Shakedown Bar in Vail Village is hosting the new collaborative duo Snakes & Stars on Thursday, December 8. Doors open at 9 p.m. and music gets under way at 10 p.m.

Snakes & Stars is the new landmark project of longtime friends and collaborators Michael Travis (The String Cheese Incident) and Aaron Johnston (Brazilian Girls, David Byrne’s American Utopia). Two of music’s top drummers with a combined 60 years of experience, Travis and Johnston explore various idioms of electronic and dance music in a live, improvisational format.

Utilizing vocals, synthesizers, electronic pads and triggers, a drum kit, guitar, bass and samples, they create a one-of-a-kind musical experience in the moment. The playful interaction between the two artists, audience and the surrounding energy is what guides the music, and no two shows are ever the same.

Advanced tickets to Snakes & Stars are available for $15 at bit.ly/ShakedownSnakesandStars. The show is open to audiences 21 and over. More information and a full lineup of Shakedown’s nightly events is available at www.shakedownbarvail.com.

New Year’s Eve at Beaver Creek

You could roll straight from the slopes into 2022 with all of the events and activities happening in Beaver Creek for New Year’s Eve, where the celebration starts in the afternoon. The family-friendly resort has plenty of ways to entertain the whole group while waiting for the year to end. The ice rink will be open from 1p.m. until 8 p.m. along with the shops, galleries, restaurants and fire pits (don’t forget to grab a s’mores kit) to help you last until midnight – on the East Coast.

Beaver Creek knows you want to get out on New Year’s Day and carve some turns, so everything starts earlier to accommodate an earlier bedtime. Here’s what’s on tap for Friday:

• 3:30 p.m. – 80s cover band music with local favorite Rewind
• 5:45 p.m. – Family-friendly DJ Courtney
• 7:30 p.m. – Live music with the Denver Dolls
• 8:45 p.m. – Family-friendly DJ Courtney
• 10 p.m. – Fireworks can be viewed from all over the village and beyond
• 10 p.m. – Watch the ball drop when the clock strikes 12 midnight in New York City in Times Square on the big LED screens around Beaver Creek Village. Complimentary non-alcoholic champagne will be served while supplies last.

Don’t forget, Beaver Creek Village has a Common Consumption Area (CCA), allowing those 21 years of age and older an opportunity to buy a drink at one of the restaurants and bars within the village and walk around. Get reservations at the restaurant of your choice if you want to dine in town as it will be busy.

This event is a non-ticketed event and is free and open to the public. Paid parking is available at the village lots, or parking is free after 1 p.m. in the lower lots with shuttles running continuously.

For more information, check out the Events section at beavercreek.com or download the Beaver Creek Village Guide app for more details. The app also lists special deals and events happening at area shops, restaurants and galleries.

New Year’s Eve at Vail

After you get off the slopes of Vail, wander through the villages and stop and listen to some live music outdoors. The Sam Bee Duo will be setting up for a free show in Lionshead and the Evolution Duo will be in Vail Village. Follow your ears to the music, which typically runs from 2 to 5 p.m. Live music will continue on Saturday with the Sam Bee Trio back in Lionshead and the Evolution Trio in Vail Village. On Sunday the 10th Mountain Trio will be in Lionshead and the Terry McCune Duo will be in Vail Village.

For even more music, head over to the International Bridge in Vail Village for the Silent Disco. Headphones will be available for free, and participants can listen to a few different genres of music indicated by the color of the light on the headphones. No one can hear what you are listening to, unless you belt out a little “Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey, and then everyone will know what channel you’re on.

It’s a fun, family-friendly way to get into the New Year’s Eve spirit. If you time it right, you can even groove to the fireworks display since the Silent Disco happens between 4:30 and 7:30 p.m.

The Torchlight Ski Parade has been canceled this year, but the fireworks are still set to go off at 6:25 a.m. Head over to the base of Golden Peak to feel as if you are under the fiery flares and sparkles from the fireworks or watch it from a multitude of locations. You’ll be able to watch the short fireworks display from Vail Village, Lionshead and from areas across I-70, so head to a window, a patio, even the top levels of the parking garages if you are on the go to view the spectacular colors in store during the fireworks show. For more information on the fireworks, go to discovervail.com.

If you are looking to dine and party the night away, get reservations sooner than later as many places have sold out. The Red Lion, Bridge Street Bar, Deca Bol, Vail Chophouse and more are planning ticketed New Year’s Eve events. Please note that the New Year’s Eve Party scheduled for Garfinkel’s in Lionshead has been canceled, but they will be open for regular service.

If you missed the boat on getting tickets to the Studio 54 70s-style disco party at Shakedown Bar Vail on New Year’s Eve, save a little something for New Year’s Day and enjoy the Grateful Dead Show featuring Scott Rednor and Rob Eaton, Jr. of Brother’s Keeper and Mark Levy of Circles Around the Sun and Adrian Engfer of Grant Farm from 4 to 8 p.m.

Gessner at the Grand Hyatt Vail will be hosting a three-course dinner at 5:30 p.m. or five-course dinner at 8:30 p.m. with wine pairings. The menu will feature seasonal appetizers, Colorado inspired entrées such as filet mignon with a veal demi glaze and wonderful desserts including a signature triple chocolate cake (that diet doesn’t start until Jan. 1, right?). The dinner is open to resort guests and the public, call 970-476-1234 for reservations.

If you feel like staying home, why not laugh a little with the Comedy Test Kitchen, a virtual comedy show run by Mark Masters. This 30-minute online show runs from 6 to 6:30 p.m. and joining Masters this week is Kyle Ruff and there may be more surprise guests. The comedy show is free and can be viewed on YouTube or Facebook. Post your comments during the live show to be part of the action.

Comedians from coast to coast have been a part of the virtual offering. For more details, visit Eventbrite.com.

Regardless of how late you stay up on New Year’s Eve, get up early and make some turns on New Year’s Day morning, which typically sees less traffic because of the revelry the night before. Pass restrictions run through Dec. 31, so if you have been waiting on the sidelines during all of these powder-filled storms, now’s your chance to get out early and get after it.

Vail’s hours right now on the front side are 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with lifts in the Back Bowls closing at 3 p.m. Beaver Creek’s lifts run from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on the main mountain. If you are in Bachelor Gulch and need to get back to Beaver Creek Village, hop on the Bachelor Gulch Express (Lift No. 16) before it closes at 3:30 p.m.

Magic of Lights Vail

Back for a second season, Magic of Lights Vail is a one-of-a-kind celebration of lights offering a memorable, physically-distanced and safe activity for the entire family. This is the last weekend you can experience over one-half million lights that are artfully displayed along a half-mile area of the Lower Bench area of Ford Park and culminates in the beautiful Betty Ford Alpine Gardens. This is an area that most people don’t visit during the wintertime, so prepare to be wowed this season east of Vail Village.

How do you get there? The closest parking is located at the Vail Village Parking Structure which is free after 3pm. If you are staying in town, hop on the free In-Town or Golf Course bus and get off at the Golden Peak stop or walk to the Ford Park Lower Bench, which is approximately a half-mile walk from Vail Village and then keep in mind that you’ll be walking about a half mile through the Magic of Lights Vail, so size up the physical activity level of your group before proceeding to walk to the venue.

Wear plenty of layers and winter footwear as you’ll be going over sidewalks and steps in the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens area. Make sure the camera phone is charged up for several Instagram-worthy photo ops.

Hungry or thirsty? Swing by the concessions stand for s’mores and hot chocolate. There are various kinds of alcohol that can be used to spice up a hot drink of your choice.

Since the venue is so close to Golden Peak, it’s a prime viewing spot for the New Year’s Eve fireworks display that will kick off around 6:20 p.m., so if you have the 6 p.m. time slot, keep an eye on the sky for even more “magic of lights.”

This is a ticketed event with peak pricing during the holidays. Pick your scheduled time and for quick entry have your tickets pulled up on your phone or bring printed tickets.

Ticket prices:

• Adults: $20
• Children 3 to 12 years old: $10
• Children 2 years and younger are free and do not require a ticket
• For more information and to get tickets, visit magicoflightsvail.com

15th Annual Vail Winterfest

Make sure the check out the illuminated ice sculptures that have recently popped up along Gore Creek with the 15th annual Vail Winterfest displays.

Art in Public Places debuted the 15th annual Vail Winterfest on Dec. 19. Come and enjoy the new ice sculptures carved out of approximately 25,000 pounds of sculpted ice. Paul Wertin and his team from Alpine Ice has once again created a whimsical display that defies gravity with the help of guest artist, Olive Moya of Denver, who most recently created artwork at the Vail Village Transportation Center.

The banks of Gore Creek are filled with all sorts of forms and icy figures ranging from 5-feet to 12-feet in height. At night, these sculptures will light up via colorful lighting.

It’s a short walk through the display, so don’t worry about bundling up as much as you would during the Magic of Lights Vail, but you do want to have on proper footwear as the packed-out snow surrounding the ice sculptures gets very slippery.

There are also colorful lanterns on display above and on either side of the International Bridge.

If you don’t make it out to Vail Winterfest this weekend, you can enjoy the illumination daily from dusk until 10 p.m. until the ice sculptures melt later this winter. For more information, go to artinvail.com.

Beaver Creek’s Cheer

All throughout the holidays, Beaver Creek Extraordinaire has presented Cheer, bringing storytelling, acrobatics, fire-handing, live music and much more to the plaza in Beaver Creek village. In addition to the New Year’s Eve events going on Friday night, check out the following:

• Jan. 1 – Beaver Creek FunFest with DJ Courtney 4 – 5:30 p.m.
• Jan. 2 – Fireside Storytime with Sven 4 -7 p.m.

The weekly FunFest on Saturday lets kids can earn tokens to redeem prizes after running from one game tent to the next. The whole family can enjoy playing carnival-style games like Bull’s Eye, Fish Bowl Frenzy, Leaping Lizards, Ring Toss and Snake Pit on the plaza level in Beaver Creek Village.

The complimentary event begins at 4 p.m. and last call to exchange tokens for prizes is at 5:30 p.m.

The Fossil Posse Dinosaur Show will take place on Saturday at 4 p.m. Artist Ken Carpenter will also be on hand to do complimentary caricatures from 4 to 6 p.m.

For more information, visit beavercreek.com.

The Vail Valley Foundation announced Friday that proof of vaccination along with a photo ID will be required for all attendees 12 and older, and masks will be required for children ages 2-11, at its two popular venues: the indoor Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek Village, and the open-air Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail.

“We continue to navigate the pandemic and the presentation of live indoor performances with responsibility, urgency and optimism,” said Owen Hutchinson, executive director of the Vilar Performing Arts Center. “Required vaccination will allow artists and audience members to feel safe and comfortable in the theater and maintain the excitement and gratitude that we’ve all experienced over a season of acclaimed artists on our stage.”

The new protocols are effective immediately at the Vilar Performing Arts Center, and begin Sept. 1 at the Ford Amphitheater.

“Our organization holds the safety, health, and comfortable enjoyment for all who attend performances or work at our venues as paramount,” said Mike Imhof, president of the Vail Valley Foundation. “These new policies will help to ensure that we can responsibly continue to host the wide array of spectacular programming scheduled for each of these beautiful mountain venues, and hopefully assist our broader community in reducing or reversing the current trend of increasing incidence rates of the delta variant.”

The new policies are:

• For ages 12 and older, proof of vaccination along with a photo ID (e.g. driver’s license, passport, driver’s permit, ski pass) that matches proof of vaccination card will be required upon entry to the theater. Negative test results in advance of a performance date will not be accepted in place of proof of vaccination.
• The Vilar Performing Arts Center and the Ford Amphitheater will remain mask-supportive environments. Wearing a face mask is strongly encouraged in the venues but is not required.
• Children ages 2 through 11 are exempt from providing proof of vaccination, but a properly-fitted face mask must be worn at all times, except when eating or drinking. Children under the age of 2 are exempt from wearing a face mask.
• Attendees with a valid medical exemption, that prevents them from being vaccinated, will be permitted to enter the venues, but must provide written documentation of the exemption from their physician and must wear a mask in the venue at all times.

The policies apply to guests, artists and employees of the venues. The Vail Valley Foundation said that policies will be revised in the future based on data specific to COVID-19 disease trends in Eagle County.

For ticket holders who are unable to meet the new venue requirements, refunds will be provided but must be requested in an email to boxoffice@vvf.org at least three business days in advance of the scheduled performance.

Sept. 9 community concert will now be ticketed

The Vail Valley Foundation also announced that its Sept. 9 End of Summer Community Concert will now be a ticketed event so that the new policies can be properly enforced. The event will still be free, but attendees will need a valid ticket for entry into the show.

“Instituting these new protocols is only possible in a ticketed environment, but we don’t believe that will be a deterrent to those who want to attend,” said Dave Dressman, vice president of sales and the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater for the Vail Valley Foundation. “We have a very high rate of vaccination in this community, we expect the new policy to be embraced and supported, and we have seen our valley’s tremendous love of live music. We are ready to enjoy the unity that can only come from joining together to enjoy live music at this beautiful venue.”

The concert will feature a host of local musicians and is meant to be a time for the community to gather in unity, celebrate front-line workers and stay positive while navigating the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upcoming shows

The Vilar Performing Arts Center and the Ford Amphitheater have a full season of programming on tap for late summer and autumn.

Highlights at the VPAC include comedian Colin Quinn, Keb’ Mo’ Band, Jackson Emmer/Sierra Ferrell, plus STARS educational performances, Underground Sound programming and more.

Highlights at the Ford Amphitheater include Rodrigo y Gabriela, The VVF’s End of Summer Community Concert, Death Cab for Cutie, and Phil Lesh & Friends.

For more information, tickets and event dates, visit VilarPAC.org and GRFAvail.com.

Stephen Marley postponed the forthcoming “Babylon By Bus” tour dates in August and September 2021 earlier this week, citing concern over rising COVID-19 infection rates. Marley was scheduled to play Sept. 4 at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater.

The eight-time Grammy Award winner announced the tour’s postponement on Aug. 10 on Twitter.

“Given recent data regarding rising infection rates due to COVID-19,” Marley tweeted, “we are cautiously moving these dates in order to mitigate the risk of spread amongst our touring production crew, including the band and family, and most importantly our fans.”

Marley’s announcement comes as the delta variant surges in late summer. In Eagle County, 148 cases were reported in the first 10 days of August, whereas all of July had a total of 172 cases reported. Three COVID-19 deaths have been reported since late July.

“We hope that everyone will continue to be vigilant about safety at this time, and we hope to return to the stage in the near future,” Marley tweeted.

Refunds are available at the point of purchase. For more information, visit grfavail.com/stephen-marley.

In 2020, western Eagle County residents could only dream of gathering together in big community celebrations that are a hallmark of downvalley life.

This year, locals are invited to dream big as Gypsum Daze returns this weekend with a bang.

The three-day celebration includes something for everyone and culminates in a big concert Saturday night featuring country artists LOCASH and Pat Green. The big concert offering is actually expanded this year, with a second night of music planned Friday featuring Jimmie Allen.

“Gypsum is ready to have its signature event back,” said Taylor Slaugh, the community’s communications and marketing manager in a press release. As the event prepares to kick off Thursday, there are plenty of people who agree. Here’s the rundown of all the Gypsum Daze offerings:

Fishing is Fun

The Colorado Department of Wildlife along with the town of Gypsum and ECO Transit host this fishing event for folks of all ages

Time: 5-7 p.m.

Where: Gypsum ponds

Details: Participants should park along the Gypsum Shooting Range Road and hop onto a ECO bus for a ride to the Gypsum ponds. Shuttle service begins at 4:45 p.m. The Colorado Department of Wildlife will stock the pond with thousands of rainbow trout prior to the event and local fishing guides will help younger anglers with baiting, casting and detangling.

Pickleball Tournament

Join other Eagle County pickleball players for a fun-filled morning of play.

Time: 8-11 a.m.

Where: 530 Cotton Ranch Drive courts

Details: Court check-in will be at 8 a.m., and play will begin at 9 a.m. For more info, contact the Gypsum Recreation Center at 970-777-8888.

Free Kids Zone

Come one, come all to the Kids Zone at Gypsum Daze. Free to all, this Gypsum tradition includes bouncy inflatables, water features, face painting, a caricature artist and more.

Time: 4-8 p.m. Friday and 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday

Where: Parking lot east of the Gypsum Public Library

Youth Talent Show

Music, dance, magic, martial arts or unique talent, the Gypsum Daze Youth Talent show is the spot to see and hear young local performers step into the spotlight. The show is open to youth 12 and younger and 13-18 years.

Time: 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Where: Lundgren Theater

Details: Show rules and the entry form are available online at TownofGypsum.com. For additional information call 524-7514 or email stephanie@townofgypsum.com.

ECO Transit parking shuttles and buses

On Friday, a parking shuttle will make loops from 7-10:45 p.m. from the ECO Transit office on Cooley Mesa Road to the Gypsum Daze event entrance on Valley Road and from the north Eagle Valley High School lot to the event entrance and back. The 9:54 p.m. Gypsum/Eagle Valley route bus will be held at Eagle Valley High School until 10:05 p.m. for those who would like to ride the bus beyond Gypsum after the concert. Call 970-328-3539 for additional information.

Friday Night Concert

Jimmie Allen, the 2021 Academy of Country Music New Male Artist of the Year, will perform in this new addition to the Gypsum Daze schedule.

Time: Gates open at 8 p.m. with opening act A Band Called Alexis. Jimmie Allen will take the stage at 8:30 p.m.

Where: Lundgren Theater

Details: Concertgoers can bring chairs and/or blankets but no coolers or outside food and drink allowed. Food and drink will be offered for sale within secure concert area. Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the gate. There is also a $55 online option for tickets to the Friday and Saturday night concerts. Visit EventBrite.com/gypsum-daze-2021.

Firemen’s Pancake Breakfast

A $5 donation will get you pancakes, sausage, juice and coffee to kickstart a busy day of activities.

Time: 7-9 a.m.

Where: Eastern end of Lundgren Blvd.

Details: All proceeds go to the Gypsum Fire Protection District Equipment Fund. The Gypsum Fire Protection District is a combination department of paid and volunteer members.

27th Annual Gypsum Daze 5K Run/Walk

Participants can run or walk the loop course and there are giveaways and prizes for all and awards for overall male/female first, second and third place overall as well as male and female age categories. A free 1-kilometer kids walk/run is also planned this year — a shorter distance option for those with shorter legs.

Time: 8-9:30 a.m.

Where: The 5-kilometer run/walk starts at Valley Road and Lundgren Blvd

Details: The race is a loop course. The awards ceremony starts at 9 a.m. at the race finish line. Early registration is $10 and race day registration is $20. To register visit MountainRec.org.

Classic Car Show

Gypsum Creek Cruisers Car Show is open to all classic cars, pickups, off-road vehicles, antiques, street rods, muscle cars, racers and toys.

Time: 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Where: Town Hall/Library Park

Details: Awards Presentation will take place at 2 p.m. Registration is $20, $10 for each additional entry. Register at TownOfGypsum.com. Day-of registration and vehicle load-in begins at 7:30 a.m. Valley Road will be closed to all vehicles at 9:45 a.m. for the parade.

Gypsum Daze Parade

This year’s parade theme is “Dream Big,” a tribute to the former councilwoman Pam Schultz and her 30 years of dedication to Gypsum Daze. It was Pam’s vision to celebrate small-town spirit in a big way that helped make Gypsum Daze what it is today.

Time: 10 a.m.

Where: Valley Road

Details: Parade lineup is begins at 8:15 a.m at Ridley’s Market. To enter, visit TownOfGypsum.com.

Pinup Contest

This traditional pinup style contest hosted by the Western Colorado Pinup Club.

Time: 11:30 a.m.

Where: Town Hall Park

Details: For registration or contest rules visit TownOfGypsum.com. For additional information, contact sarahbraucht@yahoo.com.

Family Shooting Sports Barbecue

This free event offers families a chance to learn about archery and basic gun safety and shooting firearms from certified instructors and range officers.

Time: Noon to 3:30 p.m.

Where: Gypsum Shooting Sports Park

Details: Participants will be allowed to fire small-bore rifles, pistols, shotguns and air guns under supervision of experienced shooters from the club. Along with furnishing the firearms and ammunition, the Gypsum Rod and Gun Club will serve hot dog, hamburgers and soft drinks.

Jalapeno Eating Contest

Find out who can handle the heat as youth and adults compete for cash prizes.

Time: 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Where: Town Hall/Library Park

ECO Transit parking shuttles and buses

On Saturday a parking shuttle will make loops from 6 to 11 p.m. from the ECO Transit office on Cooley Mesa Road to the Gypsum Daze event entrance on Valley Road and from the north Eagle Valley High School lot to the event entrance and back. The Gypsum/Eagle Valley Route Bus will depart from Eagle Valley High School at 10:40 p.m. for those who would like to ride the bus beyond Gypsum after the concert. For additional information, call 970-328-3539.

Saturday Concert

Gypsum Daze concludes with its signature concert. This year’s lineup includes Pat Green and LOCASH. Green is well known for his 2003 smash hit “Wave on Wave” and has racked up more than 2 million album sales. LOCASH’s 2015 album produced their No. 1 single “I Know Somebody” and the hit. “I Love This Life.”

Time: Gates open at 6:30 p.m. Pat Green takes the stage at 7 p.m. and LOCASH performs at 9 p.m.

Where: Lundgren Theater

Details: Concertgoers can bring chairs and/or blankets but no coolers or outside food and drink allowed. Food and drink will be offered for sale within secure concert area. Tickets are $35 in advance. There is also a $55 online option for tickets to the Friday and Saturday night concerts. Visit EventBrite.com/gypsum-daze-2021.

Music Festivals

Bravo! Vail Music Festival has been around for 34 years, Vail Jazz is celebrating 27 seasons and the Vilar Performing Arts Center has been hosting live music for over two decades. The pandemic altered last year’s schedule, but this summer, these music festivals and concert series have returned to pre-pandemic lineups.

Bravo! Vail

The Bravo! Vail Music Festival continues this week with The Philadelphia Orchestra planning three nights of outstanding music at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. This weekend’s shows at The Amp start at 6 p.m. and tickets can be found at bravovail.com.

Friday – 6 p.m.: Stutzmann Conducts Shaham

• Nathalie Stutzmann conducts while Gil Shaham is on violin.
• Dvorak – Selected Slavonic Dances, Op. 46
• Bologne – Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 8
• Beethoven – Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92

Saturday – 6 p.m.: Mendelssohn “Italian” Symphony

• Nathalie Stutzmann conducts while Ricardo Morales plays clarinet
• Sinfonia – (for Orbiting Spheres)
• Mozart – Concerto for Clarinet in A major, K. 622
• Mendelsohnn Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90, “Italian”

Sunday – 6 p.m.: Deneve leads Philadelphia

• Stephane Deneve conductors the Philadelphia Orchestra with Jean-Efflam Bavouzet featured on piano.
• Ravel – Pavane pour une infante défunte
• Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19
• Ravel – Le Tombeau de Couperin
• Prokofiev – Symphony No. 1, Op. 25, “Classical”

Vail Jazz

The Vail Jazz Festival is back for its 27th season with weekly shows on Thursdays and Sundays that lead up to the big Labor Day Weekend event, the Vail Jazz Party, Sept. 2-6.

If you love jazz, all kinds of jazz, like hot jazz, bebop, bossa nova, gypsy jazz, big band sounds and more, check out the first Vail Jazz @ Solaris concert this Sunday. Vail Jazz is happy to have a stage so centrally located in the heart of Vail Village. After the Vail Farmers Market and Art Show, grab a bite to eat or a drink at one of the nearby restaurants and wait for the free Vail Jazz @ Solaris concert to start at 6 p.m. The musical lineup includes regional jazz legends, big band swing, ensembles, Latin beats, student band showcases and more. This week’s musical act is the H2 Big Band out of Denver. For more information and to see who is coming to play, go to vailjazz.org.

Sounds of Summer Concert Series

The Vilar Performing Arts Center’s Sounds of Summer Concert Series is in full swing. A recent addition to the schedule is “An Evening with phoffman of Greensky Bluegrass” set for this Saturday.

Phoffman is the nickname of Paul Hoffman, the songwriter, singer and mandolin player for Greensky Bluegrass, which has had chart-topping hits on Billboard’s Bluegrass charts, and has played huge festivals like Bonaroo, Austin City Limits and Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

Even if you haven’t been a follower of Greensky Bluegrass, phoffman’s musical style and showmanship are sure to entertain. General admission tickets are $30 for the 7:30 p.m. show at the concert venue in Beaver Creek Village. For more information on this performance or upcoming shows, go to vilarpac.org.

Art Events

Art on the Rockies

Art on the Rockies returns this weekend with over 110 fine artists and craftspeople. Colorado Mountain College will host the event with plenty of parking, food and drink vendors and high country hospitality.

Art on the Rockies has been a staple on the Vail Valley art scene for decades. The show draws in artists from all over the country featuring mediums like painting and drawing, sculpture and 3-D, photography, jewelry, ceramics and glass, fiber, metal wood and more.

This year’s featured artist is Randy Galloway, whose passion for travel and the West and his Native American roots drive his creations. According to his bio on the Art on the Rockies website, Galloway says that “the West is in my soul.” Art on the Rockies prides itself in having “active artists” and this venue allows festival-goers a chance to meet the artists and not only speak to them about their craft, but also see them in action.

Check out the show this Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day. For more information, go to artontherockies.org.

2nd Friday ARTwalk

It’s back! Each month, EagleARTS is pleased to present the 2nd Friday ARTwalk & Food Truck Fiesta. Broadway will be closed to traffic and opened up to plenty of booths featuring artists and businesses offering specials, sales, dine-in & takeout food.

In addition to the restaurants serving food, there will also be a variety of food trucks and many fun additions like mobile crafts studio The Frosted Flamingo, a climbing wall from Eagle Climbing & Fitness and aerial acrobatics performances by P.L.A.Y.

The Vail Valley Art Guild also hosts an event during this time. Stop by the members exhibit at its Eagle Gallery location at 108 Second Street. Here you will find original art, ceramics, woodworking and photography.

Even more art can be found at Mountain Lifestyle Properties, which will be hosting an Art Lounge featuring photographer Sean Boggs. Katch of the Day will be hosting Sass N’Class Crafts, and the EagleARTS@ARTSPaCE workshop+gallery will feature 13 local fine art and ceramic artists and jewelers.

Entry to the event is free and takes place on Friday night between 5-8 p.m. For more information, visit eaglearts.org or search for the “Summer 2nd Friday ARTwalks” event on Facebook.

Free Outdoor Movies

Gypsum

The Lundgren Amphitheater in Gypsum hosts movies on Fridays and will kick off the series with Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park.” Bring the kids and a blanket for a night of free entertainment while watching the classic flick featuring Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern as they travel to a theme park that houses prehistoric creatures and they must figure out a way to survive. Gates open at 7:30 and the movie starts at 8 p.m. The town of Gypsum has a special screen that allows the movie to be seen before it’s totally dark out. “Jurassic Park” runs a little over two hours in length, so it will be dark when you leave, so plan accordingly and have a headlamp or flashlight with you when you return home. For more information, visit townofgypsum.com.

Avon

The Lakeside Cinema returns to Nottingham Park in Avon this Friday. Movies will begin at about 8:15 p.m. Come out early and enjoy activities in the park, the lake, or event a picnic at one of the many picnic tables around the lake. Bring your own larn chairs and blankets for a comfortable experience while watching a flick. Learn more at discoveravon.org.

Weekly Movie Schedule:

• July 9 – “Coco”
• July 16 – “Selena”
• July 30 – “Book of Life”
• August 20 – “Stand and Deliver”
• August 27 – “Raya and the Last Dragon”
• September 3 – “Onward”

LG Tri

The 13th annual LG Tri charity event takes place this weekend. The triathlon starts bright and early on Saturday with a 7 a.m. start. Participants will do a 500-yard swim at the Eagle Pool and Ice Rink, a 12-mile road bike ride up Brush Creek Road and a 5k run. There will also be a kids triathlon event with kids doing shorter distances based on age groups.

The LG Tri is held in honor of Laura Genelin, who lost her battle with cancer in July of 2008. Proceeds from the LG Tri benefit the Vail Valley Charitable Fund, a local nonprofit helping community members since 1996.

New this year is the Tour de Eagle on Friday night. Meet at the Eagle Pool and Ice Rink at 5:30 p.m. for a ride on the Haymaker Trail. Afterwards, enjoy beer, food and live music. To find out more, go to lgtri.com.

Vail Family Fun Fest

Come out to Lionshead Village for a few hours of free family fun at the Vail Family Fun Fest. Visit tents that will house fun games and activities based on STEM themes (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). There will also be contests and group games like the “Water Balloon Toss of Death”, Hula Hoop Extravaganza and Ultimate Simon Says.

Be sure to check out the Science Tent that will feature presentations like Nature’s Educator’s, an educational group fostering respect and awareness of Birds of Prey and other animals found in Colorado. For more information, contact info@bluecreek.com or call 970-328-5855.

The Eagle Cowboys Forever Rodeo series is back, with western action planned Friday evenings through mid-August.

Gates will open at 5 p.m. at the Eagle County Fairgrounds with the rodeo grand entry at 7:30 p.m. The series will run through Friday, Aug. 13, with a one-week break on July 23 when the Eagle County Fair & Rodeo is in town. Featured action will include bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, team roping, breakaway, dally ribbon roping, barrel racing and bull riding.

“With the Beaver Creek Rodeo Series not happening this year, we are hoping this series will attract the audience that supported that rodeo for so many years,” said Patty Hackman, board member for the Cowboys Forever Foundation.

Hackman added that this series presents rodeo for a cause. The Cowboys Forever Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to keeping Western heritage alive and helping our community. The foundation also has teamed up with SpeakUp ReachOut, the suicide prevention coalition of the Eagle Valley, and will share ticket proceeds with the nonprofit group.

“Our hope is that this family, fun-oriented event will bring the community together to help our local nonprofits and support our youth involved in rodeo,” said foundation president Samantha Eckert Wittler.

Fun for everyone

There will be food trucks and a Coors beverage vendors at each Friday night Cowboys Forever rodeo. For younger rodeo goers, mutton bustin’ and calf scramble events are staged at each event.

Mutton bustin’ is limited to 10 contestants per night on a first-come, first-served basis. Contestants must be between the ages of 4 and 7 years and cannot weigh more than 50 pounds. There is a $10 entry fee with registration from 5:30 to 6 p.m.

Children between the ages of 3 and 10 years can participate in the calf scramble. Parents cannot enter the area with their children. Registration runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

For both mutton bustin’ and calf scramble, an adult legal guardian must sign a waiver of liability for each child participant.

Tickets for the Cowboys Forever Rodeo are $10 for adults (age 12 and older), $5 for seniors and military personnel, $5 for kids ages 5 to 11 years and free for children aged 3 and younger. Cash only for ticket purchases.

For more information about the rodeo series or the Cowboys Forever Foundation, visit cowboysforeverfoundation.org.

It has been a difficult year for the performing arts but when opening night of the Vail Valley Academy of Dance‘s “Cinderella” began at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater Wednesday, you would have no way of knowing that.

As Amanda Dirvonas, the graduating senior who shined in the ballet’s lead role, lay “asleep” center stage at the start of the performance, she wasn’t thinking about the masks they wore in the studio or the uncertainty of their first live audience performance since the pandemic hit. She was transported into the world of one of her favorite fairytales, reveling in the joy of doing what she loves on a stage marked by the pointe shoes of countless professional dancers.

“It almost felt like the whole story was coming out in a more natural way, as if we were in our own little world up there but it wasn’t like a staged world,” Dirvonas said Thursday.

Each year, the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater hosts ballet professionals from across the country and world for the Vail Dance Festival, and this year was the first time that the academy’s dancers had the chance to perform at the venue as most performances are held indoors at the Vilar Performing Arts Center, the academy’s artistic director Ashley Calligan said.

“Normally, in a blackout, you would just see me sleeping when the curtain opens,” Dirvonas said. “But it was nice to be able to see the lawn and to have the light coming in from behind us through that garden.”

And so it was that the Colorado sun shone through the beams of the amphitheater roof and onto Dirvonas as she rose from the stage and began to dance, each movement purposeful, thoughtful.

“That’s a dancer,” a little girl in the audience said, seemingly proud at her knowledge of what was going on.

“She’s beautiful,” the child seated next to her responded.

And beautiful she was as she moved across the large stage with ease, taking on the role of a subservient princess-to-be forced to cook and clean for her wicked stepsisters and stepmother.

One of these wicked or, better said, wickedly funny stepsisters was another graduating senior, Tanner Essex.

Essex’s true love is musical theater, a passion he will pursue at Millikin University in Decatur this fall, but he joined the academy to strengthen his dancing skills. Naturally, he was overjoyed to learn he had been cast as a stepsister.

“I knew that it was kind of a heavy acting role, and I knew I wouldn’t have to worry much about looking perfect and pristine when I was dancing,” he said Thursday. “I knew I was going to be able to take this role and do what I wanted with it.”

Essex and fellow stepsister Ella Moberg decided they would take the artistic and comedic license given to them by Calligan and run with it, bumping and jolting and sneering their way across the stage. Stepmother Quinn Kelley, another graduating senior, was right behind them, rolling her eyes so dramatically that even audience members in the back of the lawn laughed.

In an art form prone to seriousness and the pressure to be perfect, Calligan allowed them to laugh and be silly at time when everyone could use a hearty chuckle, Essex said.

“Comedy in ballet is one of the coolest things because there are no words or speaking or singing or anything like that, so it’s just purely our facial expressions,” he said.

The removal of face masks aided this endeavor, and each comedic moment was punctuated by laughs from audience members whose smiles lingered even after Essex, Moberg and Kelley exited the stage.

In Thursday night’s performance, the lead role of Cinderella was played, just as beautifully, by Sydney Adair, also a graduating senior.

Before any dancing began Wednesday night, Essex was the first onstage, quieting the audience with a moving rendition of “Only You, Lonely You” from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cinderella.”

“(Calligan) made a point to ask me to sing before the show, because she’s always just been so good at showcasing our individual talents,” Essex said.

Essex’s voice rang out through the amphitheater as parents settled in with popcorn and beers, soft at first but with emotion and power that seemed well beyond his years.

“And I’ll find a way to make you see, only you can rescue lonely me,” Essex sang, finishing the song in a powerful crescendo.

Next to the stage was Calligan, who introduced the show and expressed how proud she was of the academy’s dancers, which range from 3-year-olds to high school seniors, for making it to opening night.

“It’s been a hard year and we made it through,” Calligan said then, nearing tears.

The show started with Dirvonas, but quick to follow were the academy’s Division 1 students — the little ones — cast as the most adorable interpretation of Cinderella’s mice. The mice leaped and sashayed with joy, showing their character as they bowed to Cinderella one by one before running off stage.

The dressmaker, the hat maker and the dance teacher, played by Reese Dean, Gracie Johnson and Jacqueline Lazier, respectively, came to help prepare the stepsister for the ball — a hopeless endeavor that they enacted with poise and grace.

Then came moment many parents were waiting for: the appearance of the fairy godmother ushered in a series of dances showcasing the academy’s ballet divisions of all ages as they prepared Cinderella for the ball.

First came the joyful “moonbeams,” adding mystique to the fairy godmother’s arrival, followed by the fairy godmother’s attendants, older dancers whose arm movements showed incredible synchronicity.

Next up were the butterflies, younger dancers with beautiful colored wings who demonstrated an early mastery of the échappé sauté, followed by a wistful bunch of fairies and then spring fairies in flowing pink dresses.

Tate Drescher, mother of fairy Ellie Drescher, said her daughter could not wait to perform in front of a live audience again and called her performance “lovely.”

The “sprites,” the performance’s largest group of dancers, wowed in bright green costumes as they embodied the lively music played during their number. Then came the flowers, who seemed to dance on air, and the summer and autumn fairies, each personifying the seasons they were meant to represent.

One sprite, Tatum Jaffe, also avoided the nerves and couldn’t wait to live out her passion onstage, her mother, Amanda Jaffe, said at intermission.

“You have to drive them every night to dance, and you have to wait for an hour or two to pick them up and it gets to be a long season,” Amanda Jaffe said. “They put in the time and effort and it’s nice to see it all come to fruition in the end.”

The ballet’s two winter fairies, Sydney Adair and Carlotta Porter, both graduating seniors, were simply stunning in their white tutus.

The fairy godmother herself was played by Audrey Lypps on Wednesday and Carlotta Porter on Thursday.

The sun began to set over the amphitheater as each group cycled onto the stage, revealing a second set of dancers that twirled in the shadows cast on the wall stage left.

After the intermission, the ball began and the princesses, duchesses and courtiers were the picture of elegance as they fought to win over the attention of the prince, played by guest artist Mike Stone.

Finally, Cinderella enters from stage left, completely transformed in an embellished gold tutu and she and the prince dance the night away.

The dance culminates when Stone lifts Dirvonas “in pas,” an elegant, but seemingly back-breaking position, as the other members of the ball gather around them.

“It’s really freeing,” Dirvonas said of that moment. “When you’re up there, it does feel like you’re floating.”

“(Dirvonas) has not had a lot of lead role partnering experience, so to get to be there for her through that was really a great experience for me,” said Stone, a professional dancer who flew in to help the academy in absence of an older male lead. “She was stunning.”

Stone is followed by his trusty jester, Brecklyn Honan, who later aids him in his quest across the amphitheater to find the foot that fits the glass slipper of his runaway love. And, well, we all know how the story ends.

“As artists, we want an audience to perform to and for and when that was taken away it mutes our passion,” Calligan said Thursday. “Seeing those kids opening night, their passion was definitely not muted.”

“Especially with the (seniors) we have this year, they’ve been through a lot, and I hope that what they leave on the stage they’re proud of because it really was amazing,” she said.