Programs and crafts for everyone will be hosted by Animas Museum and La Plata County Historical Society on Sept. 21. (Courtesy of SWCO Humanities)
“History Live!” begins its sixth year of free September events with two Chautauqua-style programs at Fort Lewis College. Popular actor-scholar Brian “Fox” Ellis returns to enact the life of explorer Meriwether Lewis on Sept. 5 and American poet Walt Whitman on Sept. 6.
Ellis performs around the country as historical characters, bringing alive mesmerizing figures. He has appeared in Durango as Teddy Roosevelt, John James Audubon and Charles Darwin.
If you go
WHAT: History Live! Durango, a series of free September events celebrating the humanities in Southwest Colorado.
WHO: Sponsored by The Southwest Colorado Humanities Roundtable, a local consortium of cultural institutions.
Other presentations continue throughout the month and include sessions about the Sand Creek Massacre (Sept. 12), the military Fort Lewis (Sept. 19), restoring the Powerhouse (Sept. 22) and Ute Family History (Sept. 24).
Venancio Aragon will present “Weavings that Speak: Navajo Textiles as Vessels of Historical Account,” on Sept. 11. (Courtesy of SWCO Humanities Roundtable)
The calendar
Sept. 5, 7-8 p.m., Meriwether Lewis: Tribal Tales from the River’s Edge by Chautauqua Speaker Brian “Fox” Ellis. FLC Life-Long Learning Series. 130 Noble Hall, FLC.Sept. 6, 7-8 p.m., Walt Whitman: A Song of Myself, by Brian “Fox” Ellis. FLC Life-Long Learning Series. 130 Noble Hall, FLC.Sept. 11, 7 p.m., Weavings that Speak: Navajo Textiles as Vessels of Historical Account by Venancio Aragon, San Juan Basin Archaeology Society. Center of Southwest Studies Lyceum, FLC.Sept. 12, 7-8:30 p.m., Sand Creek: A Misplaced Massacre by Professor Ari Kelman, FLC Life-long Learning Series, 130 Noble Hall, FLC.Sept. 18, 6:30-8 p.m., 150 Years of La Plata County History by Professor Andrew Gulliford, Center of Southwest Studies Lyceum, FLC.Sept. 19, 7-8:30 p.m., The First Fort Lewis by Charles DiFerdinando, FLC Life-long Learning Series 2, 130 Noble Hall, FLC.Sept. 21, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Back to School! Programs and crafts for everyone to celebrate 120-year history by The Animas Museum and La Plata County Historical Society.Sept. 22, 5-7 p.m., Reviving The Powerhouse: A Restoration Story by the original team that saved The facility at The Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino del Rio.Sept. 24, 6-7:30 p.m., A Ute Family History You Didn’t Know by Johnny Taylor Valdez, Pine River Library, Bayfield.Sept. 26, 7-8:30 p.m., As We See Ourselves: The strange and revealing story of self-portraiture by Judith Reynolds, FLC Life-long Learning Series, 130 Noble Hall, FLC.
Chautauqua presenter Brian “Fox” Ellis as American poet Walt Whitman as he will appear Sept. 6 at Fort Lewis College. (Courtesy of B. Ellis)
History
The first History Live! Durango launched in 2019 with a variety of free programs given by a consortium of area institutions. Originally created by Colorado Humanities as a pilot project for the state, the program evolved into a Roundtable of many local cultural organizations. The pilot group included public libraries, Fort Lewis College, The Powerhouse Science Center, the Animas Museum and others. It also survived the pandemic by presenting programs online.
“Credit fundamentally goes to Foxie (Florence) Mason and Richard Ballantine,” Shelley Walchak said. Former director of the Pine River Library and Pine River Arts, Walchak was asked to develop a coalition for the pilot project. “For years, Richard and Foxie served on the Colorado Humanities board. And it was their idea to advance the humanities by pooling resources here in Southwest Colorado. As a result, we created a Roundtable, and it persisted.”
Today, the Roundtable is an independent organization with a 501(c)(3) designation. It sustains free programming by applying for grants, and now has its own website: https://swcohumanities.org. Designed by Lisa Marie Jacobs of Oh So Good Digital, the website has up-to-date information about all the events and generally supports the idea that the humanities are important in today’s world.
