Community events | KDUR Community Radio

Following your Passion: A Woman’s Fly-fishing Journey" Wednesday, August 26 6:30-8:00 p.m. Center of Southwest Studies - Lyceum (room 120) Free + Open to All! Contact: Cristie Scott, cmscott@fortlewis.edu, 970-247-7333 swcenter.fortlewis.edu *Hosted by the Center of Southwest Studies* Librarian by trade and angler at heart, Shelley Walchak gravitated towards fly-fishing later in life and was inspired in 2012 to leave her post at the Colorado State Library to take up the challenge of fishing a river a week for an entire year. Seven Rocky Mountain states and 52 rivers later, Shelley released her book "52 Rivers" in 2014 documenting her adventures and the life-lessons along the way. Now, over a decade later, Shelley is still traveling and angling and is ready to share an epilogue to 52 Rivers, which at its core is about chasing dreams, embracing the unknown, and finding inner joy along the way. Shelley Walchak retired from 40 years of librarian service, including past director of the Pine River Library District (Bayfield, CO) and senior consultant with the Colorado State Library (Denver, CO). She currently serves as board secretary to the Maria’s Literary Foundation, as well as board President of the Southwest Colorado Humanities Roundtable History Live! event series and still travels and fishes every chance she gets.

Deadly Fun Learning: Mysteries that Champion Our National Parks" Wednesday, September 2, 2026 6:30-7:30 p.m. Center of Southwest Studies - Lyceum (Room 120) Free + Open to All Contact: Cristie Scott, cmscott@fortlewis.edu, 970-247-7333 https://tinyurl.com/CSWS-Upcoming-Events Scott Graham, National Outdoor Book Award-winning author of the National Park Mystery Series, will share the writing and development over the last decade of his successful National Park Mystery Series, published by nonprofit environmental and social justice publisher Torrey House Press. Newly released book ten in the series is GREAT SAND DUNES MASSACRE, set in southern Colorado’s San Luis Valley. Book nine in the series, DEATH VALLEY DUEL, was a finalist for the 2025 Colorado Book Award. It features a villainous ultra-trail race across the Mojave Desert based in part on the annual Hardrock 100 ultra-trail race in Silverton. Scott is based in Durango, CO and, in addition to a thriving writing career, is an avid outdoorsman and advocate for public lands. In addition to his mysteries, Scott is the author of five nonfiction books, including Extreme Kids, and winner of the National Outdoor Book Award. Scott has worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, radio disk jockey, and coal-shoveling fireman on the steam-powered Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. This is a featured event of the 2026 Southwest Colorado Humanities Roundtable History Live!

Woven Landscapes: An Artist Talk with Darby Raymond-Overstreet" Thursday, September 24 6:00-7:30 p.m. Center of Southwest Studies - Lyceum (Room 120) Free + Open to All Contact: Cristie Scott, cmscott@fortlewis.edu, 970-247-7333 Hosted by the Center of Southwest Studies Join us for a special presentation by, Darby Raymond-Overstreet, a featured artist in the Center of Southwest Studies’ current exhibition, Constellations of Place. Darby, born in Tuba City and raised in Flagstaff, Arizona, is an award-winning Diné artist who specializes in digital collage and printmaking to create powerful portraits, landscapes, and abstract forms inspired by and derived from traditional Diné textiles, with particular interest in pieces woven in the late 1800’s-1950’s. Her work has been featured in numerous publications, art markets, and exhibitions, including Horizons: Weaving Between the Lines with Dine Textiles at the Museum of Indian arts and Crafts (Santa Fe, NM), The Force is With Our People at the Museum of Northern Arizona (Flagstaff, AZ), and the The Return of the Force at the Center of Southwest Studies. Darby earned BA degrees in both Psychology and Studio Art, graduating with Honors from Dartmouth College, and currently resides in Chimayó, NM. “I am a Diné/Navajo artist inspired by the strength and resilience of the generations that came before me and by the lands that have been home to my people for countless generations. Through my practice of incorporating historic weaving in my digital works, I acknowledge the strength and resilience that my ancestors maintained in the face of immense adversity brought on by a shifting world propelled by colonial ideals and values. I aim to highlight how their legacies empower current generations to confront today’s challenges for a better future. My work addresses themes of identity and belonging, and examines the interdependent relationship that exists between land, art, and people.” Constellations of Place is made possible with generous support from the Belonging Colorado initiative of The Denver Foundation and the Greater Good Science Center and is in partnership with the America 250-Colorado 150 Southwest regional “Power of Place” initiative.