Get ready for three days of  film that will excite and inspire you.  The 4th Annual Boulder Adventure Film Festival kicks of on Thursday, November 6th and will feature films spanning from surfing to skiing and exploration to environmentalism. This year's event benefits Leave No Trace . 

Films will be shown at various venues across town, so check out the program.   Looks like the Boulder Theater is one, so when in doubt, head downtown.  

Details: 

Boulder Adventure Film Festival  - November 6-8

Full Festival Pass - $50
Thursday Pass - $20
Friday  Pass - $20
Saturday Pass - $25

It's back.  A-Basin and Loveland are open for business and so is the Cairn Ski Report.   Get all the latest conditions on over 20 of Colorado's ski and snowboarding destinations.  Weather? Check.  Snow conditions? Check. Snowfall over the past 48 hrs? Check.  When the other 18+ locations will actually be open for business?  Check.  The Cairn Ski Report has your back. 

 Bookmark it.  Send the link to a friend.  Visit and refresh the page often.  You don't want it to be lonely now don't you?

We try to be Apolitcal at Cairn, but I do think it is important to vote - for whichever candidates and propositions you agree with.

Early voting is permitted at the local election office and at other designated locations.  No excuse is needed.  Contact your county office, here.  Early voting is October 20-October 31st, in person, and by mail/absentee deadline is November 3rd.

Additional information, here.

Naadam Festival

The tourists have flocked to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital city for the annual Naadam Festival. The festivities include the nation’s largest wrestling tournament with 512 contestants, archery, horse races and anklebone shooting (participants flick small bones at sheep anklebone targets). Mongolians go all out for this festival with elaborate costumes, colorful contortionists, and the peace banners of the great Genghis Khan (pronounced Chinggis Khaan here).

Full photo gallery and story after the jump

Predicaments

What should you do when there aren’t any garbage cans?  The Mongolian capital and countryside are littered with wrappers, cans, and bottles.  

Our group took a rafting trip in the north countryside with a Mongolian man helming one of the three boats.  A girl on his raft offered him a Choco Pie (a delicious marshmallow snack with a 30-year estimated shelf life).  He gladly accepted, opened the individually wrapped snack and tossed the plastic into the river.  She gasped in disbelief.  The Mongolian man panicked, understanding that he had offended her, he was momentarily frozen with social anxiety.  Five seconds later, he leapt into the river fully clothed and swam to recover the wrapper.  Priceless.  

Garbage and restroom facilities are relatively uncommon here.  There are random holes in the ground in the city filled with garbage, and the countryside doesn’t appear to have a standardized method for disposal of trash.

Bathrooms here are always an experience.  I now understand the value of readily available toilet paper, and find joy in toilets instead of holes in the ground with narrow weathered boards on either side for your feet.  The privacy afforded by an enclosed “outhouse” is to be celebrated too.   

Hold on to your hats (but not your shoes)!

Adventure Records  and Radio 1190 have announced the release of Adventure Records Volume 5, a local music compilation on Friday, August 15th at the Hi-Dive , 7 S. Broadway, Denver, CO at 8:30 pm.  The 18+ show will feature The Swayback, John Common, Kissing Party, Three Cheers Faraday and Goodbye Champion. Tickets  are $10 in advance/$12 at the door, and the CD is included with your ticket purchase.

This disc feature 16 homegrown talents: John Common, Blue Million Miles, The Swayback, teamAwesome, Three Cheers Faraday, Dan Craig, Good Housekeeping, deadbubbles, Widowers, LINT!, Kissing Party, All Capitals, Goodbye Champion, Sherrie Scott and Lew Collins, Carbon Choir, and Everything Absent and Distorted (a love story). To learn more about these artists, be sure to check out Cairn's profiles.

 In addition to celebrating the release of their new compilation, Adventure Records will also be hosting  a new and gently-used shoe drive for Soles4Soul.  Adventure Records is dedicating this CD to the memory of David Parrish who was slain in Mexico last year while trying to prevent his mother from being robbed.   Soles4Souls approached the Parrish family about producing a David Parrish Honorary Flip Flop to honor David's life using a design on the shoe created by David and his sister, Lesley. Nashville-based Soles4Souls™ facilitates the donations of both new and used shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Please visit www.soles4souls.org/ways_to_help/david_parrish.html for more details on the life and legacy of David Parrish and for information on ordering the David Parrish Honorary Flip Flop. Those providing new, gently-used shoes or a receipt for the purchase of the David Parrish Honorary Flip Flop at the CD release party will be given a CD of Adventure Records, Volume 4.

We'll be there, hope to see you all out there too!

And since you are interested, view the band profiles of the bands that will compile Volume 5.

Part 1 (added 8-07-08)

Part 2 (added 8-14-08)

Part 3 (added 8-15-08)

Have a little fun chasing skirts!

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Local Boulder company, SkirtSports redefines the 5k on September 6, encouraging men everywhere to follow in women’s skirt-clad footsteps

SkirtSports, creator of the original fitness skirt, announces registration for their fourth SkirtChaser 5K race of 2008 in Denver, CO, to be held on September 6, 2008.  The innovative race begins with an all-women’s start, followed by a men’s “skirt chaser” start three minutes later and will conclude with a post-race block party at Fillmore Plaza (Fillmore Plaza & E. 2nd Ave., Denver).

“The SkirtChaser Race Series is unlike any race you’ve ever participated in and we’re thrilled to be bringing it back to our local community,” said Maria Hennessey, Director of Sales and Marketing for SkirtSports.  “Our goal is to bring both women and men together to celebrate fitness and socialize in an atmosphere that is friendly, encouraging, and most importantly fun.”

True to the unique style and flavor of SkirtSports fashion, post-race events will include a block party with free beer from local brewer, Oskar Blues, Red Bull mixes, great food, a fashion show and a live band.  SkirtSports products, sold through Outdoor Divas (2717 East 3rd Ave, Denver), will be for sale at the party as well as a variety of products from other community sponsors involved in the race.

Female participants will receive apparel from the new SkirtSports Race Collection which includes a Catch Me Race Skirt, while the male “SkirtChasers” receive a men’s technical tee, featuring Coolmax technologies. Admission to the post-race block party is included with each entry. Prize purses will be awarded to the top three participants; first place $500, second place $200, and third place $100.

Registration for the SkirtChaser 5K can be found at www.skirtchaser5k.com, along with details of pre-race and race day events. Entries are limited, so early registration is encouraged.

2008 SkirtChaser National Race Series sponsors include: COOLMAX, Oskar Blues, Red Bull, PowerBar, Faytex (Dri-Lex), Headsweats and MapMyRun.