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Keystone announces summer festivals from bacon to wine to music

Courtesy of Keystone Neighbourhood Company
Courtesy of Keystone Neighbourhood Company |

This summer, River Run Village at Keystone Resort will be sizzling with five weekend festivals celebrating everything from bacon to tasty craft brews and from outdoor music to lederhosen. Here’s a rundown of the events, so you can choose which ones will make your personal summer calendar.

Blue Ribbon Bacon Tour



Dates: 1-6 p.m. Saturday, June 27, and Sunday, June 28

Cost: Admission is free. Advance food tickets are $20 for the Piglet Package ($22 at the gate), $30 for the Samplin’ Swine ($35 at the gate) or $50 for the Hungry Hog ($55 at the gate); a-la-carte Tasting Tickets are $4 each, and each tasting ticket will be exchanged for one item at any of the participating food vendor tents.



More information: blueribbonbacontourkeystone15.eventbrite.com

Kicking off Keystone’s summer schedule is the uber-popular Blue Ribbon Bacon Tour (#keystonebacon). Now in its fifth year, the festival returns with bacon s’mores, bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers, bacon-inspired ice cream and just plain bacon — as in 3,000 pounds of it. It’s bacon, bacon and more bacon served in just about every shape, size and variety, including Colorado’s largest Bacon Bloody Mary Bar.

Get your bacon Ph.D. at The Bacon Education Center, or challenge your peers in the Bacon Eating Contest sponsored by Farmland. Enter the Bacon Selfie Contest on Instagram and win free bacon for a year. The all-female AC/DC cover band Hell’s Belles returns for its fifth year of the Blue Ribbon Bacon Tour, with other free music provided by Gipsy Moon, Rob Drabkin, Josh Blackburn and Lez Zeppelin.

Keystone Wine and Jazz Festival

Dates: 1-5 p.m. Saturday, July 18, and Sunday, July 19

Cost: Admission is free. Advanced tickets for Wine Tasting Glass are $60 per person for one day or $100 for a two-day pass per person, which includes unlimited wine tasting plus gourmet food tickets. Prices will increase at the gate to $65 for one day and $120 for a two-day pass.

Special events: Friday, July 17 — Reserve Wine Tasting at Warren Station Center for the Arts, $85 per person. Saturday, July 18 — A Culinary Concert: Farm to Table, Passion to Plate with PBS celebrity Chef Christy Rost and Chef Sara Moulton, $125 for general admission per person or $175 for VIP tickets. Sunday, July 19 — Prosecco & Pancakes, $30 per person in advance or $35 at the door.

More information: keystonewineandjazz15.eventbrite.com, or download the app at tasteseller.com/keystone/download.php

The Keystone Wine and Jazz Festival (#keystonewine) goes high tech this year, with an updated mobile app that lets you track the hottest trending wines with your fellow festival connoisseurs. The app also lets you easily locate wine tastings, food booths — including more than a dozen of Keystone’s finest dining establishments — and wine seminars.

Sample more than 300 different wines from Malbec to rose and pinot grigio to Champagne in Keystone’s flower-filled River Run Village while listening to eight different jazz bands on stage throughout the festival. The new “Sip & Savor” pass gets you that all-access experience, including entrance into the high-end culinary events and the two-day grand tasting.

Wine Seminars at Warren Station Center for the Arts are $25 per person on Saturday and Sunday, with topics including “From Farm to Glass,” “The Blend Trend,” “For the Love of Chocolate and Wine” and more. The festival features jazz concerts from Selena Albright, Dotsero, Elan Trotman, Will Donato solo, Sheryl Renee, Chris Standring and Joey Sommerville.

Keystone Bluegrass and Beer

Dates: 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, and Sunday, Aug. 2

Cost: Admission is free. Beer Glass Pass is $40 per person for one day in advance; $75 in advance for a weekend pass per person with unlimited beer tasting. At the gate, the prices will be $45 and $80, respectively. Food tickets are $1 per ticket.

Special events: Friday, July 31 — After-Hours Bluegrass Concerts at Warren Station Center for the Arts.

More information: keystonebluegrassandbeer15.eventbrite.com

The craft brewery scene pours into River Run Village as part of the 19th annual Keystone Bluegrass and Beer Festival (#keystonebestbrew). More than 100 brews from 30-plus breweries are on tap for one of Colorado’s longest-running beer festivals.

Back this year, beer lovers can vote in the battle of the brews social media throw down by Tweeting, Instagramming or Facebook posting their favorite Colorado brew with the hashtag #keystonebestbrew. The brew with the most social votes will be crowned the festival’s “Best Brew.”

Raise a pint or two to toast the national bluegrass lineup of 14 bands, including Steep Canyon Rangers, Cornmeal, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, SHEL, the Monocle Band, Groundscore, Claire Lynch Band, Ragged Union, the Barefoot Movement, Blue Highway and more. Top it off with educational, hands-on bluegrass workshops from some of the best bluegrass musicians in the country.

Mountain Town Music Festival

Dates: 3-9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, and 1:30-7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22

Cost: Admission is free. A-la-carte Tasting Tickets are $1 for one Tasting Ticket, and each tasting ticket can be exchanged for food items at all participating food vendor tents or beer, wine and liquor at the bar tents.

Special events: Farmers market with fresh peaches picked and shipped directly from the Palisade Peach farms.

More information: http://www.keytonefestivals.com

The Mountain Town Music Festival (#mountaintownmusic) is the latest addition to Keystone’s bountiful summer festival schedule, bringing some big-name acts to the River Run stage, along with the fruits and treats from the late-summer harvest, including peaches, melons and sweet corn. From up-and-comers like Miner to household names such as Lukas Nelson, the Mountain Town music lineup has something for everyone.

While free music from Mosey West, Miner, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, David Wax Museum, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real and more plays, more than 20 local food vendors will line the streets. Other vendors from across Colorado will be displaying handmade goods, jewelry and art. A signature fireworks show on Friday night will light up the skies over River Run Village.

Keystone Oktoberfest

Date: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5

Cost: Admission is free. Tickets are $25 for a 16-ounce mug or $35 for a commemorative Keystone stein and three beers or purchase beers a-la-carte for $6.

Special events: 5K Das Bier Burner Fun Run benefits SOS Outreach and starts at noon. Register in advance at active.com.

More information: keystoneoktoberfest15.eventbrite.com

Dig out the lederhosen and bring out the family for Keystone’s fourth Oktoberfest (#keystoneoktoberfest) over Labor Day weekend. Start the day with the Das Bier Burner 5K Run and get primed for the festivities later in the day. Sample beers from different Colorado breweries and celebrate the holiday weekend.

There’s plenty of activity for the lads and lassies, with free face painting, a bounce house and the Edelweiss Polka Dancers, along with a River Run Merchant tent sale to clear out the summer inventory.


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