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by Missy
Votel
Like two rivers flowing into one, Bluegrass for the Animas
was born of two ideas merging into one.
Anders Beck, a musician
and director of the recently resurrected Friends of the
Animas River, or FOAR, said the idea for the all-day concert
came about while he was thinking of a creative way to
raise money for the nonprofit watchdog group.
“It’s been
so hard to raise funds for environmental groups since
9-11,” Beck said. “That’s when the lightbulb
went off. I said, ‘Hey wait, my two passions can
work together.’”
Beck sought the help
of Tami Graham, director of the Animas Conservancy, which
includes among its open-space easements the 120-acre Animas
Meanders Ranch north of 32nd Street.
 “Tami
and I started talking and decided we’d go for it,”
Beck said.
The all-day festival
will be staged alongside the Animas River on the ranch,
which is owned by Durangoans Paul and Susan Sugnet. Beginning
at 11 a.m., five local bluegrass bands – the Salty
Dogs, Badly Bent, Stony Creek Ramblers, Deep Blue Creek
and Down the Road – will take to the riverside stage.
In addition to live
music, beer will be provided by Carver’s and Ska
breweries, barbecued goods by Sunnyside Farms and vegetarian
items by Clearwater Farms. There also will be activities
for children, and those 12 and younger get in free.
“We’re trying
to make it a real family-style event,” Beck said.
Although with 120 acres,
there is plenty of room to roam at the ranch, people are
asked to leave the dogs at home and are encouraged to
ride their bikes since parking is limited.
Proceeds for the event,
which also is being sponsored by Maria’s Bookshop,
will benefit the Animas Conservancy as well as FOAR.
 “Basically,
our goal is to protect, preserve and celebrate the Animas
watershed,” said Beck.
He said the proceeds
likely will go into public educational programs.
“We’re more
interested in education than advocacy,” he said.
“A lot of what we do is dedicated to the scientific
process, watching city, county and state agencies to make
sure that the ecosystem of the river is conserved.”
Beck said so far, planning
for the event has gone smoothly, and he is optimistic
over the prospect of more in the future.
“Everything’s
looking like it’s going to be great,” he said.
“If all goes as planned, it’ll be an annual
event.”
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