Organized by Amy Flakne ’01, we will have a cookout with a keg at the first spot on the beach at A-Basin on Saturday, March 19. Lunch will be served between 11:00 am and 1:30 pm, and we’ll be hanging out until 4:30 pm. Come ski or snowboard, or simply join Yale, Dartmouth, and Columbia alum for late winter fun & frolic. Advance ticket purchase is required, so that Amy can get good a headcount for food purchase and verify attendees, We will check email confirmations on your smartphones.

Tickets are available for purchase on Eventbrite now through March 16
Adults: $15; children: $5;  for burgers, dogs, sides, and beers & drinks. No refunds.

Tickets do not cover lifts tickets.

For inquiries, contact either Amy Flakne, amy.flakne@wpxenergy.com, 303-993-9580; or Kevin Andrew Brown, Dartmouth ’92, kevinandrewbrown@gmail.com, 918-633-9535

Women of Abstract Expressionism at the Denver Art Museum is one of the major art exhibitions of 2016. Conceived of by curator Gwen Chanzit in 2008, it showcases the work of women who were part of the mid-20th-century Abstract Expressionist movement.

Gwen Chanzit and artist Judith Godwin

Although some of these artists have been previously acknowledged, they were not granted equal billing with their male counterparts, and others are lesser known but equally talented. Women artists in general were rarely afforded the same status as men, and Abstract Expressionism specifically was characterized as a masculine-to-macho aesthetic.

University of Denver professor and DAM curator of modern art, Gwen Chanzit has redressed this omission with a gathering of stunning artworks, and the exhibition has received national and international acclaim. Art lovers are making their way to Denver to see the show, and Dr. Chanzit will conduct a special after-hours tour for Yalies on Tuesday, August 16th, starting at 5:30 pm. [The website event post requires an end time, and the tour may end before or after 7:30.] She is also the proud mother of Yale grad Adam Chanzit ’03 and is happily offering her time, knowledge, and enthusiasm to CYA.

All fees, including admission, have been waived. RSVP to Stephanie Grilli, steph@artscribe.net. Parking in the Golden Triangle is free after 6:00 pm.

The catalog for Women of Abstract Expression is a Yale University Press publication.

CYA will host Yale graduate Lori Laitman (BA 1975, Master of Music 1976) for party food and libations at the home of Allison Westfahl Wagner ’01 on Saturday evening, April 30th, 6:30-9:30 pm. Lori is the composer of The Scarlet Letter, a new opera to receive its world premier at opera Colorado in early May. A noted composer of music for voice, Lori is the composer of operas, choral works, and over 250 songs. Her music is widely performed, internationally and throughout the United states to critical acclaim. The Journal of Singing wrote, “It is difficult to think of anyone before the public today who equals her exceptional gifts for embracing a poetic text and giving it new and deeper life through music,” and Fanfare Magazine calls her “one of the most talented and intriguing of living composers.

We are privileged to be able to spend time with Lori, as she helps prepare Opera Colorado for The Scarlet Letter. We thank Allison for welcoming us into her central Denver home with her new baby grand piano, which will be available to Lori to play. May Day weekend is a lovely time of year in Colorado with people emerging after winter, and we can celebrate spring’s and music’s new beginnings at a delightful evening with one of the most noted composers in America today.

$20 fee/person to cover refreshment and expenses. Email CYA president Stephanie Grilli with inquiries and to RSVP: steph@artscribe.net. She will provide payment instructions and location details. Attendance is limited to 40. So sign on soon to partake of this festive alumni get-together and night-on-the-town.

In conjunction with Lori’s appearance, CYA members and guests can receive a discount on tickets to The Scarlet Letter for the Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday performances (May 10-15). For tickets, go to the Opera Colorado site and enter the discount code “CYASCARLET” when you order your tickets. Attendance at the soirée and the opera are not contingent upon each other. Thanks to Jay Mead ’76 for his involvement and support and for arranging the CYA discount.

At a very special event, Dean Jonathan Holloway, Edmund S. Morgan Professor of African American Studies, History, and American Studies, will meet with Colorado Yale Association members at the Clyfford Still Museum on Tuesday March 8. The reception begins at 6:00, with Holloway addressing attendees about recent and future developments at Yale at 6:45. This will be followed by a brief Q&A, with the Yale College dean available for informal discussion for the rest of the event.

Our use of the Clyfford Still Museum has been made possible by deputy director Joan Prusse (MA ’83, M.Phil ’83, J.D. ’89). Attendees have access to the gallery spaces and can opt to take a tour. Appetizers and wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverage will be served. Given the opportunity in combination with the dean’s visit, this reception is a free event. It will be limited to 100 attendees. RSVP required. This promises to be a great evening to share with fellow Yale alums.

RSVP: Stephanie Grilli, president, Colorado Yale Association, steph@artscribe.net

Donations and sponsorships are welcome

In its feature on Peace Corps volunteers over 50, USA Today wrote, “While other couples their age enjoy the perks of retirement in the USA, the Fulfords live in a two-room, tin-roofed hut on a rural homestead with no running water.” The homestead where Mark Fulford ’70 and his wife Katherine lived for two years was in Swaziland, one of the few absolute monarchies left on the planet.

With Mozambique to the east and South Africa to the north, south, and west, it is a land of stunning beauty but one in which its people suffer from the world’s highest incidence of HIV infection. The sole mission of the Peace Corps there is AIDS prevention. Yet the Fulfords experience is a much richer one than that outlined in a guidebook or Peace Corps manual, and Mark’s thoughtful chronicle is available at sanibonanifromswaziland.blogspot.com. Welcoming CYA members into their home, they hope other Peace Corps veterans will attend and share their experiences as well, but the gathering offers insight into a people, a place, and current developments in southern Africa. You are asked to bring an appetizer…something light to eat…and or a beverage (wine, beer, soda, etc.).

Sunday, January 31, 5-7:00 pm
740 Franklin Street, Denver

RSVP: steph@artscribe.net