The Center of the American West at the University of Colorado at Boulder will host a mock divorce trial between the rural and urban West on Saturday, Oct. 21, in Fort Collins.
The program will be held from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Trinity Lutheran Church, 301 E. Stuart St., and is sponsored by Common Ground - The Urban/Rural Connection, an organization that promotes sustainable communities. The event is free and open to the public.
The mock trial will be presented as a divorce hearing between Sandy Greenhills West (the rural West) and Urbana Asphalt West (the urban West). Sandy Greenhills is seeking to sever his relationship with Urbana citing irreconcilable differences ranging from "failure to support" to infidelity through flirting with foreign markets. These events set the divorce hearing into motion.
Local participants playing urban witnesses will include Jim Leistikow, interim senior pastor of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, and Debbie Williams, also of Fort Collins. Farmers Steve Fritzler, of Platteville, and Bob and Rita Meilander, of Holyoke, will play the roles of rural witnesses.
Fort Collins Judge John Kockenburger will play the role of judge. Steve Eulberg of Fort Collins will be the master of ceremonies and also will play the role of bailiff.
The performance will include Patricia Nelson Limerick, professor of history at CU-Boulder, as Urbana Asphalt West; Dr. Charles Scoggin, CEO and co-founder, Sage Medical Institute Inc. in Boulder, as Sandy Greenhills West; and Tamar Scoggin, administrative assistant for the Center of the American West, as Suburbia Greenlawn West.
The event is funded by a grant from the Congregational Ministries Board of the Rocky Mountain Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The mission of the Center of the American West is to explore the distinctive character and issues of the region and to help Westerners become well-informed, participating citizens in their communities.
For more information contact the CU-Boulder Center of the American West at (303) 492-4879 or visit the Web site at .