Into yoga? beer? wine? music? mushrooms? There’s a festival for every taste in Colorado this summer.
Yes, I’m a little Colorado obsessed at the moment having just returned from my new favourite US state. Some would say I have Colorado mentionitis, finding any excuse to drop Colorado into the conversation.
“Do you want to go to the movies?”
“Did I ever tell you about the wagyu beef sliders and Grey Goose cocktails at CineBistro movie cinema in Vail?”
“Shall we meet for a coffee this morning?”
“You know the coffee at Victoria’s Espresso in Aspen is one of my favourites.”
You get the drift. Random answers to everyday questions in Sydney with curve ball references to the state that dare not speak it’s name.
Turns out Colorado in summer is even more impressive. We’ve written about the best Summer Festivals of Mountain Towns before but this time I thought I’d focus on, you guessed it.
So if you’re planning on spending any summer time in these winter known Colorado ski towns then mark these twenty events on your itinerary.
Click on the festival heading to access their websites.
Beaver Creek Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival
When: May 23-25, 2015
Top barbecue chefs from around the state join local chefs to serve up barbecue and microbrews in a bid for bragging rights and cash prizes. Expect barbecue vendors, culinary demonstrations, pit masters and over thirty Colorado breweries. Oh, and muzak, there will be muzak.
When: June 4 – 7
Over 3000 athletes descend upon Vail for a festival of adventure sports, arts, film and music. Summer 2015 sporting events include steep, freestyle, sprint and full contact kayaking, rafting, mountain, road, and slopestyle biking, World Cup Bouldering, amateur climbing, fly fishing, stand up paddling, slackline and trail, mud and long distance running. All captured on action cams.
When: June 18–21
You would be foolish to miss the John Butler Trio when they’re in Colorado. No fools at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival as John Butler will be main stage front and centre. So will the Telluride House Band, Trampled by Turbles, Kacey Musgraves and Yonder Mountain String Band.
Did I mention John Butler?
When: June 19–21
2015 marks the 30th anniversary of Aspen’s favourite epicurean festival. The Food & Wine Classic showcases the best wine and food and serves them up with a high mountain vista and one pumping schedule of all things gourmand.
Aspen writers and readers Summer Words festival
When: June 21-26, 2015
Colorado’s premium literary festival hits Aspen again this year with five day writing workshops and a three day readers retreat with some of the world’s best writers including Dani Shapiro. Pens down.
Crested Butte Wine & Food Festival
When: July 23 – 26
Mountain bike tours, wine and hike picnics, grand master tastings, the Crested Butte Wine & Food Festival is for serious wine lovers and foodies. Expect a James Beard Celebrity Chef Tour Dinner and enrol in a plethora of wine and food focused workshops all weekend.
When: June 26–28, 2015
The annual Colorado Brewer’s Festival in Fort Collins showcases thirty plus breweries peddling a range of micro brews alongside food vendors and live music. Need we say more?
When: July 2 – 5
A remarkable group of yoga and meditation instructors, musical performers, speakers, artists and chefs come together for a transformational retreat that will leave you different than when you came. Your experience may start on your mat, on a mountain trail, or on the dance floor, but Wanderlust will get into your mind, body and soul, or so their website says. I’m down with that.
When: July 9 – 12
40 yoga teachers, scholars and musicians with meditation, nutrition and lifestyle coaches all offering their open arms for four days. What’s not to love?
When: July 17 – 19
The Red Rocks open air amphitheatre in the great outdoors near Morrison in Colorado has to be experienced at least once in a lifetime. Sign up for the Global Dance Festival and experience it for three days running with Above & Beyond, Flosstradamus, Datsik, Peking Duck and more.
Steamboat Wine Festival
When: August 5 -9
Trails and Ales, Pedal and Pour, Wine Walks, Bubble Brunches, Sup and Sip, the Steamboat Wine Festival has it all. From the gondola to the Yampa River, by foot, bicycle or stand up paddle boards, the festival offers an array of settings and chef demonstrations in which to experience the best of local wine and produce.
When: August 7 – 9
ARISE is a music, yoga, activism and co-creative camping festival 65 miles north of Denver at the Sunrise Ranch. The festival has featured Michael Franti, Beats Antique, Xavier Rudd, Galactic, The Polish Ambassador, Nahko & Medicine For The People and many more. Expect workshops, yoga, dialogues, art installations, films and discussion. Peace out.
Palisade Peach Festival
When: August 13–16
More than 15 000 people attend the Palisade Peach Festival in mid summer every year lured by the promise of the region’s perfect peaches and the dishes they inspire and a Peach Jam! Music lineup.
When: August 13 – 16
The fungi obsessed love this time of year in Telluride when mushrooms are peaking mid season. Chef cook offs, a street parade, mushroom hunting, workshops and more over three fun-gi days. See what I tried to do there?
When: August 17 to August 23
For seven consecutive days, the world’s top athletes race through the majestic Colorado Rockies, reaching higher altitudes than they’ve ever had to endure. From Steamboat Springs to Copper Mountain, Aspen, Breckenridge, Loveland, Fort Collins, Golden and Denver. Experience it in style and Clip in with Christian Vande Velde, George Hincapie and Craig Lewis for a cycle experience with The Little Nell in Aspen including VIP access to Stage 3 of the USA Pro.
Vail Oktoberfest
When: September 5-7 and 12-14
Bratwurt eating competitions, Keg Bowling, Bavarian dancing, yodelling, alpenhorns, pretzels and beer. September 5 – 7 in Lionshead village at Vail followed by September 12-14 in Vail Village. Prost!
When: September 4 – 7
Imagine Hollywood without the hype and you’ve got the laid back Telluride Film Festival where substance rises to the surface. A mix of directors, actors, screenwriters and film junkees mingle to discuss the art of film with the likes of Salman Rushdie, Peter Sellars, Stephen Sondheim and friends.
Telluride Brews and Blues Festival
When: September 18 – 20
56 breweries, 170 different beers, carbon neutral camping ground, glamping yurts and a music lineup that in the past has featured the likes of James Brown, Willie Nelson, The Black Crowes, Joe Cocker and their mates.
Adventure Film Festival in Boulder
When: September 12 – 13
From short films to full features, the Adventure Film Festival showcases the gritty, moving, creative and inspiring films of adventure from extreme sports to social perspectives. When they’re done they then take it on the road.
When: September 24 – 26
3000 beers from 600 breweries in one location, that’s the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. From home brew to professional big brews, micro brews and artisan brews. If you love beer then this is your Mecca, Homer.
Have you got a festival we’ve missed? Leave a comment with a link to your site to share the festival love.
Read more: 10 reasons to pay Telluride forward
Read more: Cat skiing in Aspen
Read more: Whiskey a snow go in Vail
Join our social @misssnowitall chatter on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.
Join our community to win prizes and be first with the snow & travel scoop:
