the
Sun
Sopris Carbondale’s
weekly, non-profit newspaper
Volume 2, Number 36 | October 28, 2010
Ice cream, you scream
Michael Wampler (left) and Brandon Williams (right) add liquid nitrogen to the mix while whipping up a batch of Earl’s ice cream. Wampler and Williams are students in the class Real World Business 101. See story page 9. Photo by Jane Bachrach
Deal nears completion for Third Street venue By David Frey Sopris Sun Correspondent In just a few months, the curtain may rise on a new performance space in the Third Street Center. By February, the non-profit center hopes to have the former gymnasium in the old elementary school revamped as a venue for concerts and events. Center representatives hope to ink a contract by early November with concert promoter Josh Berman and Mountain Groove Productions, who plans to use the space
himself for events four to six times a month and rent out the space to others interested in using it for anything from yoga retreats to lectures to concerts. “He’s very interested in helping to renovate the space, putting in his own money, making some improvements to the acoustics,” said Third Street tenant Colin Laird, who has worked to secure tenants,including Mountain Groove Productions. Laird also sits on the board of The Sopris Sun. Not everyone is jumping to their feet in applause, though. Some neighbors are wor-
ried about the impacts of a performance center on the residential neighborhood.And one tenant is criticizing the center’s board for thinking too small and moving too fast. Barclay Lottimer, who runs the Third Street Café in the center,says rather than move quickly to create a barebones concert venue, the center should invest in a true performing arts center that could better satisfy needs for theater groups and other performances. Lottimer, who has a long background in theater, had hoped to run the performance space himself, and had even drawn up plans
for what a performing arts center might look like, including a 300-seat tiered audience space, a full backstage area, catwalks and high-tech lighting system. “Theater’s my love,” said Lottimer, who produced theatrical productions with New York theater legend Joseph Papp and has worked in Los Angeles and Europe. “It came to me that there’s a major need in this city.The major need is for a true performing arts center for the community.” Lottimer was overlooked, though, for THIRD STREET page 8
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Big snake reported near dogs
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