Just 65 miles from Denver, Summit County's Keystone Resort hosts a number of events coordinated by the Keystone Neighbourhood Company. One of the more popular of these is the Bluegrass and Beer Festival, an annual event that offers food, music and microbrewed beers.
Keystone Resort in Summit County, Colorado
Keystone is one of four major ski areas in Summit County, a snowclad mountain area of 600 square miles. In summer, Summit County's lakes, rivers and spectacular scenery attract thousands of bicyclists, hikers and fishermen.
The high country is also known for vivid wildflower displays and birding. Ski resorts like Keystone and Copper Mountain offer chairlift and gondola rides to mountain meadows, and area lakes provide boating and sailing. The Keystone Neighbourhood Company's mission is to invest in facilities and events which attract residents and visitors in order to create a viable four-season community. The organization coordinates a number of shows and events, including the annual Bluegrass and Beer Festival.
Keystone's Bluegrass and Beer Festival
This year's (13th) annual Bluegrass and Beer Festival was held on the weekend of August 1st and 2nd. An estimated 6,000 participants came from Denver and elsewhere to enjoy free bluegrass and country music. Food was available from local restaurants, and a $30 ticket provided a 3 ounce sample glass with unlimited access to 30 hand-crafted microbrews. The Michelob Brewing Company was the Presenting Sponsor, serving $5 pints of their beer at the Pavilion tent, which also served as a second music stage. Other partners and sponsors included Keystone Resort, Comcast, Icelandic Glacial, Chipotle and High Country Conservation Center. Energy Alley offered inflatables and other wacky activities for kids.
Free music was provided by The Ackermans, The Luv Brothers, Stanleytones, White Water Ramble, Grass It Up, Spring Creek Band and Marty Jones, who wrapped up the festival Sunday evening to a stand-up, joyous and dancing crowd. Judging from the T-shirts, all 50 states were well represented. The weekend was sunny, the pine-filled air invigorating and the mountain scenery spectacular. This year's festival was a huge success by any measure, and benefited the High Country Conservation Center, as well.
The High Conservation Center in Keystone
Each year the Bluegrass and Beer Festival selects an area organization as the Festival Beneficiary. This year's beneficiary was the High Country Conservation Center. The Center was founded originally as the Summit Recycling Project in 1976, a non-profit organization that promoted resource recovery and which fostered the conservation ethic. Today the HCC embraces programs that involve energy conservation, green building, waste reduction and even climate change.
Summer in Keystone and the Bluegrass and Beer Festival
Keystone and other high mountain Colorado ski resorts are growing into year-round destinations. Summer in the mountains can be just as fun as winter, with a wide range of activities and events. One of these events that appeals to old and young alike is the high-spirited Bluegrass and Beer Festival, an annual August weekend just an hour from Denver.
For more information about related activities in the area, see the following articles:
Visit Echo Lake near Idaho Springs, Colorado
Hiking the West Loveland Pass Trail as a Loop
Birding Lower Cataract Lake near Silverthorne
Mt. Evans and Goliath Natural Area in Colorado
The Wildflowers & Birds of McCullough Gulch, Colorado
Summer Birding at the Keystone Ski Resort Area in Colorado
Birds and Wildflowers on Shrine Ridge Trail in Colorado
Wildflowers and Birds at Lily Pad Lakes in Colorado
Wildflowers and Birds on the Loveland Pass Loop Trail
Ride the Chairlift for Free at Copper Mountain
Bob Bowers - A lifelong naturalist and amateur ornithologist, Bob's avocation is studying, photographing and writing about birds.
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