Pink Vail, green beer, bubbles on the Vilar stage and more: Tricia’s weekend picks 3/15/19

Pink Vail

You won’t be able to be on Vail Mountain without noticing Pink Vail. Costumes, fun and games at various checkpoint stations hosting people wearing pink will be hard to miss. Pink Vail is a huge fundraiser that Vail Health puts on each spring to raise money to support cancer patients.

Although it’s titled Pink Vail, it’s not just a breast cancer benefit. Pink Vail is for all men and women no matter what their cancer diagnosis. All of the Pink Vail donations and registration fees benefit all patients at Shaw Cancer Center through enhancements to patient care and patient programming. These unique services can dramatically impact a patient’s quality of life but are not typically covered by insurance.

Golden Peak will once again be Pink Vail’s home base with registration, family activities, food and beverages and live music taking over the whole area. Start your day there and then travel all around the mountain to participate in the Checkpoint Challenge. Visit all of the checkpoints and drop your name into the prize bucket to possibly win a prize at the end of the day. A costume contest will be held as well, so get creative with your pink outfit. You’ll see some great displays of pink on this day.

The cost to participate is $35 and $25 for kids 12 years old and younger. Please note you will still need a lift ticket to go up on the mountain. You don’t have to ski to take part in Pink Vail. There will be plenty to do at the base area and the live music will start at 9 a.m. Left on 10th plays from 9 to 11 a.m., KT and the Modulators play from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and Brother’s Keeper plays from 2 to 4 p.m. For more information, please visit http://www.pinkvail.com.

St. Patrick’s Day on Sunday

The green beer will be flowing at several drinking establishments this Sunday for St. Patrick’s Day. Here are a few ideas on where to go to celebrate whether you are Irish or not.

Although it’s a Mexican-themed restaurant, they will be changing things up a bit. They will be serving the full Maya brunch, plus the extra Irish offerings and will extend their hours for brunch on Sunday, serving from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m.

“We are excited to be expanding the offerings of the Maya buffet to celebrate this Irish-American tradition. We want people to come, have fun, enjoy some different cuisine and hopefully have a drink or two,” said Angel Munoz, chef at Maya restaurant.

Some of the dishes include Irish favorites like corned beef hash and Guinness stew, along with shamrock martinis, Irish coffee, green beer and other drink specials.

If you have a late brunch closer to when it ends at 2 p.m., stick around for apres ski. There will be live music in The Westin lobby at 4 p.m. Local bands BLT will play first followed by Turntable Revue.

Hotel Talisa in Vail is celebrating all things green this St. Patrick’s Day with live entertainment on Sunday from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Fireside Lounge. The hotel also is offering apres ski specials from 3 to 7 p.m. including $4 Guinness Stout, $4 green beers and $4 Jameson shots.

Hosting your own party?

“Around St. Patrick’s Day we see a ton of Guinness and Baileys Irish Cream sales,” said Nick Noesen of Avon Liquor.

Noesen said that although St. Patrick’s Day is typically big for the bars, with the holiday falling over the weekend, many people will be celebrating for a few days. Stop by and grab some Harp or Smithwick’ beer, Jameson, Tullamore Dew or Red Breast 12 year Irish Whiskey. If you are going to be out by the hot tub or planning a picnic, they are selling Guinness by the four-pack or eight-pack in cans with the nitrogen filters.

Want to try before you buy? West Vail Liquor Mart is hosting a St. Patrick’s Day Tasting Event Friday at 4 p.m. Enjoy Guinness and Irish Blessing from Boulder Beer. Irish Blessing is a dark stout brewed with black and chocolate malts for a bittersweet chocolate finish.

Vilar Shows – Ballet Hispanico and B-The Underwater Bubble Show

The Vilar has already had a busy week of diverse shows featuring Spanish guitar, soulful blues and even the songs of Neil Diamond. This weekend’s line up includes ballet Saturday and a modern-day fairy tale on Sunday.

Dance returns to the Vilar Performing Arts stage with Ballet Hispanico, which has wowed audiences as the company in residence last summer at Vail Dance Festival.

“We are thrilled for this powerful, Latin-infused ballet to return with exciting, new material.  A delight for all dance aficionados and the perfect introduction for new audience members to become inspired,” said Duncan Horner, executive director of the Vilar Performing Arts Center.

The program includes a work by choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, who will also choreograph BalletX’s “The Little Prince” on July 30 as part of the upcoming Vail Dance Festival.

Ballet Hispanico will also be celebrating work by female choreographers during its upcoming performance with three passionate dances by three passionate Latina women.

Tickets are $58 for adults and $25 for students. Tickets are available now by calling 970-845-8497 visiting http://www.vilarpac.org.

On Sunday, follow your dreams and allow your inner child to take over during B-The Underwater Bubble Show. This modern fairy tale will feature a juggler, dancers, acrobats and the spectacular use of soap bubbles.

Inspired by childhood standards like “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Peter Pan”, B-The Underwater Bubble Show is a modern fairy tale with one major twist.  Taking cues from Cirque du Soleil, the visually spectacular show incorporates the latest in stage technology simulating waves and the underwater atmosphere.

“This is a show not to be missed for the kiddos in your life. They will without a doubt be delighted,” said Ruthie Hamrick, marketing manager for the Vilar PAC.

The show starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $45 for adults and $30 for kids.

Free family apres ski fun in Beaver Creek and Vail

From now until March 30, Beaver Creek welcomes families to embrace all the sounds, scents and flavors of the spring season with Beaver Creek Extraordinaire presents Bloom. Each day there will be an incredible lineup of colorful events and delightfully fresh details.

Beaver Creek Village transforms into a snowy spring garden with beautiful flower displays, pop-up sock hops, fresh-picked food events, and interactive movie showings that will delight the whole family. Here is this weekend’s line up, but if you are staying longer, view the full schedule at http://www.beavercreek.com.

• Sounds of Spring, Today, 3 to 6 p.m.: Enjoy the Spring Fling with timeless music classics and join in the sock hop celebration.
• Spring in the Mountains, Saturday, March 16, 3 to 6 p.m.: Enjoy worldly customs in the Beaver Creek Village to welcome the new season.
• Color and Flower Festival, Sunday, March 17, 3 to 6 p.m.: Experience the color and vibrant enthusiasm of spring with fairies, sparklers, parades and more.

The Vail Family Apres Ski event on Saturday brings families to Vail’s base area to celebrate their day of skiing and snowboarding by joining an outdoor celebration on Saturday from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Lionshead will come to life with special characters and hosts who will welcome and entertain the families. There will be a kids parade where the kids will be handed a tambourine or maracas and can be in their own marching band. Magic, comedy and interactive storytelling where the kids get right into the act on stage will be a part of it as well as and fun contests like hula hoop palooza and ultimate Simon says.

For more information, go to http://www.vailfamilyapresski.com or email info@bluecreek.com.

Musicals featuring area students

Bring the family out for some entertainment provided by area youth as “Let’s Get Loud” and “Annie” take the stage this weekend.

“Let’s Get Loud” features the Latin sounds from Broadway to pop radio. Jennifer Lopez sang the title song, and the Vail Performing Arts Academy will also sing “La Bamba”, “Conga, Hot, Hot, Hot,” and numbers from “Evita” and “West Side Story”.

The cast is comprised of students from all over Eagle County ages 8 to 18. Showtime is 6:30 Saturday and Sunday nights at the Battle Mountain High School auditorium. Tickets are $15. For more information, please visit http://www.vpaa.org.

Also this weekend, the Eagle Valley High School theater and music department present “Annie” tonight at Saturday night at 7 p.m. along with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. at the Eagle Valley High School gymnasium. See Annie, Daddy Warbucks and the whole gang sing familiar tunes like “Tomorrow” and “It’s the Hard Knock Life.” The students created the choreography and the music department is providing the orchestral sounds to accompany the singing and dancing.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students and kids 5 years and younger are free. Purchase tickets online at http://www.showtix4u.com.