| OUT OF TOWN
by Bob Gaiser
SNOW NICE
An Aspen insider offers some Ski Week tips
What began as a chance encounter on the streets
of Aspen between a group of local gay men and
a visiting group from California is now the world’s
premier gay-and-lesbian ski party. Twenty-six
years after that meeting, Aspen Gay & Lesbian
Ski Week (January 19–26) will feature 3,500
people with hundreds of events spread over the
Aspen and Snowmass area. The biggest such happening
in the country, Ski Week includes women-specific
events, friendship dinners, cross-country skiing,
and more private parties than you could ever hope
to attend.
Here are just a few highlights:
Ski Week organizers are planning a gala dinner
atop Aspen Mountain in conjunction with The Little
Nell to launch the Vision Campaign for the future
of the Aspen Gay and Lesbian Community Fund (AGLCF),
which benefits from some Ski Week proceeds. The
Vision Dinner will feature remarkable GLBT youth
and the presentation of the first-ever AGLCF Youth
of Vision scholarships. Judy Shepard will speak
and present one of these scholarships.
The CIRE Foundation (Community Issues Requiring
Education), the nonprofit documentary producer,
partnered with the Matthew Shepard Foundation
to make OUT in the Cold, which examines the lives
of homeless gay youth and tries to dispel some
of the preconceived notions of homelessness. Screened
on January 20, the film focuses on the lives of
those who have been abandoned by their families,
friends, and society because of their sexual orientation.
Take Billy Elliot, mix it with The Osbournes,
and add a dash of Waiting for Guffman, and you
have Showboy, another film being featured during
the Aspen Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. The director,
Christian Taylor, who also served as writer/producer
on HBO’s Six Feet Under, will introduce
his film and speak at the Vision Dinner.
The gender-bending Kinsey Sicks, which The Advocate
has called “gut-wrenchingly funny,”
will appear on January 23 at the famous Wheeler
Opera House. This hilarious a cappella quartet
is back on the road, serving up a feast of music
and comedy for the second year in a row.
Check out the second annual eXtreme Gay Gaymes
at Aspen Highlands on January 23. Ski Week will
welcome the fastest skiers and boarders to town,
and a post-race reception will honor Gay Games
athletes.
After all of these activities (along with the
parties), you might want to try the Aspen Club
& Spa (866 4-VITALITY, www.aspenclub.com)
for some pampering. Find yourself while resting
in the simple, serene setting of the Alpine Garden
Room or embrace the evolving elements of your
soul on a journey into the mind/body studios.
Try something entirely different with La Stone
Therapy, which incorporates the use of warm and
cool stones to provide toxin-clearing acupressure.
AGLCF will benefit from these services if you
mention Ski Week when you book an appointment.
For details: www.gayskiweek.com or 800/367-8290.
Bob Gaiser is the webmaster for Aspen Gay &
Lesbian Ski Week, www.gayskiweek.com.
If you have any comments about this article,
please email them to letters@outsmartmagazine.com.
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