Diverse Fort Collins Update: Week of October 15, 2019

Posted bydiversefortcollins1184Posted indiversity, ethnic heritage, Events, Meetings, multicultural, WritingTags:, , , ,

Hello, friends!

Happy autumn! If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, there are plenty of local and regional events to choose from.

First, a quick recap of news. Then read on for information about our Oct. 27 discussion of the Fort Collins Reads selection, The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea, co-hosted by Wolverine Farm Letterpress & Publick House. Event will be on the first floor, accessible to all.

There’s still time to buy your paperback copy at a 20% discount at Old Firehouse Books if you mention the Diverse Fort Collins Book Group!

News

  • Latinx author Teresa R. Funke’s new book Bursts of Brilliance for a Creative Life is available now! Her Oct. 3 book launch featured readings and a performance by the talented Colleen Crosson
  • City Council heard an Oct. 8 work session presentation from staff responding to Council’s Equity and Inclusion priorities. Watch the video.
  • Actress, comedian and LGBTQIA+ icon Tig Notaro performed Oct. 11 to a sold-out crowd at the Lincoln Center for the first show of the inaugural Laugh Riot comedy series. Fort Collins train horns and a wayward bat startled her, but she incorporated both into her set, drawing a standing ovation at the end of the evening.
  • Read the full 2019 Fall Address by new Colorado State University (CSU) President Joyce McConnell in which she announced the new Race, Bias and Equity Initiative. Watch the video of students silently protesting recent incidents of bias and racism on campus.
    • “As a land-grant institution founded on the principle of access, we cannot turn our backs on any of our students,” McConnell said. “We owe it to all our students to create an environment in which they can flourish and succeed.”
  • Did you know 15 to 25 percent of the population is highly sensitive? That means one in five people share this genetic trait. The recent Sensitivity Summit featured speakers focusing on various aspects of the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). Visit the website for details. (Are you highly sensitive? Take Dr. Elaine Aron’s quiz.)
  • Interested in attending events and panel discussions on representation in art (such as Native Futurisms: Art and Conversation about Contemporary Indigenous Healing) and other diversity/equity/inclusion topics? Sign up for the Boulder County Arts Alliance newsletter. Closer to home, Fort Collins is fortunate to have The Native American Cultural Center at CSU as a resource.

Upcoming Events

  • CSU Diversity Symposium runs through Oct. 18. Free! See the schedule. Law Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw gave a dynamic and thought-provoking keynote speech last night, “Thirty Years of Theorizing Justice: Intersectionality, Critical Race Theory, and Contemporary Challenges.”
  • Open Stage Theatre & Company’s Every Brilliant Thing, which tackles the topic of suicide, runs through Oct. 19.
  • Fort Collins Book Fest is this week on Oct. 18-19. Free! Sessions and workshops. This year’s theme is “Food for Thought.” Keynote speakers are award-winning authors Sean Sherman (The Sioux Chef) and Rick Bass (The Traveling Feast). Rep. Joe Neguse (HD-2), James Beard Award winner Toni Tipton-Martin (The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African-American Cookbooks), Octavio Quintanilla (poet laureate of San Antonio, Texas) and Stephanie Anderson (One Size Fits None: A Farm Girl’s Search for the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture) are also scheduled to appear.
  • Bas Bleu Theatre’s production of Driving Miss Daisy runs through Oct. 20
  • Greeley Multicultural Festival on Oct. 19 will showcase cultures from all over the world.
  • The Catamounts productions feature diverse casts. Everybody by 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins offered a thought-provoking and humorous take on life and death. Buy tickets to the next two productions this season.
  • Just in time for Halloween. Control Group Productions’ Cutting Room Floor runs Oct. 17-30 and features a diverse cast for this immersive ghost tour of the Aurora Fox Arts Center! Tickets are on sale now.
  • MTOB (More Than One Box) monthly meetups for multi-ethnic families and friends began last month in Denver with a viewing party for the new series Mixed-ish. Like the Facebook event page to see notices of upcoming events. For related info (including the podcast Off Color) visit Tan Tigress Productions LLC, which focuses on race and identity.

    Upcoming DFC Events

    • There’s still time to read the novel! Diverse Fort Collins Book Group will meet on Oct. 27 on the first floor of Wolverine Farm Letterpress & Publick House to discuss The House of Broken Angels! Mention this book group for a 20% discount on the paperback at Old Firehouse Books. Then buy a ticket to the author’s visit!
    • Watch for announcements of the three-part book group series on White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, coming in early 2020. Diverse Fort Collins Book Group will provide a safe space to discuss this topic, a few chapters at a time.

    Resources

    Thanks for reading, friends! Watch the Diverse Fort Collins website for a Resources page and new logo reveal, coming soon. As always, contact us to find out how you can get involved in helping us co-create an inclusive community: DiverseFoCo@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you.

    Published by diversefortcollins1184

    Born in 2019 in Fort Collins, Colorado. A volunteer-driven community project advocating for antiracism and racial equity. We connect people with resources and each other. Let's co-create an inclusive community!

    %d bloggers like this: