Crested Butte, CO – Historic Elk Avenue is the colorful, energetic heartbeat of Crested Butte, Colo., and is known for festivals that grace historic district all year long. March is no exception with four events that will keep things hopping in this southwestern Colorado ski resort town.nMardi Gras, March 6 & 8
Crested Butte is celebrating this traditional French holiday with a New Orleans twist in its own special way as it prepares to send off Fat Tuesday with a bang. Dr. Robert – the Beatles Tribute Band will play for two Mardi Gras costume parties at the Mallardi Cabaret on March 6. The children’s costume party runs from 4 – 6 p.m., with prizes for best costumes and best dancing. The cost is $5 per person of any age. A masquerade ball for grownups is from 7 – 10 p.m. with free food, a cash bar and prizes for best costumes (couples are encourage to dress as famous pairs such as Jack and Jill or salt and pepper). Admission is $7.50 per person.
The annual Mardi Gras parade begins making its way down Elk Avenue at 5:30 p.m. on March 8. During the parade, receive beads and trinkets along the way and revel at the krewes. Immediately following the parade, head to Mallardi Cabaret for the second annual gumbo cook-off beginning at 6 p.m. Admission to the cook-off is $5, which entitles you a cup and spoon for tasting.
Mardi Gras is a fund-raiser for Crested Butte Mountain Theatre, a community theatre group established in 1972. To register an entry for the parade, enter gumbo for the cook-off or request more information, call (970) 349-0366 or visit www.cbmountaintheatre.org.
Big Air on Elk, March 12
A ski jump in the middle of downtown? It happens in Crested Butte during Big Air on Elk when a snowmobile pulls top local skiers and snowboarders who launch off a park-style jump that’s piled 50 feet high at Third Street and Elk Avenue. The invite-only format ensures that each jump, starting at 7 p.m., will have a good chance of wowing the crowd. Colorado Freeskier organizes Big Air on Elk to benefit the Crested Butte Ski Club.
Elk Avenue will be closed from Second to Fourth Streets, and there will be a DJ, raffle and merchandise tent to help fuel the action along with an after-party at Lobar. Crested Butte Avalanche Center’s Big Hair on Elk will pay homage to those with the largest coiffures on the Brick Oven deck from 5 – 10 p.m., with drink specials and prizes. Crested Butte Ski Club also will be dishing out chili and other tasty treats by the Paradise Café.
Pajama Day/Night – Matthew Shepard Foundation Gay Ski Week, March 22
In tandem with the inaugural Matthew Shepard Foundation Gay Ski Week at Crested Butte Mountain Resort March 19 – 26, the Downtown Crested Butte Lodging Association is hosting a Pajama Day/Night from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on March 22 to benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation and homeless children charities. Participating downtown retailers and restaurants will donate five percent or more of their profits to the Matthew Shepard Foundation, and bins will be available at many locations to drop off new children’s pajamas and stuffed animals. The items will be donated to Lifeworks in Austin, Texas, and Denver Children’s Home in Denver, Colo. There is a special need for donations suiting children ages 1 – 4 and 11 – 18. Look for merchants wearing PJs and for rainbow flags outside stores.
After a day on the slopes, a PJ Town Takeover and PJ Pub Crawl will get the party started downtown from 5 to 7 p.m. Participating bars will give a raffle ticket for drinks purchased at their location (limit one per person). All raffle tickets will be collected at Maxwells at the PJ Dinner and Party. Rumors Coffee and Tea House will host PJ Speed Dating at 5 p.m. The cost to participate is $10 or it’s free when purchasing a ticket to the Maxwells event. Funds raised at Rumors go to the foundation.
A PJ Dinner and Party at Maxwells will continue the festivities from 7 – 11:30 p.m. A gourmet three-course dinner including salad, entrée and dessert will be served from 7 – 9 p.m., followed by a PJ dance party, silent auction and raffle starting at 8:30 p.m. Local realtors are getting in on the fun by decorating the tables, and free chair massages will be available. The cost is $50 per person, including dinner and the party, or $20 at the door for the party. Bring a pair of new pjs to donate and admission to the party is $10. Funds raised go to the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
“The Laramie Project,” a staged reading, will be presented by Western State College of Colorado and the Matthew Shepard Foundation at Mallardi Cabaret at 7:30 p.m. Laramie was the site of the murder of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old, gay University of Wyoming student in 1998. The month following his death, members of the Tectonic Theatre Project traveled to Laramie and conducted interviews, resulting in a play about the town, its citizens and their reaction to the murder. Tickets cost $10, with proceeds benefiting the foundation.
The Dogwood Cocktail Cabin will be hosting a game night to round out the PJ party theme from 10 p.m. to close.
Pajamas hung on clotheslines will be outside the PJ party places to guide the way. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit www.DowntownCrestedButte.com/gayskiweek. For a look at the rest of the week’s activities, go to www.matthewshepardgayskiweek.com.
ArtWalk Evening, March 31
Crested Butte’s ArtWalk Evening will wrap up the month in style with a self-guided tour of galleries from 5 – 8 p.m. Light refreshments, music and on-site artists will be featured at many of the seven locations: John Ingham Gallery, Oh-Be-Joyful Gallery, Rijks Family Gallery, Paragon Gallery, Icehouse Art & Atelier, Susan Anderton Fine Art and J.C. Leacock Photo Gallery. For more information, go to www.awearts.org.