Ballet gala

It seems that all the big arts groups held galas this summer and one of the beautiful ones was given by the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet at the new glitzy Viceroy Hotel in Snowmass Village. Honoree for the evening was Betty Weiss, who told how she got involved with the ballet as soon as it was founded 14 years ago. She took tap dancing classes with Tom Mossbrucker, who, with Jean Philippe Malaty took over the ballet company from founder Bebe Schweppe. The evening was called “Dancing with the Aspen Stars” and local celebrities danced with the stars of the ballet. Sojourner Magazine was the main sponsor for the evening.

Going to Tokyo on Sept. 28 for five days is former Aspenite Sunnie Sutton. She’s going with a quartet to officially open a coffee shop named “Ralph and Sunnie’s.” Sunnie and her nationally famous piano-playing husband Ralph Sutton had a bar in Aspen called “Sunnie’s Rendezvous” during the 1960s and 1970s. Sunnie spent her 85th birthday recently in New Castle with former Aspenites Barbara and Peter Guy.

More news of former Aspenites … Jonas Weil is now chief executive officer of Solarscape Energy LLC in Scottsdale, Ariz. When living in Aspen, Jonas was involved with the Aspen Historical Society.

Part-time Aspenite Ted Bell has a new novel titled “Warlord” that was released on Sept. 14. It is one of his novels written under his nom de plume, Alex Hawke. While in Aspen, he writes from Hawke’s Nest at the Maroon Creek Club.

Undercurrent … So sad to pull up in the fall what we so eagerly awaited to pop from the ground in the spring.