Former city planner Greg Hoch is opening speaker for 2023 History Live!, Wednesday at Durango Public Library. (Courtesy of Judith Reynolds)
History Live! Durango celebrates its fifth year of free September programs starting Wednesday at Durango Public Library.
The programs are sponsored by what has come to be known as The Humanities Roundtable. Now in its fifth year, the Roundtable’s September project started as a “what-if” idea.
“Credit 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 of cultural institutions as a pilot project. For years, Richard and Foxie both served on the Colorado Humanities Board. Their idea of a Southwest Colorado consortium to advance the humanities started with pooling resources. As a result, the Roundtable emerged and it persisted through the pandemic.”
More information
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.
In 2019, the first History Live! Durango launched in cooperation with Colorado Humanities. It continued for the next two years with online offerings. Now, the Roundtable has 15 partner organizations. The pilot project succeeded and the Roundtable is now an independent organization with a 501(C)(3) designation and a website: https://swcohumanities.org.
Cartoon of former City Planner Greg Hoch standing up to Wal-Mart. (Courtesy of Judith Reynolds)
Events
Sept. 6, 7-8:15 p.m.: Downtown Durango Design Perspective, Greg Hoch, sponsored by The Durango Herald. Durango Public Library.Sept. 7, 7-8:30 p.m.: First Ladies of the San Juan Country, Gay Kiene and Susan Jones, FLC Life-long Learning.Sept. 9, 1-2 p.m.: The Mosquito: A Human History of our Deadliest Predator, Timothy Winegard, Ignacio Community Library.Sept. 10, 4-5:30 p.m.: Prehistoric Talks, The Powerhouse Science Center. Sept. 11, 6-8 p.m.: Author Dan Schultz, Maria’s Bookshop.Sept. 12, 6-7:30 p.m.: HerStory with Midge Kirk and Terri Helm, Pine River Library.Sept. 13, 7-8:30 p.m.: The Virgin Branch Culture of So. Nevada, Karen Harry, FLC Center Southwest Studies.Sept. 14, 7- 8:30 p.m.: “Treason in the Textbooks: Harold Rugg, Visual Culture & the American Way,” Cory Pillen, FLC Life-long Learning.Sept. 16, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Buffalo Soldiers Return to Animas City, Animas Museum.Sept. 17, 9:45 a.m.-6:45 p.m.: Buffalo Soldiers Ride the Rails, Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.Sept. 19, 4-6 p.m.: History of Hula with Ka Pa Hula I Na Mauna, a family event at Durango Public Library.Sept. 20, 3-4:30 p.m.: “History Writing” Book Discussion, Durango Public Library.Sept. 20, 5:30-7 p.m.: “Yellow Nose: Ute Dog Soldier,” Oreland Joe Sr., Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum.Sept. 21, 7-8:30 p.m.: Removing the Hood: Memory, Forgetting, and White Supremacy in America’s Past, Paul Kuenker, FLC Life-long Learning.Sept. 22, 7-9 p.m.: Overshoot and Collapse of the Ancient Four Corners, a film by Cloudy Ridge Production. FLC Ballroom.Sept. 23, 4-7 p.m.: Celebrating the History of a Centennial Farm, Fox Fire Farms, Ignacio.Sept. 26, 5-6:30 p.m.: “Salone Italiano,” book discussion, Durango Public Library.Sept. 26, 6-7:30 p.m.: How the West Was Clothed, Sherry Hawkins, Pine River Library.Sept. 28, 9-10 a.m.: Birding with Audubon, Oxbow Park & Preserve, Durango, Chautauqua Presenter Brian Ellis.Sept. 28, 7-8:30 p.m.: Chautauqua portrayal of John James Audubon by Brian Ellis, FLC Life-long Learning.Sept. 29, 7-8:30 p.m.: Chautauqua portrayal of Charles Darwin and his Revolutionary Idea, The Powerhouse Science Center.
Brian Ellis will portray Charles Darwin during this year’s History Live! events. (Courtesy)
