Ah, 2021: I still can’t decide if you were all bad or just meh.
What I do know is that while we still had – and continue to have – coronavirus in its varying mutations, and we’re still divided as a country politically, socially, insert your adverb here, we’ve had a fantastic year of arts and entertainment in the Durango area, and for that we should be grateful.
Some highlights were:
Thespians returned to stages around the area, perhaps most notably was Merely Players, the theater company known for staging productions in “found spaces.” In August, the crew found a permanent space in the Tech Center just west of downtown. The student actors of Durango High School’s Troupe 1096 got back under the lights for the first time since the pandemic began with their production of “Carrie” in April. Fort Lewis College staged three short works as part of a celebration of Native American Theatre in October, and in November, Durango Arts Center launched 24 hours of theater with its “First Weekend Fling.”
There were some significant celebrations in 2021. In March, Durango Independent Film Festival celebrated its Sweet 16, albeit with an online fest. That didn’t stop the celebration, though: Joanie Leonard, DIFF executive director, said that there was plenty to do online than just watch films. “The goal is to abide by our mission statement, which is connecting the filmmakers with the community and vice versa. We’re planning some Zoom coffee talks with filmmakers, we’re planning some ‘quarantini’ happy hours, and those are where everybody can come in and be on Zoom and have their video on and everything,” she said. “We’re just trying to do everything we can to do more than just watch a film.” Silverton Brass Band hit middle age in August when it turned 45. The band began as a lot of really good ideas do – as idle chitchat between co-workers during lunch breaks. Jump ahead 45 years, and the band, which includes about 15 musicians, is still going strong.
While I think everyone can agree that Snowdown being shut down in 2021 because of dumb COVID-19 really stunk (except it was kind of nice to avoid this newsroom’s yearly spanking at Spellebration), the good news is it was announced that we’re back on for 2022, with a few adjustments to ensure safety. The annual cabin-fever buster is scheduled for Jan. 26 to Jan. 30 and will require proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test to attend certain events.
Pandemics and fun aren’t exactly the likeliest of couples, so when things started looking up in the spring and summer, we were more than ready. In March, Durango Stadium 9 fired up the popcorn poppers and got back to business. Kara Young, director of operations for New Mexico-based Allen Theatres, which owns Stadium 9 and the Gaslight in Durango, said Stadium 9 reopened when it did because the movie industry was finally starting to release new films, rather than pushing their release dates ahead, which had become the norm during the pandemic.
“We were really kind of waiting for better content. There’s a lot of content, but nobody knows about it, nobody wants to go see it,” she said. “And so the thought was we need to wait until there are movies people actually might want to go see. That’s why now. And of course, May is when everything should be hitting strong – we have ‘Black Widow’ opening in the beginning of May, and then every week after that.”
In April, Animas City Theatre reopened after having been closed since March 2020. The venue got things going by starting out with local bands and continues to keep adding to its music calendar. In July, Animas City Night Bazaar returned to north Main Avenue with its Wednesday night of strolling, shopping and live music. And, just to our south, Tico Time River Resort became the place to be this summer, with a jam-packed schedule of weekendlong music festivals.
To close out this look back, let’s revisit some of the stories that helped us forget the unpleasant stuff. In February, Studio & invited the public to put their feelings about the pandemic on paper as part of its “Letters to Isolation” project. Also in February, Durangoan Desirae Yazzie’s hand-beaded earrings quickly gained a national – and even international – following. In March, local bands got together to play a fundraiser for Carol Clark, who at the time was awaiting a stem-cell transplant to help her fight multiple sclerosis. This summer it was announced that local artist Mariah Kaminsky’s oil painting “The Hug” was going to be launched to the moon this January – the moon! We also had Michael Martin Murphey perform at the La Plata County Fair, the Durango Choral Society returned to the stage and we got a new record store when Toast Records and Tapes opened downtown.
And when all is said and done, surely things can only keep getting better in the new year, right? ... Right? So, let’s raise one to a happy and healthy 2022, and I’ll catch you on the other side.
katie@durangoherald.com
