out the summer offerings, travel to Riverton for both Beginning and Advanced Fused Glass, taught by experienced instructor Marianne Vinich—2013-14 Wyoming Secondary Art Educators’ Art Teacher of the Year. For both classes, participants will create their own high quality art glass pieces; learn a variety of techniques, and how to fire glass. Topics will cover a range of issues pertaining to fusing glass, including tools, health and safety concerns, materials, and information about working with glass, and also tips for how to make it successful for anyone. The beginning class is a thorough introduction to fusing and slumping techniques. Advanced class offers participants a chance to



Poetry Out Loud is a memorization and recitation competition for ninth through twelfth grade students. Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, the program is administered by the Wyoming Arts Council. Interested teachers can call Katie Christensen at 307-777-7109 for further details about participating in the 2015 competition.

poetry out loud

Ellingrod returns as Wyoming Poetry Out Loud champion

For the fourth consecutive year, Sara Ellingrod of Arvada-Clearmont High School has captured the Wyoming Poetry Out Loud first-place title.

Ellingrod vied with eleven other high school competitors from across the state in the memorization and recitation competition. Runner-up was Rebecca Dulaney from Sundance Secondary.

The 2014 Wyoming Poetry Out Loud state competition and awards ceremony took place March 10-11 in Cheyenne. Judges for this year’s event were Adrian Molina, Echo Roy Klaproth, Chris Propst and Kelly Madigan.

This year’s student contestants came from Sundance, Fort Washakie, Shoshoni, Buffalo, Kaycee, Cheyenne, Casper, Hanna, Riverton, Clearmont, Green River and Jackson. First Lady Carol Mead presented the participation and award certificates. Ellingrod received $200; Dulaney, $100; both also earned a cash prize for their respective schools to purchase poetry books for the library. Ellingrod and her chaperone received an all-expenses-paid trip to compete at the national finals in Washington, D.C., April 29-30. Scholarships totaling $50,000 are awarded to the national champion and the other placers.

First Lady Carol Mead (right) presents Poetrry Out Loud first-place certificate to Sara Ellingrod.


Pictured clockwise from upper left: Rawlins native and Poetry Out Loud judge Adrian Molina; POL contestant Catlinn Tillman, Fort Washakie HS; Wyoming First Lady Carol Mead addresses Poetry Out Loud crowd at Poetry Out Loud awards ceremony in Capitol Rotunda as SPCR Director MIlward Simpson looks on; Chantz Gates, Summit HS, Jackson; Kaitlyn Emerson, Cheyenne South HS.


folk arts

Handcrafted Art Traditions is an online gallery of folk and traditional arts made in the American

West. The site is the brainchild of Georgia Wier, who splits her time between Colorado and Oregon. She has served as a panelist and folk arts consultant for the Wyoming Arts Council. Find the web site at http://handcraftedarttraditions.com/

Three Wyoming artists are now participating, and soon Karen Mott from Lander will be represented with her hand-crafted cinches. One of those artists is Mary Maynard, a nationally-known expert on tatting and

crocheting from Laramie. She is also is a member of the Wyoming Arts Council Artist Roster. You can see Maynard’s Handcrafted Art Traditions page at http://handcraftedarttraditions.com/shop/category/mary-maynard/ Check out the organization’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/handcraftedarttraditions For more information, contact Wier at [email protected]

Wyoming folk and traditional artists are finding a home at Handcrafted Art Traditions

practice and hone fusing and slumping skills, as well as learn cold working techniques and discuss developing kiln programs for firing glass in schools. Classes are concurrent and begin in the evening on August 1, with the beginning class concluding on August 3 and the advanced class concluding on August 5. Beginning glass base registration is $250, Advanced class base registration is $550; both classes have the option for adding a single or double room for an additional fee, paid in advance. (2 or 3 PTSB or UW credits.)

We’d like to see all Wyoming communities foster proactive, long-term advocacy collaborations among certified arts educators, community arts providers, and certified non-arts educators that engage parents, school leaders, and other key stakeholders to support student access to high-quality arts education throughout the school and community. This is already starting to happen in our great state in places like Laramie, Buffalo, Jackson and Riverton, and many, many others. For assistance with advocacy, we encourage you to join our partners at the Wyoming Arts Alliance. This summer and into the year, we encourage folks from “pre-k to grey,” both teachers and non-teachers, to take an arts class at your local arts organization and become a lifelong learner!


Teachers will be “Starstruck” this summer in Laramie

ART of the HUNT

Exhibit opens July 18 at the Wyoming State Museum


the WAC calendarJune

5-6 . . . . .WAC quarterly board meeting, Saratoga

20 . . . . . .Application deadline for creative writing fellowships in fiction, 307-777-5234

30 . . . . . .Application deadline for performing arts fellowships in music performance

July

1. . . . . . . . .Fiscal Year 2015 begins

18 . . . . . . .Opening of “Art of the Hunt”

exhibit at Wyoming State Museum

31-Aug. 1. . .Wyoming Arts Council

quarterly board meeting, Green River and Cokeville

September

11-13. . . .Equality State Book Festival with

WAC creative writing fellowship reading, Casper

For more information, contact the WAC at 307-777-7742 or go to the web site www.wyomingartscouncil.org

ART of the HUNT

Exhibit opens July 18 at the Wyoming State Museum

Salmon fly by Marvin Nolte

Wyoming Combination holster by Von Ringler


Wyoming Arts Council2320 Capitol Avenue Cheyenne, WY 82002

Presorted Standard U.S. Postage

PAID Cheyenne, WY Permit No. 7

The Wyoming Arts Council provides resources & leadership to help Wyoming

communities grow, connect and thrive through the arts.

wyoming artscapes

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