The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Remember to use the “motion sickness” bags
By Mark Reaman
The promise of a smaller bonfire in which to burn the Grump last Saturday did not deter the crowds during the Vinotok finalé. Thousands of people crowded into Crested Butte on Saturday to witness the annual fall festival that culminates with a fire at the Four-way Stop. By every indication the event came off seamlessly.
“As Vinotoks go, we were quite surprised, in a good way,” said Crested Butte chief marshal Mike Reily. “The crowd seemed to be quite large and the bars after the event were packed throughout the night. Officers made a good number of contacts but all of those contacts, even the people we cited or warned, were polite and thankful. The overall vibe of the night seemed positive.”
“The burning of the Grump was cleansing for the community at large and for individuals from here and afar,” commented one of the event organizers, Kat Harrington. “We are extremely grateful for all the volunteers and donations that made this year’s amazing celebration happen.”
After the 2016 event, there was tension between event organizers and local safety personnel, since the fire was constructed beyond agreed-upon parameters. That apparently was not the case this year.
“The inspection of the bonfire and Grump was simple since the builders held tightly to the agreed-upon plans,” said Reily. “The weather cooperated with the afternoon wind and rain subsiding in time for the festivities. There seemed to be a general consensus that the smaller bonfire was more artistic than previous bonfires and we never felt it was out of control. There were some smaller embers that left the bonfire but they did not travel nearly as far as with previous bonfires.”
“The Vinotok Fire Crew tightened up all fire and Grump design aspects and had an exemplar burn that was exactly one-quarter of what we burn in our fire ring on Saturday night,” said Harrington. “We worked well with Town and the Marshals to plan and execute a wild and safe celebration that is woven into the cultural and historical fabric of this spectacular place we all live.”
The Saturday festivities went well into the wee hours but Reily said the town had only two calls for service the whole night, with EMS paged to one call. “Both of those people were disorderly and intoxicated, which required a few hours of our time and a bit of manpower,” Reily said.
The night was occasionally rowdy but controlled and lasted until after the bars closed. Mountain Express buses operated late between the two towns. “We ran until 2:20 in the morning,” said transit manager Chris Larsen. “The 2 a.m. bus had 60 passengers, while the 2:20 a.m. bus had 23 passengers on it. No one was left behind as far as we know.”
It was the same for the RTA bus that took revelers back down south. The last RTA bus of the evening is slated for 11:23 at the Four-way Stop in Crested Butte.
“We ran two buses for the late night trip. Nobody was left behind,” said RTA executive director Scott Truex. “We picked up 112 people in Mt. Crested Butte and Crested Butte and dropped off 20 in Crested Butte South. The idea was to have one bus run to Crested Butte South and one to Gunnison. However, most people were going to Gunnison, so both buses went to Gunnison. Despite having barf bags available, we did have someone puke on the bus. It wasn’t pretty. We wish everyone would use the motion sickness bags we have on all the buses.”
Oats and Corn!
“Now that Vinotok is over, winter is coming so bring on bountiful snow,” concluded Harrington.
