The Wapiyapi Classic in Aspen.

There is no better feeling than seeing unrestrained joy on the face of a sick kid. 

WAPIYAPI is a Colorado organization that offers help and support to families facing childhood cancer.  Since 1998 Wapiyapi has provided no cost programs to kids with cancer and their families.  Wapiyapi is a Lakota Sioux word which means help and healing. Founded by University of Colorado Medical Students, Wapiyapi and more than 300 volunteers have provided year-round support to more than 1500 kids.

Click 4 pix:  Wapyapi Classic

The 2011 Wapiyapi Classic, a fundraiser and a bicycle ride recently took place in Aspen with a special guest leading the pack, 7-time Tour-de-France winner Lance Armstrong.  With 50 mile and 25 mile options and a picture perfect Fall day, the Wapiyapi Classic was a rousing success as more than 200 riders partook in the awesomeness.  The 20 top Wapiyapi fundraisers got to start their ride with Lance, although he eventually pulled away from the peloton to finish his 50 mile segment well ahead of anyone else.

Aspen Spin got to meet some of the Wapiyapi kids and their families.  It was obvious that a week at Wapiyapi Summer Camp was the highlight of the year for most of the kids.  We kept hearing how good it felt to be a "normal kid" and to participate in a wide variety of activities "just like the other kids".  If you've ever attended summer camp then you know about the camaraderie that develops between the campers.  Recurring themes kept popping up...color war, talent show, arts and crafts and clearly the most important memory for most of the kids...the zip line.  These kids spend a lot of time in hospital, so to get outside for a week of fun and activities with kids "just like me" is extrememly meaningful and a tremendous aid in healing.

Healing occurs in a variety of ways, not just with doctors and medicine.  At Wapiyapi, building friendships, gaining new experiences, bonding with others all contribute to the process.  Riding bikes with Lance Armstrong is part of the program too. 

Click WAPIYAPI to learn more and to support their programs. 

Click: Wapiyapi Classic for more photos.

Getting ready for the 2011 Wapiyapi Classic with Lance Armstrong. Click 4 more pix.The top fundraiser collected $17,000. She rode w/ Lance.The Wapiyapi Classic 2011 in Aspen, Colorado. Click for pix.

Maroon Bells is the Sh*T

A man and his dog. A beautiful dayIt was one of those special Colorado days. Crisp and cold in town, but you could see it was going to eventually be clear, sunny and beautiful.  As we pulled into the Maroon Bells parking lot at 8.15 a.m. the temp was reading 38'F.  It was early but I had already perused the tragic Aspen headline, Kenichi's Bil Rieger found dead. 

R.I.P. to Bad Billy.  (click for the story)

I had also digested 2 distasteful letters to the editor, one in each Aspen newspaper.  The writers Marilyn Marks and Elizabeth Milias. The topic?---who cares?  WTF Girlz??? If its so bad here in Aspen, why do you stick around? Why do you care so much?

The car ride to the Maroon Bells Wilderness is only about 15 minutes from Aspen, but it seemed like a world away from the small town blues.  The day had started off on a crummy note.  A good man lost to suicide and  two non-stop complainers, who seem to continuously write irritating, verbous, self-serving letters to the editor.  Add in all the other crappy world news of the day and another free-falling session in the stock market...yada yada yada.  Plus it was freezing out. Still,  I'M in FAVOR of a BEAUTIFUL DAY. (click 4 pix)

Carmelo and I passed the large throng of early morning photogs and hit the trail.   As our path wound through the trees towards Crater Lake I focused on the majestic beauty surrounding us. Amazing is not a strong enough word to describe the natural scene.  It was early enough to beat the  tourist crowds which allowed my dog and I to spend some quiet time in the woods (she was off-leash, shhhhh).  When we got to the lake...it was deserted. If you've made the short trek up there you know how beautiful it is, The Maroon Bells are the most photographed peaks in N. America.  Carmelo and I got some one-on-one play time as she unquestionably fetched her stick in the freezing cold mountain water of Crater Lake.  As the tourists began to reach the area around Crater Lake, and our solitary time had ended...it came to me...

I'M IN FAVOR of a BEAUTIFUL DAY  (click 4 pix)

The Maroon Bells, Aspen, Colorado. 9/22/11 The most photographed peaks in N.America Click 4 pix I'm in Favor of a Beautiful Day. Click 4 pix.

The Bold and the Beautiful meets Mac and Cheese in Aspen.

Action!! The Bold and the Beautiful filming in AspenTGIOS.  Thank God its Off Season. September is one of the best times to enjoy Aspen.  The weather is still great,  the crowds have dissipated and we at AspenSpin love a little quiet time.  The hiking trails are empty, the middle aged guys in their form fitting bike shorts (sorry no-one wants to see that) are back behind their desks and there are no segway tours in sight.

The Bold and the Beautiful filming in Aspen. Star Kimberly Matula (Hope Logan) meets her biggest fan Joanne in between takes.

Just because Summer is over in Aspen doesn't mean the full-on action stops.  The Iconic CBS TV soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful is in town filming an episode.  The Bold and the Beautiful which premiered in 1987 has become the most watched soap on TV with more than 30 million viewers around the world. The soap stars and starlets have been spied around Aspen for the past few days and while there is no hard evidence, AspenSpin is under the impression that Wednesday night's impromptu fireworks display on Ajax was part of the filming.  Cast and crew were extremely tight lipped about the plot line--but we predict a love triangle.

Aspen Mac and Cheese Festival. 12pm-5pm. Saturday 9/10/11On Saturday, Aspen's restaurant row will be the scene of the first-ever Aspen Mac and Cheese Festival.  15 restaurants and food purveyors will provide free samples of their best Mac and Cheese concoctions.  It all happens between 2-4pm on the 300 block of E. Hopkins.   Similar in concept to Aspen's spectacular Soup Skol...the Mac and Cheese fest will award a championship trophy based on a public vote.  So time to bulk up and get your noodle on in Aspen.

Early Sunday morning... 7.30 am to be exact, a rememberance of 9/11 cremony will be held in front of AVFD.  Also see the documentary film, Portraits from Ground Zero at 5 pm at The Wheeler.

Sunday is also the annual  Aspen Community Picnic at the Aspen Golf Club between 11am and 2pm.   Rain or shine the family-friendly, dog-friendly  Aspen Community Picnic will take place.  Music, games and a free BBQ catered lunch from Red Mountain Grill are on the agenda.  Parking at the golf course will be severely limited ...so hike it or bike it...or shuttle every 30 minutes in from the Aspen Middle School.   For more than a decade the Aspen Community Picnic has been a good time...2011 will be no exception.

The Aspen Community Picnic. FREE. 11am -2pm Sunday 9/11/11

Aspen's Motherlode Volleyball Tournament

Aspen's 39th Annual Motherlode Volleyball Tournament.The 39th Annual Motherlode Volleyball Tournament brought top tier talent to Aspen, Colorado.  Over 600 Volleyball teams from all over the World converged on Aspen over labor day weekend for a "block party" Wagner Park, Rio Grande Park and Koch Lumber Park all were packed with nets, balls and long lean super-fit volleyball players.  The Motherlode is considered "the top social event " in the Volleyball Universe.  The Motherlode, which began back in 1972 is now sanctioned by the National Volleyball League (NVL)

The Men's Open final was a classic battle between top seed and eventual winners Rosenthal and Patterson and a very stubborn duo of Marchewka and Zimet.  It went down to the exciting third and final game with each team having multiple match points.  The experience of Rosie (former Olympian) and Casey showed through in the end as a crucial block and a diving save led to the match winner in a very tight 3rd game.

The Ladies final was exponentially less dramatic as Lunquist and Caulkins took the math in convincing style needing only to games to dispatch their rivals.

Men's Champions:  $12,000

SEAN ROSENTHAL (Calif) / CASEY PATTERSON (Utah)

Ladies Champions:  $12,000

KARIN LUNQVIST (Swe) / RAQUEL CAULKINS (Bra)                

Aspen / Snowmass BLOWS up for Jazz Fest

Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Festival, 2011Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) found the right formula for all ages at the 2011 Labor Day Festival.  JAS presented 3 days of fun and music to a large and well behaved audience at Snowmass Village Park over the holiday weekend.  Over 23,000 music fans, spanning generations took in an extremely diverse line-up of performers (see entire line-up below) on 3 stages in Snowmass.

Aspen's beautiful (and usually unpredictable) mountain weather provided a glorious backdrop for this years JAS Labor Day Festival.  JAS in it's 21st year partnered up with entertainment and  music powerhouse AEG to book a vast array of musical talent that had something for everyone. Friday night's kick-off show appealed to a younger demographic featuring progressive trip hoppers THIEVERY CORPORATION and mash-up artist GIRL TALK.  There was a mellow but upbeat vibe throughout the park with plenty of room for dancing and chillin'.  The few raindrops that fell didn't inhibit anyone from having a blast...and the sick rainbow was an added feature.

CLICK for PIX  JAS DAY 1

Good times at JAS. Michael FrantiSaturday's main stage featured RODRIGO y GABRIELA, an acoustic guitar duo who set the place on fire.  While they really don't fit into a particular genre, Rodrigo y Gabriela are quickly becoming a force in world music and the Aspen audience responded to their set with fervor.  70's rock icons STEELY DAN took the headline spot on Saturday beinging their A-game to Aspen/Snowmass.  Walter Becker and Donald Fagen displayed their eclectic, sophisticated and distinctive sound flashing the audience back to the late 1970's.  Steely Dan attracted lots of parents (and grandparents) to JAS.  The almost sold-out show got a rave reviews from the Aspen / Snowmass faithful.  AspenSpin had one pet peeve...no Rikki don't lose that number??  C'mon, son??  Saturday night included an awesome and very exclusive after party in the JAS VIP tent that allowed some of the geezers and their trophy wives to "shake it" until midnight....and they did.   

CLICK for PIX   JAS DAY 2 (VIPs gone WILD)

Sunday's show was SOLD OUT.  11,000 people, man Brush Creek Road is closed.  Sunday's musical offerings appealed to everyone.   MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD performed their brand of good-time music and got the capacity crowd into that good-time zone.  Franti and his band mates spread their love, peace and social justice throughout the fest.   ZAC BROWN BAND is simply the hottest group in Country Music today.  Brown and his band of country rockers based in Georgia have paid their dues and are finally getting their just rewards...including a Grammy for best new artist in 2010.   There was not an empty swatch of grass in Snowmass, as every inch was packed. 

CLICK for PIX   JAS DAY 3 (Git 'er Done)

The 2011 JAZZ ASPEN SNOWMASS LABOR DAY FESTIVAL was a huge success.  Measure it any way you want to... BIG Fun, BIG Fans, a lively but well behaved crowd and no DUI's recorded.  Congratulations to JAS, AEG, the musicians, the Town of Snowmass and RFTA  for doing a great job presenting top flight entertainment in a festive, grooving holiday atmosphere.   TIA/S.  This is Aspen / Snowmass.

Donald Fagen of Steely Dan at Jazz Aspen Snowmass

Zac Brown Band sold out show Jazz Aspen Snowmass 2011Zac Brown Band members kicking it out in Aspen