Here are some better and lesser-known festival ideas shared by the Colorado Tourism Office, including a bit more about underthe-radar options that could work well for groups especially in terms of lodging and venue availability.
ASPEN
Best Known: Wintersköl, Every January
Less Known: Mac N Cheese Festival, Sept. 8, 2018
» Taking place on Aspen’s “Restaurant Row,” this festival showcases the best mac ‘n cheese creations in the Aspen area. Visitors pay $5 to participate, bring their own spoon and vote for favorites in five categories.
BRECKENRIDGE
Best Known: International Snow Sculpture Championships, Every January
Less Known: Still on the Hill: Breckenridge Craft Spirits Festival, Oct. 19-21, 2018
» Take part in a grand tasting of handcrafted spirits, craft cocktails, artisanal bites and more. Also on the schedule are mixology workshops, historical walking tours, ghost tours and scavenger hunts.
DENVER
Best Known: Great American Beer Festival, Sept. 20-22, 2018
Less Known: Collaboration Fest, March 31, 2018
» Collaboration Fest features brews that are the result of collaborations between two or more breweries from around the state, country and world. These individual collaborations mean that every beer tapped will be its first time and every beer has a unique story.
DURANGO
Best Known: Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Oct. 4-7, 2018
Less Known: San Juan Brewfest, Aug. 25, 2018
» The 20th anniversary of the Four Corners region’s biggest beer tasting festival will showcase live music and 50 breweries, each highlighting at least two beers. Ticket sales benefit the United Way of Southwest Colorado.
SNOWMASS
Best Known: JAS Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Experience, Aug. 31 – Sept. 2, 2018
Less Known: Aspen Snowmass Vintage Car Race, Sept. 16-17, 2018
» Watch the sights and sounds of highoctane racing come alive on the streets of Snowmass Village as vintage Corvettes, BMWs, Porsches, Mustangs and formula racecars from the 1960s and 1970s fly by.
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS
Best Known: Winter Carnival, Every February
Less Known: Wild West Air Fest, Sept. 1, 2018
» Every Labor Day weekend, some of the best pilots in the West and nationally renowned performers present thrilling aerobatics and formation flying.
