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Snowmass Rendezvous kicks off summer in the Roaring Fork Valley

Nick Popkey of Lyon's Oskar Blues Brewery at the Snowmass Rendezvous Craft Beer Festival.
Anna Stonehouse/Snowmass Sun |

There’s no better way to kick off summer in Snowmass than essentially bottomless pours from both local and visiting craft breweries and distilleries, and luckily, that’s just what’s coming to town this weekend.

Snowmass Rendezvous is heading to Snowmass for the seventh time with a variety of beer and spirit vendors, as well as outdoor gear and artisan vendors.

“It has evolved from what was originally a beer festival now to include a lot of other types of sampling,” said Keanan Stoner, creative director for Two Parts, the Denver-based company behind the bash.



The festival will take over Snowmass Village, with booths in Base Village, Town Mall, and the Turf Rink outside the Collective.

“Your ticket gets you a wristband and a sampling glass, and you can wander all over the Village in the mountains, trying different cocktails, beers, and seltzers,” he said. “There’s a handful of outdoor brands and artisans that you can check out between sips.”




According to him, this year has an interesting and fun mix of vendors for all to enjoy. Fan favorite local vendors such as Woody Creek Distillers and Aspen Brewing Company will be back pouring beers and cocktails.

New to the event this year are a couple of out of state brewers and distillers. Cascade Brewing, Yellowstone Bourbon, and Lalo Tequila are all out of state options that will host booths.

“It’s an interesting mix of stuff that the locals will very much recognize, stuff that Denverites will very much recognize and then a few that probably hardly anybody’s ever tried,” said Stoner.

The event starts Saturday at 2 p.m. and concludes with a free concert on Fanny Hill featuring headliner Goodnight, Texas and opener Extra Gold at 7:30 p.m.

“It’s a Western Colorado-roots feel that I think is usually pretty fun and high energy after a day of drinking as you’re watching the sun go down,” said Stoner.

The free concert that will end the night is not the only music event goers will hear. Throughout the afternoon, different DJs will be in each of the sections of the festival spinning tunes for all to enjoy.

A ticket for Snowmass Rendezvous gets you four hours of bottomless adult beverages, including beer, wine, and spirits, fun shopping from various local vendors, and gear demos. At 6 p.m., the event will switch to a “pay as you go” situation, Stone said.

Like always, Snowmass Rendezvous is taking place after the Ragnar Trail, the gritty trifecta of the most scenic trail running loops Mother Nature can serve up.

“(The teams) finish and are able to come right up to the festival to celebrate if they’re not dead or asleep,” said Stoner.

“We like this event because you can also still do all the outdoor awesome activities that Snowmass has to offer earlier in the day,” he said. “It’s kind of the full package weekend setup; whether you’re from the Front Range, from Snowmass, from further away, you have got a lot of cool options to come and hang on the mountain.”

To see the list of vendors and to buy tickets, go to snowmassrendezvous.com.

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