Summer Events
2008 SUMMER EVENTS
Teva Mountain Games (June 5-8)
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The seventh annual Teva Mountain Games® will host the first World Cup Climbing event on United States’ soil in close to twenty years, June 5-8, 2008 in Vail, Colorado.
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Professional and amateur outdoor adventure athletes from the Vail Valley and around the world will converge upon the mountains and rivers of Vail to compete in six sports and ten disciplines including: freestyle and extreme kayaking, kayak and raft paddlecross, bouldering, speed and dyno climbing, mountain bike freeride, big air, cross country, and road racing, as well as trail running, and the GNC Ultimate Mountain Challenge.
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In addition to the athletic events, the Teva Mountain Games will include a mountain photography competition, an interactive exhibition and demo area, live music, and mountain lifestyle parties.
Vail Farmer’s Market (Mid-June thru Mid-Sept.)
Farmers arrive early every Sunday morning with refrigerated trucks loaded with freshly picked conventional and organic fruits and vegetables. Specialty vendors work from colorful tents selling freshly made breads, pastries, cheeses Colorado wines and ice cream. Others offer delightful selections of pastas, pickles, brats, maple syrup, jams, chocolates, salsas, olive oils, vinegars, soaps, dog treats, Colorado wines, jerky, teas, spices, wild Alaskan seafood, Colorado meats and more.
Vail Summer of Jazz (June 25- Sept. 1)
The Vail Jazz Foundation announces its sizzling summer lineup of events, which brings live jazz music to Vail venues ranging from the Farmers' Market to the Arrabelle at Vail Square, and finishes with the traditional 'Labor Day Weekend Jazz Party' at Vail Cascade.
The Summer of Jazz consists of:
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'Jazz at the Market' brings live jazz music to the Vail Farmers' Market on select Sundays throughout the summer.
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The Columbus Jazz Orchestra will play the Gerald Ford Amphitheater in Vail in an event copresented with Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.
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'Jammin' Jazz Nights' will find its home at the Arrabelle at Vail Square, filling the heart of the New Lionshead with cool jazz sounds on Thursday evenings from July 31 through the end of August.
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'Labor Day Weekend Jazz Party' is the traditional culmination of the Summer of Jazz. A five day celebration of jazz music at the Vail Cascade, it attracts some of the greatest Jazz talent of the 21st century.
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'Jazz Goes to School' educates Eagle County 4th and 5th graders about America’s original music form: Jazz. This local, grassroots program is enhanced by the annual jazz workshop, in which 12 promising jazz musicians are selected from hundreds of high school musicians for a week of intensive jazz study with industry masters. The workshop students stay with local families in order to get a close up experience of the Vail Valley, and at the end of the week they perform together in and around Vail.
The 2008 Summer of Jazz in Vail offers internationally acclaimed jazz ensembles and soloists as well as local and regional favorites. Audiences will enjoy The Clayton Brothers Quintet, Hendrik Meurkens Samba Jazz Quintet, and the legendary Jimmy Bruno trio. Solo performers include saxophonist Joel Frahm, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, pianists Benny Green and Don ‘Papadon’ Washington, and B-3 player Tony Monaco. Local favorites Tony Gulizia, Kathy Morrow Trio, Max Wagner Quartet, and the Mile High Chapel Choir will complete the summer of jazz in Vail.
The Vail Jazz Foundation is a 501 c 3 nonprofit organization in its 13th year of providing outstanding jazz music and jazz education programs in the Vail Valley. For more information, visit www.vailjazz.org.
Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival (June 25 – August 2)
After a knockout 20th Anniversary Season, the Bravo Festival forges ahead at full speed for 2008. Featuring two of the world’s greatest orchestras – the New York Philharmonic and The Philadelphia Orchestra – as well as over 50 internationally acclaimed soloists and chamber musicians, the Festival reaches over 60,000 people in its six remarkable weeks in the Vail Valley. In 2008 you can look forward to:
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The Philadelphia Orchestra’s return to the Vail Valley for its 2nd year;
Conductors: Christopher Seaman, Charles Dutoit, Rossen Milanov, Lorin Maazel, Alan Gilbert and Bramwell Tovey
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An opening night concert with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra
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World renowned pianist Lang Lang performing with the New York Philharmonic
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A special Cabaret evening at the Vilar Performing Arts Center featuring cabaret sensation Andrea Marcovicci
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A concert version of La Boheme with The Philadelphia Orchestra and the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Chorus
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Opening Night of the New York Philharmonic’s Sixth Anniversary at the Festival on July 18
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An evening of Broadway Pops with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra on July 3
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A Festival commission of a tremendously inventive and theatrical piece by composer Ricky Ian Gordon on July 15 at the Vilar Performing Arts Center
Vail International Dance Festival (July 27 – August 10)
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New York City Ballet star Damian Woetzel promises another banner year for Dance in the Rocky Mountains.
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2008 VIDF will feature the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Dance for $20.08, Ballroom in the Streets, Ballroom’s Best, a selection of some of the world’s best dancers in the International Evenings of Dance and the return of Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, whose premier in 2007 was one of the most talked about events in dance.
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The innovative Celebrate the Beat outreach program will continue in 2008. An educational outreach component to the festival, Celebrate the Beat brings dance into the lives of area children who may have never seen a formal performance, never mind participated in one! Using live music and simple movement, these kids learn discipline while learning about dance, music and choreography while building self-esteem and developing creativity.
Colorado Stage International Cycle Classic (August 22-24)
PROFESSIONAL CYCLING returns to the Rocky Mountains with the 2008 Colorado Stage International Cycle Classic, taking place August 22-24 in and around the Vail Valley. National and international level Pro-Tour, Pro-Continental and Continental teams will go head-to-head in this UCI 2.1 certified competition.
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Stage 1: Road Race
Friday, August 22
A challenging 135-mile ride that includes three mountain passes and 11,000 feet of vertical gain. The race to the finish is a lung-searing 3-mile uphill sprint to Beaver Creek Village.
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Stage 2: Circuit Race
Saturday, August 23
Starting in the heart of Vail Village, the Circuit Race is an exciting event and the most spectator-friendly as riders complete several laps of an eight-mile loop in and around the Town of Vail.
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Stage 3: Time Trial
Sunday, August 24
Cyclists begin in Vail and sprint half-way up Vail Pass on this grueling course made legendary during the days of the Coors Classic. Athletes cover 10 miles and 1,500 feet of elevation gain in this uphill race against the clock.
Rounding out the cycling action will be sports expos, live music and other festivities for bike enthusiasts.
Budweiser Hot Summer Nights (June – August)
PRIMA
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PRIMA, the largest collection of live festivals and cultural entertainment in the Rockies, returns to the Vail Valley in the summer of 2008. For three full months, audiences will experience daily doses of music, dance, theater, film and education.
Vail Oktoberfest (Sept. 5-7, 12-14)
A traditional Oktoberfest celebration taking place right in the heart of Vail and Lionshead villages features a variety of authentic music and street entertainment. The celebration features German cuisine and German beer as well as some of Europe’s finest wines.
