Scared Ground / Protect Wagner Park

Wagner Park in Aspen is sacred ground.  It’s a true community center right in the middle of Aspen’s core  It’s free, it’s not fenced, it’s always open and it’s a jewel to be cherished.  Except when its closed.

 Aspen’s Core has evolved into an urban environment.  There are precious few open spaces available for the public to enjoy.  This has never been more evident than during the pandemic of 2020.  Wagner Park is a place for people to congregate at an acceptable social distance.  People can recreate and experience open space in a town that is often bulging at the seams. 

Protect Wagner Park is a Colorado based non-profit whose sole purpose is to protect Wagner Park.  We are dedicated to ensuring that Wagner Park remains a public amenity for use as a park and for recreation as set forth in it’s deed.  Our goal is to protect Wagner Park from excessive commercialization, privatization and damage.

 Wagner Park is a very valuable public asset that belongs to the people of Aspen. The City of Aspen (COA) is obligated to provide stewardship over Wagner Park.   We have very high expectations for our elected officials and city staff so we question whether the city’s stewardship over Wagner Park is adequate.  The increasing number of high-impact, private and commercial events takes its toll on Wagner Park, every year.  By our count, in a normal year, Wagner Park is closed for more than 120 days  .In 2014, the park was closed for almost an entire year when a $2.5 million upgrade to the park was made.

 Photo: Daniel BayerOur focus on Wagner Park has led us to conclusions about how the City of Aspen (COA) operates.   Many of the poor decisions made about the park serve as metaphors for other issues within the City.    We have observed a pattern of behavior, a habitual modus operandi from the city staff.   Staff creates a “perceived need” or provides a narrative of a “perceived value”. They make recommendations to council, who are already inundated and over whelmed with information.  Agenda items get pushed forward, sometimes with no detailed analysis.  These “projects” take a life of their own and proceed full speed ahead before anyone, including council, has time to react.   We cite, the hydro project, the new city hall building and the parking department fiasco a few years ago as examples of this inadequate and unacceptable style of  decision making.  The City touts their “public outreach” yet they don’t really seem to listen to the public.  The outreach meetings and surveys appear to be perfunctory, more like marketing vehicles to support the “perceived need”. Optics are very important to COA, but the public opinion does not seem to matter.

To  clarify the position of Protect Wagner Park;  We are not anti-fun and we are not anti- events. We embrace public gatherings such as Ruggerfest & MotherLode Volleyball.  Those tourneys don’t close the park, they don’t surround the park with fences and they don’t charge for admission. We are primarily concerned with the stewardship of Wagner Park, it’s preservation and maximizing the park’s accessibility to the public.  These concepts should come first…and not take a secondary position to commerce and privatization of our public spaces.

In conclusion, our goal is to keep the open spaces, open and keep the public spaces, public and to PROTECT WAGNER PARK.

Welcome to Aspen

Today is the busiest travel day of the year (according to CNBC).  Over 3 million people are flying around the United States.  Thankfully only a few of them are here in Aspen.  Aspen's population swells from about 7500 people to nearly 50,000 people over the next few days. 

The quiet and beautiful pre-season is over.  The holiday season is upon us. 

Here in Aspen, inside the bubble...it was a gorgeous bluebird ski day.   After 3 days of single digit highs and  below zero low temps the chill was lifted.

We got after it.  It was a bro-down up there.

AspenSpin wants to wish everyone....yeah everyone...a happy and healthy holiday season.   Give those close to you an extra firm hug.  And if you see me...give me a hug too.

A.Town looks ready for 50,000 extra people.Andy Party finally found a nice girlThese AspenSpin fans demanded a cover shot.

Late season POW POW is plentiful in Aspen.

A.Party.. "do I look happy?" This year in Aspen, March came in like a lamb and is going out like a lion.   After more than 4 weeks of beautiful, clear, sunny, warm weather we finally started getting some POW POW action again.

Some people religiously check their i-phones for the weather...here at AspenSpin...we look out the window.

Sometimes we also check ASPENWEATHER.net   Ryan and Cory have been quite accurate this season. Helping us plan our POW days. Its been a fantastic late season snow surge in Aspen.  According to A. Party..." I took my bicycle out of storage...the next day it snowed 15 inches".  Typical.  Thats OK our townie bike (not a fixie) can wait.  

Lately, we've had some cold, windy, wintry weather and we love it. Single digit temps and "bigger than a foot" storms are welcomed here.   The skiing has been stellar.  If you're upscale enough...you still have time to enjoy it. Come join us in Aspen. Check the pix.

 

Wiley Maple wins Nor Am Downhill in Aspen.

Aspen local, AVSC Alum and current member of the U.S. Ski Team won the Nor Am Downhill on Ajax for the second year in a row.  Wiley is well known in Aspen as the fastest skier on Aspen Mountain.  He proved it again topping the podium in his home town...just like last year.  

Wiley had a good year on the World Cup circuit.  You can help him compete.

Click: WILEY

Jews Gone Wild. Total Mishegas in Aspen.

Shira Gunsburg performed Bubby's Kitchen in Aspen.It was total mishegas in Aspen and a BIG night for the Aspen Jewish Congregation.  

Cantor Shira Ginsburg performed her one-woman show BUBBY's KITCHEN at the Aspen District Theatre.  

Bubby's Kitchen  (click 4 info) explores Ginsburg's relationship with her Bubby (grand-mother) who fought the Nazi's in WW II and survive the holocaust.  It's a happy story of love, terror, survival, family and food set to music and delivered straight from her Bubby's Kitchen.  

Members of the Aspen Jewish Congregation (AJC) sat mezmorized (no shpilkes) as Ms. Ginsburg spun the tale of her family during the time of the Nazi occupation and their eventual triumph. Bubby was the only member of her immediate family to survive the terror, and she fought for freedom as a 16 year old girl.  She eventually made it to America to become a family matriarch, a grand mother of 10 and an incredible cook. It was as if you could smell the matzo ball soup simmering on-stage as Ms. Ginsburg brought her Bubby to life.  Actually Bubby is still alive and cooking at 91 in Boca Raton, Florida,  the land of our people...and she loves the show.

Almost everyone in the jammed packed audience could relate to Bubby's stories of perseverance, dedication to life  and her deep love for her family.   True in many families...Bubby was always there with a sweet hug, a heavy dose of encouragement and a cinnamon rugelach to ease the pain.  Ms. Ginsburg, a trained actress and professional Cantor portrayed her Bubby, her Zayde (grampa), her parents her aunts and cousins (even the skinny one) on the stage.  It was a festival of family, food and music.

Click 4 pix:  JEWS GONE WILD in ASPEN

Jewsih Soul Food from Katz's Deli in NYC.While the show was fantastic, the after-party was unbelievable. It was a HUGE nosh.  Rabbi David Segal and AJC Executive Director Jason Schnissel brought in an amazing array of taste treats from KATZ's 2nd Avenue Deli in NYC.  It was the best meal of the year (in my opinion).  Corned Beef, pastrami, brisket, matzoh ball soup, 3 types of knishes and the best-ever kosher hot dogs.  All authentic and flown in from New York.  I've  never seen a more beautiful buffet line.  It was like manna from heaven.  With a line-up of Jewish soul food set out deliciously at the brand new Cooking School of Aspen, I started kvelling.  Some people thought I was meshuganah when I went back for third's and fourth's and then fifth's.   According to Ms. Ginsburg's Bubby...who faced true hunger in Eastern Europe...an empty plate was a sin.  The AJC and I made Bubby proud...everybody ate like chazers.  There was plenty to go around...not a kvetch was heard...the leftovers were bubkes.

It was a beautiful night of community for AJC...filled with history, mishpochah, friendship, laughter, a few tears and the best corned beef this side of 2nd Avenue.  I am looking forward to Pesach.

Mazel Tov AJC.

Click 4 Pix:  JEWS GONE WILD in Aspen.

The families of Aspen Jewish Congregation came out for Bubby's Kitchen.Alan Feldman's Mom and Dad and The Gordon's made the cover of AspenSpin.Get me a Larry David type.Shira Ginsburg, Cantor Rollin Segal and the gang. Michael Sailor (knees dont grow on trees) is always camera ready.