There is plenty to do in Durango all summer long. Start your summertime adventures with Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort. Tucked into the beautiful San Juan Mountains twenty-five miles north of Durango, the resort touts daily activities for the whole family, festival and concert events throughout the summer, and world-class adventure racing and mountain bike competition. 

Purgatory activities include the alpine slide (pictured below), climbing wall, human maze, mini and disc golf, and the summer chairlift giving access to more than fifty miles of hiking and biking trails. Mountain Bike Adventures runs guided rides, and Purgatory Sports can set you up with equipment. Animas City Rock offers backcountry climbing trips for all levels, and Animas Valley Anglers leads guided fly-fishing trips.
 

Summer festivals and concerts include Music in the Mountains in the village tent in July, the Will Fjerstad Memorial Wine Fest in August and the San Juan Brewfest over Labor Day Weekend.

World-class competition returns to Purgatory with the Red Bull Divide & Conquer mountain sports relay on June 18. This race starts in Silverton, finishes in Purgatory Village, and includes trail running, paragliding, kayaking and mountain biking. Gravity Play Sports will host two events at the resort in summer 2005: the Adventure Xstream adventure race series comes back for the fifth year on June 11, and the Mountain Bike 100 will run on August 6.

For more information, visit www. durangomountainresort.com or www.durango.org.

by Tekla Dennison Miller

Don’t miss the Diamond Circle Theatre located in the historic Strater Hotel in Durango, Colorado. This premier Melodrama company is one of only a few in the country that performs historically authentic works in a true melodramatic style. 

The Diamond Circle Theatre’s forty-fourth season will run from the first week of June through the third week of September 2005 under the talented and sole direction of Jeannie Wheeldon, a fourth generation Durangoan. Wheeldon, a graduate of Stanford University in theater technology and dance, took over the theatre in 1986 from the founders, her father, Earl Barker and her grandmother, Marion Jarvis. 

Every winter Wheeldon travels the country to audition actors and researches scripts to get ready for rehearsal in April. Each season the Diamond Circle Theatre presents two authentic melodrama productions on alternating nights. These Melodramas are characterized by exaggerated movements precisely choreographed, strong emotions, up-tempo dialogue, rapid action and lively pace accompanied by original piano music. These Melodramas lure audiences to join in the fun of booing the villain, cheering the hero and laughing with the comics.

For the 2005 schedule and more information check out www.diamondcirclemelodrama.com or call 970-247-3400 or toll free at 877-325-3400.