Speaker 1 0:00

My guest today is Callie Kirkpatrick . Callie is the Executive Director for the Grand Lake Chamber and we talk about all the events they have going on this winter , from the Winter Carnival to Ice Addiction to a new event , the Grand Lake Ski Touring . All that are happening in February and March . So sit back and enjoy my interview with Kelly . Good afternoon , kelly . How are you ? I'm good . Thank you for having me . Gaylene , you bet Well , this is your first podcast because you're fairly new to Grand County .

Speaker 3 0:48

I am I've been here about four months the new Executive Director for Grand Lake Area Chamber of Commerce , and so far .

Speaker 1 0:56

I'm loving it Well . You're doing a fantastic job .

Speaker 3 0:59

Oh , thank you , Thank you .

Speaker 1 1:01

And I know summer is always really the busy time in Grand Lake , but I actually love winter up in Grand Lake because it's a slower pace and it's I don't know it's just such a great time to be there and you have some really fun events coming up that we're going to talk about today .

Speaker 3 1:18

You know , I agree , I think , winter . If you're not visiting Grand Lake in the winter , you're missing out . It's just got a magical charm to it that you know offers outdoor activities , indoor activities , but we also have a lineup of events that folks that come for two or three day visit tend to plan their stay around , and I'd love to share those with you .

Speaker 1 1:45

Absolutely so . I know , by the time this is going to air , we are missing the ice pond hockey that's happening this weekend , but I know that that's you were saying that that event sold out in a nanosecond .

Speaker 3 2:00

Oh my goodness , team-wise , but you know , it's really fun to just be a spectator because you're actually out on the ice . The lake is frozen and the volunteers have created rinks in which to play pond hockey on and it's super fun to watch . So you don't have to play hockey to enjoy it . Fun for all .

Speaker 1 2:25

And's happening , uh , the weekend , february 1st and 2nd well , I am , I'm out of town and I'm so bummed that this is . I haven't been able to get up there . It seems like I've always been gone , but maybe there's always next year there's always next year , there's always next year . But then you also have coming up on February 8th , the Winter Carnival , which is such a fun event .

Speaker 3 2:49

Yes , the town of Grand Lake hosts the Winter Carnival and this year's theme is Casino Royale . It takes place Saturday , february 8th , and there are activities all day long , starting with a snowmobile parade at 10 am , there are bed sled races . In the afternoon there's teapot curling , mini golf , ice sculpting class sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Folk School . Just a lot of fun activities , a chance to enjoy the outdoors .

Speaker 1 3:26

Yeah , it is really a fun thing , you guys . You usually name a king and queen during the carnival too . That's somebody that's been in Grand County for quite a while and has been a big contributor to the town .

Speaker 3 3:38

Probably , you're probably right . I do know last year's king and queen will head up the snowmobile parade . Just lots of fun activities .

Speaker 1 3:49

Yes , a full day event . And then you just need to stay the weekend and then go ice fishing on Grand Lake or one of the lakes , go up to the park or go snowmobiling . There's so many fun activities to do , so make a weekend of it .

Speaker 3 4:05

Well , if you like to ice skate but don't have skates , you can borrow skates from the warming hut down at the lake , so there's something for everyone .

Speaker 1 4:17

Well then we have going into that . The Snowmobile for Life Poker Run . That's the next weekend , february 15th . Tell me a little bit about that event little bit about that event .

Speaker 3 4:35

Yes , that is sponsored by the Trailblazer Snowmobile Club , who do a phenomenal job of maintaining the snowmobile trails around here , but it's to help the Mile High Snowmobile Club of Denver . It raises funds to support the Flight for Life Colorado helicopters , which is the nation's first air ambulance service , and so it's a poker run via snowmobile to raise funds for the Flight for Life work that they do mountain rescues , emergency transports , that sort of thing that's really , really important to a remote , rural mountain town .

Speaker 1 5:09

What a great cause . I had no idea that that's where the FUDs went , yeah .

Speaker 3 5:13

Yeah , well , it helps them , it promotes the snowmobile club . A lot of partnerships go into that event and so if you love snowmobiles , you can visit our gograndlakecom website to get more information about how to participate with that event .

Speaker 1 5:34

So you guys have things like just boom , boom , boom weekend after weekend . So after the Snowmobile for Life poker run , you have Ice Addiction , which is February 22nd . That's right .

Speaker 3 5:47

Yeah , it's an ice fishing tournament . They put focus on your skills as an angler , not technically the knowledge of the lake . I know it brings in people from all over the country who enjoy ice fishing tournaments and it's huge cash prizes for heaviest fish weighed , you know , door prizes . Lots of fun for anglers , for ice fishing anglers , and that takes place on Grand Lake February 22nd .

Speaker 1 6:17

And then the last event . This is a new event for Grand Lake , which is Grand Lake Ski Journey . That's going to be March the 7th and 8th , and I know a lot of details are still coming out about this event . But what can you tell me ? What do ? Can you tell me ? What do you know so far ?

Speaker 3 6:33

Well , I know the town was approached by a professional ski-joring organization who saw us as a perfect partner for their event , and we're hosting it March 7th and 8th in Grand Lake . I don't know a lot of details yet , but for those of you that don't know what exactly what ski touring is I actually don't either , other than I know there's horses and skiing and obstacles . I think there's obstacles and races and obstacles . I think there's obstacles and races , and that's about all I know right now .

Speaker 1 7:18

Well , I'm trying to get her on the podcast so we can learn more about that . So I think it's going to be a really fun , exciting time for Grand Lake . I've seen videos and it looks amazing .

Speaker 3 7:25

Yeah , I have too . You know there's other destinations in our area that host similar events and it's , you know , a horse and a rider pulling a skier . You know competitions and just a lot of fun and something new to our area that we haven't experienced before . You know , really the goal of hosting these events is to keep interest in visiting Grand Lake in a slower time . That supports our businesses , our lodging , our restaurants and the town of Grand Lake felt like this event and bringing this professional organization to our area was a perfect fit .

Speaker 1 8:12

Yeah , I agree . I think it's going to be wonderful and I'm looking forward . I'll be here . I'm looking forward to this event . Yes , you're going to sign up . No , I'm going to be an observer . I actually , back in the day , used to ski Jerry with my dog , which was very fun . Oh , I do , but now I've got a cat .

Speaker 3 8:37

Cats and snow don't really go together . They don't really go .

Speaker 1 8:42

No , they're not going to be pulling me . I can tell you that . Well , Callie , where can people find out more information ?

Speaker 3 8:50

Right . We host or post all of our events on our website . That address is gograndlakecom and you can find out more information about all of the events that we've mentioned . Ski touring will get up soon it's not on there yet For more information for lodging or other activities and events . If you want to check out the schedule for the Rocky Mountain Folk School , we post that on our calendar of events as well . They have some great classes and excellent teachers and workshops that you could sign up for if you're interested while you attend some of these fun outdoor events .

Speaker 1 9:34

Yeah , that's a good thing too . They've got some amazing classes .

Speaker 3 9:39

They do . They're hosting an ice sculpture workshop during Winter Carnival , which I think is just a perfect fit for that .

Speaker 1 9:49

Well , I encourage everyone to go up and visit Grand Lake during one or all of their events . It's just such a great time to be up there , like I said , and you have extra time . Go snowshoeing or cross-country skiing up in Rocky Mountain National Park , rent a snowmobile to be on the Arapaho Forest . There's just so many great things to do .

Speaker 3 10:09

Yeah , there really is , and I hear from so many people who have said I used to spend summers as a child vacationing there , or my family would go up there for winter activities . And we're still here . We're still the same Grand Lake that you remember from your past . So if you haven't been here in a while , we'd love to see you .

Speaker 1 10:33

Oh , that's great , Kelly . Well , I really appreciate your time today , especially knowing you've got a big event coming up this weekend .

Speaker 3 10:40

But we will be in touch , thank you . Thanks for having me , thank you for doing the podcast , you bet .

Speaker 1 10:47

All right , we'll talk soon .