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NEWS FROM ASPEN, COLORADO FOR THE 2019/2020 WINTER SEASON

LODGING NEWS

  • W Aspen and The Sky Residences at W Aspen opened in Aspen in August 2019, as the first Alpine escape hotel in North America for W Hotels Worldwide. The new hotel and residences were designed by Nemaworkshop in partnership with local firm Rowland + Broughton Architecture and W’s in-house design team, offering 88 guestrooms and 11 W-branded fractional residences. Conveniently located at the base of Aspen Mountain, the W Aspen features a 12,000 sq. ft. rooftop bar and pool, also known as the “Wet Deck,” which is open to the public with expansive views of Aspen Mountain, as well as the Living Room, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and cocktail bar 39 Degrees.
  • The Little Nell recently received a refresh with an interior renovation of the living room, lobby, Chair 9, and Ajax Tavern in the spring of 2019.  The Little Nell will celebrate its 30th anniversary this Thanksgiving with commemorative events and celebrations taking place throughout the 2019/2020 season.

 

ART AND CULTURE NEWS

  • NEW! Aspen Art Tours is the first free guided art gallery walking tour of Aspen, featuring the most contemporary art spaces through an interactive approach. Aspen Art Tours create curated and professionally guided walking tours and artist studio visits offering the participants a unique opportunity to learn the story behind the art. Tours are offered weekly, and private bookings are available as well. The weekly schedule can be found  at www.aspenarttours.com

  • As a part of Bauhaus 100: Aspen celebration, Aspen Historical Society presents “bayer and Bauhaus: how design shaped aspen.” This new exhibit delves into the profound influence of Herbert Bayer’s work on Aspen. The exhibit will live in the Wheeler Stallard Museum until March 2020.
  • In 2020, the Aspen Music Festival and School will launch the new Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS under the leadership of co-artistic directors Renée Fleming and Patrick Summers. The program provides a unique and premier-level opportunity for developing opera singers by combining performance with intensive individual instruction and mentorship with two of opera’s leading performing professionals.
  • COMING 2021 The “JAS Center” is Jazz Aspen Snowmass’ new permanent home in the Aspen core for JAS Café performances, jazz education programming, and special events for private as well as not-for-profit and community users. Construction is tentatively projected for April 2020 with an opening planned in 2021.
  • Date TBC. A new center dedicated to the work of Bauhaus artist and Aspen icon Herbert Bayer is planned for the Aspen Institute campus. The new center will exhibit Bayer’s work from Lynda and Stewart Resnick’s extensive Bayer collection, the Aspen Institute’s holdings, as well as pieces on loan from museums, while housing archives from Bayer scholars and public education.

 

FOOD & WINE NEWS

  • NEW! Enjoy wine and spirits tastings in Mini Jimmy’s, the world’s smallest speakeasy located inside Jimmy’s world-renowned bar. Guests can choose from either a wine tasting with Wine Director Greg Van Wagner or a spirits tasting guided by Jessica Lischka, General Manager and Partner, with a selection of mezcal, Scotch or Japanese whisky. This experience is available for parties of three maximum. New this season, guests can book tastings via Airbnb Experiences or by calling Jimmy’s directly at 970.925.6020. (205 S. Mill St.
  • After stellar success in New York, Chefs Club and Conca del Sogno will meet again for an Aspen residency at the Chef's Club inside the St. Regis Aspen Resort.  Conca del Sogno is best known for its remarkable sea-to-table cuisine. The restaurant will open in the Chef's Club for the winter 2019-2020 season. (315 E. Dean St.)
  • Almresi Aspen is a new European-alpine style restaurant slated to open for the winter 2019-2020 season. (411 S. Monarch St.)
  • New Italian costal cuisine restaurant Duemani plans to open in downtown Aspen for the winter season. The menu will have an emphasis on seafood and include a variety of pasta dishes. (216 S. Monarch St.)  
  • The Ranch Room plans to open on Aspen’s famed “restaurant row” serving dinner and offering a charcuterie bar.  (308 E. Hopkins Ave.)
  • Date TBC. Bear Den Aspen is a new bakery-café slated to open in the former Cottage space on the corner of Hopkins and Monarch.
  • Date TBC. The former Cooking School of Aspen will turn into Joonas, a wine and tapas bar.

APRÈS SKI FOR THE MIND

  • In addition to the finest dining, bars and club scene in Colorado, Aspen is also known for its unique “après-ski for the mind.” Visitors can enjoy the following events during the winter season: Aspen Film’s Academy Screenings in January, Aspen Words’ Winter Words from January- March 2020, JAS Café performances year-round with Jazz Aspen Snowmass, concerts at Belly Up Aspen, art and exhibit openings at Aspen Art Museum, and more.

AROUND TOWN

  • Here House is a member’s space designed for locals that are active contributors to Aspen. Here House offers workspace amenities, a conference room, a library/living room, private meeting space, and all the food and & beverage from Local Coffee House offered through table service. The experience is offered through a membership to the space offering a competitive rate.
  • Hunter Loft is Aspen's newest venue offering 3,700 sq. ft of contemporary event space. The venue is located one block from the Aspen gondola and offers mountain views from its second-floor location. Hunter Loft can accommodate up to 200 guests.
  • Alt-Aspen is a shared working and locker room space in the heart of town geared towards like-minded locals and visitors who need a workspace on a short-term or long-term basis.

ASPEN CHAMBER RESORT ASSOCIATION NEWS

  • To help promote responsible tourism, Aspen Chamber Resort Association (ACRA) created the ‘Aspen Pledge,’ an initiative with positive messages on how to visit and play in Aspen. The Aspen Pledge was created to encourage visitors – and locals - to take ownership in maintaining Aspen’s natural beauty for all for generations to come. The Aspen Pledge can be found online at www.aspenchamber.org/pledge and is also available in print at all of the ACRA visitor’s centers.
  • ACRA’s new “Tag Responsibly” campaign encourages locals and visitors to “Tag Responsibly – Take the Aspen Pledge.” As Instagram and other social media channels have encouraged people to travel the world while snapping photos of the most beautiful places discovered, some places in the world are getting over-visited – or people are endangering themselves for that perfect Instagram shot. Instead of using a geotag on Instagram posts, which provides the exact location down to the latitude and longitude, ACRA encourages locals and visitors to use the geotag “Tag Responsibly – Take the Aspen Pledge” to protect Aspen’s most coveted areas in and around town.
  • ‘How to Aspen’ is Aspen’s newest resource for visitors seeking local tips on the dos and don’ts when visiting Aspen. The campaign offers videos and content that help answer questions on how to enjoy Aspen and the great outdoors responsibly. ‘How to Aspen’ can be found on www.aspenchamber.org/how-to and on ACRA’s social media channels.

 

WINTER EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

  • Dec. 20-31: The 12 Days of Aspen takes over the town and turns it into a winter wonderland of holiday cheer. Locals and visitors can enjoy free ice skating, visits with Santa, s’more making parties, caroling, and more.
  • Jan. 4-7, 2020: From buzzy, big-name features to fresh independent voices, the Aspen Film Academy Screenings brings the thrill of the Oscar® race to mountains for a showcase of awards season contenders.
  • Jan. 9-12, 2020:  Wintersköl™, Aspen’s annual “toast to winter” returns for its 68th year January 9 - 12, 2020.  The four-day celebration features on-and-off mountain activities, festivals, free-and-nearly-free events for the entire family. Wintersköl, Aspen's annual "toast to winter," dates back to a quiet January in 1951 when local Aspenites decided to celebrate Aspen's unique lifestyle with an eclectic weekend of festivities.  Today the four-day celebration of winter in Aspen features a variety of community events, fireworks and much more.
  • Jan. 23- 26, 2020: For the 19th consecutive year, Aspen will host the X Games Aspen at Buttermilk. The event includes more than 200 of the world's best athletes in the disciplines of ski, snowboard and snowmobile competing for the most coveted medals in action sports.

WINTER SKI DEALS

This winter, there are incredible deals on lift tickets, ski and snowboard school lessons, equipment rentals, and complete vacation packages for the 2019-2020 ski season.

  • Kids Ski Free Package: Rent kids equipment (ages 7 – 12) from Four Mountain Sports and receive one free child lift ticket. Valid Jan. 1, 2020 – Apr. 21, 2020.
  • SKI30: SKI30 allows guests to enjoy unlimited skiing and riding for 30 consecutive days. Minimum of 7 nights lodging required. Valid Travel Dates: Jan. 1 - April 19, 2020.

 

 

For media information and images, contact Promo Communications:

Maureen Poschman [email protected]

Melissa Wisenbaker [email protected]

 

For visitor information, visit www.aspenchamber.org, or call 1.888.290.1324 or 970.925.1940.

 

 

4th of July Parade Waiver

IMPORTANT PARADE INFORMATION

PARADE STARTING/STAGING: The parade will begin at 11:00am. Parade positioning is “first come, first serve” and line up begins no earlier than 10:00am. There is no entry fee and the parade is open to the public. All 5 lanes of Main Street, from Aspen Street to 2nd Street, will be closed to all traffic & designated for parade staging only. Power is not provided in staging area and remember generators do need gas.

PARADE ROUTE: The parade will start East on Main Street. It will turn South onto Hunter Street, then West onto Cooper Avenue. The parade will continue West on Cooper Avenue to Galena Street. At Galena it heads North for 2 blocks before turning West onto Hopkins Avenue. The parade will continue South on Mill then West on Hyman Avenue. Parade participants will be directed to disperse at Hyman and Monarch Street.  PARADE JUDGING: Parade judging will take place in front of the Hotel Jerome. Participants will be limited to 1 minute or less for any performances in front of the judges. Security will be onsite monitoring all entries to help prevent gaps in the parade route. Recognition will be awarded to the best entries in the following categories: 

Most Patriotic | Most Humorous | Best Animal | Best Music | Most Outrageous | Best Children’s  

PARADE REMINDERS:  

  • Consumption of alcohol is prohibited during the parade.
  • Candy, favors, etc. should not be thrown from your float/vehicle during the parade. This is for the safety of the spectators and to prevent children from running out into the street. 
  • Water balloons will not be permitted. According to city ordinances, those caught throwing balloons will be removed from the parade and could face citations and/or arrests. 
  • All parade entries must be in “good taste” and will be allowed in the parade per the director’s discretion. 
  • Maximum height restriction for any float entry is 13’5”.

 

The undersigned organization has elected to participate in the Fourth of July parade sponsored by the City of Aspen and Aspen Chamber Resort Association (“ACRA”). In consideration for City of Aspen and ACRA allowing the undersigned to participate in the festivities, the undersigned has read, understood, and willingly agreed to the terms of this INSURANCE LIABILITY AGREEMENT and WAIVER AND INDEMNITY AGREEMENT (collectively referred to herein as “RELEASE”).

INSURANCE LIABILITY AGREEMENT

                                    Participants are required to carry insurance adequate to cover any liability for damage, injury, economic loss, or other liability that may be incurred by individuals and/or organizations during the Fourth of July parade. All participants agree to carry such insurance, and also agree not to submit any claim against the insurance of City of Aspen, ACRA and/or any other sponsors of the parade, their officers, directors, agents, shareholders, employees, or anyone else directly or indirectly connected with production of the parade.

WAIVER AND INDEMNITY AGREEMENT

                                         The undersigned understands the potential dangers that could be encountered in participating in the Fourth of July parade. The dangers include, among other things, dangers relating to vehicular and pedestrian traffic; crowds of persons in close proximity to such traffic; animals that may react unpredictably in a parade environment; celebration and recreational activities; loud and unexpected noise; items that may be thrown to and from the crowd in connection with the parade; and other dangers traditionally associated with parades.  Understanding those risks, the undersigned for itself and for all persons who the undersigned invites or allows to participate in the parade with the undersigned, does hereby agree to indemnify, hold harmless, and release City of Aspen, ACRA and/or any other sponsors of the parade, their officers, directors, agents, shareholders, employees, and anyone else directly or indirectly connected with production of the parade from any and all liability, claims, demands, actions, or rights of action (including attorneys’ fees and costs) that are related to or are in any way connected with the undersigned’s participation in the parade. By signing this RELEASE, the undersigned intends to extinguish any and all liability and to indemnify against any loss on the part of City of Aspen, ACRA and/or any other sponsors of the parade, their officers, directors, agents, shareholders, employees, and anyone else directly or indirectly connected with production of the parade for any injury or damage of any nature (without regard to negligence or fault) to the undersigned and to all persons who the undersigned invites or allows to participate in the parade.

                                      The undersigned warrants and represents that it will not invite or allow any person to participate in the parade unless such person is bound to the terms of this RELEASE. To that end, the undersigned agrees that it shall take any steps necessary to secure agreement of such persons to the terms of this RELEASE, and that it shall be deemed a responsible person within the meaning of C.R.S. § 13-22-107 and § 19-1103(94) for all children who the undersigned invites or allows to participate in the parade.

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION

   I am the official representative of the undersigned organization. On behalf of the organization, I acknowledge our responsibilities as set forth above. I also accept on behalf of the organization all of the terms and conditions of this

INSURANCE LIABILITY AGREEMENT and WAIVER AND INDEMNITY AGREEMENT.

 

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