Ear to the ground

“I think they all look like Mommy Dearest when they dress up like that.”

– A local woman commenting on Durango’s drag queens, who were out in force for Halloween weekend

The Hair Olympics

Ladies and gentlemen, start your whiskers. Once again, Snowdown is coming to Durango a little early this year. The official Snowdown 2010 Beard Contest kicks off this Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. at Carver Brewing Co. And for the first time ever, the body hair bonanza will be open to women.

People interested in winning this prestigious award should show up clean-shaven. This year, both men and women are invited to participate in the event. Women can enter a different variety of beard – their leg hair. During Friday’s weigh-in, Beard Contest organizers will take participant’s pictures and award each brave hair farmer a voucher for a free beer.

The contestants will then go their separate ways and stimulate their follicles for 90 days. On Jan. 28, 2010, they will return to Carvers, luxuriant beards and furry legs intact, for the final judging. Other facial-hair categories will also be judged in January. Details are fuzzy, but the contests could include a celebrity look-alike contest and “something fitting the Snowdown theme.”

“Surf’s Up Snowdown: Life’s a Beach” is scheduled for Jan. 27-31. For more information, visit www.snowdown.org and www.carverbrewing.com.

Death of the Durango

The Durango may be going extinct. Dodge’s trademark SUV, which happens to be named for the local burg, could be one casualty of the U.S. auto industry’s reversal of fortune.

Chrysler has no plans to introduce a 2010 Durango and could eliminate the name from the line altogether. Speculation currently points to a resurrection in 2012, but without the Dodge Durango label. “Aries K” is currently the front runner for the car’s new identity.

America’s declining appetite for SUVs appears to be behind the change. Chrysler’s midsize SUV market – which includes the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Durango – tanked in terms of sales over the past year. Chrysler has also decided to cut down the Aspen, a recently introduced “luxury truck.” The company plans to invest more energy into the compact car market in line with its merger with Italy’s Fiat Group. The European automaker took over management control and a 20 percent stake in Chrysler this summer.