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970 Grand County
970 Grand County
Discover the Winter Magic of Grand Lake: Festivals, Fun, and Community Spirit with Kelly Kirkpatrick
Grand Lake's winter season is a celebration of community and adventure, featuring exciting events such as the Winter Carnival, Snowmobile for Life Poker Run, and the new ski-joring event. These gatherings not only boost the town's economy but also foster lasting connections among attendees, making every moment special.
• Celebrating the Winter Carnival with casino-themed activities
• Supporting local causes through the Snowmobile for Life Poker Run
• Engaging in thrilling ice fishing competitions at Ice Addiction
• Introducing the new ski-joring event in Grand Lake
• Emphasizing the importance of community and local traditions
Visit gograndlake.com for more information on events and activities happening this winter!
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: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:I'm loving it Well. You're doing a fantastic job.
Speaker 3:Oh, thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 1: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: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: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: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: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: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: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: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: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: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: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: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:What a great cause. I had no idea that that's where the FUDs went, yeah.
Speaker 3: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: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: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: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: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: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: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: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:Cats and snow don't really go together. They don't really go.
Speaker 1: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: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:Yeah, that's a good thing too. They've got some amazing classes.
Speaker 3:They do. They're hosting an ice sculpture workshop during Winter Carnival, which I think is just a perfect fit for that.
Speaker 1: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: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: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:But we will be in touch, thank you. Thanks for having me, thank you for doing the podcast, you bet.
Speaker 1:All right, we'll talk soon.