Winter festivals and events add seasonal fun and a scenic backdrop to meetings
Summer may be the high tourist season for many destinations in the Southwest, but winter can be equally enticing. For meeting planners, lower hospitality price points coupled with a variety of winter festivals and events make the season an attractive choice.
The Southwest is rich with winter fun for groups, ranging from skiing and ice skating to taking in the rich museum heritage throughout Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Stuart Maas, senior director of marketing and business development for Visit Lake Tahoe (Calif.), notes, “Winter provides ample ways to explore and build rapport: ride the gondola up to breathe the high mountain air and take in the epic vista, have a team snowball fight.” He adds, “What could be better than soaking in a hot tub while the snow softly falls?”
In contrast, destinations with little snowfall, like Sedona, Ariz., offer milder climates and a different take on the winter months. “Whether it be a hike or a bike ride along the 400-plus miles of local recreational trails, a ground or air tour of the red-rock landscape from one of the local tour operators, a trip along Verde Valley Wine Trail to experience one of the 25-plus wineries in Verde Valley AVA, or a visit to a spiritual center or vortex for a mindfulness break, Sedona has diverse options to consider,” says Andrew Grossman, tourism director for City of Sedona.
Meeting planners can look to the many winter annual festivals to create greater value for their group events. For instance, groups visiting Bryce Canyon National Park could enjoy a day of hiking or snowshoeing in the park one day and take in the sights and sounds of the annual Bryce Canyon Winter Festival at Best Western Plus Ruby’s Inn the next.
Like many winter festivals across the Southwest, the February event in Bryce Canyon boasts a wide variety of activities for all interests and ages, from a race to education classes to crafts and clinics—ski, skate, and archery, to name a few.
“This year, we celebrated our 39th annual Bryce Canyon Winter Festival. We always joke that the people who helped put on the original event are still coming and now bringing their grandkids,” says Lance Syrett, CHA, general manager of Ruby’s Inn. “I think the longevity of the event speaks to its success.”
Longevity also characterizes the annual Winter Fest OC in sunny Costa Mesa, Calif., where the destination creates its own winter wonderland. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the festival, which runs from late November through early January. As Southern California’s largest winter event, it features more than a million lights, massive holiday décor, live shows, and plenty of snow and ice activities.
Win-win of winter festivals
Destinations and meeting planners alike benefit from winter festivals and events. As Syrett notes, these opportunities keep meeting planners from starting at square one. “You get to piggyback. I think it makes sense from a meeting planner’s perspective because it simplifies things,” he says, adding it also helps the destination fill hotel rooms in the off-season. “We are a summer destination. During a normal year, we are going to fill pretty much every night from May 1 until October 15. In the off-season, it is slower, so we rely a lot on these special events to get people out here.”
Many events hosted across the Southwest offer meeting planners a way to fill event entertainment schedules at no cost. As Marci Kurronen, sales manager for Visit Fort Collins, notes, groups can take advantage of winter lights displays in Colorado’s Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park. In Fort Collins, Downtown Lights opens the first week in November and runs through Valentine’s Day. The winter lights festival spans 22 blocks of Old Town Fort Collins, illuminated with thousands of lights.
“Whether attendees want to embrace the beauty of winter through outdoor activities like snowshoeing or fat biking or prefer the charming ambiance of Old Town Fort Collins with its many restaurants, shops, and galleries, both options offer a unique way to appreciate the season and create memories for their attendees,” Kurronen says.
Also new this year, NoCo Light Trail extends from Fort Collins to Loveland, up to Estes Park, and into some of the towns in between. It provides festive light displays, free family-friendly activities, and even a drive-thru option at three northern Colorado cities known for having some of the best light displays in the state.
Winter festivals also build lasting bonds between residents and visitors. “The strongest tourism communities have vibrant resident and visitor populations, both actively experiencing all the destination has to offer,” Grossman says. “As a result, those communities that have approached product development through the lenses of ‘what is good for the resident is good for the visitor’ or ‘great places to live and work are also great places to travel to’ are the best-positioned tourism destinations,” he says. “When done successfully, organized winter festivals and events can also create third spaces for fostering connections between those who participate.”
The City of Sedona is one of several sponsors of the annual Sedona International Film Festival (SIFF), a nine-day festival held in late February and early March. Now celebrating its 31st year, SIFF features film screenings and workshops at three local theaters. According to the festival website, SIFF is the “jewel in the crown of Sedona’s cultural life and the largest single annual event in the community.”
Park City, Utah, is home to the famed Sundance Film Festival, held each January. Groups can expect plenty of film screenings, parties, and likely a few celebrity sightings. Attendees of Sundance Film Festival can also enjoy plenty of winter fun, whether skiing Park City Mountain, snowboarding at Deer Valley Resort, tubing Woodward Park City, or taking a guided tour of Utah Olympic Park.
Planning around existing events allows event planners to capitalize on the best opportunities to make business travel meaningful and memorable. Rather than organizing an entire evening’s entertainment, Maas suggests hosting a private group dinner and taking advantage of the excitement of an existing festival. Two of Lake Tahoe’s most sought-after winter events include Valhalla Makers Market and Winter Reggae Festival.
“Tahoe’s events are unique because we combine nature and nightlife, relaxation and thrills, stadium-size to intimate lounge, all grounded in a laid-back community of individuals who are passionate about the great outdoors,” Maas says.
Celebrating cultures
Winter festivals and events also provide a great platform for celebrating cultures across the Southwest.
Julianne Krogseng CTP, CTIS, director of Tour Colorado, says the state has always had a natural curiosity about encountering new cultures and embracing the cultures of its multiple ethnic groups. “All heritage is celebrated here, and most cities host different events at all times of year celebrating their local culture and history,” she says, noting winter is a prime time for experiencing culture in Colorado. “Tourism is at our core, and many people traveling to Colorado on business will stay longer to experience the many great things the state has to offer.”
Colorado winter festivals, like Breckenridge ULLR Fest, Wintersköl in Aspen, and UllrGrass in Golden, are notable cultural celebrations drawing on the state’s Norse influence. Groups attending ULLR Fest will find a host of revelers dressed as Vikings, a downtown Breckenridge parade and bonfire, a town-wide talent show, the Ullr Ice Plunge, ice skating, and fat-bike racing.
Wintersköl is Aspen’s January “toast to winter,” featuring on-mountain activities, film screenings, a winterfest, and broomball and fat-biking competitions. UllrGrass is a family-friendly winter music festival and beer festival surrounded by the beauty of the Rocky Mountain foothills. It features the UllrGrass Park Parade, music from local and national bluegrass musicians, and tons of local food and craft vendors.
The annual Ski Joring & Crystal Carnival in Leadville, Colo., leans into the state’s rich horse and ski heritage. Fearless skiers connected by towrope to a horse and rider galloping at top speed navigate an obstacle course. In addition, the lively celebration also boasts a winter carnival and other snowy activities.
The Sedona community recognizes the rich cultural history of Arizona and the American Southwest, including past and present tribal nations, Mexican traditions, and European settlers. “This understanding of the cultural history of place helps make Sedona a place where people come together in appreciation and awe of the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape,” Grossman says. “We are very fortunate to be a small-town community of fewer than 10,000 residents that has a global appeal and draws visitors from across the United States and within the international community.”
The Tahoe area holds several winter festivals offering a variety of fun themes and activities. “Pray for Snow” parties kick off the season, Maas says, and other popular events include the city’s annual pond skim competition, Gunbarrel-25, Toyota Air & Après and Big Air Show. The annual Heavenly Holidays Festival and Festival of Winter Lights attract visitors from around the world. “The spirit of the mountains runs deep in Tahoe,” Maas says. “We celebrate the natural beauty all around us in a multitude of ways.”
“Pray for Snow” parties are a long-held tradition at various establishments. For example, the Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort’s annual “Pray for Snow” party features plenty of snow-making machines and a “snow-calling” competition in which participants are judged on volume, audience participation, and creativity. Heavenly Mountain Resort is home to both the pond skim competition—where contestants attempt to ski or board across a pond of water on the mountain top—and the Gun Barrel-25, an extreme sports competition characterized by 25 laps on a 1,600-vertical-foot run of the deepest moguls in Lake Tahoe.
“Groups can have it all at Lake Tahoe—thrills, relaxation, culinary delights, and dance parties, all surrounded by majestic scenery —so it is easy to craft an itinerary that is highly unique and fitting for any convention,” Maas notes.
“Planning around existing events allows event planners to capitalize on the best opportunities to make business travel meaningful and memorable.”
