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Ice bumper cars, Oakley goggle week, forest bathing and more: Tricia’s weekend picks

New Ice Bumper Cars

Just when you thought there were enough activities to do in Eagle County, the Vail Recreation District has added one more: ice bumper cars.

The Vail Recreation District debuted the ice bumper cars at the Dobson Ice Arena over the holidays to rave reviews.

“It’s important for a world-class resort like Vail to constantly be innovating and bringing fresh new activities to the resort to keep guests coming back,” said Jessie Klehfoth, marketing and communications director at the Vail Recreation District. “It’s also important to offer new activities that are approachable and economical for locals to enjoy as well, to sustain a vibrant community.”



These bumper cars are fun for all ages and abilities. There is little skill involved, as long as the guest is tall enough to reach both steering handles. Typically, kids should be 5 years old or older and be at least 42 inches tall. It’s an easy and affordable option to enhance a day in Vail, and a great activity during après-ski hours in the winter. The Vail Rec District also plans to offer the ice bumper cars year-round, providing a fun activity for people who want to come in out of the sun and cool off in the summer.

Have an event, office party or birthday celebration coming up? The Vail Recreation District can customize an outing for you complete with treats and eats from their food and beverage department and a conference room you can use as a party space. With 12 cars available, the time needed for a party will depend on how many people attend and how long of a ride each person gets. “We think 15-30 minutes per guest is just right, they get a nice long ride, but it’s not too long,” Klehfoth said.

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The cost is $10 for a 15-minute ride. Schedule varies by day, so check http://www.vailrec.com for the weekly schedule and to reserve a time slot online.

Films and live blues at the Vilar

The Vilar Performing Arts Center shows its diverse schedule by hosting ski movies and a blues legend this weekend. On Friday, view two epic Teton Gravity Research films in one night and on Sunday, see Chris Smither play blues-based folk tunes during two shows at the recently remodeled May Gallery adjacent to the Vilar Performing Arts Center.

Teton Gravity Research is an action sports media company whose films have amazed and inspired us since it began in Jackson Hole, WY in 1996. Teton Gravity Research will show two of its 2019 releases, “Winterland” and “Fire on the Mountain,” which was a collaboration with the Grateful Dead.

Earlier this year, I interviewed professional skier Chris Benchetler about the collaboration between the Grateful Dead, Atomic Skis and the artwork of Benchetler and fellow artist Skye Walker on the Bent Chetler powder ski. 

“With the Grateful Dead, no show was ever the same and that’s how I approach the mountain, it’s never the same line, it’s all improvisation,” Benchetler said.

The short film features the music of the Grateful Dead and is narrated by Hall of Fame basketball player and television sportscaster Bill Walton. Athletes in the film include skiers Benchetler and Michelle Parker and snowboarders Jeremy Jones, Danny Davis and Kimmy Fasani.

“Nothing beats watching these amazing athletes ski and ride to the perfect soundtrack. Add in the sound system and acoustics of our theatre and the audience is in for a real treat,” said Kim Hannold, programming director at the Vilar Performing Arts Center.

Sunday’s performance features Chris Smither, who was born in Miami, FL, but raised in New Orleans, LA where he was surrounded by music and was inspired by Mississippi John Hurt and Lightnin’ Hopkins. He started releasing albums in the ‘70s and released his 18th album in 2018. He has toured with B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Nanci Griffith, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and more.

“This will be a truly up close and intimate listening experience, unlike any concert we’ve had before. It’s a chance to get to know the artist on a much more personal level, hear their stories and provides more of a lounge-style experience,” said Ruthie Hamrick, marketing manager at the Vilar Performing Arts Center. There will be two shows at 4:30 and 7 p.m. on Sunday to accommodate the audiences who take advantage of the opportunity to see this blues legend in a cozy venue.

For more information on the Teton Gravity Research films and the Chris Smither concert, visit http://www.vilarpac.org.

Oakley Week coming to Vail

Oakley Week is coming to Vail this weekend for the first time since the traveling event started back in 2016. The Oakley team has traveled to ski areas like Mammoth, Whistler Blackcomb and iconic locations in Europe. Oakley Week offers a goggle demo where you can try out Oakley’s latest offerings and test Oakley Prizm lenses at the Oakley Village, located at Golden Peak. The demo is first come, first served and guests just need to provide a driver’s license.

One of the most frustrating things about being on the hill is not being able to see properly out of your goggles. The Prizm goggle line is engineered to dramatically enhance detail and help improve performance by providing ultra-precise color tuning for specific environments.

The goal of Prizm Technology is to provide increased contrast and boosted color in your environment. Take advantage of this free opportunity to try the Prizm goggles and see if you notice the difference out on the mountain.

Come ride with Oakley team athletes, Sammy Carlson and Logan Pehota. They will be riding the mountain throughout the event and will lead the Oakley Prizm Run at 2 p.m. on Friday. Meet at the bottom of Golden Peak at 2 p.m. and each participant gets a drink coupon to use at the après-ski party at Larkspur. Larkspur will host après-ski parties on Friday and Saturday. There will be plenty of prizes given away throughout the weekend as well.

For the kids, there will be a s’mores and a popcorn station. Kids can showcase their creative side at the coloring station where they can draw on a goggle strap that Oakley will plan to share with their development team for product inspiration for the following year. How cool would it be if your kid’s art ended up as a part of next year’s goggle line?

For more information, go to http://www.vail.com and check out the events calendar.

Full moon snowshoe and forest bathing

This Friday, enjoy a full moon backcountry experience and some forest bathing. What is forest bathing? In Japan, they practice something called forest bathing, where they “bathe” in the forest atmosphere, or take in the forest through the senses. This is not exercise hiking or jogging, but rather slowing down and getting yourself into a quiet, mindful headspace to make it easier to connect to the forest, mountains and sky and in this case, a night sky with a full moon. The first full moon of 2020 is also called the wolf moon.

First, a little socializing. When you get to the Walking Mountains Science Center in Avon, which has a beautiful campus just off of Buck Creek Road, you’ll be welcomed by hot drinks like cocoa, cider and tea (alcohol will not be provided but you are welcome to bring your own). After a half an hour of meeting your fellow snowshoers and guide, you will head about one mile up the Buck Creek Trail next to the Walking Mountains campus.

Once you get to an open meadow, gather around the fire that will be lit and ready for you to soak in the sights and sounds of the night. Forest therapy guide Kayla Weber will lead the group through a 30-minute forest bathing experience.

To connect with our mountain environment in a whole new way in a guided forest bathing experience sign up at http://www.walkingmountains.org. Space is limited, but if you miss this tour, there will be another one on February 8 and March 8.

Post-holiday recycling event

Walking Mountains, Vail Honeywagon, the town of Avon and the Climate Action Collaborative are working hard to clean up Eagle County’s dirty recycling habits in 2020. To help you jump on this bandwagon, there will be a post-holiday recycling event happening on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The type of materials they will be collecting on Saturday include many of the things that people need to get rid of after the holidays but these items cannot go in the recycling bin. These items include textiles, Styrofoam, plastic packaging, electronics, old Christmas lights, even Hasbro toys and games.

There is a charge for electronics, batteries and paper shredding but everything else is free. There will also be an LED light bulb swap during the event. Bring two non-LED light bulbs and swap them for energy-efficient LEDs.

“This is our third year offering this event and it’s really important that we offer this outlet for recycling these items responsibly because when people put these things in the curbside bin it contaminates our recycling stream and has the potential to negate all of the efforts we put into recycling correctly,” Shawn Bruckman, compost operations manager at Vail Honeywagon.

This recycling event will be held at the Old Town Hall parking lot at 1 Lake Street in Avon. For large loads, give them a call: 970-476-3511. A portion of the proceeds of this event will benefit Climate Action Collaborative.


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