Perfectly charred
More than a dozen teams of amateur grill masters will descend on Buckley Park Saturday for a day of feasting and friendly competition. Men Who Grill, the Durango Women’s Resource Center’s signature fundraising event, will feature a spectrum of grilled goodies prepared by participating teams, beer from Steamworks Brewing Co. and live music courtesy of the Kirk James Blues Band. Costumed teams will be vying for cash prizes and the titles of People’s and Judge’s choice, among others, and the crowd will be able to sample fare that ranges from ribs and mini steak fajitas to grilled bananas. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Advance tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 5-12, and are available online or at the Women’s Resource Center, Backcountry Experience or Maria’s Bookshop. For more information, visit www.wrcdurango.org or call 247-1242.
An ancient art
Belly dancers from across the Four Corners will convene in Durango this weekend to celebrate their ancient and seductive dance tradition with a performance. Featuring more than 30 dancers from Flagstaff, Arizona, Cortez, Silverton, Farmington and Grand Junction, the Al Mafra Four Corners Belly Dance show will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Durango Arts Center, 802 East Second Ave. The performance will offer a showcase of several styles of belly dance and will star Santa Fe dancer Myra Krien. For those who want to go beyond watching and learn to belly dance, Al Mafra will also host three workshops Saturday and Sunday at the DAC. Tickets to the show are $15 for adults and $8 for children. Visit www.almafra.org or call 385-8547 for more information.
River music
Most of this weekend’s Animas River Days action will take place in the water. But for those who want to celebrate the Animas River on dry land, the event will offer several chances to catch live music. Elder Grown, a local band comprised of three brothers and a few of their friends, will start the music off with a fundraising concert at 10 p.m. Friday at Animas City Theater, 128 E. College Drive. Deer People will also play the show, which is being presented by Durango Massive. Then on Saturday and Sunday, several bands will keep crowds entertained next to the Ska Brewing Beer Garden during the festivities in Santa Rita Park, 149 South Camino del Rio. Saturday’s lineup includes Sound Company, Katie and the Hooligans, Grove Casters, 32nd Street Collective and Live Wire; Sunday’s tunes will be provided by One Roof Blues and Bermuda Collective. Visit www.animasriverdays.org for more information.
Music in the pines
Three days of picking parties, intimate acoustic sets and newgrass jams are set to go down this weekend during the Pagosa Folk ’N Bluegrass Festival in Pagosa Springs’ Reservoir Hill Park. This year’s lineup includes guitar/banjo wizard Tony Furtado with his trio, identical twin folk duo Shook Twins, Virginia four-piece string band The Steel Wheels and newgrass pioneer Peter Rowan with Twang an’ Groove. The festival, which will run Friday through Sunday, combines main stage performances with special late-night shows and music workshops, and promises a full weekend of music in the pines. A number of pass or ticket options are available. Visit www.folkwest.com for more tickets, a full schedule or directions.
