Crested Butte council looks at Vail’s special event process for guidance

Just what is the Crested Butte brand?

In an effort to perhaps better organize the process used to consider and approve special events in Crested Butte, mayor Aaron Huckstep gave the Town Council a PowerPoint presentation at a work session last month on how Vail deals with the issue.
In Vail, a seven-member board reviews applications with promoters to discuss coordination, process, analysis and economic impact of the proposed events.

“This may be a Ferrari,” admitted Huckstep. “Vail has a lot more money than us but we may be able to pick out a few things in their system that could work for Crested Butte. They have a much more complex and sophisticated system than we do.”
The Vail Commission on Special Events is tasked to deliver an annual special events plan to the council, “which ensures that world class events are fully aligned with Vail’s brand.” The idea is to optimize the town’s event calendar, analyze the economic impact each event brings to town and promote a positive guest experience that leads to future loyalty.
“It might be worth it to coordinate with Mt. Crested Butte and develop calendar optimization,” suggested Huckstep. “But the council needs to understand the community’s limits, tolerance and desire for events.”
Huckstep also pointed out that Vail uses a “vigorous timeline when it comes to events that require the event coordinators have their acts together well before the events happen.” That review timeline essentially runs from September through January to develop an annual special event calendar.
Vail also hires consultants to determine exactly how much return on investment the events bring to town.
Huckstep left the council and staff with a few questions to ponder about adopting some of the tactics that seem to work in Vail when it comes to coordinating special events.
“We perhaps need to again reach out to the community to determine what our community brand really is,” suggested councilperson Roland Mason.
“I’d rather see what Telluride does with their special event process,” said councilperson Skip Berkshire. “They seem a bit more in line with our scale.”
The council will continue to consider what to adjust in their special event process to make it more efficient and beneficial to the town.