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Olympians, ultimate après ski parties, fab fashions, Peter Rabbit and more: Tricia’s Weekend Picks 03/31/23

From charity events to celebrating a champion, there's not shortage of events this weekend

Celebrate Mikaela

On Sunday, come to Solaris Plaza for an event that will celebrate the accomplishments of U.S. Alpine Ski Team member Mikaela Shiffrin after a record-breaking season. The 28-year-old Edwards resident recently broke the all-time record for World Cup wins which was held by Sweden’s Ingamar Stenmark. It was a record that held for 34 years until Shiffrin surpassed in on March 11 in Are, Sweden. To top it off, Shiffrin won another world cup, putting her total World Cup wins at 88.  

Shiffrin is fresh off a whirlwind media tour which included stops at NBC’s “Today Show” and “The Tonight Show” and ABC’s “Good Morning America.” She’s been carrying one of the trophies, a crystal globe to all sorts of talk show appearances and sits humbly as the anchors call her the “G.O.A. T.” (Greatest Of All Time). Shiffrin has even admitted to actually thinking about goats, baby goats in particular and the scene or barn animals instead of the acronym it stands for.

After looking at Shiffrin’s career achievements, its staggering how much she has accomplished. She’s the only skier to have won in all six disciplines: Downhill, Super G, Giant Slalom, Slalom, Parallel and Combined. She is the first American to win five World Cup overall titles.Sne broke the women’s record for most career giant slalom wins at 21 wins, and she is just getting started and appears to have a long career ahead.



Ingamar Stemark was happy for Shiffrin when she broke his record and complimented her during a video on Twitter.

“She is such a great skier and what impresses me the most about her is that she can be so good in all disciplines, which I never could” “I also think that she will be the first to reach 100 victories, so I wish her all the best and good luck,” Ingamar Stenmark on Twitter.

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Colorado Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera will join Shiffrin as well as local leaders from throughout the Vail Valley. The whole community is coming together to celebrate this champion including the town of Vail, Eagle County, Beaver Creek Resort Company, Vail Mountain, the Towns of Gypsum, Eagle, Avon, Minturn, Eagle-Vail Metro District and Edwards Metro District, CFC Collective, the Vail Valley Foundation, the Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail, Vail Valley Partnership and the Vail Chamber and Business Association.

Not many details have been revealed about Sunday’s event besides the time and place. The program will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. at Solaris Plaza, the same place where all the Vail/Beaver Creek Alpine World Ski Championships awards ceremonies were held, where she won gold in slalom. But, expect to see the who’s who of the ski racing industry past and present as the ski racing community gathers to celebrate this world wide sporting feat.

There will be a short autograph session, so bring your posters or helmet and a Sharpie in case you are lucky enough to have this legend sign it. For more information and to sign up for emails giving details about the event, go to Mikaela87.com.  

Project Funway

The 12th annual Project Funway charity event features creativity for a cause.
Juan Pena/Courtesy photo

One of the most creative fundraisers in the Vail Valley is Project Funway, which returns to Dobson Arena again this Saturday. The arena, which usually houses everything from Vail Yeti hockey games to ice bumper cars, is completely transformed into a fashion show venue and party place.

The 12th annual event is bringing back the models, the stage, the drum line, the hair and makeup, the celebrity judges and the fabric-less fashions all to benefit the Education Foundation of Eagle County (EFEC).

Celebrity judges include Elaine Kelton, Gina Browning and Joe Illick, Amanda Precourt and Blake Plumley. Celebrity judge Mondo Guerra will be back again, he was runner up on “Project Runway” and won “Project Runway All Stars” during season one.

The production is top notch and the creativity is off the charts. There are three categories: Adult (19 and up) Teen (13-18) and Youth (12 and under). The creativity runs high as students and adults come up with some amazing designs made out of anything but fabric. No look is ever the same and the materials used range from trail maps and candy to hockey sticks and stuffed animals.

Depending on the ticket level you purchase, there is VIP seating, buffet, bar and the silent auction. The auction items are already available to view on the website. Restaurant and lodging, golf outings, Golden Bear jewelry, clothing, a wine country trip to Palisade, Colorado and many more items are up for grabs. If you can’t make it to the event, the silent auction is a great way to still support the cause.

The mission of the Education Foundation of Eagle County (EFEC) is to support public education and the intellectual and emotional needs of students, especially focusing on in-school programs for enrichment, mental health support and efforts to attract and retain top teacher talent. Believe it or not, Colorado ranks 50th in teacher wage competitiveness, 45th in the percentage of taxable income spent on education and 41st in per-pupil spending. View EFEC’s annual report at EFEC.org.

The event starts at 5:30 p.m. and goes until 9:30 p.m. It’s a ton of fun and a treat for the whole family to see all the creativity. So many locals participate that you’re sure to know a model, a designer or both. For ticket and event information go to ProjectFunway.org.

Ski for MS

Can Do MS will host Ski for MS with Olympian Jonny Moseley leading the group of costume-clad folks on Saturday on Vail Mountain.
Courtesy photo

Saturday is April Fool’s Day, which typically guarantees you’ll see a lot of costumes on the slopes, but one group of costume-clad skiers and riders will be wearing funny threads for a cause. Can Do MS presents the Ski for MS event and Olympian Jonny Moseley will be leading the charge. No off-axis tricks are required to enjoy the ski for MS, just the spirit of skiing and riding for those families and individuals who have multiple sclerosis.

Moseley is known for winning the gold medal in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan. He also wowed judges in the U.S. Freeskiing Open and X Games. Known for his original trick called the Dinner Roll, he is also known for throwing an off-axis 720 in the moguls competition in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Utah.

Can-Do MS delivers health and wellness education programs at no cost to help families living with MS thrive in the spirit of Jimmie Heuga. The locally based Can Do MS organization was formerly known as The Jimmy Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis. Heuga was an Olympic bronze medalist in alpine skiing. He and teammate Billy Kidd made America proud when Kidd finished second and Heuga finished third on the podium in Innsbruck, Austria at the 1964 Olympic Games.

Heuga was diagnosed with MS early in his career, but his athletic background fueled the drive to change the way people with MS were treated. Rather than live a sedentary life and avoid exercise, Heuga revolutionized treatment with a whole-body approach. He wanted to focus on the things that those with MS can do versus the things they can’t do.

Come out and support the cause by skiing and riding as many vertical feet as you can on Saturday. The Vertical Challenge begins at 10 a.m. and every vertical foot counts until 3 p.m. Track your vertical feet on the Epic Mix app, another app of your choice or count your runs and use a map of the mountain to calculate your vertical feet. Total those numbers up for a chance to win prizes for the most vertical at the après ski party which will be held from 3 to 5:30 at the Express Lift Café at the base of Vail Mountain next to Gondola One (No. 1).

Check out the website for complete schedule including free skiing with Mogul Mayhem with Moseley and a Ski Down in honor of Huega. A $50 donation gets you access to the Vertical Challenge, on-mountain activities and entry to the fun après ski party with free beer and appetizers. For more information, go to CanDo-MS.org.

Ultimate Après Avon Beer Festival

The Ultimate Après Avon Beer Festival returns to Avon on Saturday with beer, wine, spirits and seltzer tastings and live music.
Bence Boros for Unsplash/Courtesy photo

The Ultimate Après Avon Beer Festival is a new event that is sure to become and end of ski season classic that will return each spring. Wind down the season by enjoying beer tastings from Colorado breweries, live music, a VIP area and food from local vendors. There will also be some cool items like clothing and housewares to check out. In addition to beer tastings, there will be wine, hard seltzer, canned cocktail, cider and spirit tastings.

The event will kick off at 1 p.m. with live music from opening band, Band Kamp, which will be playing all your favorite hits from rock bands of the 1970s. From A to Z, literally, Band Kamp will play songs ranging from Aerosmith to ZZ Top from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Stick around for Blink 90210, which will take you on a musical journey of 1990s rock with songs from Sublime, Weezer, Green Day, 4 Non Blondes, Beastie Boys, Tiffany, Gin Blossoms and Blink 182, which gives a nod to the band’s name. This high energy group will play from 3:45 to 5:45 p.m. before the event wraps up at 6 p.m.

Ski and ride early and then head down to the fun. Everything will be set up on Lake Street, where you can gaze up at the views of the slopes of Beaver Creek, where we will soon be bidding farewell to the ski and snowboard season and anticipate the summer activities and events. For tickets and more information visit AvonBeerFest.com.

“Peter Rabbit” by the Colorado Symphony

Introduce young listeners to the sounds and instruments of the Colorado Symphony as they tell the story of Peter Rabbit at the Vilar Performing Arts Center.
Vilar Performing Arts Center/Courtesy photo

Bring the little ones to hear the sounds of the Colorado Symphony performing an interactive concert, “Petite Musique” that will introduce the youngest listeners to the instruments of the orchestra while also telling the story of popular children’s character, Peter Rabbit at the Vilar Performing Arts Center.

This is part of the Vilar Performing Arts Center’s youth outreach program, STARS: Support The Arts Reaching Students. This event is suggested for preschoolers through second grade and it will be presented in English and in Spanish. A 16-piece orchestra will be on stage, but the event is very interactive, so, along with the storytelling, there will be some singing and dancing involved.

The concert is at 4 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are affordable at $10 for adults and children 12 and under are free. For more information, go to VilarPAC.org.


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