Telluride Festival Schedule - Summer 2010

Summer brings the Telluride festival schedule featuring outstanding music, wine, films and more, all staged in this spectacular and unmatched setting. Telluride offers festivals and concerts practically every day of the summer season. Here are some of the key events planned for the 2010 Summer Festival season in Telluride.

May 28-31: MountainFilm Festival is a four-day experience of art, adventure, culture and environment attracting filmmakers, photographers, conservationists, mountaineers, explorers and audiences from all over the globe, communing in “Celebrating Indomitable Spirit.” Theatres range from historical to state-of the-art in the box canyon of Telluride, Colorado and the town of Mountain Village linked by gondola.

June 5-6: 27th Annual Telluride Balloon Festival is a spectacular sight, weather and wind permitting.

June 7-12: Wild West Fest is an annual week-long celebration of Western arts, culture, and customs featuring family-oriented local and guest performers to benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

June 12-13: Heritage Fest celebrates Telluride’s colorful and storied past.

June 17-20: The 37th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival is rich in history, both musical and otherwise and is one of the oldest, largest and most popular festivals of the year. It unofficially marks the beginning of the summer season in Telluride coinciding with the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, and completely filled with music and cherished friendships.

Featuring 4-days of performances on the main stage in Town Park, Telluride is filled with workshops and jam sessions throughout the town and campsites, as well as scheduled shows at every indoor venue around.

June 23-July 3: 8th Annual Telluride Musicfest presents “From Russia With Love,” a series of concerts featuring Russian composers and those inspired by them performed by the local ensemble Trio Solisti.

June 24-27: The 29th Telluride Wine Festival presents 4 days of food, wine, and entertainment complete with cooking demonstrations, two nights of musical acts in Town park, winemaker dinners & luncheons, and seminars with celebrity chefs, winemakers and sommeliers.

June 28-July 4: Telluride Plein-Air is a unique opportunity to observe, learn, and meet some of the nation’s best plein air artists as they capture Telluride’s majestic mountain views, flower-filled meadows and charm of this historic town on canvas.

July 4: Fireman’s Fourth of July Celebration captures American nostalgia with an old-fashioned celebration of the stars and stripes featuring a parade in Telluride’s historic main street, a community picnic in Town Park, and spectacular fireworks set against the imposing peaks of Telluride’s box canyon.

July 5-13: Telluride Playwrights Festival is a laboratory for playwrights, actors and directors who spend an intense week working on plays and bringing them to life on the stage to showcase to the public. Everyone is invited to drop in to see works in progress and provide vital feedback during and after performances.

July 7, 14, 21, 28, Aug. 4, 11, 18, 25: Enjoy the stunning sunsets of pink, turquoise, orange and blue while listening to superb musical variety during Mountain Village’s free Sunset Concert Series Wednesdays at 6pm, Sunset Plaza from July 7th through August 25th.

July 8-11: 3rd Annual Telluride Yoga Festival combines the inspiration of the San Juan mountain range and expertise of world class instructors, both nationally acclaimed and local practitioners of yoga, meditation, and kirtan in seminars and performances .

July 15-18: This Isn’t What it Looks Like by Philip Gearson, presented by the Telluride Playwright’s Festival and the Telluride Repertory Theatre at the Palm Theatre. A never-before-staged work-in-progress play will be directed by Nicholas Day of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal National Theatre of Great Britain

July 18-20: The Nothing Festival is uniquely Telluride, accidentally created by a local resident fed up with the number of festivals in general. However, the weekend does include movies that cost nothing and an annual bicycle ride through town where the riders wear nothing.

July 23-25: Rotary 4x4 Rally features guided 4x4 tours in your own vehicle on Telluride's most famous and beautiful 4-wheel drive roads.

July 30: Telluride Cajun Festival presents “Music on Main,” including unique music as part of an outdoor street party in the spirit of New Orleans.

Aug. 6-8: Telluride Jazz Celebration is a “Celebration” of the art, soul, history, and future of jazz in a breathtaking mountain setting. Artists include the Stanley Clark Band featuring Hiromi, Dianne Reeves, Guest of Honor Toshiko Akiyoshi, The Greyboy Allstars, and more.

Aug. 6-16: Telluride Chamber Music Festival includes a number of concerts, open rehearsals, and a free concert in Town Park.

Aug. 9, 10: Phish outdoor concert will include 2 exciting shows with festival tent camping in Town Park.

Aug. 12-21: Telluride Chamber Music Festival presents chamber music up close and personal, as it was originally intended to be heard. 1 free picnic concert for the public at Town Park, 1 free concert for children, and 5 other concerts at the Sheridan Opera House.

Aug. 13-15: Telluride Festival of the Arts brings together food, the visual arts and entertainment and includes celebrity chef demonstrations, food seminars, a showcase dinner and grand tasting along with a free outdoor art exhibition featuring artists in 13 different media categories.

Aug. 26-29: Telluride Mushroom Festival features forays, lectures, dining identification, culinary delights from local chefs and the mushroom parade. Speakers this year include Paul Stamets, Daniel Winkler, and Gary Lincoff.

Sep. 3-6 (Labor Day): The 37th Annual Telluride Film Festival is one of Telluride’s most famous events featuring a program kept secret until the start of this international celebration.

Sep. 17-19: The 17th Annual Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, perhaps one of Telluride’s best, combines live blues, rock, funk, gospel, and soul by world-renowned musicians with over 50 micro breweries for one of the most scenic music festivals in the country. By night the celebration flows into town with late night juke joints and after-hours jams. This year's headliners are B.B. King, Jimmie Vaughn, Allen Toussaint and more TBA.

Oct. 1-2: Telluride Tech Festival is a celebration of past, present and future technology in an ideal environment for discussion and reflection.

Throughout the summer Telluride hosts many other events for all tastes, such as races (Imogene Pass Run, Sep 11; Mountains to the Desert Bike Ride, Sep. 25), and a number of art events and concerts. Regardless of your preferences, Telluride has something to satisfy every member of your group this summer.

Luxury Rental

And for spectacular views and luxury accommodations in the Telluride area, there are few luxury rental homes of the caliber of Palmyra and Mont Maison. Although other luxury homes are available as rental properties, Mont Maison and Palmyra are the owner’s personal vacation retreats customized with the finest furnishings for the highest standard of comfort.