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How to celebrate an artful August

The Geiger Counter's weekend picks

Four groups of local musicians and six local artists will be stationed along the Blue River on Friday, Aug. 7, for Silverthorne’s First Friday event. Fritangas Mexican Restaurant and Red Buffalo Coffee & Tea will provide refreshments as people enjoy the entertainment.
Photo from town of Silverthorne

Don’t know what to do this weekend? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Pull up a seat to the counter, and I’ll tell you about everything that’s hot and happening.

A new month means new opportunities for exploring everything Summit County has to offer. This weekend, both virtual and in-person celebrations occur for an art-filled August that appears to be one of the busiest times this summer.

The major tentpole is Silverthorne’s First Friday event, called Stroll Along the Blue, happening from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Aug. 7. Follow the river near the Silverthorne Performing Arts Center, 460 Blue River Parkway, and Chipotle Mexican Grill’s underpass to find four groups of local musicians and six local artists stationed at various spots along the trail. 



Additionally, the Mountain Dreamers will share stories in English and Spanish on the outdoor Silverthorne Performing Arts Center stage, and there will be chalk art activities for kids to take home.

Guests can satisfy their appetite while walking with free tacos from Fritangas Mexican Restaurant and drinks available to purchase from Red Buffalo Coffee & Tea’s back patio. Everyone is asked to wear masks and not idle on the trail to maintain physical distancing.



For an at-home experience, Breckenridge Music’s annual fundraiser goes online at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, as Bourbon Street Boogie. Virtual attendees can hear drum circle leader Jonathan Crowder, string quartet jazz songs by Hannah Yim and more.

Applause members, or those who donate $50, can tune into this event and other Applause-exclusive happenings. Visit BreckMusic.org for more information.

Breckenridge’s Second Saturday event is also this weekend. Head to the Old Masonic Hall, 136 S. Main St., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a free take-and-make craft.

If that’s not enough for art enthusiasts, don’t forget that the Summit County Arts Council is fundraising by selling a variety of artwork for $100. The outdoor event starts at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 7, at the Arts Alive Gallery, 101 E. Main St., Frisco. The online version of the fundraiser is ongoing, and pieces can be previewed or purchased at ArtsAliveGallery.com.

Over in Breckenridge is the socially distant version of the 19th annual Breckenridge Main Street Art Festival, which continues through 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8.

People can see 50 artists in 13 fine-art categories — like glass, sculpture and painting — at The Village at Breckenridge. Foot traffic is one-way, face masks are required and hand sanitizer is available throughout.

What I’m Playing

Blaseball

Imagine a computer-simulated version of fantasy baseball where the rules change every season — like the worst teams getting a fourth strike or stolen bases worth 0.1 runs — and condense 99 games into a single week. That’s “Blaseball.”

The fictional players in the browser-based game have equally absurd names to match the ridiculous rules. Batters Comfort Septemberish and Jessica Telephone go up against pitchers such as PolkaDot Patterson and King Weatherman. They play for teams like the Hellmouth Sunbeams, New York Millennials and — best of all — the Breckenridge Jazz Hands.

Spectators have no real input other than betting fake money to earn rule-changing votes, but the fun comes from watching the community develop backstories for the characters on social media. Who knows what real life sports will be like this year, so you might as well root for the home team.

Jefferson Geiger is the arts and entertainment editor for the Summit Daily News and managing editor for Explore Summit. Email him at jgeiger@summitdaily.com.


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