Experience Aspen from Afar & Uplifting Stories from Aspen

Aspen, Colo. (April 2020) – Despite the recent closures and cancellations during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are ways to experience Aspen from afar – as community partners in Aspen and the entire Roaring Fork Valley are making adjustments to their programs. In addition, many businesses and are ramping up efforts to help during the COVID-19 crisis.

Following are ways to experience Aspen from afar and some of the highlighted local establishments helping to uplift Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley:

Aspen Chamber Resort Association:

The Aspen Chamber Resort Association (ACRA) provides inspiration through their social media outlets and with virtual tours. ACRA’s Instagram account (@AspenCO) has posted screensavers with beautiful images of Aspen for followers to screenshot and save to their phones. Travelers experiencing wanderlust can take virtual tours of Aspen via ACRA’s website. The virtual tours inspire travelers with beautiful photography of downtown Aspen, areas east of Aspen, arts and culture landmarks, and trails around the area.

Every Monday ACRA will post a weekly series on their blog called “This Week in Aspen – Virtually.” The posts will highlight activities and events from various Aspen organizations that visitors and locals can partake in from home.

Arts & Culture:

Aspen Music Festival & School President and CEO Alan Fletcher created a playlist for those seeking comfort and peace. Fletcher was part of a medical study conducted through the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Pain Research that investigated whether listening to music could ease physical and emotional pain which concluded that music does in fact ease stress and pain. The playlist can be found online here. The Aspen Music Festival & School summer season has been delayed two weeks, and the new season dates are now July 16 to Aug. 23.

Aspen Institute Aspen Institute has launched the new Aspen Ideas Now, a weekly curation of timely conversations that elevate formidable leaders, inspiring thinkers, and remarkable stories. The 2020 Aspen Ideas Festival has been cancelled, but the organization is currently exploring new models of presentation for the event.

Aspen Historical Society posts daily images to social media from their archive of more than 12,000 historical images. Visit archiveaspen.org or follow them on Facebook and Instagram for a daily dose of Aspen history.

Aspen Art Museum launched an “Art Anywhere” initiative that spotlights its online Open Studio prompts designed by past AAM exhibiting artists. The museum is also offering an online version of its Art Studio workshops every Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. which features hands-on art projects using common materials found at home. Their initiative Slow.Look.Live offers an occasion to slow down and reflect with deeper intention about artistic process and dialogue. This weekly series with AAM Learning Director Rachel Ropeik and various artists, is published on Instagram Live and Instagram stories every Friday.

Aspen Words is curating a weekly list of books, articles, literary podcasts and videos that can be found in its newsletter or on their website. Their annual Summer Words event will now move to an online format.

In lieu of the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies’ (ACES) monthly morning birding outings, ACES bird guide Rebecca Weiss has launching a virtual birding mini-lesson. ACES is also releasing short videos on its social media produced by the center’s education team with various nature challenges using the hashtag #ACESNatureChallenge. The challenges are geared toward students and families and can be completed in one’s backyard.

Jazz Aspen Snowmass is celebrating their 30th anniversary with their new “JAS 30 for 30” social media campaign. Over the course of 30 days, the organization will post pictures and stories of favorite past JAS performances compiled by JAS staff. The JAS Labor Day Experience, scheduled for Sept.4-6, includes headliners Stevie Nicks, Eric Church, Kings of Leon and Maren Morris. The JAS Café Summer series will take place throughout the summer atop the Aspen Art Museum.

The Red Brick Center for the Arts is offering a virtual gallery tour of their new exhibit, Artists at the Intersection of Technology and Tradition: A Visual and Educational Examination, exhibition, curated by Trace Nichols with artworks by: Teresa Booth Brown , K Rhynus Cesark, Andrew Roberts-Gray, and Trace Nichols. The Red Brick is also offering virtual adult and kids online arts classes; Check out their blog, Creative Connections, for updates on current offerings.

Theatre Aspen’s Director of Education Graham Northrup has started a new series on their YouTube channel called “From The Director’s Chair.” The Theatre Aspen summer season will begin July 6, 2020 and will include the Tony-nominated Rock of Ages (July 6 – Aug. 1) and the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award-winning Chicago (Aug. 6 –22). The previously announced Neil Simon comedy The Sunshine Boys will be postponed until the 2021 season. 

Anderson Ranch Arts Center is performing boots-on-the-ground work to serve the medical community. Anderson Ranch’s staff of working artists, led by Digital Fabrication Technician Leah Aegerter, are using 3-D technology to create personal protective equipment, such as face shields and ventilator splitters, for frontline medical workers in Colorado. They are sending out weekly email blasts including “Mandala Mondays” every Monday with a set of custom-made Mandalas to color created by a member of the Anderson Ranch staff, art experiences at home every other Tuesday, and video tutorials from their artistic staff. They are also encouraging social media followers to share their memories of Anderson Ranch by posting with the hashtag #AndersonRanchChallenge on Instagram.

Aspen’s independent bookseller, Explore Booksellers is offering free porch-pickup for orders placed over the phone. Audiobooks are available for purchase from Explore via Libro.fm. Buyers get two audiobooks for the price of one and 100% of payments will go to Explore Booksellers, to support independent bookstores.

Food & Beverage:

Local distilleries Woody Creek Distillers and Marble Distilling Co. have both branched into the hand sanitizer market to help with shortages from the COVID-19 pandemic. Woody Creek Distillers is distributing their hand sanitizer to first responders, health care providers and essential businesses. They plan to provide it to the community at large after they meet the demand of those key organizations. Marble Distilling is distributing their hand sanitizer to the community.

 

Meat & Cheese is serving up free soup for the community Thursdays from 11:30 a.m.

 

Health & Wellness:

Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties’ public health departments have partnered with Aspen Strong, Aspen Hope Center and Mind Spring Health to form a mental health team devoted to relaying mental wellness information to all residents and connect residents with access to mental health resources.

 

Various local workout establishments are now streaming online classes.

• Aspen Shakti has created a virtual studio offering daily classes via their YouTube channel, as well as classes on Zoom, Instagram, and yoga playlists on Soundcloud. The studio is also offering online therapy in shamanic healing, mediation and tarot readings.
• Zaya yoga is offering Zoom classes daily.
• Pure Barre is also streaming online classes.
• O2 is offering yoga classes via their YouTube channel and Instagram.
• Locals Arielle Shipe and Evan Soroka are continuing to teach with online classes.
• CycleBar is offering a 30-day bike rental program that includes bike delivery, home set up, and pick up for four-six classes that are streaming weekly.
• The Aspen Recreation Center is offering virtual fitness classes.

Hotels from Afar

• The Little Nell is posting various recipes from their restaurants on Instagram for followers to recreate. The Little Nell’s annual Clip-In with Christian cycling camp, led by retired pro cyclist Christian Vande Velde, is scheduled for Aug. 2020. Fans at home can find Christian's classes on the Peloton schedule.
• Limelight Hotel is posting recipes from the Limelight Lounge including their famous pizzas with how-to videos for followers to make their own Limelight pizzas at home. Fans are encouraged to recreate the recipes shared on social media with the hashtag #LimelightLoungingLow.
• The Auberge Resorts have created the #AubergeAtHome series on social media with posts on bringing Auberge properties at home. Hotel Jerome is posting recipes on their social media pages including these pot stickers for fans to make at home.

 

 

ACRA is committed to being transparent, keeping the community and visitors fully informed, and taking actions based on detailed planning. For more information please visit https://www.aspenchamber.org/COVID-19

 

 

For media information and images, contact Promo Communications at 970.948.3176 or

Maureen Poschman • [email protected]

Melissa Wisenbaker • [email protected]

For visitor information, visit www.aspenchamber.org, or call 1.888.290.1324 or 970.925.1940.

Connect with Aspen on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the blog.

 

About Aspen, Colorado – Aspen, Colorado is an authentic, historic mountain town that is renowned for its year-round outdoor lifestyle, cosmopolitan cultural calendar, and bustling downtown ambiance. With an endless array of arts, culture, dining, and nightlife, Aspen is defined by an urbane feel that belies its small-town charm. An Aspen vacation is an experience that energizes the mind, body, spirit, whether soaking in mountain beauty and 300 days of annual sunshine, learning a new skill, feeding a fascination, or simply absorbing the mountain spirit. Located 18 miles east of Independence Pass on the Western Slope of the Continental Divide, Aspen is nestled in the heart of the White River National Forest at the confluence of the Roaring Fork River, Hunter Creek, Maroon Creek, and Castle Creek, and encircled by the peaks of the Elk Mountain Range in the central Rocky Mountains. Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE) is conveniently located only three miles from downtown Aspen. For visitor information, a complete calendar of events, or to book an Aspen vacation, visit www.aspenchamber.org, or call 1.888.290.1324 or 970.925.1940.

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