Life & Arts

The Cortez Public Library is preparing for a busy June, with a summer reading kickoff party, children’s programs, movie screenings, adult activities and special events tied to this year’s “Unearth Your Story” theme.

This week’s Water Wednesday shares current river flow levels across the region and spotlights a new Indigenous-led art exhibit honoring the Dolores River and its cultural significance.

The Mesa Verde Writers Conference will take place in September this year after organizers cited summer crowds and heat in southwest Colorado.

A new Cortez poetry program from ZU Arts Initiative will pay poets, host public readings and mail collectible poem broadsides to subscribers.

ZU Gallery in Cortez uses creative events like Limericks and Libations to draw local crowds during slower tourism months and shifting seasonal patterns.

Mancos musician Yves Giraud records interviews highlighting Four Corners artists, venues, and the community that sustains local music.

Colorado investigators say a new review found no evidence contradicting the original ruling that gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson died by suicide in 2005.

Instructor Hattie Miller previews a new line dancing class at Cortez’s Sunflower Theatre, blending group choreography, 70s and 80s music, and confidence-building movement.

The Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts began in 1999 with just six students meeting weekly in a small Denver studio and now has grown into a statewide movement spanning 25 years, which includes an annual jazz camp in the foot of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains in Westcliffe, Colorado.

Writer and podcaster Maddy Butcher reflects on her first Raven Narratives performance, the power of local arts spaces, and why she believes the Sunflower Theatre strengthens community.