Avon welcomes new festivals, food options
AVON — Three new festivals, two vendor carts and the possibility for one food truck could enrich the atmosphere at Nottingham Park this summer.
Often called the town’s Crown Jewel location, the park lacks any regular food options, something town officials would like to experiment with in the coming months.
Councilwoman Sarah Smith Hymes spent many years at Nottingham Park with her kids when they were younger. She says vendor carts would have been appreciated by her and the other moms.
“As long as they’re at Nottingham Park, nowhere near the other restaurants,” she said.
VENDOR CARTS IN THE PARK
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The town will allow two vendor carts, which can be any retail item, not just food. Mayor Jennie Fancher said she’s excited to see what pops up at the park.
“We want to experiment with allowing these carts and see how it goes,” she said.
A food truck could also make an appearance at Nottingham Park this summer, after receiving initial approval by the town council on April 12.
Avon resident Dan Purtell, recognizable around town with his slogan “World’s Most Best” tacos available out of the Rocky Mountain Taco food truck, has shown interest in setting up shop in Avon this summer.
“We love Avon, all of (Rocky Mountain Taco’s owners) have lived in Avon for more than a decade, we just want to try it and see what happens,” Purtell said.
The Avon Town Council will still need to approve the second reading of the ordinance to allow food trucks to operate on town right of ways, scheduled for Tuesday.
WOODSTOCK, COVERED
The summer season will be bookended by new festivals at Nottingham Park, with a recreation of the 1969 Woodstock festival scheduled for June 25-26 and a creative writing conference scheduled for Sept 2-4. In between those weekends, the Outlaws & Legends festival, scheduled for July 29-30, will try an Avon incarnation of the popular Texas festival, which was named a top-5 Texas festival at the Texas Regional Radio Awards in 2015.
Singer-songwriters Mark Powell and Dean Dillon will be performing and hosting Outlaws & Legends, which will also feature Robert Earl Keen, Ryan Bingham, Deana Carter, Cooder Graw, Trent Willmon, Sonia Leigh, Jesse Raub Jr., and many other country and Americana artists.
CoverRock aims to replicate Woodstock at Nottingham Park by featuring tribute bands that will recreate the sights and sounds of the 1969 Woodstock music festival held in upstate New York.
The weekend will feature nearly a dozen top caliber tribute bands performing full sets emulating the performances from Woodstock.
Mayor Pro Tem Jake Wolf said it’s a great program for an Avon festival.
“A full range of ages knows and loves the music from Woodstock, so it will be the kind of event where community and visitors gather around something really good and admired,” Wolf said. “The festival is happening at a choice time of year at the Pavilion, just as Avon is in full bloom.”
CREATIVE WRITING RETREAT
The Skylight Creative Writing Retreat on Labor Day weekend is the result of a year of planning between the town and Nashville-based event production company Donahue Entertainment.
The goal of the festival is to bring together creative writers in the fields of music, movie, television, theater, prose and poetry. Anchored by Grammy Award-winning and multiple Tony Award-nominated brothers Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick, the Skylight Creative Writing Retreat will include sessions, workshops and creative exercises geared toward giving registrants a guide to deepening their writing skills and approaches.
Both Saturday and Sunday nights will feature live entertainment for registrants, which will also be open to the general public.
“Being a visitor to Avon and Beaver Creek for over 20 years, I am intimately aware of the robust creative community which thrives in Avon,” said Donahue Entertainment’s Don Donahue. “Colorado is one of the most inspiring creative places on earth. So, I am very honored to produce a one-of-a-kind event for this one-of-a-kind location.
“Music and food festivals are wonderful and are thriving in the area,” Donahue added. “But when I studied the town’s brand platform, I had the vision for storytelling, of all kinds, and an intimate weekend for creatives to be guided by masters in the fields. This will not be lectures and panel discussions. This will be hands-on guided learning, incredibly inspiring as well as fun.”
Mayor Jennie Fancher said launching a writers’ gathering in Avon as the summer winds down is noteworthy and promises to be an enriching weekend for participants.
“The Town Council has planted the vision of expanded cultural opportunities at the pavilion, and the Skylight Creative Writing Retreat will bring diversity to our already burgeoning music festivals,” she said. “This will be a weekend as much for literary locals as for our out-of-town participants.”
The full roster, schedule and pricing options are available at http://www.skylightwriters.com. The VIP ticket option for the weekend is $599 and the regular ticket price is $399 for two full days of speaking, teaching, writing and concerts. The evening concerts will be priced at $29 each or two for $49.
For additional information on the Skylight Creative Writing Retreat, contact Donahue at Don@DonahueEntertainment.com.
