Jennifer Dempsey

The Salida Circus turns Ten

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By Elliot Jackson

“When I came to Salida and began talking about starting a circus,” says Jennifer Dempsey, artistic director of the Salida Circus, “people thought I was nuts. So I stopped talking about it and just started doing it.”

If anyone still thinks that, they aren’t saying so as Salida Circus stands on the brink of its 10th anniversary celebration. From its beginnings in Jennifer’s backyard, with “me, a bag of kids’ costumes, and a pair of stilts,” as Jennifer puts it, Salida Circus has grown into an organization with a full professional performance schedule, a host of classes for both kids and adults in aerial work, clowning, tumbling and juggling, and an international scope. Two years ago, Dempsey led a small team back to Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the Belfast Community Circus’s hosting of the Festival of Fools, an international street performance festival; and in autumn 2016, she led another team to do performances and workshops in Jordan as guests of former Prime Minister Abdul Kabariti. Salida Circus has also performed in London and Newcastle, England, Germany and Guatemala.

In addition to these honors, Salida Circus is the only American member of Caravan, the European “social circus” network, and in 2015 was selected to be part of the Social Circus Network, chosen by Cirque du Soleil and the American Youth Circus Organization. Social circus practitioners emphasize that it is designed to foster community andm to bring people together across class, racial, ethnic, and religious lines.

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Eagles Summit Ranch – Winning with Integrity in the Sangre de Christos

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By Jennifer Dempsey

When wounded war veterans arrive at Eagles Summit Ranch in Westcliffe, Dave Roever understands their skepticism.

“These men and women are beat up pretty badly and aren’t buying into anything until I walk in,” said the 65-year-old Vietnam veteran. “Then they see all the disfigurement, all the damage I’ve been through and there is an instantaneous bond. They see I’ve been down the road before them and they trust me. My biggest advantage is my scars, they scream authenticity.”

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Home on the Streets?

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By Jennifer Dempsey

Homelessness in Chaffee County has increased 400% in the last decade according to Bonnie MacDonald, executive administrator for New Sharing and Caring.

“It used to be that we would get one or two calls a month, now it’s one or two a day,” she said. “We can’t always keep track of these people because they might meet somebody at a bar or something who says, ‘oh, here’s a couch.’ A couple of years ago we ended up with two babies from what we call couch surfing. We hope and pray that doesn’t happen again.”

For the past ten years MacDonald has opened her home to men and women needing a place to stay, many coming out of the county jail.

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“We Do”

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By Jennifer Dempsey

 

This summer I was walking up F Street in Salida when I ran into Missy and Heather. I knew the women only slightly, had never had a real conversation with either, but that day they were radiating such happiness, I had to stop and say hello.

“How are you gals?” I asked.

They were holding hands, beaming, grinning ear to ear.

“We’re great,” Missy said, smiling at Heather. “We got married yesterday!”

“Congratulations!” I said automatically, then paused and thought, “what does that mean?”

“What does that mean?” I asked dumbly.

The women smiled at each other again.

“Nothing to the state of Colorado,” Missy answered, “but everything to us.”

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Patch Adams: Subversive Healer

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By  Jennifer Dempsey

Forty-eight years ago, Hunter Doherty Adams vowed never to have another bad day in his life.

He was 18 and had been hospitalized for his third suicide attempt. During his stay in the psychiatric ward, Adams had the revelation that there must be a better way to respond to a world that seemed cold and uncaring than to try to leave it.

So he started clowning and the legend of Patch Adams, Clown-Doctor, was born, immortalized by Robin Williams in the 1998 film “Patch Adams.”

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Precious Metals

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By Jennifer Dempsey

For Salida artist Tammy Grubisha, solving complicated engineering problems for custom orders was the easy part. Coming up with a name for her company was the hard part.

“It was difficult naming my business because of all the things I do,” said the 44-year-old furniture maker/sculptor/welder/muralist. “I gave up trying to label what I do long ago. There are people who wouldn’t call me an artist, and some who wouldn’t call me a welder. All I know is I love what I do, it’s my gift to this world, and I make myself and other people happy with my creations.”

Finally deciding on the trade name Mz. Allaneus, (pronounced ‘miscellaneous’) Grubisha creates furniture, railings, lighting, tile work, signage, hardware and sculpture using metal, clay, wood, glass and found objects. Describing herself as a “full-time functional fine artist,” her style ranges from eccentric to elegant, and her work includes everything from Halloween ‘Grubkins’ (gargoyle inspired pumpkin faces) to high-end chandeliers and furniture.

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You Don’t Need to Run Away to Join the Circus Anymore

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By Nathan Ward

On a sunny day last summer, I looked up just in time to see a wildly tall woman stepping down F Street, a figure so tall that she had to bend down just to look in the tops of the downtown store windows. Then, acrobats raced by twirling, spinning, flipping heels over head. Then more clowns, young and old, short ones, tall ones and then unicycles spun by. The circus was in town!

The circus holds such a mythical place in human history that just the sight of circus people stirs the soul into an air of anticipation. I ran outside to greet the woman on stilts that turned out to be Jennifer Dempsey, founder of the Salida Circus. She was leading the entire local circus troupe to perform in the park and help raise awareness for Project Education Sudan, a non-profit that builds schools and hope in Southern Sudan.

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Modern Mayberry in Downtown Buena Vista?

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By Jennifer Dempsey

When John Grove and Shawn Woodrum took over the State Highway building at 402 Main Street in Buena Vista a year and a half ago, they weren’t exactly sure what the 5,000 square foot warehouse would become.

“We’ve just basically done it by the seat of our pants,” said Grove, 45. “If we had had a business plan it would have changed every other month. We knew we wanted a place that would cater to all walks of life. We wanted this to be a big umbrella that includes everybody in the community, like a modern Mayberry.”

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For the Love of Food

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By Jennifer Dempsey

I have always had a complicated relationship with food. I’ve feared it, desired it, hoarded it, denied it, resented it, obsessed over it.

So I’ve always felt a little envious and intimidated by folks who enjoy a pure, uninhibited love affair with food. But after interviewing several food lovers for this article, I feel embraced by these enthusiastic epicures, and am beginning to understand why George Bernard Shaw believed “there is no love sincerer than the love of food …”

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Q & A with Gayle Haggard, wife of the Founder and Former Pastor of the New Life Church, Ted Haggard

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by Jennifer Dempsey

In November 2009 evangelical preacher Ted Haggard resigned his leadership position with the New Life Church in Colorado Springs as well as his position as president of the National Association of Evangelicals after allegations of solicitation of a male prostitute and use of crystal meth were made public.

His wife Gayle has just released a book, “Why I Stayed,” concerning the events of the past three years and why she chose to remain with her husband.

Writer Jennifer Dempsey, who conducted this interview says, “When I spotted Ted Haggard at a grocery store in Westcliffe last November I thought, ‘Hey, isn’t that’s the right wing mega-preacher from Colorado Springs who had the drug and gay-escort scandal? What a hypocrite.’ Then I spoke to him. Then I read his wife’s book. Today my notion of Ted Haggard and his wife Gayle are completely different.”

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Questions and Answers About Swine Flu

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by Jennifer Dempsey

When Moffat High School offered a swine flu shot clinic this fall, Jerry Bergstrom decided not to have her two children get the vaccination.

Bergstrom said she isn’t entirely against the vaccine, but that she’s “been told positive and negative things about it. I feel that the shot hasn’t been tested enough,” she said. “In the past, everyone I knew personally who had gotten the flu shot got really sick afterwards and also got the flu. That’s the main reason I didn’t want my kids to get the shot.”

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Project Education Sudan comes to Salida, Sept 10-13

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Daniel Majok Gai and Isaac Khor Behr were only six years old when civil war broke out in their village in Southern Sudan. Fleeing their home and becoming separated from their families, Daniel and Isaac joined 30,000 other war orphans for a 1,000 mile journey to a refugee camp in Ethiopia. Walking barefoot, fighting enemy soldiers, starvation and disease, Daniel, Isaac and the other Sudanese children became known as the “Lost Boys of Sudan.”

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When Paths Converge

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By Jennifer Dempsey

Brock Oyler has always wanted to help the world.
“As funny as it might sound, I knew when I was about 5 or 6 years old that I wanted to help change the world,” said the 50 year-old?Salida native and founder of The Convergence Project (TCP). “After I got out of the bath tub one day, a day that I still remember vividly, I told my mother, ‘I need to do something great someday.’  She never stopped reminding me of that, and I wish she were here to see The Convergence Project today.”

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Celebrating National Poetry Month

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by Jennifer Dempsey

Thirteen years ago, the Academy of American Poets established April as National Poetry Month. During this month,?poets and poetry lovers?everywhere celebrate the art form that, writer David Ignatow claims,?“almost makes up for the estrangement?among the human race.”

Central Colorado is home to hundreds of remarkable poets and in?honor of?National Poetry Month?a few?reveal what makes them tick.?

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The Chaffee People’s Clinic

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Article by Jennifer Dempsey

Health Care – February 2009 – Colorado Central Magazine

PAT DULETSKY wouldn’t see Michael Moore’s movie Sicko.

“I was afraid I would break something,” said the Buena Vista physician and volunteer medical advisor of the Chaffee People’s Clinic. “So much of that movie was about stuff I have been incensed about for years. I remember before I was in medical school, hearing somebody say his insurance company would arbitrarily deny every tenth client and see if anybody would challenge it. It was standard operating procedure in his company. Apparently the company saved enough money that way that it was worthwhile.”

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Ross Elgin, carried by clay

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Article by Jennifer Dempsey

Local Artist – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

SALIDA ARTIST Ross Elgin has had a successful pottery business for more than 30 years. But last month when he was called for an interview, he was more focused on the economy than his pottery line, Igneous Earth Works.

“I need to watch this bailout decision,” the 56-year-old said. “Can I call you back in half an hour?”

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Camping at Wal-Mart

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Article by Jennifer Dempsey

Modern Life – August 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

IN 1962, when Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart store in Rogers, Arkansas, he vowed that the discount store would strive to meet the changing needs of American communities.

Wal-Mart’s mission statement says, “As we grow, we want to ensure that we do so in a way that aligns with the needs of our customers and communities.”

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Salida’s Little Shop of Horrors

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Article by Jennifer Dempsey

Artists – June 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

WALKING INTO 132 West First Street in Salida is like walking into the Little Shop of Horrors. Or maybe the prop room at Disneyland. It definitely could be Who-ville.

“We like to think of ourselves as Dr. Suess gone bad,” said Pat Landreth who, with partner Suzanne Montano, is the creative genius behind Bungled Jungle.

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Joshua Been: Transforming moments of beauty

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Article by Jennifer Dempsey

Local Artists – March 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

WHETHER HE’S PAINTING a waterfall, tree root or mandolin player, artist Joshua Been wants to show the inhabitants of this world how beautiful it is.

“Painting is a way of framing moments of beauty,” said the 33-year-old Salida artist. “I try to show the world why I find a subject particularly amazing. If a viewer sees one of my paintings and appreciates that subject matter a bit more than they did before, after I perhaps showed them how to see it in a unique way, then I feel I have done my job. I just can’t get over how amazing this world we live in is.”

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Giving much and receiving more

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Article by Jennifer Dempsey

Hospice – January 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

MORE THAN 50 PEOPLE throughout Chaffee County volunteer for Angel of Shavano Hospice. Working in conjunction with hospice doctors, nurses, social workers and therapists, these trained men and women visit dying patients to talk or not talk, to stroke a forehead or massage hands, to run errands, to clean house, and almost always to provide the caregiver with a much-needed break.

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Friendship Bridge: Microcredit from Salida to Guatemala

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Article by Jennifer Dempsey

Local Groups – November 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

TO KATHIE YOUNGHANS, Friendship Bridge is more than a small business loan program for Guatemalan women.

“It’s our own little private revolution,” said the owner of Amicas Restaurant and founder of Salida’s chapter of the international microcredit program. “It’s women helping women.”

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A conversation with the Stage Left Theatre Company

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Article by Jennifer Dempsey

Local Arts – October 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

AFTER THE PRODUCTION of their first show together as a company in January 2003, Greg West and Shelley Jacobs realized they shared more than a similar taste in theater.

“After producing [the play] Shadowbox, we discovered that we did, in fact, share a brain,” said Shelley, associate artistic director of Stage Left, the community theater company she and West founded in 2002. “Somehow with our different backgrounds we have the same frame of reference for what is quality theater and how to get there. My experience is way more from the community and educational institutions and Greg has worked professionally for 20 years and has that prism to look through — in fact, he was part of a Tony Award-winning crew.”

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200 years of living art history in Westcliffe

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Article by Jennifer Dempsey

Artists – September 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

ALMOST 200 YEARS of living art history will be present at the Brookwood Gallery in Westcliffe on September 15th.

“The three of us artists are expected to be there, but being in the ‘no green banana phase’ there’s no guarantee,” laughed Gerald Merfeld, 71, owner of the gallery that will display his work alongside Colorado Springs artists Eric Bransby, 90 and his wife Mary Ann Bransby, 87. “When you get to be my age, you don’t buy the green bananas anymore!”

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