The Cortez Journal encourages people to submit announcements about upcoming events for the Community Calendar. Send announcements to news@cortezjournal.com. Items submitted at least two weeks in advance will have a better chance of getting published; items submitted several days before the event might not get published. For more information, call the Journal at 565-8527.
Away We Go! is August theme for Storytime at Cortez library
Away We Go! is the August theme of Storytime at the Cortez Public Library, 202 N. Park St. Storytime is held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. for pre-school aged children and every Saturday at the Cortez Farmers Market beginning at 10:30 a.m., weather permitting. The farmers market is located on the corner of South Elm and Main streets. Older children are welcome to join for the craft at 11:15 a.m. Thursdays. The Saturday Storytime will follow the same theme as the preceding Thursday.
This is part of the librarys Summer Reading Program. This years theme is One World, Many Stories. Reading logs for the summer are available at the library. There is still time to start or continue this incentive program as it runs through Aug. 21.
Animals Travel Too! will be the focal point for Thursday, Aug. 11, and Saturday, Aug. 13. Next is Safari So Good on Thursday, Aug. 18, and Saturday, Aug. 20. Well wrap up the month with Staycation with Dora & Diego! on Thursday, Aug. 25, and Saturday, Aug. 27.
Storytime offers songs, stories, crafts and silliness and uses the Early Childhood Literacy Initiative program.
For more information, contact the library at 565-8117.
Driver safety course will be offered by AARP
AARP will sponsor a driver safety course from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, at the Calvin Denton Room in the Empire Electric Building, 801 N. Broadway, Cortez.
The course will review safe driving techniques as well as Colorado traffic laws. Completion of this course will qualify you for a discount on your automobile insurance. The course is available to all motorists whether or not they are members of AARP. A $12 fee for AARP members and a $14 fee for nonmembers is payable by check (no cash) to cover the cost of course materials. Bring your drivers license and AARP membership card, if you have one.
For more information or to register, contact Scott and Judy Aeschlimann at 565-3872.
George Geer Memorial Car Show honors Cortez soldier
The first George Geer Memorial Car Show will be held Saturday, Aug. 13, in Centennial Park, at Montezuma Avenue and Mildred Road beside the Cortez Public Library.
Participants can preregister for $25 at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, at Blondies Pub & Grub, 45 E. Main St., Cortez; or preregister for $35 at 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13.
Some of the 13 categories include Pre-50s Street Rod, Special Interest, and Muscle Cars and Hot Rods.
The show will open to the public at 10 a.m. and have an awards ceremony at 3:30 p.m.
U.S. Army Spc. Geer, of Cortez, died Jan. 17, 2005, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his position in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. Geers Dodge Charger will be in display at the show, and the show will include an honor walk for him.
Southwest Chapter 2 of Blue Star Moms is hosting the show. For more information, contact Sandi at 565-0770 or 560-2572.
Fiddle champion Wise will
perform fiddle, guitar vocals
Jake Wise will perform fiddle, guitar and vocals at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, at the Mancos Valley Distillery, 116 N. Main, Mancos.
Wise has been playing the fiddle, guitar and singing in the West and Europe since 1980 and was Nevada state fiddle champion in 1987 and 1988.
For more information, call 970-946-0229.
Four Corners Community Band
will perform at Escalante Days
The Four Corners Community Band will play a concert at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, in Flanders Park, Dolores, for Escalante Days.
For more information regarding band membership, scheduling a concert or upcoming events, visit www.fourcornerscommunityband.com or call Sue at 564-1245.
Concert will benefit equine therapy at Buffalo Woman Ranch
A benefit concert for Buffalo Woman Ranch, an equine therapy ranch located 6 miles north of Dove Creek, will be held from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13.
Proceeds will support ongoing equine-based experiential programs for at-risk-youth in the Four Corners. The day will include a full lineup of local and national singer/songwriters, featuring The Lindells. The acoustic duo performs original rock, cosmic country, folk-noir and wicked grass music inspired by the beauty of the American West. A silent auction, food, beverages and tours of the ranch will also be offered. A $20 donation is suggested.
For more info and directions, visit www.buffalowomanranch.com, call 970-677-2939 or find the ranch on Facebook.
K9 Search and Rescue Team will host Annual Pancake Breakfast
K9 Search and Rescue Team will host the Annual Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser on Saturday, Aug. 13, from 7 a.m. until the Escalante Days parade starts. The breakfast is the annual fundraiser for the team and will include pancakes, sausage, coffee or tea and juice. It will be held at the Dog House, 35 Railroad Ave. (directly west of Dolores Fire Station 1), with handicap parking at that address and regular parking off Central Avenue directly north of the building.
As a nonprofit organization that is 100 percent volunteer-based, K9 Search and Rescue depends on events such as the breakfast to provide much needed funds for equipment, training and materials.
For more information, call 882-4746 or email k9@k9team.org.
Congressional candidate Pace will make Cortez stop
Sal Pace, the Democratic minority leader in the Colorado House of Representatives, is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Colorados 3rd Congressional District.
Pace will be in Cortez to meet some local Democrats and talk about his campaign from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at Jack and Janelles Country Kitchen, 801 E. Main St. People are encouraged to stop by for some coffee or breakfast and meet Pace.
For more information, contact Scott at 719-778-1058, go to www.montezumadems.org or call Bill Grimm at 565-4224.
Childrens Kiva Montessori School will hold open house
Join The Childrens Kiva Montessori School for an open house from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, at 1204 E. Empire St., Cortez.
There will be refreshments and door prizes.
Registration is now open for preschool and kindergarten for the 2011-2012 school year. Tuition assistance is available.
For more information, call 565-8586 or visit www.childrenskiva.org.
Cortez Middle School will hold back-to-school night
Cortez Middle School will hold a back-to-school night at 7 p.m. for sixth-graders and 5:30 p.m. for seventh- and eighth-graders Thursday, Aug. 18, at the school, 450 W. Second.
Sixth-graders can purchase required student planners, and meet CMS staff and teachers. There will be important information available and parents can visit pods and view their students schedule.
For more information, call the school at 565-7824.
Verde Fest sustainability fair will have vendors, natural products
Verde Fest will begin its 2011 celebration on Friday evening, Aug. 19, in Empire Electrics Calvin Denton Room, 801 N. Broadway, Cortez, with a potluck meat at 5:30, followed by a discussion and showing of the documentary film Within Reach.
On Saturday, Aug. 20, Verde Fests sustainability fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Cortez City Park on Main Street. Local vendors will exhibit their products and services, such as natural building finishes, green cleaning products, alternative and efficient energy options, fuel-efficient vehicles, composting and organic gardening, and natural health care products.
Zuma Natural Foods, Turtle Lake Refuge and Oven Fired Pizza will offer local cuisine. Rounding out the day will be speakers, demonstrations, live music, and a host of childrens activities sponsored by Mesa Verde National Park and for children and adults alike, the return of the Solar Roller from the Durango Discovery Museum, funded by Empire Electric Association.
For more details, visit www.m-can.org.
Sheeran/Daggett will hold workshop on drawing methods
Meeker artist Pat Sheeran/Daggett, an artist-in-residence at the Aspen Guard Station this summer, will hold a free public workshop on drawing from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at the Cortez Cultural Center, 25 N. Market.
The workshop is for all ages and skill levels. Sheeran/Daggett, who teaches drawing and painting at Colorado Northwestern Community College, will offer participants simple and easy methods to help improve hand/eye coordination and access the right brain. Participants should bring a pencil and paper. Class size is limited to the first 10 people to sign up. Those interested in participating should register no later than 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, by calling the Cortez Cultural Center at 565-1151.
San Juan Bible Camp will hold annual summer celebration
San Juan Bible Camp, north of Mancos, will hold the annual Summer Celebration from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20.
A chuckwagon dinner will be served before a concert from the Bar-D-Wranglers. There will be opportunities to hear and update and see pictures of the ministry of San Juan Bible Camp. There will be a silent auction and zipline will be open.
RSVP by Aug. 17 by calling 533-7622 or email sanjuanbiblecamp@q.com
For more information or directions, visit www.sanjuanbiblecamp.org.
St. Pauls Episcopal Church will hold annual yard sale
St. Pauls Episcopal Church of Mancos will hold its annual yard sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at Montezuma Trading Co., U.S. Highway 160 and Willow Street, Mancos.
Those wishing to donate clean, slightly used items can drop them off between 3 and 6 p.m. either Wednesday, Aug. 17, or Thursday, Aug. 18, at the Trading Company.
CSU Southwestern Colorado research center will hold field day
Colorado State Universitys Southwestern Colorado Research Center will hold a field day Thursday Aug. 25, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 16910 Montezuma County Road Z, Yellow Jacket, approximately 0.25 miles west of U.S. Highway 491, right next to the Fairview Cemetery.
Registration will start at 9 a.m. Introductions will start at 9:40 a.m., and the field tours at 10 a.m. Lunch will be provided.
The following topics will be addressed: irrigation water management, dry bean improvement and production practices, wheat performance trials, sunflower hybrid selection and production practices; insect control in wheat, dry bean, and sunflower; and dryland crop rotations. Attendees will have the option to tour the fruit trees and vineyard demonstration orchard after lunch. There will also be booths and displays relating to sprinkler irrigation design, soil and natural resources conservation, oilseed crops and their uses, water resources management in the San Juan and Dolores watersheds, and more.
Speakers will include Mark Brick, CSU bean breeder; Ron Meyer, NE Colorado Area agronomist, Bob Hammon, Western Colorado extension agent/entomologist; Denis Reich, Western Colorado water management specialist, Larry Kawanabe, NRCS-Cortez irrigation water management specialist, and Abdel Berrada, research scientist/agronomist.
Anyone with an interest in the topics listed above is invited. RSVP is appreciated but not required. There is no registration fee.
For more information, call 970-562-4255 or email neeta.mahaffey@colostate.edu.
Clay McClinton will perform at Dolores River Brewery
Clay McClinton, son of Grammy Award winning Delbert McClinton, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30, at the Dolores River Brewery, 100 S. Fourth St.
Learn more about McClintons music at www.claymcclinton.com.
For more information, call the Dolores River Brewery at 882-4677.