Things to do / Travel Guide
When it comes to a calendar full of world-class events, the Colorado Rockies region just plain rocks! Whether you breeze into the region to ski or enjoy summer fun, you can certainly fancy-up your itinerary with some local panache.
January
For an arctic art affair, don't miss Breckenridge's International Snow Sculpture Championships in Northwest Colorado. Over five days, sculptors the world over convene to try their hand at carving 20-ton 12-foot-tall masterpieces relying on non-mechanical tools and inspiration alone.
Stay in town for the week-long tongue-in-cheek tribute to the Norse god of snow, at Breckenridge's Ullr Festival featuring goofy snow Olympics, parades, and events for a wacky winter week.
You can also have a wacky, wild winter at Aspen's Winterskol also in Northwest Colorado. During this 55-year-old three-day festival, you can enjoy a Canine Fashion Show, a (human) fashion show, Wintersculpt, and more than 40 events throughout Aspen and its four ski areas: Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlighands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass Mountain.
February
The Vail Mardi Gras festivities are the country's largest Mardi Gras celebration above 8,000 feet. The four-day celebration held at the end of February features a masquerade bar crawl on the oft-skied Vail Mountain in Northwest Colorado, a flavorful seafood feast at the New Orleans-style “World's Highest Low Country Crawfish Boil” at Eagle's Nest, and a Fat Tuesday parade of gargantuan proportions, running from International Bridge to Seibert Circle in Vail.
March
The super-posh Northwest Colorado ski resort of Aspen becomes a slippery slope in more ways than one. At the town's annual four-day U.S. Comedy Arts Festival sponsored by HBO, you'll lose your cool veneer and breakdown into belly laughs as the nation's best, up-and-coming comedic talents grace Aspen's stages to compete for the prestigious annual Freedom of Speech Award. Package tickets range from $95-$600.
April
Though the snow just may have melted and the weather just might be warm enough to wear a pair of shorts, Aspen Shortsfest is about films, not warm weather wear. One of the world's premiere events for short film and video (under 30 minutes in length), officially recognized by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences®, the festival can send its prizewinners to compete for Oscars. This five-day Aspen event is a not-to-be missed international film extravaganza.
May
Folkloric dancers in multicolored skirts twist and turn; jalapeno-eating contest participants cry and sweat the heat; headliner Latino musicians and mariachis serenade the crowd … what time of the year is it? Cinco de Mayo! Centered on Main Street and Third Street, Grand Junction's celebration of Mexican history and culture takes place on the Sunday closest to May 5th and is a colossal, colorful celebration featuring Mexican food, music, crafts, and entertainment. Grand Junction is in Northwest Colorado.
June
Runners World voted the Annual Steamboat Marathon, held in the beloved Northwest Colorado ski resort of Steamboat Springs, the most scenic marathon in the U.S. Bring your iron lungs: the run starts at an elevation of 8,100 feet and finishes at 6,700 feet; a half-marathon is available for those less-inclined to uphill battles.
Skiing isn't the only way to reach lofty heights in Telluride. Inflate your mood by watching the Southwest Colorado's Telluride Valley bloom as hot air balloonists from all over the Southwest rise to flight at the annual Telluride Balloon Festival. The weekend-long event also features an evening extravaganza: a Balloon Glow over the town's Main Street. Volunteers ride for free, so lending a helping hand will take you to new heights - literally!
Bluegrass and Newgrass, Bach and Beethoven, Mozart and Ladysmith Black Mambazo; Steamboat Springs' nearly 20-year-old Strings in the Mountains festival brings tens of thousands of visitors as diverse as the music it features to Northwest Colorado. With a focus on chamber music, the nationally-acclaimed festival, held from June-September, showcases a wide range of young and well-known artists.
James Taylor, Ani DeFranco, Bill Monroe, Bela Fleck, and countless others have all found the world-famous Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Southwest Colorado's famous ski resort town, Telluride, worthy of their talents. Held over the third weekend in June, this big-name performance and small-name music contest attract visitors by the thousands.
Everyone mountain biker knows: ski slopes make for the best mountain biking terrain. One of hosting the world's mountain-biking capitals, Crested Butte in Southwest Colorado lays claim to the longest-running mountain biking festival. You might lose that spare tire of yours at the Fat Tire Bike Week featuring five days of races, lessons, and bike-related events suitable for the whole family. Enter the races by joining Norba (National Off-Road Bicycle Association) for about $10. Spectators pay $20 per day, and about $90 for seven days.
With resounding successes, Aspen jazzes up the summer months at the yearly Janus Jazz Aspen Snowmass festival featuring four days of food, drink, and world-famous artists such as Elvis Costello & the Imposters, Lizz Wright, and Trey Anastasio. Tickets cost $30-$85, while a four-day ticket costs $150. The popular ski areas of Aspen and Snowmass are in Northwest Colorado.
July
When its mountains and meadows are garlanded with multicolored blossoms, Crested Butte in Southwest Colorado is unofficially crowned the “Wildflower Capital of Colorado.” In celebration of its own untamed beauty, the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival offers a week of wildflower workshops, walks, art exhibits, and even wildflower cooking classes.
There is nothing meek about Meeker's Range Call Parade, Rodeo, and Pageant in Northwest Colorado. A Fourth of July weekend festivity, this is the nation's oldest rodeo (running since 1885) and it's a boot stompin' affair in every way. Enjoy food, music, rodeo competition, and a reenactment of the historic Meeker Massacre during which time Nathan C. Meeker, an Indian agent, and 10 of his men, were kidnapped and killed by the Utes.
August
Keeping its commitment to the arts, for the past 13 years Durango's Main Avenue Arts Festival, held in early August in Southwest Colorado, invites more than 100 regionally- and nationally-acclaimed artists to display and sell their handicrafts. Taste beer from local breweries and have your kids let their imaginations run wild at the Creation Station full of age-appropriate arts and crafts activities.
The South-Central Colorado town of Leadville breathes life back into its gold mining legacy at its yearly three-day Leadville Boom Days. Festival participants compete in mining-skill contests like Jack-leg drilling, spike driving, and hand-mucking. And at the infamous Burro Race, men and women prod and coax their mulish (laden with 35-pounds) companions from Leadville's Harrison Avenue to the top of Mosquito Pass (elevation: 13,183 feet) and then back again.
Don't be surprised if your cheeks turn rosy (and your skin a bit fuzzy) at the Palisade Peach Festival near the Northwest Colorado town of Grand Junction. Held for nearly 40 years, this four-day, mid-August festival features orchard farm tours, a plethora of peach-related treats, music, dancing, historical tours, and biking and rafting trips.
September
Considered one of the nation's most prestigious film festivals, the Telluride Film Festival in Southwest Colorado is a Labor Day weekend screening (not a competition) of some of the world's best filmmakers' material. The film festival boasts past U.S. premieres of Blue Velvet, Cinema Paradiso, The Crying Game, and Au revoir les enfants. More than 5,000 attendees arrive on mere faith alone: Telluride never announces its line-up until opening day.
October
Celebrate the colors and flavors of fall at Ouray's annual Octoberfest, held in what is widely referred to as the “Switzerland of the U.S.” The unspoiled scenery of Southwest Colorado sets the stage for German music and food, arts and crafts, children's games, and pyrotechnic presentations, which are just part of the fun at this small-town jamboree.
November
Even Tchaikovsky's Sugar Plum Fairy would have praised the annual Sugar Plum Festival in Gunnison in Southwest Colorado. Held in the Fred R. Field Western Heritage Center, this day-long, mid-November celebration is a holiday crafts extravaganza with more than 75 booths featuring table runners, pottery, jewelry, holiday decorations, wreaths, and handmade gifts.
December
Start the New Year on track! Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in the Southwest Colorado town of Durango offers an annual New Year's Eve Special Train on December 31st. Ride the historic turn-of-the-century train through spectacular and breathtaking canyons while enjoying entertainment, appetizers, and drinks. Most of the passengers already know to don their best Victorian costumes, so you may want to bring yours along, too. The train ride leaves the city's Main Street depot at around 8 p.m. and returns exactly one minute before midnight.
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