Happy 4th from Les Saisons!

Nothing marks the arrival of summer more than the 4th of July, especially in Ketchum. The sleepy streets of slack suddenly explode with shoppers, bikers, walkers and campers for one of the busiest weekends town sees all year. Careful not to hit them! Or maybe avoid Main Street altogether, as you make your way from one festivity to another. Don’t know what your big plans will entail? Besides people watching at Ketchum’s one and only grocery store, Atkinson’s, here are some suggestions for a memorable holiday weekend:

Hailey Days of the Old West Rodeo – July 2 – 4, 2009
A true tribute to the valley’s historical past, the rodeo will feature everything from bull riding to barrel racing and rodeo queens! Tickets can be purchased in advance at Atkinson’s or at the entrance to the rodeo grounds on event day for $10 general admission and $15 reserved seating. The rodeo begins at 7:30pm.

Antique Shows Galore! July 3 – 5, 2009
Both Hailey and Ketchum will host two antique shows this weekend. The Hailey Antique Market, featuring “items from the ordinary to the extraordinary” will be at Roberta McKercher Park and the Hailey Armory. Hours are 9am-6pm on Friday and Saturday, and 9am-4pm on Sunday. Hailey’s Main Street Antique Show, on Main Street in Hailey, will be open 9am-7pm on Friday and Saturday, and 9am-5pm on Sunday.

In Ketchum, you’ll find the Ketchum Antiques Show at NexStage Theatre on Main Street open daily from 9am-5pm as well as the Ketchum Art and Antique Show at the Forest Service Park, west of NexStage Theatre, running from 10am-6pm Friday and Saturday, and 10am-5pm on Sunday.

Gallery Walk in Ketchum – July 3, 2009
Sponsored by the Sun Valley Gallery Association, Ketchum and Sun Valley art galleries will extend their business hours from 5pm – 8pm on July 3rd. Sip on a glass of wine, walk around town and take in some wonderful art collections.

American Tribute with Maureen McGovern – July 3, 2009
Grammy winning artist Maureen McGovern will be performing with the American Chorus & Orchestra on July 3rd at the Sun Valley Pavilion. Show starts at 7pm. Call the Sun Valley Recreation Office at 208.622.2135 for tickets.

Tony Furtado Live in Concert – July 3, 2009
Join Folk/Acoustic artist Tony Furtado at the Boiler Room in the Sun Valley Mall. Doors open at 8pm and the show starts at 9pm. Cover charge at the door is $7.

Hailey Fourth of July Parade – July 4, 2009
The theme, “Live, Work and Play in the Wood River Valley,” will be shaping this year’s annual parade. A Shoot-out Gang kicks things off at 11:30am in the Bullion Square parking lot, with the parade following shortly thereafter at noon on Main Street.

Sun Valley Ice Show – July 4, 2009
Reserve a table under Sun Valley’s veranda, sample your heart’s desire at the dessert buffet and enjoy a Sun Valley Ice Show featuring 2009 US Champions Meryl Davis & Charlie White. Post ice show watch a display of fireworks erupt over Dollar Mountain right from your seat. It doesn’t get more Sun Valley than this! More information and tickets are available at the Sun Valley Recreation Office at 208.622.2135.

Rain Keeps Coming, and Coming, and Coming...

It looks like our excitement over the arrival of summer was a bit pre-mature. While the end of May saw sunny skies and soaring temps, the entire month of June has been quite the opposite. I believe we’re going on our third or fourth week of thunder showers and let’s just say we’re all a bit soggy. With mudslides sweeping through the burned areas of Warm Springs and power outages throughout the valley, only the bravest golfers can perfectly time a round of 18 holes without getting soaked or struck by lightning.

Rain or shine, Ketchum and Sun Valley are as beautiful as ever. The hills are swathed in some of the greenest grass the valley has seen in years, and as soon as the sun decides to come out, the flowers won’t be far behind. You should expect a brilliant show of wildflowers this summer.

Photo courtesy: RolandBP

Elkhorn Jams This Summer with Concert Series

Remember the days of Jazz on the Green, Summer Dance and Steve Miller Band concerts? Elkhorn Village used to be somewhat of a hub for summer venues long before River Run and the Sun Valley Pavilion took to paper. At least that’s what this year’s Elkhorn event organizers were thinking when they decided to bring back the good ol’ days with an Elkhorn Summer Concert Series beginning this July. Its green may be long gone, but picnic-goers will have every reason to break out their low-back chairs and rock out to a great line up of bands, albeit from the parking lot located next to the Elkhorn Market and Golf Club.

The three-concert series kicks off with Philly’s blues/hip hop trio G. Love and Special Sauce on July 16th, followed by Georgia’s alternative country band Drive By Truckers on August 13th and Colorado’s Big Head Todd and the Monsters wrapping things up on September 3rd.

All shows begin at 6pm with gates opening at 5pm. Tickets can be purchased online at www.elkhornconcerts.com or at Atkinson’s for two bucks off. Individual ticket prices are $37.50, or you can purchase tickets for the entire series for $100.

Photo courtesy: www.elkhornconcerts.com

Trail Creek Road Open

Trail Creek Road, the rather jaw-dropping one lane paved and gravel road that winds mercilessly over Trail Creek Summit into the Big Lost Valley, is now open for the summer! The route, a welcome alternative to Highway 75, takes you to the base of Borah Peak (Idaho's highest peak at 12,662 feet) and intersects with Highway 93, which connects to the small towns of Mackay and Challis.

With the drive up to Trail Creek Summit a mere 15 minutes from the center of Ketchum, this road makes for a great little daytime car ride excursion into a beautiful wilderness area with a number of trailheads, creeks and stunning scenery.

Photo of Borah Peak courtesy Russell Marino

Sun Valley Pavilion Lineup

Start thinking about your upcoming summer visit to Sun Valley! The Sun Valley Pavilion recently released the dates for its summer concert schedule, so get ready to pack up your picnic basket, take in the breathtaking views of Baldy, Dollar and Trail Creek and enjoy some wonderful music venues making their way to town this summer. Tickets are available to purchase at seats.sunvalley.com.



Sunday, May 24
Sun Valley Wellness Festival concert with Toni Childs

Saturday, May 30
Kenny Loggins

Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6
Acoustic weekend with six national acoustic acts

Friday, June 19
Sara Evans benefit for the Governors Cup Golf Tournament

Sunday, June 28
Sun Valley Opera Three Tenors and Strings Extravaganza

Friday, July 3
American Festival Chorus and Orchestra with special guest Maureen McGovern

Friday, July 17
Barrage in Concert

Friday, July 24 through Tuesday, August 18
Chamber series and Sun Valley Summer Symphony

Wednesday, August 19
Don Felder benefit concert for the Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament

Thursday August, 20 through Monday, August 24
Sun Valley Writers’ Conference

Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29
Trey McIntyre Project

Friday, September 25 and Saturday September 26
Sun Valley Music Festival

Photo courtesy: www.sunvalley.com

Sun Valley Nordic Season Over

That’s it folks! Sun Valley Nordic Center as well as Galena Lodge are closed for the season. With Galena’s Ride, Stride and Glide over and done with (the annual closing-time triathlon in which costumed competitors ski, snowshoe then actually ride their mountains bikes in the snow), the lodge will be closed until June 13th, at which time Kids Camp, Wagon Ride BBQ's, Weekend Brunches and Sundays on the deck with Bruce Innes will kick off the summer festivities.

Galena will, however, continue to groom their Nordic trails on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays for at least the next week, but the bike path from Hulen Meadows all the way down to Bellevue has been entirely cleared of snow. Our owners are already dusting off their bikes and taking advantage of the warmer temps throughout the valley.

And while most of our die hard anglers have been wading the icy rivers all winter long, the springtime temps have brought a few more fishermen out of hiding, according to local guide shop Silver Creek Outfitters who, amongst others, is gearing up for the summer season.

For more information about what to do in and around Sun Valley, the Sun Valley Ketchum Chamber of Commerce and the Mt. Express both have extensive online lists of activities. Or feel free to contact the Les Saisons Concierge.

Photo courtesy: nerdegutt

Spring Skiing is Here, Sun Valley Sees Big Changes

With the last day on Baldy expected to be Easter Sunday, and the Round House already closed up for the ‘08/’09 season, the rest of the mountain is slowly retiring its lifts for the remainder of the year. Beginning on Sunday, March 29th, Exhibition and Sunnyside lifts will close and on Sunday, April 5th, Greyhawk, Mayday and Cold Springs, as well as all of Seattle Ridge will shut down.

As always, this is subject to change depending on weather and snow conditions but at least Late Season Rates go into effect on March 30, with the $30 College ticket available to college students and faculty with valid college I.D.

Skiing may be winding down, but with warmer days on the horizon, a little après ski action at the base of Warm Springs’ sun deck mixed with some live tunes certainly keeps the alpine spirit alive. And don't forget about the Holding Cup Race March 27 & 28. No race experience is needed for this one. Recruit a team of four skiers from your alma mater, and win great prizes!

In other Sun Valley Company news, long time General Manager Wally Huffman will be trading in his hat to become the company’s new Director of Resort Development in late April or early May.

Huffman has seen the company through a number of resort developments including the new Sun Valley Golf/Nordic Club House, the White Clouds Golf Course and the Sun Valley Pavilion. Next on his agenda is a 160 acre development at the base of River Run. The new village may include a hotel and residential units.

Stepping into Huffman’s place is former Sun Valley Lifts Operations Manager Tim Silva, who for the past 17 years has been General Manager at Northstar Resort in Tahoe.