The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Vinotok continues this weekend with events celebrating community, connection, the harvest, and the balance that arrives with the Autumn Equinox. We offer a place to share stories, tell tall tales, gather at fire circles, burn your grumps, and gather in the streets to bid farewell to summer and summon the fall.
Thursday, September 18 –
It’s all lies!
The Botsie Spritzer Memorial Liar’s Contest. Doors at 7 p.m. Lies begin at 9 p.m. at Kochevar’s Saloon. $10.
Kochevar’s is transformed, and community members gather to tell and hear tall tales, whoppers, and adventure stories from the community. Prizes for the best liar. The Green Man is announced! A naughty, raucous evening. This is a 21+ event.
Friday, September 19 – Gather, celebrate, and eat together
Community Feast & Medieval Faire. 3 – 10:30 p.m. Crossroads Fire Circle. $40 in advance; $50 at the door; $15 children 12 & under. General Admission (all fun, no food): $10.
Gather, celebrate, and experience community! Gates open at 3 p.m. with booths for face painting, runes, and making a head wreath. Cash bar opens with hard cider, mead, wine, spiced rum, and N/A beverages. Be sure to bring your own mug! Or purchase one of ours for $5. Vinotok archetypes and performers wander about, weaving in and out of the crowd to entertain you. Submit your grumps and beckonings at this time, too.
At 5:30 p.m., ceremonies begin with a Blessing of the Feast and the start of food service. Enjoy an organic meal of locally and regionally sourced food with many gluten-free and vegetarian items from Mountain Birds, Mercy Ranch, Gunnison Gardens, Iola Farms, Gunni Gal, Sundrop Flora, The Breadery, and Mountain Oven Organic Bakery. Feast on Chicken Shawarma, Slow Cooked Salt Baked Goat, Chard Veggie Medley, Mixed Greens Salad, Cabbage and Kale Slaw with a Roasted Tomatillo Vinaigrette, Summer Squash Salad, Dill Pickles, Sourdough Bread with butter, and Apple Crisp with Bourbon Caramel Sauce (subject to change). Food service ends promptly at 7 p.m. Please bring your own utensils, plates, and drinking vessels as none are provided.
At 7 p.m., Marcie Telander, D.Div., performs the ancient, non-denominational Handfasting Ceremony where couples, families, friends, partners, and the entire community join in sharing vows and promises of re-commitment for a healthy, transforming future. Our local Squires will also be inducted. At about 7:30 p.m., we hold the Indictment of the Grump followed by fire-spinning performance. To close out the night, hang around the cauldron fires with live music by local musicians (bring your musical instruments), poetry and short stories by local writers (bring your words), and camaraderie and conversation. Rain or shine – wear your warm Vinotok best!
Please leave your own alcohol and pets at home. Service animals are welcome.
Saturday, September 20 –
Vinotok!
Street Theatre by cast and crew. 5 – 8 p.m. (ish). Free.
Cast and Crew of Vinotok take to Elk Avenue for street theatre before the Trial of the Grump.
Trial of the Grump: 8 p.m. (ish). The Crossroads. Free.
The community puts the Grump on trial with harvest maiden dances and a play of the Harvest Mother, Dragon, Knight, and Green Man. The performance is amplified and lit so the community can hear and see the tale on the temporary stage.
Safety Note: Let it be known that folks who are obnoxious, unruly, uncouth, destructive, disruptive, immature, and generally unable to maintain themselves in public will not be tolerated. There will be no toxic items or hazardous materials in the cauldrons. Let our community festival live.
Grumps
In Slovenian traditions, effigies were burned on the boss man’s lawn as a rib. These effigies have morphed into the Grump, a symbol of what we want to release from the previous year. Grumps give our grievances to the flames and make room for what we want in the new year. Grump boxes are in Crested Butte at CB Ace Hardware, Mountain Earth Organic Grocer, CB Mountain Heritage Museum, The Secret Stash, Montanya, Dogwood Cocktail Cabin, Kochevar’s, The Talk of the Town, The Daily Dose, Rumors Coffee & Tea House, Mountain Spirits Liquor, The Eldo, The Majestic Theatre, Crested Butte Community School, the T-Bar, Crested Butte Town Hall, and the Crossroads Fire Altar. Gunnison locations include The Dilly Deli, Sanctuary Somatics, Gunnison High School, Double Shot Cyclery, and the Gunnison Arts Center. Grump Boxes will be collected on Friday, September 19. You may also submit your grumps at the Grump Shrine at the Crossroads Fire Circle anytime during Vinotok Week, including the Community Feast. Grumps will be ceremoniously disposed of after the Trial on September 20.
Wear a costume, make a head wreath. Be in the streets!
Community members are encouraged to dress in Medieval/Renaissance attire for any Vinotok event. Forest creatures and pan descendants are also welcome. This is especially true for Liar’s Night, the Community Feast, and Vinotok Day. Make a head wreath from natural materials you find on a nice, long walk in the woods. You may also make your own head wreath at the Community Feast on Friday. Grab a poet’s shirt, lace up your corset, make a jester’s hat. On the evening of Vinotok, the Vinotok Theatre Troupe will celebrate in the streets. Dress up and meet them to dance to live drums.
Vinotok is for everyone. We’ll see you in the streets.
