The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Beer and wine garden near the liquor store
By Mark Reaman
The Crested Butte Arts Festival will be making a return to Elk Avenue this summer. The town council approved the special event application at the May 20 meeting after a lengthy discussion about the location of the beer and wine garden that will be located in the parking area near Mountain Spirits Liquor at Sixth and Elk.
The festival had moved to the Crested Butte Community School campus in recent years but with the upcoming construction of the school expansion this summer, that was not an option. So, organizers decided to return to its Elk Avenue roots. It will be set up Friday, August 2 and be located between the 200 block of Elk to the mid-500 block at the east end of the street.
Town council members discussed a concern from Mountain Spirits that having a beer and wine garden near the liquor store could negatively impact the business. Council hashed through the concern and pondered other locations including putting it on the other side of Elk near the bank and Alpineer. Arts Festival executive director Andrew Arell said he would communicate with all the local businesses, including Mountain Spirits, and work with them to minimize any negative impacts.
While sympathetic to the concern, council ultimately decided that the event is a long-term business benefit to the community. Council members also concluded that purchasing individual servings of beer and wine from the Arts Festival was sufficiently different from buying liquor from a liquor store.
The festival that will close Elk Avenue for the first weekend in August will feature between 130 and 150 art vendors, 10 nonprofit booths and fewer than five food vendors. There will not be an admission charge to enter the event this year. Mountain Express buses will continue to service the Elk Avenue bus stops.
