November 18, 2016 | People
The latest from Aspen Peak's Publisher, Alexandra Halperin.
I ran into former Texas State Senator Wendy Davis at a luncheon.
If you stop to notice it, the Aspen summer is long, beautiful, rich—and gifts the occasional surprise. A crackerjack Aspen Music Festival and School performance by the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra featured violinist Pinchas Zukerman doing a rare thing— pausing Berg’s Violin Concerto to let pass a cacophony of thunderous rain walloping down on the Benedict Music Tent. Once the rain waned, the crystal-clear tones of Zukerman’s violin rose to a finale, outperforming even Mother Nature. Aspen has always attracted a who’s who of visitors. We all rub elbows: princesses and rock climbers, tycoons and barmaids.
This summer, His Excellency Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson of Iceland accepted an award from AREDAY founders Chip Comins and Sally Ranney. Mayor Steve Skadron spoke of his pride in Aspen’s success in the Georgetown University Energy Challenge (see “Green Thumb,” page 158). The $5 million prize is awarded in December. Fingers crossed—Aspen is currently in third place among 50 US communities.
Enjoying a Bhutanese lunch at Pine Creek Cookhouse with His Excellency Yeshey Dorji, Bhutan’s minister of agriculture and forests.
Aspen Peak has the privilege of hosting leaders in the arts, sports, design, politics... My easiest assignment was asking international polo star Nacho Figueras to be this issue’s cover star (see “It’s a Wonderful Life,” page 118). He loves the valley that much. Look for his wife, Delfina, ski racing in support of AVSC. I cycled up Castle Creek Valley with a girl posse to the Pine Creek Cookhouse. We ran into Karinjo DeVore, founding board member of the Aspen International Mountain Foundation, and Pine Creek’s John and Juliet Wilcox. Their chefs prepared a true Bhutanese lunch honoring His Excellency Yeshey Dorji, Bhutan’s minister of agriculture and forests.
As the most spectacular fall colors in memory give way to winter, we look forward to record snow and Aspen Peak’s holiday trifecta: the World Snow Polo Championship, December 15–18, where the globe’s top players will flash their skills in Rio Grande park; the Ajax Cup, where wannabe ski racers go head-to-head against AVSC coaches, alumni, and pros, followed by a joyous celebration for AVSC’s 80th birthday (see “All Terrain,” page 22); and New Year’s Eve, which we’ll be celebrating in style with Aspen Film’s Casino Royale blowout at the St. Regis.
Back in 1950, Aspen hosted the first-ever World Cup of ski racing. This March, town welcomes the 2017 FIS World Cup Finals (see “The Best of the Best,” page 65)—the first time the finals will be held outside Europe in 20 years. I’ll be out there with you all, enjoying all that Aspen whirls together in the name of sports, art, culture—and snow.
