Foodie events, charity walks, Wild West Day, jazz, art and more: Tricia’s Weekend Picks 9/22/23
A new event at Beaver Creek, a new book about Vail pioneer Rod Slifer, and opportunities to give back while having fun are on tap for this weekend
Epicurean Adventure
Beaver Creek has always been known as giving guests a world-class experience on the slopes, but it also strives to be known for its offerings in the culinary world and for years has hosted food, wine and spirits events during the winter and summer. Its warm-weather foodie event had been held in August but was moved to September this year and renamed Epicurean Adventure.
Epicurean Adventure invites those with an adventurous palate to come and enjoy what the mountain has to offer followed by delicious dishes and refreshing drinks. From Farm-to-Table offerings to the Grand Tasting, there’s something for everyone’s taste.
On Friday, take your pick from different modes of transportation to get you to the flavors during the Choose Your Own Adventure Gourmet Buffet Lunch. Hike on a 3-mile or 5-mile trail, horseback ride, or take a Jeep 4×4 tour or a shuttle to Beano’s Cabin.
Later on Friday, head to Beaver Creek Village and enjoy music by the Bowmanville Swing while restaurants offer happy hour specials and a little retail therapy at the shops and galleries from 2 to 4 p.m. Stop by Paderewski and C. Anthony Galleries for a little champagne.
On Saturday, the event heads up to Spruce Saddle for the Grand Tasting. In all of the years that Beaver Creek has been doing food and wine festivals, the Grand Tasting has never been held up on the mountain. Ticket holders will go up in gondola cars on the Centennial Express (No. 6) to this mid-mountain location and will enjoy eats from area restaurants and caterers and hand-crafted cocktails and view cocktail demos and other libations while listening to the sounds of the Royal Street Ramblers. This event takes place from 6 to 9 p.m.
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A few events, like the Harvest Dinner on Friday night at Grouse Mountain Grill and the Wild Luxury: 4×4 Tour and Gourmet Luncheon in an aspen grove near the top of Bachelor Gulch on Saturday are already sold out, so take a look at the schedule of events and get your tickets for the other offerings at BeaverCreek.com/SignatureEvents.
As a reminder, this is the last weekend of operations for Beaver Creek’s Centennial Express (No. 6). Come out Saturday and Sunday and take the lift up or down to witness the colors starting to change on the aspen trees. The lift is open from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. After that, it will remain closed until Beaver Creek opens for the 2023-2024 season the day before Thanksgiving.
Walk & Hike for a cause
Rocky Mountain Walk to End Alzheimer’s
Head down to the Brush Creek Park and Pavilion for the Rocky Mountain Walk to End Alzheimer’s this Saturday. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and get there early for coffee and breakfast goodies as well as entertainment by Helmut and Charlotte Fricker, Don Watson, Mountain Harmony, kids activities including face painting and performances by the Battle Mountain High School Dance Team.
This Saturday’s walk is one of the many walks happening across the nation right now for the Alzheimer’s Association. The Alzheimer’s Association’s mission is to have a world without Alzheimer’s disease and all other dementia. Now is an especially great time to show your support for the Alzheimer’s Association, given the recent advancements in treatments and the increasing public visibility of its cause.
The walk will be held on the recreation path throughout Eagle Ranch and is about 2 miles in length, perfect for any age and strollers, wheelchairs, wagons and dogs are welcome. It’s free to participate and you can register to walk and make donations by going to Act.Alz.org/RMWalk.
Climb It for Climate
Also on Saturday is Climb It for Climate, a benefit for Walking Mountains Science Center. Live, work and play in a more sustainable way – that’s the idea behind the second annual event. Walking Mountains aims to gather people and celebrate sustainability while educating and entertaining them.
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Walking Mountain’s goal is to help reduce local emissions 50% by 2030 and by 80% by 2050. To do that, they need your help and they need you to understand and become educated on how you can help so look for plenty of educational stations and interactive activities at Basecamp (base of Eagle Bahn Gondola, No. 19) and along the Berry Picker Trail and at Eagle’s Nest once you’ve reached the top.
Participants will hike up the Berry Picker Trail (about 4 miles and 2,200 vertical feet in elevation gain) to Eagle’s Nest. Along the way there will be education stations, interactive challenges and even musicians playing for you. It’s not a race, you can go at your own pace, but just know that there is food, wine, beer and spectacular views at the mountaintop party. There will also be live music from the Runaway Grooms.
New this year, Walking Mountains has partnered up with Shift E-bikes to offer you a coupon code to get a free ride from as far west as Edwards and as far east at East Vail to the Lionshead station, so use CIFC23 in the “Coupons & Credits” tab and ride into town.
The event goes from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and tickets are $100 per person for ages 13 and up and $50 per person for ages 12 and under. For a full schedule of events, check out ClimbItForClimate.Earth.
Wild West Day
For 33 years, parents have been helping Eagle County public schools raise funds by putting on the wildly popular Wild West Day at 4 Eagle Ranch near Wolcott. This one-day event singlehandedly raises money for Eagle County public elementary schools, therefore streamlining the efforts for asking for donations and businesses and people can give once to help all the public schools. Pre-K facilities are also a part of this effort and EFEC, the Education Foundation of Eagle County is leading the charge.
Check out the family fun at 4 Eagle Ranch from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. which includes games like potato sack races, pie eating contests and more. 4 Eagle Ranch provides the perfect setting for this western-themed event, so don your cowboy hat and boots to look the part. There is also a raffle and you can purchase tickets – $5 for one or $20 for five tickets. Admission is $8 per person and can be purchased at the gate. For more information about this year’s schools, sponsors and more, go to EFEC.org/Wild_West_Day.
Art & Jazz Reception
What goes with art? How about a little live music and throw in a party for good measure? The Vail Valley Art Guild and Colorado Mountain College are teaming up once again to host the 10th annual Vail Valley Fine Art Show and Art & Jazz Reception on Friday at the CMC campus in Edwards.
Over 160 pieces of artwork will be featured. The art was created by nearly 40 CMC students and staff and members of the Vail Valley Art Guild with artwork being offered for sale at Friday’s reception. The event kicks off a six-week long exhibition that includes sculptures, drawings, paintings, ceramics and photography.
The nonprofit Vail Valley Art Guild works with CMC Vail Valley to provide arts education while building awareness of the visual arts in Eagle County. The Vail Valley Art Guild was formed in 2014 to fill a need in the Vail Valley for an organization created by and for visual artists and now has nearly 150 members.
Music will be provided by local jazz pianist and vocalist Kathy Morrow and the band “3 for All” with Larry Dutmer on drums and special guest star Sean Flanigan on trombone. Food and spirits will include south Indian fare by Mukund Gopalakrishnan and a generous donation of a case of Italian white wine by Riverwalk Wine & Spirits. The event is free and open to the public and runs from 5 to 8 p.m.
Even though it is free, organizers are asking those who are attending to register in advance. Search for the event on EventBrite.com or visit VVAGCO.org for more information.
Rod Slifer Book Signing
The story of Vail pioneer Rod Slifer is being told in a new book that is just being released and there is a book signing this weekend at Colorado Snowsports Museum.
The biography, entitled “Rod Slifer & the Spirit of Vail,” follows Slifer through his time in Vail, the summer before the ski area opened until present day. From shaping Vail Ski School, to being the mayor of Vail, to the Vail Renaissance, an era when $1 billion was infused into funding public and private investments such as the Arrabelle at Vail Square, Slifer has been synonymous with the town.
The octogenarian has seen a lot since Vail Mountain opened in December of 1962. He’s worked with Pete Seibert, one of the founders of Vail. He befriended President Gerald. R. Ford, who helped bring the attention to the world to the fledgling ski town and he started Vail’s first real estate company, Slifer, Smith and Frampton with Mark Smith and Harry Frampton.
Meet the man behind the stories and get a piece of history at the book signing at the Colorado Snowsports Museum located in the Vail Village parking structure on Friday from 4 to 6 p.m.
