I remember 20 years ago, when then Colorado Gov. Bill Owens sent a chill over the entire Colorado arts industry when he slashed annual state funding for arts programs from $1.9 million to $200,000.

So the significance is never lost on me when the state’s arts office announces its latest round of grants.

Today, the fancily titled Colorado Creative Industries awarded $1.26 million in “Colorado Creates Grants” that will benefit 97 arts organizations across 24 Colorado counties over the next two years.

“Arts and cultural production accounts for 3.9% of the Colorado economy, contributing 102,383 jobs – due in large part to the hard-working nonprofit arts-and-culture organizations supported through the Colorado Creates grant,” said Christy Costello, Colorado Creative Industries’ interim director.

Separately, Governor Jared Polis announced that Joshua Blanchard will be the  CCI’s new director. That job falls within The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, which has been conducting a search to replace the retired Margaret Hunt for just under a year. The CCI Director is responsible for strategic planning, implementation and evaluation of all programs and services, while representing the agency to the public, media, cultural organizations and legislative bodies.

“Art and creativity make Colorado special and help small businesses thrive. I’m so excited Josh Blanchard is joining our Colorado team to help build Colorado’s creative community and enrich the lives of all Coloradans,” said Polis.

Blanchard, the former Executive Director of the Lake Dillon Theatre Company (now called Theatre SilCo), said he will resign as Summit County Commissioner on Sept. 1 to accept his new new position with the state.

“The creative industry is among the top economic drivers for the state of Colorado,” Blanchard told the Summit Daily’s Robert Tann. “The creative sector has been disproportionately affected post COVID … audiences have been slower to return to art shows and live performances and traditional aspects of the creative sector. So it’s a real focus in terms of the overall economy for the state.”

Blanchard said his goal is :to advocate and support efforts to ensure Colorado’s creative sector remains as vibrant tomorrow as it is today.

“It’s a critical time for artists, arts organizations and creative districts in addressing the unique challenges of responding to post-pandemic realities within the creative sector.”

Over 20 years, Blanchard and husband Christopher Alleman built Theatre Silco from a tiny company into a robust, $2 million annual business in Silverthorne. As commissioner, the Summit Daily credits Blanchard for the expansion and renovation of the North Branch Library in Silverthorne, as well as affordable housing efforts, including a 52-unit modular home project in Breckenridge.

Half of the new CCI grant recipients are based in rural Colorado counties. According to a National Endowment for the Arts survey, two-thirds of rural businesses believe arts and entertainment offerings are important for attracting and retaining new workers. Additionally, 36% of these awardees have annual operating budgets below $100,000.

Metro-area recipients range from the Colorado Korean Chorus to the Society for Creative Aging to Swallow Hill Music to the Historic Elitch Theatre to the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival. Statewide beneficiaries include the Colorado Springs Conservatory in Colorado Springs and  Women Writing the West in Durango.

The “Colorado Creates” grants are funded through a partnership between the state and NEA.

Local film goes ‘Prime’ time

The good news for the locally made film “Publish or Perish,” which has been a darling on the film-festival circuit for the past year: The dark comedy about a professor who accidentally kills a student and then tries to cover it up will be released for streaming on Friday (Aug. 18) on both Prime Video and Vudu …

The bummer news: “Publish or Perish” had been selected for the upcoming Denver Film Festival, which only features titles that have not yet been streamed. So taking a bite of the Amazon apple disqualified it for Denver’s premier film fest.

“Publish or Perish” stars Denver Center Education Head of Acting Timothy McCracken and is directed by David Liban. The cast includes James Shanklin, Anastasia Davidson, Bonnie Clarisse Utter, Nick James, Katie Michels, Caitlyn Miller, Caleb Liban, Mark Wilson, Brian Shea and Amie MacKenzie.

Autistic musician in running for NYC

Littleton musician Willië Schandel, who is on the autism spectrum, is in the running for the national Opening Act Competition, a contest that will give one rising artist the opportunity to open for Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson and OneRepublic at a concert in New York on Oct. 14. The winner will also take home $10,000.

Schandel, a Colorado native known around town as Wild Willië, has overcome some personal struggles, said his friend, Rob Allen. He plays local venues and works in the kitchen at a local assisted-living center. “He is loved by all who meet him,” said Allen.

Schandel has made it into the top five and voting is now underway for something called “Group Finalists.” Voting ends at 9 p.m. Aug. 24.

“Music is not just my hobby. It’s my life,” said Schandel.

The contest allows the public to vote for free, but the event is a fundraiser for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Noel, Grandin lead Hall of Fame class

Historian Tom Noel and renowned animal behaviorist Mary Temple Grandin are among the 12 authors who will be inducted into the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame on Sept. 11 at the DoubleTree Hilton in the Denver Tech Center. The rest of the class is Jeanne Abrams, William Hamilton, Peter Heller, Mary Kelly, Patricia Limerick, Kathleen O’Neal Gear, Linda Wommack and Philip Yance. In addition, John Denver and Abelardo “Lalo” Delgado, widely regarded as Denver’s grandfather of Chicano literature, will be named as posthumous “legacy” inductees.

Denver’s senior arts advisor

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has named Esther Lee Leach his senior advisor for community partnerships. She will act “as a liaison between the Mayor’s Office and key business, arts, nonprofit, political and cultural stakeholders, as well as overseeing Denver’s Boards and Commissions.” Leach is vice president of development and fundraising at the Downtown Denver Partnership.

Johnston has basically made everyone in predecessor Michael Hancock’s administration reapply for their jobs, and there is no word yet on the position that most directly affects Denver’s arts community: Ginger White Brunetti’s place as executive director of Denver’s Department of Arts and Venues. Spokesperson Jordan Fuja told the Denver Gazette the process is continuing and to expect an announcement “in the coming weeks.”

Into the frying pan

“Into the Fire,” a hybrid evening of performances and testimonials framed around the subject of unaddressed, systemic harm in our arts venues, drew about 100 to the Bug Theatre on Monday. B. Glick, who plays Oberon in Phamaly Theatre Company’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” called out a seeming contradiction in the local theater community’s proclaimed commitment to opening up auditions and casting to more actors and directors with disabilities – but there is no evident infrastructure in place to achieve those goals.

Glick called for fresh data collection on disability representation, for local companies to publicly commit to casting characters who have disabilities with actors who have disabilities, and for the Colorado Theatre Guild’s published Community Standards to add a new section on accessibility obligations for both performers and audiences.

At a time of perhaps unprecedented division and rancor among the local performing community, Phamaly Artistic Director Ben Raanan took the high road.

“My challenge to everyone in this moment of severe trauma is to go one or two directions,” he said. “Be the person who creates the thing that’s going to change somebody’s life  … or be the person who allows you to change somebody’s life.”

The conversation continues Sunday when IDEA Stages holds a more formal community conversation at 6:30 p.m. at The Bug Theater, 3654 Navajo St.

John ‘n Jenna at Aurora Fox

While the city of Aurora continues to reimagine the Aurora Fox in preparation for its full return to theater programming in 2024, it is offering a variety of intimate musical performances. And this weekend’s lineup promises to be more full-on concert than boring old cabaret.

Think of young actors Jenna Moll Reyes and John Hauser as Denver’s Moldy Peaches. (And that’s a good thing. Just think adorable couples of rock.) The pair will gather a full band (called Weird House Sounds) to perform original songs and stories at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday (Aug. 18-19) in the studio theater,  9900 E. Colfax Ave. Tickets $25 at aurorafoxartscenter.org

Briefly …

Revered documentarian Ken Burns will be in Denver Aug. 24 for a screening of his upcoming documentary “The American Buffalo” at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, but if you didn’t get tickets five seconds after they went on-sale, you’re probably going to be like the rest of us: Watching the two-part, four-hour film when it makes its national telecast debut Oct. 16-17 on all PBS stations.

“American Idol” now conducts its auditions online on 50 designated dates, one for each state. Colorado hopefuls will be seen virtually on Monday (Aug. 21). To submit an audition video, go to abc.com/shows/american-idol/auditions …

Last year, we told you about the singular “Boulder Blind Cafe Experience,” a pop-up dinner, social impact discussion and intimate concert held in complete darkness. Brian Rocheleau, a traveling musician from Boulder who goes by the name Rosh (rhymes with Josh), will be joined by the Richie Flores Project for another weekend of experiences Friday through Sunday at the Dairy Arts Center. Info at thedairy.org …

History Colorado will be screening the Pam Grier classic “Friday Foster” at 6:30 p.m. Friday (Aug. 18) as  part of its ongoing Blaxplanation program. Grier is a graduate of Denver East High School, right across the street from where the film will be shown at the Sie FilmCenter. The screening will be followed by a conversation with Christopher Marlon, editor of “Friday Foster: The Sunday Strips” and author R. Alan Brooks.

And finally …

Sunday is closing day for BDT Stage’s “The Sound of Music,” and it was originally intended to be closing day –  period – for the venerable Boulder dinner theater that opened exactly 45 years before that date: Aug. 19, 1978. The land at 5501 Arapahoe Ave. has been sold, but planned construction to turn the iconic theater into luxury housing has been delayed. So BDT will live on for one more show: “Fiddler on the Roof” opens Sept. 8 and runs through Jan. 13. If “The Sound of Music” is any barometer, the entire run of “Fiddler” will sell out quickly, so make your plans to order one last chicken cordon bleu right now at bdtstage.com.