What to do in and around Vail this weekend: Spooktacular Polar Plunge, Pumpkin Fun Run and a little ‘La Bohème’
The latest Teton Gravity Research's snowboard movie, a benefit for Special Olympics Colorado and Music Education Month with Bravo! Vail round out this weekend's activities
‘Flying High Again’ movie
You know it’s fall in a ski town when the annual ski and snowboard movies come to town. Warren Miller paved the way for other companies like Matchstick Productions and Teton Gravity Research to bring audiences the best powder stashes and scenery around the world. On Friday, take a tour with the best snowboarders on the planet in Teton Gravity Research’s latest snowboard film, “Flying High Again.”
With the creativity of the legendary snowboard film director, Mike Hatchett, and the talents of over a dozen snowboarding stars including Jeremy Jones, Danny Davis, Antti Autti and Elena Hight, moviegoers will experience a domestic tour of the Rocky Mountains throughout Idaho, Wyoming and Utah as well as the Sierras in California.
The film has already received accolades from the 2023 International Freesports Film Festival. The full-length feature film premiered on Oct. 12 and is now touring the country. The movie is showing at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at the Vilar Performing Arts Center and tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for those 12 and under. Get tickets online at VilarPAC.org.
Darlingside concert
From movies to music, the Vilar Performing Arts Center will be busy this weekend. The Underground Sound concert series is wrapping up but you have one more opportunity to see a show. Darlingside will perform on Saturday night at 7 p.m. This quartet from Boston met while at Williams College.
“My desire to play music professionally solidified during a post-collegiate travel fellowship I did in 2007-2008. I spent a year studying traditional music in Ireland, Brazil and Turkey and subsequently decided to bail on my medical school plans and instead see if the other guys were interested in restarting the band we began in college,” said Auyon Mukharji who plays mandolin, violin and sings for Darlingside.
Support Local Journalism
The other guys agreed and over a decade later Darlingside is comprised of Mukharji, Don Mitchell, Harris Paseltiner and David Senft who work together writing all of the band’s songs and recently released its fourth LP. NPR once described them as “exquisitely arranged, literary-minded, baroque folk-pop.” The Vilar Performing Arts Center compares Darlingside to the Punch Brothers, The Milk Carton Kids, Lord Huron and the Head and The Heart.
The quartet has evolved a lot over the decade-plus of making music together and went through the alienation of COVID and not being able to perform for a live audience and is glad to be back on stage.
“The way the energy of an audience affects a performance is truly ineffable and impossible to replicate in a studio or on a livestream. We’ve missed it so much. There are so many ancillary benefits of touring, too—getting to visit friends and loved ones and our favorite restaurants across the country, meeting new listeners in new places, the camaraderie borne of living out of a van together for weeks on end … the list goes on,” Mukharji said.
Darlingside has played a number of shows in Denver and Aspen and are excited to play at the Vilar Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $34.50 in advance and $39.50 the day of the show. The concert is also included in your Underground Sounds pass, which are transferable, so if you can’t go this Saturday, pass our pass over to someone who can. For more information, go to VilarPAC.org.
Spooktacular Polar Plunge
Do you have what it takes to dip into the chilly waters of Nottingham Lake this time of year? The Spooktacular Polar Plunge gives you that opportunity while also allowing you to help out a good cause, the Special Olympics of Colorado.
This event is in its seventh year and is being hosted by the Avon Police Department. All funds raised from the Polar Plunge series support the sports, health, educational and athlete leadership programs that the athletes enjoy for free. These life-changing programs positively impact the lives of children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing them with tools to build their confidence and self-esteem in their everyday lives.
This is the last Polar Plunge of the year and so far the series has raised over $670,000 for Special Olympics Colorado athletes. All proceeds go to Colorado Special Olympic Athletes for health screenings and equipment for various competitive events throughout the state of Colorado.
Other law enforcement agencies will be involved and the public is invited to come out – in costume if you’d like – to the event. You can register as an individual or a team and each participant needs to raise $80 minimum. Spectators are welcome to watch and cheer everyone on as they make their way into Nottingham Lake. The After Splash Bash will be held at Bob’s in Avon.
To register for the Spooktacular Polar Plunge, go to SpecialOlympicsCO.org/Event/AvonPlunge/. There will be registration the day of the event between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. and the plunge starts at 11 a.m.
Pumpkin Fun Run
Keep the spirit of Halloween going on all month with the Pumpkin Fun Run, a 2K run (or walk or combo of both) this Saturday in Nottingham Park. The event is being hosted by the Avon Recreation Center and will kick off at the Metcalf Cabin near the Avon Performance Pavilion and follow the bike path through the park and around the lake.
Come dressed to impress as there will be a costume contest with prizes for best costumes. There will also be a pie-eating contest. The event goes from 2 to 4 p.m. The cost is $25 per family and you can register and find out more at Avon.org.
Bravo! Vail and Music Education Month
This October, Bravo! Vail is celebrating Music Education Month with free concerts and art, cultural, sustainable and Halloween-themed events. To celebrate the upcoming Philadelphia Orchestra’s performance of Puccini’s “La Bohème” in July, Bravo! Vail has partnered up with Alpine Arts Center for a French-themed evening. Cocktails & Canvas will feature an impressionist-style painting lesson along with musical excerpts from the opera that follow the stories of bohemian artists in 1830s Paris.
Tickets for this unique Cocktails & Canvas class are $30 and it runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Friday. Arrive 15 minutes early to get set up and beer, wine and champagne are available for purchase. Reservations are required through AlpineArtsCenter.org.
On Sunday, learn about the healing power of music. Bravo! Vail is working with the Riverwalk Theater in Edwards to present a special screening of “Alive Inside.” This documentary chronicles the amazing and inspiring experiences individuals with memory loss have had once exposed to music. By simply listening to songs, memories were revitalized. As someone who had a father who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, I know how much music made a difference in his later years. It was such a blessing to see my dad light up when he heard certain tunes. Learn more by watching the movie trailer at AliveInside.us. The screening will be at 3:30 p.m. and although it is free, registration is required at RiverwalkTheater.com.
Best of Vail Valley Winners announced
Also this weekend, pick up a copy of the 2023 Best of Vail Valley magazine and find out who won top honors in the Vail Daily’s annual readers’ poll. Over 120 categories are showcased in six areas: Arts and Activities, Body and Soul, Food and Drink, Health, Service and Shopping. In addition to the magazines on newsstands now, there is also a new website launching Friday, BestofVailValley.com, that provides a platform that not only lists the winners in our Best of Vail Valley contest, but also the finalists who offer great products and services. This tool will not only allow people to search for top restaurants, merchants, health care providers and more, but it will also have a robust events calendar, so consider it a one-stop-shop for all things happening in the area.
