Aspen, CO Colorado

ASPEN — Aspen's pioneering Gay Ski Week turns 30 this year, and organizers have lined up entertainment to mark the special occasion, but weather-related travel difficulties have resulted in cancellation of tonight’s National Minority AIDS Council discussion at the Wheeler Opera House.

The schedule gets back on track Tuesday, when the <b>myPartnerPerfect Dating Game,</b> hosted by Carson Kressley of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," makes its debut at the Wheeler from 7 to 10 p.m. Paul J. Williams (better known as costume contest host Sister Helen Holy) will join Kressley for what ski week organizers predict will be one of the week’s breakout events. The hosts will call out contestants seated among the audience who registered in advance; they will either pose questions or answer them, in the format of the old TV show, “The Dating Game.”

Wednesday, Jan. 17 is <b>Boutique Night</b> — an evening stroll among participating local shops, including Kemo Sabe, Aspen Fur & Shearling, Chequers Boutique, CB Paws, Frank Mueller Geneve and Helly Hansen. The event runs from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Also Wednesday, the Wheeler screens director Ramón Salazar’s <b>“20 Centimeters”</b> at 8 p.m. The Spanish film tells the story of Marieta (Mónica Cervera) a narcoleptic, transsexual who longs to get rid of 8 inches (20 centimeters) of equipment that separates her from being the glamorous woman she dreams to be. When she accidentally falls asleep, usually at the most inopportune moments, Marieta's dreams become lavish and colorful musical numbers, in which, as a real woman, she can sing in Spanish, French and English.

<b>Comedy Night</b> (Thursday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m.) features Ski Week fixture Paul J. Williams presenting his latest show, “A Fag, A Drag and A Dyke,” at the Wheeler Opera House. Michele Balan, the last woman comic standing on NBC’s Last Comic Standing this season, will be sharing the stage with Miss Coco Peru of the films “Trick” and “Girls Will Be Girls.” Tickets are $39, available at the Wheeler Box Office.

For those who want to do more than watch drag, there is the dark-themed <b>Wrath Masquerade Ball</b> (Thursday, Jan. 18, Sky Hotel), and the <b>Downhill Costume Competition and Parade</b> (Friday, Jan. 19, on the lower slopes of Aspen Mountain). Flo makes a return appearance, joining Sister Helen Holy to emcee the latter, a popular spectacle for both Ski Week attendees and the general public. The fun starts at noon.

Also Friday is the <b>Gluttony Party</b> with music from DJ Nineteen69, a fashion show and silent auction, all at the Greed Lounge in Rio Grande Park. It starts at 9 p.m.

Capping off the week’s festivities is Saturday’s <b>Lust Pool and Ice Party</b> at 8:30 p.m. at the Aspen Recreation Center.

Gay Ski Week, Jan. 14-21, is organized by the Aspen Gay and Lesbian Community Fund. Event tickets and passes are available at the hospitality suite in The Sky Hotel. For more information, go to www.gayskiweek.com.

<b>MONDAY’S EVENTS</b>

8-11 a.m. - Registration and hospitality suite open at The Sky Hotel
10 a.m. - Ski/board at Aspen Highlands; meet at base of Exhibition Lift
12:30 p.m. - Lunch On the Mountain at the-Merry Go-Round restaurant
3-6 p.m. - Apres ski at ZG Grille, Aspen Highlands
3-7 p.m. - Registration at the hospitality suite in The Sky Hotel
4-8 p.m. - Women's apres and spa event at The Snowmass Club
7:30 p.m. - Gay Ski Week Dinner at L'Hostaria, 620 E. Hyman Ave.
9 p.m. - Club night at the Greed Lounge and Bar (Rio Grande Park)