The Bolder Life: The Estes Park Winter Festival is this weekend!

The Estes Park Winter Festival is this weekend!

Tonight marks the kick-off of one of my favorite festivals in Colorado and with a weekend of beautiful weather ahead, you can be sure that I’ll be making the trip to beautiful Estes Park to sample some craft brews, taste some chili and mac & cheese, and listen to some live music.

Get cozy in the heated, indoor pavilion at the Stanley Park Fairgrounds for the Ceilidh Barn Dance from 7-midnight tonight and enjoy Folk and Irish music by Mulligan Stew, s’mores and hot cocoa for $4, Colorado micro-brews for $5 and $5 Colorado wine and distillery beverages all night. Sounds like a foot-stomping good time.

But Saturday and Sunday are the festival days when the real magic happens. Sample craft beer and wine from Colorado breweries and wineries as well as chili and mac & cheese by some of the best cooks around. Mac & cheese and beer are two of my favorite things.

And there’s live music. This year, the soulful, country-American fused band, Coyote Grace will be headlining the festival with a slew of other local performers jumping on the stage throughout the weekend.

Plus there’s plenty of fun stuff for the kids, like a petting zoo, tobogganing, and a giant snow globe.

Entry into Friday night’s shenanigans is free.

Daily cost for Saturday and/or Sunday is $5 for ages 4-9, $10 for ages 10 and up, and $30 for all you can taste wine and beer.

Click here for a full schedule of events as this perfectly hometowny festival at the entryway to the Rockies.