Memorial Day ceremonies, Blues, Brews & BBQ, Jake Owen in concert, comedy for all ages and more: Tricia’s Weekend Picks 5/27/22
Memorial Day Weekend is filled with events from Tennessee Pass to the Ford Amphitheater in Vail
Memorial Day Weekend Events
Every year, the last Monday in the month of May marks Memorial Day, a federal holiday in the United States honoring those who lost their lives while serving in the country’s armed forces. It was originally called Decoration Day because people would decorate the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers, flags and wreaths. It is sometimes confused with Veteran’s Day. Memorial Day is a day to remember the men and women who died while serving, while Veteran’s Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans.
Freedom Park
Locally, you can honor those who died in the line of duty by attending the Memorial Day Ceremony at Freedom Park in Edwards on Monday at 2 p.m. The Freedom Park Memorial Committee and VFW Post 10721 will be conducting its 18th annual ceremony in memory of all veterans of the armed forces and emergency response agencies who have served our country, and especially to those from Eagle County who paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom and safety.
Honor our fallen heroes and support the active-duty troops and our home town emergency responders who are serving today. The service will include local veteran color guard, dignitaries, veterans, the Battle Mountain High School Varsity Drum Line, and music from Michelle Cohn Levy of B’nai Vail. The Keynote speaker is Claire Noble, United States Air Force Veteran.
The public is welcome to attend and the ceremony will be held at the Freedom Park Memorial American Flagpole Plaza in Edwards on Miller Ranch Road on the west side of the pond. For questions, call Pat Hammon of the Freedom Park Committee at 970-390-4686.
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Tennessee Pass
The 10th Mountain Division Foundation will present its 64th Memorial Day Ceremony on Monday at 11 a.m. at Tennessee Pass near Ski Cooper. The event is a Memorial Day tradition and allows guests an opportunity to honor those fallen and see and touch WWII artifacts and equipment provided by the 10th Mountain Division Foundation Living History Group.
The public is invited to attend and so are various groups like the Canon City Junior ROTC Color Guard, who will post colors. Music will be provided by the 4th Infantry Division Brass Quintet. There will be a keynote speaker, the laying of the wreaths and special readings.
Seating is limited, so attendees are asked to bring along a lawn chair and dress for the conditions as it can be cooler at that altitude. Stay for lunch if you’d like. Lunch will be available after the ceremony at the Ski Cooper base area lodge. For more information, go to 10thMountainFoundation.org.
Swing Concert and Dance
Go back in time this Memorial Day Weekend to the Swing Era and dance the night away to the sounds of local faves, The Fabulous Femmes.
“The Swing era, from 1933-1947, was a time when Big Bands dominated the music charts. Teenagers and young adults hit the dance floors in droves,” said Kathy Morrow of The Fabulous Femmes. “It was a tumultuous time in Europe when WW II began. Swing music and dancing was a way to escape the unfortunate news of the day and lift your spirits.”
Think of music by the Andrews Sisters as well as Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and many Great American standards. The Femmes plan to sing, “In The Mood,” “Sing, Sing, Sing,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” “Bei Mir Bist du Schon,” “Mood Indigo” and lots of other fun dance tunes.
“We always encourage our audience to dress up in the theme of our shows. Somehow, putting on a pair of platform shoes and a petticoat or wingtips and a pair of pinstripe pants just makes you feel like dancing. Our costumes reflect the patriotism that the whole nation was feeling at the time.” Morrow said.
The show starts at 7 p.m. at the Route 6 Café in EagleVail and there’s $10 cover charge. For more information, go to TheFabulousFemmes.com.
Tales of the 10th & Whiskey Tasting
The Colorado Snowsports Museum is a great resource to learn more about the veterans who were part of the 10th Mountain Division, which trained south of Vail at Camp Hale. View the equipment they used and what Camp Hale was like in photographs and displays as a part of the Climb to Glory exhibit.
On Sunday at 4 p.m., come for the Tales of the 10th and stay or the whiskey. Tales of the 10th features different experts and historians of the 10th Mountain Division and this week’s guest will be Flint Whitlock, a 10th Mountain historian and descendant who will share and educational presentation. After the talk, local craft distiller 10th Mountain Whiskey and Spirits Company will be on hand to offer samples of its whiskey. A $10 donation is suggested. For more information, go to snowsportsmuseum.org.
Blues, Brews and BBQ
It is finally back! Blues, Brews and BBQ has always been Beaver Creek’s signature event that kicks off summer and due to COVID-19, the resort has not hosted it since 2019. Come hungry, thirsty and ready to groove to the blues rain or shine this weekend.
Most of the event will be held on the plaza level of Beaver Creek. Here you’ll find the various barbecue vendors and drink stands, picnic tables and the stage for all the bands. There’s complimentary admission with food and beverages available for purchase. The event runs from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday with a Kids Zone and Adult Game Zone featuring activities for all ages.
On Saturday, the Craft Beer Festival returns as well. Come taste samples from 20 breweries between 1 and 5 p.m. on Saturday. This event will be held at the base of Beaver Creek Mountain and will have its own entertainment. Local 80s cover band, Rewind will play tunes for the crowd. It’s $50 per ticket and this is the only ticketed event for the weekend and 20% of the ticketing proceeds will benefit the Vail Veterans Program, which is a Vail Valley-based nonprofit that provides injured members of the military and their families with innovative and transformational programs that build confidence and improve lives.
Also returning is the Big Green Egg Backyard BBQ Competition, giving amateur barbecue enthusiasts a chance to win bragging rights for the year. You can compete as an individual or in a team of up to three people. Every team will be provided with a Big Green Egg grill, a mystery grilling meat and side dish items. Three hours will be allowed for the contestants to cook up what they think will please the judges. This will happen near the Covered Bridge at Beaver Creek starting at 12 noon on Sunday.
Music is a big part of this event as well. Beaver Creek has a mix of local bands and brought in some great blues acts. Here’s the line-up below and for more information, go to BeaverCreek.com.
Friday
- 4:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. – Twang Box
- 6:30 p.m.– 8 p.m. – Taylor Scott Band
Saturday
- 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. – Burnsville Blues Band
- 12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m. – Shari Puorto
- 2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. – Honey Island Swamp Band
- 4:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. – Marc Broussard
Sunday
- 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. – Burnsville Blues Band
- 12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m. – Shari Puorto
- 2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. – Popa Chubby
- 4:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. – Samantha Fish
Jake Owen at The Amp
The Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater kicked off its summer concert series last weekend with the Trey Anastasio Band, and this week The Amp welcomes country music chart-topper Jake Owen.
Get your tickets for this show, last weekend’s show was a packed event even though it had snowed the day before. The elements don’t keep people away when they realize the talent that is coming to town. Look at Owen’s list of hits…and take a listen. If you’re like me, you’ll be saying, “Oh yeah, I know that song!”
The Amp is just one of many stops on Owen’s nationwide tour. Sing along to “Barefoot Blue Jean Night.” Other platinum-certified hits include “Beachin,'” “Anywhere With You,” “Alone With You,” “The One That Got Away” and gold-certified “American Country Love Song.” His latest hit, “Made For You,” is rapidly rising on the charts and “Best Thing Since Backroads” is getting rave reviews from “Rolling Stone” magazine.
Owen grew up in Vero Beach, FL and aspired to be a professional golfer. He still plays golf and in fact, was given Golf Digest’s Arnie Award along with Phil Mickelson and Peyton Manning in 2017 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for his charitable contributions through the Jake Owen Foundation.
Who knows, maybe you’ll find Owen at the Vail Golf Club before his show at 7:30 p.m. at The Amp on Sunday night. Tickets range in price from $45 – $80 and you can find out more information at grfavail.com.
Vail Comedy Festival
Couldn’t we all use a few laughs right now? Get ready to chuckle, crack up and even cry tears of happiness and joy when the inaugural Vail Comedy Festival comes to town Friday through Sunday.
This three-day festival is bringing in acts from Washington state to Alabama, from Los Angeles to Boston and many places in between. The four headliners are coming in from New York City and many of these comedians have performed on big stages and screens like Comedy Cellar, Late Night on CBS, HBO and American’s Got Talent.
Bridge Street Bar in Vail Village will play host to most of the events, but there will also be acts on the streets and even the playground. Loaded Joe’s Coffee Shop, 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirits Tasting Room, Cucina at the Lodge at Vail and Vendetta’s will house the crowds for the various comedy shows, podcasts, magic performances and open mic opportunities.
The kids can get into it, too. The Vail Comedy Festival has teamed up with RocketFizz Soda Pop & Candy Shop to offer some great acts during the day at Sunbird Park in Lionshead with magician Travis Nye and Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald, the veterinarian from Animal Planet. These shows at Sunbird Park are free and will be at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The town of Vail and the creator of the Vail Comedy Show, Mark Masters, hope this becomes a signature event over Memorial Day Weekend in Vail each year. Check out VailComedyFestival.com for festival schedule, the free children’s shows, passes for the whole event or information on how to see a particular show.
SunsetLIVE! in Avon
Memorial Day Weekend marks the beginning of the SunsetLIVE! concert series at Harry A. Nottingham Park in Avon. Every Sunday from now until Sept. 4 enjoy live music on The Terrace at the Avon Performance Pavilion casual musical performances by local Eagle County musicians.
This free offering is set on the west side of the stage and the musicians can be seen and heard from the water. Watch the sun going down while grooving to tunes on your stand up paddle board or on a paddle boat on Nottingham Lake. You can even hear the music from the North Shore Beach or South Lawn of the Pavilion.
This week’s band is Rocket Parade, a Colorado-based rock and soul band. The lineup of acts is now on DiscoverAvon.org.
If you’re not listening from a water vessel, bring a lawn chair, a blanket and a picnic. SunsetLIVE! is the perfect venue to wind down your weekend, so gather your friends and family, bring a lawn chair, picnic basket and bring your own drinks. SunsetLIVE! is BYOB and all Avon events are plastic free so when you pack your favorite beverage be sure it is not in single-use plastic container.
Prepare to enjoy a relaxing Rocky Mountain sunset as this weekend’s weather looks good for the holiday weekend. this free offering happens from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Go to DiscoverAvon.org for more information.
