Kirsten Dobroth

Drive-in movies have seen a comeback this summer thanks to COVID-19 public health protocols, but the most recent films playing at Buttermilk’s drive-in theatre as part of The Meeting FilmFest have audiences dreaming of winter. 

This is Week In The Arts—a curation of virtual events, exhibits and reopenings around the Roaring Fork Valley. 

Governor Jared Polis Extends Colorado Mask Mandate

Monday, Sept. 14 - Governor Jared Polis extended Colorado's statewide mask mandate for another 30 days over the weekend. The extension is set to expire on Oct. 12, but could be extended again, as it has been twice since it was originally adopted in July.

This is Week In The Arts—a curation of virtual events, exhibits and reopenings around the Roaring Fork Valley.

Garfield County Encouraging People To Get Tested After Labor Day Weekend

Wednesday, September 9 - Garfield County Public Health is emphasizing the need for people with one or more COVID-19 symptoms to seek testing as soon as possible. In a release, the county said many people traveled or were exposed to visitors over the long holiday weekend.  

This is Week In The Arts — a curation of virtual events, exhibits and reopenings around the Roaring Fork Valley.

Four new Little Free Libraries have popped up in Aspen that will be stocked with books by Black authors and anti-racist literature. Aspen Words partnered with Aspen Skiing Company and local advocacy group Roaring Fork Show Up to build and stock the new bookshelves. 

Two new exhibitions are coming to Carbondale Arts’ R2 Gallery as part of the local art organization’s First Friday celebration on Friday, Sept. 4. The event kicks off with an outdoor talk featuring exhibiting artists Brian Colley, Wewer Keohane and Andrew Roberts-Gray at 5:30 p.m., and the gallery will open to up to 10 visitors at a time at 7 p.m.

This is Week In The Arts—a curation of virtual events, exhibits and reopenings around the Roaring Fork Valley.

COVID-19 Case Numbers Remain Low, But Fall And Winter Bring Uncertainty

Friday, September 4 - New cases of COVID-19 in Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties are among the lowest they have been since the beginning of the pandemic, according to local health officials. Online COVID-19 status trackers for both Aspen Valley Hospital and Valley View Hospital said they are at "comfortable" levels of virus activity.

Aspen Film begins streaming the documentary “They Ain’t Ready For Me” on Sunday, Aug. 30. The film follows Tamar Manasseh, a Black rabbinical student organizing against gun violence on Chicago’s South Side.

When COVID-19 shut down schools, businesses and ski resorts back in March, Aspen Skiing Company employees also found themselves sitting at home. They decided to use the time to write and produce an original song called “See You,” which will be available for download on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music this week.

Colorado Rolls Out Enhanced COVID-19 Data Website  

Monday, August 24 - Last week, the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) rolled out a new COVID-19 website. The site features an enhanced data dashboard, which includes information about hospital bed availability, demographic breakdowns of COVID-19 cases in the state and percentages  of patients needing hospitalization, ventilation or ICU treatment. The new website can be found here.

This is Week In The Arts—a curation of virtual events, exhibits and reopenings around the Roaring Fork Valley.

Friday, August 21 - Governor Jared Polis announced updates to the state's online COVID-19 data dashboard, including simplified navigation and the addition of datapoints involving hospital bed availability. Polis also announced Friday that the statewide "last call" for serving alcohol at bars would be extended to 11 p.m. starting Saturday night. Previously, Polis had set a statewide last call at 10 p.m. in an effort to limit late-night coronavirus transmission at bars.

This is Week In The Arts—a curation of virtual exhibits, events and reopenings around the Roaring Fork Valley.

The Aspen Public Radio news team spoke with Grizzly Creek Fire Public Information Officer Jennifer Russell and Renelle Lott of Garfield County, and compiled a list of resources and answers to listeners' questions regarding the Grizzly Creek Fire, which sparked in Glenwood Canyon on Monday, August 10. A time-stamped updates page regarding the fire can be found here.

Restaurants around the Roaring Fork Valley have expanded outdoor seating due to the pandemic. In Old Town Basalt and along a strip in Willits, those new makeshift patios are enclosed by concrete barriers to keep diners from spilling into the street and surrounding parking lot.

The Basalt Public Arts Commission (BPAC) saw those blank canvases as an opportunity for a new public arts project, and a way to put artists back to work that have been hit economically by COVID-19. BPAC put out a call to Roaring Fork Valley artists to create a line of colorful murals along the makeshift fencing as part of its Concrete Barriers Art Project.

Denver artist Marsha Robinson goes by Strange Dirt, and her first solo exhibition just opened at Skye Gallery in downtown Aspen. The collection is called "Sanctuary," and features an array of flora, fauna and bugs drawn by the self-taught artist. 

Wednesday, September 9 3 P.M. Moisture has helped further moderate the fire. Personnel are mostly away from fire lines until conditions on the ground dry to allow better access. Suppression and suppression repair activities will resume as conditions dry. Managers anticipate those conditions to happen over the weekend.

This is Week In The Arts—a curation of virtual events, exhibits and reopenings around the Roaring Fork Valley.

No New Cases In PitCo In Last Six Days, But Epidemiologists Warn Against Complacency

Friday, August 14 - There hasn’t been a new coronavirus case reported among Pitkin County residents for the past six days. New case numbers in Eagle and Garfield counties are also down. In Thursday’s Pitkin County community meeting, epidemiologist Josh Vance said those decreases are in line with national and statewide trends, but no reason to get complacent. 

Have you ever fallen in love with a place, and seen it change before your eyes? That's the question at the root of the Community Office for Resource Efficiency's (CORE) storytelling workshop, which runs throughout the month of August (August 6-27).

This is Week In The Arts—a curation of virtual events, exhibits and reopenings around the Roaring Fork Valley.

Governor Polis, Treasurer Young Urge For Additional State Funding In Stimulus Package

Tuesday, August 4 - Governor Jared Polis and Colorado Treasurer Dave Young today sent a letter to the state's congessional delegation advocating for additional funding for Coloradans in the next stimulus package. Governor Polis and Treasurer Young stressed the importance of additional federal funding for essential services in the state as Colorado continues to mitigate the public health and economic effects of the pandemic. Areas highlighted by Governor Polis and Treasurer Young in need of financial assistance include food programs for children and families, support for child care and early childhood education, families experiencing homelessness because of the pandemic and assistance for ranchers and farmers.  The letter comes as leaders in Washington D.C. continue to debate what will be included in the next federal stimulus package.