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Durango Nature Studies hosts Wee Walkabouts from 10-11 a.m. at Rotary Park. DNS naturalists will lead 2- to 5-year-olds and their parents on a nature walk along the river trail. The event runs every Thursday through the end of September.

High Altitude Blues performs from 5-9 p.m. on the patio of the Animas River Café, in the Doubletree Hotel.

Durango Motorless Transit hosts a group trail run on Raider’s Ridge. Interested runners should meet at the Horse Gulch trailhead at 6 p.m. 946-5557 for details.

Kirk James plays solo acoustic blues on the patio at the Dalton Ranch Clubhouse at 6 p.m.

The Durango Fencing Club meets from 6-8 p.m. at the American Legion Hall, 878 E. Second Ave. The club meets every Thursday. 759-1883 for details.  

Chad MacCluskey performs on solo jazz guitar at the Cyprus Café, 725 E. Second Ave., from 6-9 p.m.

The Lisa Blue Trio plays a sultry blend of favorites at Sweeney’s, located just north of town on CR 203, from 6-9 p.m.  

The Jeff Solon Jazz Duo plays the patio at Mutu’s, 701 E. Second Ave., from 6-9 p.m.

Lacey Black plays solo piano at the Mahogany Grille, 699 Main Ave., at 6:30 p.m. 247-4433 for details.

Mark Simons brings classical and jazz to the Jean Pierre Wine Bar, 605 Main Ave., from 6:30 p.m.-close. 247-7700 for details.
Patrick and Anton play Trimble Spa and Natural Hot Springs from 7-9 p.m. The show is free with hot springs admission. 247-0111 for details.

CarverFest 2011, the annual birthday celebration and pro-jam, meets at the Derailed Saloon, 725 Main Ave., at 7 p.m. The show features members of the Kirk James Blues Band, Tumblin’ Dice, Cosmic Accident, Jelly Belly Boogie Band, Black Velvet and others.

Gaella ElanRah leads meditation and discussion from 7-8:30 p.m. at The Café of Life, 925 Highway 3. By donation. 375-9080.

Moe’s Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave., hosts Salsa Night with dance lessons and music from DJ Lucero from 8 p.m. -close. 259-9018.

Higher Ground, a discussion group geared toward making a difference, meets at 8 p.m. at Durango Joe’s, 732 E. College. 884-9171.

Pongas, 121 W. 8th St., presents Steve Kahler’s Karaoke from 9 p.m.-close. 382-8554 for details.

DJ B-Side spins for Thirsty Thursday at the Summit, 600 Main Ave., at 9:30 p.m

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The Silverton Jamboree kicks off and runs through Aug. 28. The festival includes music from Too Little O2, The Bruce Hayes Band, A Dub Rock Band, The Rowdy Shadehouse Band, Salem Music, Waiting on Trial, Aftergrass and headliners, The Motet. www.silvertonjamboree.net for details.

The Durango Discovery Museum offers its weekly Discovery Kids Science Storytime at 9:30 a.m. with Helium Hannah. www.durangodiscovery.org.

Fridays at the Fort returns to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College at 4 p.m. and features free music from Missionary Ridge, Giant’s Dance and Wild Mountain. www.durangoconcerts.com for details.

The Durango Discovery Museum hosts registration for Southwest Colorado’s first Lego League from 4-6 p.m. The program is open to 9-14 year olds interested in science and technology. www.durangodiscovery.org for details.

The Southwest Colorado Peace and Justice Coalition holds a peace vigil from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at the corner of Main Ave. and 11th St. Signs will be available or bring your own. 259-4185 for details.

The Women’s Resource Center’s “Girls Night Out: A Festive Evening for You and Your Girlfriends” meets from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Blue Lake Ranch. 247-1242 for details.

Durango BMX hosts its weekly race day with sign-ups from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and racing to follow. www.durangobmx.com for details.

Moe’s Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave., hosts Friday Afternoon Club with live music from the Lawn Chair Kings from 6-9 p.m. and Soltron spinning from 9 p.m.-close. 259-9018.

The Tumblin’ Dice rock the Balcony Bar & Grill, 600 Main Ave., from 6-10 p.m.

Wines of the San Juan hosts a photographic walkabout from 6-8 p.m. The event includes tips from photographers, live classical guitar and appetizers. 505-632-0879 for details.

The JP Duo brings classical, jazz and bluegrass to the Jean Pierre Wine Bar, 605 Main Ave., from 6:30 p.m.-close. The pair returns at the same time on Aug. 27. 247-7700 for details.

The Center of Light in Dolores screens “Budrus” for its Conscious Movie Night at 6:30 p.m. All donations go to the Palestine Children’s Fund. 882-2123 for details.

Jane Voss & Hoyle Osborne present “Got a Mind to Ramble,” a special musical presentation for the Smithsonian Institution’s Journey Stories, at 7 p.m. at the Aztec Museum & Pioneer Village.

Midnight Vine plays the Derailed Saloon, 725 Main Ave., from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. The band returns at the same time on Aug. 27.

DJ CK spins dance beatz at Pongas, 121 W. 8th St., from 9 p.m.-close. The DJ returns at the same time on Saturday. 382-8554 for details.

Ralph Dinosaur returns to the Billy Goat Saloon, on U.S. Hwy. 160 in Gem Village, at 9 p.m. 884-9155 for details.

S.O.B. & the Last Internationale share the stage at the Summit, 600 Main Ave., at 9:30 p.m.

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The Durango Farmers Market returns to First National Bank of Durango, 259 W. 9th St., from 8 a.m.-noon. The event includes produce from local farmers, prepared food items and locally made crafts. www.durangofarmersmarket.org for details.

The Medicine Horse “Masters,” a tournament benefiting the Medicine Horse Center, returns to the South 40 Golf Course in Cortez at 8 a.m. www.medicinehorsecenter.org.

A family 5K walk/run to benefit Best for Babes and the Durango Pregnancy Center takes off at 9 a.m. from Santa Rita Park. Brunch and awards/giveaways follow at 10 a.m.  www.prettybrasfornursingmoms.com/5k.html for details.

The San Juan Brewfest meets from 1-5 p.m. on the 1200 block of Main Ave. The event features beer from 30 breweries, live music from the Crags and the Lawn Chair Kings, and free food from CookManFood.

Psychedelic Mojo brings classic rock to the Balcony Bar & Grill, 600 Main Ave., from 6-10 p.m.

Jazz Duo Chad MacCluskey and Gary Ruggera play the Doubletree Hotel’s Animas River Café from 6-9 p.m.

The Abbey Theatre, 128 E. College, hosts a Local Women’s Empowerment Night with poetry and art from local poets and artists and music from Hello Dollface, 10 Day, Lush, DJ KB and Jay Byrd. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Cousin Sally Brown plays old-time stringband music at the Lost Dog, 1150 Main Ave., from 7-9 p.m.

The Kenya Safari Acrobats, a dynamic dance troupe that takes acrobatics to extremes, plays the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College at 7:30 p.m. www.durangoconcerts.com for details.

Moe’s Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave., presents live music from the Diabolical Sound Platoon accompanied by an art show from 9 p.m.-close. 259-9018 for details.

Lakota Jonez, Supaman and Def-I bring live indigenous hip-hop to Blondie’s in Cortez at 9 p.m.

Three String Bale & The Porter Draw share the stage at the Summit, 600 Main Ave., at 9:30 p.m.

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Mark Simons plays classical and jazz guitar at Cosmo, 919 Main Ave., from 4:30-6 p.m. 259-2898 for details.

Chad MacCluskey performs on solo jazz guitar at the Cyprus Café, 725 E. Second Ave., from 6-9 p.m.
 
The Jeff Solon Jazz Duo plays the patio at Mutu’s, 701 E. Second Ave., from 6-9 p.m.

Singer-songwriter Tim Guidotti plays the Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave., from 7-11 p.m.

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Four Corners Counseling hosts its free weekly Wellness Walk from 10-11 a.m. along the river trail. The walks run through August and meet at Schneider Park. 946-8004 for details.

The Durango Arts Center hosts open auditions for the upcoming musical, “Seussical,” at 4 p.m. for actors ages 8-13. Auditions for 14-21 year olds take place at the same time on Aug. 31. 259-2606 for details.

Mill Street Brews, 25 W. Mill St. in Bayfield, offers its weekly Open Acoustic Jam beginning at 5 p.m. 884-7070 for details.

Durango BMX hosts open gate practice from 5:30 p.m.-dusk. www.durangobmx.com for details.

Terry Rickard plays the Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave., at 5:30 p.m.

Durango Natural Foods, 575 E. 8th Ave., presents a free talk on Durango’s Wild Abundance with Katrina Blair, of Turtle Lake Refuge, from 6-8 p.m. 247-1233 for details.

The Jeff Solon Jazz Group, with vocalist Alison Dance, plays the patio at the Cyprus Café, 725 E. Second Ave., from 6-9 p.m.

Moe’s Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave., hosts its weekly open mic from 8 p.m.-close. 259-9018 for details.

Lady Falconburgh’s, 640 Main Ave., hosts Beer Bingo from 9-11 p.m. with prizes for each game.

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The Open Shutter Gallery, 755 Main Ave., presents “Exposure,” the gallery’s second annual international juried exhibit. Seventy-two photographers from all over the globe are showing their black and white, color and alternative process photographs for the show. “Toyed With,” a juried exhibit of shots taken with toy and vintage cameras, shows in the Red Room from Aug. 27-Oct. 1. For more information, call 382-8355 or visit www.openshuttergallery.com.

The Rochester Hotel, 726 E. Second Ave., hosts “The Traveling Suitcase Review,” an art exhibition featuring works by Santa Fe painter Shelley Horton-Trippe. The show includes new paintings, small-scale installations and assemblages and will be up through Aug. 31.

The Durango Arts Center, 802 E. Second Ave., hosts “Muses: Life’s Inspirations,” a juried exhibit of fine art quilts, in the Barbara Conrad Gallery through Sept. 2, and “Images Drawn From Nature,” a print exhibit from Kumi Korf, in the Art Library. 259-4363 for details.

The River Café, 555 Rivergate Lane, exhibits a collection of photographs from Howard Rachlin through the month of September. 422-8027 for details.

“Greater Tuna,” the satirical comedy set in Tuna, Texas, plays the Durango Arts Center, 802 E. Second Ave., on Friday and Saturday nights. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. and the show goes on at 8 p.m. www.durangoarts.org for details.

The Durango Melodrama returns to the Henry Strater Theatre, 699 Main Ave. Performances of “The Pursuit of Happiness” and “After Dark” alternate at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesdays-Sundays. www.henrystratertheatre.com for details.

The Anasazi Heritage Center presents the photo show, Sacred Images: A Vision of Native American Rock Art, through Oct. 30. The exhibit features Utah rock art in vintage chromogenic prints by photographers Craig Law, Tom Till and John Telford. In addition, the Plein Air Painters of the Four Corners will present their 2011 summer exhibition through Sept. 6. www.co.blm.gov/ahc for details.

The Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College presents “Treasures Unveiled: Extraordinary Items from the Vault of the Center of Southwest Studies.” The exhibit was developed by the Center of Southwest Studies to show the public a seldom-seen sampling of its artifact and archival collections. “Frontier Blues: The Legacy of Fort Lewis College,” an exhibition commemorating FLC’s Centennial, is also on display. 247-7456

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What: A local stopover from the Tibetan monks
Where: The Open Shutter Gallery, Durango Dharma Center and Fort Lewis College
When: Aug. 29-Sept. 1

 

Monks from the Gaden Shartse Monastery will pay Durango a visit next week. Six Buddhist monks from one of the oldest orders of Tibet will share their timeless traditions, teachings and culture with the community from Aug. 29-Sept. 1.

 

Events get under way Aug. 29 with an opening blessing ceremony at the Fort Lewis College Peace Park and the beginning of construction of a sacred sand mandala at the Open Shutter Gallery. That evening, the Durango Dharma Center will host a dharma talk and “metta practice.” On Aug. 30, Fort Lewis College will host “Journey to the Roof of the World,” sacred dance and chants of Tibet. The following day, the Durango Dharma Center offers a day-long Lo-Jong Retreat with meditation and dharma talks. The visit comes to a close Sept. 1 with a closing ceremony at the Open Shutter and a procession to the Animas River.

 

The tour has been visiting the United States since 1989 with a two-fold mission – nurturing the spread of peace, harmony, compassion and tolerance, and raising funds to aid education and preservation efforts at Gaden Shartse Monastery.

 

For more information or to register for events, visit www.gadenshartsecf.org/durango.