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PLACES/Aspen Office Open for Business! Our new Aspen office has been up and running, since the middle of June, at the Conner Cabin site on the corner of Hunter and Hopkins, so when you’re in town, stop by and say hello. The address is 534 E. Hopkins Avenue, but you’ll know the place by the bright red cruiser bike outside and the two red rocking chairs on its inviting porch. Click here for more photos of our Aspen office. Staffing our Aspen office every day are long-time brokers Kristen Maley, Doug Nehasil, Lucy Nichols, Charley Podolak, Maureen Stapleton, and Tara Young, although our other seven brokers officing in Snowmass come and go from there regularly, frequently meeting their clients in Aspen’s conference room. That group includes: BJ Adams, Cory Ferguson, Katie Grange, Larry Jones, Mark Lewis, Leah Moriarty, and Cindy Morse. The support team in our downtown offices includes Holly Bornemeier in marketing; assistants, Emily Cote, Melia Yust and Tessa Zugschwerdt; Lisa Rupert and Jane Schoenecker, our crack IT department, and Dana Vaughn at our front desk. Overseeing the whole operation, in both Snowmass and Aspen, is our new general manager, Nancy Jankovsky, a 20-year real estate veteran of the valley. At less than 1500 sq ft, the Aspen building presented somewhat of a challenge – we wanted comfortable working space for 15 people, plus meeting and storage room. Following months of intense design, we figured out how to functionally use just about every square inch of space. Not only are there six private offices, there’s a glassed-in conference room, an ethanol-burning fireplace near the entry, and a floor-to-ceiling resource library with a rolling ladder. But, before the Conner Cabin space was even half-completed, we realized we still wouldn’t have enough room for our rapidly-expanding company. As we have in Snowmass, we took annex space on the second floor of Alpine Bank across the street on Hunter. Although we opened the two Aspen offices this summer – just in time for Aspen’s Old-Fashioned July 4th Celebration – we have been busy adding final touches since then. Very different than our farmhouse-style Snowmass office, Aspen has the feeling of an art gallery, contemporary and sophisticated, but with warm colors and a pleasing mix of the old and the new. We have kept many of the historic elements of the 1880’s miner’s cabin, including the original windows, the brick chimney and the siding, and we have used modern technologies to make the building as “green” as possible, with the help of our environmental consultants, Associates III and SPECs of Denver. For example, the old-fashioned, whitewashed wood ceiling is strung with modern cable lighting. Ergonomic office chairs roll over environmentally friendly, dark hickory floors and toxin-free carpeting. And the reclaimed brick wall in the basement provides an interesting architectural “loft” backdrop for barstools made out of recycled car seatbelts and cork flooring. Despite the Aspen office’s complexity in terms of design and planning and its busy corner location, it is a serene and peaceful place inside, and that’s what we love most about it. And, true to the building’s 110 year-old history, homemade chocolate chip cookies are the order of the day every Friday afternoon. Come by and check it out! Or visit our website to see additional photos of the new office! Return to Contents »   PEOPLE/Bernadette Peters at the Wheeler Broadway diva Bernadette Peters is coming to town over the holidays! If you’ll be in Aspen New Year’s week, mark your calendar and order your tickets now. On December 29, the two-time Tony Award winner will take the stage at the Wheeler Opera House. Along with a 29-piece orchestra, she’ll give Aspen a glimpse of some of her most memorable Broadway performances. Starting her Broadway career as a child, Bernadette Peters has been singing and performing for four decades in hits such as “Annie Get Your Gun” and Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George.” An accomplished film and television actress, Peters also has six solo albums and countless awards in her repertoire. Bernadette’s performance comes to the Wheeler thanks to the efforts of the Wheeler Associates, a nonprofit organization which brings exciting acts to the Wheeler Opera House. In exchange for presenting some of the performances, Wheeler Associates members may purchase tickets to certain events before they go on sale to the general public. Tickets for the Bernadette Peters show are $125 and $150, with a few premium seats at $225. A one-day Locals Only sale on October 5 will offer orchestra seats for $75. Other shows to which Wheeler Associates members have early ticket access are: Saturday, November 4: Celtic fiddler, Natalie MacMaster Thursday, November 9: dazzling South African acapella group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo Saturday, November 11: folk and bluegrass musician, Chris Hillman, an original member of The Byrds Saturday, February 3: veteran folksinger Tom Rush Thursday, March 8: a live taping of the acclaimed National Public Radio quiz show, “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me” Friday, March 16: jazz greats Pat Methany and Brad Mehldau Friday, March 23: genre-busting performer Kathy Mattea Tickets for all of these shows go on sale to the general public on October 6. Wheeler Associates members may purchase them before then by calling 970-920-5770, visiting www.wheeleroperahouse.com; or by stopping by the Wheeler box office at the corner of Hyman Avenue and Mill Street. To become a Wheeler Associates member, contact Board member Kayla Hoffman-Cook at 970/925-2640, or at kayla@fwf.com. Membership is $35/year. Return to Contents »   ART SCENE/Andy Goldsworthy and the Aspen Institute Imagine a wall that isn’t a barrier, but a connecting link which brings people and places together. Imagine an in-the-round style meeting hall, instead of a typical auditorium that separates speaker from audience. These concepts are taking shape together at the Aspen Institute, with one of the world’s most renowned environmental artists and a visionary local architect collaborating on the project. British artist Andy Goldsworthy is creating a stunning serpentine wall, on the Aspen Meadows campus, literally the centerpiece of the new Doerr-Hosier Center, which has been designed by local architect, Jeff Berkus. The partnership between the two has been one of great mutual respect and  surprising synergy, each nourishing the other’s creative enthusiasm - which makes both end products neither typical nor entirely Aspen Institute-like. “The main mission of the building is to connect people, so if the wall stopped and started at the building, it would’ve meant the building was more important,” explains Goldsworthy with a subtle grin. Thus the two are intertwined – the wall and the building together representing the Aspen Institute’s mission of finding common ground. “It’s a dialog between artist and architect,” says Berkus. “The idea is to take the sculpture into the building, and back out into nature. So the sculpture is flowing through the site; it’s living architecture.” The wall, which is tentatively being called "RIVER" by Goldsworthy, represents the flow of energy moving into the building. The pyramid-topped, red sandstone structure actually starts as a thin line in the roadway, dozens of yards from the building, which cars will actually drive over. When it reveals itself in a depression in the grounds in front of the building, it stretches to its full dimension: 5 feet 8 inches tall and more than 6 feet wide at the base. Part of that area will be filled in by water – a reflective pond – with a footbridge over it that actually skims the top of the wall. Most of the wall then disappears again inside the building – only about 3/8 inch of it protrudes through the floor as it winds through the main floor of the center hall. The submerged wall continues onto the back porch, looking as if it’s trying to burst out of the concrete floor, and ends in a flourishing arc on a precipice over the Roaring Fork River, its final curve mirroring that of the stream below. The wall will take six expert “wallers” plus an overseer (most of them brought in from England) a total of six weeks to complete. Like ancient Incan masons, the wallers use no mortar at all, but fit the stones together in such a way that nothing should ever budge. Gaze at the wall a few moments, and the artistry involved in choosing and laying the individual stones is breathtaking. The various types of red sandstone used for the wall has its own story. It was collected from five different countries – India, China, England, Jordan and the United States – another symbol of bringing cultures together. The lightest red stone actually came from the very same quarry up the Fryingpan Valley that produced bricks for the Wheeler Opera House and other historic Aspen buildings in the late 1880’s. Red, the color of iron, represents blood, another element common to everyone. It also happens to reflect the hue of Red Mountain behind it. If it were straightened out, this river of stone would be 240 feet long, and as it twists and melds into the landscape, the wall makes a strong emotional statement which mirrors its natural environment. Goldsworthy explains: “The wall has energy like the movement of a river. I feel the energy very strongly in this river of stone. I can only feel this idea of linking and connection. This work is all about the connection of the stone, and that’s what the Institute should be about, making connections.” "RIVER” may be one of Goldsworthy’s most permanent and social art installations. His work is usually ephemeral, temporary: a collection of cottonwood branches curved around a rock in the river, or a circle of leaves. As one who usually likes to work alone, “it was important for me as a sculptor to recognize the social nature (of this project). People are very much a part of this, and the necessary ingredient to make the work function,” he said. The 20,000 sq ft Doerr-Hosier Center is scheduled to be completed in January, a 16-month total building process. The purpose of the building is for up to 200 people to be able to meet banquet-style, and its design reflects this. Central to the building is a large meeting room, based on a mandala, which in Sanskrit roughly means “circle” or “completion” and represents the microcosm of the universe. Above this room is a pyramid-shaped roof, mirroring the shape of Red Mountain behind it and continuing the East-West feeling of the building. But most striking about this theme is the building’s location. A feng shui master who visited the site found that the Institute campus, and the new building in particular, sits on a power spot – many of the local river valleys (Castle, Maroon and Hunter Creeks) point toward this location. And like Goldsworthy’s wall, the building is rooted in nature. Unlike in most hotels where meeting space is underground with little or no natural light, the conference facilities here are level with the outdoors. Windows are strategically placed to let in natural light and to maximize views of the Castle Creek Valley. There’s no need for air conditioning because of the cross-ventilation system. On the upper level, floor-to-ceiling glass allows panoramic views of the Hunter Creek Valley and Independence Pass. There’s a rooftop kiva and outdoor patio space which the public is invited to use anytime when Institute events are not in session. And Berkus is striving for silver LEEDS certification, a designation that means the building uses environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient methods. “The building becomes so connected with the site that you can’t imagine it anywhere else,” says Berkus. The Aspen Idea – taking care of mind, body and spirit – is alive and well on the Aspen Institute campus. For more information about Andy Goldsworthy and his work, check your local bookstore. We highly recommend Passage, and/or the DVD, Rivers and Tides, a highly-acclaimed documentary about the artist. Return to Contents »   FEAST/Willits Town Center Eateries Open Soon Craving modern barbecue, favorite homemade recipes, or just authentic Mexican? The midvalley is about to gain more gastronomic clout when the first phase of Willits Town Center opens later this fall. Three restaurants – SMOKE, CRAVE and EL KORITA, all owned and operated by longtime respected local chefs – will open in the first of 10 city blocks, the Triangle Park loft building. A hint of what’s to come can be found in the already opened WILLITS GENERAL STORE – not your average service station, with a sandwich counter that offers freshly prepared muffuletta and Cuban sandwiches. If there’s one unifying theme of Willits’ new restaurants, it’s that they’ll serve traditional, recognizable and (mostly) Americanized food, but with a deep respect for the more discerning palettes we have in the Roaring Fork Valley. SMOKE, a “modern” barbecue joint, takes the best kinds of barbecue from all over the country, “and makes it modern and eclectic,” said owner and self-described “pit master”, Jamie Theriot. There will be Carolina-style pulled pork and Texas-style beef brisket. A Louisiana native, Jamie also emphasizes lots of fresh seafood and veggies on his menu, plus a hearty black bean burger for vegetarians. Smoking will be done with all Colorado hardwoods, like oak, apple, apricot and peach. Homemade sauces like Texas Fire, Carolina Red and K.C. Royal will be offered at the table.  “It’ll have more variety than mainstream barbecue,” says Jamie, who was the chef at The Maroon Creek Club for 11 years and has also worked for Mezzaluna, Ute City Bank and Renaissance. An experienced local restaurateur who believes in testing his menu, Jamie and his chef, Bryan Conard, have been catering all summer with the restaurant’s 15’ smoker-trailer. They plan to continue to do so after the restaurant opens, sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. SMOKE will also offer party packs for large groups and specialty items at certain times of year – such as smoked turkey for Thanksgiving and smoked duck and goose at Christmastime. SMOKE will be open for lunch and dinner. Jamie describes it as a slightly different kind of neighborhood restaurant. “This isn’t a peanut shells-on-the-floor kind of barbecue place,” he explains, “but it’ll be comfortable and family-friendly. We don’t want to take ourselves too seriously.” Another new concept is CRAVE, the brainchild of former Hotel Jerome executive chef, Todd Slossberg. CRAVE is going to be “a warm, friendly place,” he says, “with a semi-open kitchen. Everything will revolve around the kitchen and the food.” The emphasis will be on Old World cooking styles, like rotisserie and wood-fired grilling. The cuisine is American and regional, “classic dishes that we update and make more modern,” says Todd – not necessarily comfort food, but food that you, well, crave. The varied menu will feature “recipes from family and recipes stolen from other chefs,” says Todd. Influences will come from Todd’s own Jewish-Irish heritage, his wife’s Greek background, his business partner’s Italian family and, of course, Mom’s meatballs. And as part of the Slow Food movement, expect there to a heavy emphasis on fresh, seasonal local ingredients. “There’s nothing quite like it in the valley,” he says. CRAVE is slated to open in February 2007 for dinner (Todd is still considering lunch). The restaurant will also have a full bar, outdoor dining and a dedicated takeout area. Catering is currently available by calling 9CRAVES.  The third gastronomical feature at the new Willits Town Center is an old midvalley standby. Popular Mexican eatery EL KORITA, which has operated for eight years in the strip mall next to Movieland in El Jebel, is opening in a new, expanded space at Willits. EL KORITA serves up straight-up authentic Mexican food – tacos, tostadas, tamales and the like – but its specialty is seafood, and lots of it, prepared in a variety of ways. Having more elbow room, says owner-chef Beto Gamboa, will allow EL KORITA to expand its menu even more (as well as accommodating customers better than the always crowded space it’s in now). Beto wants to do a Mexican-style paella, homemade empanadas and fresh, homemade tortillas, all of which require additional prep space. EL KORITA will move to Willits sometime in November, Beto hopes. It will offer lunch and dinner, and perhaps breakfast in the future. Return to Contents »   LIFE SLICE/Aspen Air Service Taking Off Finally - it’s becoming easier and more convenient to get to and from Aspen/Snowmass. Beginning this winter, United Airlines will feature direct flights between the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE) and Chicago and San Francisco and will expand its nonstop service to Los Angeles. This is on the heels of Delta’s entry into the Aspen market this past summer, when the Atlanta-based carrier began two flights per day to Salt Lake City on its sleek, new CRJ-700 jet. And just recently, Frontier Airlines announced its intention to expand regional service from its Denver hub with the addition of at least 10 regional aircraft to its fleet. This new service is planned to start sometime in 2007, and Frontier representatives have said that it’s a “no-brainer” for Aspen to be one of those destinations. For tourism officials, the addition of Chicago and San Francisco represents two of Aspen Skiing Company’s top markets, and the ability for international travelers to make fewer connections. For locals, flying directly to Salt Lake City this winter means skiing at Alta and Snowbird for the day and getting back home in time for dinner. Adding these markets takes pressure off Denver International Airport, where flights to and from Aspen frequently get backed up because of weather. Here’s how the 14 flights per day into Aspen (up to 19 on Saturdays) break down: Sky West operates two United Airlines flights per day from Chicago, beginning 12/14 Sky West also flies on weekends to/ from San Francisco, with one flight per day on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, beginning 12/14 United will continue non-stop daily service to/from Los Angeles with one flight on weekdays and two flights per day on the weekends Delta Airlines flies twice per day to/from Salt Lake City U.S. Airways flies to/from Phoenix once a day United continues its service to Denver, with 11 flights per day and four additional flights on the weekends The new flights are on sale now – visit www.united.com, or call United Reservations at 800-241-6522. Return to Contents »