Archive for the ‘Power of Art and Culture’ Category
Streetmosphere is Just Around the Corner
Even though there is still snow on the ground, here at Beet Street, we’ve got Streetmosphere on our minds. This year’s season begins on Mother’s Day weekend, and May 10 will be here before we know it. We will be back in Old Town every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Labor Day weekend. We will also be back at Front Range Village in South Fort Collins July 5 – August 3, with Friday night performances and a NEW Saturday evening concert series!
We are very pleased to announce that we will bring over 90 acts to the streets of Fort Collins this season! That is a 48% increase from last year, allowing us to support more performers and provide a greater variety of entertainment. It was wonderful to see over 120 talented acts apply this year – thanks to all of you.
These increases say a lot about the program. First, that the word about Streetmosphere is spreading, not only in Fort Collins, but throughout Colorado. We are proud to see how far Streetmosphere has come in just three years, helping to put Fort Collins on the map as an arts and culture destination. There are also several cities that are interested in starting a similar program, and we are working with them to discover how they might bring Streetmosphere to their own communities.
You can keep up to date with with Streetmosphere by liking Beet Street and Streetmosphere on Facebook, and following Beet Street on Twitter. We’ll keep you posted!
AIR Tour
Our recently launched website, Arts Incubator of the Rockies (AIR), has been growing rapidly—now incorporating almost 600 members. The website includes a variety of great resources designed for all artists and art-based organizations, not only for inspiration and motivation, but also for connecting and succeeding. This regional arts incubator is a wonderful opportunity for artists to utilize many tools in one convenient website.
Recently, we have added a helpful and comprehensive website tour to the homepage. This tour, guided by our own Executive Director, Beth Flowers, walks viewers through the website features and functionality. If you have never visited the website before, have casually browsed it, or have recently become a member, this tour is the perfect chance to learn the power of the website and how to use it.
We are still in the midst of our membership drive and are recruiting as many people as possible. There is no force to commit. Though paid members have access to more features and benefits, free memberships still include a great base of available resources. So please, visit the website, and take the tour to help get you immersed in AIR.
Key to the Future
Creativity is one of those traits everyone wants a little more of and you can never have enough of. It is a characteristic pursued in both the art and the business world. According to the Americans for the Arts, “… creativity is among the top 5 applied skills sought by business leaders…the arts—music, creative writing, drawing, dance—provide skills sought by employers of the 3rd millennium.”
Innovation becomes more important as we experience current challenges and attempt to predict problems of subsequent years. It is important to examine creativity as an entity in our lives and the role it plays in shaping our future.
To look at how we can encourage it in our children, inspire it in our daily lives, enhance it in our workplace, and take the steps necessary to grow creativity in our communities.
Resources to expand knowledge on the nature of creativity are abundant. Local creatives and artists, books, magazines, and especially the Internet, – information on creativity is everywhere. A great place to search for them online is our AIR (Arts Incubator of the Rockies) website. The Knowledge Center is full of videos, articles, and more on creative topics.
Enthusiastic Streetmosphere Fan!
Branden Sipes performing with Streetmosphere, photograph taken by Tim Van Schmidt
Tim Van Schmidt is a craftsman, and a freelance writer and photographer. He specializes in writing about contemporary music on the local and national level. An experienced writer, Van Schmidt wrote for The Coloradoan as the music columnist, for the Fort Collins Forum as the entertainment columnist, as well as edited for Scene Magazine, of which he is a co-founder. Since then, Van Schmidt has been publishing his writing and photographs online.
Van Schmidt’s photography career really blossomed because of his writing. When attending concerts to write a review, he was always asked, “Do you also want a photo pass?” Since then, he has photographed many artists, such as Clapton, Springsteen, U2 – and of course our Streetmosphere performers!
Tim followed the end of the 2011 Streetmosphere program and photographed eight of the performers in Old Town. This year, Van Schmidt says that “checking up on Streetmosphere is a regular part of my summer!!” He has photographed twenty-two of our artists so far in both our downtown and Front Range Village locations.
Live music is what keeps Van Schmidt ticking, and Fort Collins doesn’t disappoint. Out of the hundreds of cities he has visited, he says that “Fort Collins has gone way beyond the average city.” Our city provides programs like Noontime Notes in Oak Street Plaza, concerts in Old Town square, FOCOMX, Bohemian Nights at New West Fest, and of course Streetmosphere to promote live music and its native artists.
Van Schmidt enjoys the diversity and accessibility Streetmosphere offers and says that “it would be a crime not to take advantage of what is offered in so much abundance.”
Get Your Game Face On!
Stage Manager Jan is welcomed by FRV staff!
Streetmosphere was welcomed by Front Range Village staff during their second week of operation. Stage Manager Jan paused for a photo-op on the vehicle used by the Front RangeVillage’s security team.
Streetmosphere has expanded to the shopping mall at Front Range Village, located on Harmony and Ziegler. You can find lots of different shops and places to eat, but if eating and shopping isn’t your thing, you can check out a book at the public library!
Through the weekend of August 19th, Streetmosphere will be operating both at Front Range Village and in Old Town! Hours do differ a little between FRV and Old Town, so be sure to check out the hours below, or you can check out or website for a more detailed schedule!
Have you seen The Seers?
The Seers perform with Streetmosphere, Sunday July 1
Sunday afternoon was a host to great weather, bustling crowds, and of course Streetmosphere!! Along with many other performers with Streetmosphere on Sunday, The Seers entertained crowds downtown at Old Town Square.
The Seers, a rock/blues duo, is comprised of two talented musicians, Brian Collins and Sean Waters, who perform on guitar and piano, as well as sing. They perform many pieces they have written themselves and even take song requests!
Jazzin’ It Up
MDT3, with a special guest (right center), in front of Mo's Bar-B-Que on Friday night.
This past Friday, I began my internship with Beet Street. What a fun night to start out!There were performances and artists to pique anyone’s interest. My favorite, however, had to be MDT3.
MDT3 is a jazz trio made up of Ron Holleman (trumpet), Chuck Landgraf (drums), and Tim Gauthier (guitar). These gentlemen have been involved in the Colorado jazz scene for quite some time now and they each belong to multiple bands besides MDT3. They name their group after Ron’s marquis instrument: the Morrison Digital Trumpet (MDT). Though Ron is a very talented trumpeter, he played the MDT just about as often as he did his traditional instruments on Friday.
The Dog Days of Summer
Ike poses for a photo at College and Mountain
Not all Streetmosphere fans come out on two legs. Usually, there’s more than one furry, four-legged friend in the crowd, and the last weekend of June was no exception. One of our most dedicated fan-dogs is a little grey terrier named Ike.
Ike, along with his owner, loves to experience the sights and sounds of Downtown. Whether it’s a visual artist painting, such as the lovely Ren Burke, or the whimsical sounds of Fiddle Whamdiddle, Ike is always more than happy to visit. His owner mentioned that he loves to be downtown, and that coming out for Streetmosphere has become a weekly ritual.
Only in Fort Collins
One of many musicians unique to the Fort Collins scene: dACCORDion.
Only in Fort Collins can you expect to find a surprise around every corner. That’s Streetmosphere’s slogan, and we’re sticking to it!
The program just completed its seventh weekend of performances in Old Town, Fort Collins. Despite some bad weather and some smoky air, we couldn’t be more pleased with the performances, the artists, and the crowds that have come out to support Streetmosphere every weekend.
All these feelings of nostalgia prompted the “street team” to dig deeper—to uncover the things about Streetmosphere and Fort Collins that are truly different than anywhere else in the world. It wasn’t difficult to find these things; in fact, the list had grown exponentially after just one day of observation.
Weekend Spotlight: Half Moon Arts
Alicia Randall, 17, works on painting her piece entitled 'Dragon'
Bright colors, towering animal faces, and wood chips lined College Avenue this weekend, while as many as 4 artists worked away with Half Moon Arts. The local non-profit, run by Rose Moon, works with at-risk youth, ages 13-21, to create an environment both artistic and imaginative.
The program utilizes the process of making totem poles to inspire the participants. From a log of wood, they carve out a unique world, followed by a heaping amount of colorful paint. Creativity is highly encouraged, helping to promote self-esteem and healing. The work produced by these amazing young people sells through local events, allowing for feelings of accomplishment and success. The organization has been commissioned to make totem poles for many organizations in town as well, such as the Fort Collins Cat Rescue.
