WINTE R 2 016
ENTERING THE WORLD OF JAMES CASTLE
ED VIESTURS’ LIFE AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD
BSU’S GORDON JONES RETHINKS HIGHER EDUCATION
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CONTENTS FEATURES
DEPARTMENTS
34
Metro
10 14 18 22
The Ride to Rhodes A skateboard park catches the eye of a leading skateboard company By Matt Furber
Life
40
24 Garden City Blooms
Center Moment
Explore
28 The Ride of Her Life 32 What Water Could Be
#boise, a city in pictures
42
Habitat
A Life in the Sky
2
Delivering a Promise Stitch, Shine and Polish The B Corp Boom A Place for Discourse
58 Awash in Hot Water 62 ‘The Love of Generations’ 64 A Funky and Charming Mix of Incongruity
Ed Viesturs’ 18-year journey to the world's highest peaks By Adam Tanous
50
Arts
68 Catch A Rising Star 70 Wanted: Music Director
Entering the World of James Castle
How a self-taught artist independently explored the themes of 20th century art By Eve Chandler
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 4 Editor's Letter 6 Featured Contributors 74 Calendar 84 Dining Guide 88 End Page
Taste
78 G oodbye Cosmo, Hello Whiskey Sour 82 Finding Joy in Cooking
PHOTO: Rhodes Skateboard Park photographed by Tal Roberts ON THE COVER: The capital of Idaho photographed by Todd Meier
TERRITORY–MAG.COM
WINTER 2016
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EDITOR'S LETTER
T
erritory, by strict definition, is a somewhat arcane reference to land. However, put in the context of American history, the word evokes much more: a move towards organization and refinement, even civil life. It conjures not just land but lives lived on the land. Federal territories—including the Idaho Territory signed into law by President Lincoln in 1863—were, however, more akin to unfettered wilderness than what the grand acts of Congress establishing them would indicate. Provisions for government and administration paled in comparison to the vastness and spirit of the land for which it was designed. And though Idaho became a state more than 126 years ago, life here still feels closer to that of a territory: less constricted, freer, and closer to the natural order of things. And so it is in Boise. A sophisticated civil life flourishes—arts, education, commerce, culture, and technology—but it is informed by the less controllable aspects of human endeavor: adventure, individualism, aspiration and spirit. Welcome to the inaugural issue of Territory. Our hope is to bring to light the diverse, sometimes contradictory characters and cultures inhabiting the City of Trees but that somehow magically cohere into a broadly felt sense of community. For instance, in the world of commerce, we look in on the six-generation family business that is Riebe’s Shoe Shop (page 14), a cobbler’s tale as old as the city of Boise. Remarkably, just a mile away from Riebe’s, one finds Element, an international skateboarding retailer that recently set up shop in Boise and brings with it a youth culture and abundant enthusiasm (page 32).
4
For those inclined to the inspirational, meet Kat Cannell (page 26), who undertook a solo, 620-mile horseback adventure from Idaho to California. Then there is Ed Viesturs (page 40), who makes Idaho his home after a life of high-altitude climbing in the Himalayas. Viesturs is, to this date, the only American to summit all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks without the aid of supplemental oxygen. But human expression comes in many forms. For example, witness Opera Idaho and its keen ability to scout and develop world-class talent (page 66). Boise Philharmonic, for its part, is offering a season of performances led by guest conductors, all vying for a full-time music director position (page 68). In our Metro section, we meet Gordon Jones and his ambitious effort at BSU to rethink the model of higher education (page 10). In Habitat, we take a look at the old geothermal homes of Boise (page 56) and the new developments in the Linen District (page 62). For those interested in the dining scene, learn about the return to classic cocktails at some of the city’s hippest restaurants and hotels (page 76), as well as the old world Basque food at Epi’s, a Boise gem (page 82). There is, of course, much more in this issue. And there will be many more stories to come. We hope you’ll explore it all.
Adam Tanous managing editor
TERRITORY–MAG.COM
WINTER 2016
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CONTRIBUTORS
6
Eve Brassey Chandler
Greg Stahl
is the author of “Building Bogus Basin,” “Brundage Mountain: Best Snow in Idaho,” and has written for local, regional and national publications. She began her career as a health science writer for a major Chicago medical center. She received a B.A. from the University of Denver and later studied at the Art Institute of Chicago School of Art. A native Idahoan, she also serves as a City of Boise Arts and History commissioner, president of the Christ Chapel Historical Society, and board member for the Bogus Basin Recreational Association and Idaho Public Television.
has made Idaho his classroom for nearly 20 years, and writing about the state's colorful people and places has been his favorite way to learn. He's written extensively about Idaho politics and public land issues as a reporter, but he also enjoys applying his project management and wordsmithing skills on copywriting and editing projects for Boise's innovative entrepreneurs. Read more about his work at westernperspective.com.
Jill Kuraitis
has lived in Idaho for 30 years, most of that spent either running political campaigns or writing about them. She was Boise publisher of the award-winning Rocky Mountain news site, NewWest.Net, for six years, where she covered Idaho politics, environmental issues and more. She now freelances for magazines and news services, and in her spare time is a high school government teacher. She and her husband live in Boise, near their two grown children, with two hairy dogs, both dumber than a sack of dirt, and a cat with a master's degree.
Todd Meier has a passion for telling other people’s stories. He has spent the last 15 years trying to pass on his subjects' stories through photographs. He immerses himself in their world, taking the viewer along for the ride. From knee-deep powder in the backcountry, to a downtown office in the middle of any city, Todd finds the connection between himself and his subject. Living life in Boise and beyond with his wife, Lorie, and daughter, Ella, Todd is always looking to the next adventure.
also in this issue... contributing writers
Bryant Dunn, Matt Furber, Cheryl Haas, Amy Story Larson, Patti Murphy, Adam Tanous, Kira Tenney, Gwen Ashley Walters.
TERRITORY–MAG.COM
WINTER 2016
contributing photographers
Kat Cannell, Chad Chase, Glenn Oakley, Tal Roberts, Steve Smith, Cory Weaver, Woods Wheatcroft.
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WINTER 2016 publisher/editor in chief Laurie C. Sammis managing editor Adam C. Tanous creative director Roberta Morcone production director Val Thomson s ales & marketing director Kelly Coles advertising sales manager Heather Linhart Coulthard copy editor Patty Healey controller Linda Murphy circulation director Nancy Whitehead contributing writers Eve Chandler, Bryant Dunn, Matt Furber, Cheryl Haas, Jill Kuraitis, Amy Story Larson, Patti Murphy, Adam Tanous, Kira Tenney, Greg Stahl, Gwen Ashley Walters contributing photographers Kat Cannell, Chad Chase, Todd Meier, Glenn Oakley, Tal Roberts, Steve Smith, Cory Weaver, Woods Wheatcroft
Keep up with... Technology, Arts & Culture Food & Drink Travel & Adventure Health & Life
TERRITORY Magazine Online: www.territory-mag.com email: info@territory-mag.com
Style & Design at territory-mag.com
TERRITORY Magazine® (ISSN 074470-29766) is published four times a year by Mandala Media LLC. Telephone: 208.788.0770; Fax: 208.788.3881. Mailing address: P.O. Box 272, Boise, ID 83701. Copyright ©2016 by Mandala Media, LLC. Subscriptions: $22 per year, single copies $5.95. The opinions expressed by authors and contributors to TERRITORY are not necessarily those of the editor and publisher. Mandala Media LLC sets high standards to ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable manner. This issue was printed on recycled fibers containing 10% post consumer waste, with inks containing a blend of soy base. Our printer is a certified member of the Forestry Stewardship Council, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and additionally meets or exceeds all federal Resource Conservation Recovery Act standards. When you are finished with this issue, please pass it on to a friend or recycle it. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: TERRITORY Magazine, P.O. Box 272, Boise, ID 83701. Printed in the U.S.A.
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GORDON JONES RETHINKS
HIGHER EDUCATION
TERRITORY–MAG.COM
WINTER 2016
Metro
Delivering a Promise BSU's College of Innovation and Design leads the way forward
Photo by Woods Wheatcroft
By Greg Stahl
G
ordon Jones is a student and teacher, hockey player and skier, freethinker and pragmatist. But perhaps most of all, he’s a man with a penchant for thinking outside the box. In 2015 Jones traded Harvard for Boise State to help rethink higher education. He appears poised to continue on an already-developing trajectory of success. “I love the idea of challenging conventional wisdom,” he said during a late-July interview in Boise. “That type of thinking fuels me.” Jones is the inaugural dean of Boise State’s new College of Innovation and Design, a difficult-to-define entity that exists along the fault lines of traditional education. It’s a combination of degree-track programs, professional certificates and badges that show records of accomplishment and competencies. It’s all designed to synthesize the university’s various academic disciplines and give students a competitive edge in today’s rapidly evolving professional marketplace. “We’ve had an industrial-revolution education model where we go to college, get out, get a diploma and then we hope you buy football tickets and give us money for the rest of your life,” Jones said. “The whole presumption was aligned around careers that would last 30 years doing the same thing. You were on your way once the university was done. We know that’s not the case for Millennials who are going to have eight different distinct
roles. What do universities do to address that? Where are we in partnership with individuals?” In 2011, after 15 years as a business leader for companies like Gillette, Proctor & Gamble and several prominent start-ups, Jones became founding director at the Harvard Innovation Lab, a unique entity that seeks to thread the Ivy League university’s 13 disparate colleges and offers students a vehicle to practice their learning in hands-on ways. It was incredibly successful. By 2014, one in four Crimson students was using the i-lab to incubate new ventures. Jones found himself wondering, however, how that model would benefit a public university—even how it might work for students nationwide. Because of the school’s pedigree, he explained, “Harvard is fundamentally going to be immune to these conditions that are going on in the industry,” such as mounting tuition and debt concurrent with less value placed on a standard, specialized undergraduate degree. “I believe there are 50 colleges and universities that are immune,” Jones said. “I’m ultimately of an entrepreneurial mindset. I’d rather go where the action is, and to where it has the highest chance of succeeding.” For Jones, that is Boise State. Jones is tall, relaxed and wellpressed. His glass-walled office on the second floor of BSU’s Albertson’s Library is simultaneously professional and casual. It’s situated within the College of Innovation and Design’s array
of modern desks and smattering of busy staff. On a waist-high shelf behind his desk, Jones has on display an assortment of products he’s helped conceive or bring to market during his 15 years in the business world. He slips a finger into a small sleeve that looks like a medical implement. When he was heading Oral B for Proctor & Gamble, a company approached him with a high-density surgical filter, which was said to also have properties that could clean teeth. The problem was, the filter had the texture and taste of a cotton ball. Jones put his creativity to work. He sourced the elastic backing from a diaper to create the sleeve, and he drew on flavoring technology from dental floss to make the product palatable. The end result was an invention called Brush-Ups. It’s an anecdote that shows Jones’s business sense and penchant for creative thinking, but it doesn’t show how an established business leader became an educator. It turns out, though, that he was an educator first. Born and raised in Connecticut, he attended Brown as an undergrad and later went to Stanford to earn an MBA. But his time at those universities was interspersed with additional formative experiences in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and the Sonoran Desert of Arizona—experiences that helped draw him back to the West 20 years later. Jones got his first “taste of big spacWINTER 2016
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es” while playing semiprofessional hockey in northern British Columbia during a semester off from his undergraduate studies. So he took another semester off to work at a private preparatory school north of Phoenix. It’s an experience that connected enough for him to return after graduating from Brown, and that was at least part of the reason he went to Stanford to earn a business degree. With encouragement from the prep school’s director of placement, he’d started mulling questions about the educational system and how it could deliver better value. “I didn’t have the tool box to frame and synthesize the solutions or answers,” he said. “I had lots of hypotheses, but it wasn’t clear to me what was better. I didn’t know where to start.” Several seeds were planted during those initial forays into the West. Like many transplants before him, Jones found it easy to appreciate the region’s wide-open spaces and staggering mountain vistas, but he also observed that the spirit of the West was more pragmatic than his native New England, particularly as it pertained to education. That notion was reinforced, he said, attending Stanford. “In that D.C. to Boston corridor, education is almost the currency of your social value,” he said. “In the West it’s a place where you meet people where they’re at. Each person’s an individual. I can’t think of the last time I’ve been in a conversation in Boise where anyone’s asked me where I went to college. Here your currency is: Do I have a connection with the individual in front of me. That’s it.” Those are formative experiences undertaken by Jones when he was a 20-something, but he said they’re among the reasons he agreed to bring the Harvard i-lab approach to Boise State. It’s a great community, but also an apt setting to put such pragmatic TERRITORY–MAG.COM
WINTER 2016
Photos by Woods Wheatcroft
“THERE ARE THINGS WE CAN’T AN ENTITY THAT CAN LOOK AT AN ACADEMIC VENTURE CAPITA
Metro
ADDRESS IN OUR CURRENT DISCIPLINE-BASED SYSTEM. I’M TRYING TO ADDRESS INNOVATIVE IDEAS. I’M ALMOST LIKE ALIST.” — Gordon Jones, Dean of the College of Innovation and Design educational practices to work. Before World War II, higher education was a luxury that few people could afford, and its focus on liberal arts education was a luxury. “You had the time in life to reflect on the human condition,” Jones said. “The ability to access that was reserved, and it wasn’t necessarily vocationally-centered.” Things changed after World War II. College became more of a public right, and for decades the system benefitted steadily-increasing numbers of Americans. “That worked great when Cal Berkeley cost $980 a semester in 1986,” Jones said. “The need for a university to focus on your outcome wasn’t there. If you drove a cab majoring in Shakespeare out of Berkeley you probably weren’t going to blame Berkeley because you didn’t necessarily owe any money.” From 1994 on, however, college tuition began to outstrip average household incomes by two to one, and those are the atmospherics in which Jones is working. The old model doesn’t promise anything to graduates; he’s working on a model that does. To use his own example, he’s working to make sure that Shakespeare majors can find jobs when they graduate. The College of Innovation and Design was conceived by Boise State President Bob Kustra, who obtained approval from the state board of education in the fall of 2014. “The CID will leverage the speed, collaboration and risk-taking of a start-up to re-imagine the way the university teaches, learns and conducts research at Boise State,” the college touts in its marketing literature. It’s powerful language that’s simultaneously kind of vague. In part that’s because the college is doing so much that’s so new. For people who came up through the traditional college model, it’s literally difficult to get your head around the array of programs, part-
nerships and certificates on offer and in development. Jones packages the college’s work into three distinct areas of opportunity: innovation within the university, imagining the university of tomorrow and inspiring the university-community connection. An example of innovative building within the university is the college’s new Gaming, Interactive Media, and Mobile Technology major, which draws from the fields of art, psychology and computer science to build IT applications, virtual reality environments and other devices that can offer innovative workplace solutions. In its inaugural year, 65 students signed up. This year, another 130 enlisted. Another example is a new leadership certificate program. The second area of focus, imagining the university of tomorrow, means ensuring the pursuit and attainment of an undergraduate degree includes the acquisition of skills that meet the demands of emerging workplace needs. One example is the new Venture College, a program that allows motivated students to hone expertise and skills using support from 400 volunteer experts from the community. Venture College is the first Boise State program to award badges to students who learn particular skills. Five hundred students participated in its inaugural year. “I don’t care whether you’re going to be a nurse, a teacher or a symphony player, or if you’re a writer at the Statesman, if you can appreciate how that organization operates, you can have a voice not only how to contribute to the organization, but also know ‘what’s best for me?’” Jones said. “I want to increase the ability for people to be inoculated so they don’t end up being victims. I believe in self-agency. That’s real individual health. That’s the spirit of the West as well.” The third area of focus, implement-
ing stronger connections between the university and the community, includes an array of programming designed to sync Boise State with the people of Boise and surrounding regions. The College of Innovation and Design has built partnerships with St. Luke’s, Albertsons, Zions Bank and others. Jones has also pioneered partnerships with Harvard Business School and the Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning. Both are the first partnerships of their kind and offer unique access to highly acclaimed academic resources outside of Idaho. “There are things we can’t address in our current discipline-based system. I’m an entity that can look at trying to address innovative ideas. I’m almost like an academic venture capitalist.” Jones moved to the City of Trees to be an educator, but he quickly found himself in the limelight in Boise’s bustling business community. He’s been meeting with hundreds of the city’s business leaders, and in November 2015, after only a few months on the job, was the featured speaker at the City Club of Boise, where the community’s movers and shakers gather to discuss issues of the day. Jones is passionate about his work at Boise State, but he’s equally enthusiastic about his new home city. He’s on the board of directors at Trailhead, a startup incubator that “helps Boiseans start and scale businesses and high-impact projects” with a co-working space downtown and access to tools and connections needed to “build something with impact.” “We have a fairly robust economic engine for such a small state,” Jones said. “Boise has a high aggregation of fairly active individuals. It’s amazing to me the fabric of community that exists here in a metropolitan area of 700,000 people. There’s a lot of action, and it’s slightly pre-emergent.”
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Metro
Stitch, Shine and Polish
Photo by Todd Meier
Preserving a lost art through generations of apprenticeship
14
T
By Cheryl Haas
he art of making and repairing shoes has been the province of the Riebe family since the end of the Civil War. At that time, James Riebe, who emigrated from Germany in 1853 at the age of 9, began his apprenticeship in boot making. Little did he know that he was establishing a family tradition that would span six generations and a business that would become a beloved fixture in Boise. Founder James Riebe and his family landed in Boise in 1906. Originally they planned to settle in Nampa, but the only location they could find for a TERRITORY–MAG.COM
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shoe shop was in an alley and deemed “unsuitable.” According to James’ great-grandson, Jim Riebe, pushing 80, with a gleam in his eye, “The family piled onto the Interurban (the trolley that ran the length of the Treasure Valley at the turn of the 20th century), looked around Boise and decided ‘This is the place!’” James and his son Edward established the Modern Shoe Shop on Main Street in a building supposedly so narrow that a man could stretch his arms and touch both walls. In the early 1920s, after a shortlived stint as a farmer, Edward purchased a stitching machine and set up
shop in Hyde Park. The shop had (and still has) a reputation for high-quality work. During the Depression, Edward decided to specialize in making handmade logger boots in hopes of bringing in more business, a skill passed down to the current generation. He crafted about 100 pairs of boots each year. Edward also packaged and sold boot grease from a formula created by his father, James. One satisfied customer, a logger, said he “…tramped through snow for eight days before (my) feet felt damp.” Edward’s son David began working in the shop in 1923, during a school vacation, hoping to save enough money to
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Above: Ed Riebe works in his Hyde Park shop. Seemingly, little has changed in the shop since its 1920s opening.
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go to college. He never left the business. David’s son, Jim, began working at age 12 every day after school, trimming leather and polishing shoes. In turn, Jim’s son Ed learned to break down shoes by tearing off the old soles and heels. He now runs Riebe’s Hyde Park Shoe Repair on North 13th Street. To walk into the Hyde Park store is like walking into a kind of time warp. There is a fine layer of dust over every surface as if nothing has been moved in 50 years, and the aroma of leather and glue pervades the air. There are shoes everywhere—spilling from the shelves, piled on the floor—old tools and lasts (wooden forms for making shoes) from the days when people ordered handmade shoes hang on the wall above the workbench. Crammed next to them are machines from another era: an insole stitcher operated with a foot pedal, a left-handed Singer sewing machine, a finisher for sanding heels and buffing leather and a power press that attaches soles to shoes by slamming down a ton and a quarter of pressure. For many years, Ed’s dog, Pepper, a German shorthaired pointer, could be found snoozing in a dilapidated chair TERRITORY–MAG.COM
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by the front window. (“His job was to keep the chair from getting away,” quipped Jim.) Jim still likes to stop in on an occasional Friday. “I’m supposed to be retired but I come in here to foul things up, watch the good-lookin’ ladies and see my friends,” he said. Ed’s cousin, Bob, began working in the family business in 1981. He bought the repair portion of Nick’s Shoes on Main Street and was joined by his brother Karl and niece Amanda. Bob moved to his present location in the historic Gem Noble Building during its renovation in 2007. Bob cut on his saw the black walnut paneling that adorns Robert Riebe’s Shoe Repair. It was here, with its antique furnishings, gleaming floors and shoeshine stand, that Bob met his wife, Jennifer. “My mom had just moved to Idaho from Wisconsin,” said their son, Paul, who also works in the shop. “She came into the store and my dad talked to her just like he talks to everybody. Well, maybe he flirted a little. He did some work for free for her and she brought him some veggies that she’d grown and canned, and that kinda did it for him. They’ve been married for
over 20 years.” Paul, an articulate 18-year-old, is the sixth-generation Riebe to work in the family business and may well be the last. “I started working for pay at age 8, picking stitches out of shoes,” he said, “but shoe repair is not academic, and I am. I want to go to college and study chemical engineering.” He says the industry has shifted: trade is shrinking, the same materials and machines aren’t available anymore and, more important, most modern mass-produced shoes—even the soles and heels—are not designed to be fixed. “There’s still customer demand,” said Paul. “But either the shoes aren’t fixable or it’s not worth the time it would take. We’d have to charge too much. We have all the stuff to make shoes, but there’s no money in it because it takes so much time and material.” Just 20 years ago, there were 15 family-run shoe repair shops in Boise. Today, the Riebes’ downtown and North End shops are the last ones to practice what may soon be a lost art.
Photos by Todd Meier
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The B Corp Boom When business and altruism come together By Matt Furber
H
istorically, corporations don’t map out a mission that specifically benefits the community. Certainly, pharmaceutical companies provide a public good for those in need of drugs and tire manufacturers keep cars safely rolling down the road, but companies themselves are not compelled to rein in carbon emissions or make sure employees enjoy a living wage. In fact, public companies are beholden to their shareholders and can even be sued if they veer into do-gooder territory that detracts from the annual profit motive. But, externalities of business ventures have become a new opportunity. Customer demand for goods and services from companies that equate doing good for people and the planet with doing well in business is growing. After Idaho unanimously passed the Benefit Corporation Act in 2015, it became one of the 30 states and the District of Columbia with legislation that empowers so-called benefit corporations, companies with an eye on any number of external factors they care about: curbing air pollution, engaging with underserved suppliers or producing only organic products. Now, protected by statute, Idaho companies can even be held to account to ensure that they are fulfilling the greater missions of their work beyond the profit motive. In some cases, the rules enable nonprofits to create their own for-profit entities to find creative new ways to forward social and environmental missions. “There is a small but mighty group of B Corps in Boise,” said Jay Cohen Gilbert, co-founder of B Lab, the nonprofit entity that provides certification for companies looking to up their externality game. “They were successful in working with a bipartisan group of
state legislators to pass Idaho benefit corporation legislation, and we hope they are as successful growing the local community of people using business as a force for good.” To date, Idaho has 105 entities that have checked the box at the top of the state’s new Articles of Incorporation application form to register as a benefit corporation. Nine Idaho companies are listed on the nonprofit B Lab website as certified B Corps, a voluntary process geared to helping companies improve their B ratings. B Lab has some 40 analysts who score companies and help them find ways to improve. “In addition to working with individual companies seeking B Corp Certification or individual funds seeking Global Impact Investing Rating (GIIR), B Lab is increasingly working with institutions to help them understand the impact of the businesses with whom they work,” Gilbert said. “Business networks, trade associations, fund managers, credit providers, government agencies have all become Measure What Matters Partners and use the B Impact Assessment and B Analytics to understand, communicate and increase the positive impact of the businesses with whom they work.” Since the new Idaho legislation passed, word is trickling out about the benefits of pursuing the strategy of incorporating with a social or environmental mission. Still, the secretary has had a number of applicants who, not entirely sure what the designation is all about, have checked the box and later asked for a revision since the benefit motive is not yet in their business bailiwick. Patagonia famously began donating profits to environmental groups in the 1980s, a commitment that became “one
percent for the planet” with well over 1000 companies donating one percent of sales (since profits are fungible) to environmental groups. B Corp takes the trend to a new level with its comprehensive certification process and rating system akin to Morningstar investment rankings and Capital IQ financial analytics. Of the nine companies on the voluntary B Corp roster in Idaho, eight of them call the Treasure Valley home. The Boise marketing firm Oliver Russell was the second certified B Corp in Idaho after The CAPROCK Group investment company. Oliver Russell was one of the first to register with the state as a benefit corporation. Other Boise B Corps include Jitasa, which provides finance and accounting services for nonprofits nationwide, and Vyykn, with its computer-controlled drinking water purification system. Another is Prosperity Organic Foods, “committed to creating great tasting organic products through innovative use of fats and oils.” Melt is its flagship product, a creamy, butter-like spread. “We work to use our business to work toward positive environmental change in the world,” said Russ Stoddard, president and founder of Oliver Russell. “We operate our business with principles that include transparency in our corporate governance, from a commitment to supporting underserved communities to creating a workplace that is engaging and values the human capital that we have here. As far as our external business goes, we build brands for purpose-driven companies that have either a product or a service or a business model that benefits society.” Stoddard’s company, founded in 1991, really mirrors the B Corp philosophy and as a marketing and branding WINTER 2016
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firm is an important partner in the effort to expand the message that business agendas with social responsibility and environmental stewardship at the core will pay off in the long run. As the trend grows, companies around the world are building a network of people striving to make their organizations and communities better places to work, entities that are all-around better for the planet, Stoddard said. “We can talk to each other and bounce ideas off one another as we work to find clients and build better benefit companies.” Creative, collaborative work that benefits employees and the community has been a part of Oliver Russell for 25 years, but B Corp brings new power to the effort, Stoddard said. “When we first found out about it, I was like, wow, man, what a framework it offers to companies like ours that are trying to be socially responsible but don’t necessarily have all the definitions or don’t understand what all the levers and measures might be that would define that,” he said. B Corp certification helps to market companies—matching the values of consumers with producers. “Measurement is the first step in management,” Gilbert said. “There are now more than 40,000 companies using the B Impact Assessment as their impact management tool. Thousands of these companies are using this tool to benchmark their performance, set goals, and make improvements that help them create more positive impact for their workers, community and the environment. That means more people earn a living wage; less carbon is emitted into the atmosphere; more healthy food nourishes our children.” B Lab aspires to be an organization that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good. Stoddard said the network has already helped his company land new clients. B Corp's vision is that all companies will compete not only to be the best in the world, but the “best for the world” and bring more “shared and durable” prosperity. “We'd love to support (Boise’s) local leadership to launch a Best For Boise campaign that would inspire and celebrate all businesses that are working to create higher quality jobs and to improve the quality of life in Boise,” Gilbert said. TERRITORY–MAG.COM
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B CO RP BE N CH MA RK S • The B Corp Benchmarks are the largest, comparable data sets about the positive impact of business on society and the environment. – Th ey represent the impact of approximately 3,500 small businesses on more than 350 social and environmental best practices collected through the B Impact Assessment. • This data set enables businesses to make informed action plans to improve their social and environmental performance. – Th e B Corp Benchmarks allows a company to compare its performance to the Benchmark and in the process understand the business can improve its practices. • The benchmarks used fall under the categories of overall impact and key performance indicators. The former includes questions such as a company’s local involvement, diversity, job creation, charity and service, and the degree to which they offer community oriented products. The latter refers to specific metrics, such as what percentage of a company’s workforce is from chronically underemployed populations.
B C O R P B E N C HM A R K S D ATA S E T U S E D
Ordinary Businesses (OBs)
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(1,752 companies as of January 2013)
B Corps
536 Other S ustainable Businesses (OSBs)
1,075 WH O I S I N T HE B C O R P B E N C HM A R K S The B Corp Benchmarks uses data (as of January 2013) collected from 1,752 businesses that have completed Version 3.0 of the B Impact Assessment. To make the benchmarks more useful, B Lab has grouped these businesses into three benchmark groups: • Certified B Corporations – 536 businesses: Certified B Corporations are businesses certified by B Lab to have: 1) met rigorous standards of overall social and environmental performance, having earned a verified score of 80 points (out of 200) on the B Impact Assessment; and 2) expanded the legal responsibility of the company’s directors to include the interests of workers, community, and the environment. • Other Sustainable Businesses (OSBs) – 1,075 businesses: This group comprises businesses that largely voluntarily sought out and completed the B Impact Assessment. By taking this step, they are demonstrating their motivation to conduct business in a “responsible” or “sustainable” manner. • Ordinary Businesses (OBs) – 141 businesses: The OB data set is intended to represent businesses which have no explicit social or environmental intent related to their business. Although OBs may exhibit some impact practices such as recycling or offering health insurance, these companies do not view their business as a vehicle to tackle social and environmental challenges. Source: thelab@bcorporation.net
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A Place for Discourse City Club’s Civility Project By Cheryl Haas
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n the most contentious of election years, it often seems as though we as a nation have hit a new low in our ability to speak civilly about controversial issues and, in Rodney King’s famous words, “just get along.” But for the City Club of Boise, which was founded on the notion of civil discourse, 2016 has been a pivotal year in which the civic organization planted the seeds of how to talk through difficult issues and facilitate problem-solving. The group embarked on a year-long Civility Project which embraces the club’s motto of “Nothing Happens Until People Start Talking.” “The City Club mission has always been about getting people to talk and listen to each other in informed ways,” commented Richard Newman, the organization’s president. “We’d like City Club to be a community resource to bring meaningful discussion into heated topics such as gun control and immigration. People don’t want to talk about these things—it’s almost taboo—but it’s the exact thing we need to talk about and not talk past each other.” The Civility Project grew out of the club’s desire to celebrate its 20th anniversary with something that would reflect their mission and have a lasting impact. In her research for the event, Jane Suggs, City Club secretary and co-chair of the Civility Project, TERRITORY–MAG.COM
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came across The National Institute for Civil Discourse. NICD, a nonpartisan organization that promotes civil political debate, is headquartered in Tuscon, Ariz., under the auspices of the University of Arizona. It was founded by community members in 2011 in response to the tragic shooting in which six people were killed and 13 wounded, including then-Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Since then, NICD has conducted seminars on civil discourse throughout the country. With the support of Idaho Senate President Pro Tempore Brent Hill and House Speaker Scott Bedke, City Club invited NICD to Idaho. The Civility Project kicked off in January 2016 with a five-hour workshop attended by 100 Idaho legislators on the second day of the legislative session. “Sen. Chuck Winder and Rep. Melissa Wintrow volunteered to go through facilitator training at NICD in order to present legislator-tolegislator,” said Bill Manny, City Club past president and board member who helped spearhead the project. “The goal was to focus on problemsolving and find common ground.” (He hastened to add that the Idaho Legislature’s rules of decorum discourage name-calling and other forms of incivility.) The legislators separated into
breakout groups and talked about their personal beliefs—why they ran for office and what experiences motivated them to serve. The idea was that if you understand the other person’s point of view and core beliefs, then together you could focus your disagreement on the issues instead of the personalities involved. “We all behave pretty good in church,” Hill told the Lewiston Tribune, “but true religion goes beyond church. It’s how you treat someone in a town hall meeting or how you act when meeting with constituents.” Religion and politics are two subjects people are encouraged not to talk about in polite society, added Bedke, “because our beliefs in those areas are heartfelt. Legislators often have to discuss those topics but can do so in a way that still respects the views and beliefs of people on the other side. We’re trying to raise our collective comportment.” Manny, who is also managing editor of the Idaho Statesman, said the club hoped the Civility Project would raise the community’s awareness of the value of thinking past polarization. “What we all have in common is that we want our society to work,” he said. “We don’t want the political process to be broken so that voters become indifferent, turned off by dysfunction and nastiness. Being nice
Idaho
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terned after a similar gathering that NICD organized in Ohio. Journalists, citizens and public servants (not just elected officials) from southern and eastern Idaho were invited to sit down and really listen to each other. “The idea was that if we bring together these groups that interact with each other on a daily basis, we can have a civil discourse in a way that we learn from each other,” said Civility Summit co-chair Jane Suggs. “The government officials say to the journalists, ‘you never quote me correctly'; the citizens say to the government, ‘you only talk to lobbyists, you never talk to me’; and journalists say to the citizens, 'you are unengaged and apathetic.' When we have a better understanding of what the other party is dealing with, then we can start to find a solution. The real basis of collaboration is having people share their stories and listen.” City Club’s manifesto declares, “We want Idaho and its cities to be national examples of communities that address differences civilly. The goal of the Civility Project is not to make everyone agree; rather, we hope to help people learn how to disagree while remaining agreeable. “It’s about listening to and incorporating dissenting voices so that everyone is heard, moving civility from an abstract notion to an expected code of conduct.”
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isn’t the solution. We have to find a way to get people to sit down and talk. We need to give them the tools to work through intractable problems.” City Club’s founders Ed and Dottie Stimpson believed that no problem was so great that people with open minds, using civil discourse, couldn’t solve it. The club’s Stimpson Award is bestowed on individuals or groups that put that belief into action. In 2011, the Owyhee Initiative earned the award after eight years of negotiating between diverse and often passionately opposed groups. Their problem-solving led to the federal designation of the 517,000-acre Owyhee Wilderness. In 2012, City Club presented the award to the second Idaho Citizens Reapportionment Committee for rising above partisan politics to redraw legislative and congressional boundaries for the state. (The first committee dissolved in a puddle of partisan disagreement.) Throughout the year, City Club has presented luncheon forums and events on topics that are designed to instigate conversation. Forum topics include Civility on the Trails (recreation and environment), Civility in Social Media, Civility in Faith, Civility in Public Policy and Civility in the Courts. In late July, City Club, Boise State University’s School of Public Service and NICD held a Civility Summit pat-
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Life
Garden City Blooms (a third time)
The city within a city draws sports enthusiasts, oenophiles and hopheads
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CINDER WINES Recently named as “one of the West’s best urban wineries” by Sunset Magazine, Cinder Wines is known for its dry Viognier and big, full-flavored Syrah.
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Park Place Property Management A Certified Residential Management Company
Photo by Chad Case
G
By Gwen Ashley Walters
arden City is sowing seeds for a renaissance of sorts, once again becoming an arts and entertainment destination, but one very different from its eyebrow-raising stepchild past of casinos, bars and adult-oriented businesses. Surrounded almost entirely by the city of Boise, Garden City is more than a neighborhood. It is a city within a city, with its own municipal government. The long sliver of land just 1.6 miles northwest of downtown Boise is barely over 4 square miles, but it has 6.7 miles of Boise riverfront, earning the motto “Nestled by the River.” In the late 1800s, Chinese immigrants drawn to Idaho during the gold rush stayed long after the gold played out, settling along that six-mile stretch of the Boise River as tenant farmers. The beautiful row gardens of fruits and vegetables tended by the Chinese parlayed into the name “Garden City.” The main thoroughfare, Chinden Boulevard, is an amalgamation of “China” and Garden.” As idyllic as Garden City sounds, it wasn’t always so serene. In 1949, when Boise voters rejected slot machines, the village of Garden City petitioned Ada County for incorporation, effectively creating a sanctuary for gambling. Many of the Chinese gardeners lost the land leases they’d held for decades when the town was incorporated and the gardens quickly disappeared. The newly minted “Sin City”—dubbed by appalled Boiseans— quickly became one of the richest cities of its size in the state. While Boiseans clucked their tongues, Garden City prospered, building infrastructure—water systems, a police department, City Hall, and parks—from coffers bulging with gambling proceeds. When a statewide ban of all gambling was enacted in 1954, Garden City had another idea: it would become a haven for businesses looking to escape the municipal taxing and zoning restrictions of Boise. The business-friendly environment attracted a hodgepodge of junkyards, adult bookstores and
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nightclubs, earning it another nickname, “Saturday Night Town.” Suffice it to say, Garden City has always embraced an independent streak, and the current rebirth is no different, albeit less controversial. In the mid-1990s, Garden City began an urban renewal period, intent on revitalizing and growing the town into a reputable destination, but one still as unique and individualistic as its origins. In the mid-aughts, the city completed improvements to the Greenbelt, including paving a stretch on the south side of the river between 44th
and 49th Streets. Soon, artists from Boise began trickling into Garden City, attracted by low real estate prices and proximity to the lush Boise River Greenbelt. In 2012, the City Council renamed the late artist Surel Mitchell’s neighborhood on 33rd Street “The Surel Mitchell Live/Work/Create District.” Surel’s Place, the artist’s former home, is now a nonprofit live/work space juried to national artists for one-month residencies. In return for free rent and support, the artists hold public workshops, and donate work to the organization.
Artists weren’t the only ones to take notice of Garden City’s spunk. The area’s industrial feel began to draw a niche group of entrepreneurs: microbrewers and winemakers. Today, six urban wineries, one cider house and five microbreweries call Garden City home. Between the outdoor recreational activities on the Garden City stretch of the Boise River, the urban wineries and microbreweries, and a 14-acre, recently remodeled resort-like hotel with three live music venues, Garden City is ripe for a day-trip, a night on the town, or a full weekend getaway.
GARDEN CITY AT TRACTIONS
Just steps from the Boise River at the southern boundary of Garden City, this pet-friendly hotel with 303 spacious, contemporary rooms boasts three restaurants and three live music venues attracting national and local musicians.
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SUREL’S PLACE A modern work/live space for artists, this nonprofit isn’t always open to the public, but the monthly artist-in-residence is required to hold one workshop a month, open to the public, and the organization often hosts artists’ events. Visit surelsplace.org for more information. Photos by Chad Case
THE RIVERSIDE HOTEL
PAYETTE BREWING CO. The original brewery is a five-minute walk from The Riverside Hotel. While the company has opened a shiny new 60-barrel brewery and taproom in downtown Boise, the cozy 15-barrel brewery with eight drafts on tap is still open to the public and worth seeking out.
OUTDOOR AND WATER RECREATION Officially in Boise but directly across the river from Garden City is the Boise River Park, offering water sports from kayaking to standup paddleboarding to spillway surfing. Garden City boasts several parks along the Boise River, accessible by the Greenbelt pathway for picnicking, nature trail hiking, and river viewing, including Riverpoint Park, Westmoreland Park and the Garden City Nature Path.
POWDERHAUS BREWING COMPANY Alpine-themed brewery featuring lodge décor and a mix of American and German-style brews.
TELAYA WINE CO. Named “2016 Winery of the Year” by Wine Press Northwest, Telaya’s 12,000-square-foot winery and tasting room (which also houses the tasting room for Coiled Wines) sits adjacent to The Riverside Hotel on the Boise River.
THE STAGECOACH INN New owners restored this 1959 Garden City landmark to its glory days as an old-time steak and seafood house with matched hospitality.
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Special Advertising Section
SHOP BOISE
FAVORITE FINDS
With the holiday season upon us, there seems to be an endless need for great gift ideas. From some of our favorite shops in town we've collected several gems to share with friends and family. Enjoy the shopping!
Crazy Neighbor
A local independent shop offering unique and delightful gift options, from bow ties to unique jewelry, quality hats, cozy winter scarves, colorful arm warmers and little treasures at every turn. You'll find well chosen fashion accessories and gifts for both men and women with competitive pricing. Truly a remarkable store to visit any day of the week. 1415 West Grove Street, Boise. crazyneighbor.biz
McU Sports
Check out these Peapack Mitten Company mittens made from recycled sweaters, Astis beaded sheepskin gloves, Seirus heat touch gloves and mittens, and Lenz socks—heated and Bluetooth compatible. Heated gloves and socks at the Bogus Basin Rd. store only. 822 W Jefferson St., Boise & 2314 Bogus Basin Rd., Boise. mcusports.com
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Outdoor Exchange
Outdoor Exchange makes it affordable and fashionable to be out and active all year long! Save 50-70% off top brands for all your winter outdoor recreation. 1405 W Grove St., Boise. outdoor-exchange.com
George's Cycles
Share our passion for cycling! We are committed to maintaining the most knowledgeable staff, carrying the highest quality products and providing the best possible service. Serving Boise since 1971. 312 S 3rd St., Boise & 5515 W State St., Boise. georgescycles.com
Idaho River Sports
Serving the water sports community for 30 years. We are committed to helping people have the best possible on- and off-water experiences available anywhere. Patagonia yoga wear is perfect for a day in the studio. 601 N. Whitewater Park Blvd., Boise. idahoriversports.com
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TERRITORY–MAG.COM
Explore
The Ride of Her Life By Bryant Dunn 28
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n a crisp March evening in the spring of 2016, Kat Cannell and Missy Lipton unsaddled their ponies as inclement weather surrounded them and snowfall threatened. Soon after, on the first night of their 620-mile horseback ride from Hailey, Idaho, to Sierraville, California, snow began to swirl around their campfire, hissing as flakes met flame. It was a tempestuous backdrop to an expedition that had taken months to organize. Similarly, Cannell’s mind was unsettled and storming. The logistics of this adventure were significant. There was much that could go wrong, and there was real risk involved. Travel through the Idaho, Oregon, Nevada and California backroads was a serious undertaking, especially for a 25-year-old woman who harbored fears of the dark, camping alone, wild animals, and the unknown in general. But there was far more that was troubling her on that blustery night. Cannell, a recent rehabilitation outpatient for a powerful eating disorder, dealt every day with the often-paralyzing effects of body dysmorphia, a condition that results in the belief that one is being negatively judged by others for an unappealing physical appearance. And those insecurities and fears were rising up inside her on that dark Idaho night. Lipton, on the other hand, was upbeat and excited. She was optimistic about their journey and what adventure might lie ahead. Ironically, 24 hours later, Lipton entered the emergency room with a badly shattered collarbone, the result of being bucked violently onto rough ground. For Lipton, the journey was over nearly before it began. She was devastated. Cannell was now forced to make a difficult decision. TERRITORY–MAG.COM
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Should she continue on or hang up her chaps? Was this a bad omen signaling a really bad idea or was this karma waiting to be revealed? After two days mulling over her next move, Cannell decided to push forward, her internal fears and doubts clawing at her all the way to her departure. Alone. So how did the idea of such a substantive and challenging adventure originate for the Stanley, Idaho, native? Surprisingly, the story began 3,600 miles and one continent away in the azure skies of South American Colombia. “Willi, my husband, and I were in Colombia. Willi’s paragliding buddy offered to take me on a tandem paraglide ride. I was airsick the whole time, throwing up in my mouth. And I was totally blown away and moved,” Cannell said with a mixed tone of nostalgia and awe. “I thought it would be so cool to cover all of the country we saw from the sky on horseback. I wanted to be the best I could possibly be and push it as hard as I could possibly push it. Riding long distances is a great way to see the country.” And long horseback rides have also served the purpose of allowing Cannell to address her inner demons. “I went to rehab for an eating disorder. I beat that. But I remember looking in the mirror one day and crying,” Cannell shared. “I got to the point where I was really fed up. I thought that if a 600-mile ride couldn’t get me away from those feelings, nothing could.” However, it was one thing to conceptualize a 620-mile horseback ride. It was another to plan and execute the logistics for such a monumental effort. Fortunately, Kat had recently married Willi Cannell, who runs his outfitting business, Solitude River Trips, near their home in Stanley.
Photo by Kat Cannell
One woman’s journey across the West on horseback
“I ACHIEVED THE GOALS I WANTED TO ACHIEVE, BUT IN DIFFERENT WAYS THAN I EXPECTED. I STILL LOOK HOW I LOOK, I STILL AM WHO I AM, BUT I HAVE ACHIEVED A NEW IDENTITY.” — Kat Cannell
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Hailey, ID Jordan Valley, OR
Denio, NV
Gerlach, NV
Sierraville, CA
Above: Cannell's journey took her along highways, byways, and dirt roads. Much of the terrain was rugged, including sections through the Black Rock Desert and the 19th century Idaho, Oregon, Nevada (ION) Immigrant Trail. Below: Hogan and Pungo being led just out of Bellevue, Idaho.
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“I tapped into Willi’s outfitter mind. I outfitted myself as if I was going on a backpacking trip: a water filter, stove, dehydrated food, and beef jerky. I packed that sort of stuff,” Cannell said. “I planned to be highly self-sufficient. Ultimately, I had water, hay and grain support from Willi and my dad.” “At no point was I nervous or hesitant about her trip. My only fears were that it might not happen,” the strawberry-bearded Willi Cannell said, admiring his wife from across the room. “That maybe, in the planning stages, she would view it as an impossible task or unreasonable plan. A lot of people said she should not do it, that it was not a good idea. I was encouraging from the beginning.” Cannell’s father, Ken Smith, was also supportive of Kat’s plan and was a major contributing factor to her upbringing as a horsewoman. “It all started with Western movies: Gene Autry, the Lone Ranger, the Cisco Kid,” Smith related from his Sawtooth Valley home. “I was inspired to become a horseman because they always had wide open spaces and did not live in a city. I got to know horse people, which is a real good culture of people. They take care of animals, so they are fundamentally a good group of people.” Once Cannell had committed to the ride, she began to identify her route and final destination. The route changed several times between her initial plan and its completion, including re-routing while on the trail. This was out of Cannell’s comfort zone as she is an extremely organized logistician. But it gave her the opportunity for personal growth. “She realized that you have to let things flow,” her father added, “to be less focused on organizing and to deal with things that let you down. She was forced to be resilient and tenacious.” Ultimately, she wound along the highways, byways, dirt roads and immigrant trails of the Rocky Mountain West, often leading her through rough and rugged terrain like the Black Rock Desert and along the ION highway (the Idaho, Oregon, Nevada immigrant trail used in the 19th century by pioneers). Along the way she met some amazing individuals, including cowboys, cattlemen, backcountry travellers and an 80-year-old female ranch owner
Photos by Kat Cannell
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Clockwise from top left: Crossing a playa west of the Black Rock Desert; with 86-year-old Burrel Williams, who let Cannell camp in his pasture; just before ascending the Owyhee Mountains; the home stretch into Sierraville.
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who used to be a stuntwoman horseback rider in John Wayne movies. One of her most striking memories included encountering Native American “hoodoos.” These human-shaped rock piles were constructed hundreds of years ago to scare deer and antelope up specific gullies where the hunters would wait in ambush. She also stumbled upon a Burning Man (an annual gathering in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada) storage area that hid hundreds of decorated “art cars” and thousands of bicycles covered in fur. Perhaps her most powerful memory was generated while galloping through the Nevada desert. While riding Pony Express-style through sage and bitterbrush, her horse turned his head suddenly to the right. Cannell traced his line of sight to find a herd of wild horses galloping parallel to their path in sync. It was a visual she will never forget. After a month in the saddle, Cannell finally rode into Sierraville, California, the terminus of her adventure. On her final night in camp, Willi joined her. He was impressed with the growth in her skill levels as a horsewoman, camper
and self-sufficient traveller. And, as on the first night of the journey, snow fell upon their camp. When asked if she achieved her goals of completing such an enormous personal challenge while directly facing her many fears of isolation and personal doubt, Cannell nodded her head in confirmation. “I achieved the goals I wanted to achieve, but in different ways than I expected. I still look how I look, I still am who I am, but I have achieved a new identity. It gave me a new confidence that I didn’t have before,” Cannell said. “I am a river guide who rows big badass boats, but I’m a horsewoman, too. When I get hard on myself about the way I look, now I can talk myself down more easily. It sounds vain but it is crippling. I felt like everyone was judging me constantly. But now I realize that if someone is judging me it is their problem not mine.” “A lot of overcoming my challenges comes from reading books and stories about people overcoming theirs,” Cannell continued. “I hope that sharing my story will help people to do the same thing.” WINTER 2016
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What Water Could Be Enjoying water that’s never seen the light of day By Kira Tenney
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hen this water pops up right here, it’s the first time it’s seen light in at least 10,000 years,” said Kurt Gindling, manager of The Springs, a day-retreat hot springs hidden away in Idaho City. “It’s considered ‘fossilized water’; it hasn’t been exposed to anything human—no pollution, no nuclear remnants. When this water pops up, it’s a reminder of what water could be.” The Springs is only about 45 minutes from downtown Boise. People have gravitated to the magic of The Springs’ hot water for thousands of years. Native American arrowheads are still found on the grounds, and since the first permanent home was built in the 1800s, the land has been used for everything from a hotel, to a hospital, to a brothel. Idaho City, now a town of about 450 residents, used to be the largest city in the Northwest during the Boise Basin Gold Rush of the 1860s. It’s said that the gold from the area almost wholly funded the Union during the Civil War. In the mid-2000s, Kurt Gindling, a Renaissance man of knowhow and genuinely good, hard-working character, came across an ad looking for a caretaker for the property and met Jesse Pearson, the owner. Pearson had a grandiose plan to transform the estate from a built pool, mostly attended by college partyers, to a destination for serenity, relaxation and revitalization. Connecting with Bob Wiley, a builder from across the ridge who has a unique ability to organically, artistically build without a preset exact plan, the team constructed a new elegant building made of faswall (recycled pallets). With natural temperature regulation and general low TERRITORY–MAG.COM
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impact, the building is a model for green design. Now, far from the times of sheriffs battling on the front porch, The Springs is a peaceful rejuvenation
Guests enjoy a beverage at The Springs. Owner Jesse Pearson transformed The Springs from a college party place to an elegant retreat for relaxation.
retreat that offers a large hot springs pool that is cooled in the summer, private tubs, massages, sauna, outdoor shower, Rossiter, yoga, other therapeutic treatments and a café.
Photo by Glenn Oakley
“It’s hard to quantify the healing benefits of these hot springs,” explained Gindling, caretaker and manager of The Springs. “There are long-term guests that come here over and over to feel better. We have a guest with Parkinson’s, and he says that being here lets him have control over his disease instead of the other way around. Guests come that have had knee surgery, palsy, and anxiety, for the ‘treatment’ of the water.” The water at The Springs is one of the most alkaline in Idaho. The water is very “soft” (low in calcium and magnesium) and naturally high in other minerals. It is kept flowing throughout the pools—no chemicals are added—and the water sparkles clear, as the establishment adamantly
cleans daily and completes a deep clean once a week. Smiling in contentment in The Springs’ big pool, Mark Wells, a Boise resident, recounted, “Since the renovation, my first visit was last December when it was zero degrees out and there was four feet of snow around. I can't say enough about what they've done here and what a delightful experience it is. We've been in here for 7 hours and 10 minutes and we’re still going, and it's summer and hot out. I'm a big advocate.” Wells went on to note that he likes that The Springs regulates both the number of people and the number of alcoholic beverages served to any individual. The Springs, not wanting to be known as a bar, is a place to come,
relax and enjoy a drink, but due to the effects of hot water and the general desired atmosphere, guests are limited to one alcoholic beverage per hour. “The two things I really enjoy about this place,” beamed Gindling, “is when someone comes here because it helps them feel better, and when the really, really little kids come, because they take to the water so naturally.” Whatever age you are, everything feels better at The Springs. One can’t quite put a finger on why. Maybe it’s the purity of the water seeing sunlight for the first time in thousands of years, or maybe it’s simply the opportunity to be outdoors, slow down, enjoy and relax.
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HOW A SKATE PARK MAKEOVER CAUGHT THE EYE OF A LEADING SKATEBOARD AND APPAREL COMPANY
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“YOU’VE GOT TO SEE IDAHO,” JOHNNY AND KORI SCHILLEREFF’S GOOD FRIEND AMY PURDY KEPT SAYING. “IT’S GORGEOUS.” The International skateboard Element founder and his wife heard the merits of the strong, nature-loving, sports-mad community again while attending Purdy’s Boise wedding. Yet the wheelfriendly town was about to show them even more. Post wedding, Kori relaxed in the hotel room while Johnny grabbed one of Modern Hotel’s courtesy beach cruisers and set out to see the city. He enjoyed the beauty and chill vibe, until one too many one-way streets got him lost. The setting sun hid the normally helpful landmarks of the mountains, river, and Boise State University. Schillereff paused, trying to determine which direction to take under the darkening sky, just as he was discovered by bicycle patrol officer Blake Slater. Noticing the hotel bicycle and its rider’s hesitation, Officer Slater, who’d always considered his position to include being an ambassador for the city, asked Schillereff if he needed assistance. “There’s a light law here,” Slater added in a joking tone as he handed out loaner lights. Schillereff simply wanted advice on how to get back to the Modern, but was given a lifechanging bonus tour. WINTER 2016
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“I was actually only about a block from the hotel,” he recalled, “But when Officer Blake learned I was a skater, he asked if I’d heard of the skate park Boise was building, and offered to show it to me. He had no idea of my Element connection.” “It’s pretty far away,” Officer Blake told Schillereff, acting as if there was an arduous journey ahead. “He literally coasted over to Rhodes Skate Park,” Schillereff laughed, “we were that close.” Originally built in the mid1990s by Ada County Commissioner Glenn Rhodes, the park was undergoing a makeover. Dirt and the beginnings of poured cement were at the park situated under a large bridge, but a blueprint banner was on display. TERRITORY–MAG.COM
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THE PLANS LOOKED LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF A VIDEO GAME. “Wow,” Schillereff commented to Officer Blake, “this is insane.” At the hotel, Schillereff and his wife immediately went online for more information. Boise’s treethemed celebration of nature and the arts, added to the cooperative, grass-roots campaign for the skate park’s expansion and remodel, seemed like a perfect fit for Element’s involvement. The couple also learned how core local skate shops Boardroom
and Prestige had supported Boise skateboarders, of the early $10,000 Tony Hawk Foundation contribution, about the Boise Skate Association’s birth in 2010 and its endeavors to capture Mayor David Bieter’s ear (who replied, “Let’s do this thing!”) and that of the Boise city council. They learned of the coordination with Boise Parks and Recreation, and the relentless, nearly decade-long fundraising efforts through local skateboarders’ selling hot chocolate and special Boise-specific decks, among many other things. The result was a balance of around $40,000, but that wasn’t enough. In 2014, several years into the project, Jamie Scott, president of the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation, gave the park a huge boost in the form of $1.25 WINTER 2016
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million. Understanding how vital skateboarding was to the community, the Foundation pushed it all through.
“AS SOON AS THEY GOT ON BOARD, THAT WAS IT,” SAID LORI WRIGHT AND JOSH DAVIS OF THE BOISE SKATEBOARD ASSOCIATION. “THEY LET US TAKE THE REINS, TOO. ‘YOU GUYS BUILD US A GREAT SKATE PARK’, THEY SAID.” The private funding allowed the selection of contractor Grindline, with the skating background and flexibility to make adjustments as construction went along, taking into account input from local skaters. “It was one of those things that’s too good to be true,” said Schillereff. “The city itself is all about everything Element and my personal life embody. And when a space right next to the park was available, where the building’s owner understood skating, it all started shaping itself.” When Schillereff spoke with Element staff at California headquarters, there was zero resistance.
“Our organization is very nimble,” Schillereff shared, “so we created a community center in Boise where skaters can congregate, a getaway retreat that mirrors our brand and what it’s really all about—the family values, the skateboarding culture, everybody’s happy.” In the interim, the Schillereffs purchased a home in Boise. Using a local builder and recycled and reclaimed materials, the Element 304 Americana community center exists to nurture and support the Boise skateboarding community, with a specific goal to empower youth toward reaching their full potential. The building’s shop at the entrance provides a small selection of Element merchandise, as well as merchandise from local Prestige and Boardroom shops, and has a strategic policy of directing people to local shops for further sales and service. Early August saw thousands attending the dual grand opening of Rhodes Skate Park and Element’s 304 Americana shop, the Boise skating community’s dream come true. Johnny Schillereff deemed Rhodes “one of the best skate
parks in the world.” Element Brand hosted their largest-ever demo by its team of professional skateboarders including Nyjah Huston, Brandon Westgate, Nick Garcia, Greyson Fletcher, Chad Tim Tim, Mason Silva, Mark Appleyard, Julian Davidson, Tom Schaar, Chris Colbourn, Dominick Walker and Jacopo Carozzi, who were also joined by the Blood Wizard team and others. There was also an autograph signing, and a skate jam for locals. After a session in the new park, one skater commented, “Having Element here just adds to the legit-ness.”
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A LIFE IN THE SKY Ed Viesturs’ 18-year journey to the top of the world’s highest mountains By Adam Tanous
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F
or the better part of 18 years, Ed Viesturs spent each spring and fall in places where, physiologically speaking, the human body really does not belong. These are the upper reaches of the mountains that stand at least 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) higher than the sea, places where oxygen is so scarce that as soon as a climber finally gets to such a perch in the sky, his body essentially begins to die. Most people who dare to brave the avalanches, hurricane winds and double-digit sub-zero temperatures of these otherworldly places do so with the help of supplemental oxygen, which, in effect, tricks the body into thinking it is at a lower altitude than it actually is. Viesturs did not, and in summiting Annapurna—his 14th eight-thousander—on May 12, 2005, he became the sixth person in the world and the only American to do so ever. In the history of Himalayan climbing, which dates back to the turn of the last century, approximately 33 people have achieved this mark. It is a select club but, not surprisingly, one many have died trying to join.
The Power of Failure Despite his remarkable successes, Viesturs is very quick to point out his “failures”—the many times he didn’t summit. In one regard, however, these setbacks could be considered a badge of honor of sorts in that they just may have been the key to his longterm success.
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“For me to climb all 14 eight-thousanders, I went on 21 expeditions,” Viesturs told me one fall afternoon in Ketchum, Idaho, where Viesturs lives. “So, I missed on a third. On Everest, I went 11 times and climbed it seven times. I missed on a third … I knew going into this I couldn’t really decide the outcome; the mountain would … And if the conditions weren’t good and the risk was too great, I would just say, ‘It’s not happening,’ and not that I have to come back but that I get to come back. Yeah, you invest all of that time and energy and money, but, ultimately, I knew it wasn’t my choice; I would have to walk away if I needed to.” It was a lesson Viesturs learned in 1987 on his first Everest expedition. He and Eric Simonson were attempting to summit via the Great Couloir of the North Face. After two and a half months of hiking and climbing, he and Simonson were within 300 feet of the summit. However, out of ropes, and with a very technical pitch above them and the weather worsening, the pair came to the conclusion that they could probably get to the top but might not be able to get back down. It was a stinging disappointment, one that Viesturs wrote about in his book, “No Shortcuts to the Top” (Viesturs has written four books with Dave Roberts). He wrote, “I thought about those 300 feet every day for the next three years.” Reflecting on those critical moments in a climb, Viesturs said, “It’s all about decision-making and tempering ambition. There are so many climbers out
Everest Summit 29,035 ft
Camp 4
Camp 3
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Camp 2
Camp 1
Base camp 17,290 ft
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Photo courtesy Ed Viesturs
Viesturs ascends the north face of Annapurna. Maurice Herzog's climbing account "Annapurna" was what first inspired Viesturs to devote his life to climbing.
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there who say, ‘I’m here, I’ve spent a lot of time, a lot of energy, a lot of money, and I might not get another chance … I’m just going to go for it.' And they don’t consider the fact that it’s only halfway. And how many accidents happen on the way down? A lot. Because everyone uses everything for the one-way trip. There’s no plan for coming down.” For Viesturs, that decision making process is a visceral one, one partially based in fear. “People always think that we’re fearless,” he said. “But I say, no, we do have fear. Fear keeps you alive, it makes you look and listen and watch, it keeps you alert. But if you feel some uncontrollable trepidation, that something is just not right—I don’t feel good about this snow, or I don’t like what those clouds are doing, or I just feel anxiety—I’ve learned to say, based on my experience, something could potentially happen, and I’m going to turn around before it’s too late.” In all of Viesturs’ high-altitude climbing, he has gone against his instinct just once. In “No Shortcuts to the Top” Viesturs describes it as “the one big mistake of my climbing career.” It occurred in August 1992 during an ascent of K2, the world’s second highest mountain at 28,251 feet. Viesturs was climbing with Scott Fischer (who would subsequently die during a 1996 Everest summit attempt during which eight people died. The disaster was chronicled by Jon Krakauer in his book “Into Thin Air”). The two were camped at 24,300 feet trying to sleep before their summit bid when they received word that two other climbers—Chantal Mauduit and Thor Keiser—above them were in trouble. The next morning, Viesturs and Fischer put aside their summit plans and headed up the mountain to rescue the nearly snow blind Mauduit and exhausted Keiser. After climbing for two hours in horrendous weather with little visibility, Viesturs and Fischer had to turn back. The next day they tried again, roped together, as the face they had to climb was riddled with crevasses. The wind was blowing fiercely, and the climbers above struggling to get down were kicking off small avalanches as they moved. At one point, Viesturs got that feeling in his gut—he could sense the slope was getting dangerously loaded with snow. He yelled up at Fischer, who was above him, “Man, let’s not get ourselves killed doing this.” Viesturs then started digging a hole in the slope in which to anchor himself in the event an avalanche did occur. Moments later, Viesturs watched Fischer get swept off his feet by a wall of snow. The avalanche then engulfed Viesturs. Remarkably, his anchoring system held as the avalanche moved over him. Viesturs watched Fischer tumble past him in the wave of snow. As Fischer kept falling down the face, the rope connecting the two climbers pulled tight and yanked Viesturs from his improvised bunker. At that point, he and Fischer were pinwheeling down the slope toward 8,000 vertical feet of
cliffs. Viesturs did what he was trained to do—use his ice axe as a brake by driving it into the snow to gain purchase. After several attempts, he finally felt his axe hold in the snow. The rope joining the climbers pulled tight and Viesturs held the full weight of Fischer (225 pounds) until they stopped moving. Remarkably, neither of them was hurt. After collecting themselves, the two still had two people to rescue. Fischer and Viesturs found a steeper but icier and safer route to them and eventually got Mauduit and Keiser down to base camp. Despite the ordeal, Viesturs and Fischer decided to try again for the summit. After two days of waiting out a storm at 26,000 feet, they made their push to the summit. Again, with the massive snow accumulation and still four hours from the summit, Viesturs questioned whether they should keep going. But they did, and Viesturs knew that he was making a big mistake, all the while questioning himself as to whether the conditions were really that bad. After summiting, the climbers nearly got lost coming down in the newly fallen thigh-deep snow. Descending, they kicked off several small slab avalanches; all Viesturs could think was that he had made a last and fatal mistake. But Viesturs survived it, and freely admits that he got away with one. Still, he learned from the experience that came just five years into his 18-year quest.
A Lasting Partnership The following spring (1993) Viesturs met Veikka Gustaffson, a Finnish climber who would become for Viesturs “that perfect climbing partner” and with whom he would eventually go on 13 expeditions. The importance of good climbing partnerships is often overlooked by non-climbers. While mountain climbing would seem to be the ultimate individual sport, it is hardly so. One is literally tied to another person in the most adverse of conditions. A mistake by one is a mistake for both. For Viesturs, the most important condition for a partnership is that he has to like the other climber. “If I don’t like them at sea level, I’m not going to like them at 26,000 feet.” Second is trust. “We have to trust one another, otherwise there is no reason to rope up together.” Third, Viesturs feels that partners have to have a similar level of acceptable risk. What Viesturs learned on K2 was that he and Fischer were not well matched in terms of what was acceptable risk and what wasn’t. By contrast, he and Gustaffson were always in sync when it came to making those hard decisions on the mountain. It was a partnership that never fell apart. Viesturs still considers Gustaffson one of his “true-blue, best friends. We became like brothers.” (After Viesturs reached his goal, Gustaffson went on a few years later to summit all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks without oxygen as well. He now works in publishing in Finland.)
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14 PEAKS, 18 YEARS NANGA PARBAT June 23, 2003 26,657 ft
K2 August 16, 1992 28,251 ft
BROAD PEAK June 23, 2003 26,401 ft
GASHERBRUM II July 4, 1995 26,781 ft GASHERBRUM I July 15, 1995 26,529 ft
DHUALAGIRI May 4, 1999 26,795 ft
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Read a few books about high-altitude mountain climbing and one can’t help but be taken aback by the number of deaths, severe injuries, and limbs, toes and fingers lost to frostbite that litter even the upper echelons of the sport. In a hypoxic (oxygendeprived) fog, elite climbers have simply stepped off slopes, falling away for thousands of feet. They have fallen in crevasses never to climb out, or have been swept away by massive avalanches. Some have simply chosen to sit down in the snow and succumb to the exhaustion and cold. The grim facts make Viesturs’ record even more remarkable; not once during his 18-year quest to summit the world’s highest peaks did he suffer serious injury, frostbite, acute altitude sickness, pulmonary edema, or cerebral edema. Peter Whittaker, head of Whittaker Mountaineering and an elite climber and guide who has summited Everest with Viesturs, said of his colleague: “On the big mountains, you climb them on their terms. Risks are high, and it takes a laser focus to manage the hazards and maintain a reasonable margin of safety. Ed is a master at managing risk. Few climbers have pushed the limits the way he has without making a mistake and ending up a statistic.” What’s more, never once did Viesturs have to be rescued by others on the mountain. In fact, Viesturs put his own expeditions aside on six different occasions to rescue others on the mountain and, ultimately, saved lives. As dangerous as a high-altitude rescue can be, Viesturs considers it a “moral obligation.” For instance, Viesturs was on Everest with the IMAX expedition when the notorious May 10-11, 1996 storm enveloped the top of the mountain. During the storm, eight people perished on the mountain. Viesturs was instrumental in rescuing stranded climber Beck Weathers after he had miraculously survived 15 hours exposed to the horrendous storm.
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Photo courtesy Ed Viesturs
Measuring Success
Viesturs, right, with his longtime climbing partner, Veikka Gustaffson, after climbing Annapurna in 2005. This marked the end of Viesturs' 18-year quest.
The Training Ground Viesturs’ path to the top of the world began in one of the flattest places imaginable, Rockford, Ill. As a teenager, Viesturs read Maurice Herzog’s “Annapurna,” an account of the first summiting of that mountain in 1950. It immediately sparked a passion for climbing and adventure. While Viesturs and a friend had taught themselves the basics of rock climbing at the nearby Devil’s Lake crags, he realized the one-day outings weren’t enough for him. “I wanted to go on longer adventures, multi-day trips when you are on snow and in a tent, and there are glaciers and giant vistas,” he explained.
LHOTSE May 16, 1994 27,940 ft
ANNAPURNA May 12, 2005 26,545 ft
MANASLU June 23, 2003 26,781 ft
SHISHAPANGMA April 30, 2001 CHO OYU 26,335 ft October 6, 1994 26,864 ft
During college at the University of Washington, Viesturs climbed throughout the Cascades, developing his skills and experience. But it wasn’t until the summer of 1982, when he was hired by Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. (RMI), that Viesturs’ education really began. RMI had the guiding concession on Mt. Rainier and was staffed by many experienced climbers, including Eric Simonson, Phil Ershler and George Dunn, all of whom were mentors for Viesturs. “Rainier was my classroom, and these guys were my teachers.” Ultimately, Viesturs guided on Rainier during the summers for 10 years. In 1983, Viesturs began veterinary school at Washington State University. It was in the spring of his final year there, 1987, that Viesturs was invited by one of his mentors, Eric Simonson, on his first Everest expedition (one that ended 300 feet from the top). Following graduation, Viesturs took a job working as a veterinary doctor in Seattle. However, he was soon asking for time off to go back to Everest to climb the east face (the Kangshung Face) with his RMI friend Andy Politz. As it turned out, with ongoing avalanche activity, the group could never find a safe route to the top. Again, Viesturs had to turn back. However, the missed summit only fueled his passion for Himalayan climbing. When he was invited to go on a spring 1989 climb of Kangchenjunga, the world’s third highest mountain, Viesturs had to do some soul searching about whether he could continue working as a vet and pursue his passion of climbing. “I knew I couldn’t do both things well,” he said. “If I wanted to be really good at one of them, I needed to focus. So, I thought I’d focus on climbing for a year or two and see how it goes. In the end, I just never went back.” The decision came with a healthy dose of angst. He had invested eight years of schooling, a lot of money, and had two jobs as a working vet. “I figured I could build a career from that, but I decided
KANGCHENJUNGA May 18, 1989 28,169 ft
EVEREST May 8, 1990 29,029 ft
MAKALU May 16, 1994 27,838 ft
to leave it and try to invent a career as a mountain climber. And Americans weren’t really doing that. There were a few Europeans, like Messner, doing it but, it was easier over there because it’s such a big part of their culture. I thought, ‘Am I making a giant mistake here?” Viesturs took on part-time jobs and started cold calling outdoor companies seeking sponsorships or work as design consultant, product developer, ambassador and such. He said he’d call up companies, introduce himself and be greeted with, “Ed who?” But over time, he built up a climbing resume, and people began to take notice. Eventually, he had a stable of companies that would pay him a retainer to do trade shows, photo shoots, and product testing. Those retainers enabled him to pay his bills and go on expeditions to the Himalaya and Karakorum Mountains.
The Air We Breathe The scope of Viesturs' achievement—summiting all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks over 18 years—is remarkable enough, but the fact that he did it without the aid of supplemental oxygen puts him in truly rarefied company. To appreciate the difficulty of functioning at these altitudes, it is helpful to understand basic human physiology. Put simply, we eat food—fats, proteins and carbohydrates—to generate the energy that enables our muscles to contract, cells to divide, proteins to be synthesized—all of the actions of life. Oxygen is essential to this process; without it, metabolism won’t proceed, just as a fire starved of oxygen ceases to burn. At high altitudes, air is less dense; in other words, there is less oxygen for any given volume of air, so its pressure is reduced. Near the summit of Everest, for example, the partial pressure of oxygen in the air is one-third of that at sea level. Consequently, the
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Photo courtesy Ed Viesturs
Annapurna, 22,000 feet. Annapurna was the final 8,000-meter peak Viesturs' summited in his 18-year quest.
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pressure difference between the oxygen in the lungs and that in the arteries nearby is reduced. This pressure difference is what drives the oxygen into the bloodstream, so if it is diminished, less than normal oxygen is transported across the lung tissues to the blood. The supply of oxygen begins to fall short of the demand by the body. Dr. Peter Hackett, a professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and one of the foremost experts on high-altitude medicine, heads the Institute of Altitude Medicine in Telluride, Colo. He, too, has, summited Everest. He also happens to be the physician for the Rolling Stones when they are on tour. “The body has a normal response to low oxygen levels,” Hackett explained. “Its number one defense is to increase breathing (the rate and volume of breaths) and how much you do that is genetically determined. A climber can consciously increase his breathing when climbing, but when he goes to sleep automatic mechanisms take over. It’s called hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR). A lot of studies have shown that to be a good high altitude climber it is helpful to have a vigorous HVR.” Hackett explained that over time at high altitude—approximately five to 10 days—the body increases its ventilatory response. So, for example, a climber who walks into Everest base camp at 17,600 feet might have an oxygen saturation of 78 percent. After a week acclimatization period during which his breathing response increases, the climber’s oxygen saturation level might go up to 85 percent. Also over an extended time, the body will produce more hemoglobin, which, in effect, helps deliver more oxygen to the body. Through various studies of his physiology, Viesturs has learned that his lungs are very large, nearly 40 percent bigger than average (7 liters versus the average 5 liters). So, at any given altitude, Viesturs can move more oxygen into his system than most people. When Hackett studied Viesturs, he found that the climber had a high “VO2 max,” which is a common measure of maximum physical exercise capacity. “It’s good to have a high VO2 max so you can move quickly, and it’s good to be in good shape, but it doesn’t guarantee success for high altitude climbing.” Dr. Terry O’Connor, an ER physician at the Wood River Medical Center, a climber who has also summited Everest, and a member of the faculty of the University of Colorado’s section of wilderness and environmental medicine, agrees with Hackett. O’Connor considers VO2 max “a useless predictor of illness or success at altitude. In general, people with good VO2 max are ‘fitter,’ and therefore may be more efficient at altitude for a given workload. But the amount of oxygen you have available to burn and how you respond in that 'oxygen-starved’ milieu is way more important than how much fuel you can burn if given an unlimited supply. Oxygen transport
during exercise at high altitude is exceedingly more dependent on the ventilatory drive (HVR).” Dr. Hackett emphasized another aspect of Viesturs’ physiology: anaerobic threshold. This is the point of physical exertion at which the body begins to carry out metabolism without oxygen, and lactic acid begins to build up in the muscles. It is the “burn” people feel during intense athletic exertion. As Hackett explained, at your anaerobic threshold, “your muscles can’t push any farther, lactic acid builds up and you just have to quit.” According to Hackett, the national average for anaerobic threshold is 55 percent (of VO2 max). “Ed Viesturs’ anaerobic threshold was 85 percent, which is very, very high. I think that’s one of the more outstanding features of Ed’s physiology,” he said. As Viesturs put it to me, between the larger-thanaverage lungs, high VO2 max and high anaerobic threshold, he could go “longer and farther before going anaerobic than the average climber… in other words, because of the physiology I had by accident, I suffered less.” Hackett emphasized that summiting in these extreme environments is more than a physiological feat. “Just being athletic and being able to exercise a lot doesn’t mean you can move across snow and ice and rocks easily. And that has a lot to do with biomechanics and experience and training. No matter what your VO2 max is, you can’t be a klutz.” There is also a psychological factor that can’t be overlooked. On a summit push, Viesturs told me, one travels agonizingly slowly, and it gets harder the farther one goes. “You might be breathing 15 times for every step. Imagine that’s all you do hour after hour. There are a lot of times when you could come up with an excuse to say, ‘I’m too tired, or I’m too cold, or it’s not worth it.’ That’s when your mind has to keep pushing you.” Climbing mountains at altitudes at which the human body really isn’t meant to live clearly demands more than superior physical attributes. Fitness, a vigorous HVR, big lungs, large heart stroke volume, high hemoglobin count are certainly necessary but perhaps not sufficient. The path to the top of the world demands a lot more. Pure strength of will, decision-making skills, experience, teamwork, prodigious self-confidence that can coexist with humility, patience, and luck are all critical pieces of the puzzle. Perhaps most basic to the endeavor is desire. What kid hasn’t looked up a neighborhood peak and wondered, “what’s up there?” For some kids it’s a localized curiosity; for others, like Viesturs, it goes beyond that. The seed of curiosity blossoms into a curiosity about the world, the mysteries it might hold, and, ultimately, curiosity about ourselves. The question comes down to: Can I make it? What exactly am I capable of on this Earth?
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Photo courtesy of the James Castle Collection and Archive
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James Castle at work, Boise, Idaho, circa 1962.
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Untitled (book) © 2010 James Castle Collection and Archive LP, All Rights Reserved.
ENTERING THE WORLD OF JAMES CASTLE HOW A SELF-TAUGHT ARTIST INDEPENDENTLY EXPLORED THE THEMES OF 20TH CENTURY ART Words: Eve Chandler Artwork: James Castle
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any art collectors and fine arts professionals in America and Europe are more familiar with the artwork of Idaho artist James Castle than most Idaho residents. Castle was a self-taught artist who was born in Garden Valley in 1899 and lived the majority of his life in Boise, until he died in 1977. “James Castle’s art is a major force in the contemporary art world. The doors have been opened, and his art is included in major museums in America,” said former Boise Art Museum Curator Sandy Harthorn. “I can’t remember any art professional who didn’t quickly become fascinated by Castle’s artwork.” She met Castle in the mid-1970s and was instantly drawn to the complexity and beautiful forms in his art. Castle’s art has been compared with French Post-Impressionist Vincent van Gogh, Italian 20th century modern art master Giorgio Morandi, and American Abstract Expression-
ist Richard Diebenkorn. Castle has had 33 solo exhibitions of his art in galleries and museums in Europe, Southeast Asia and throughout the United States, and participated in over 30 group exhibitions. Hundreds of books, films, printed and social-media articles have critically examined the artwork of James Castle. His stature as an American self-taught artist plays a significant role in the study of art history. “In Castle’s lifetime’s work, I think he addressed elements of aesthetics: line, color, form, shape, juxtaposition, composition, and explored a range of stylistic elements from realism to abstraction,” said Harthorn. “In his life’s work, Castle explored perspective, impressionism, and major elements that developed through the history of art. He discovered perspective for himself that took centuries for artists to develop. To achieve all of those realizations in his life’s work is a phenomenal achievement.” The James Castle Collection and Archive is located in Boise, and managing partner Jacqueline Crist oversees the WINTER 2016
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Untitled (kitchen interior) © 2008 James Castle Collection and Archive LP, All Rights Reserved.
Untitled © 2016 James Castle Collection and Archive LP, All Rights Reserved.
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Untitled (pink house/abstract) © 2016 James Castle Collection and Archive LP, All Rights Reserved.
Untitled (figure in red coat) © 2016 James Castle Collection and Archive LP, All Rights Reserved.
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Untitled (kitchen interior) © 2016 James Castle Collection and Archive LP, All Rights Reserved.
Untitled (farmscape with power lines) © 2016 James Castle Collection and Archive LP, All Rights Reserved.
53 preservation, scholarly study, and loans of Castle’s artwork to major museums and institutions. “James Castle is one of the great American artists, and he was a self-taught artist,” said Crist. She believes Castle has often been mislabeled as a folk or primitive artist, but these art movements do not aptly describe his work. Folk artists are associated with a community of artists from a specific region or cultural ethnicity; primitive art is defined as that of artists from undeveloped countries who have not been exposed to the technological advancements of the Western world. While Castle lived in rural towns in Idaho, he was not isolated from family, friends, and cultural norms of his time. Respected art curator Ann Percy from the Philadelphia Museum of Art has spent years studying and researching Castle’s artwork. Her scholarly book, “James Castle: A Retrospective,” accompanied Percy’s curated exhibition of Castle’s work shown in major museums across the United States. Percy writes, “His art is imbued with a profound sense of place—the familiar milieu of the three small farms in Garden Valley, Star and Boise, Idaho, that he and his family occupied successively during his lifetime, which he depicted in ways both real and surreal—and is rooted as well in the visual stimulus of the broad range of popular mass-media publications and consumer products that entered the typical American home of the time. It was also, of course, a creation of his own remarkable mind, a mind that was always occupied, always curious, probing and analytical, persistently seeking visual solutions to fundamental questions concerning the
structure of things, the ordering of serial imagery, the nature of language, and the borders between the animate and the inanimate.” Castle taught himself how to draw and paint on paper, create constructions and books, and invented his own alphabet and textual pieces. He has been described as having a great curiosity, a passionate and obsessive love of drawing, and having created unique forms of artwork. Castle experimented with patterns, created stylized forms that he repeatedly drew in landscapes. His art ranged from realistic landscape depictions to abstracted art hinting at figures and the natural world. Castle was born in rural Garden Valley in 1899 to Mary Scanlon Castle and Francis “Frank” Castle. The family was a large Irish Catholic family with nine children; two daughters died in infancy. The Castles lived a simple life of providing for their family’s needs through farming and serving as postmasters for the Garden Valley post office. Their home life was enriched by music, art and an extended family living in close proximity. They did not travel or have the means to purchase extravagant goods, but Castle grew up in a large family with close ties to the community. Castle was born prematurely and was profoundly deaf. Two theories have circulated regarding the cause of his deafness. One is that Mary Castle rushed to help fight a fire at her sister Emma’s neighboring farm the night prior to her giving birth to James, and she gave birth a couple of months early, which possibly caused his deafness. Another theory, sugWINTER 2016
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Untitled (house with power lines) © 2016 James Castle Collection and Archive LP, All Rights Reserved.
gested by cousin Eleanor Scanlon Thompson, was that Mary caught the measles from her daughter, Nellie, around the time James was born. Subsequently, Nellie became deaf, and James was born without the faculty to hear. In the art world, controversy surrounds the dilemma of whether art historians and curators should define artists solely by their work, or interpret art based on artists’ personal stories and classify their art by the handicaps or hardships in their lives. Crist offered, “The difference is the biography of outsider artists led the discussion on the artist. First you talked about the artist’s disability, and then you discussed the art. … Our stated goal was to place emphasis on James Castle’s art before learning about his personal story.” “The work of James Castle stands on its own merit, without knowing James Castle was deaf and lived in rural Idaho,” said Cate Brigden, special projects manager for the James Castle Collection and Archive. “Castle captured the American rural West in a very pure, simple, quiet way. He depicted his subjects in every possible way. He explored and investigated buildings, objects, and people from every angle in his art.” Castle’s art served as a means to communicate with his family and the outside world. Between the ages of 11 and 12, Castle’s parents sent him to the Idaho State School for the Deaf and Blind, in Gooding, where he studied for the next five years. When he entered the school, Castle studied the oral method, which was based on lip reading and learning TERRITORY–MAG.COM
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to speak. This proved to be an impossible task for Castle to master since he had never heard the spoken word. Castle had three basic hand signals: “go,” “eat,” and “love”—the last of which was to place his hand over his heart. Harthorn remembers that when she met Castle, he made just a few guttural sounds. Even with limited verbal communication skills, he was an integral member of the family. When Castle’s mother, Mary, was near the end of her life, she asked her youngest daughter, Peggy, to bring James into her immediate family and care for him for the rest of his life. Mary and all of Peggy’s siblings agreed that the family’s five-acre homesite on Eugene Street and Castle Drive should be given to Peggy and her husband, Guy Wade. The Wades had four children: Gail, Georgia, Geraldine or “Gerry,” and Wes, who fondly remember Uncle Jimmy. He insisted on having a night for doing the dishes, he babysat his nieces and nephews, and he loved to watch Red Skelton on TV with the family. He adored his sister and brother-in-law, and even dressed like Guy and would put his thumbs in his overalls just like Guy. “James had a special bond with Peggy, and she immediately understood what James wanted,” said Crist. Family members recall Castle began drawing once he was old enough to hold a pencil, and continued to create art until a few hours before he died. His body of artwork has
Untitled (bottles and jars) © 2016 James Castle Collection and Archive LP, All Rights Reserved.
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Untitled © 2016 James Castle Collection and Archive LP, All Rights Reserved.
Untitled (suit) © 2008 James Castle Collection and Archive LP, All Rights Reserved.
Untitled © 2016 James Castle Collection and Archive LP, All Rights Reserved. WINTER 2016
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Untitled (figure in suit) © 2015 James Castle Collection and Archive LP, All Rights Reserved. TERRITORY–MAG.COM
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been estimated between 5,000 to upwards of 20,000 pieces. Putting a number on the size of the collection is very difficult, since some of his art was lost, destroyed in a fire, or forgotten when the family moved to Star in 1923, and again when the family purchased land in the Pierce Park subdivision and moved to Boise in 1931. Yet even with the lost artwork, the size of the existing James Castle collection might be one of the largest intact collections of an artist’s body of work. Art historians and scholars can study and research the collection and archives to understand the development of the artist through his lifetime of work. “It is really touching how the family took care of him and respected his artwork,” Crist said. “He took up residence in an outbuilding in the summer, and he would work on his art all summer long. His relatives, nieces, and nephews knew they could not interrupt his work; they respected his space and would not interfere while James was creating his artwork.” Castle was obsessive in his production of art. He created pictures using soot from the family’s woodburning stove, mixed with water and spit to create nuanced landscapes with beautiful gradations of the color gray. Castle fell in love with certain forms that are seen repeatedly in his landscapes and interiors. He also produced color pieces and assemblages with found objects from commercial advertising, string, cardboard and other found objects. Castle made handmade books and text pieces where he invented his own alphabet, numbers, and characters. The book covers were often made from matchbook covers, wrapping paper, and commercial packaging like cardboard soapboxes, butter cartons, and advertising flyers. Castle would store his art in the rafters of the shed, under the floorboards in the foundation, and he would make small boxes out of cardboard or commercial packaging that would contain 40 or 50 small drawings. He was prolific and intense about constantly creating art.
“James Castle was very private and possessive of his artwork,” added Crist. “He did not give away his artwork. James became hysterical when visitors touched his art and when they asked to take away his art.” Yet Castle saw his art as a vehicle for communicating with people. Crist was told by Peggy Castle that, “When someone visited, he would bring out a piece of his artwork to communicate with the visitor. He would tap the visitor on the arm, and then he would lean down to look at the reaction of the visitor to his artwork. If the visitor dismissed his art, he would never show that person another piece.” Castle did live to see his art recognized by professionals in the art world. His art first received notice when his nephew, Bob Beach, took some of Castle’s artwork to his art professor at the Museum Art School in Portland, Oregon. The professor was intrigued by Castle’s work and an exhibit of his art was held at the school in March 1951. The exhibit, “A Voice of Silence: Drawings by James Castle,” was curated by the Image Gallery in Portland, Oregon, and then traveled to the Boise Art Museum and the California College of Arts and Crafts, in Oakland, California, in the early to mid-1960s. “The first time I met James Castle was in the Boise Art Museum,” said Harthorn. “The family brought him in to look at his artwork that had been in the Boise Cascade collection, and was then donated to the museum and appeared in a 1976 exhibit. James was probably with Peggy, he recognized that it was his art, and he was really happy they were on the wall. He would touch them. He seemed pleased and proud. He knew his books and his artwork were important. “It was the right time and the right place for James Castle to be discovered in the early 1990s. The right art professionals took interest, and Jacqueline Crist was the right person to share his art with the world,” said Harthorn. “Castle has a national and international reputation from being in major museum collections and in international art fairs. His work is very distinctive and recognizable. A part of it is that his personal story draws people to his work.”
PRESERVING JAMES CASTLE’S HOME
Untitled © 2016 James Castle Collection and Archive LP, All Rights Reserved.
The City of Boise is preserving the home of James Castle where he worked as an artist for 45 years. Castle moved with his family to the home in 1931 that sits on the corner of Castle Drive and Eugene Street. Later, Castle’s sister Peggy inherited the home, where she cared for James, with help from her husband and four children.
Rachel Reichert, the Castle project manager of the Department of Arts and History, has been working with architect Byron Folwell to preserve the site that will open in the summer of 2017. The primary restoration plan is for the artist shed and the trailer where Castle created his art. Prior to making any changes to the site, Reichert and Folwell are meticulously documenting the current condition of the home and outbuildings. The James Castle Collection and Archive will donate $100,000 to support programs at the house.
A residency program will be established in the house for artists, historians, writers, and other professionals who receive a grant to study Castle’s work. “The city wants to ignite stories and conversation around Castle’s work and the time he lived in Boise,” said Reichert.
The James Castle Collection and Archive is located in Boise and managing partner Jacqueline Crist works with six employees to oversee the preservation, scholarly study, and loans of Castle’s artwork to major museums and institutions.
“The homesite will be a place of contemplation, reflection and meditation for people wanting to experience James Castle,” said Reichert.
The modified home will be about 2000 square feet, and will include an artist’s studio, a small apartment for visiting residents, a space for exhibits and presentations, and a bookstore and sales shop.
— Eve Chandler
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Habitat
Awash in Hot Water How the heat of the earth helped develop a city By Patti Murphy
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ore than 100 years ago, Boise’s Warm Springs Avenue got into hot water, and you could say that it was one of the best things that could have happened for the development of Boise. It all started with an unemployed well driller named Mr. Grumbling who, in the 1890s, paid numerous visits to two local businessmen, Hosea Eastman and William Ridenbaugh, trying to convince them to invest in drilling for hot water. Grumbling insisted that an area east of town “did not freeze around the spot in the winter, seemed warm near the surface and cattle had stepped in the soft earth never to appear again." Finally, his pestering paid off and Eastman and Ridenbaugh sunk two 400-foot wells that hit water registering 170 degrees Fahrenheit. It wasn’t long until water lines were constructed to bring hot water from the wells and houses began to spring up on an undeveloped road in east Boise, which we know today as Warm Springs Avenue. Soon, this new geothermal water was being pumped into homes as a method of heating in the winter. This was the early beginnings of today’s Boise Warm Springs Water District (BWSWD), the nation's first district geothermal system that today supplies natural hot water to about 300 homes in the Warm Springs area for home heating.
How geothermal heating works Del Eytchison, manager of the BWSWD, explained that heating with geothermal water is a fairly simple process once the equipment is installed. The water district brings the water to the surface and pumps it through distribution lines to the property. The homeowner is responsible for installing piping, a heat pump exchanger or radiators in the house. “The water flows into the heat exchanger, through the coils, and a fan blows the hot air through the ducts in the house, just like a furnace,” said Eytchison. Or, in many older houses, the hot water flows directly through radiators in each room, heating the house through convection heat. Eytchison said that the district charges about $1.50 per 1,000 gallons of water, and it supplies around 244 million gallons per season. “The water temperature stays consistent at 177 degrees, which is not more than one degree different from when the Warm Springs district first started pumping in 1893,” he said.
Geothermal water creates a tropical microenvironment Once the water’s heat has been used, many homeowners on the Warms Springs system simply eject the water into the canal, creating sort
of a tropical microenvironment. “If you go down to the ditch in January or February, the whole canal is flowing and steamy and you’ve got bamboo and elephant ears and all these tropical plants growing next to it in the middle of January,” Eytchison said. “And it just creates its own microclimate because all the wasted geothermal water is being let out into the canal, which they’ve been doing for more than 100 years.” Warm Springs resident Betty Munis agreed. “We always have fish in the canal yearround, and ducks that just love it, and raccoons who are always down there taking a bath.” Munis, whose house on Warm Springs was built in 1894, heats her house by running geothermal water through radiators in each room. She said the system is both efficient and saves money. “When we went to redo our home, we saw that inside the walls there was hardly any insulation,” she said. “We have stone, which keeps the house cool in the summer, and with the geothermal heat in winter you hardly need anything else.” She said that the spent water that heats her house then flows out to heat a freestanding garage, and over to their greenhouse. “I can start everything much earlier, and, in the fall, keep everything going later,” she said of her vegetable gardening. “Finally, our used hot water goes down to our neighbor’s pond. WINTER 2016
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OFFICE TOWER PRODUCTION PUMP STATION BOISE FRONT FAULT ZONE
PARKING STRUCTURE/ CENTRAL SERVICES LEN B. JORDAN BUILDING
HALL OF MIRRORS
BOISE GEOTHERMAL WELLS INJECTION PUMP STATION STATE LIBRARY
IDAHO SUPREME COURT
SAND AND GRAVEL CLAY 100 FEET
SAND BASALT
STATE CAPITOL
CLAY 950 FEET 1,200 FEET
BASALT
1,700 FEET INJECTION ZONE 1,700 FEET - 2,150 FEET PRODUCTION ZONE 1,300 FEET - 2,550 FEET TOTAL DEPTH 3,030 FEET
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They always have a lot of critters down there, especially in the winter.” One year a pipe broke and Munis had her own Old Faithful by the front entryway. “When we went to replace a broken pipe, we found it was the original wooden pipe laid more than 100 years ago. It’s amazing that it held up that long.”
Other geothermal sources in Boise While BWSWD is the oldest geothermal district in the nation, it is one of four districts in the Boise area. The other three other are managed by the City of Boise, the Veterans Administration and the State of Idaho, and provide approximately 775 million gallons of geothermal water to more than 85 government buildings and businesses in the downtown core and Boise State University each year. The different systems function independently, and operate their own wells and unique distribution system. The water temperatures for these systems range from 155 to 175 degrees Fahrenheit and the wells range in total depth from 400 to over 3,100 feet. Jon Gunnerson, geothermal coordinator with the Boise City Public Works Department, the largest geothermal district in the country, said that Boise City is set up a bit different from the Warm Springs district. “Boise has a TERRITORY–MAG.COM
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two-pipe system, where once a facility uses the water for heating, we collect it again and reinject the water back into the same well we pumped it out of, making a truly sustainable, renewable resource.” He said that in the early 1980s, when the Boise system was first being developed, it didn’t have an injection well and the used water was sent into the Boise River. “Year after year the aquifer kept declining and we started getting sued by other users of geothermal who said wells were drying up,” Gunnerson explained. “In 1999, we drilled an injection well and the very next year it started coming back up. In 2013, we exceeded pre-1983 levels and the levels still continue to climb. We took the right steps to find a solution and now the resource is better and healthier than ever. A lot of downtown Boise would not have developed the way it did if it wasn’t for this natural hot water source being available,” he added. Boise City heats 5.5 million square feet of buildings every year, and the only costs are to run a pump at the production well and injection well. “We’re paying maybe $1,000 per month in the wintertime for power to heat the biggest buildings here in downtown Boise,” Gunnerson said. “It’s a very simple and unique natural resource. We don’t have to put any energy into heating this water. We pump
"The Capitol Mall Geothermal Energy Project" published by the State of Idaho, Department of Administration
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it out at 177 degrees and we reinject it back into the aquifer at about 120 degrees so there is still a lot of heat and potential when we are reinjecting it." However, the farther away the water is pumped from the aquifer, the cooler it gets. “Right now, we get at as far as the farthest end of BSU. We pump it out at 177 degrees and they receive it at 165 degrees,” Gunnerson added.
Where does the heat come from? Gunnerson said there is a debate as to where the source of heat is coming from. “The Idaho central mountains are our nation’s largest batholith, meaning it used to be magma underground and, as it was cooling, it was forced through some tectonic plates to the surface. There are two schools of thought: One is that this big ball of magma is still hot in the middle and any water that comes in contact with it heats up and finds the path of least resistance and comes up to the surface as the hot springs. The second school of thought is this batholith is pretty old and it’s in the decay process in which energy is released. I just like to say that there are hot rocks beneath us. “It’s just one of those wonderful hidden resources that we have available.”
Habitat
‘The Love of Generations’ Nearly nine decades later the Egyptian Theatre remains a community treasure By Patti Murphy
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or 90 years, Boise’s Egyptian Theatre has been a gathering place for locals of all ages to slip into the dark and lose themselves in the wonderment and escapism of show business. The iconic theater on the corner of Capital Boulevard and Main Street in downtown Boise opened with much pomp on April 19, 1927. Like many U.S. theaters during the 1920s, the striking architecture of the Egyptian reflected the fascination with Egypt sweeping the country following the 1923 discovery of King Tut’s tomb. Stepping across the threshold was like entering a pharaoh’s palace. Regal and mysterious, it was a visual feast with its red, green, blue and gold decorative paint and carpeting, Egyptian symbols and gleaming gold-leaf motif surrounding the massive proscenium. This single-screen theater was, and still is, an architectural treasure and cherished local landmark.
The near loss of a treasure But its historical significance wasn’t always appreciated. Over the years, it changed hands and suffered both neglect and misguided revamps, including the time someone completely covered the elaborately decorated lobby walls with beige paint. With every new owner came a new name: the Fox in the 1930s, the Ada in the 1940s and the Egyptian again in the late 1970s. In the 70s, an urban renewal effort to tear down the old to make room for the new swept through Boise. The plan was to turn an eight-block space in the heart of downtown into a shopping mall. Historic buildings on four blocks of downtown Boise fell victim to the wrecking ball before the mall plan was relocated to another area of town. The thenAda Theater was on the demolish list, but was purchased and saved by Earl Hardy, who renamed it the Egyptian and undertook its first renovation in 1978. The Hardy Foundation commissioned the most recent renovation in 1999. Much work needed to be done to return the elegant movie house to its previous glory. Paint layers were removed and microscopically examined to restore the original color schemes. Gleaming gold leaf was restored on the columns and statues. Approximately 30 paint colors were used throughout, with some areas requiring more than 70 differTERRITORY–MAG.COM
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ent tones, according to records of Conrad Schmitt Studios, the restoration artists. “It has taken some updating, but it continues to be restored as needed to keep it in a historically relevant state,” said theater manager Destiny Lee, who has worked at the Egyptian since 2004. She noted that the original 1970s carpeting runs throughout the theater and is regularly restored.
Entertaining generations of Boiseans There's something charming about being able to sit in a dark theater, in the same spot where your parents and grandparents also made memories. “So many people in our community, our elderly generation who grew up coming to movies here, bring family and friends and you hear them explain that the theater was going to be torn down, but it’s amazing it's still here,” said Lee. “They share stories about the wonderful experiences they’ve had here. Hearing a grandmother say to her grandkids, ‘Your grandfather kissed me for the first time up in that balcony,’ it’s just so sweet. It’s the love of the generations.” Lifelong Boisean Jane DeChambeau remembered that going downtown in the 1960s and 70s to see a movie was a “special occasion,” especially at the Egyptian. “I remember going to the midnight showing of ‘Love Story’ and just crying my eyes out,” said DeChambeau. “It was on New Year’s Eve, and we arrived at the theater in 1971 and left in 1972. There's more to being there at midnight than I will tell,” she teased, “but every time I'm in the theater now I glance over to where I was sitting and relive the whole night.” DeChambeau added, “I remember ‘Love Story’ in my childhood, and my daughter tells me that she remembers going to the Harry Potter premiere dressed as Hermione,” said DeChambeau. “We have such fun talking about our memories from that theater.” Boisean Debbie Cook said, “When I was in junior high school, we went to the Egyptian to see ‘Cleopatra.’ The movie was quite racy for that time, and it was a big premiere and quite the to-do. I remember looking up at the balcony seats, and always thought it would be so cool to sit in one of those.”
Photos by Todd Meier
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The new Egyptian of today
A theater for future generations
Today, the Egyptian remains true to its original architecture, but its entertainment focus has evolved with the cultural needs and demands of the growing Boise community. No longer a full-time commercial movie theatre, the intimate, 745-seat venue now serves as a premier concert venue, opera space and community host to a variety of happenings. A huge community advocate, the Egyptian regularly hosts events such as Boise Classic Movies, in which Boiseans vote online for the films they’d like to see and the winning movie is then shown during a special community screening. Other events include film festivals and premieres, special silent films, weddings, guest speakers, author readings and fundraising concerts for the local food bank and homeless shelter. “We are providing a space to give back to those in need in our community and the money is staying local,” said Lee.
“I am so happy that the right people stayed involved with the Egyptian so it continues to be a highlight of the community,” DeChambeau said. “Today, when I go to the Egyptian, I cherish the feeling I have in there, the feeling that I have been in that space during many different chapters of my life.” Said Cook, “It’s wonderful that it’s being used for so many great things now. I cannot believe the historic buildings that were lost in our city, and how fortunate that this building was not destroyed. I would be sick if anything happened to this theater.” Lee sums up by saying, “We are more than just movies. We are a true community event center, and our goal is to continue being a big part of the community and bring in great entertainment. “It’s all about remembering how to live and enjoy life again. We just try to spread the love.” WINTER 2016
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A Funky and Charming Mix of Incongruity David Hale’s organic approach to redeveloping the Linen District By Jill Kuraitis
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lways a lively place, downtown Boise has, over the past decade, grown even more dynamic and attractive. Both homegrown and professional music, arts and cultural events, headlined by the now nationally-known yearly music festival, Treefort; the growth of Boise State University; a vigorous foodie culture with new boutique restaurants and bars; small tech companies which now call Boise home—these are just a few of the vibrant features of the town where you can, seriously, fish the river on your lunch hour. Before the real estate market, in his words, “started to tank in 2007,” Portland developer David Hale eyed the area around Grove and 14th Streets in 2005 and liked the funky, mismatched architecture, the location at the western fringe of downtown, and the potential for a unique kind of high-density, mixed neighborhood seen nowhere else in Boise. He moved his business to the City of Trees, bought the building formerly housed by the American Linen Company, and made a start with offices there. He looked for a boutique restaurant for the ground floor but didn’t find the right fit, but because of its spacious room with a dance-hall sort of feel, soon he was renting it out for events. Private parties, bands, weddings and corporate events were his first clients, and he didn’t even have to TERRITORY–MAG.COM
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advertise. People just showed up. “The recession was even worse by 2008 and it hit the real estate market hard,” said Hale. “Most developers were leveraged to the hilt. The Linen Building’s events were my saviors— they made it possible to survive through those years.” Hale, who wins awards for his projects, is a Tigger-like bundle of enthusiasm and energy who speaks in a refreshingly blunt, authentic way. A lot of information is packed into each of his sentences, so it’s a trick to sort it all out. But in between anecdotes about this or that Boise building there was the story of his development philosophy and how the Linen District is a prime example. “I like to use what’s already there,” he said. Starting from scratch is one thing, he said, but helping a neighborhood grow organically is his passion. “Anybody can build fresh retail, but it doesn’t have the feeling of a city’s history and real neighborhoods.” On the main stretch of Grove Street, with its Linen Building, Hale developed Big City Coffee, the hub of the District where coffee and delicious American food meets the Internet meets the people of Boise; the Modern Hotel—a former ugly motor lodge from the 1960s redesigned in mid-century modern boutique-style, with a wooded courtyard, bar and gourmet restaurant; and
BOISE: a fierce little city where everyone wants to live—after they visit. Once here, they rave to their friends. What about a place where wildlife tracks in the snow dance down your suburban street? Where a hundred cars will stop to accommodate a baby duck parade? Where you can hike the foothills on your lunch hour and be on the ski slopes in 30 minutes after work and schuss until 10? Wouldn’t you like a town where you can write code by day and listen to great music downtown at night? they ask. And, before you know it, Boise has a new resident.
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Linen Building 1402 W Grove Street 1) A'Tavola 1515 W Grove Street 2) Alloway Lighting 1420 W Grove Street 3) Baldwin Lock & Key 1521 W Main Street 4) Big City Coffee and Cafe 1416 W Grove Street 5) Boise Fire Station #5 212 S 16th Street 6) Cabe and Cato Inc. 1500 W Grove Street 7) Carpet One 1507 W Main Street 8) CosmoProf 1401 W Grove Street 9) Crazy Neighbor 1415 W Grove Street 10) Designer Floors 1400 W Front Street 11) Ed Wyse Beauty Supply 1516 W Grove Street 12) Eyes of the World Imports Inc 1576 W Grove Street 13) G Fit Studio 312 S 3rd Street 14) Foxtrot Style for Living 1419 W Grove Street 15) Idaho State Liquor Store 1419 W Grove Street 16) Idaho Youth Ranch Thrift Store 1417 W Main Street 17) Ikon Tattoo and Body Piercing 1519 Main Street 18) Mister Car Wash 1300 W Front Street 19) Mouvance Winery 1414 W Grove Street 20) Oakley Moody Service Inc. 1375 W Grove Street 21) Outdoor Exchange 1405 W Grove Street 22) Petso Financial Consultants 1405 W Main Street 23) Rhodes Skate Park 1555 W Front Street 24) Second Chance Building Materials Center 1423 W Grove Street 25) The Modern Hotel and Bar 1314 W Grove Street
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Visitors don’t say BOISE is friendly; they say it’s really friendly. 66
Boiseans are justifiably proud of the many lists on which Boise has been named one of the top 10 most livable, safest, and generally greatest little cities in America. Forbes and Time Magazine are just two to give shout-outs to Boise.
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Above: the courtyard outside the Modern Hotel provides a quiet retreat from the bustle all around it. Below: all the world under one roof at Big City Coffee & Cafe.
around the corner on 16th, a townhouse project just getting off the ground. “Residential was part of the original plan,” said Hale, “but it was derailed by the recession. So I’m super-excited to be getting back to that.” A walk through the Linen District today shows a successful development with the need for more tenants, but its unconventional and funky shops and businesses are doing well. They line both sides of Grove Street and the incongruity of the mix is charming. The Crazy Neighbor, a theatrical costume, accessories, and cosplay shop with amusing displays of hats, beards, wigs, glasses, jewelry and every sort of dress-up item you could want, holds the center on one side, and is joined by Second-Chance Building Materials, which benefits a homeless project, a state liquor store, a beauty supply, a secondhand outdoor-equipment and clothes shop and a yoga studio. The block looks as if it has been there forever, but has been spiffed up recently, without the boring beige consistency of a strip mall. A corner landmark is Eyes of the World, an WINTER 2016
import store with enormous inventory from around the globe. It’s worth a few hours to find that unique textile, embroidered Indian sari, or boho wedding dress you’re looking for. Books about the 1960s, 70s and various countercultures are just another thing that gives the Linen District a bit of an early Haight-Ashbury vibe. At each end of the Linen District there are old, established local businesses with their own buildings: an auto repair and an electrical and lighting store. They visually “anchor” the area and give it a substantial feel. Stretching just beyond is the District’s newest showpiece, a’Tavola Gourmet Marketplace and Café. Its new and upscale exterior is another variety of architecture that adds to the interesting incongruity of storefronts. With the addition of Hale’s Idaho Street Townhomes—two of which sold within the first week of their offering—the Linen District will finally have the “mix” in “mixed use.” But as it is right now, it’s a neighborhood with a sense of place and is yet another feature that makes Boise interesting. It will only get better.
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Arts
Catch a Rising Star
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By Cheryl Haas
oise may seem isolated and a long way from the spotlight of national opera stages, but it’s a leap that an increasing number of young opera singers appear to make with seeming ease. Under the leadership of general manager Mark Junkert, Opera Idaho has become a
stepping-stone for talented singers with their eye on the ultimate brass ring: the Metropolitan Opera. “We’ve become a farm team,” said Junkert, who joined the organization in 2008. A good example is soprano Cecilia Lopez. Named one of opera’s “25 Rising Stars” by Opera News, she turned in a passionate and vulnerable performance last winter as the doomed
Violetta in Opera Idaho’s production of “La Traviata.” She grew up in the farm town of Rupert, Idaho, the daughter of Mexican immigrants. As a girl, she learned mariachi from her mother as they hoed fields of sugar beets and moved irrigation pipe. She remembers hearing Beverly Sills (the Renee Fleming of the 1970s) on Sesame Street. As
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Cecilia Violetta López performs in 'The Turandot Project,' in August 2016. TERRITORY–MAG.COM
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Photo by Cory Weaver
Developing national talent at Opera Idaho
a teenager, Lopez became a popular mariachi singer for rodeos and quinceañeras but didn’t study music formally until she entered the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. She won the Freddie Award for Excellence in Opera at the prestigious Martina Arroyo Foundation (an organization that trains opera singers) for her Violetta while a student there. A critic from the New York Observer opined, “[Her] performance is among the loveliest I’ve witnessed on any stage. Her cool, shimmering soprano easily vaulted the coloratura hurdles of the first act.” Last year, Lopez understudied the role of Sylvianne in the Met’s production of the “Merry Widow.” After performances as a soloist in Vivaldi’s “Gloria” at Carnegie Hall, reprising Violetta at Ash Lawn opera last summer and undertaking the role of Micaela in “Carmen” at Michigan Opera theatre this fall, she returned to Boise this month as the soprano soloist in Handel’s “Messiah.” “When I audition a singer, I can tell in 30 seconds if this is someone I want to keep listening to,” said Junkert. “At the end of the audition, after two or three arias, if the singer is tiring, the high notes won’t be as good. About 15 seconds into Cecilia’s audition, I went, ‘Oh there we go!’ She had the same quality that she has now; she gets on stage and just lights it up.” Junkert, who has served as a judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions (a pathway for aspiring singers), said that the singer he’s hired who has had the most success in the U.S. to date is Christopher Job. Job, a handsome bass-baritone, sang the role of Olin Blitch in “Susannah,” one of a series of modern operas that Junkert staged at Opera Idaho. He recently graced the stage of the Met’s Live in HD series as Sir Walter Raleigh in the opera “Robert Devereaux” by Sir David McVicar. What is star quality? “It’s hard to describe, but I know it when I see it,” said Junkert. “It’s an ease of performing, and the voice has a quality that makes it stand out. I hear a lot of good voices but a rising star has that something that makes you perk up and really listen, and there’s something about their demeanor that makes you
want to watch them.” Eleni Calenos, a Greek soprano, clearly has that indefinable “something” that captivates audiences and critics alike. After appearing in the title role in “Tosca” at LOFT Opera in New York City last summer, she will reprise the role at Opera Idaho in February. The Wall Street Journal said this about her previous performance: “The real standout was Eleni Calenos’ searing performance as Tosca—passionate, mercurial, heart-on-thesleeve, with all the necessary vocal range stamina and fire.” Calenos has appeared in several leading roles at Opera Idaho, working under conductor Steven Crawford, a friend of Mark Junkert’s from his New York days. She sang Mimi in “La Boheme” in 2012, Cio-Cio San in “Madame Butterfly” in 2011 and Micaela in “Carmen” in 2014. Junkert keeps a file on singers he hears at various auditions, and, as he has the next four seasons planned out, he says he can listen for voices that not only fit the 673-seat Egyptian Theatre venue, but those that may fit an upcoming role. This file and his memory for good talent yielded the names he needed for the November 4 and 6 productions of “Die Fledermaus” with an all-Idaho cast. He first heard soprano Jessica E. Jones of Pocatello at her Met Council audition in 2011. She sang Rosalinda. Madison Leonard, a soprano who hails from Coeur d’Alene, first came to Junkert’s attention when she sang at the Merola Opera Program in San Francisco. She recently won first place at Houston Grand Opera’s competition for young singers. Baritone Curtis Crafton, the son of Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, studied at the College of Idaho and is currently pursuing a doctorate in voice at Indiana University in Bloomington. The cast was rounded out by local favorite baritone Jason Detwiler. Detwiler and his wife mezzo-soprano, Michele Detwiler, moved to Boise to raise a family, but both maintain a presence on national stages. “It’s a sign of how far this state has come for me to be able to cast an opera with singers who are all from Idaho,” said Junkert. “I couldn’t have done that eight years ago.”
DON’T MISS THESE UPCOMING DATES FOR OPERA IDAHO "The Winterreise Project" – Productions á la Carte
by Franz Schubert An amalgamation of voice and dance with baritone Jason Detwiler and dancer/ choreographer Lauren Edson. Jan. 20, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.
Black & White Gala Sapphires in the Sky
Opera Idaho’s largest fundraiser Feb. 4, 2017 at 6 p.m.
Operatini
A delicious cocktail, mouth-watering appetizers and incredible singing. Feb. 16, 2017 at 6: p.m.
"Tosca" – Main Stage Production by Giaccomo Puccini A melodrama about a volatile diva, a sadistic police chief and an idealistic artist. Feb. 24, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26, 2017 at 2:30 p.m.
Art Song Recital Series
Free concerts featuring artists from Opera Idaho's Resident Company. April 23, 2017 at 2:30 p.m.
Operatini
A delicious cocktail, mouth-watering appetizers and incredible singing. April 26, 2017 at 6 p.m.
"Werther" – Main Stage Production by Jules Massenet The story of a young poet who seeks the unattainable love of the beautiful Charlotte. May 5, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. May 7, 2017 at 2:30 p.m.
Children’s Concert May 20, 2017 at 11 a.m.
Art Song Recital Series
Free concerts featuring artists from Opera Idaho's Resident Company. May 21, 2017 at 2:30 p.m. June 11, 2017 at 2:30 p.m.
Visit operaidaho.org for details.
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Arts
WANTED Music director to make beautiful music with the Philharmonic By Cheryl Haas
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Discover
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“We have outstanding conductor candidates, great guest artists, and it’s going to be a super season.”
BOISE ARTS & EVENTS on the pages of
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lassical music lovers in Boise such a short time frame.” have a rare opportunity to The position was posted in January, observe some of the most and by April, the full season program talented conductors in the was ready to be printed in promotional orchestral world as they audition materials. “Kudos to the committee and during the 2016-17 concert season the leadership of Steve and Jeanie,” to become music director of the noted Culhane. “We were able to accelBoise Philharmonic. erate the process because we had such The competition is fierce and Boise a good team in place.” is definitely on the map. “We had more Steve Trott took up the narrative. than 200 candidates from 22 countries, “We split the committee into three including several from behind the old groups, each with two board members Iron Curtain,” said Hon. Stephen S. and two musicians, which were headed Trott, federal judge of the 9th District by the musicians. The relationship U.S. Court of Appeals and co-chair of between the musicians and the conducthe search committor is the product that tee. He shares that comes off the stage, honor with Jeanie and we told them we Smith, a board memwon’t pick someone ber and Philharmonyou don’t want to ic volunteer. play for. Then we “We have outculled the applicants standing conductor down to 16 semicandidates, great finalists. We looked guest artists, at resumes, websites, and it’s going to be references—it was a super season,” very labor intensive.” enthused Smith. Those 16 candi— J eanie Smith, board member The search comdates interviewed Boise Philharmonic mittee is comprised with the committee of six board memvia Skype calls. “In bers and six orchesthe past, candidates tra members, including concertmaster sent in VHS tapes and CDs,” said BoatGeoffrey Trabichoff, who were chosen man. “Now everyone has a website or by the orchestra. Two others who are something on YouTube. With Skype, instrumental (pun intended) in the you can actually converse and then see search effort are Tony Boatman, executhem in performance on the Internet. tive director of the organization from The Philharmonic needed to be2000-2010 and interim director from gin marketing the coming season in 2012-2013, and Sandra Culhane, who February, so they created the outlines assumed the reins of executive direcof a season. “We filled each concert tor in 2013. slot with a blockbuster concerto and The selection process has procontracted with soloists,” explained gressed at lightning speed. “It was Trott. “Then we assigned a concerto to batten down the hatches and full speed each candidate and asked them to build ahead,” laughed Boatman. “Everyone three or four programs around the was very cooperative and supportive, concerto and the soloist.” Boatman said and that’s what got us through it in this approach was a test of the candi-
ENTERING THE WORLD OF JAMES CASTLE
ED VIESTURS’ LIFE AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD
BSU’S GORDON JONES RETHINKS HIGHER EDUCATION
A COBBLER’S TALE AS OLD AS BOISE
Performing Arts Art Galleries Musical Performances Artist Profiles Cultural Events and Calendar
AVA I L A B L E AT GROCERY OUTLETS AND F I N E R E TA I L S T O R E S OR S U B S C R I B E AT T E R R I T O R Y- M A G . C O M
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dates’ innovation and ability to build a program. The result is what promises to be a smash hit of a season. After each concert, the public will have an opportunity to weigh in by completing a survey that will be inserted into the programs, available online and over the phone. The most important qualities the next music director must have are musicianship and chemistry with both the orchestra and the public. “Chemistry creates a great product, great music,” said Trott. “Our musicians are highly skilled and intelligent, and they want to go onstage and give an A-plus performance. So they have to want to play for this person.” The successful candidate will also have the ability to build relationships and collaborate with the community and other arts groups. “It seems as if this crop of young candidates has been trained in a similar way—to collaborate,” said board member and search committee member Ann Hay. “With collaboration skills, they can work with the community and also build a new audience. I think it’s marvelous!” Culhane stressed that there is a significant difference between the role of a conductor and that of a music director. “A conductor’s role is to bring the vision of what the piece is,” she said. “Some orchestras play a piece many times, but it is the conductor’s personal vision that shapes how it is played.” Added Boatman, “It’s a big leap from conductor to music director. A music director has artistic decisions and programming as well as administrative responsibilities such as building and maintaining the orchestra. “Becoming a music director is standing on the shoulders of your predecessors. Our previous music director— Daniel Stern, James Ogle and Robert Franz—each brought a new level of professionalism and collaboration to the Philharmonic, as well as the strengths of their individual personalities. People often remark on the caliber of this orchestra in a town the size of Boise.” And once again, the Philharmonic is poised to take a leap to the next level. “We have seven excellent candidates who met the criteria of excellence,” said Culhane. “The experience and artistry they bring to the table is impressive. The fact that they want to be part of us speaks highly of the orchestra itself.” TERRITORY–MAG.COM
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THE BOISE PHILHARMONIC 2016-2017 SEASON The search for Boise Philharmonic’s next music director is led by a committee of six orchestra members and six board members and other community leaders. The committee screened over 200 applications from 22 countries to winnow down the list to 16. These semi-finalists were chosen based on their credentials, as well as their artistic vision and its compatibility with that of the Boise Philharmonic. After interviews and reference checking, seven finalists were chosen to be a part of the Philharmonic’s season. Audience members can offer opinions via a printed ballot inserted in the program book of each concert, on the BPA website, or by using your a phone to click on the Boise Philharmonic QR Code linking directly to an online ballot.
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Sept. 30 – Oct 1, 2016
Oct. 21 – 22, 2016
Aram Demirjian Aram Demirjian is currently serving as the Associate Conductor of the Kansas City Symphony, a position he has held since 2012. Prior to his post in Kansas City, he served on the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music Preparatory and was Conducting Apprentice at the Handel & Haydn Society in Boston.
Michelle Merrill Hailing from the State of Texas, Merrill currently holds the title of Assistant Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. She holds both bachelor’s and master's degrees in music from the Meadows School of Music at Southern Methodist University.
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4 Jan. 27 – 28, 2017
Nov. 12 – 13, 2016 Keitaro Harada Born in Japan, Keitaro Harada came to the United States in his teen years and attended the Interlochen Academy and graduated from Mercer University. He currently serves as the Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony, the Richmond (VA) Symphony, and Arizona Opera in Phoenix.
Alastair Willis British native Alastair Willis is currently the music director of the Illinois Symphony. Previously, he was Associate Conductor at both the Seattle Symphony and the Cincinnati Symphony. He is the preferred conductor of acclaimed cellist Yo Yo Ma, and has guest conducted major orchestras in Chicago, St. Louis, Calgary, and Florida.
5 Feb. 17 – 18, 2017 Andrés Franco Andrés Franco is the Assistant Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony and Music Director of the Signature Symphony in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá and two master’s degrees in piano performance and orchestral conducting from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.
6 Mar. 10 – 11, 2017 Eric Garcia Eric Garcia is an associate professor of music at Oklahoma City University, where he is the music director of the university’s orchestra. Prior to Oklahoma, he was Assistant Conductor of the Seattle Symphony, the Associate Conductor of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina.
7 April 7 – 8, 2017 Alexander Mickelthwate Born in Germany, Alexander Mickelthwate is an American citizen and currently the Music Director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. He received his degree from the Peabody Institute of Music.
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Arts & Culture
DEC. 8–10 — Disney's 'Mary Poppins' A Disney classic is captureing hearts as a musical. Based on the books by P.L Travers and the classic Walt Disney film, Disney DEC. 2–3 — December Puppet Show and Cameron Mackintosh's "Mary Poppins" – Bear's Slumber Party Barnabas Bear and delighted Broadway audiences and received Justin Beaver are two unlikely nominations for seven TONY friends. Barnabas is quiet; Justin Awards and nine Olivier Awards. Winter Garden aGlow, is loud. Barnabas is calm; Justin Idaho Botanical Gardens Don't miss this performance while is wired. So when they decide to it is here! Thu.-Sat., Dec 8-10 at have slumber party, Barnabas 7:30 p.m. Matinee on Sat., Dec 10 Bear is in for a surprise. Half-hour at 1:30 p.m. Nampa Civic Center, performances are scheduled for 311 Third Street, Nampa. Friday at 10:30 a.m. and Saturday nampaciviccenter.com at 2 p.m. All ages. Boise Public Library, 715 S. Capitol Blvd., Boise. boisepubliclibrary.org
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DEC. 5-12 — Dance for Parkinson's Come dance with former TMP dancer and current Ballet Idaho principal dancer, Elizabeth Keller, and Ballet Idaho’s entire team of highly talented teachers and musicians. Mondays, 1 p.m. at Ballet Idaho. danceforparkinsonsidaho.org DEC. 5–31 — Winter Garden aGlow Join us nightly through December for an unforgettable season filled with holiday cheer and over 300,000 sparkling lights artfully displayed throughout the Idaho Botanical Garden! Special guests Santa and his reindeer Prancer return to visit from the North Pole weekends throughout December. 6-9 p.m. nightly. 2355 Old Penitentiary Road, Boise. idahobotanicalgarden.org
DEC. 8-10 — 'Miracle on 34th Street' Boise Little Theater presents this classic Christmas show. Thursday, Friday and Saturdays through Dec. 10th. 100 E. Fort Street, Boise. blt.ticketleap.com. DEC. 9-10 — ‘Seven Santas’ Presented by The Stage Coach Theatre, through Dec. 10th. 4802 W. Emerald Street, Boise. stagecoachtheatre.com
DEC. 10-24 — ‘Little Women’ Adapted by Jacqueline Goldfinger, based on the book by Louisa May Alcott, and directed by Julia Pachoud Bennett. Saturdays Dec. 3, 10, 17 & 24 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Treasure Valley Children's Theater. 703 N. Main Street, Meridian. treasurevalleychildrenstheater.com/see/ DEC. 11 — Jim Gaffigan Fully Dressed Tour Actor, writer, producer, Grammy-nominated comedian, New York Times best-selling author, top touring performer, and multi-platinum selling father of five Jim Gaffigan won’t be donning his birthday suit this summer as he packs up the tour bus and hits the road for his live “Fully Dressed,” arena and theatre tour. 8-10 p.m., Taco Bell Arena, 1401 Bronco Lane, Boise. tacobellarena.com DEC. 15 – MarchFourth Idaho Live presents MarchFourth (M4 to its fans), a kaleidoscope of musical and visual energy featuring a 5-piece percussion corps and 6-part brass section—all in marching band themed costumes. 8 p.m. The Egyptian Theatre, 700 W. Main Street, Boise. egyptiantheatre.net
The Nutcracker, Ballet Idaho
DEC. 8-17 — Stage Coach Theatre's 'A Christmas Carol' The Stage Coach Theatre presents Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through Dec. 17th. 4802 W. Emerald Street, Boise. Stagecoachtheatre.com
Music DEC. 13 — Gill Landry This Louisiana native is a singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and storyteller. 7 p.m., The Olympic, 1009 Main St., Boise. theolympicboise.com
DEC. 14 — Old Dominion A fivepiece country band. 7 p.m. Revolution Concert House and Event Center, 4983 N. Glenwood St., Garden City. cttouringid.com
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DEC. 15 — Russ Party rap favorite. 9 p.m. The Knitting Factory, 416 S. 9th St., Boise. knittingfactory.com DEC. 31 —
Boise’s Heavy Metal
New Year’s Eve
Featuring Black Tooth Grin, Traitors Gate, Vault7, Rise of The Fallen, and Tulpaa. 8 p.m. The Knitting Factory, 416 S. 9th St., Boise. knittingfactory.com
DEC. 31 –
Reckless Kelly with
Micky and The Motorcards, Muzzie and Billy Braun Rooted in Idaho and Oregon, Reckless Kelly brings their high octane mixture
of rock, country and folk back home for New Years. 8 p.m. Revolution Concert House and Event Center, 4983 N. Glenwood St., Garden City. cttouringid.com
Calendar
ONCE, Morrison Center
DEC. 16-18 – ‘The Nutcracker’ Ballet Idaho continues the beloved holiday tradition of the timeless family classic, “The Nutcracker,” returning with live music by the Boise Philharmonic. Join us as we celebrate the season in glittering fashion—a joyful and elegant holiday party for the children, magical and playful mice, Clara’s life-size Nutcracker doll’s transformation into the handsome prince, and a beautiful swirling snow scene. Over 100 children from the Ballet Idaho Academy will grace the stage with our professional company members. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts, 2201 W. Cesar Chavez Lane, Boise. balletidaho.org DEC. 20 — Cirque Dreams Holidaze Cirque Dreams Holidaze lights up the 2016 holiday season with a critically acclaimed holiday extravaganza. Not to be missed, this circus-like holiday stage spectacular features ornaments, costumes and acrobatics that come alive celebrating holiday themes, music and traditions for the entire family. 7:30-9:30 pm. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts, 2201 Cesar Chavez, Boise. morrisoncenter.com
JAN. 17 – 1964: The Tribute 8 p.m. The Egyptian Theatre, 700 W. Main St., Boise. egyptiantheatre.net JAN. 14 – Taylor Hicks AMERICAN
IDOL winner brings Southern soul, R&B, country and blues to Boise. 7 p.m., Nampa Civic Center, 311 Third St. S, Nampa. nampaciviccenter.com
DEC. 15, JAN. 19, FEB. 16 — Fall in Love: Best of Romantic Comedies The Boise Public Library invites film enthusiasts to a monthly screening and discussion of the best romantic comedies ever produced. Scheduled for the third Thursday of each month. From 6:15–8:15 p.m. Boise Public Library-the Library at Cole & Ustick, 715 S. Capitol Blvd., Boise. boisepubliclibrary.org
JAN. 27 – BODYTRAFFIC In collaboration with Ballet Idaho, the Morrison Center is proud to present BODYTRAFFIC. “One of the most talked-about companies nationwide” (L.A. Times), BODYTRAFFIC is a family of vibrant dancers driving the company’s commitment to art and entertainment. 8 pm, Morrison Center, 2201 Cesar Chavez Street, Boise. morrisoncenter.com.
JAN. 20-21 — ‘Once’ Winner of eight 2012 Tony Awards including Best Musical, “Once” is a truly original Broadway experience. Featuring an impressive ensemble of actor/musicians who play their own instruments onstage, “Once” tells the enchanting tale of a Dublin street musician who's about to give up on his dream when a beautiful young woman takes a sudden interest in his haunting love songs. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts, 2201 Cesar Chavez Street, Boise. morrisoncenter.com
FEB. 10–11 – Winter Repertory Live music by Boise Baroque Chamber Orchestra and Del Parkinson. “Enjoy” by George Balanchine, as well as new works by Daniel Ojeda and Peter Anastos, whose new ballet "Sweet Dreams" features music by Patsy Cline. Feb. 10 and Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts, 2201 Cesar Chavez Street, Boise. balletidaho.org
JAN. 25 — Lift Are you ready to live inspired, fearless, and thriving? LIFT helps women discover their true identity and purpose, and then equips them to live it out with passion. LIFT brings women together in community. Bring a friend and come for a night of fun, dessert, prizes, and three inspiring messages from speakers Genny Heikka, Kirsten Holmberg, and Pam Strain. 7-9 p.m. The Ambrose School, 6100 N. Locust Grove Road, Meridian. liftedhigh.org.
FEB. 25 – Ballet Idaho: Patsy, and Elvis and More Ballet Idaho brings a version of its Winter Repertory to the Nampa Civic Center for one night only. Nampa Recreation Center, 131 Constitution Way, Nampa. nampaparksandrecreation.org MARCH 31 – Louie Anderson Knitting Factory presents three-time Emmy Award® winning comedian Louie Anderson, who brings his unique humor and childhood reflections to the stage. 8 p.m. The Egyptian Theatre, 700 W. Main Street, Boise. egyptiantheatre.net
Festivals & Events DEC. 3 — Claus 'N' Paws at Zoo Boise Join Zoo Boise for a FREE admission day on Saturday, Dec. 3rd from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for Claus 'N' Paws. Santa Claus will make a guest appearance and there will also be holiday crafts, face painting and many other family-friendly activities. Zoo Boise, 355 Julia Davis Drive, Boise. zooboise.org
Lift speakers, Kirsten Holmberg, Pam Strain, Genny Heikka
JAN. 15 –
Chevelle, Black Map, Dinosaur PileUp Alternative rock and rock lineup. Multi-platinum Chicago rock band Chevelle headlines.
7 p.m. The Knitting Factory, 416 S. 9th St., Boise. knittingfactory.com JAN. 26 – Steel
Panther, Midline
This popular heavy metal spoof band
guarantees a high energy show. Joined by Boise natives Midline. 8 p.m. The Knitting Factory, 416 S. 9th St., Boise. knittingfactory.com
WINTER 2016
JAN. 27 – Talib
Kwelie, Styles P, K’Valentine A night
of urban rap and hip hop. 8 p.m. The Knitting Factory, 416 S. 9th St., Boise. knittingfactory.com
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JAN. 6 — National Technology Day Celebrate National Technology Day with HostGator. Technology Day honors all of the achievements technology has given us throughout time. Now it’s time to make your own contribution to the world of technology with your own website! Noon to 11:30 p.m. Hostgator, 123 Hostgator Dr., Boise. hostgator.com JAN. 12–15 — Idaho Laugh Fest Idaho Laugh Fest is one of the largest comedy festivals in the Northwest and the only event of its kind in Idaho. The 4th annual multi-day festival is scheduled for Jan. 12-15, 2017. It will showcase improv, stand-up comedy, and variety comedy performances, as well as workshops for the general public for improv basics, business of stand-up, storytelling and more. Tickets for performances and workshops at various venues in downtown Boise. idaholaughfest.com
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Fulton Streets, Boise. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m, every Saturday until Dec. 17th. theboisefarmersmarket.com DEC. 10 & 17 — Capital City Holiday Market An iconic part of downtown Boise, the Capital City Public Market was established in 1994 as a place for local growers, producers and artisans to uphold the age-old tradition of interacting directly with their customers. Don't miss the last few Saturday markets on Dec. 10 and 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. On 8th Street, between Main Street and State Street, Boise. capitalcitypublicmarket.com DEC. 13 – Knife Skills 101 Up your culinary game with a basic knife skills class—learn the various dices, brunoise, batonnet and julienne cuts, and much, much more. Ages 16 and up. 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., JUMP Share Studio, Jack's Urban Meeting Place, 1000 W. Myrtle Street, Boise. jumpboise.org
DEC. 15 – A Taste of Peru JAN. 27 — McCall Winter Explore the flavors of Peru through Fortune Feimster, Carnival The Nampa Recreation recipes like causas and alfajores, Idaho Laugh Fest Department arranges a heatedand discover the influences of the charter bus to travel to the 52nd many cultures that have influenced Annual McCall Winter Carnival. Peruvian cuisine, such as Chinese, Japanese From 8 a.m.- 6 p.m. Nampa Recreation Center, and French. Ages 16 and up. 6:30-8:30 p.m., 131 Constitution Way, Nampa. JUMP Share Studio, Jack's Urban Meeting nampaparksandrecreation.org Place, 1000 W. Myrtle Street, Boise.
Food & Drink DEC. 7-28 — Wine Up Wednesday Enjoy wine tasting, half-price bottles of wine, music and local vendors at AEN Playhouse Event Center. Every Wednesday through Dec. 28. 7:30–11:15 p.m. 8001 W. Fairview Ave., Boise. aenplayhous.com DEC. 10-17— Farmers’ Market Come shop for the freshest foods available at the winter market. Indoor market is at 8th and
jumpboise.org JAN. 25 – Wine 101: From Grapes to Glass Learn about the science of wine production, including basic grape growing and winemaking techniques, tasting and evaluation, and the five “classic” varieties via tasting and guided discussion. Each class includes a guided tasting of a minimum of 5 different wines, along with light appetizers. 6-8 p.m., House of Wine, 1674 W. Hill Road, Suite 11, Boise. thehowofwine.com FEB. 9 — Boise Firkin Frolic Enjoy sampling unique, locally brewed firkin beers,
as well as traditional beers from your favorite local brewers. Plus, food vendors, music, and more!!! Age 21 and up. I.D. required. Please drink responsibly. Keep our festival safe and fun. Basque Center, 601 W Grove Street, Boise. boisefirkinfrolic.org FEB. 15 – Wine 201: Beyond the Classics A follow up to Wine 101. Understand the WHY behind wines. This class focuses on the sensory recognition and palate building in white wines. Each class includes a guided tasting of a minimum of 5 different wines, along with light appetizers. 6-8 p.m., House of Wine, 1674 W. Hill Road, Suite 11, Boise. thehowofwine.com
Sports & Outdoors DEC. 3 — Amazing Scavenger Hunt Adventure - Boise Explore downtown Boise during this exciting event, which combines the fast-paced action of the Amazing Race with a three-hour city tour. Teams of 2-5 people make thier way among well-known and undiscovered gems of the city, solving clues and completeling unique challenges while learning local history— all of it guided from any smart phone. All ages. 10 a.m. Idaho State Capitol Building, 700 W. Jefferson, Boise. urbanadventurequest.com DEC. 7-FEB. 28 — KegFit BoomboxBody Presents KegFit, a workout using empty kegs, designed to give those at any fitness level a great workout. Only $5 and you will get a unique workout that your friends have never even heard about—plus you get a beer after the workout for refreshment. Workout, have a beer, meet new people, and have a great time. From 5:45-7 p.m., every Wednesday. Powderhaus Brewing Company, 9719 W Chinden Blvd, Garden City. boomboxbody.com DEC. 7 — Boise River Water Trail Join us for a virtual tour of 63 miles of the Boise River Trail. Tom Chelstron and Gary Grimm tell the
Music JAN. 29 – Juicy
J, Belly, Project Pat
An evening of rap innovators and hip hop. 8 p.m. Revolution Concert House, 4983 N. Glenwood St., Garden City. cttouringid.com TERRITORY–MAG.COM
Judy Collins WINTER 2016
FEB. 1 – Judy Collins An important part of the 1960s folk revival, Judy Collins explores pop, rock and roll, folk and Broadway classics. 7:30 p.m. Morrison Center, 2201 Cesar
Chavez, Boise. morrisoncenter.com
Main St., Boise. theolympicboise.com
FEB. 2 –
FEB. 3 – Eric Johnson One of the world’s preeminent electric guitarists celebrates his acoustic side. 8 p.m.
Lemuria with Mikey Erg An indie-pop trio who hails from Buffalo, NY. 7 p.m., The Olympic, 1009
The Egyptian Theatre, 700 W. Main St., Boise. egyptiantheatre.net FEB. 06 – Lydia Loveless Solid vocals accompany what has been
Ca le nda r
story of the river with words, images and maps in this interactive presentation. From 7-8 p.m. Meridian Library at Cherry Lane, Meridian. mld.org/events/wild-idaho-boise-river DEC. 10-FEB 28 — Open Gym Rock Climbing Experience indoor climbing the Wings way. Over 20 top rope stations, including a rope ladder, cargo net, tires, and a ladder wall. Our gym is beginner friendly. A great date night idea. Our staff will take care of equipment and training. No experience necessary. Offered every Saturday evening, from 6-9 p.m., from October through May. Wings Center release form required. Wings Center, 1875 Century Way, Boise. wingscenter.com DEC. 17 — YMCA Christmas Run Create a new tradition! Celebrate the holiday season as a family by running or walking together. ‘Tis the season for bells, holiday costumes, carolers and Santa! Join us for the Christmas Run Presented by Saint Alphonsus. The race starts and finishes in Downtown Boise at Boise High School. The annual Christmas Costume Contest will be held at 9:30 a.m. on the Boise High Steps. Races begin at 10 a.m. Boise High School, Boise. ymcatvidaho.org/runs/christmas-run/ DEC. 22 — Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Boise’s famous blue turf is getting prepped for its big winter event—the 2016 Famous
Boise's Cupid's Undie Run Idaho Potato Bowl. The 20th edition of the northernmost college bowl game, featuring the Mountain West Conference against the Mid-American Conference, will kick off at 5 p.m. at Albertsons Stadium on the campus of Boise State University, and will be aired by ESPN. Albertsons Stadium, 1400 Bronco Lane, Boise. famousidahopotatobowl.com/ JAN. 10–FEB. 7 — Bogus Basin Snowshoe Series The Nampa Recreation Department leads snowshoeing adventures to Bogus Basin on select Sundays in January and February. Each outing finishes up with a warm beverage at Frontier Pointe Nordic Lodge. The program includes transportation, trail pass, snowshoeing tour, and warm beverage. Jan. 10, 24 and Feb. 7, from. 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Nampa Recreation Center, 131 Constitution Way, Nampa. nampaparksandrecreation.org
FEB. 8 – Twenty One Pilots Billboard Music’s “Top Duo/
Group” and “Top Rock Album” artists bring the second leg of their “Emotional Roadshow” world tour to Boise. 7 p.m. Taco Bell Arena, 1401 Bronco Lane, Boise. tacobellarena.com
FEB. 11 — Cupid's Undie Run Be part of something great. Cupid’s is a “brief” fun-run that takes place in the middle of a BIG party. That’s right: party, run (a mile-ish, and at your own pace), party—all in benefit of Children’s Tumor Foundation, and all to #EndNF. From 12–4 p.m. Tom Grainey's, 109 South 6th Street, Boise. cupidsundierun.org/city/boise FEB. 25 — BLM Wild Horse Corral Tour Join Alyane Blickle and the Nampa Recreation Department on a tour of the BLM's Wild Horse Corrals to epxperience the 4-H program's adoption process and see handling presentation from experienced Mustang wranglers. Departing from and returning to the Nampa Recreation Center, from 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Includes transportation, tour and lunch. All ages. Nampa Recreation Center, 131 Constitution Way, Nampa. nampaparksandrecreation.org
Bogus Basin Snowshoe Series, Frontier Point Nordic Lodge, snowshoe tours
described as “hillbilly punk.” 8 p.m. Neurolux Lounge, 111 N. 11th St., Boise. neurolux.com
JAN 12 & FEB. 3 — Sleigh Ride & Dinner Travel back in time during a magical evening sleigh ride under the stars to the winter wonderlands of Garden City. Dress warmly and snuggle in as draft horses lead guests through the snow with chances to view elk up close. Deadline date oneweek prior to trip date. Departing from and returning to the Nampa Recreation Center. Includes transportation, sleigh ride and dinner. All ages welcome. Jan. 12 or Feb. 3, from 3-9 p.m. Nampa Recreation Center, 131 Constitution Way, Nampa. nampaparksandrecreation.org
FEB. 13 –
FEB. 17 – Elvis
International ambassadors to Irish music. 7:30 p.m. Morrison Center, 2201 Cesar Chavez, Boise. morrisoncenter.com
A journey across Elvis' life, featuring winners and finalists from Elvis Presley Enterprise's (EPE) annual worldwide Ultimate Elvis Tribute
The Irish Rovers
Lives! In Boise
Artist Contest. 8 p.m. Morrison Center, 2201 Cesar Chavez, Boise. morrisoncenter.com FEB. 18 –
Elephant Revival
This quintet from Colorado serenades
WINTER 2016
with harmonies and rhythms that seamlessly infuse elements of gypsy, Celtic, Americana and folk. 8 p.m. The Knitting Factory, 416 S. 9th St., Boise. knittingfactory.com TERRITORY–MAG.COM
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Taste
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Downtown Boise bars sling classic cocktails with modern twists By Gwen Ashley Walters
Photo by Steve Smith
Goodbye Cosmo, Hello Whiskey Sour SMOK E Smoky Mezcal, Bou AN with a Chile rbo D -S n
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Taste BOISE with
magazine Explore the exceptional chefs, restaurants and culinary adventures of the Boise area.
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MC’s 1960s-era drama series “Mad Men” (2007-2014) catapulted a return to classic cocktails, effectively ending the era of vodka-dominated drinks flavored with fruit. Ironically, it was another TV series that popularized the sweetish vodka cocktails to begin with, when HBO’s sassy “Sex in the City” (1998-2004) immortalized the Cosmopolitan, a girly pink drink of vodka and cranberry juice served in a grown-up martini glass. The year “Mad Men” launched, The Modern Hotel and Bar hired Michael Bowers, a self-proclaimed cocktail nerd who had never worked in a bar or restaurant before, to tend bar. Today, Bowers, who has been recognized in national media including The New York Times, is one of a handful of trendsetters in the Boise cocktail scene. Throw a rock in downtown Boise and you’ll likely hit a hip cocktail bar. Anyone looking to imbibe the latest trends in cocktailing has more choices than ever. Here’s a look at four downtown bars that are making Boise the “Cocktail Capital” of Idaho. Each one—whether a stand-alone lounge or integrated into a restaurant—
Chef profiles Dining Reviews Cocktails Entertaining Recipes
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Tucked off the lobby of the Modern Hotel, this bright, airy, midcenturymodern bar hums from opening until close. Snag a seat at the bar for a chance to interact with Bowers and his team of knowledgeable bartenders, eager to whip up any one of 10 featured cocktails. Feeling adventurous? Ask to go off-menu and you might land the “Lucky Frieda” (page 79), a twist on a classic sour, made with gin, lime, bitters, a whisper of absinthe and frothed with an egg white. Love bitter cocktails? “The Final Say,” a riff on the classic “The Last Word,” a Prohibition cocktail, delivers with a good dose of Fernet Branca, an herbal liqueur with its own cult following—and an acquired taste for some.
THE MODE LOUNGE Located in the historic 1985 building that once housed the Mode Ltd., a high-end department store, The Mode Lounge effortlessly blends old and new in ambience and in libations. At night, take a front-row seat and soak in the bustling scene in this vintage, art-deco lounge, surrounded on two sides by floor-to-ceiling windows. The Mode prides itself on house-
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Pimm ’s garn No. ish 1 e
PRESS & PONY Pass through thick, baroque fringed curtains and step into a cool, dark saloon with a copper bar sporting a mere eight stools. It’s a cozy caricature, for sure. Walk to the end of the bar and you’ll find yourself in the Boise Fry Co., which happens to own the year-old speakeasy (yes, you can order fries and eat them in the bar). The cocktail menu is small but tight, with only nine drinks, but manager Jordan Krema is happy to veer off-menu and customize a special cocktail. He whipped up a no-name mezcal cocktail on the fly with Aperol, lime, and pineapple, and balanced the smoky, bitter, and sweet components with a savory house-made celery shrub. “Pimm’s Pony Express”—a jam on a classic Pimm’s Cup—is as refreshing as it is tall, a balance of sweet and tart with Pimm’s No. 1 liqueur, Aviation Gin, ginger syrup, lemon juice and garnished with a fistful of mint, apple and cucumber slices.
Jun G ipe
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JUNIPER Rustic chic décor—think exposed brick stamped with “Vote Against Prohibition”—dominates this “kitchen and cocktails” haunt in ground zero of downtown’s entertainment district. Ask other bartenders in the area, and all will point to Juniper as a cool place to score a solid cocktail. As the name implies, Juniper is known for gin cocktails—gin is a botanical spirit based on juniper berries. Half of the dozen cocktails are gin-based, including the flirty light spritzer dubbed “Juni & The Jets.” Composed of gin, Street-Germain elderflower, grapefruit, juniper simple syrup and topped with sparkling wine, it is refreshingly floral and easy drinking. The “Juniper Gin & Tonic” is old school with a twist—house-made tonic syrup. Other spirits—whiskey, rum and tequila—clock in with one drink each, including “Old Pal,” a rye whiskey based drink similar to the classic Boulevardier, except dry vermouth replaces sweet vermouth. SERVE YOUR OWN JUNI & THE JETS
1 ½ oz. Bardenay Gin 1 oz. Grapefruit Juice, Fresh Squeezed ½ oz. Street-Germain Elderflower ¼ oz. Juniper Simple Syrup Top with Sparkling Wine Garnish with Lemon Wedge For the Juniper Simple Syrup, boil 1 tbsp. crushed juniper berries with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and let simmer 15 minutes. Cool and strain out berries.
Photos by Steve Smith
THE MODERN HOTEL AND BAR
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made bitters, syrups, tinctures, sodas, and vermouth—everything but the spirit itself. “The Bitter End” is a boozy blend of Beefeater 24, artichokebased Cynar, Antica (vermouth) and grapefruit bitters. The result is an amber-colored mouthful of pleasant bitterness, less severe and more balanced than Negroni. “Smoke and Oak” (page 78) capitalizes on the latest spirit trend—smoky mezcal—blending it with bourbon, lemon and lime juices for an updated twist on a whiskey sour. The chile-spiked sweet salty rim adds an exclamation point.
apefrurikling Wine
has a unique personality. The one thing they all have in common is a fun-yet-serious approach to delivering classic cocktails garnished with modern sensibilities.
Special Advertising Section
IDAHO MADE
Idaho Spud Bar
Idaho Candy Co. has been making this famous potato-shaped, chocolatey marshmallow treat, sprinkled with coconut, since 1901. idahospud.com
PRODUCTS WE LOVE, MADE IN IDAHO Potatoes, yes. But Idaho has of late upped its game. The Gem State now produces everything from great wines and vodka to sturgeon caviar. We've highlighted a few of our favorites for readers to try out. Enjoy the fruits of Idaho!
Chunky Bleu Cheese Dressing The Hawkins family started selling their homemade dressings out of the family's restaurant in Hope, Idaho, over 50 years ago. litehousefoods.com
Squeezable Honey Bear
Browning’s Honey produces on an annual basis over a million pounds of superior quality clover and orange blossom honeys. browningshoney.com
Ste Chapelle 2014 Panoramic Idaho Ice Wine Riesling
Morel Mushrooms
The official food of McCall, Idaho, they are easy to identify, widespread and give us all a reason to get out of the house come spring. Visit: mccallchamber.org
Ice wine is created with grapes that were allowed to freeze on the vine. stechapelle.com
Huckleberry Macaroon Ice Cream Sandwich
Looking to have ice cream sandwiches at your next event? Place an order with Flour Child Custom Cake Studio in advance and all you have to do is bring a cooler with dry ice to pick them up! flourchildboise.com
Grand Teton Distillery Born and Bred Vodka
Idaho White Sturgeon Caviar
In 2004 Fish Breeders of Idaho made their first White Sturgeon Caviar. They are now supplying nationaly and competitively in the U.S. market. fishbreedersofidaho.com
An American craft vodka made from the best Idaho potatoes. Twenty times distilled, it’s prepared in small batches and nourished by unspoiled glacial water. tetondistillery.com
Kate's Tiki Bar
Provides all-day energy! The Tiki Bar is made with chewy coconut, sweet mango and crunchy cashews (peanut, dairy, soy and gluten free). Hand mixed for the best consistency. katesrealfood.com WINTER 2016
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Taste
Finding Joy in Cooking Epi’s Basque Restaurant—rooted in courage, conviction and faith By Gwen Ashley Walters
I
n 1929, a young mother departed the Spanish Basque country bound for America with her toddler daughter in tow. Epi Inchausti was headed to Idaho to join her husband, David, whom she’d married only three years earlier. While Epi made the long and arduous journey, David was already in Challis, busy preparing to receive his new family. It takes no small amount of courage to leave your home, your family—everything you’ve known your whole life—and move to a strange place, learn a new language, and start anew.
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Chefs Josh Jenks (left) and Frank Burns take a break in Epi's kitchen.
Seventy years later, in 1999, Epi’s granddaughters opened a Basque restaurant to honor their grandmother who passed away in 1983 at the age of 80 in her home in Hailey. If only she knew. For 17 years, Epi’s, a cozy cottagestyle house in Meridian, has served traditional home-style Basque dishes with sincere hospitality. A loyal following keeps the restaurant open, but the loyalty is well-earned, the result of Chris Ansotegui’s love of people and commitment to keeping her grandmother’s spirit alive. She had
no restaurant experience when she approached her sister about opening a small place to serve their ancestral recipes. “I had always wanted to do that. Just something inside of me,” she said. “I could feel that my joy came when I cooked and served others.” Ansotegui spent her early career in a forensic lab with the Oregon State Police, but divorce brought her back to her native Boise. She took a job she wasn’t the least bit passionate about while waiting for a job opening with the Idaho State Police. Driving to her
Photos by Steve Smith
mundane job every day, she passed by a tiny café on Main Street, and prayed, “God, that’s all I need. I just need a little house like that, like Grandma Epi’s house, to open my restaurant.” When Ansotegui and her siblings were growing up, trips to their grandmother’s boarding house in Hailey were monthly occurrences. Epi housed seasonal Basque sheepherders, feeding them hearty Basque meals in the evening: “mingaina” (beef tongue in tomato and pimento sauce), “jamón croquetas” (ham croquettes), and “arkumea txilindron” (lamb stew). Ansotegui’s fondest memories of Grandma Epi’s house involve everyone—Epi and David had seven children—gathered for a large meal, usually cooked by her mother, Dorothy, and Epi. “Our lives just stopped for a while, and everyone was happy, sharing information and enjoying each other’s company. That feeling is, well, there’s nothing else quite like it.” When the small café on Main Street came on the market for sale, Ansotegui was ecstatic. “I grabbed my sis and we went in [to see it] and it was a disaster, which was perfect, of course,” she laughed, “because we got to tear down the inside and start from scratch,” to reconfigure it as a quasi-replica of Grandma Epi’s old dining room. Their brother, Dan, who at the time was part of Bar Gernika, the Basque restaurant mainstay since 1991 in downtown Boise, “stayed up all night and drew up the plans,” Ansotegui said. “From there, we went to the bank and my prayer was, ‘God, if this is right, this is huge.’ I was 40 years old, starting something I literally had no background in. But I had passion. Lots of passion.” The menu has evolved over the years, but it stays true to the principles of Basque cuisine. “Our cuisine revolves around seven ingredients,” Ansotegui said. “Olive oil, fresh garlic, pimentos, paprika, parsley, sea salt, and lemon. It’s very simple, and we try to keep our culture in mind when we develop new recipes. I hear people say, ‘We’ve come here so we have to have lamb,’ but I say ‘the European Basque experience is to eat fish, and the American Basque experience is to eat lamb.’ So we have both.” Portions are plentiful. The dishes aren’t fancy but they’re full of flavor and reflect a keen attention to seasoning. Appetizers include the tenderest
Two favorites at Epi's: choricero peppers (left) and scampi-style shrimp.
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Chris Ansotegui, center, was determined to keep her grandmother's spirit alive in opening Epi's. "I feel Grandma Epi's presence here. She is the reason we all learned how important it is to live in the moment and enjoy it."
fried calamari imaginable, mushrooms bathed in butter and garlic with a splash of sherry, and grilled chorizo with snap and spice. Entrees are meatdriven: grilled lamb loin chops glazed in a lusty red wine reduction sauce, lamb stew, steaks, garlic roasted chicken, and Dorothy’s version of beef tongue smothered in sauce. But there is also halibut and Basque seafood delicacies: baby squid in ink sauce and cod with pimentos. Everything is made in-house from scratch, including the desserts. “Gateau Basque” (pudding cake), “arroz esnea” (rice pudding) and “flana” (custard with brown sugar glaze) share menu space with American bread pudding and chocolate mousse. Ansotegui works the room like a mother welcoming her kids home from college. Genuine warmth
and hospitality spill effortlessly from her petite frame. After 17 years, Epi’s is a thriving testament to what a woman with courage can accomplish. Like grandmother, like granddaughter. Chris Ansotegui’s brave leap of faith to open a restaurant without any prior experience followed in the metaphorical footsteps of Epi’s courageous trans-Atlantic journey from Biscay (Bizkaia), Spain, to Idaho. “So many times I feel Grandma Epi’s presence here,” she said. “In her simplicity, in her humbleness, she never thought she was anything, yet she is the reason we all learned how important it is to live in the moment and enjoy it.” Love, passion—and courage—make memorable dining companions. WINTER 2016
TERRITORY–MAG.COM
Taste
A Brief Guide to the Valley’s Best Eateries The Treasure Valley has a vibrant dining scene, one that offers both eclectic foods and venues. Whether you’re looking for a river view or busy downtown sidewalk dining experience, you are bound to find it in the Valley. To help you navigate the many options, we’ve put together a quick guide to some of the best places for food and drink. For a look at full menus and more in-depth coverage of the dining scene, check out territory-mag.com/dining.
Red Feather Lounge
Awarded the Wine Spectator "Award of Excellence" in 2016, Capital Cellars serves Boise’s best business breakfast and lunch, as well as featuring an elegant dinner menu that changes seasonally.
Red Feather has been celebrating the modern American lounge since its opening in 2002. Enjoy seasonal American cuisine, fresh interpretations of the classic cocktail, and an atmosphere inspired by a vibe of eternal swank.
110 S. 5th Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 344-9463
Cottonwood Grille Seasonal Northwest fare, farm-fresh wild game, fine wines and classic cocktails served in a rustic setting along the greenbelt. 913 W. River St, Boise, (208) 333-9800.
Fork With ingredients sourced from local Boise and Northwest farmers, ranchers, bakers, distillers, brewers and cheese makers, Fork’s seasonal menu is fresh and innovative—perfect comfort food for lunch or dinner. Crafted cocktails and a full wine list complement the menu. 199 N. 8th Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 287-1700
Goodwood Barbecue Company
american/regional NW Angell’s Bar & Grill Renato 84
Angell's is an iconic family-owned, managed, and operated restaurant in downtown Boise that opened in 1981. If you have not visited recently, head downtown and see what you have been missing! 999 W Main Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 342-4900
Berryhill Restaurant Bar Celebrated chef John Berryhill presents his energetic and Slightly Southern dining, in the heart of downtown Boise, featuring 28 wines by the glass, an extensive wine list and full bar. Don’t miss the leather lounge & fireplace. 121 N. 9th Street B, Downtown Boise, (208) 387-3553
Bleubird Serving quality specialty sandwiches, hearty soups, artisan salads, and fresh-squeezed juices and sodas. Don't miss it for lunch. 224 N. 10th Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 345-1055
Boise Fry Company Named the Best Fries in America by the Food Network, Yahoo!, Travel & Leisure and MSN, this local hot spot is a must visit! They strive to keep all ingredients (and the process) green, natural and sustainable, and each signature item has been meticulously researched and made by hand. 204 N. Capital Blvd., Downtown Boise, (208) 949-7523
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Focused on fresh food made from scratch daily and centered around the unique style of closed-pit cooking, Goodwood Barbecue Company gets rave reviews and is fun for the whole family! 7849 W. Spectrum Street., West Boise, (208) 658-7173 1140 N. Eagle Road, Meridian, (208) 884-1021
Juniper Locally imagined and seasonally inspired cuisine served in a funky modern-rustic space anchored by a turn-of-the-century brick-wall. An eclectic wine list is complemented by a full offering of classically crafted cocktails. 211 N. 8th Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 342-1142
246 N. 8th Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 345-1813
Reel Foods Fish Market & Oyster Bar Providing the Boise area with a fine-dining restaurant, quality seafood and other gourmet treasures—soups, sauces, spices, condiments and sides. Real Foods serves. soups and oysters to eat in on the covered patio or for take away from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Soups include clam chowder, fisherman’s stew and seasonal specialties such as blue crab bisque and cioppino. 611 S. Capitol Blvd. (at W River St.), Boise, (208) 342-2727
State & Lemp State & Lemp offers a dynamic, prixe fixe menu in a contemporary atmosphere Wednesday through Saturday. Relationships built with local farmers, ranchers and artisans lead to thoughtful, creative dishes that showcase the highest quality productions that Idaho and the Paccific Northwest have to offer. 2870 W. State Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 429-6735
asain/sushi Mai Thai Unique and authentic dishes from the four regional cuisines of Thailand are complemented by an exceptional wine list and hand-crafted cocktails. It is like stepping into
Epi’s A Basque Restaurant—basque Over the last 16 years Epi’s has grown to become one of the Treasure Valley’s most preferred restaurants, with many repeat customers. Residents in Idaho agree that when they come to Epi’s, they are guaranteed an amazing meal where they are welcomed like family and offered homemade Basque dishes ranging from fresh seafood, fragrant lamb and succulent steak to unique red bean soup and green apple pudding.
Photos by Steve Smith
Eat Up
Capital Cellars
Taste
a slice of Thailand, right here in the heart of downtown Boise.
The Amsterdam Lounge—bars, pubs
1759 W. Idaho Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 344-8424
& distillery
Mount Everest Momo Café
Be sure not to miss Women & Whiskey every Wednesday night—ladies receive half-price whiskey all night and featured whiskey is half price for everyone. Free tastings of our featured whiskey from 8–11pm. You can't beat Amsterdam Lounge's Friday Happy Hour! Half-priced food and drinks from 4-7pm every Friday!
A unique dining experience that brings diners a taste of the rich culinary heritage of the Himalayas. A delicious variety of recipes, painstakingly gathered from the royal kitchens of Nepal to the swept shores of South India, offer a truly delightful Nepali experience. Himalayan, Nepali, Tibetan and Indian food is carefully prepared from scratch.. 2144 S. Broadway Ave., Downtown Boise, (208) 342-1268
Pho Nouveau Bistro Contemporary Vietnamese comfort food featuring spring rolls, green papaya salad, rice plates, summer noodle bowls (bun) and the always-popular pho. 780 W. Idaho Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 367-1111
Shige Japanese Cuisine Celebrating over 20 years downtown, Shige Japanese Cuisine is still a local favorite serving up sushi and Japanese specialities at three locations in the same complex—Shige Express, Shige Steakhouse and Shige Japanese Cuisine. 100 N. 8th Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 338-8423
Superb Sushi After a successful launch in the Crane Creek Market on Bogus Basin Road, Superb Sushi opened a downtown location serving the “most unique sushi in Boise” to loyal customers who return time after time. 280 N. 8th Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 385-0123
bars, pubs & distillery The Amsterdam Lounge Welcome to Amsterdam, a mixology lounge specializing in craft cocktails and small plates. Discover a unique experience, centrally located in historic downtown Boise, where great conversation is the priority. 609 W. Main Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 345-9515
Bardenay The perfect place to meet friends or colleagues for drinks and appetizers. Stop in for lunch or dinner and enjoy Bardenay’s casual northwestern style cuisine with cocktails handcrafted with freshly squeezed juices and their signature distilled spirits—currently vodka,
basque Bar Gernika
rum and gin, with whiskey in the barrel.. 610 W. Grove Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 426-0538 155 E. Riverside Dr., Eagle, (208) 938-5093
Barrelhouse Pub and Grill A unique and casual dining experience, Barrelhouse offers a relaxed environment with delicious pub-fare. Serving more than 22 rotating taps of handcrafted beers and hard ciders, with a special emphasis given to Treasure Valley breweries. 5181 N. Glenwood Street, Garden City. (208) 376-4200
Bittercreek Alehouse The Bittercreek Alehouse serves exceptional beers, ciders and ales on tap, alongside tasty bites. Don't miss the Low Power Happy Hour— every weekday from 3-5:30 p.m., when the management unplugs and turns down the lights to reduce their energy footprint, serving and drinking by candlelight in honor of the planet. Romantic and earth-friendly. 246 N. 8th Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 345-1813
Traditional Basque dishes, pub fare and an extensive beer selection served in a laid-back space that has become a local institution.
Reef A tropical escape in the heart of downtown, featuring the city’s best rooftop patio, live music and exotic food and drink.
202 S. Capitol Blvd, Downtown Boise, (208) 344-2175
The Basque Market
105 S 6TH Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 287-9200
Tapas, paella and specialties such as bocadillos, plus cooking classes, winte tastings and a full Basque food market.
cafés, delis & coffee
608 W. Grove Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 433-1208
Bacon
Epi's A Basque Restaurant Chris and Gina opened Epi’s in memory of their grandmother, Epi Inchausti. This quaint dinner house features food reminiscent of the Basque Country, giving you a delightful experience for your evening. 1115 N. Main Street, Meridian, (208) 884-0142
Big City Coffee & Café— cafés, delis & coffee
Perfectly sweetened lattes, giant breakfasts and massive pastries. If you you love a good cup of Joe; stop here and enjoy the thoughtful space that encourages communal dining and offers a feeling of small-town neighborliness.
What could be better than a restaurant named Bacon? … One that serves 5 kinds of bacon. Welcome to BACON, a Southern breakfast and lunch bistro conceived by celebrity chef and restauranteur John Berryhill that features coffee, a full bar and the awesome Bacon Bloody Mary! 121 N. 9th Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 387-3553
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Taste
Owyhee Tavern—
Big City Coffee & Café Serving breakfast and lunch all day, along with espresso, coffees and in-house baked goods. Try the pumpkin chai muffin, cherry pie scone, or homemade biscuits and gravy with fresh buttermilk biscuits. 1416 Grove Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 345-3145
District Coffeehouse A non-profit created to support an orphanage network called Send Hope, District Coffeehouse focuses on freshly roasted, carefully crafted coffee with a mission. Each batch is roasted in micro-batches twice a week using 100% Arabica beans. 219 N. 10th Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 343-1089
steak & seafood The Owyhee Tavern, at the corner of 11th and Main, is a welcome addition to the downtown culinary scene. The restaurant is owned and operated by Barry Werner and John and Kristy Toth, who also own Tavern at Bown Crossing. The Tavern's location in The Owyhee exemplifies the “Work, Meet and Live” ethos of the building. Enjoy excellent food and a great atmosphere in historic Boise.
Express Cafe If it's breakfast food you want, Express Cafe has it. It's always busy, but worth the wait, and feels like going home for breakfast with family—with large portions, friendly cooks and wait staff. You won't be disappointed with the great tasting, fresh, plentiful and reasonably priced menu items, and the place offers a small town diner feel that is cozy and welcoming. 400 E. Fairview Ave., Meridian, (208) 888-3745
Photo by Marathon Mouth
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each morning by master bakers and served with a smile in this bustling downtown coffeehouse that has become a local favorite. 500 W. Idaho Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 345-4320
Goldy’s Breakfast Bistro
cafés, delis & coffee
108 S. Capitol Blvd., Downtown Boise, (208) 345-4100
11 N. Orchard Street, Boise Bench, (208) 577-6415
JanJou Patisserie
Le Coq d’Or
Founded by husband and wife team Moshit Mizrachi-Gabbitas and Chuck Gabbitas, JanJou was opened in 2008 as a wholesale bakery selling mostly cookies to local shops. A retail bakery and full cafe was opened in 2013—with the name as homage to Moshit's mother, whose nickname was Janjou.
An unforgettable and artistic dining experience inspired by authentic European countryside cuisine and farm-to-table French cuisine and modern European dishes. Open for dinner only, nightly, from Tuesday through Saturday.
Flying M roasts their own beans, using a small batch drum roaster, so coffee is always fresh and delicious. A full complement of madefrom-scratch baked items are handcrafted TERRITORY–MAG.COM
Husband and wife team, chef Michael Trebbi and his wife, Anne-Marie, serve up breakfast and lunch fare with artistic flare and a local, seasonal farm-to-table focus. The presentation is elegant and the food is fresh, delicious and artfully prepared by hand. 276 N. 8th Street,, Downtown Boise, (208) 856-8956
italian & mediterranean Alavita
Flying M Coffeehouse
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Luciano’s Italian Restaurant Authentic Italian food in a casual, familyfriendly atmosphere that features classic Tuscan-inspired cuisine, with a few surprises— all made from scratch with only the freshest ingredients. Boise’s favorite hole-in-the-wall local Italian is open for lunch and dinner daily.
Wild Root Café and Market
Andalusian eggs—featuring a bowl full of ham, chorizo and peppers in a thick tomato sauce, with two poached eggs on top and a thick ring of asparagus. What puts this place over the top is when the waitress asks you "would you like to take a coffee refill to go".
807 W. Idaho Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 780-1100
Goldy’s opened in 1999 in the heart of downtown Boise. Quality made-to-order breakfast has made Goldy’s one of the best restaurants in the Treasure Valley—Voted Best Local Breakfast for 18 years!
1754 W. State Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 297 5853
Goldy’s Breakfast Bistro—
a great place for celebrating life with good friends, business associates or family.
Fresh seasonal ingredients inform the locally inspired Italian cuisine at this traditional Italian osteria (an Italian Joint). Creative craft cocktails and an extensive wine list complement dishes inspired by regional ingredients, making Alavita
176 S. Rosebud Lane, Eagle, (208) 947-2840
Richard’s Café Vicino Vicino is Italian for ‘neighborhood.’ Seasonal menus take advantage of locally sourced produce, fresh fish, meat and game. Chef Richard Langston and his staff share a culinary philosophy that celebrates the integrity of ingredients and prepares simply to showcase the natural flavors of the products. The end result is delicious and tantalizing cuisine that continues to win awards and rave reviews. 808 W. Fort Street, North End, (208) 472-1463
Pie Hole Late night dining in a funky space, serving thin crust New York-style pizza. Pie Hole has become a local institution. Open all day and late night.. 205 N. 8th Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 344-7783. 1016 Broadway Avenue, Boise Bench, (208) 424-2225.
Taste
mexican
Chandlers Steakhouse Top-shelf steaks and seafood served in a swanky, hip setting. The Lounge at Chandlers features live jazz nightly and a martini bar— home to the Ten Minute Martini™.
Andrade’s An eclectic atmosphere that features more than 100 menu items from the heart of Mexico. Offering great food, great service and great value, Andrade's is known as a local's favorite. Owner Javier Andrade offers a glimpse into the cuisine of a pueblo rich in history, culture, and traditions—with pride in every dish.
981 W. Grove Street, Boise, (208) 383-4300
Fresh Off the Hook Come enjoy a little slice of Seattle mixed with a dash of San Francisco, add a pinch of Alaska and toss it together with the flavors of Key West and you’ll enjoy an incredible seafood experience—right here in Boise. Bright and cheery, soaked in the colors of the ocean, Fresh Off the Hook owner David Bassiri is committed to delivering service and freshness. Guaranteed!
4903 Overland Road, Boise Bench, (208) 344-1234.
Chapala Traditional Mexican food in a family-friendly atmosphere offering choices for every taste, and with multiple locations throughout Boise. 1201 S. Vista Ave., Boise Bench, (208) 429-1155.
Barbacoa Grill—
Matador
steak & seafood
Popular Mexican cuisine in an old-world atmosphere of dark walnut, intricate ironwork and deep, roomy booths. Matador features the city’s widest selection of tequila and a spacious outdoor patio during the summer months.
The name itself sounds like a celebration. Barbacoa’s open-fire grilling process and culinary delights are a tribute to the ranchers and cowboys of the Pacific Northwest. Barbacoa whimsically and artfully presents the comfort of the campfire in a theatre-like manner.
215 N. 8th Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 342-9988.
steak & seafood
Bonefish Grill
Barbacoa Upscale South American steakhouse featuring table side guacamole, fresh seafood, chicken mole and certified angus beef steak served on Argentina ironwood. Specialty crafted cocktails, from margaritas to mojitos, and an extensive wine list complement every meal. 276 Bobwhite Court, East Boise, (208) 338-5000
Full of fresh and innovative dishes, the Bonefish Grill crafts a complete dining experience— from customized pairings and craft cocktails, daily specials and a menu that specializes in seasonal fresh fish prepared with elegant simplicity over a wood-burning grill. Taste today's fresh catch and try something new for dinner tonight. 855 W. Broad St., Downtown Boise, (208) 433-1234
Stagecoach Inn—
steak & seafood
507 N. Milwaukee Street, West Boise, (208) 322-9224 401 S. 8th Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 343-0220
Lucky Fins Seafood Grill Welcome to a new way to experience seafood—where great quality and affordability come together! Daily chalk board specials are innovative and creative, complemented by a menu of diverse flavors influenced by Asian, Mexican and Northwest cuisines. And don’t miss sushi prepared by one of the best sushi chefs in the Treasure Valley! 801 W. Main Street, Boise, (208) 888-3467 1441 N. Eagle Road, Meridian, (208) 888-3467
Owyhee Tavern Owyhee Tavern opened in October 2016 bringing a new vibe to the downtown area. Located in the historic Owyhee building, this steakhouse offers American Wagyu, USDA Prime Grade steaks, organic salmon, fresh ahi, and oysters on the half shell. Specialties also include Kung Pao calamari, Kobe fondue and ahi poke salad—and don’t forget to ask for a side of cheddar tots or brussel sprouts. $5 Happy Hour, Monday-Friday from 3-6 p.m. 1109 Main Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 639-0440
In January 2015, the Stagecoach Inn was reborn, with its new owners committed to restoring the landmark Garden City restaurant to it former glory and re-inventing the familiar, comfortable atmosphere for which it had become known. The end result is a restaurant that stays true to its mission of serving delicious Western fare, with a reputation for impeccable service, honest value and a dining experience like none other.
Stagecoach Inn Stagecoach Inn opened in 1959. A Treasure Valley favorite dinner restaurant and bar famous for their hand-breaded bar prawns, prime rib and banana cream pie. Folk near and far make the historic Stagecoach their favorite destination restaurant. 3132 Chinden Blvd., Garden City, (208) 342-4161
Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Photos by Chad Case
Featuring Ruth’s special 500˚ sizzling plates and an award-winning wine list perfect for a romantic dinner, business meeting or private party. 800 W. Main Street, Downtown Boise, (208) 426-8000
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The End
EGYPTIAN THEATRE PROJECTOR While the Egyptian Theatre now serves as a premier concert venue, opera space, and host to a variety of community events, the old projector there—albeit held together by duct tape and having been refurbished several times— still plays with superb fidelity the old 35 mm and 70 mm films.
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Mixology Lounge Craft Cocktails Small Plates Local Artists
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609 W. Main St.
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David Munson - Operating Partner
Boise, ID 83702
Every Day 4pm - 7pm
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BoisesBestBars.com
208.412.0313