Indigo girls, Oktoberfest, classic cars and more this weekend in Eagle County
The Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater is still going with concerts and the Vilar Performing Arts Center is elevating conversations on mental health
Indigo Girls and Amos Lee at The Amp
The Indigo Girls and Amos Lee are co-headlining concerts across the country and Friday’s show at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater is one of the stops. The Indigo Girls met in grade school in Decatur, Georgia, and started performing together in high school. Their 1989 debut album brought them into the mainstreat with hits like “Closer to Fine” and “Kid Fears,” and to this day Amy Ray and Emily Saliers’ folk rock duo still calls itself a bar band at heart. The Indigo Girls is part of a long list of great bands that have come out of the Peach State, including The Allman Brothers, R.E.M., Widespread Panic, The Georgia Satellites, OutKast and more.
Amos Lee is scheduled to follow the Indigo Girls on Friday; he just released his latest album, “Transmissions,” in August and his folksy, blues sound has been compared to John Prine and Nora Jones. That makes sense because Lee says he was inspired by John Prine’s music in college. He eventually toured with Jones and Prine and many more including Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Paul Simon and Merle Haggard.
The Amp will open at 6:30 p.m., with the Indigo Girls scheduled to take the stage at 7:30 p.m. and Amos Lee set for a 9:15 p.m. start. General admission lawn seating is still available and at press time there were limited reserved pavilion tickets, as well. For more information, visit GRFAVail.com.
Vail Oktoberfest
After Oktoberfest fun in Beaver Creek Village on Labor Day Weekend and in Lionshead Village last weekend, you’ll find another weekend of Bavarian fun in Vail Village Friday through Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. The same competitions like bratwurst eating, keg bowling and stein holding will be back, so stop by the stein tent starting at noon to get signed up. This is a family event with the Bavarian Kinder Club providing bounce houses, pretzel necklace making and more activities for the kids.
Vail Village Oktoberfest is free to attend, and you can buy food and drinks along the way. If you want a souvenir beer stein at the event, 1-liter steins cost $50 and 0.5-liter steins are $40. When you purchase a stein, you get to refill it for free throughout the event.
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Local restaurant tents and food trucks will be on site; look for Ein Prosit, Joe’s Famous Deli, Alpenrose, Rocky Mountain Raclette and Remedy desserts. The Chi Shack food truck will be serving up Chicago-style hot dogs and Mountain Belles will mix it up a bit with some southern creole flair.
Returning this week will be local Bavarian icon Helmut Fricker and his Rhinelander Band, Average German Band and the Neue Polka Band; and Rick Borgen’s German Duo will be added to the side stage and the Gebirgs Trachten Schuhplattler Verein Alpen Auerhahn dancers from Denver will be on-site entertaining, as well, showcasing authentic German dance moves throughout the weekend. For more information and the full schedule of Oktoberfest events, visit OktoberfestVail.com.
Vail Concours
The Vail Concours is set for this Sunday in Lionshead Village from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The 15th-annual car show draws a diverse group, attracting automotive enthusiasts from around the country and throughout Colorado. Watch for anything from contemporary supercars like Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren to performance sports cars from Porsche, Aston-Martin, Jaguar, Chevrolet, Ford and others. You can also expect to see classic muscle cars, trucks and SUVs on site.
Before arriving in Lionshead on Sunday, Vail Concours participants enjoy events like the Barrett-Jackson Mountain Road Tour, a Texas barbecue party with live music and a social gathering for owners. The Vail Automotive Classic Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting other local nonprofit organizations that give back directly to Eagle County residents and employees.
Intended beneficiaries of this year’s Vail Concours include the Epic Promise Employee Foundation — Emergency Fund and the Vail Valley Charitable Fund. Epic Promise is Vail Resorts’ charitable arm that aims to give back to the environment, the communities it serves and its employees while looking for ways to make snowsports more accessible. The Vail Valley Charitable Fund provides financial assistance to locals suffering from a medical crisis or long-term illness. For more information, visit VailAutomotiveClassic.org.
Mountains and Minds
Mountains and Minds is a new event that aims to elevate mental health collaborations and community resources. Mountains and Minds is put on by the Vail Valley Foundation’s Vilar Performing Arts Center, Vail Symposium and Benj Gershman, bassist for the band O.A.R. and host of the “What Could Be Bad” podcast. This weekend’s events will center around connection, conversations and cuisine.
On Friday night, enjoy a cocktail reception starting at 5:30 p.m. in the Vilar lobby before guests will be brought on stage for a dinner and presentation. The meal will be curated by Adam Bornstein and catered by Beaver Creek’s Alpine and Antlers. Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of “The Pump with Arnold Schwarzenegger.” During the dinner, Bornstein will focus on the connection between nutrition and mental health.
The evening will also feature a panel discussion entitled Elevating and De-stigmatizing Mental Health Conversations that will include Robert Irvine who is a celebrity chef and entrepreneur, host of Food Network’s “Restaurant: Impossible,” and Dr. Paige Baker-Braxton, director of outpatient behavioral Health at Vail Health Behavioral Health. For tickets and more information, go to VilarPAC.org.
On Saturday there will be a free breakfast for active U.S. military, veterans and first responders from Eagle County at 8 a.m. in Beaver Creek Village. Chef Irvine and the Robert Irvine Foundation will showcase the Breaking Bread with Heroes program by providing a meal to local heroes in recognition of their contributions. Although the event is free, pre-registration is required.
SkiFast Foundation’s March for Childhood Cancer Awareness
The annual Childhood Cancer Awareness March in Vail on Saturday is hosted by the SkiFast Foundation in support of CureFest in Washington D.C. Held during National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, CureFest for Childhood Cancer’s mission is to make childhood cancer research a national priority by uniting the childhood cancer community, general public and government officials as one voice against childhood cancer.
The SkiFast Foundation was created by Campbell Sullivan, a Ski and Snowboard Club Vail alpine athlete who attended Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy. After being diagnosed with CIC-DUX4 sarcoma at age 16, Sullivan continued to participate with her alpine team during her junior and senior high school years while undergoing surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and a stem-cell transplant thanks to a Lindsey Vonn Foundation Scholarship which allowed Sullivan to train when she felt able and travel with the team without a financial burden.
Sullivan founded the SkiFast Foundation her senior year in high school before her death on Feb. 21, 2022, at the age of 19. Since 2020, the SkiFast Foundation has given 59 scholarships averaging $1,000 each to kids and young adults with sarcoma cancers with a goal of helping them stay connected to what motivates them.
The event on Saturday is free and no registration is needed. Guests are invited to meet in Lionshead in front of Bart and Yeti’s and dress festive by wearing gold, yellow or cow print, because the gold ribbon is the international awareness symbol for all childhood cancers, sunflowers represent sarcoma cancers and Sullivan loved cows.
The organizing team will pass out ribbons and signs from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. before walking towards Vail Village. All donations go to the SkiFast Pediatric Sarcoma Scholarships which are given out twice per year. You can donate online at:SkiFastFoundation.com.