Backcountry Experience and Osprey Packs will host a launch party for RootsRated, Durango’s new online guide to outdoor recreation, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Backcountry Experience, 1205 Camino del Rio.

The Pint Night will help raise money for the San Juan Mountains Association. RootsRated is a media platform that connects users with the best outdoor experiences in the area.

Unlike many crowd-sourced review websites, RootsRated features write-ups and reviews that are hand-picked by local outdoor retailers and their networks of local experts.

The Pint Night will feature live music, local root beer floats from Cream Bean Berry and customized pint glasses. On Friday, Backcountry Experience will kick off its eighth annual Tent City event.

Rock-art researcher to speak Thursday

Rock-art researcher and author Sally J. Cole will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Far View Lodge at Mesa Verde National Park.

Cole will discuss bird figures found in petroglyphs and paintings of the ancestral Pueblo tradition in the Four Corners. Although symbolism and activities surrounding prehistoric depictions and use of birds and feathers are obscured by time, archaeology and ethnohistorical accounts offer insights into the relationships between Puebloan people and birds over time.

This program is part of the annual Four Corners Lecture Series, which features presentations about the archaeology, current Native American cultures, history and natural resources of this area. All programs are free and open to the public.

Cole is an adjunct faculty member of the department of anthropology at Fort Lewis College, a research associate with the museum of Natural History and a consulting archaeologist working on the Colorado Plateau for more than 30 years.

For a list of programs in the series, visit www.mesaverde.org/four-corners-lecture-series.

Kiwanis Club to meet Thursday

The Kiwanis Club of Durango will welcome Sen. Ellen Roberts to speak at its meeting at noon Thursday at the Durango Community Recreation Center, 2700 Main Ave.

Visitors are welcome.

Open horse show to be held Saturday

The Mesa Verde Paint Horse Club will host an open horse show Saturday at the La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Entries will open at 8 a.m., and the show will start at 9 a.m. Classes include: halter, Western, lead line, trail, ranch Western pleasure, English and jumping. Daily high points will be given for novice rider, novice horse, 14 and younger, 15 and older and paint/pinto horse.

There is a $5 office fee for members and classes are $5. The office fee for nonmembers is $10, and classes are $7 each.

For more information, call Kim Nemecek at 247-9086.

Florida Grange to host free breakfast

The Florida Grange, 656 Colorado Highway 172, will host a free breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday.

Walk to benefit Annie’s Orphans

Registrations are being taken for Purgatory’s annual Mutt ’n’ Strut 5K & 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk, which will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday at Purgatory Resort.

Dogs are welcome. After the race, there will be dog sports training demonstrations by Durango Dog College, and dog costume and best-trick contests with prizes. For every $15 registration, $10 will be donated to Annie’s Orphans Dog Shelter.

Visit www.purgatoryresort.com/events/mutt-n-strut to register.

Fundraiser to benefit financial education

The Red Snapper, 144 E. Ninth St., will host a specialty cocktail fundraiser for local financial-wellness education nonprofit, Know Your Dough, from 5 to 7 p.m. June 30.

Proceeds from Know Your Dough cocktails and tips will benefit Know Your Dough and the delivery of financial-wellness programs to youths and young adults in the area.

For more information, email [email protected].

Herald Staff