Shooting the moon
Animas High students turn senior project into full-scale arts festival at Tico Time

Four Animas High School seniors are about to find out what it really means to turn an idea into something real. On April 25–26, Anya McMillen, Sophie May, Penny Mark and Avery Colclough will co-host the inaugural Under One Moon Festival at Tico Time River Resort in Aztec. The two-day, all-ages festival features live music, dance, art, food and vendors. It’s ambitious by any standard. It’s even more so considering the organizers are all 18 and juggling it as their senior project.

“We signed up for a really big project,” May said, laughing. “And now the really big project is happening, and we’re like, ‘Oh – that’s what we signed up for.’”

At Animas High School, seniors spend their final year developing a long-term project split into three parts: a research thesis, a TED-style talk and an “action project.” For organizers of Under One Moon, the action piece quickly grew beyond a typical assignment.

“Last summer we were like, we want to do something together. Let’s put on an arts festival,” McMillen said. “I dance, Sophie does music, and we wanted to give back to the Durango arts community. So we’ve kind of taken the action project a little bit further.”

That idea came with a bigger goal: connection. Both students saw a thriving arts scene in Durango, but one that often exists in separate pockets.

“There’s so much art in this town,” May said. “But there aren’t many events that connect everyone – we wanted to do something that connects dance, adult music and youth music, and the different dance studios and music places for kids, and then all have it raise money toward access to the arts.”

The result is Under One Moon, a festival designed to be as inclusive as it is eclectic. Performers range from young students at local music schools like Stillwater and iAM Music to established regional acts, including Ragged Oak, Alicia Glass and Animal Soul. Headliners include the Graham St. Clair Band, an emerging Texas country and Americana group, on Saturday night and Santa Fe hip hop and reggae group Boom Roots, which will close out Sunday night.

In addition, dance companies, including Prickly Pear Dance – of which McMillen is a member – Bella Dance, Durango Dance and Wildwood Dance Co. will perform throughout the weekend in between musical sets. Visual artists will also be on hand, including a fellow group of students from Animas High who will be upcycling clothing as part of their senior project to bring awareness to the negative impacts of screen time.

Events will run both days, from 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Sunday

Pulling it all together has taken the students six months – and more than a few moments of doubt.

According to McMillen, finding a place to host the event proved most challenging, with the girls looking at wedding venues and other potential sites. “We wanted something different. Not just another event at Buckley Park. We wanted it to feel bigger,” she said.

“We reached a point where we were freaking out,” said May. “We said, ‘It’s not going to happen, we can’t even find a venue.”

The turning point came with a suggestion from a teacher: reach out to Tico Time. The venue south of town, known for hosting regional festivals, turned out to be an ideal partner.

“Robert Holmes, who owns it, was amazing,” McMillen said. “He has wanted to support youth-focused events and ended up donating the entire venue and resources.”

That support changed everything. With a professional stage, sound equipment and infrastructure already in place, the students could focus on booking artists, securing sponsors and building the festival itself.

Even so, funding required persistence. The pair spent months contacting local businesses, leaning on family and community connections and piecing together sponsorships.

“We spent a lot of time going around to businesses, asking for sponsorships and networking with family friends and just using our connections,” said McMillen. “It’s been a ton of work.” 

Both students bring personal stakes to the project. McMillen has trained in dance for years, most recently with Prickly Pear, studying ballet, contemporary and jazz. May is a singer-songwriter who plays piano, guitar and bass and performs in multiple bands.

They both plan to take the stage during the festival they organized, saying it felt important to be part of it in that way too.

Beyond performance, the festival is rooted in a larger mission: expanding access to the arts. All proceeds will be donated to two organizations: Durango Friends of the Arts, which funds local programs, and the Genesis Inspiration Foundation, a national nonprofit that provides grants and scholarships to under-resourced youth.

The scale of the event is not lost on its organizers, especially in the final days leading up to it. “We’re at this point this week where we’re kind of regretting all of our life choices,” May said with a laugh.

McMillen added, “This week, we’re kind of like, ‘Why did we do this?’ But it’s also really fun. And I think when it’s over, we’ll be really glad we did it.”

After graduation, both students will continue pursuing the arts. May plans to study music business and songwriting in Nashville, while McMillen is heading to a small arts college in Georgia, where she’s considering a path that blends dance, business and photography.

But first comes Under One Moon – a project that has already outgrown its origins as a school assignment. And if all goes as planned, it will morph into something much larger: a space where a community gathers across disciplines and generations to celebrate art – and make sure more young people have access to it.

“We’re just like, ‘We’re going to go big or go home,’” said McMillen.