Visitors to the mountain-top park in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, can celebrate fall Sept. 30 – Oct. 29 with a pumpkin patch, leaf-peeping and food and drink specials daily. On Saturdays, they can also enjoy hayrides, face painting, games and more family fun. Local oompah band Alpine Echo will perform on Oct. 14 and 21.
Glenwood Springs, Colo. (Sept. 26, 2017) — Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park is celebrating fall with a family-friendly Octoberfest Sept. 30 through Oct. 29, 2017. Every day during the month-long festival, guests at the mountain-top theme park in Glenwood Springs, Colo., can enjoy a pumpkin patch, fall photo opportunities, and food and drink specials along with the year-round offerings. There’s even more fun on Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m., with hayrides, games for kids, face painting and pumpkin decorating.
In addition to the colorful maple trees and flowers in the plaza, the park features several vantage points with panoramic views of the fall colors in Glenwood Canyon and the Roaring Fork Valley. The tram, the Lookout Grille, the Mine Wheel and viewing decks at the Giant Canyon Swing and above the restaurant are some of the best places for leaf peeping and photos.
The newly opened Haunted Mine Drop is an added attraction this year, with ghostly thrills perfectly suited for the season. Halloween-themed decorations lead guests on the trails to the ride, while spooky music sets the mood for a one-of-a-kind experience. It’s the only drop ride in the world that goes underground.
On Sat., Oct. 14, and Sat., Oct. 21, from noon to 4 p.m., polka dancing is the name of the game as local oompah band Alpine Echo takes the stage in the plaza. The band features Bill Rill on drums and vocals; John Pataky on accordion, drums and vocals; Joe Pologar on horns and vocals; and Gerhard Rill on strings, keyboards, accordion, horns, drums, bells, and vocals.
The Lookout Grille will serve fall favorites all month, including bratwursts and sauerkraut, seasonal beers, spiked apple cider and festive fall drinks for kids. The popular Bloody Mary Bar will be open and stocked with dozens of garnishes so that guests can come up with their own creative concoctions. The General Store will add pumpkin to its selection of homemade fudge as well.
Face painting, kids’ games and hay rides are included with admission; pumpkins are just $3 each. Regular admission rates apply. Funday Passes, which include the tram ride, cave tours and unlimited turns on all open rides, cost $54 for adults and $49 for kids 3 to 12. Tram rides cost $16 for adults and $11 for kids. Through Oct. 29, the park is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It will be closed Oct. 30 through Nov. 9.
More information about the park, including hours of operation and a list of which attractions are open, can be found at GlenwoodCaverns.com or by calling 800-530-1635 or 970-945-4228, ext. 0.
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To support Glenwood Springs merchants during the Grand Avenue Bridge detour, locals and tourists can receive a free, round-trip tram ride to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park through its Shop Your Way to the Top promotion. It’s as easy as showing a receipt for at least $16 from any merchant located downtown between Cooper and Colorado, from 6th to 10th streets, or in the Glenwood Meadows.
“We are very enthusiastic about the impact that the new Grand Avenue Bridge will have on Glenwood Springs,” Nancy Heard, general manager for the Adventure Park, said. “With that being said, the detour is taking a toll on businesses in the downtown core and in Glenwood Meadows. To encourage locals and visitors to support these merchants, we’re going to reward them with a free tram ride. And there’s a lot going on at the Park this fall that’s included with that.”
Octoberfest is now in progress and continues through Oct. 29, with daily activities such as a pumpkin patch and panoramic, mountain-top views of the fall colors. On Saturdays, tractor-pulled hayrides, face painting, pumpkin decorating and family-friendly games are included as well. The pumpkins may be purchased for just $3 each. German oompah band Alpine Echo will entertain guests Sat., Oct. 14, and Sat., Oct. 21, from noon to 4 p.m., with crowd-pleasing tunes like the chicken dance, polkas, waltzes, Bavarian pub songs and “Edelweiss,” everyone’s favorite from the “Sound of Music.”
Winter on the Mountain, with its display of a half million lights, a giant Christmas tree with a lightshow that’s choreographed to music and firepits for warming up, begins Fri., Nov. 10. Santa Claus will make a guest appearance at the kick-off party on Sat., Nov. 18. The winter celebration continues through Feb. 25, 2018.
Marianne Virgili, CEO of the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association, remarked, “The latest Bridge Bargain shows we are all in this together. We so appreciate Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park being inclusive of the retail areas most affected by the closure.”
Receipts must be dated between Oct. 6 and the day that the bridge reopens. Passes must be redeemed by Dec. 17, 2017. The minimum purchase required is $16 for one round-trip tram pass. A receipt for $32 is good for two tram passes, a $48 receipt is good for three and a $64 receipt for four. Each $16 tram ticket can be upgraded to a Tram and Cave Tour combo or a Funday Pass that includes unlimited turns on all rides and both walking cave tours at an additional cost.
Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park is America’s only mountain-top theme park. More information about hours of operation can be found at www.GlenwoodCaverns.com. Questions about the Shop Your Way to the Top promotion can be answered by calling 970-945-4228, ext. 0.
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LIFT-UP has worked for 35 years to reduce hunger in our valley. This Thanksgiving and Christmas we want everyone to be able to celebrate with those closest to them with a traditional turkey meal. Sign-ups for holiday food boxes begin Monday, October 16 through Tuesday, October 31st at each of the seven LIFT-UP food pantries. Registration dates and times vary by pantry as specified below. Those in need of a box can also visit liftup.org for registration dates, times and locations or call 625-4496 for more information. Donations to support lift up’s fight against hunger are welcomed at liftup.org.
ASPEN: 465 N. Mill Street, #12
Tues., Wed., Thur. • 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
BASALT: 167 Holland Hills Road
Wed. & Thurs. • 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
CARBONDALE: Third Street Center
Tues. & Thurs. 10/17, 19, 24, 26 • 5 – 7 p.m.
Sat. 10/21, 28 • 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
GLENWOOD: 1004 Grand Avenue (Old Church Building)
Mon. & Wed. 10/16, 18, 23, 25 • 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Fri. 10/20, 27 • 12:30 – 4:30 p.m.
NEW CASTLE: 126 N. 4th Street (River Center)
Wed. & Fri. • 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
RIFLE/SILT: 800 Railroad Avenue, Rifle
Tues. – Fri. • 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
PARACHUTE: 201 E. First Street
Mon., Wed., Fri. • 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
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Join your friends and play Minecraft together on iPads and a multiplayer server every Monday and Friday at 4 p.m. at the Glenwood Springs Branch Library. Free and open to all school age kids and teens. For more information call 970-945-5958.
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Teens in grades 5-10 are invited to come hang out with friends at the Rifle Branch Library every Wednesday after school from 4 to 5:30 pm! We’ll hook up the Wii for large screen gaming, and bring out the laptops, iPads, and skill toys. Snacks will also be provided! For more information about this free weekly event call 970-625-3471.
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Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Glenwood Canyon Project opening to the public with a talk by celebrated local author Larry Rynearson at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at the Rifle Branch Library. Larry will discuss some of the places and events that have shaped our canyon, as told in his second book “Legends of Glenwood Canyon: a History of Colorado’s Premier River Canyon.” Copies will be available for purchase and signing. The event is free and open to the public, with no purchase necessary to attend. For more information call 970-625-3471.
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Visit the Glenwood Springs Branch Library at 8:30 a.m. on the third Thursday each month for a fresh cup of coffee and a unique opportunity to ask questions and learn more about important institutions in Glenwood Springs, discuss community issues, and build relationships in your community. For more information call 970-945-5958.
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Join us on Thursday, October 19th at 5pm in the Garfield County Courthouse to learn how to represent yourself through your divorce case. Attendees will receive all the necessary documentation and information on how to manage their case from start to finish. A small donation is requested for this service but no one will be denied services for lack of ability to pay. Please pre-register by calling 970-945-8858 or online at www.alpinelegalservices.org.
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The season opener for Sopris Theatre Company at Colorado Mountain College is Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.” Minor characters in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” these two bewildered Laurel-and-Hardy types get top billing in this modern tragicomedy.
In 1968, “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead” won both the Tony and New York Drama Critics Circle awards for best play. It focuses on a pair of Hamlet’s friends as they obliviously wander around the setting and circumstances of “Hamlet,” though this time, the attention isn’t on the Prince of Denmark. Instead, Stoppard shines the spotlight right on Hamlet’s two buddies. It’s a world where reality and illusion blend, and where fate leads these two to their tragic but inevitable end.
The play is directed by G. Thomas Cochran and stars Nick Garay and Brendan Cochran in the title roles. Tickets are $18 for adults and $13 for students, seniors and CMC employees. Curtain is 7 p.m. on Oct. 20, 21, 26, 27 and 28; and 2 p.m. on Oct. 22 and 29 at the New Space Theatre at Colorado Mountain College Spring Valley at Glenwood Springs, 3000 County Road 114.
For tickets or more information call 947-8177, email svticketsales@coloradomtn.edu or visit coloradomtn.edu/theater (click on Sopris Theatre Company). For season tickets, go to http://bit.ly/2wyg9pn. For tickets to “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead,” go to http://bit.ly/2xGq35N.
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10 a.m. to 12 p.m., First and Third Fridays, Glenwood Springs Branch Library, 815 Cooper Ave., Free, 970-945-5958, www.gcpld.org
Have other people ever laughed at your stories and said, “I hope you have this written down!”? Have you often thought that you need to record and organize these stories for your family? Join us for workshops to write your personal history, one story at a time. Facilitated by historian, writer, genealogist, and “kin keeper” Shelly Merriam.
