Steamboat Springs, CO Event Calendar
November 2019
November 22
Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club Scholarship Day
Scholarship Day marks the first day of the season with revenues from the day’s specially priced ticket benefiting the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club Scholarship Fund. Scholarship Day has raised nearly $850,000 since 1991/92. This fund provides financial support for deserving local children participating in Club programs. In fact, the Club is one of the oldest and most recognized ski clubs in the United States and has been named three times as the United States Ski & Snowboard Association’s Club of the Year.
November 23
Opening Day
Join us as we kick off the season with skiing and riding!
November 24
Light Up The Night
5:00 PM – 10:00 PM
County Court House Lawn
Start your holiday season the evening after Thankgiving by joining the community on the courthouse lawn to visit with Santa, sing carols, have hot chocolate and cookies, and light the community trees.
Also, don’t miss your chance to win Downtown Dollars with the ever popular ping pong ball drop. Balls fall like snow as they are dropped from the top of the fire truck ladder with each ball displaying a special offer from one of the many retailers and restaurants downtown.
Visit mainstreetsteamboat.com for more details on this event.
December 2019
December 6
Winter Expo
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
The Sheraton, 2200 Village Inn Circle
Join the Steamboat Chamber Resort Association at The Sheraton and become a winter activities expert.
Learn what to do, where to eat and where to go this winter in Steamboat Springs. Over 50 local businesses, restaurants and activity companies will be exhibiting the best of what Steamboat has to offer. Free food from Steamboat’s best restaurants and great prize giveaways.
December 9-10
Steamboat Nordic Camp
8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Lake Catamount, 30065 Waters Edge Drive
Join The Nordic Link and Ski Haus for this cross-country clinic offering great skiing and coaching. All levels are welcome and 1 or 2 day options are available. There will be top notch coaching staff and 2016/2017 demo equipment available. Whether your goal is simply to learn to cross-country ski or to improve your race results in a competitive environment, this camp is for you. More info can be found here.
December 13
Moonlight Snowshoe
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Howelsen Hill, 845 Howelsen Pkwy
Yampatika invities you to join them to snowshoe by the light of the full moon and explore the beauty and history of Emerald Mountain, and Howelsen Hill. This tour is for ages 12 and up. Cost is $20 and price includes snowshoes and lift ticket. Registration is required. Please call (970) 871-9151 to register.
December 20-22
Holiday Classic Race
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Howelsen Hill, 845 Howelsen Parkway
Come watch Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club athletes as they compete in the Holiday Classic FIS Slalom Races with some of the best athletes from across the country. Please visit the Winter Sports Club website for more info here.
December 28
Holiday Concert
7:00 PM
Strings Music Pavillion, 900 Strings Road
Join Strings Music Festival as they welcome Neil Berg’s Broadway Holiday.
The number one touring Broadway concert in America brings Broadway’s finest stars and greatest songs together for an unforgettable holiday event. Neil Berg’s Broadway Holiday features hits ranging from classic shows such as My Fair Lady and South Pacific, through ground breakers like West Side Story and Chicago, to current blockbusters like Jersey Boys, and Wicked. The show will also feature much-loved holiday tunes.
December 31
Torchlight Parade
5:20 PM
Base of Steamboat Ski Area in Gondola Square
The Steamboat Ski & Snowboard School treats tourists and locals to a spectacular on-snow parade down the mountain lit only by torches for this New Year’s Eve event.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Start time is determined by sunset – please visit steamboat.com to confirm start time of the event.
In conjunction with the torchlight parade, a fireworks display will illuminate the sky providing a perfect ending to the evening. The show is free and great for all ages. The best viewing is from the pavers at the Steamboat Stage and the Umbrella Bar next to the Bear River Bar & Grill, all adjacent to the Steamboat Gondola. The Torchlight Parade and Fireworks events takes place on New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, and St. Patrick’s Day.
January 2020
January 4-9
MusicFest
Daily at 9:00 AM
Does it really get any better than the MusicFest? In its 33rd year, this festival continues to draw thousands of people who love skiing and music. Six days, 50 bands and live performances featuring Texas and Americana music at the Steamboat Ski & Resort is a vacation you’re sure to remember.
The 2016 event included a wide array of performers, including favorites such as Lee Ann Womack, Cody Canada, Dirty River Boys, Jack Ingram, Turnpike Troubadours, and more. Click below for a full list of performers and bios for this year’s 33rd annual MusicFest.
January 15
43rd Annual Bud Light Cowboy Downhill
12:00 PM
Base of Steamboat Ski Area in Gondola Square
Nothing says Steamboat like cowboys on skis! That’s what Billy Kidd, Director of Skiing, and Larry Mahan, six-time All-Around World Champion cowboy, were thinking when they made the decision to invite some of the ProRodeo cowboys up to Steamboat for some serious fun on the slopes. Forty years later the Downhill has evolved into a signature Steamboat event, as over 100 professional rodeo cowboys flock to the ‘Boat for one of the most unique events in the West!
January 27
Olympian Sendoff
Gondola Square
It takes a community to raise an Olympian, and Ski Town, U.S.A. ® is ready to celebrate the next generation! Steamboat Springs has produced 89 winter Olympians and counting, the most of any town in North America! We welcome back past Olympic medalists Billy Kidd, Nelson Carmichael, Johnny Spillane and others and give a warm send off to those joining this elite group for the first time as they head off to PyeongChang, South Korea. With fireworks, a flag parade, music and the lighting of the 15-foot Community Cauldron, it’s a spectacular show you won’t want to miss.
February 2020
February 7-11
Winter Carnival
5:30 PM
Various locations, Steamboat Springs
Celebrate 103 Years of Winter Tradition in Steamboat Springs
Mention a parade and fireworks and people say that’s typical. Talk about adults on shovels being pulled down main street behind horses or skiers jumping through fiery hoops and people stop to listen. In Steamboat Springs we do things differently, and with the oldest, continuous Winter Carnival west of the Mississippi, this event is certainly no different.
Winter Carnival was started by the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club (SSWSC) as a way to help residents cope with cabin fever during the height of the Colorado winter season. The event continues to this day as a way to celebrate winter; as a reason for neighbors to gather; and as an opportunity for everyone to experience a piece of Ski Town USA® history and tradition.
Saturday and Sunday highlight the event with the Winter Carnival Street Events and the Night Show Extravaganza. The Street Events feature local Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club kids being pulled on skis behind horses right down main street in downtown Steamboat. A crowd favorite, the “Donkey Jump”, sends kids soaring off a jump for up to 40, or even 50 feet.
On Saturday, the Night Extravaganza on Howelsen Hill is lit up with colors as Winter Sports Club athletes flip through the air off the jumps while others descend down the mountain leaving a red glow outlining perfect ski turns.
The last down the mountain is always the twinkle light wrapped Lighted Man with roman candles shooting out of his backpack, which makes for a spectacular opening act for the fireworks show to close out the night.
Peruse our suggested itinerary for ideas on how to plan your Winter Carnival vacation with your family and friends. Let us guide you through the Winter Carnival event schedule, as well as experiencing all the winter activities Steamboat has to enjoy!
More info available here.
February 23-25
Winter WonderGrass Festival
8:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Steamboat Ski Resort
The Winter WonderGrass Festival brings together authentic bluegrass music and Colorado craft beer for one of the best music festivals of the season. The festival features over 20 Colorado craft breweries and more than 25 bands during this four day event.
This year’s festival headliners include Railroad Earth, Leftover Salmon, The Infamous Stringdusters, the Sam Bush band, and Colorado favorites, Elephant Revival.
The festival is a community and family-friendly event featuring a colorful kids zone with face painting, hula hooping and crafts while parents can enjoy libations and enjoy live music until the sun sets. Children under 12 are free and seniors over 75 are also free. More details are here.
February 22-27
Mardi Gras
5:30 PM
Steamboat Ski Area
The good times are definitely ready to roll in Ski Town, U.S.A.® when the Steamboat Mardi Gras Festival comes marching in, February 23 – 28, with free concerts, parades, a Cajun BBQ and Mardi Gras party and more. The festival culminates on Fat Tuesday with an all-day celebration featuring a snow sculpture contest at the chairlifts, restaurant specials, and plenty of beads to go around.
August 2020
Wild West Air Fest
- 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Steamboat Airport – 3495 Airport Circle, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487
Join us for the best air show entertainment in the mountains at the Wild West Air Fest 9:00am – 3:00pm on Saturday, September 1, 2018. Purchase tickets in advance and skip the line at the event!
The Wild West Air Fest features nationally renowned performers providing edge of your seat excitement as they perform thrilling aerobatics and formation flying. In addition, enjoy warbirds and static aircraft displays, great food, exhibits, vendors and activities for the kids.
Events take place at the Bob Adams / Steamboat Springs Airport. Free parking is available at the Stockbridge Transit Center (1505 Lincoln Ave.) and the Routt County Combined Court (1955 Shield D.), with city buses running to and from the event continuously.
Dogs will not be permitted on buses or at the event. There is no parking at the event site.
Whatever you choose, don’t miss this family-friendly weekend in Steamboat. Visit www.wildwestairfest.com to learn more about the Wild West Air Fest.
Adult – 13 years and up – $10
Youth – 6 – 12 years – $5
Children 5 and under – Free (ticket not required)