Need a special activity for Mother’s Day? Come enjoy a Sunday afternoon with silent film classics accompanied live by professional pianist Adam Swanson! At least once a year, Adam presents a series of short comedy films from the silent era. In May, he will feature Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, and a thrilling railroad-themed movie! All films will be accompanied with original period music LIVE on the DAC’s beautiful 9-foot grand piano. These events will be family friendly, so bring your kids and enjoy this fun and unique opportunity.
Easy Street (Mutual Films, 1917)
Starring Charlie Chaplin
This is one of Chaplin’s legendary early silent shorts where he plays his famous Little Tramp character on the slums of Easy Street. After a religious awakening, he’s hired by the police force. Chaplin is attacked by the town Bully and then manages to defeat an entire mob. But all of this is to impress the pretty Mission Worker, played by Edna Purviance.
Double Whoopee (MGM, 1929)
Starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
Laurel and Hardy’s classic silent comedy shorts have recently been restored to look better than ever! Double Whoopee dates from the very end of the silent era and finds Laurel and Hardy playing a footman and doorman at a swanky hotel. They are asked to entertain a Germanic prince but then get distracted by blonde bombshell Jean Harlow!
Chasing Choo Choos (Pathé Exchange, 1927)
Starring Monty Banks
Chasing Choo Choos should be a thrill for Durango railfans! This is a shortened version of a feature-length movie called Play Safe, starring a talented but largely forgotten actor of the 1920s, Monty Banks. The second half of this short includes incredible real-life footage with many stunts filmed on the San Diego and Arizona Railway. Virginia Lee Corbin plays Monty’s “Girl Friday.” Will he rescue her from the runaway train or not?
Adam Swanson is one of the world’s foremost performers of vintage American popular music, including ragtime, early jazz, the Great American Songbook, and more. He holds a bachelor’s in classical piano and a master’s in musicology from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. Adam has been a featured performer and lecturer at ragtime and jazz festivals across the United States and abroad, and he is the only four-time winner of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest. He made his New York debut in Carnegie Hall at the age of nineteen, where he performed with Michael Feinstein. Adam has performed at the Cinecon Classic Film Festival in Hollywood and the Kennedy Center, as well as in Hungary, Switzerland, Australia, and France. He has worked with such musicians as Toronto’s John Arpin, former rock star Ian Whitcomb, and legendary 1950s recording artist Johnny Maddox, who was one of Adam’s greatest influences. He lives in Durango, Colorado, where he frequently performs in the Diamond Belle Saloon at the Historic Strater Hotel. Adam is also the director of the Durango Ragtime and Early Jazz Festival. Visit Adam online: adamgswanson.com.
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY OUR FRIENDS AT:
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
durangotrain.com
Community Foundation Serving SW Colorado
swcommunityfoundation.org
Sunday, May 10, 2026
2:00pm (1:30 doors open)
