Sixty-five years ago, some Aspenites came up with the idea for irreverent activity during the month of January to bring some vitality and spirit to an otherwise slower time following the holidays. The result is now a longstanding and beloved tradition: Winterskol. The word literally means toast to winter, and the four-day festival kicked off yesterday and will continue through Sunday with (mostly free) activities throughout town. We're even going to leave our design posts to check out some of the fun. 

Among some of the favorites are Soupskol, a competition between local restaurants for the town's best soup, as determined by judges and the public (Friday, 4-6 p.m.); the canine fashion fashion in Wagner Park (Saturday, 1 p.m.); a second-floor view of the fireworks from the Wheeler's newly renovated lobby (fireworks go off at 8:15 p.m on Saturday.) followed by a free screening of the "Blizzard of Ahhhs";  a broomball tournament at the Aspen Recreation Center starting Sunday morning; and the ongoing Men's and Women's Health village at the base of Aspen Mountain featuring free coffee and cocoa, swag and spa services during the day throughout the weekend. Cheers!