Tricia Swenson

The weather may have been a bit wintery lately, but Beaver Creek is getting ready to welcome everyone back after the ski season for its summer kickoff event. Blues, Brews and BBQ started in 2003 and since then its grown in size and scope and now encompasses three days, with 10 bands, 20 craft brews, over a dozen Beaver Creek restaurants and chefs and two guest pit masters and one celebrity chef.

From remembering our fallen heroes to kicking off barbecue season, the Vail Valley has a long list of events up and down the valley Share this story

It will be a full weekend of entertainment in Vail as the 5th Annual Vail Comedy Festival comes back to town. 22 comedians from as far as New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, Georgia, Chicago and Dallas will fill several different venues in Vail Village May 22-24. Get ready for stand-up comedy routines, magic shows, films and more.

Think of life being divided into three parts, where the early years of our lives are spent being cared for and nurtured while developing academically and socially. Much preparation goes into getting us ready for the next portion of our lives. That second phase consists of launching careers, earning an income and raising a family, but what about the last phase of our lives? Who prepares us for retirement, empty nesting, a loss of a parent or a spouse, an illness? What type of education do we get that teaches us what works when we're not working? How to do we find fulfillment in our later years?

Anthony Peterson never set out to create personalized flags that honor veterans, start a nonprofit and travel around the country to meet military families. And he didn't expect to have these flags displayed in prominent public spaces, including one right here in Eagle County, the first in the state of Colorado.

As the school year winds down, the tests wrap up and the final concerts and sports competitions are held, there's just one last thing to do at the area middle schools — host a cotillion.

Nothing says summer like lazy days at the pool or an exciting game of Marco Polo and you can now go swimming up and down valley. The EagleVail Pool opened last weekend and the Eagle Pool is opening this weekend.

Avon's Harry A. Nottingham Park boasts a wonderful playground, paddle boat and standup paddle board rentals, volleyball courts, grills, a walking path and great views of Beaver Creek, but don't forget about the entertainment that can be found at the big stage next to the lake. The Avon Pavilion will host two concert series this summer, so bring out your friends and family and enjoy live music each week.

Everybody talks about the weather. And that topic, especially this year, was recently up for discussion on the Vail Resorts podcast, “Epic by Nature: The Science, Stress and Stoke Behind OpenSnow.” The series is hosted by Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz. Katz interviewed meteorologist Joel Gratz, founder and CEO of OpenSnow, a website that caters to snow enthusiasts and aims to create accurate forecasts, snow reports and severe weather maps. Together, they discussed everything from the limitations of long-range forecasting, how modern forecasting works and what it feels like to be emotionally responsible for the forecasts.

For some, earning awards and bragging rights at the GoPro Mountain Games is the ultimate goal. For others, collecting the most SWAG (Stuff We All Get) is a sport in itself. Ever since the Mountain Games began in 2002, swag gathering has been a thing. Kids love it, adults love it, even the dogs don't go home empty-handed.