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Cyndi Palmer: We’ve only just begun

Cyndi Palmer
Face in the Crowd

Ba-dum bum. As the last guitar strings strummed and drums sounded at this year’s Blues from the Top Festival I was still in awe by all the talent, regional and local, that Grand County has had the opportunity to enjoy ” and this is only the beginning. Brace yourselves for another ” as musician Shaggy would say ” “boombastic” weekend with all the fireworks, events and live music from the east to the west end of the county.

John Catt of the Blues Society said the two-day blues festival would be something to experience and it was an event I’ll not want to miss next year. Hideaway Park turned out absolutely fabulous ” all that hard work laying sod and such last week was not for null and I can’t wait to see what else the rolling grassy venue brings to the area, including live music Tuesdays and Thursdays. Thanks to all the volunteers who made it all possible. Moe’s was smokin’ Friday night of course, and the weather, crowds and after parties all contributed to a great time for all in Winter Park Saturday and Sunday.

I’m thankful that many of the musicians came from so far away to entertain us, and that busy local star Andy Irvine had a break in between tours to join in the shows (next he’s off to tour with band On the One throughout the United States, then Japan in the fall). He’s also done a great job mentoring for GCBS Blues in the Schools band The Runaways, who enjoyed captive, supportive audiences during the two-day festival. It’s hard to believe them and some of the other new stars who played this past weekend are still so very young and that good already.



I was also blown away by the recent openings of two live theatre performances, Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre’s cheeky “Urinetown” in Grand Lake and the Grand Theatre Company’s “Lucky Stiff” in Winter Park. Both are full of talent and wit and show through the summer with two other productions.

I especially liked the score and bits from other musicals in RMRT’s “Urinetown.” Let that “freedom sun shine” guys. One could say I could shower the company with golden praises for the entire production. Don’t let the title scare you away, it’s fresh, funky, and the “Cop Song” is a hoot. Once again actor Peter Durkin as Officer Lockstock delivers some of the most humorous lines and deserves a Bravo!, along with Officer Barrel (Steven Pierce), Bobby Strong (lead Sam Prince) and the entire rest of the cast and crew.



Director Kimberlee Nanda and her husband and company co-owner Tanny also had the crowds rolling on the Grand Theatre stage with “Lucky Stiff.” The story takes audiences on a hilarious ride through mobsters, riches, hotel rooms and a Monte Carlo casino with some surprising thrillers along the way. Cast members Sam Tucker, Jesse Iacovetto, Dylan M. Cox, Calah Beck, Justin Trygg, Shelby Mitchell, Hannah Heckerson, JP Lacouture, Jennifer Kerber, and Eldon Oswald did an outstanding job opening night and I’m sure there’s more where that came from.

An extra helping of news from the county’s culinary scene was also dished out this week, with the successful opening of the Tabernash Tavern (you should really check out the menu), a new bistro out at Pole Creek Golf Course, Matty Holliday as the new manager out at the Untamed Grill at Grand Elk with breakfast available now, and the creative ladies at the Mountain Rose Cafe are also now serving up dinner (“Comfort classics with a dash of hippie love”) 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.

While you’re out and about this weekend, make sure to wish local guitarist Matt Holliday, of band One Time fame, a happy birthday. Maybe he’ll play “Born on the Fourth of July” for us as a request.

Food for thought: “The Creative knows the great beginnings. The Receptive completes the finished things.” – I Ching. “Nourish beginnings, let us nourish beginnings. Not all things are blest, but the seeds of all things are blest. The blessing is in the seed.” – American writer Muriel Rukeyser.


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