Politically speaking, Pitkin County commissioners and Garfield County commissioners rarely see eye-to-eye.
But relations between the boards at either end of the Roaring Fork Valley have reached new lows since August when a Garfield County commissioner denounced Pitkin County as “disrespectful, arrogant, gutless and selfish.”
So, on Tuesday, at what was likely his last official meeting after 12 years on the board, Pitkin County Commissioner George Newman had some parting advice for his colleagues when it comes to Garfield County commissioners: forget ‘em.
To make his point, Newman told a joke about a businessman staying at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem who watches an older man kneel and pray at the Wailing Wall every morning for four days. Finally, he approaches the man and asks him what he’s praying for.
For the past 40 weeks, Aspen Skiing Co. workers have staffed a mobile food pantry in the midvalley. On Tuesday, they put in an extra effort to make sure people didn’t go hungry the week of Christmas.
Most food distribution efforts in the Roaring Fork Valley region were put on hold this week for the holidays. The Skico team volunteered to provide the food Tuesday; Food Bank of the Rockies provided packaged goods in boxes.
A steady stream of vehicles inched through the mobile pantry at Crown Mountain Park in El Jebel between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. About 350 households from Aspen to Parachute picked up food.
Little Nell Hot Chocolate PHOTO BY C2 PHOTOGRAPHY
Need motivation to leave the house and face the cold during a winter that will primarily be enjoyed outdoors? Whet your whistle with Aspenâs latest, creative takes on the snowfall-ready hot beverage. Perhaps the most famous among these is the storied hot toddy (one of the many origin stories of this legendary libation dates back to the 18th century when Irish doctor Robert Bently Todd prescribed the beverage to ward off illness).
Today, toddies are served on a multitude of menus around Aspen, but one need not restrict themselves to a single warm cocktail thanks to the array of choices available. Here, a few of our favorites.
The Aspen Choral Society wasn’t going to let the Christmas season pass without its annual performance of Handel’s “Messiah,” a Roaring Fork Valley tradition now in its 43rd year.
In this pandemic year, a “Messiah 360” performance will take place this year as a virtual choir event on YouTube. The Aspen Choral Society has been performing the holiday favorite in Aspen, Basalt and Glenwood Springs since 1977.
Music director Paul Dankers led the initiative to craft the virtual experience.
“We knew we had to do something unique to maintain our long tradition of ‘Messiah’ performances while also doing our part to keep our singers and community safe,” Dankers said in an announcement. “‘Messiah’ is not only a local holiday favorite, but an essential experience for our outstanding vocal and instrumental musicians. We couldn’t miss it because of COVID.”
Staff report
The Arts Campus at Willits this week named Colorado Public Radio events manager Kendall Smith as its director of programming.
The announcement comes in anticipation of the nonprofit’s planned summer 2021 opening of the Contemporary Center for the Performing Arts in the midvalley.
Smith will implement the organization’s vision for artistic and intellectual programming at the new performance space.
He comes to Basalt from Denver, where he served as Colorado Public Radio’s manager of partnerships and events. He was recently recognized by Gov. Jared Polis as part of the team that received the 2020 Governor’s Award for Downtown Excellence for staging the 2019 Englewood Block Party.