CBMR successfully courts Gay Ski Week for end of next ski season

“We want people to experience Crested Butte”

The calendar for next ski season is filling up already, and Crested Butte Mountain Resort just added a game-changing event to late March.
On Tuesday night, CBMR announced Butte ‘11—the Matthew Shepard Foundation Memorial Gay Ski Week, March 19-26, 2011.

Jason Marsden, executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation said, “This new event provides the perfect vehicle for communicating the education, advocacy and awareness work of the foundation. This was a large-scale opportunity to bring attention to our mission.”
The Matthew Shepard Foundation was founded in 1998 to develop educational and motivational resources for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) and allied youth, and conducts on-campus high school and college programs to counter bias, celebrate diversity and help students learn how to counter discrimination in their everyday lives.
StraightOut Media and Marketing will promote and organize the event in congress with CBMR and the foundation. A similar ski week is held in Telluride each year and is regarded as a successful event that draws a substantial number of visitors.
John McGill, StraightOut cofounder and partner, said they came here last spring and fell in love with Crested Butte. In particular, the Al Johnson and all its costumes and revelry caught his attention. “The Al Johnson is the closest thing to ‘gay’ you guys have!” said McGill. He also likes the idea of coming for spring skiing when it should be a bit warmer.
CBMR Chief Operating Officer Ken Stone led off a press conference this week held at 9380 Prime restaurant by introducing all in the room. He said he’s known John McGill a long time.
“But we never dated…” McGill yelled from the crowd, laughing.
Stone said he is very pleased to work with the Matthew Shepard Foundation and StraightOut. “It’s a great opportunity to start an event that can last a long time in Crested Butte. I think you’re going to find everyone’s going to want to be a part of this.”
McGill said when his group visited Crested Butte last spring, they were received by the mayors of both towns and were treated so well, “We felt like the gay mayors!”
“We want to showcase the town and what’s unique,” McGill said. “You have a great community. We’re not trying to turn Crested Butte into another town, we want people to experience Crested Butte.
“Bartenders will tell you it’s the best tipping week of the year,” McGill added. “We just tell the bartenders to flirt, wear wifebeaters, and if you look like a movie star, change your name for the week!”
CBMR director of sales Jon Walters is thrilled to have the event in Crested Butte. “The creation of a Gay Ski Week has been a goal of mine since I started with CBMR. And having the opportunity to work with the Matthew Shepard Foundation is fantastic. I think it will become a signature event for the resort and the entire Crested Butte community for many years.”
McGill expects several hundred people to attend, though it’s the first year so he can’t say for sure. The similar event in Telluride is a big draw, and according to McGill, it’s ranked as the “Top Gay Ski Week” in the country by gay.com. While here, the producers partner with local businesses to host a variety of events and parties, and some of the proceeds go back to the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
CBMR group sales manager Nina Weyl has also worked hard on bringing this event to Crested Butte. McGill said when he met Weyl, “It was like an episode from ‘Touched by an Angel.’” Weyl couldn’t be happier about Butte ‘11.
“One of the things most of us who call Crested Butte home love so much about this town is the awesome ability to be oneself—this community welcomes people with open arms when they move here,” she said. “I can’t wait to see what this town has in store for the Matthew Shepard Foundation Gay Ski Week. The reason the event producers love Crested Butte and why they chose it as their next location for a Ski Week is the positive vibe of the town, the funkiness the town naturally possesses.
”I am beyond thrilled with the response I have had with the community so far about ‘Butte 11’ coming to Crested Butte,” Weyl continued. ”What I love so much about Crested Butte is the awesome acceptance of the people here. I am so proud to be a part of the first annual Matthew Shepard Foundation Gay Ski Week.”