Briefs - The Durango Herald

Four Corners Prostate Cancer Support Group to meet

The Four Corners Prostate Cancer Support Group will meet at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 7 on Zoom. The group consists of survivors and men who have been diagnosed with prostate issues including cancer. ...

DATE: Jan 19, 2023 | CATEGORY: Community

Ignacio Middle School honor roll

Ignacio Middle School announces its second quarter honor roll: Sixth grade Brynlee Burcham, Carmen Candelaria, Chadlyn Cundiff, Kirstyn Jameson, Matthew Maestas, Carley Martinez, Kodi Rima, ...

DATE: Jan 19, 2023 | CATEGORY: Community

StoneAge Inc. named as one of the Top 300 Impact Companies

StoneAge Inc. was recently named to the 2023 Top 300 Impact Company Rankings by Real Leaders Magazine. StoneAge was also named to the specific Manufacturing/Industry list. It was the fifth ...

DATE: Jan 17, 2023 | CATEGORY: Business

Grassburger announces new director of operations

Grassburger has announced that Kristen Worner as director of operations. Worner is responsible for team leadership, culture, driving revenue, product and vendor selection as well as overseei...

DATE: Jan 17, 2023 | CATEGORY: Business

Shayla Walker of Pediatric Partner completes master’s

Pediatric Partners of the Southwest announced that Shayla Walker, PPSW Behavioral Health Consultant, is a licensed clinical social worker. Walker completed a two-year master's program at the...

DATE: Jan 17, 2023 | CATEGORY: Business

Mountain Middle School earned ‘Performance with Distinction’ accreditation rating for 2022

Mountain Middle School is one of the Colorado Charter School Institute’s highest performing schools, earning a “performance with distinction” accreditation rating confirmed by the CSI board ...

DATE: Jan 17, 2023 | CATEGORY: Community

Bridge Scores

Durango Bridge Club online and in-person play – all pairs received 50+ percent Jan. 6 – Open Pairs First: S. Powers/S. Gandner Second: D. Read/P. Moore Jan. 6 – Open Pa...

DATE: Jan 13, 2023 | CATEGORY: Community

Fort Lewis College Calendar

Visit www.fortlewis.edu, click the “Quick Links” menu, choose “News & Events,” then click “Events” to view the complete calendar. Sunday Rec Services Staff Training, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m...

DATE: Jan 13, 2023 | CATEGORY: Community

Colorado Native Plant Society to hold lecture

Colorado Native Plant Society’s Southwest Chapter will host a lecture by Nora Ventrella at 7 p.m. Jan. 20 at Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College, 1000 Rim Drive, as a part of i...

DATE: Jan 13, 2023 | CATEGORY: Community

SJBPH seeks community input

San Juan Basin Public Health has launched a survey to gather input from La Plata and Archuleta county residents on their primary public and environmental health priorities and needs. The re...

DATE: Jan 13, 2023 | CATEGORY: Community

MOLAS scholarship application available

The Community Foundation serving Southwest Colorado is offering a scholarship opportunity called the MOLAS – Meaningful Opportunity through Learning and Advancement. MOLAS is needs based fo...

DATE: Jan 13, 2023 | CATEGORY: Community

Senior Center Calendar

Durango/La Plata Senior Center 2424 Main Ave., 382-6445 Monday Closed for Martin Luther King Day. Tuesday 9:30 a.m.: Zumba, Tai Chi for Arthritis/Fall Prevention. 10:30 a.m.: Watch Y...

DATE: Jan 12, 2023 | CATEGORY: Community

Colorado history gets weird, wild, wacky at Fashion Do’s and Don’tsAnnual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Cowboys. Fancy ladies. Gold miners. Even-toed ungulates that some in Durango might consider more like rats.Where can you find a runway show that takes you on a whirlwind tour through the weird, wacky and wildly exaggerated 150 years of Colorado history? Only at Durango’s annual Fashion Do’s and Don’ts, held Wednesday, where models and audience members donned costumes celebrating Colorado’s sesquicentennial – the theme of this year’s two-week Snowdown celebration.Standout acts included the Ghosts of Durango, which featured four of Durango’s most famous ghosts: a Rochester hotel ghost in a Victorian get-up of a more “modern” variation; the Strater Hotel’s head of housekeeping, also head of more discreet services; a young girl haunting El Rancho bathroom; and Sheriff Bob Thompson, killed in a 1906 gunfight. according to emcee Suzan Lane. A Another act was the secret circus society, featuring Rubi Starr, Jeni Gross, Tabatha Joy Bettin, Adrienne Young and Ethan Deffenbaugh dressed as a car and the roadside pests better known as deer. Group members said the inspiration for the costume came from lived experiences driving the Durango roads. The two-person Cantine Couture act starred Leslie Ponce and Tyler Frakes in an homage to the plentiful variety of Mexican restaurants found in any Colorado town. Ponce, dressed in comically large Mexican pointy cowboy boots, ambled down the runway as if taking a stroll under the hot, dusty, high-altitude sun, while Frakes flitted about the stage in a bright yellow salsa dress. Ponce said this years costume had been tough to decide, but the final decision was inspired by TikTok videos of Mexican cowboys in pointy boots. This was the duo’s third year strutting down the runway. Why they keep coming back for more, Frakes said laughing, was, “for the fame, the glory and the attention.”

Fashion Do’s and Don'ts has been one of the most highly anticipated Snowdown events since it’s inception in the 1990s. It has more than doubled in size over the past several decades. Last year, there were a record number of models, and in order to keep the event at a manageable size, this years fashion show was the first one to require the acts to audition. But many of the models were unphased by the change. “It was actually easy,” said Jodi Zuber, one part of the two-person duo that made up the 1950s Texas Invader Ski Couple. Her partner-in-costume, Danny Jaques, said they had been doing this for several years, and it’s good with everything going on in the world to “get some levity and let your hair down.” The performers were not the only ones in costume. Audience members also dressed in a wide variety of unique takes on what makes Colorado, Colorado. JonBenet Ramsey made a miraculous appearance, being played by an 82-year-old woman, as did Casa Bonita, an ensemble that included a taco, sopaipilla and gorilla in chains – to name some of the characters. By the end of the show, people were in high spirits, as usual. “It was just delightful,” said a first-time audience member. If blessed with the chance to get the much coveted tickets – he said he would jump on it. jbowman@durangoherald.com

Annual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Photos: Snowdown 2026 Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Photos: Durango High School basketball teams lose to Montrose High School

Photos: Local girls high school wrestling at La Plata TriDurango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Durango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Photos: Fort Lewis College women’s and men’s basketball take on Westminster UniversityBoth Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Both Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Photos: An afternoon in 2004 with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell as he works on Capitol HillDurango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Durango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Photos and video: ICE protests return to DurangoAbout a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

About a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

The Durango Herald’s year in photos 2025

Photos: Chapman Hill fires up the snow guns