Colorado Review

School’s back in session in Aspen & Snowmass (and downvalley in my neck of the woods: Basalt, Carbondale & Glenwood Springs). Thoughts are turning here - already! - to the winter ski season. I’m marking the dates of local ski swaps on my calendar, and I’m searching in vain for an inexpensive pair of snowpants for my 5-year-old. (They grow so fast!)

But there’s plenty more fun to be had in the Aspen area in the winter besides skiing the world-class slopes. Here’s my article on the recently re-launched website Grandparents.com titled “Winter Fun in Aspen/Snowmass.”

One favorite spot of mine is the Hot Springs Pool in Glenwood Springs (a bit farther afield than some of the other winter activities I suggest). My family and I have a season’s pass and we visit the soothing waters all year round.

Aspen, Snowmass, Glenwood Springs, Colorado

The four-day passes are sold out, but daily tickets are still on sale (starting at $40 plus fees) for the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Festival, Friday, August 31 to Monday, September 1.

Here’s the line-up of bands/singers scheduled to perform under the huge white tents in Snowmass Town Park:

Friday
6 p.m.: Nickel Creek
8 p.m.: Ben Harper & the Innocents

Saturday
2:30 p.m.: Galactic
5 p.m.: Joss Stone
7 p.m.: John Legend

Sunday
3 p.m.: Leftover Salmon
5 p.m.: Michael Franti & Spearhead
7 p.m.: The Allman Brothers Band

Monday
1 p.m.: Jackie Greene
2:30 p.m.: Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Soul Stew Revival
4:30 p.m. Gov’t Mule

Plus, there are bands scheduled to play at smaller venues throughout Snowmass.

As always, the outdoor event promises loads of good music and good times. More info, click here.

Aspen, Colorado

If you’re in Aspen this weekend, check out the “Television’s Impact on American Life” panel discussion (fee $10) at the Aspen Institute, Saturday, August 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Valerie Harper of “Mary Tyler Moore” and “Rhoda;” Phylicia Rashad who played the lawyer, mother, and wife on “The Cosby Show;” Jay Sandrich, director of both shows; Betsy Beers, executive producer of “Grey’s Anatomy,” and that show’s music supervisor, Alexandra Patsavas; and Jon Cassar, director of “24″ will speak.

There is also a two-day seminar from 8:30 to 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday for $425 (if it hasn’t already filled). The above participants promise to “delve into the huge impact television makes on our lives, values, culture, and politics.”

This weekend program is the fourth in the Aspen Institute’s new Arts & Ideas series, which considers art as a pathway to broaden and deepen our understanding of contemporary issues. This approach reflects Aspen Institute founder Walter Paepcke’s vision of “the Aspen Idea [as] the cross-fertilization of minds.”

Visit the Aspen Institute’s website for more info.

Aspen, Aspen Institute