FESTIVAL PROFILE: TELLURIDE WINE FESTIVAL

FESTIVAL PROFILE:  TELLURIDE WINE FESTIVAL

Four-Day Festival Celebrates 32 Years in 2013

According to festival organizers, the Telluride Wine Festival is a weekend full of food, wine, cocktails, and fun, set against Telluride’s breathtaking backdrop. Festival-goers can choose from a multitude of activities, including wine tastings and seminars, cooking demonstrations, sumptuous dinners, lunches and other events. This year’s festival features local, national and international sommeliers, chefs and guest speakers.

For more information on this or Telluride area homes, condos and land, please contact Telluride Real Estate Corp. at 970-728-6655, info@telluriderealestatecorp.com or visit www.telluriderealestatecorp.com.

Steve Martin's Band To Replace Mumford And Sons At Telluride Bluegrass Festival

Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers with Edie Brickell have stepped up to replace Mumford & Sons at Telluride Bluegrass in Telluride, CO on Thursday night. The comedian and his bluegrass band will headline Thursday night's action at the long-running festival with a set scheduled to run from 10 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Mumford & Sons had to cancel their Telluride appearance, along with other dates including a headlining slot at Bonnaroo, to allow bassist Ted Dwane to recover from emergency surgery.

For more information on Telluride festivals or Telluride area real estate, please contact Telluride Real Estate Corp. at 970-728-6655, info@telluriderealestatecorp.com, or visit www.telluriderealestatecorp.com.

From The Telluride Daily Planet: Lodging Numbers Looking Up This Summer

Lodging numbers looking up this summer

Telluride area growing as a summer destination

By Collin McRann
Staff reporter

Published: Sunday, June 16, 2013 6:06 AM CDT

It’s shaping up to be another busy summer in Telluride and Mountain Village as hotel bookings are up, and a full roster of festivals is on the way.

According to the Telluride Tourism Board, bookings are up over last summer. Compared with those made during May of last year, reservations for June, July and August are all ahead. That’s good news because last summer more people came and stayed in Telluride than the previous one and some records were broken.

Last May, local lodgers reported that around 33 percent of their rooms were booked for June, and this May bookings shot up to 38 percent. Though it’s just the beginning of summer, President of the TTB Michael Martelon said the outlook is good.

“If that pacing stays steady as we go, then we will have an opportunity to do better overall than last summer,” Martelon said. “Which of course was better than the summer before. We had a record summer last year in town.”

 

July’s bookings are looking good as well — up about five percentage points, and August is up around four points. And on top of the increase in reservations, the average daily rate (ADR) is also up. The ADR is a measure of the average amount charged for rooms in the region. Martelon said the predicted ADR for June is $215, up about $16. It is up $8 for July and $20 for August. Though September’s numbers are looking flat they could easily improve as the summer goes on.

Martelon said it’s hard to nail down a single reason for the increasing lodging numbers, but he said the area really sells itself. Along with the beautiful scenery of the San Juans, each festival brings its own set of visitors, and the Ride the Rockies event provided an extra boost this year. The tour started in Telluride on June 9 and brought thousands to town, and Martelon said some lodgers were fully booked, which is not common so early in the season.

At the New Sheridan Hotel on Colorado Avenue, summer has been in full swing since May.

“May was really strong for us, and this June is right on track, even up a little bit, from last year,” said Mike Johnson, manager of the New Sheridan Hotel, on Friday. “Bluegrass and Wine Festival are always really strong for us. And we just had a really strong early season with the bike tour. And this weekend there’s a couple weddings in town, and a lot of people are here for Jerry Joseph playing at the Opera House.”

Over the past few years there has been a lot of discussion in Telluride and Mountain Village about how to get occupancy rates up. There have been numerous suggestions, but in January the TTB, Telluride Ski & Golf and the Colorado Flights Alliance (formerly TMRAO) announced they would be collaborating to bring the average occupancy levels up to 50 percent within the next five years. The plan involves offering more flights to the region, new marketing efforts and other measures.

Officials are happy to see the numbers increasing and attribute it to a number of reasons.     

“Ultimately people are gravitating toward our destination,” Martelon said. “Why that is: It can be the marketing of the lodging properties, it can be the public relations push that we’ve been putting on for the past two years and it can be being ranked No.1 in ski resorts by the readers of Condé Nast.”

This summer, Martelon said the TTB will also be utilizing information it collected about its marketing from last summer to better target its efforts.

The Telluride Bluegrass Festival, which is set to begin on Thursday, is one of the busiest weeks of the year in Telluride.   

 

For more information on this or Telluride real estate, please contact Telluride Real Estate Corp. at 970.728.3111, info@telluriderealestatecorp.com, or visit www.telluriderealestatecorp.com.

From The Telluride Watch: Telluride Farmer's Market Opens With a Slew of New Vendors

by Martinique Davis

Jun 06, 2013

 

TELLURIDE – Studies suggest some people experience a “shopper’s high” from purchasing things like chic dresses and new shoes but in Telluride, some get that serotonin release from buying kale and goat cheese.

Although the organizers of the Telluride Farmer’s Market have only empirical observations from which to base their assessments, their overwhelming consensus is that shopping at the Farmer’s Market actually does make people happier.

And why wouldn’t purchasing locally grown and organic foods and produce give shoppers the warm fuzzies? As Telluride Farmer’s Market Manager Ellie Greene will attest, there’s just something special about buying food from a local farmer.

“When people are considering whether they’re going to shop at a farmer’s market or at a regular retail grocery store, there’s a lot of issues that factor in – like how you’re supporting family farms, creating jobs in your area, supporting the ecosystem by reducing the greenhouse gases created from shipping food long distances… When you look at it, buying food at a farmer’s market is a 100 percent win-win situation. Plus, you have fun shopping, and that makes you happy.”

Whether shoppers flock to Telluride’s Oak Street every Friday for the thrill, or just to fill their shelves with some tasty organic food and local artisan crafts, the Telluride Farmer’s Market has indeed gained a faithful following in its 11 years in downtown Telluride. This Friday marks the start of the 2013 Telluride Farmer’s Market season when it opens at 11 a.m.

In addition to the slew of meat, cheese, produce, prepared food, and craft booths locals and visitors alike have come to know and love over the years, this year’s farmer’s market will also welcome a host of new vendors. Parker Pastures, beef and lamb producers from Gunnison, will have a larger presence this summer at the Market, while Norwood’s Pasture-Powered Meats (a new farm run by past Indian Ridge Farm intern Andrew Riedel) will offer pork products. Organic cheese-lovers will find their mecca, with two new cheese vendors joining the roster this year: Paonia’s Avalanche Cheese Company and Del Norte’s Lazy Ewe Two Bar Goat Dairy will both offer a wide selection of goat and cow, soft and hard cheeses.

While many of the market’s long standing produce vendors hail from the Paonia/Hotchkiss area, two new producers will join the market this year hailing from other regional locales. Colorado Culinary Gardens, which specializes in Asian greens, grows at high altitude from their gardens on Ridgway’s Log Hill Mesa, and Canyon of the Ancients will be another new vegetable producer located in Cortez.

Foodies can expect to see more lunch vendors this year as well, including Telluride local Drew Ludwig’s Fat Rabbit Salad Company, which will be tossing a variety of different fresh and local salads each week, while Paonia’s Skewer booth will be grilling up Japanese-style shish kabobs. Local Lara Young’s Elegant Elephant stand is bound to be a hit with the kids, as she serves up fruit smoothies, artisan sodas, and summer yummy popsicles.

Also new and kid-friendly will be Telluride-bred fairy craft guru Sara Doehrman’s Wings by Sara booth, where in addition to her fantastical fairy wings, crowns, and wands, kids will find weekly art and craft projects.

The Wilkinson Public Library will begin its summer of farmer’s market children’s programming starting June 14 and running through mid-August, with a special kid-friendly event every week at 11 a.m. Live musicians will also provide entertainment every afternoon from 12:30 to 3:30.

All told, the Telluride Farmer’s Market will boast over 60 vendors this year, running June 7 through October 11. The Market is looking for volunteers to help with an array of tasks on market day, who will be compensated with Market bucks; if interested, contact Greene at 970/433-4699, or stop by the TFM booth any Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information on this or Telluride area real estate, please contact Telluride Real Estate Corp. at 970.728.3111, info@telluriderealestatecorp.com or visit www.telluriderealestatecorp.com.