Food & Wine Telluride: Food & Wine Music & Dance Telluride Telluride Festivals
by maribeth
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Summer in Telluride: A Sea of Festivals and More
Shopping for Chic in Telluride---Yet Another Summer Activity!
Lolling at the pool at The Peaks. Hiking. Gazing at the riot of colors created by the wildflowers that dot our hillsides and valleys. Indulging in simple picnics of wine and cheese at the Wednesday Sunset Concert Series. Wearing flip flops, shorts and a fleece. Soaking in a hot tub after having gotten caught in a summer storm and been chilled to the bone. Watching the ever-changing dance of gathering clouds and distant rains form in the sky high above our mountain tops. Smelling the freshness of our air, grass, plants and trees. Admiring the pert and pretty flower displays that embellish the town’s array of Victorian houses. Spotting the marmots sunbathing on the rocks beneath the gondola. Eating a fresh Palisade peach from the open-air markets. Sipping a cup of tea on a rainy summer afternoon. Consulting the calendar for the upcoming weekend’s line up of events.
Carbon Neutral Smoothies: Only In Telluride
These are a few of my favorite things about summer in Telluride. And as usual, this season kicked off with a stunning set of events. Summer was officially ushered in the last day of Bluegrass when the Telluride House Band (consisting of Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck and Sam Bush, to name a few) played past the longest day of the year and furnished foot-stomping music into the dark of the night. Wine Festival weekend followed and for the first time ever I attended their Sunday Brunch, a lovely affair where one can sip seemingly bottomless glasses of Champagne and delight in a delicious spread in one of the most awe-inspiring settings in the world: Telluride Town Park. I was thrilled to partake in this elegant party—complete with white tablecloths and petits fours—made even more magnificent against such a stunning backdrop. As is the case at nearly all Wine Festival events, there was a lot of wine on hand to sample and many discoveries to be made. (My latest is Windmill, an Old Vine Zinfandel that I can buy at the local liquor store for just over $10.)
The July 4th holiday marked the third weekend in our now renowned summertime trifecta of events. It was a good ‘ole fashioned 4th of July replete with a big parade, root beer floats, barbecue, lots of games and a fireworks display that could be the envy of many a town, big and small. And since this is Telluride, all was spiced up with a flash of flesh, humor and politics, most notably in Irrational Exuberance, the top prize winner of the parade, that spoofed the greed and conspicuous consumption of our country in recent years.
George Clinton: The Godfather of Funk
Thank goodness the Telluride Yoga Festival is on the docket for this weekend. By now, many of us need to tone it down a few notches. Oh, but wait. There’s the KOTO Doo Dah tonight, the radio station’s annual summer concert that has featured artists such as Jackson Browne, Lyle Lovett and Bob Dylan in the past. George Clinton, godfather of funk, and Parliament are this year’s headliners. Word is that some twenty-five people including dancers and back up will be on stage for this funkadelic happening that’s sure to go down as one of the summer’s best concerts. Rusted Root opens the show, a percussion-heavy, World Music-sounding act that could easily receive top billing themselves.
Then next Tuesday is Bastille Day, the French equivalent of our 4th of July. I’ll be doing an event from 1 to 3 p.m. at Between the Covers bookstore here in Telluride to mark that holiday in characteristic French flair. Wine will be poured by the Wine Mine at Pacific Street Liquors and sweet and savory treats will be provided by the New Sheridan Chop House, La Marmotte and Jean-Louis.
The following weekend marks the Nothing Festival where supposedly no scheduled event takes place in T-ride except for a bunch of nude people pedaling down our main street. (We know, though, that there’s always something going on in our spectacular mountain town.)
July wraps up with the Cajun Festival, a Friday-night event that promises to be a hot and happening affair punctuated by great music and delicious eats from the Bayou.
And that’s just a brief overview of a Telluride summer through the end of July! I hope that before August roles around, I’ll be able to carve out more time for my favorite things because they represent the very best part of Telluride.
Colorado Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Romance & Relationships Skiing & Snowboarding Spas The Rockies: Colorado Hotels & Lodging Music & Dance Restaurants Skiing & Snowboarding Spas The Rockies
by maribeth
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Skiing and Spa Going: Part One in Vail, Colorado
Après Ski Necessities at Vail Plaza Hotel & Club
What? Don’t tell me you’re tired of hearing about skiing. While most die-hard skiers are still plowing through mashed potatoes and corn snow at ski areas such as A-Basin in Colorado and Mammoth Mountain in California, most of us ardent ski buffs have finally resigned ourselves to hanging up our skis for the season. But smart travelers should begin contemplating next season.
If any of you out there (devoted readers, for example) have been waiting with bated breath to read about my weekend with Steve (see Weekend Expectations blog below), I can tell you our time together scored exceedingly high marks. We, in fact, spent two weekends in a row together in April experiencing end-of-ski-season bliss. Plus we learned that spring is a great time to ski and spa go without dealing with the crowds. Bargains are excellent during this time as well. (The same, of course, holds true for early season in November and the first half of December.)
Vail and Its Fairytale-Like Village
We zipped off to Vail after Telluride officially closed to experience the fun and fanfare of their closing weekend. A spring storm dumped impressive amounts of snow on the mountain beginning the Thursday before. Had it not been for Steve nursing an extremely sore back (from apparently having skied too hard the previous weekend in T-ride which had also benefited from an outstanding snowfall at its closing), I would have feared more powder day problems. Instead we carried on like two lovers on a weekend getaway where skiing and mountain fun entered into only part of the equation (wink, wink).
I had only been to Vail once before many years ago for my PSIA (Professional Ski Instructor of America) certification, so this time I was eager to discover it for real. Steve gladly toured me around Vail’s renowned back bowls and I was thrilled to find myself cruising on black terrain considerably softer than what we have in T-ride. (Of course I love our steeps but they do require more effort.) After just a few hours of skiing, however, Steve declared that his back had had enough. That was fine with me since by then I felt as though I had a good grasp of the mountain and looked forward to the day when I could return and really wear myself out at this world renowned resort.
This left us with time to explore Vail Village, a pedestrian-friendly assemblage of shops, restaurants, bars and places of lodging that truly made us feel like we were on vacation. One might look at this Bavarian-inspired hamlet as hokey (I have in the past), but it really does transport you to a faraway land and we jumped on for the ride. Steve, with his family ties to the Italian Alps, pointed out how authentic these alpine chalets really were in their construction and interpretation. This enchanted me even more, so I suggested we stop for a coffee and a strudel at Hotel-Gastof Gramshammer, one of the more charming wooden establishments in the area, founded in 1965 by Austrians Sheika and Pepi Gramshammer.
It was a good choice. We sat at their German beer garden terrace and then later discovered that this classic alpine establishment also housed two other restaurants, a particularly animated bar and hotel rooms above. I wasn’t sure whether I was more wooed by its charm or Steve’s attentiveness.
Restaurants Romance & Relationships Telluride: Music & Dance Restaurants Telluride
by maribeth
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Night Out in Telluride
I moved to Telluride almost six years ago largely for its scenery, sunshine and sophistication. I often say that the world comes to Telluride and am amazed by the number of renowned musicians, authors and movers and shakers from the film industry and other creative and scientific domains that consistently descend upon our little mountain town, often to perform or share their work in a small venue. These people are drawn to the beauty and mystique of Telluride as much as the average ski bum is in awe over our plunging slopes and lively bars.
Our world-class festivals bring in much of this talent, extraordinary happenings that take place for the most part from Memorial Day to Labor Day, attracting devotees and casual observers from near and far. Thankfully Telluride’s special attractions are not just reserved for the summer months. There’s plenty to take in here year-round, making it exceedingly difficult to remain idle in this remote mountain town, even in the dead of winter or the thick of off-season.
Grooving to Grupo Fantasma at the Sheridan Opera House
Many of the events are, in fact, hosted by the big festivals. Such was the case recently at the Sheridan Opera House, where the Telluride Jazz Festival put on their winter concert to a sell out crowd. Anything the Telluride Jazz Festival does is of the highest quality, so my interest was naturally piqued when I learned that Grupo Fantasma, a ten-piece latin band, would be showcased this year. Seeing such a sizzling ensemble of musicians jamming on the tiny stage of our historic opera house could not be missed. (As one of Telluride’s landmark sites, this jewel box of a theater has featured illustrious performers such as Lillian Gish, Sarah Bernhardt and Jackson Browne in its more than one-hundred-year-old existence.)
Sheridan Opera House: A Telluride Treasure
Plus the stakes were raised for this evening out. The truth is I had heard about this show from the folks at my salsa class. Salsa as in dancing, not sauce making. I hadn’t taken a dance class since I was seven years old but in recent years I became increasingly consumed with the idea of signing up for lessons with a most willing partner. (My days of dancing the alley cat in a fouffy party dress at the Country Club must have indeed marked me. Or was it the yummy ice cream sundae that followed each session that had me hooked?)
The Ah-haa School, one of Telluride’s fine assets, is a stronghold of learning and fun that offers a great variety of courses from silkscreening to yes, salsa dancing. Why I started out with one of the most challenging dances known to man I do not know. I had found my perfect partner in Steve (see Night Out in Telluride Mountain Village posting), so of course I thought if there’s a will there’s a way and surely we’d be dancing like two passionate latin lovers in no time. Come again? We moved clumsily through our various moves with about as much heat as two gringos doing the macarena at an Italian wedding reception. But still we persevered. This must be some kind of a test of our relationship, I thought to myself numerous times. Up until then we enjoyed an amazingly harmonious existence (excepting the times he’d blow me off on powder days). Now it seemed ridiculous to subject ourselves to consternation such as what step to take when.
Attending Grupo Fantasma was to be a coming out party of sorts for our salsa class. Sure our teacher, the lovely Debbie Reynolds (most aptly named!), was to be there but she would not be calling out quick, quick, slow, quick, quick, slow to us the way she lead us through each move in class.
The Vault Room at La Coçina de Luz
Many of us gathered at La Cocina de Luz, a favorite locals’ restaurant, for dinner before the show. We enjoyed our own special enclave within the Vault Room where we ate chips and salsa, sipped margaritas, savored mexican food lovingly prepared from the finest ingredients and swapped stories about who we really were beneath our dancing personas and where we hoped to go with our newly acquired hobby. (I liked the idea of some of us going on a latin dance cruise the best!)
We pulled ourselves away from this colorful and lively establishment and braved the short, brisk walk down the street to the Opera House. Grupo Fantasma did indeed turn the chilly night into a hot, sweaty happening fueled by a couple more drinks but most of all our earnest desire to dance the night away with real passion and minimal stepping on each other’s feet. Steve almost gave up on us, lamenting that we couldn’t follow the beat and that I kept attempting to lead.
Then suddenly we clicked. We were dancing the salsa. I looked around and realized that the only people that did anything other than hippie dancing were those from our little salsa class. We felt truly initiated into the exciting world of latin dancing (even though I’m sure we looked like total white folk). We signed up for another series of classes. We talked about taking a trip to Vegas where there’s no shortage of salsa. We dreamed about breaking out into a sensuous salsa some day in South America like two dark haired latin lovers on a spotlighted stage. I started tuning in to “Dancing with the Stars” to check out the moves on the salsa dances. We started to feel more and more latino with every class.
“Jazz Festival will be here soon enough,” I mentioned to Steve. “Maybe there will even be a latin act on the town park stage or at the opera house,” I added, hinting at the opportunity to dance more to some great live music.
“We better get practicing then,” he replied with a hint of a smile on his curled up mouth.
“I’ll check the salsa CDs out of the library. You’d better start polishing your shoes.”
Soup, Salad and Lots of Salsa in T-ride
Sheridan Opera House, 970-728-6363, www.sheridanoperahouse.com
Telluride Jazz Festival, 970-728-7009, www.telluridejazz.org
Ah-Haa School, 970-728-3886, www.ahhaa.org
La Coçina de Luz, 970-728-9355, www.lacocinatelluride.com
More Favorite Telluride Restaurants
New Sheridan Chop House, 800-200-1891 and 970-728-4351, www.newsheridan.com
Cosmo, 970-728-1292, www.cosmotelluride.com
Rustico, 970-728-4026, www.rusticoristorante.com
La Marmotte, 970-728-6263, www.lamarmotte.com
Thank you to Ron Semrod for the interior photo of the Sheridan Opera House.
