Telluride, Tell a Friend

I was sitting in my cubical when my boss walks up to me and hands me this morning’s paper. She says, “Thought you would like this.”

Was she ever right! The Telluride Film Festival (“Cinema Paradiso,” Aug. 31). I do not believe people will ever understand the wonder and amazement of Telluride. For a town of 1,500 people, putting on an event like this can only develop the town’s unity.

I just moved from Telluride in April to start a career here in California. That was the hardest decision I have ever had to make. There I was, leaving the uncomplicated life of Telluride to move to the hustle and bustle of Orange County. Am I crazy? Yes. No one is kidding about how great it is to live there. You can walk down the main street, and people stop to say hello.

It is that hometown atmosphere that captures you. I don’t know if you are aware of this, but Telluride hosts an array of festivals each summer, starting with the summer solstice, the Bluegrass Festival. Each year 5,000 people flock to Telluride to listen to a festive collage of bluegrass, roots, folk and country music. For the next three months, Telluride has some type of festival each weekend. There are such festivals as wine, jazz, arts and crafts and nothing festivals. Yes, a nothing festival. The Nothing Festival is the only weekend of the summer that Telluride takes a break from the festivities. Well, they actually still celebrate it!

Telluride caps the summer with the Film Festival, an amazing creation of time, talent and dedication from the town. What Telluride becomes and what it creates for this weekend are memories never to forget. For all that are going, I’m jealous. All my photos around my cubicle are mostly of Telluride. Those pictures are recreating the stories of some of the best times in my life. I can’t thank you enough for that smile.

DANA KEGL