Aspen Winter 2020/21 News & Updates

ASPEN, Colorado. (November 15, 2020) –  During the winter season, Aspen is the ultimate destination for connecting with the outdoors with a vibrant town atmosphere – skiing, dining, shopping and soaking in the mountain beauty. Travelers will benefit from Aspen’s stunning landscapes and hundreds of slopes, hiking and cross-country skiing trails easily accessible from downtown. Following are highlights of what is new, notable with adventure, arts & culture, hospitality, dining, as well as COVID19 updates. For information or reservations, visit www.aspenchamber.org or call (970) 925-1940. For media updates, visit www.aspenchamber.com/media.

COVID19 updates

• Mask Ordinance: The City of Aspen has extended their Mandatory Mask Ordinance until May 2021. Within the City of Aspen, face coverings must be worn at all times when inside a place of business that is open to the public (i.e. grocery stores, pharmacies, etc.), as well as on public transportation like buses and taxis. Face coverings must also be worn indoors and outdoors in public places within Aspen’s Mandatory Mask Zone. In addition, masks must be worn outside of the Mandatory Mask Zone indoors and outdoors in public places when a six-foot distance cannot be maintained from others.

• For COVID-19 updates before and during the season, visit www.aspenchamber.org/covid-19.

HOTEL UPDATES

• New/Opening December 2020 – Aspen Street Lodge – Nestled in the vibrant heart of downtown Aspen stands a new luxury retreat – Aspen Street Lodge – a stunning property with a location beyond compare. Nine lodge rooms and a two-bedroom penthouse suite have been designed with refined and warm contemporary mountain décor. Expansive terraces with views of Aspen Mountain and the surrounding townscape and parks, a penthouse pool and hot tub, expansive terraces and outdoor living spaces, a fully equipped game room and bar for après enjoyment combined with high-touch service puts the best of Aspen at your fingertips.  During Winter 2020/2021, Aspen Street Lodge will initially operate with buyouts only, due to COVID19. For reservations and information, aspenstreetlodge.com; 970.989.3090; 200 South Aspen Street.

ART & CULTURE NEWS

With the pandemic and social distancing standards, many events have been cancelled, but Aspen’s arts & culture organizations are pivoting to create new and engaging events. For updated information on openings and events, visit the Aspen ChamberArts & Culturesite.

• New/Opening Dec. 1: Aspen Art Museum (AAM) has announced a total re-imagining of the AAM store by American artist Jonathan Berger.  Berger will completely transform the museum store into an environment that is at once an exhibition, social space, and place of commerce. More than 350 objects will be on display, all of which will be for sale in store and online, with prices ranging from free to $50,000. The new AAM store is inspired by the artist’s own experiences, working and shopping in downtown New York in the 1990s, in spaces that shared characteristics with artistic projects. It also contributes to a history of artist-led stores, notably Claes Oldenburg’s The Store (1961), and Tracey Emin and Sarah Lucas’s The Shop(1993), as well as longer-running projects including Sara Penn’s Knobkerry(1965–2006)—where David Hammons bought African art and staged an installation in 1995, Hans-Peter Feldmann’s Laden(1975–2015) which ran for forty years in Düsseldorf, and Keith Haring’s Pop Shop(1986–2005). Berger’s project honors this multifaceted legacy, as well as engages with and interrogates the “Wunderkammer” tradition which emerged in the seventeenth century.

• New/Exhibit at Aspen Art Museum–  Barbra Kasten: Scenarios; (Oct. 16, 2020 – Apr. 4, 2020) – Scenarioscelebrates Kasten’s expansive body of sculptural non-photographic work, through which the artist extends her exploration of spatial constructions into the viewers’ space and experience. For more than forty years, Barbara Kasten has created photographs and sculptural installations that play with our sense of perception and explore the interplay of light, shadow, color, and form. Kasten is best known for abstract photographs in which she investigates the mechanics of photography and the visual experience of constructed space. The site-specific work Elevation, installed outside of the galleries, interacts with AAM architect Shigeru Ban’s exterior grid of the woven slats that wrap around the museum. Scenarioswill also mark the first museum exhibition in the United States to include three of the artist’s ambitious video installations, making it the most comprehensive presentation of Kasten’s non-photographic work to date. This exhibition is curated by Max Weintraub, AAM Curator at Large.

• New/Gonzo Gallery: The Gonzo Gallery returned to Aspen in June 2020 and will be open through the winter 2020/2021 season. Located in the same block as Aspen Art Museum, Gonzo Gallery displays artwork by Thomas W. Benton, prints by illustrator Ralph Steadman, shotgun artwork by journalist Hunter S. Thompson, and paintings by author William S. Burroughs, as well as other original photographyand contemporaryart. Gallery owner D.J. Watkins wrote a book about Hunter Thompson’s run for sheriff, Freak Power, as well as a book by artist Thomas Benton. The documentary movie Freak Power will debut in late October 2020 on Netflix.

• Coming Soon Winter 2020/21 – Lehmann-Maupin Gallery, with locations in NYC, Hong Kong, Seoul and London, is opening a location in Aspen. Rachel Lehmann and David Maupin founded Lehmann Maupin in 1996. The gallery represents a diverse range of contemporary artists and estates from around the world. Since inception, Lehmann Maupin has been instrumental in introducing international artists in new geographies; LehmanMaupin.com.

• New/Galeria Mascota– Located in the Little Nell hotel, this gallery is opening their first location outside of Mexico City, as the owners have located to Aspen during the pandemic. The opening show “Pacific Coast Ceramics” features work by Sharif Farrag, Anabel Juarez, Shio Kusaka, Tony Marsh, Dan McCarthy, Roger Herman, Ruby Neri, Alessandro Pessoli, Sterling Ruby, Brian Rochefort, Jennifer Rochlin, Anna Sew Hoy and Tam Van Tran; galeriamascota.com

• New/Eden Fine Art Gallery– Headquartered in NYC with locations around the world, this contemporary art gallery opened its latest location in a newly remodeled 7,200-foot space that was home to Boogie’s Diner and a clothing shop from the late 1980s until 2015. French Owners Klimovsky and Guy Martinovsky are based in NYC but spend time in other locations where they have galleries, and they are based in Aspen this winter; (534 E. Cooper Ave.);  https://www.eden-gallery.com.

• Feb. 11- 25, 2021 – Aspen Music Festival and School – Winter Music Concerts 2021. With rigorous safety protocols and limited, distanced seating, the AMFS is pleased to announce the return of live music to Harris Concert Hall in February 2021. Planned are three gorgeous evenings performed by artists with deep Aspen roots. The series starts on February 11, with two nights performed by great friends and musical partners, violinist Robert McDuffie and AMFS Music Director Robert Spano on piano. It continues February 18 with brilliant rising pianist and Aspen alumnus Tengku Irfan, and concludes on February 25 with the Calder Quartet, also featuring Aspen alumni. Tickets go on sale on January 13. For inquiries, please call 970-925-3254 or email info@aspenmusicfestival.com.

• Coming Late 2021 A new center dedicated to the work of Bauhaus artist and Aspen icon Herbert Bayer is planned for the Aspen Institute campus. The new center will exhibit Bayer’s work from Lynda and Stewart Resnick’s extensive Bayer collection, the Aspen Institute’s holdings, as well as pieces on loan from museums, while housing archives from Bayer scholars and public education.

RESTAURANT NEWS

• New/Date TBC Sant Ambroeus– Originally from Milan and a New York institution since opening on the Upper East Side in1982 Sant Ambroeus will bring the Italian café experience to Aspen; Hyman Avenue.

• New/Opening December 2020 – Joonas will open for dinner only, featuring tapas from Northern Spain’s Basque region, hearty main courses, homemade desserts, and an extensive selection of wine, tequilas and mezcals. (301 E. Hopkins Ave.)

• New/Opening November 2020 – The Little Nell Aspen, is converting the Chair 9 après-ski bar into The Little Nell Wine Bar, offering private seating by reservation for up to eight. A DJ will have a protective barrier around them and play lounge music – think Hotel Costes. All servers will have sommelier certification, and there will be an extensive wines-by-the-glass menu, charcuterie and cheese available, wine culture as the ambience – inspired by Corkbuzz in NY and Wallys in Beverly Hills.

• New/Opening December 2020 – Firefly is a new intimate live music lounge and restaurant club open for pre-dinner cocktails and apps, dinner, or post-dinner dessert, all accompanied by live music. firefly will be taking over a transformed Here House accented with a warm fireplace, marble bistro tables, a stunning chandelier, a new sound system, and a curated contemporary art collection. Music, curated by long-time local musician Chris Harrison, will range in styles from classic jazz standards, Salsa and Latin musical flavors, to Americana/Folk, smooth grooving funk, to solo vocalists  The restaurant will be run by Jeremy Parker and Chef Jeremy Kaplan, who will create Americana cuisine, and mixologists will create a changing cocktail menu and extensive wine list.  Open Thurs.– Sat. from 6pm – 11 pm. Reservations accepted (and recommended as space is limited); www.fireflyaspen.com; (614 East Cooper Avenue).
• New/Opening November 2020– Propaganda Pie in The Gant’s Pepperjack’s Café – This Redstone, CO favorite pizzeria will open an Aspen with classic Detroit-style deep-dish pizza including Manifest Destiny with chicken, peppers, onion, tomatoes, cheddar, cilantro and chipotle pesto, Founding Fathers with sausage, bell peppers, onion, mushrooms, black olives and red sauce, Meatless Mussolini with fresh mozzarella, heirloom tomato, fresh basil, balsamic and red sauce, select salads and “hooch list” featuring specialty cocktails, beer and wine, all available to-go, and The Great Gantsby, a new pie solely available at Propaganda Pie at The Gant.. Orders may be placed online via Toast TakeOut, in-person, or by phone at 970-920-6046 for take-out. Resort guests will have the option to dine in; Propagandapie.com/TheGantAspen.com.

• NEW – (Sweet) Coloradough, the valley’s favorite doughnut shop, will open a location in downtown Aspen at the Popcorn Wagon across from the Wheeler Opera House, serving fresh doughnuts and coffee; (307 S. Mill St.)

• New- Pie Shop Aspen, opened during the summer of 2020 by local restaurateur Ryan Chadwick will continue to serve high-altitude, deep-dish square pizza.  (307 S. Mill St.)

• New –The W Aspen’s Townie  food truck is a popular new, curbside addition to the hotel which debuted to feed first responders and locals during the hotel’s ”Safer at Home” pause. Townie has become so popular it will remain open and include expanded cafe-style seating in front of the hotel.

• New –Date TBC – Catch NYC is said to be opening in a stunning rooftop location at the corner of Galena Street and Hopkins Avenue.A globally influenced seafood-restaurant, set in a landmark building at the heart of Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, CATCH New York features contemporary renditions of classic seafood preparations.

RETAIL NEWS 

• New – Alicia Adams Alpaca recently opened in Aspen in the Aspen Art Museum block.  Alicia Adams Alpaca is a family business which specializes in the design and production of textiles and clothing utilizing the natural and sustainable characteristics of one of the rarest and most luxurious materials – alpaca wool. Under the auspices of a sister company, Adams Suri Alpacas, Alicia Adams Alpaca raises and manages a herd of over 200 Suri alpacas at a beautiful farm in New York’s Hudson Valley. The Aspen store also carries Scandia bedding; (601 E. Hyman Ave.)

• New – AGO Projects, which has locations in Mexico City and Los Angeles, opened in Aspen with a visually enticing curated selection of artisan work for the home, including furniture as art, paintings, ceramics, linens, and tabletop accessories; Hyman Avenue between Galena and Hunter.

• New –  ba&sh clothing, a French fashion brand that embodies effortless, feminine Parisian styleis opening this winter. ba&sh will carry women’s clothing including glamorous long dresses, chic jumpsuits and more ready-to-wear; (228 North Mill Street)

• New –  Giorgio Armani pop-up in Aspen, from November until the end of March 2021.The three-story boutique will have a winter-themed decor, with fixtures that resemble ski lifts and cable cars. The pop-up will showcase the “world of Armani,” including the brand’s men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, a selection of evening wear, the Neve collection, technical EA7 skiwear and accessories, as well as Armani Casa. (521 East Hyman Ave.)
• New Golden Goose, the Italian shoemaker known for its colorful, distressed sneakers will be opening a location on the Hyman Avenue walking Mall; 413 E Hyman Ave.

• Wyld Blue, a Montauk, NY lifestyle brand, is opening a location in Aspen withwomen’s and children clothing and accessories as well as and homegoods; 210 S. Galena St.

 

COVID19 PIVOTS

Many Aspen restaurants are adapting to Covid-19 with enhancements for the winter season. Following are a few enhancements:

• After a busy summer and fall season, Meat&Cheesewill operate with takeout only during the winter season, with expanded options for family-style meals-to-go, perfect for visitors who prefer to dine in.

• Cripple Creek Backcountryin Highlands will be offering coffee and beer from local brewery partners, expanding their ski store offerings to include socially distanced après-skioutside the store.

SPECIAL EVENTS

The World Snow Polo Championshipevent in December in the Rio Grande Park Dec. 18-19, 2020.

• Aspen Gay Ski Week LITE 2021: Returning in a lite version, all of the larger flagship parties will take a break for 2021. If state and local government rules and regulations remain the same and if the Limelight Aspen is able to accommodate social distance gatherings, there is a possibility oflimited social distanced seating Drag Queen Bingo, Piano Happy Hour, Comedy Happy Hour, and more.

• Aspen Winter Words will take place in a virtual format at a reduced cost of $10. All events will be taking place via Zoom with required registration. Aspen Words’ author speaker series will include six online events spanning Nov. 17 to April 13 and feature famous writers including Isabel Wilkerson, the author of Caste and the first African American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize, New York Times bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld and Pulitzer prize winner Ayad Akthar.

• 14 – 17, 2021 – The 70^thAnniversary of Wintersköl will take place in a new to-be-announced format encouraging social distancing while continuing the tradition of celebrating winter.

ON-MOUNTAIN NEWS 

• Aspen Snowmass, owners and operators of the four ski resorts in the Aspen area – Aspen Mountain, Snowmass, Aspen HIghlands and Buttermilk, are preparing for the upcoming ski season with a new chairlift, added snowmaking terrain, a new restaurant concept, increased contactless commerce, and new sustainability initiatives.
  • In addition to the range of capital projects, enhancements and upgrades, new safety protocols will be instituted across every aspect of the business with guests’, employees’ and the community’s well-being at the forefront.
  • Expandedsnowmaking on Aspen Mountain:  Great for early season top-to-bottom skiing on Aspen, Mountain, the new snowmaking encompasses approximately 20 acres of terrain on Silver Bell, One & Two Leaf and upper Copper. From there, skiers and riders can connect to other trails which already have snowmaking.
  • New – The popular Big Burn lift on Snowmass has been replaced with a new six-passenger, high-speed chairlift as the old lift had reached its operational lifetime. The new $10.8 million chairlift will have a ride time of just over seven minutes and is another substantial investment on the long list of improvements that have taken place at Snowmass in recent years.

COVID19 PIVOTS

• After a busy summer and fall season, Meat&Cheese will operate with takeout only during the winter season, with expanded options for family-style meals-to-go, perfect for visitors who prefer to dine in.

• Cripple Creek Backcountryin Highlands will be offering coffee and beer from local brewery partners, expanding their ski store offerings to include socially distanced après-skioutside the store.

• The Hotel Jeromewill be installing two large Scandinavian style tents on their outside dining patio to accommodate winter dining. The tented space should provide seating for 50-60 lounge style for après-skiand dinner service.

SPECIAL EVENTS

• The World Snow Polo Championshipevent in December will likely be moved to Wagner park approvals.

• Aspen Gay Ski Week 2021: Returning in a lite version, all of the larger flagship parties will take a break for 2021. If state and local government rules and regulations remain the same and if the Limelight Aspen is able to accommodate social distance gatherings, there is a possibility oflimited social distanced seating Drag Queen Bingo, Piano Happy Hour, Comedy Happy Hour, and more.

• Aspen Winter Words will take place in a virtual format at a reduced cost of $10. All events will be taking place via Zoom with required registration. Aspen Words’ author speaker series will include six online events spanning Nov. 17 to April 13 and feature famous writers including Isabel Wilkerson, the author of Caste and the first African American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize, New York Times bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld and Pulitzer prize winner Ayad Akthar.

 

NEW SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES: 

• Aspen Snowmass – Sustainability remains front-and-center with Aspen Snowmass beginning to turn over its older fleet of snowcats to the new PRINOTH Tier V snowcat, an innovative machine on the front lines of cleaner grooming operations. The new 138-bed workforce housing building in Willits will be powered entirely by electric energy.

• ACRA/Pledge for the Wild– Building on ACRA’s initiatives, including a series of “How to” videos, ACRA launched the Pledge for the Wild in May 2020, benefitting the Independence Pass Foundation.

About Aspen, Colorado – Aspen, Colorado is an authentic, historic mountain town that is renowned for its year-round outdoor lifestyle, cosmopolitan cultural calendar, and bustling downtown ambiance. With an endless array of arts, culture, dining, and nightlife, Aspen is defined by an urbane feel that belies its small-town charm. An Aspen vacation is an experience that energizes the mind, body, spirit, whether soaking in mountain beauty and 300 days of annual sunshine, learning a new skill, feeding a fascination, or simply absorbing the mountain spirit. Located 18 miles east of Independence Pass, Aspen is nestled in the heart of the White River National Forest at the confluence of the Roaring Fork River, Hunter Creek, Maroon Creek, and Castle Creek, and encircled by the peaks of the Elk Mountain Range in the central Rocky Mountains. Aspen/Pitkin County Airport(ASE) is conveniently located only three miles from downtown Aspen. For COVID19 updates, click here. For visitor information, a complete calendar of events, or to book an Aspen vacation, visit www.aspenchamber.org, or call 1.888.290.1324 or 970.925.1940.