New & Notable for Aspen Summer 2023 Season

40th Anniversaries of the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen and Theatre Aspen, the newly renovated Aspen Meadows, and many new restaurants

ASPEN, Colo. (April 2023) – Following are highlights what is new and notable in Aspen for the 2023 summer season. For information or reservations, visit www.aspenchamber.org or call (970) 925-1940. For media updates, visit www.aspenchamber.com/media. 

SPECIAL EVENTS NEWS    

Aspen Ideas Festival (June 21 – 30) - The 19th annual Aspen Ideas Festival returns to the Aspen Meadows campus for stimulating and invigorating conversations with some of the brightest, most interesting thinkers and doers. This year’s tracks include: “We the People,” “The Edge of Intelligence,” “Age of Uncertainty: Imagining a New World Order,” “Life Well Lived,” “Driving the Economy Forward,“ Powering the Future,” and “The Mind.” Limited passes are still available.  For more information visit: https://www.aspenideas.org/                                                                                                                 

FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen (June 15  – 18) will honor four decades of icons and innovators. Aspen’s unofficial start to summer and the nation’s premier culinary event will gather world-renowned celebrity chefs and wine experts to Aspen for a  three-day epicurean experience with iconic culinary leaders, innovative wine experts, and game-changing beverage connoisseurs. Bobby Flay, Marcus Samuelsson, and Carla Hall are among the all-star talent joining the year’s festivities.

Pride Month Kickoff (June 2 – 4) – AspenOUT has partnered with W Aspen to promote Pride Month (June 2023). Building on the success of Aspen Gay Ski Week, AspenOUT wants to continue to promote Aspen as a year-round safe and inviting place for the LGBTQ+ community. Pride Month will kick off with a weekend of activities with additional activities throughout the month to be announced. 

ART AND CULTURE NEWS

The Resnick Center for Bayer Studies (Bayer Center), which opened Summer of 2022, will debut a new exhibition Concept of a Visualist: Herbert Bayer’s World Geo-Graphic Atlas, opening in June. The exhibit examines Bayer’s 1953 World Geo-Graphic Atlas, a landmark work of visual education and modernist design. Marking the seventieth anniversary of the Atlas’s publication, Concept of a Visualist is the first exhibition devoted to this groundbreaking and influential work. The Atlas has come to occupy a key place within graphic design history and transformed the look and character of subsequent geographic atlases and popular scientific illustrations. 

Aspen Art Museum is opening a new summer-long exhibition: Florian Krewer: everybody rise (May 24 – Sept. 24) – The German painter’s first-ever solo museum exhibition and critical survey in the United States will be comprised of more than 20 paintings displayed throughout two of the museum’s galleries in chronological order from 2017 to the present, tracing the significant shifts that have occurred in his practice. 

The Aspen Music Festival and School (June 29 – Aug. 20) is one of the top classical music festivals in the United States, as well as a school with more than 600 classical music students from around the world. The 2023 eight-week summer season will explore the theme “Adoration of the Earth,” featuring compositions including Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” Britten’s “Four Sea Interludes” and Beethoven’s “Pastoral Symphony.” 

Jazz Aspen Snowmass -  Back for its 32nd season, JAS has announced an exciting summer program with its June Experience, and the much-loved Labor Day festival in September. 

• June Experience ( June 22 – 25) kicks off a summer of music with one pass that allows access to over 40 performances at twelve different venues including Belly Up, Wheeler Opera House & Lobby, 39 Degrees at W Hotel, Limelight Hotel, Bon Bon, Sterling Lounge, Here House, Felix Roasting Co. Bad Harriet, Hotel Jerome, and Aspen Art Museum. VIP Passes also include dinner & shows at the Durant St. VIP Tent.
• JAS Labor Day Experience (Sept. 1 – 3) - The JAS  Labor Day Experience will celebrate the end of Summer with an outdoor festival at Snowmass showcasing performances from The Lumineers, The Foo Fighters, Old Dominion, Billy Idol, and Brothers Osborne.
• For more information and tickets, visit www.jazzaspensnowmass.org

Theater Aspen will celebrate its 40th anniversary with three mainstage productions as well as the third annual Solo Flights. For information on the mainstage productions, summer cabarets, and exciting collaborations with Aspen Music Festival and School, visit www.theatreaspen.org. 

• Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (June 22 – July 8) 
• Doubt: A Parable (July 14 – 29) 
• Rent (Aug. 4 – 26).
• Solo Flights (Sept. 7 – 14) Solo Flights, an annual weeklong developmental festival of one-person shows presented in the beginning stages of their making. 

Anderson Ranch Arts Center is a nonprofit, year-round organization serving the personal and professional development of amateur and professional artists through workshops, artist residencies, exhibitions, tours, lectures, and community outreach programs for artists of all skill levels. Summer’s workshops and lectures are now live at: https://www.andersonranch.org/

Colorado Historic Opera Houses Circuit – The first-ever Colorado Historic Opera Houses Circuit, is a joint promotion of five mountain opera houses, including Aspen’s Wheeler Opera House. The circuit seeks to attract visitors interested in history, arts and culture, live entertainment, and private event rentals. Since 1889, the Wheeler Opera House has been Aspen’s favorite year-round performance venue.

AspenFilm is a nonprofit, year-round organization, presenting festivals, film series, and youth programs. This summer season’s event highlights are. In January 2023, Aspen Film finalized the purchase of the Isis Theatre in Aspen, facilitating regular programming. Aspen Filmfest (Sept. 19 – 24)  is Colorado’s longest-running film festivals and attracts a national audience with a feast of full-length features and documentaries from around the world. 

HOTEL NEWS                      

Aspen Meadows Resort, a Salamander Resort in Aspen’s West End, has unveiled a guest suite renovation (complete by April 2023) that pays homage to the resort's Bauhaus design roots.  Michael Suomi of Suomi Design has carefully respected the work of original designer Herbert Bayer while meeting the expectations of the modern-day traveler. The design features reds, blues, and yellows to represent Bauhaus’ original primary color theory and adheres to the movement’s geometric principles. Some specialty legacy furniture like the Saarinen Tulip Tables and Bertoia Bird Chairs were carefully restored.

DINING NEWS

Aspen is known for its’ remarkable dining scene with dozens of fine dining restaurants, brewpubs, and cafes. Following is news for the 2023 summer season: 

New! The Roaring Fork + Farm Map launches in spring 2023, bringing to life a new food and farm trail from Aspen and Snowmass to Glenwood Springs. The guide spotlights local farms, ranches, unique lodging, distilleries, and breweries, local food champions, and producers, as well as seasonal foodie events such as Farm Fest and farmer’s markets, while guiding visitors to eat local and seek out the best dishes, and produce in the Roaring Fork Valley. The tourism development project to launch the new visitor guide is funded by the Colorado Tourism Office tourism management grant.

• Opening soon Sway Thai will open a modern Thai restaurant operated by Austin-based New Waterloo on Aspen’s “Restaurant Row” (308 E. Hopkins Ave.)
• Opening soon - The Crepe Shack, a breakfast and lunch café by Mawa McQueen will open in June at the corner of Cooper Avenue and Mill Streets. (401 E. Cooper Ave.)
• Opening soon - Stranahan’s Whiskey will open a tasting room and restaurant on the Mill Street Mall. (307 S. Mill St.)
• Re-opening soon - The Red Onion will reopen mid-summer after a renovation and under new management by Aspen-based CP Restaurant Group. (420 E. Cooper Ave.)

• New Location -  Wild Fig, which is vacating its location of 19 years will be opening in a new location on Mill Street. (305 S. Mill St.)
• Opening soon -  Yogi’s, a local-serving affordable cafe will open across from Rio Grande Park from lunch to dinner; in the former Taster’s pizza space. (455 Rio Grande Pl.)
• Opening soon - Sant Ambroeus, a favorite Italian patisserie and restaurant, which originated in Milan and is a NYC Institution, will open on Hyman Avenue in late spring 2023.
• New - Unravel Aspen, owned by Gravity Haus, opened in January 2023 and has become a thriving coffee shop with continuous service from breakfast through après. A restaurant is slated to open in Summer 2023. (315 E. Hyman Ave.)
• New - Madame Ushi, a Japanese steakhouse, bar, and nightclub operated by DJ Cedric Gervais and Wei Chen, former chef de cuisine at Nakazawa Aspen, opened on the Hyman Avenue Mall. In the late evenings, the location morphs into a nightclub called Gala Aspen. (415 E. Hyman Ave.)
• New - Parc Aspen opened January 2023 with a locally sourced, modern farm-to-table concept to the Aspen dining scene, with a bar menu. Parc Aspen offers three levels of dining: an affordably priced local’s bar, a contemporary fine dining room, and an experiential 12-person private dining space. (620 E. Hyman Ave.)

RETAIL NEWS 

• Opening soon -  Banana Republic will open the Hyman Mall next to the Red Onion.
• Opening soon -  Hermès will open In the Benton building, next to Clark’s Oyster Bar,. (​​521 E. Hyman Ave.)

FLIGHT NEWS

New Austin nonstop: American Airlines will expand their service into Aspen Airport/Sardy field (ASE) with new non-stop flights from Austin, Texas to daily service from June 1 -  Sept. 4.  

ASPEN PLEDGE + DONATION

By taking the Aspen Pledge, Aspen locals and visitors are committing themselves to be responsible citizens and ensuring that Aspen remains protected for generations to come. For every pledge signed, ACRA will make a donation of $18.80 (the year Aspen was founded, 1880) up to $50,000 to either the Independence Pass Foundation or Roaring Fork Valley Outdoor Volunteers, two organizations dedicated to preserving Aspen’s vast outdoors.

MAROON BELLS

One of Aspen’s most popular sites requires reservations for parking and shuttle buses to access the Maroon Bells, reservations will be available online on a rolling basis on March 1 for the months of May and June, April 1 for the months of July and August, and May 1 for the months of September and October. Maroon Creek Road will open on May 15. Cyclists, including e-bikes, are allowed without reservations, but participants are encouraged to wear helmets and respect rules-of-the-road when cycling to the Maroon Bells. Click for more information on visiting the Maroon Bells and Reservations.

About Aspen, Colorado – Aspen, Colorado is an authentic, historic mountain town that is renowned for its year-round outdoor lifestyle, robust 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, and spirit, whether soaking in mountain beauty and over 200 days of annual sunshine, learning a new skill, pursuing a passion, or simply absorbing the mountain spirit. Located 18 miles west of Independence Pass, 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.