Wear Skis or Snowshoes to Dinner in Crested Butte, Colo.

Toast a full moon during this four-star, four-course, four-fire meal on March 19

GUNNISON-CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. (September 23, 2010) - The Crested Butte Nordic Council's annual Progressive Bonfire Dinner is a unique culinary journey that takes participants along a luminary-lit 4K trail for a four-star, four-course, four-fire meal.  Snowshoes and Nordic skis are the mode of transportation, and the camaraderie of sitting around crackling fires and dining on good food and warm drinks along the way makes this event on March 19 one truly for the memory books.

Beginning at 5 p.m., diners will be greeted at the first fire at the Town Ranch trailhead located behind Crested Butte Community School with a cup of hot wine or cocoa to sip to enjoy while sitting on straw bales.  The next three stops are for the appetizer, soup, entrée, and dessert courses.

Progressive Bonfire Dinner participants not only will feel warm in spirit and full in the belly, they will be supporting the Gunnison/Crested Butte Junior Nordic Ski Team.  Reservations are required, with seatings beginning every half hour starting at 5 p.m. and concluding at 6:30 p.m.  For reservations and ticket costs, call the Crested Butte Nordic Center at (970) 349-1707.

Crested Butte Nordic Center Facts

The Crested Butte Nordic Center is a full-service cross-country ski center providing lessons and complete rental packages for skate and classical skiing, as well as ice skating, snowshoeing and sledding.  The Nordic Center maintains more than 50 kilometers of groomed trails that meander around the outskirts Crested Butte and offers backcountry, moonlight and lunch tours and Nordic events and ski programs (e.g., Master Skiers, Gray Hares and Junior Nordic Team). 

Located in the heart of town at Second Street and Whiterock, the Nordic Center is open for the 2010/2011 winter season from Nov. 20, 2010 - April 3, 2011, and is connected to Crested Butte Mountain Resort and various stops in Crested Butte by a free shuttle bus.  For more information about the Crested Butte Nordic Center and its winter 2010/2011 calendar of events, visit http://www.cbnordic.org/.

Gunnison County is home to a plethora of Nordic talent such as 2006 Olympian and 2009 Birkebeiner champion Rebecca Dussault; Ingrid Butts, former Olympian and 1991 American Birkebeiner champion; Kendall Butts, former Olympic coach; and Ross Matlock, PSIA examiner and demo team member.

Visitor Information & Personalized Vacation Packages

To find out more about Gunnison County or to book personalized vacation packages, call the Gunnison-Crested Butte Tourism Association's toll-free line, (800) 814-8893, or visit http://www.gunnisoncrestedbutte.com/.  Find the Tourism Association on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gcbta or follow us on www.twitter.com/gcbta. 

The Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport is served year-round by United Airlines with flights from Denver and during the winter season by American Airlines and Continental Airlines.

About Gunnison-Crested Butte, Colorado

Gunnison-Crested Butte is nestled among almost two million acres of pristine wilderness in southwest Colorado.  Winter sports enthusiasts know the area for its world-class alpine skiing and snowboarding at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and ice fishing.  Gunnison-Crested Butte is also a haven for outdoor summer activities.  In the warmer months, visitors can choose from recreational activities such as hiking, climbing, mountain biking, boating, whitewater rafting, kayaking, fly-fishing, camping and horseback riding.  Year-round visitors enjoy distinctive restaurants, unique shops and stimulating cultural opportunities, and have a wide range of lodging options - from rustic inns to guest cabins and bed-and-breakfasts to full-service resort hotels. 

Gunnison, county seat and a real western town, is home to the Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport, Gunnison Whitewater Park, Gunnison Valley Observatory, Pioneer Museum and Western State College, which offers bachelor's and master's degrees in liberal arts and sciences and pre-professional fields.  Both Crested Butte and Gunnison have thriving historic central business districts packed with shopping and dining opportunities. 

Recognized as the "Official Wildflower Capital of Colorado" by the Colorado Legislature and one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's "Dozen Distinctive Destinations" in 2008, Crested Butte is 28 miles from Gunnison and the site of rich mining, ranching and skiing heritage and home to the Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.  Only three miles up the road is the resort village of Mt. Crested Butte, home to the ski area, an active base area, the area's conference center, and outstanding hiking and biking trails. 

In Gunnison County, visitors will find the Curecanti National Recreation Area, where dinosaur fossils were recently discovered; the Blue Mesa Reservoir, Colorado's largest body of water and home to the largest Kokanee salmon fishery in the United States; and The Black Canyon of the Gunnison, one of our country's newest national parks.  Gunnison County includes the quaint and historic towns of Pitkin, Gothic, Tin Cup, Marble, Powderhorn, Almont and Crystal, plus the better-known communities of Gunnison, Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte.  Gunnison County is part of the West Elk Loop and Silver Thread Scenic & Historic Byways.

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Photo: Courtesy of Crested Butte Nordic Center. 

For a Word file of this press release, click on the link below.

Contact:                        Beth Buehler                                        

                                    Gunnison-Crested Butte Tourism Association                 

                                    (970) 349-1168 or bethbuehler@qwestoffice.net

                                    http://www.gunnisoncrestedbutte.com/