Family Fun - Estes Park Winter Festival

If you are looking for a fun winter activity for your family, or a unique idea for a date (really, dinner and a movie are fun...but this will take it up a notch!), consider heading to Estes Park, CO for the 2nd Annual Winter Festival. It will take place over Martin Luther King weekend, January 14 - 17. This year there will be an Interactive Ice Castle and playground maze (can you picture it all lit up at night? Magical!). It will be so much fun for the kiddos, and those of us who want to feel like a kid again! Rocky Mountain National Park will have their 16th Annual Winter Trails in the park with free snowshoe rentals and clinics - it's a great way to explore the National Park in winter. There will be live music and entertainment throughout the weekend in Bond Park. If you're a treasure hunter, there will be a MEGA Downtown Scavenger Hunt with over $1,000 in prizes. For foodies, there will be wine and beer tastings, and a Chili Cook-off with both professional and amateur chilistas. You can satisfy your inner artist by going on a Winter Photo Tour, or shop 'til you drop in the heated area featuring local vendors. And if you just want to relax, local spas will be offering specials all weekend.
To make reservations go to: www.Estes-Park.com
For more information, and a schedule of events: www.epwinterfest.com

Bear Lake Road

A recent shot from Bear Lake Road - not much snow yet, but you can almost see the wind!

Photo Credit Larry VanSickle

What's Happening in Estes Park this Week?

Events
November 26:
Catch the Glow and
Catch the Glow Parade. Fun for the
entire family—Santa Claus, hayrides &
street entertainment beginning at noon
Parade along Elkhorn Ave starts at
5:30 pm
On The Calendar
November 20: St. Bartholomew’s
Holiday Bazaar. St. Bartholomew’s
Episcopal Church, 10 am to 2 pm
November 21: Estes Park Wedding
Association Bridal Show. Estes Park
Conference Center. Visit
www.estesparkweddings.com to register.
November 25: Thanksgiving
Community Gathering. Mountain View
Bible Fellowship. 11:30 am to 3 pm
November 27: Holiday House
Christmas Bazaar. Estes Park
Conference Center. 9 amNovember 27: Baldpate Inn—Mystery
Solved? George Hix Community Room
in the US Bank building. 1 pm. Call 970-
232-4145 for information.
November 27: Lord Dunraven—A
Historical Reenactment. 2 pm. Estes
Park Museum.
MUSIC
November 20: Selections from Le
carnaval des animaux (The Carnival of
the Animals). Piano performances.
Cultural Arts Council Fine Art Gallery. 11
am
Stanley Hotel Winter Music Festival
Series
All concerts begin 2 pm. Tickets available
at the door. Information: 970-568-9519
November 21: Jeri Jorgenson & Cullen
Bryant Recital. Violin and piano.
November 28: Lyon/Dufford Recital.
Piano and clarinet.
Theater
November 19-21: Steel Magnolias
Theater Presentation. Studio at Peak to
Peak American Grille. 7 pm. Call
Macdonald Bookshop at 970-586-3450
for ticket information.
November 20 & 27: Murder at Marys
Lake. Marys Lake Lodge Chalet Room. 6
pm. Call 877-254-0112 for ticket
information.
Exhibits
Opening November 19: 8th Annual
Holiday Art Exhibition. Noon. Cultural
Arts Council Fine Art Gallery. Continuing
through January 2
Opening November 19: Earthly
Treasures, Jewelry and Photography
Exhibit. 5 pm. Art Center of Estes Park.
Continuing through December 24
Opening November 26: 14th Annual
Holiday Art Walk. Self guided tour of
Estes Valley galleries and studios. Maps
are available at the Estes Park Visitor
Center, Cultural Arts Council, and
participating locations. Call 970-586-9203
for information.
November 27 & 28: Holiday Open
House. Noon. Cultural Arts Council Fine
Art Gallery. Live music, door prizes, and
artist demos.
Continuing: In the Footsteps of Isabella
Bird. Estes Park Museum. Through
January 17, 2011Continuing: Stirling Legacy Exhibit.
Estes Park Museum. Through April 10,
2011
ROCKY MOUNTAIN
NATIONAL PARK
Saturdays: Beaver Meadows Evening
Programs. Enjoy a wide variety of
informative and entertaining programs. 7
pm. Beaver Meadows Visitor Center
Auditorium. 970-586-1206.
Current Program: The National Parks:
America’s Best Idea. View the PBS
series from filmmaker Ken Burns.
Saturdays through January 20
November 21: Full Moon Walk. Explore
the park by moonlight. Call 970-586-1223
for reservations. Traction devices,
snowshoes, or poles may be required.
Equipment rentals are available in Estes
Park sporting goods stores.
Nightlife
November 19: Kalliope. Aspen Lodge. 7
pm
November 19: Friends of Folk. Dick
Orleans hosts Kathryn Warner. Marys
Lake Lodge. 7 pm
November 19 & 20: Vic Anderson & The
High Country Cowboys. Aspen Lodge.
5:30 pm
November 20: Dennis Tobias Band.
Aspen Lodge. 7 pm
November 20: Open Mic w/ Jon Pickett.
Ed’s Cantina & Grill. 8 pm
November 20: The Remus Tucker
Band. Marys Lake Lodge. 7 pm
November 26 & 27: Vic Anderson & The
High Country Cowboys. Aspen Lodge.
5:30 pm
November 26: John McKay. Aspen
Lodge. 7 pm
November 19: Friends of Folk. Dick
Orleans hosts Branden Sipes. Marys
Lake Lodge. 7 pm
November 26: The Wild Mountain Celts.
Lonigans Saloon. 1 pm
November 26: The Indulgers. Lonigans
Saloon. 9 pm
November 27: Dick Orleans. Aspen
Lodge. 7 pm
November 27: Scott Von. Marys Lake
Lodge. 7 pm
Weekly
Tuesday: Free Texas Hold ‘em. Wheel
Bar. 7 pm
Thursday: Acoustic Bluegrass Open
Jam with Garth Lewis & Greg Glasgow.
Rock Inn Mountain Tavern. 7:30 pm
Thursdays: Dennis Tobias Band. Marys
Lake Lodge. 6 pm
Friday & Saturday: Ray Young. Jazz
piano. Nicky's Restaurant. 5 pm
Friday & Saturday: James Davis. Marys
Lake Lodge Chalet Room. 6:30 pm
Friday & Saturday: Gerry Valero. Easy
listening. Nicky’s Restaurant.
8:30 pm
Saturdays: Karaoke. Lonigans Saloon. 9
pmAt The Movies
Reel Mountain Theater. Call 970-586-
4227 for current shows and times.

For All you Lovers of the Wild!

A friend (and fellow L.O.T.W. - that's Lover of the Wild for my acronym challenged readers) posted this on her blog: http://whitneyconnerclapper.blogspot.com/2010/11/outlive-bastards.html , and I loved the reminder to all of us who love the wild - revelling in it, playing in it, and staying alive because of it - to "get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the Griz, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate that precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious awesome space." Thank you Whit, and Edward Abbey...now I'm headed outside.

Photo Credit Nathaniel Wilder http://www.ngwphotography.com/