The end is near: Deadhead Ed’s End of the Season Bash

The last big fundraiser of the winter season

By Dawne Belloise

As the ski season comes to a close, the parties in this town seem to ramp up. Deadhead Ed’s End of the Season Party started back in 2008 and it’s still a favorite. This year, the festivities happen on Thursday, April 3 at the Crested Butte Center for the Arts. There will be a lot of zest added to the party this year like the Teocalli Tamale Burrito Bike serving up both vegetarian and non-veggie fare, local craft vendors and LED hula hoop dancers. It wouldn’t be Deadhead Ed’s party without Dead music so the beloved local band Easy Jim is home from touring other mountain communities to kick out the jams. Best of all, proceeds from this event go directly to fund the Crested Butte Community School Enrichment Program. It’s actually why Deadhead Ed started these parties…as a fundraiser for the arts and it’s the Enrichment Program’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

The End of the Season Party originally started at the Center where Ed is the technical director, then moved to the Eldo for a couple of years. Ed says, “It was always intended as a fundraiser but sometimes no funds were raised because ticket sales barely covered the cost of the band. A few times I was able to donate a few hundred in cash but the last few years it has made more money.” 

Ed says he came up with the fundraiser concept several years ago after he became critically ill. He spent five weeks in the hospital and the community was there for him. He says, “I almost died so I wanted to give back to the community and do something important for the school.” 

Having worked in the arts, Ed says he understands their importance in the school, “But the arts are always the first budget cut. I’m all for sports but arts are equally as important.” Ed recalls that in the past, people even donated musical instruments. “Everyone thinks it’s a birthday party for me, but it’s not,” he grins. “The important part is that it’s for the town, it’s a party for them and it’s intended to be more than just a concert.” He adds that kids are welcome. 

Easy Jim band member Tyler Lucas describes the band’s role in performing for Ed’s parties, “Forever and a day and as long as I can remember.” He emphasizes that school music programs are super important, “not only to our community but to society in general. It’s been devastating to see those programs in arts and culture cut, they seem to be the first to go when it comes to education. I think it’s important to have art enrichment programs that supplement the school curriculum. From a musical standpoint, it’s one of the most valuable tools that I’ve had growing up and in my life.”

Tyler says the opportunity to create music professionally is vital. “It also brings a lot of joy to my life, and I want the next generations to be able to have that same appreciation.” Tyler says that Easy Jim wants to make Deadhead Ed’s party their big special show for the year, “We want to be able to do something extra special for the community.” 

Tracy Hastings, events manager at Center says, “When you think about it, it’s really kind of cool that a bunch of hippies are directly helping to support kids and after school activities and art programs.” Tracy is collaborating and organizing the event with Ed. “My passion is to help kids in this community in arts,” she explains. She laments that there’s not a lot of state and federal support for the school arts programs, while everything the CBCS Enrichment Program does is exclusively in the arts. Tracy began helping with the event a couple of years ago when she started working at the Center and discovered Ed’s party was actually a fundraiser for the school. Tracy says that the majority of the community had no idea the event was a fundraiser, so her goal was to let the community know the purpose of the party. “All the profits go to the Enrichment Program which provides after school activities.” Last year in 2024, the party raised $5,000 for the Enrichment Program. “The Enrichment Program only charges $20 for a six-week program. This year, I hope to get over 300 people,” she says of the party and adds, there’s room for many more with the Center’s capacity for 900. “It’s a great weekend, it’s the end of the season and people want to have fun.” 

There are several ways to donate to the Enrichment Program. You can write a check to CBCS Enrichment Program and mail it to PO Box 339, Crested Butte, CO 81224, or My Payment Plus: CBCS account holders can donate via your MPP account, or Sponsor a Club: It’s $250 to sponsor one six to eight week session of a club, $400 to sponsor a club for the whole year, talk to Jill van Tiel [email protected]. You can also Venmo a donation: Tracy Hastings @hastingsincb and of course, you can buy a ticket and attend Deadhead Ed’s End of Season Party. Tracy emphasizes, “It doesn’t matter who makes a donation or how big or small, what matters is everybody agrees that children and art should be supported. If we don’t support children and arts now, where will we be in 20 years?”