During the winter months, the Colorado town of Aspen is blanketed in snow and packed with skiers.
But during the summer, the community that John Denver immortalized in his song, “Aspen Glow,” comes alive with festivals. One of them begins today, and it’s celebrating an anniversary: the 25th annual Aspen Food & Wine Classic.
For three days (Friday through Sunday), the wine will flow, as one observer put it, like the Roaring Fork River. And the supply of forks will be tested as attendees sample fare prepared by Jacques Pepin, Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Giada De Laurentis and Ming Tsai.
For those who want to learn how to make some of the dishes they’ll be sampling, more than 80 demonstrations will be conducted over the three days.
But the Aspen Food & Wine Classic represents just the beginning of the festival season in Aspen. >From June 21 through August 19, the Aspen Music Festival will welcome Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, Boris Berezovsky and other talented jazz and classical musicians.
And from mid-July through mid-August, the Aspen Dance Festival will be held.
So even when the snow isn’t falling… even when the wine isn’t flowing… there’s always a good reason to plan an Aspen vacation.