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.

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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.

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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.