Amy Covington, Laurie Shipe-­James and Kelly Hansen rang in their 40th, 45th and 50th birthdays with a joint celebration Saturday, Aug. 11.

Rob and Amy Covington hosted the party for kids of all ages at their cabin in the W/J neighborhood. Guests enjoyed dinner, drinks and birthday cake over the course of the afternoon and early evening. The Covingtons were especially popular with the younger set at the party, hav­ing rented a bouncy house castle for the special occasion. Friend Heather Hipona surprised the birthday girls with fresh leis, which they wore around their necks throughout the night.

Another memorable birthday cele­bration took place earlier this summer for Kiffor Berg of Aspen. Kiffor and his friends marked his 30th with a dodgeball match at the Hunter Creek tennis courts. Despite the caliber of talent and testosterone on the court, no injuries were reported after the marathon session.

On Tuesday, Aug. 7, at the Cari­bou Club, Colorado Mountain Col­lege hosted a get-together in honor of its $4 million campaign to support local college scholarships. Spear­headed by a leadership gift of $1 mil­lion from J. Robert Young, chairman of Alpine Bank, the campaign is now reaching the public phase.

A number of other individuals also have pledged $25,000 to the CMC Scholar Campaign, and retired oil executive Jim Calaway also pledged $1 million in January. As with Cal­away’s gift, Young’s funds will be held in trust, with the CMC Founda­tion receiving proceeds.

In addition to an annual income from the $2 million trust, a stream of revenue from many $25,000 pledges will allow the foundation to begin awarding $2,000 per year to as many as 150 deserving students as early as the fall semester of 2008. The schol­arships will be for students living in the area between Parachute and Aspen who meet both financial and merit qualifications. They will sup­port students who are the first in their families to attend college; some will be adults who are going back to school to reach educational goals they’ve put aside.

For more information about CMC and the CMC Scholar Campaign, con­tact Debra Crawford, director of pub­lic information, (970) 384-8535, dcrawford@coloradomtn.edu.

Be sure to catch the final weekend of the Aspen Music Festival summer season. This Sunday it will draw to a close with its final Festival Orchestra concert at 4 p.m. at the Benedict Music Tent.