Last weekend, Colorado State University graduates flocked to Old Town to celebrate their accomplishments with their families, and they encountered a surprise around every corner. Streetmosphere performers lined the streets of Old Town for the first weekend of a 16-week series.

The weekend was filled with music, painting, balloons and hot tea. Performers and artists braved the cold, rainy weather to kick off Streetmosphere’s opening weekend and to showcase their talents for the public.

Musicians and visual artists dominated the scene Friday night. The Fort Collins Youth Jazz Project played at Oak Street Plaza, gathering crowds of spectators to hear numbers by both the FCYJP Big Band and some smaller jazz combos. All musicians playing with the FCYJP are high school aged and have a passion for both written and improvised jazz music.

Other musical performances from Friday night included Elyse Miller at Old Town Square and Robert Cline, Jr. at Moe’s BBQ. Both parties had the “show must go on” attitude as the rain began pouring down later in the evening.

Saturday’s talented artists arrived with the same attitude and high spirits. The weather looked hopeful, but the forecast predicted another rainstorm. Both the early afternoon and evening rounds of performers included a variety of musicians and visual artists, and everyone kept themselves warm with cups of hot tea.

Colleen Crosson, a guitarist and singer, played at Old Town Square during the afternoon for a dedicated group of onlookers. She obliged her audience members by taking song requests, many of which were originally sung by Joni Mitchell. Colleen’s soft melodies intertwined with upbeat jazz numbers played by Matt Smiley Jazz and folksy tunes played by Sawmill.

The scene changed later Saturday night as a balloon artist entered the realm of performers. Jasbo the Balloon Artiste entertained people of all ages by teaching them how to make their own balloon animals. His craft intrigued young children and surprised families out wandering for the afternoon.

The Streetmosphere Team couldn’t have asked for a better line-up to start the summer season, though the weather could have been improved! They, along with past and upcoming performers, look forward to the weekends ahead!

OPENING WEEKEND OF STREETMOSPHERE  

The First of Many Weekends of Entertainment along the Streets of Fort Collins, showcasing the Poudre School District Elementary Music Students.

As spring time comes to an end and the summer months soon approach us, the question that comes to mind is, what are you doing the weekend of May 11-13?

The answer is Streetmosphere’s opening weekend in Downtown Fort Collins. Returning for another great season of street performances, Streetmosphere is Fort Collins’s own unique showcase of our community’s talented artists, performers, and entertainers.

Streetmosphere is Beet Street’s signature cultural program that transforms Fort Collins into a spontaneous, outdoor performing arts festival all summer long. Streetmosphere provides high quality, free performances that boasts civic pride for our local, creative talent.

The featured line up for Streetmosphere’s opening weekend of May 11-13 includes music by Curious Gage, Crosson-Sloniker Consort, The Honey Gitters, and Branden Sipes to name a few.  Visual artists include:  Amelia Caruso, Chris Bates, Diane Findley, and Peggy Quinn.

Along with our Streetmosphere performers, opening weekend will include a elementary showcase of talent from the Poudre School District. Located at the Oak Street Plaza on Saturday, May 12th from 1:00-4:00pm. Twelve students will be featured in the showcase and provide audiences a day of fun entertainment for all ages.

Throughout Streetmosphere, performances will range from musical acts, jugglers, magicians, comedians, dancers,  painters, and more all summer long at Streetmosphere locations. The event has a 16 week run from May 11 – September 2 in Downtown Fort Collins and will feature up to five live performances each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday over the summer.

Streetmosphere will also be expanding its performances to an additional location in southern Fort Collins. Along the street corners and public plazas in Front Range Village, performers will be entertaining crowds for 7 weeks from July 6 – August 19 during the weekends.

Attendance and excitement about Streetmosphere has grown exponentially – in 2010, 60,000 people stopped and watched performances; in 2011, more than 120,000 residents and visitors participated. Downtown businesses report that the vibrant activity of Streetmosphere has increased foot traffic and sales.

For more information, please visit www.beetstreet.org. We are excited to see you on the Streets of Fort Collins this Summer!!

It is also a popular season for the Jazz genre to get in full swing. Colorado has a list of entertaining Jazz Festivals throughout the summer months that are sure to bring you back to the legendary “Jazz Parties” of the 60′s.

A featured article in the Denver Post highlights the central Jazz festivals that are hosted in Colorado:

Estes Park Jazz Fest And Art Walk, May 19-20: It’s represented the beginning of the outdoor music season for the past couple of decades and the Jazz Fest returns in force this year with free performances including drummer Louis Hayes, who will appear just a week before his 75th birthday. Hayes played with Cannonball Adderley and Oscar Peterson’s popular bands in the ’6os, and he’s remained a powerhouse. Flutist Dave Valentin is one of the biggest jazz names on his instrument, and he’ll headline on the fest’s second day. The schedule is filled out with a host of regional acts, and it all takes place at the Performance Park outdoor amphitheater.estesparkcvb.com

Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Festival, June 22-July 7: This year’s lineup is more “jazz flavored” than straight-ahead but the cause is just (helping to fund a long-running jazz education program) and the atmosphere is unbeatable (Aspen’s Benedict Music Tent.) The lineup features artists who have shown an appreciation for jazz, too: Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs, Joe Cocker, k.d. lang and trumpeter Chris Botti, who has always managed to balance jazz and pop nicely.jazzaspensnowmass.org

Winter Park Jazz Festival, July 21-22: This is the 30th year for this celebration, and a lot of smooth-jazz and R&B fans will be happy to make the trip once again. The lineup features eclectic saxophonist David Sanborn, singer Charlie Wilson and quite a few other laid-back marquee names.winterparklodgingcompany.com

Evergreen Jazz Festival, July 27-29: It’s easy to root for the people who put this one on every year. They’re clearly not in it for the money, but for the love of traditional sounds. The Evergreen Jazz Festival is one of the only of its kind that focuses on the swinging end of the spectrum. Groups from New Orleans and Boston will take part this year, and there are plenty of regional acts on tap.evergreenjazz.org

Saxophonist David Sanborn is on the bill for the Winter Park Jazz Festival

Telluride Jazz Festival, Aug. 3-5: One of the most likable, broad-based gatherings in the country is always worth the long ride, with an idyllic main stage area and many local nightspots transformed into jazz clubs. This year the lineup includes the Victor Wooten Band, Funky Meters, Soulive, Jon Cleary, Roy Hargrove, Roberta Gambarini and Marco Benevento. Several artists are playing return engagements at Telluride, probably because the environment is so welcoming. Hey, didn’t this used to be called the Telluride Jazz Celebration?telluridejazz.org

18th Vail Jazz Party, Aug. 30-Sept. 3: Perhaps this year they really are saving the best for last (of the season.) One of the ideas behind the Jazz Party is to bring different personalities together and see what happens. Here are some of the improvisers: James Carter, Houston Person, Benny Green, The Clayton Brothers, Lewis Nash, Jeff Hamilton, Terrell Stafford and Wycliffe Gordon, all demonstrating their prowess at altitude. vailjazz.org

Set list : Dale Bruning and Jude Hibler team up tonight at Dazzle to present the “Timeless Music of Sonny Rollins.”… Extraordinary saxophonist Kenny Garrett appears at the Soiled Dove Underground on Thursday and Friday. … The Tierney Sutton Band plays Dazzle May 5-6. … Piano legend Kenny Barron brings his trio to the Mount Vernon Country Club on May 17th.

 

Taking place on Thursday, April 26th at 7:30pm at the Colorado State University- School of the Arts. The concert will be in the Organ Recital Hall and is FREE with the purchase of a ticket to the April 27 or April 28 concerts.

The duet will reprise the recital program at a concert in Shanghai later in 2012.

After the concert, there will be a “Meet the Artist” Reception sponsored in-part by Great Harvest Bread Co., Mugs Coffee Lounge, Whole Foods Market, and King Soopers.

The other East-West Weekend Concert Series are:

Tuesday, April 24, 7:30 p.m.: Collaborative Voice Area Recital
Friday, April 27 and Saturday, April 28: Tales of the Exotic!

Check out The Event Website or ArtBeetFC.com for more information!

The duet will reprise the recital program at a concert in Shanghai later in 2012.

The Lincoln Center is one of Colorado’s largest and most diverse presenters of professional theatre, dance, music, visual arts and children’s programs. With its mission of  being a leader in cultural experience and being an essential value to the community, the center provides unique opportunities for creatives of all types to show off their artistic abilities.

Upcoming opportunities at the Lincoln Center:

New Legacies 30:

Contemporary Art Quilts. Celebrating 30 years of exhibiting quilts, the LincolnCenter is now accepting entries for this favorite annual exhibition. The application and more information can be found online at http://www.lctix.com/galleries-opp.php (scroll down to “30th Annual New Legacies”). Exhibition dates are July 3 – September 5, 2012. $30 for up to three entries. For more information contact Jeanne Shoaff, 970-416-2737 or jshoaff@fcgov.com.

$1000 Grand Prize and $1000 in additional prizes!

The deadline to apply is May 20, 2012.

Pianos About Town: 

The City of Fort Collins Art in Public Places Program, in cooperation with Bohemian Foundation, and Downtown Development Authority, seeks to involve local artists/teams by commissioning them to work with the Pianos About Town Project team to paint murals on working pianos to be located in various locations in Fort Collins. The artists will be required to paint the piano in Old Town Square or an APP determined interior location in Fort Collins. The intent of this project is to create a Downtown attraction of an artist working on site in Old Town Square, Fort Collins, CO and to place resulting painted pianos around the Fort Collins area. The artists/teams are required to develop and submit a preliminary visual concept for the mural to be painted on a functioning piano. The Selection Committee will select multiple artists for this project. A copy of the RFP (#7371)may be obtained online at www.fcgov.com/purchasing or from the Purchasing Department at 215 N. Mason St., 2nd floor, Fort Collins. For more information contact Ellen Martin, 970-416-2789 or emartin@fcgov.com.

There is an honorarium of $650 for artists selected for this project!

Deadline to apply: April 20, 2012

Two Trees:

LincolnCenter is seeking proposals for fine art and fine craft objects to be made from the wood of two ash trees that were removed during the Lincoln Center renovation last summer. Not a wood-worker? That’s OK! We’re looking to exhibit artworks that show the full expression of how trees contribute to life. Any form of the wood, from sawdust to branches, pulp to milled planks can be incorporated into your final object. Exhibition dates are April 26 – June 8, 2013. This exhibition is a fundraiser for the Lincoln Center and for the City’s Forestry Department. Accepted objects will be available for purchase through a silent auction. More information and the application for proposals can be found online at www.lctix.com/galleries-opp.php (scroll down to “Two Trees”) or contact Jeanne Shoaff at 970-416-2737 or jshoaff@fcgov.com

Cash and merchandise prizes for accepted artists!

The deadline to apply is June 1, 2012.

 ARTiculture Sculpture-on-Loan & Fine Arts Festival:

The Lincoln Center and The Gardens on Spring Creek are proud to announce the fourth year of ARTiculture, a year long sculpture-on-loan program, and the first year of the ARTiculture Fine Arts Festival. The Gardens on Spring Creek are seeking sculptures of all sizes, styles and media from Colorado artists and local high school artists for the sculpture-on-loan show. Artists will receive a $250 stipend and will have the opportunity to talk about their work with art enthusiasts at the opening reception on Friday, August 24th. To submit your work for the sculpture-on-loan show, please download an application from http://www.fcgov.com/gardens . For any questions, please feel free to contact Amanda DeAngelis at articulturefc@gmail.com.

$250 honorarium for accepted sculptures.

For the ARTiculture Fine Arts Festival on Saturday, August 25th at the Gardens on Spring Creek, we are seeking fine arts and crafts vendors. The Festival will present local and regional artists the opportunity to showcase their fine arts and crafts to an art savvy audience. To submit your work for the Fine Arts Festival, please download an application from http://www.fcgov.com/gardens or at http://www.lctix.com/galleries-opp.php. Submission deadline is June 15, 2012. For questions, please contact Jeanne Shoaff at jshoaff@fcgov.com.

For more information about The Lincoln Center and its activities visit, http://www.fcgov.com/lctix/ 

The Arts Incubator of the Rockies (AIR) is proud to announce a public unveiling of the AIR Curriculum Design that will highlight the hard work, time, and creativity that has been put into place over the past three months of developing the core curriculum.

On Wednesday, April 25th, AIR will be hosting an “Unveiling of Curriculum Design” from 5:30pm-7:00pm at the Lincoln Center, Canyon West room.

Interested visual artists, writers, musicians, performers, designers, arts administrators, other creatives, and community members are invited to attend the presentation to learn more about the developments of what AIR will be offering beginning this fall.

The strides in AIR’s curriculum development are in large part due to a team of hard working committee members. A special thanks goes out to this group for dedicating their time, knowledge, passion, and invaluable input over the past three months:

Chris Bates, Barbara Gilhooly, Ayn Hanna, Lynne Hull, Taylor Ordway, Carrie Visintainer, Cat Giglio, Hamidah Glasgow, Doug Leavell, Elizabeth Morisette, Ron Phillips, Amy Reckley, Toby Swaford, Dulcie Willis, Stu Crair, Jaime Donnelly, Linda Lyons, Marge Norskog, and Bill Whitley.

The Arts Incubator of the Rockies (AIR) is an ambitious initiative of Beet Street, created in partnership with the City of Fort Collins Cultural Services Department, and Colorado State University (CSU) School of the Arts. AIR is a regional arts incubator that serves 10 states and more than 280,000 artists and creatives in the Intermountain West. Based in Fort Collins, AIR is designed to serve both the local and regional cultural workforce by providing professional development classes, entrepreneurial and business training and other skills-based activities through distance learning, internships, collaborations and resource sharing. AIR serves all creative and community members who want to shift the paradigms about art, money, value, and community.

We encourage those interested in the attending the event to RSVP online at www.beetstreet.org by April 23, 2012. Seating is limited.

A collaborative list of answers by a few of Streetmosphere’s performers answers that question:

Sawmill – “We are interested in being a part of our community here in Fort Collins. Our favorite venue for performance is an informal setting, where people can come and go and listen as they wish. Street performances are the most charming way to get our music out there to get people interested.”

 

 

Art on Mountain – “Exposure and artist recognition, which will be especially impactful if our performers are scheduled right next to our gallery.”

 

 

Escape Goat - “BECAUSE ITS FUN PLAYING MUSIC OUTSIDE ON THE SIDEWALK FOR PEOPLE!”

 

 

Cary Morin -”To play a show in Fort Collins in a relaxed atmosphere open to the public”

 

 

Stacey Tomaszewski - “I’ve seen Streetmosphere performers for the past two years, and it always looked like so much fun!  I auditioned because I love performing in all venues.  Another chance to perform regularly is an exciting prospect for me.”

 

 

Elyse Miller - “I’ve really enjoyed working with Streetmosphere in previous years. I love the reactions of people passing by and performing outdoors all summer.”

 

 

Northern Colorado Potters Guild – “We were part of Streetmosphere last year. It was really fun to bring our potters wheels downtown and make pots, sharing the mystery and magic that goes into creating something from clay.”

 

 

Tim Foolery Magic – “ In 2010, I saw no involvement by magicians in Fort Collins.  So, I auditioned for Streetmosphere 2011, mostly to let people know that there are magicians available in the local area.  Also, being a part-time professional magician, there is always a challenge to stay current, and fresh.  Streetmosphere provided much welcomed performance time in between my regular bookings.  Finally, my experience at street performing was limited.  It was a great chance to try something relatively new.  I was surprised and delighted when asked to be a part of Streetmosphere again in 2012.”

 

The excitement for Streemosphere stems from its performers, and we are so happy to have such a great line up of talent who share our passion for entertainment.

The 2012 Streetmosphere series will kick off on May 11th – check our Facebook page for updates and the Streetmosphere home page for more information about the schedule as well as performer information!

There are differences among these types of entry requests and depending on the type of “call” is how you should plan your application response.

Call for artist websites are filled with opportunities and it can be hard to narrow down which ones you should take the time to apply for. So, how should you decide?

Remember that as an artist – your creativity and investments in time and money are what you are putting forth in an application.

You should evaluate where the best use of your assets is going to be and apply from there. Based on how you can better yourself professionally and artistically in a creative outlet.

To help you decide on which Call for Entry to apply for, keep these questions in mind:

1. Is the produced in the exhibition relevant to your present collection of work?
2. If you were to be chosen, does being in that exhibition help progress your career plan?
3. Is the scale (actual size) of the requested art, reasonable for you to create at this time? Based on your experience and talents?
4. Does the timeline of deadlines and work parameters allow you to maintain the expected quality in your art?
5. Is the reward, commission, prize, or award – make your time and money spent seem financially feasible?

While there are always exceptions for each artist and your personal artistic experience, but each Call for Entry should be a collaborative way for you to use your talents, time, and resources in the best way possible.

These tips and evaluation questions have been collaborated from Art Biz by Debby L. Williams (Director of Oklahoma Art in Public Places)

For more information and more blog ideas from Art Biz – visit www.artbizblog.com

Not only does this artistic project extend beyond anyones imagination of possible outdoor art, it also reaches into some environmental issues and controversial topics.

Christo’s plan (as seen in the image) is to suspend 5.9 miles of fabric over a 42-mile stretch of the Arkansas River between Salida and Cañon City in south-central Colorado.

Cool? Some say yes, some are unsure.

Uncool: Covering such a large portion of the river with actual fabric raises some concerns. Concerns that have been somewhat mitigated when the Bureau of Land Management approved the project last November.

Cool: “​Christo will fund the construction of the installation himself and “Over the River” is estimated to bring in $121 million in total economic output throughout Colorado, tourist dollars means tourist traffic.” (westword.com)

The project, which was initially slated for the summer of 2014, was pushed back to 2015 in February.

For more information about Christo’s project and updates on the plan visit: Over The River or other blogs from: Westword.com.

After a long process of video submissions, live auditions, and anticipation, the final list of more than 60 performers has been collaborated! You can see the full list of artists and Streetmosphere sponsors at:

www.beetstreet.org/streetmosphere

You can also check out the Beet Street website for updates and information regarding when and where performances will occur.

Be sure to visit the Streetmosphere Facebook page to connect with the performers before and after they hit the streets of Fort Collins all summer long.

We will be posting performer profiles, question and answers, and videos and photos from weekend activities throughout the summer months. We want to encourage your feedback as an audience member and Fort Collins resident! Let us know what you want to hear about Streetmosphere!