Jackson Hole festival
The second annual Jackson Hole Mountain Festival will be Saturday through April 8, featuring two weeks of skiing and snowboarding events, live music and competitions. Headlining the event is a free outdoor concert by country music duo The Wreckers at the base of the mountain on March 31, followed by fireworks.
Other festival activities include a mechanical bull rodeo, a kids’ photo contest, snowmobile hill climbs, a telemark race, an April 1 “Gaper Fool’s Day” costume competition and more. Visit jhrl.com or call 800-443-8613.
Special Olympics event
Copper Mountain hosts the 29th annual Special Olympics Colorado Winter Games March 25 and 26. Competition begins at 10 a.m. March 25 with alpine skiing, alpine snowboarding, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Opening ceremony celebrations are from 7 to 8 p.m. in Burning Stones Plaza and feature the lighting of the Flame of Hope followed by fireworks. Competition continues in all four snow disciplines March 26. Closing ceremonies will be in Copper’s Conference Center at 12:30 p.m.
Volunteers are needed for event operations. For information on volunteering, visit specialolympicsco.org/get/volunteer.html or call Mandi DeWitt, volunteer coordinator at 720-359-3117.
Monte Vista bazaar
Monte Vista is having a new city-sponsored bazaar starting April 14. The Marketplace will be on the second weekend of each month at the Ski-Hi Complex, 2345 Sherman Ave. Booths will be set up on complex grounds in sunny weather or inside the complex’s multi-purpose building in inclement weather. The bazaar will feature rummage sale items, antiques, collectibles, handmade items/crafts, baked goods and fine art.
Booths can be rented for $30 per 10-foot-by-10-foot space. Vendors may rent more than one space, and may reserve booths for future months. The $30 rental includes a 6-foot table and two chairs. For booth reservation information, call Michael Bork, Parks and Recreation director at the city of Monte Vista, 719-852-2692 or e-mail michaelb@ci.monte-vista.co.us.
Ethiopia October tour
Denver Sister Cities International is planning a tour to Ethiopia in October. The 14-day historical circuit includes Addis Ababa, its capital city, the Blue Nile River, the Simien Mountains, Lalibela and Axum, one of Denver’s Sister Cities. An optional extension itinerary, at a higher cost, takes visitors to the Rift Valley Lakes and Awash National Park for wildlife viewing. Trip cost is $3,525 (double occupancy) and includes airfare, hotels and meals (price subject to change). Reservations are due by April 20. Call Pat Tucci at 303-279-5504.
Women’s expedition
A women’s writing, painting and rafting expedition, “Symbol of Place: Painting the Desert in Words and Art,” will be led by Colorado writer Sandra Dorr, painter Martha McCoy and Canyonlands Field Institute naturalists April 27-29 in Professor Valley, Utah. Cost is $420, and includes a completely outfitted trip with teepees and cots, food and all equipment except sleeping bag and art supplies. The trip departs at 7:30 a.m. April 27 from Grand Junction. Registration deadline is March 27. Call 970-257-1498 or visit womenswildernesswriting.com.
Royal Gorge railroad
Royal Gorge Route Railroad has trains running at 12:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through May 20; trains run daily May 26-Oct. 7 with up to four daily departures. Dinner and murder mystery trains run at 5 p.m. Saturday evenings. This summer, the Royal Gorge Route Railroad kicks off a series of monthly winemaker dinner trains featuring award-winning wines paired with courses by the railroad’s chef de cuisine, Jeff McGlothin. The price for each five-course meal is $125 per person in the dining cars or $150 in vista-dome cars. Call 303-569-1000 or 888-724-5748 or visit royalgorgereservations.com.
– Compiled by Andrea Labak and Dane Strom
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to a reporting error, it had an incorrect price for the Ethiopia tour package. The correct price is $3,525, per person, double occupancy.
