The art I ♥:

In a crunch, I would choose live music and cinema.

Listening:

It really depends on my mood for the day… recently I’ve been listening to a lot of Kings of Leon, Bon Iver and the National, but I also love southern rock like Drive By Truckers and Ryan Bingham and I’m all about a good dance party with some Madonna, Lady Gaga and of course, Prince!

Watching:

I just got back from Mountainfilm in Telluride, which is an amazing documentary film festival and the event I look most forward to each year. I would highly recommend Eastern Rises, Bag It, I Am, Green, Sons of Perdition and Wasteland.

Reading:

I’m currently reading The Help for my neighborhood book (wine) club. I also get a gazillion magazines; Wired, Rolling Stone, Money, Business Week, National Geographic, Sunset, Cooking Light, Glamour. If anyone has an idea for a swap or a read recycle, let me know!

Dining:

You can basically find me at Canyon Chophouse at least one night a week for happy hour! I have really cut back on dining out in favor of cooking at home, so I am also a Grant Farm CSA member and frequent the winter and summer farmer’s market.

Browsing:

Yahoo!, Facebook, LinkedIn, Funny or Die, You Tube, Wells Fargo, Shit My Dad Says

Working:

I just started a new job as Development Director at Respite Care, a nonprofit that provides care for children with developmental disabilities and special needs. Respite Care provides an amazing service for local families by giving their children a fun, interactive and safe place to go while their parents rest and rejuvenate. I’m thrilled to be on the team and look forward to helping them grow to their full potential. My dream job is to own my own winery, preferably in Oregon’s Dundee Hills. I’m just waiting to cash in on the Powerball.

Giving:

I’m a charter member of WomenGive and currently serve on their membership committee. I’m also President-Elect of the Junior League of Fort Collins and have been a member since 2004. I donate to Respite Care, Natural Resource Defense Council and the Susan G. Komen Foundation regularly and support various other nonprofits through advocacy campaigns and events.

Avoiding:

I don’t have much patience for ignorance or traffic.

Fancying:

I just celebrated my 5-year anniversary with my husband Shawn, who I consider my best friend and my ongoing crush. We have a 15-year-old Border Collie, Bailey, who is the heart and soul of our family. We love hanging at home on our deck or in our backyard gardens, typically with New Belgium beer in hand!

Local artist, illustrator, bike rider, cake decorator, music lover and all-around awesome person Kendra “Kendy Stix” Spanjer supports all our crazy ideas and is always up for dressing in a costume. We love her. You will, too.

The art I ♥:
Visual Arts, Live Music, Cinema

Listening:
Cobra Skulls, The Sadies, Nick Cave, Crystal Castles, Tiger Army, Patsy Cline

Watching:
Rushmore

Reading:
The Believer Magazine

Dining:
Surfside Pizza

Browsing:
emusic.com, threadless.com, awkwardfamilyphotos.com

Working:
Currently paid to write for Linden marketing. I also co-own Bailiwick Press – micropublishers of the Aldo Zelnick series – which currently does not pay me to illustrate middle-grade comic novels. Aspirations include jerry-rigging a more open schedule.

Giving:
Legacy Land Trust, Crossroads Safehouse. My work with Bailiwick Press is generating opportunities to advocate for literacy and art in elementary schools – which is awesome!

Avoiding:
Under-informed optimists, meetings and reality TV.

Fancying:
Tulips, typography, bike rides, muscle cars, Google docs, Tor’s idiosyncratic figures of speech, plotting and scheming about the future.

Meet Articulate City’s Rebecca Morris:

The art I ♥:
Theatre, Live Music, Dance, Cinema

Listening:
Goldfrapp, Weezer, Metallica, The Killers, Madonna, and sometimes a little old-school Britney Spears

Watching:
“Gilmore Girls” is my all-time favorite; I own all 7 seasons on DVD. Lately “Lost”, “Heroes”, “CSI”, and “Law & Order”.

Reading:
“The Kite Runner”, “Julie & Julia”. Alvin Plantinga if I am feeling really intelligent

Dining:
Jay’s Bistro, Austin’s & Enzio’s. Love the new Stuft burger bar. Café Vino and The Rustic Oven

Browsing:
Stylemepretty.com, Anthropologie.com, Florabundance.com, and iTunes

Working:
I work for Toolbox Creative as the Project Puppeteer. It is a wonderful place to work. Always fun, interesting, and new. I have really had to stretch myself in the last year to learn new things- these guys are legitimately the best in the business and they do great work.
Someday I would love to own my own downtown wedding shop. I would buy and sell used wedding dresses, offer planning services and do flowers. That would be my cup of heaven.

Giving:
Invisible Children is the number one place where I give my money and I would love to be able to give my time as well. I have volunteered for the local Chamber of Commerce, OpenStage Theatre, Habitat for Humanity, Food Bank for Larimer County, and Partners Mentoring Youth.

Avoiding:
Cheap flowers, mustaches, telemarketers and red beets.

Fancying:
Josh Hodges (my soon-to-be husband), Jude Rega (the cutest baby in the world), my iPhone and Paper Moon Weddings.

Josh Lehman

In this month’s Articulate City Member Spotlight: a young attorney who excels in everything from martial arts to creating handcrafted furniture for his beautiful wife? Sounds like a character ready made for a John Grisham novel. Luckily Articulate City’s Josh Lehman is way more interesting than fiction.

Meet Articulate City’s Josh Lehman:

The art I ♥:
Woodworking

Listening:
Young Dubliners, Dropkick Murphys, and ever since I went to hear Maxwell Hughes at Everyday Joe’s I’ve been playing him a lot; he’s pretty amazing

Watching:
“Fringe”, “Modern Family”, “Lost”

Reading:
Cormac McCarthy, Steven King’s “Gunslinger” series, comic books

Dining:
The Hibachi, I can’t get enough of the onion volcano

Browsing:
Drudge Report

Working:
Felony Prosecutor at the DA’s Office

Giving:
T-CAMP (Transitional Creative Arts Mentoring Program)

Avoiding:
Goat Cheese

Fancying:
Even though she’s been gone for 3 weeks, and will be for 3 more, I still fancy my wife, Tiffany

Lisa Chandler

A native of South Africa, Lisa Chandler has become one of our favorite super-cool Coloradoans. Learn more about Lisa – pictured here with the lovely Lila – in this month’s Articulate City Member Spotlight.

Meet Articulate City’s Lisa Chandler:

The Art I Heart:
Cinema

Listening:
When I am in my car, I always listen to NPR or Mother Goose Rocks (which really does rock!). On my iPod, I usually listen to the same mix that I have been running to for years.  I like consistency.  My last semester of college I ran every day to the soundtrack to Purple Rain.

Watching:
I enjoy watching “How I Met Your Mother”, “Monk”, and “Bones”. I just watched the movies “Away We Go” and “District 9″, which were both great.  It is a surprise what Netflix movies come next since I made my queue so long ago.

Reading: 
I just read “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” for one book club (an engaging read) and I am reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin for my other book club. I love to read trashy pop culture  magazines at the gym!

Dining:
I love to go to the Rainbow especially because they let us sit for a long time on Sunday mornings having breakfast and doing the crossword. Any ethnic food is great and we most often go to Inca, Cafe Mexicali, and Chili House to name a few. I also am addicted to Lemon Drop Martinis at Jay’s Bistro.

Browsing:
I mostly check out my email and Facebook accounts, as well as slate.com, weather.com and some news sites. And since we don’t have any television reception or cable, I also often visit the network sites or hulu.com.

Working:
I was a therapist/social worker with kids and families, mostly dealing with the issue of sexual assault. And now I am a mother of the most beautiful 16-month-old little girl named Lila that I get to hang out with every day.I mostly give to organizations working on issues of sexual assault and domestic violence. 

Giving:

Avoiding:
Hypocrites!! And I can’t stand when all the leaves fall from our three big cottonwood trees in the fall and the leaf fairies forget to visit our house.

Fancying:
Yoga, weight lifting (I am taking a great weight lifting class for women at my gym), cooking, spending time with my hubby, and nap time.

Kyle Snowdon

Meet Articulate City’s Kyle Snowdon:

The Art I Heart:
Live Music

Listening:
Jimmy Buffett is the one constant on my iPod

Watching:
My favorite night of TV is Monday on CBS. “How I Met Your Mother” and “The Big Bang Theory” are the two best shows on TV.

Reading:
Not much of a reader, though I do like downloading books on iTunes to listen to them on the airplane.  The latest “read” was the new Jon Krakauer book Where Men Find Glory. Great Read.

Dining:
Mexican food is an all time favorite of mine. I could have a carne asada burrito every day.

Browsing:
Given my travel schedule I spent a significant amount time online booking travel reservations.  United.com, Hyatt.com, Avis.com…you get the idea.

Working:
Senior Account Executive with Tyler Technologies. My only career aspiration is to retire in about 10 years or so where I can spend my days on the golf course. 

Giving:
Anything having to do with cancer research. Lance Armstrong Foundation is the largest beneficiary of my giving.

Avoiding:
Sitting still…I start to get antsy if I am home for more than about five days or so.

Fancying:
A floppy-eared Beagle named Bandon.

Amanda Miller

We wanted our very first Articulate City Member Spotlight to focus on our very first Articulate City member, Ms. Amanda Miller! You’ll often hear us refer to her as “the Original Original”, which is completely appropriate; not only was she the first to sign on the dotted line to join us – there’s also just nobody like Amanda!

Meet Articulate City’s Amanda Miller:

The Art I Heart:
Theater (musical theater… always wanted to be a Broadway star)

Listening:
Favorite Pandora station = Big Head Todd

Watching:
“Glee!”, “SYTYCD”, “The Closer”, “Weeds”, HGTV
Movies: “The Princess Bride”, “Love Actually”

Reading:
“Girls in Trucks” by Katie Crouch

Next up on the nightstand: “Twilight” (they’ve finally “sucked” me in)

Magazines: “Vegetarian Times”, “Real Simple”, “Sunset” and occasionally “People” (if I need to catch up on celebrity gossip)

Dining:
Lunch buffet at Connie’s (Consuelo’s), anything with sauce or dip, Mexican food, Spoons for lunch

Browsing:
PostSecret, Facebook, Rotten Tomatoes, The Coloradoan

Working:
Downtown Business Association – love it here! Even when it is challenging, I recognize that I have a great job doing something I love… and I get to work with amazing co-workers and business owners everyday!

Giving:
Camp Chief Ouray (my favorite place!!) Junior Achievement, Junior League, Leadership Fort Collins, Food Bank for Larimer County…. and MANY breakfasts, luncheons, and fund raisers. Two favorites in town: History Mystery Challenge and Brainiac Bowl

Avoiding:
People who are rude to servers, gum, smoke, people who don’t know where Old Town Square is, the mumu lady

Fancying:
Crush – the cute guy (and dog) profiled in “Paw Pages”
Pets – Charlie Brown, my 2-year-old Labradoodle, and Trooper the one-eyed goldfish (cutest pets in town)
Favorite new gadget – Apple TV, ice scraper with built-in mitten (brilliant Eddie Bauer)
Endeavor – Love Bug… dating is quite a challenge, but exciting. Meeting new people and racking up some good stories!

We think it’s a whole lot easier to socialize when you feel like you know someone. So in a couple of weeks, we’re going to be putting a new twist on our blog, and we’ll start using it as a forum to introduce … YOU! Many of our blog posts will feature a member of Articulate City, so that you might learn a little bit more about the people who populate our gregarious group. Then, when you meet on the street, you’ll know just a teeny bit more than you did before about your fellow Articulate City citizens. Perhaps you’ll begin to form a bond. Maybe not the kind of bond that puts the cult in culture, per se, but at least the sort of connection that makes you want to buy your new friend a cocktail. For now, sit tight and start thinking about what you might want to share about yourself, or discover about your Articulate City pals. Ideas? Suggestions? Comment here for starters and watch for new posts soon! We’re looking forward to learning more about you all and giving you a turn to step into the spotlight and take a bow.

I love Fort Collins. I was raised here, met my wife in junior high school here, and graduated from Colorado State University. This community supported us as we cultivated and grew a successful business here. And now, after years of giving back as an obsessive volunteer and serving on several non-profit Boards of Directors, I am fortunate enough to dedicate my career to directly impacting this community as the Executive Director of Beet Street.

All my life I have known that Fort Collins has a special uniqueness. What brings people to our city over and over again is a culture that you cannot find anywhere else. It is a culture that is focused on the unique innovations of our citizens and institutions, on the cultivation and application of our educational opportunities as a “college town,” on the culture of hard work and determination that is unique to the western United States, on the incredible recreation opportunities our geography provides to us, and on the surprising and incredible artistic and cultural offerings our community members provide for us. This is what being local in Fort Collins means, and that gives us a true sense of community.

As members of the Fort Collins community and participants in the local arts and cultural scene, we have a responsibility to recognize the rich and vibrant heritage which makes our city so unique. And Fort Collins has agriculture to thank for much of its history. Established as an agricultural colony by Larimer County in 1872, our community was also the designated site for the Colorado Agricultural College. This tells us just how dependent Fort Collins was on local farming. Today, there are several Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms that sell their homegrown produce directly to the community, as well as dozens of independent growers and farmers. You can find anything from dairy and cheese to salsas and salad dressings through our local food resources. Colorado State University is now a leading institution in agricultural science and environmental sustainability, and at the very forefront of natural science innovation. Our past helps us understand where we are right now, but it also shows us where we are going. Celebrating our heritage means celebrating the future of our community.

It is in the spirit of these thoughts that Beet Street presents Homegrown Fort Collins. This is a ten-day celebration that brings together people of all ages and backgrounds to develop a deeper appreciation for the bounty of our community. We’re showcasing restaurants who use local food sourcing, and helping them to connect to these sources, through our Downtown Tasting Tours, where participating restaurants feature small plates of locally sourced dishes. The featured event is the Homegrown Challenge, a showcase of our community’s culinary best. On Sunday, October 4, watch six of our top chefs go head-to-head on two fully functioning kitchens set up in the Lincoln Center to demonstrate their skills through live cooking demonstrations, also featuring local ingredients. The chefs will be competing for your taste buds as you try – and judge – their culinary creations. Each guest will enjoy six hearty tapas-style courses with sides and extras, and six beer tasters, for only $20 per person, $15 for under age 21 ($5 more at the door).

Homegrown Fort Collins is a way to connect people to their local resources, whether they are growers, consumers, or business owners. Considering Fort Collins’ deep agricultural roots, I can think of no better way to ring in the harvest season than with food, drinks, and community. If you can support local industry and business at the same time to help build a sustainable future, then you really have something to celebrate.

As an arts-and-culture social club, one of our art’s desires is to help you meet people in Fort Collins who are fun, witty, friendly, and curious about the cultural opportunities here in our very favorite city in Colorado. You know, people like you! If you’re new to Articulate City, welcome. We like you already. If you’re a familiar friend, welcome back – we think you’re going to dig the new digs. Either way, we want the Articulate City website to be a place where you can stay connected with Fort Collins culture and you can get connected with one another – when you’re not attending our fabulous art parties in person, that is.

Art is many things to many people … but it’s always a great way to start a conversation. So feel free to wander around the website and tell us what you think. We’d love to hear from you. And while you’re here, make sure you sign up for our newsletter (on the left of every page), check out our upcoming events, and of course, become a member of Articulate City! We’d love to put the art in party with you sometime very soon.

(A quick shout out to remarkable ladies at Moxie Design Studios who crafted this site so cleverly. Much like the Pink Ladies from Grease, they totally Rule the School.)