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Latest Vail Undressed Calendar UnVailing revives fund-raising tradition

In the 20 years since its original inception, the Vail Undressed Calendar has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Vail Valley Charitable Fund, and every dime is rolled right back into the local community.
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What: Grand unveiling of the 2017 Vail Undressed calendar, the 20th edition.

When: Thursday, Nov. 10; 5:30 p.m. drinks, appetizers, silent auction; 6:30 p.m. doors open; 7 p.m. the big UnVailing; 8 p.m. calendar signing.

Where: Vilar Performing Arts Center, 68 Avondale Lane, Beaver Creek.

Cost: $45 VIP or $35 general admission.

More information: The Vail Undressed Calendar is a fundraiser for the Vail Valley Charitable Fund. For information, go to vvcf.org.

You’ll buy the 20th anniversary Vail Undressed Calendar for a good cause and because you really, really, really want to know what day it is.

That’s your story, and you’re sticking to it.

A few years back was supposed to be the final Vail Undressed Calendar. The prevailing wisdom was that we were done looking at beautiful people for a good cause. We weren’t, though, because we’re philanthropic and pure-hearted.



The 2017 calendar is the encore edition — a few Olympians, athletes, well-known local personalities. Local favorites Erik Williams and Trista Sutter will handle the big UnVail at Thursday’s event.

Now that’s economic stimulus

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The Vail Undressed Calendar does exactly what it’s supposed to do — stimulate interest, which motivates Americans to do what we do best: throw money at a good cause; in this case, the Vail Valley Charitable Fund.

The calendar has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, and every dime is rolled right back into the local community, helping people suffering from things such as injuries sustained in serious car accidents, people battling cancer, intensive care for a severely premature infant, recuperation from heart attack and stroke … the list goes on and on.

The Vail Valley Charitable Fund has raised and distributed $7 million to approximately 1,400 families in our community.

The idea showed up when Vail Valley Charitable Fund founder and CEO Rohn Robbins read about a group of women in England, the Calendar Girls, who published a calendar of tastefully naked pictures of themselves to raise money for a cause near to their hearts. Eventually, someone made a movie about it.

The Charitable Fund board decided they had nothing to lose besides their tan lines, so they became one of the first in the United States to try it — if not the first — and it worked.

The timing helped attract some attention. But let’s face it, if you let us look at beautiful naked people, tastefully and creatively posed, we’ll pay money to do it.

That first UnVailed party attracted 450 people, and they were on their way.

Trista and Ryan and Earl, oh my!

That 10th year saw Trista and Ryan and Vail’s original pioneer Earl Eaton riding a ski bike wearing nothing but sunglasses and a grin. Eaton used to hunt and fish in these mountains as a kid, so he found what is now Vail.

Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter applied their celebrity at the peak of their “Bachelorette” fame. A television crew showed up to film that year’s UnVailed unveiling party.

Robbins ran the Charitable Fund for years, and said the first calendar is still his favorite, the one with three chefs from Beaver Creek — David Clark, Rick Kangas and David Walford — sitting in a kitchen looking like successful chefs should, all wearing aprons and good intentions.

Skiers Chris Anthony and Toby Dawson were in the sports edition. The photographers edition featured models of the photographers’ choice.

For the Peoples Choice calendar, the public wrote in and told the Charitable Fund who they wanted to see. Local physical therapist Mary Witt was featured in the Survivors calendar.

The Vail Rugby Club did a month, the Vail Precision Lawn Chair Demonstration Team posed, the Happy Hikers, Team High Maintenance, the U.S. Women’s Freestyle Ski Team … and they all looked freakin’ amazing.

Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 and rwyrick@vaildaily.com.


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