Colorado Mountain Vacation
Events and Festivals
Gunnison River Festival | Jack Russel Terrier Trials | Crested Butte Wild Mushroom Festival
Fat Tire Bike Week | Mike Marchitelli's Bayou in the Butte
12th Annual US Extreme Telemark Freeskiing | Cattlemen's Days | Other EventsGunnison River Festival
August 15 - 17, 2008.Gunnison-Crested Butte will showcase hundreds of miles of scenic waterways and rugged recreation on Memorial Day weekend and the days immediately following. The Gunnison River Festival and River Awareness Week promise to deliver plenty of river fun and learning on August 15 - 17, 2008.
The Gunnison River Festival highlights a wide range of outdoor recreation available in the Gunnison Valley. The Gunnison Whitewater Park's features were redesigned in the fall of 2007 and will make for great a freestyle kayak and boater cross competition. We're expecting big water this year!
Join us Friday night for an artist's reception themed around a "Celebration of Rivers". In conjunction with the festival - River Awareness Week offers hikes, float trips, bird watching trips, talks, and demonstrations for those looking for a different style of "river-related" excursions.
Other events for "amateur" recreation enthusiasts of all ages are a big focus of this year's festival with the ever-popular kid's foamy boat race (an aquatic version of the pine wood derby) and the always hilarious community raft race. The festivities extend to downtown Gunnison's IOOF Park and the adjacent block of Virginia Avenue where there will be live music, food and refreshments, a kids' climbing wall and a whole host of other games. The townie bike race and annual Memorial Day sidewalk sale round out the day's downtown events. Festivities go into the night at Timber's Sports Bar with the awards ceremony with live music and dancing.
For more information visitor our website: www.gunnisonriverfestival.com
Jack Russell Terrier Trials
Time/Dates: May 24, 2008 09:00 AM - May 25, 2008 04:00 PM
Location: Gunnison
Organization Name: Jack Russell Terrier Trials
Cost $: free to public to view
Local Phone: 602-448-7046
Contact Name: Sue Wilson
Chamber Member: No
About: Jack Russell Terrier Trials back in Gunnison, a fun free 2 day event for the public to watch and enjoy, and a great event to get your favorite Jack Russell pooch entered into!
Crested Butte Wild Mushroom Festival
Time/Dates: Aug 14, 2008 05:30 PM - Aug 17, 2008 04:00 PM
Location: Crested Butte
Organization Name: Crested Butte Wild Mushroom Festival
Cost $: 35-125
Local Phone: 970-596-4841
Contact Name: Christi Matthews
Venue Name: Crested Butte Community School
Email Address: cbmushfest@msn.com
Primary Event Charateristics: Outdoors
Secondary Event Charateristics: Culinary
Chamber Member: Yes
About: The purpose of the Crested Butte Wild Mushroom Festival is to educate people about wild mushrooms in the Rocky Mountains in a way that is informative, interesting and fun! We encourage experiential learning via forays, cooking classes, and other practical methods as well as hosting an array of traditional lectures and workshops.
Fat Tire Bike Week
Time/Dates: Jun 18, 2008 08:00 AM - Jun 22, 2008 11:30 AM
Location: Crested Butte
Organization Name: Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce
Cost $: visit website for 2008 pricing
Toll Free Number: 1-800-545-4505
Local Phone: 970-349-6438
Contact Name: Erin Cerise
Venue Name: Crested Butte Town Park
Email Address: erin@cbchamber.com
Primary Event Charateristics: Active
Secondary Event Charateristics: Music
Chamber Member: Yes
About: The 28th Annual Fat Tire Bike Week will be held in Crested Butte, June 18-22, 2008. This oldie-but-goodie bike festival celebrates Crested Butte as a birthplace of mountain biking and offers something for raw beginners, backcountry cruisers and serious competitors. This years schedule will include Guided Rides, a Pig Roast, Live Music, Beer Garden, Expo, Bike Rodeo, the infamous Chainless Race and many other entertaining bike activities. For more information on Fat Tire Bike Week visit www.ftbw.com or call 800-545-4505.
Mike Marchitelli's Bayou In The Butte
Time/Dates: Jun 14, 2008 11:00 AM - Jun 15, 2008 06:00 PM
Location: crested butte
Organization Name: Mike Marchitelli's Bayou In The Butte
Cost $: Single Day...$30 / Two Day...$50
Local Phone: 970-349-6438 Chamber of Commerce
Contact Name: Mike Marchitelli
Email Address: marchitelli@msn.com
Primary Event Charateristics: Music
Secondary Event Charateristics: Culinary
Chamber Member: Yes
About: Mike Marchitelli's Bayou in the Butte, June 14th and 15th of this year 2008, will be held outside at the field adjacent to the Center for the Arts, located at 606 6th street in Crested Butte. The festival features three bands per day starting at 11:00am. The bands embody all different styles of Louisiana flavored music like funk, jazz, blues, zydeco, and cajun. Last year the artists that graced our stage were the Zydematics, Mission Players, Dwayne and the Zydeco Hellraisers, Big Red and the Zydeco Playmakers, Mem Shannon, and Marcia Ball. This event not only provides good music it also has great food. The festival also features an array of Louisiana style fare provided by local restaurants in town.
Driven with a purpose, this event is a sponsor for the Shreveport Providence House, which is a residential development center for homeless families with children - based out of Shreveport, Louisiana. Their goal, their mission, is to provide a "common thread that flows throughout with God's grace and compassion that enables lives to be continually transformed".
In celebration of this great cause, grab your dancing shoes and work up an appetite for the Louisiana style fare and two fabulous days of New Orleans style music.
we'll see you there!
12th Annual US Extreme Telemark Freeskiing
Mar 20, 2008 - Mar 22, 2008Over 100 free-heelers take to the slopes to compete in this Telemark freeskiing event complete with welcome reception and awards party. The two-day big mountain event attracts the biggest names in the telemark industry and is unique to Crested Butte. Free telemark demos and specialty clinics also take place during this Telemark celebration. The weekend culminates with the legendary Al Johnson Race.
Cattlemen's Days
A Rich History - July 5 - 13, 2008
Gunnison's "Granddaddy of Colorado Rodeos" made its humble debut 108 years ago. Back then, Main Street served as the arena when cowhands from the area congregated into this mountain valley town to show off their roping and riding skills.
Over the years the rodeo venue has seen many locations, including what is now Western State College track field before it settled to its current home, the Fred R. Field Western Heritage Center. It also tried out a few different names such as Pioneer Days and Helldorado.
In 1901 the celebration came under the sponsorship of the Gunnison Valley Stockgrowers Association and the rodeo officially adopted the name, "Cattlemen's Days". The event began operating under the direction of the specially created Cattlemen's Days Association several decades later.
Scheduled between spring calving and summer haying, Cattlemen's Days continues to demonstrate the rhythm of traditional ranch lifestyles. The event however, has made leaps and bounds from the days when Gunnison County ranch hands tried their luck with local ornery livestock. Its popularity now attracts PRCA cowboys and cowgirls from around the United States and Canada. These are professionals that promise topnotch performances to please the large crowds that come to watch.
Click Here to View the Cattlemen's Days Schedule
The PRCA "Tough Enough To Wear Pink?" campaign has topped all rodeos in the country for raising money for breast cancer awareness. We're proud of our community and the support that helped to make this campaign a success story.
Other Events:
- Art in the Park
- Gunnison Car Show
- Night of Lights
- September Splendor
- Crested Butte Wildflowers Festival
- Western State Homecoming Weekend
For more local Events, check out the Gunnison-Crested Butte Community Calendar
