SOUTH FORK, COLORADO, August 22, 2008– The beautiful art work of 26 San Luis Valley and Southwest regional artists transformed the South Fork Community Center into a fine art showcase on Saturday, August 16. Nearly 150 people attended the first annual “Keep the Rio Grande Grand” art benefit for the local conservation work of the non-profit Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust (RiGHT). With nearly $50,000 in sales, the evening was a huge success for both the land trust, which receives 1/3 of the proceeds, and for the participating artists.

(Above) Master of ceremonies Fred Bunch interviews sculptor and event Steering Committee Co-Chair Jim Gilmore about his work and support for conservation of the Rio Grande.

“We are extremely pleased and gratified by the support of the artists and the community,” said Keep the Rio Grande Grand Coordinator, Rio de la Vista. “We thought that if we offered a show of the wonderful artists in this community and region, people would be interested. And the evening exceeded even our highest hopes for both the beauty of the art work and the response and support of our guests."

(Above) Food, wine, flowers, friends and abundant fine art transformed the South Fork Community Center for a magical evening at Keep the Rio Grande Grand.

(Left) Katherine Benke of InsightArtConnection.com served as an elegant Docent for photographer Joe Zinn and painter Randy Pijoan at the event.

“Hearing people call it ‘a magical evening’ was very heartening to our hopes of combining the arts and conservation here,” said de la Vista. “And it was only possible with the help of so many people, who served on our Steering Committee, people who helped with editing and designing the outreach materials and catalogue of the art work, Docents who helped guests learn about and understand the art, the people who contributed time, food and drink to the evening. There was also great support from local businesses and individuals who were financial sponsors of the event. It was a just a spectacular example of our community rallying to help RiGHT’s efforts to conserve the land and water that we all treasure here in the San Luis Valley—including our working ranches, our water resources, the river corridor’s wetlands and wildlife habitat, and the scenic beauty that define this area for residents and visitors alike."

“We hope that “Keep the Rio Grande Grand” will be something that people will look forward to again next August and in years ahead—along with treasuring the beautiful protected lands that will be kept intact through our conservation efforts.”

(Right) World-renown artist Dave Woodman of Alamosa draws a captivating caricature of Cathy McNeil, Board member and co-founder of the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust.

Information about the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust and the “Keep the Rio Grande Grand” Premier Art Event is available at www.riograndelandtrust or call the RiGHT office at 719-852-4015 or e-mail right@fone.net.