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Steamboat Springs — Almost 40 performances, workshops and demonstrations are on schedule for the inaugural Steamboat All Arts Festival.

Molly Killien, spokeswoman for the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association, described the festival as the "newest and most collaborative event in Steamboat Springs." Featuring local, regional and national visual artists, musicians, dancers, writers and dramatists, the four-day event is set for Aug. 20 to 23 and is sponsored and presented by the Chamber.

The idea to highlight arts opportunities in the Yampa Valley by showcasing local artists alongside nationally known acts started taking shape a few years ago, said Sandy Evans Hall, executive vice president for the Chamber.

"Our vision is that we would really bring in the talented artists, as well as utilize local artists to create, eventually, a 10-day or two-week festival" that would bring in visual, culinary, performing, literary and other kinds of artists, Evans Hall said.

The schedule features ensemble performances by local organizations including Emerald City Opera and the Steamboat Springs Orchestra. Several local artists will lead workshops, and dance groups from Northwest Ballet Studio and Colorado Mountain College's Alpine Campus will be involved.

Local groups will perform from noon to 6 p.m. Aug. 22 on a stage in the parking lot at Seventh and Yampa streets. There are events at Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp, the Depot Art Center, Artists' Gallery of Steamboat, Strings Music Pavilion and Steamboat Art Museum, among others.

Rock band The Avett Brothers and solo pianist George Winston are featured national performers for the weekend.

"We're also working with all of the galleries to offer them opportunities to have special shows going on; we're working with all of the restaurants to see if they have culinary events they want to do or live entertainment : just so it becomes a very wide community celebration of the arts," Evans Hall said.

Adapting an idea

John Sant'Ambrogio - a former principal cellist for the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra who founded the Strings in the Mountains music festival 22 years ago and retired to the valley a few years ago - was an original proponent of an all-arts festival in Steamboat. He'll perform with the Steamboat Springs Orchestra and give a seminar during the inaugural event.

Showing off local talent was a key motivator to put together a large-scale event, Sant'Ambrogio said. He sees other benefits for the festival as it grows, he said.

"The second (reason) was that I wanted to bring money into Steamboat to show people that the arts can attract and are so valuable," Sant'Ambrogio said.

From Sant'Ambrogio's vision, a group from the local arts community held meetings in 2007 and 2008 to begin discussing what a festival would look like. The Chamber added the arts festival to its calendar at the beginning of 2009.

"I think we just saw the potential in it. I think we were waiting to see if the Arts Council or some other arts entity in the community wanted to move forward with it," Evans Hall said. The Chamber decided to get the event off the ground so it could start growing, she said.

"If at some point in time we hand it over to another organization, I would be fine with that," Evans Hall said.

Applications available

Home base for the All Arts Festival is the Yampa River Art Stroll. The event showcases local, regional and national visual artists in various fine art media.

Applications for interested artist vendors are available at www.steamboatallartsfestival.com and are due Friday. Types of art that will be juried for acceptance into the festival include paintings, drawings, photography, decorative or wearable fiber art, jewelry, baskets, leather and items made from glass, clay, wood, metal or paper. There is a $200 exhibition fee, and applicants are asked to send in three photos of their work.

"We expect about 30 booths, but we would accept - it's kind of a little unlimited," said Marion Ayer, the Chamber's finance and human resources director. "I wouldn't say 1,000, and I wouldn't even say 100, but we're not limiting it to 30."

Schedule of events

- Thursday, Aug. 20:

9 to 10:30 a.m.: Downtown historic walking tour hosted by Tread of Pioneers Museum; FREE

2 to 4 p.m.: Portrait painting demonstration with Richard Galusha at Steamboat Art Museum; FREE

5 to 6:30 p.m.: Seminars at Steamboat presents Alice Rivlin at the Strings Music Pavilion; FREE

5:30 to about 9 p.m.: Steamboat Springs Free Summer Concert Series presents The Avett Brothers at the base of the Steamboat Ski Area; FREE

- Friday, Aug. 21:

9 a.m. to noon: Draw, paint or sculpt after a model with critique from Susan Schiesser and Janice Lawrence at Artists' Gallery of Steamboat; $12

9:30 to 11:15 a.m.: Memoir writing workshop with Susan de Wardt at Tread of Pioneers Museum; $15

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Yampa River Art Stroll on Yampa Street in downtown Steamboat Springs; $5

Noon to 1 p.m.: Pastel landscape demo with Robert Dieckhoff at Artists' Gallery; FREE

Noon to 2 p.m.: "The Art of Lulie Crawford" at Tread of Pioneers; FREE

2 to 3:30 p.m.: Watercolor workshop with Mary Levingston at the Art Tent; $10

2 to 4 p.m.: Painting from life with Jean Perry at Bud Werner Memorial Library; $15

4 to 5:30 p.m.: "Why Can't I Understand Shakespeare?" with Stuart Handloff at the Art Tent; $10

5 p.m.: Design District Open House; FREE

5:30 to 8 p.m.: Plein air artists reception at Steamboat Art Museum; TBA

5:30 to 6:30 p.m.: Belly dance "Super Shimmy Power Activate" with Meg Widmer at Northwest Ballet Studio; $10

8 p.m.: Strings Music Festival presents pianist George Winston; $32

- Saturday, Aug. 22:

9:30 to 10:30 a.m.: Irish dancing with Nora Parker at Northwest Ballet; $10

10 to 11:30 a.m.: African dance with the Steamboat Springs African Dance & Drum Ensemble at Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp; $5

10 to 11:30 a.m.: Photography with Paula Jo Jaconetta at the Art Tent; $10

10 to 11:30 a.m.: "Beyond the Artist's Way" with Susan de Wardt at the library; $15

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Yampa River Art Stroll on Yampa Street in downtown Steamboat Springs; $5

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Plein Air quick-draw event and barbecue at a local ranch; TBA

Noon to 6 p.m.: Performances by local groups on the Yampa Stage at Seventh and Yampa streets

11 a.m. to noon: Hip-hop dance with Tina Buschmann at Northwest Ballet; $10

Noon to 1:45 p.m.: "The Art Nature of Photography" with Ken Lee at the library; $15

Noon to 2 p.m.: Beginner plein aire painting with Susan Gill Jackson at the Art Tent; $15

2 to 2:45 p.m.: "Behind the Scenes" with John Sant'Ambrogio at the library; $15

2:15 to 3:45 p.m.: "A Sense of Place" with Susan de Wardt at the Art Tent; $15

3 to 5 p.m.: "There's No Business Like Show Business : Musicals" with Stuart Handloff and Christel Houston at the library; $15

5 to 6 p.m.: Lindy Hop dance with Jenny and Brady Meier at Northwest Ballet; $10

6 p.m.: Dinner and film event with Dori Weiss, location TBA; TBA

6:30 p.m.: "Loco di Vino" benefit and wine tasting at Perry-Mansfield; $50

7:30 p.m.: Steamboat Springs Orchestra concert at Strings Music Pavilion; $30

- Sunday, Aug. 23:

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Yampa River Art Stroll on Yampa Street in downtown Steamboat Springs; $5

10 a.m. to noon: "Getting Your Act Together" with Michael Brumbaugh in downtown Steamboat Springs; $20

Noon to 2 p.m.: Beginner plein aire painting with Susan Gill Jackson at Artists' Gallery; $15

3 p.m.: Emerald City Opera performance at Bud Werner Memorial Library; $20

5 p.m.: Steamboat Springs Arts Council block party at the Depot Art Center; FREE