A walk in some different woods
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
By Richard Anderson
With the Tetons, Yellowstone, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and the Snake River hogging the attention of the American psyche, it’s questionable whether the arts will ever be the very first thing that comes to people’s minds when they think of Jackson Hole. But with such institutions as the venerated Grand Teton Music Festival (its 50th anniversary is just a few years away), the monumental Center for the Arts (just a few years old, it’s already become a huge part of the life of the community) and the Fall Arts Festival (marking its 23rd year this week), it’s likely it will be the second thing – if it isn’t already.
The 2007 Fall Arts Festival starts on Thursday and runs through Sept. 16 with art openings, plays, musical events, parties, celebrations of Western heritage, opportunities to hobnob with painters and sculptors, and even chances to explore trends in contemporary art. We who call Jackson Hole our full-time home know these kinds of opportunities abound all year, but during the Fall Arts Festival, the arts enjoy the spotlight and our visitors and the wider region get an idea of just what a vast, vital and successful arts community we have here.
And it seems to get vaster and more vital each year. There’s no way we can give the coverage that each and every event of this year’s festival deserves – we’ll leave that to the Jackson Hole News & Guide’s typically slick and comprehensive special section – but we’ve tried to hit the high points, provide a complete calendar of FAF events, and suggest the depth and breadth of what awaits you out there in our spread that begins on page 40.
As an added bonus to the tourist-weary worker, Fall Arts Festival also marks a turning point, the end of the summer season, the beginning of that time – short as it is and getting shorter every year, it seems – when we regain control over our valley. Sure, there’s hunting season ahead, and the Teton Wellness Festival will bring one more wave of travelers into the valley. But things have already slowed down considerably, school has started, the leaves have begun to turn, and, for a short time anyway, Jackson Hole can get back to practicing what sometimes seems like a lost art – being a real community.
In the meantime, enjoy some wine at Palates and Palettes, take in a lecture or workshop about art or art technique, stop by a gallery or two or three (or 30), maybe even fall in love with a piece of art and take it home with you. This week, give your physical being a break from hiking, biking, climbing, rafting or whatever your outdoor pursuit of choice might be, and stretch your mind, exercise your creativity, and take a long, relaxing, refreshing walk through the arts – right here in little old Jackson Hole.
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A walk in some different woods | Planet JH News Article: Editorial
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