24hrs with a Local

24hrs with a Local: Sun Valley Wine Auction’s Peter Burke, August

Sun Valley Museum of Art’s Peter Burke has dipped a toe into most every part of the arts there is since graduating from NYU Tisch School of the Arts years ago; he has been at SVMoA since 2018, but before that he worked as an experiential and creative producer, producing events for Google, the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, and more. He is one of the co-founders of Ketchum theater The Spot and can often be seen gracing the stage in their productions. When not in his role as Development Director and Wine Auction Director at SVMoA, he continues to teach barre classes at Zenergy, which he has done for the last eight years. As a young 30-something who grew up in and out of this Valley, Peter knows just how to have a perfect summer day, whether that’s getting inner tubes at Les Schwab to float a section of the Big Wood River or getting blocks of ice from Veltex to sled down grassy hills. Peter and his husband, Daniel, live in west Ketchum with their cat, Zelda (who can often be found sneaking into Sushi on Second searching for scraps of fish). When there is a moment of free time—doubtful in the summer, but perhaps come fall—Peter loves to draw, write, garden, and build stuff in the shop.

“I’ve returned to this valley at different times in my life and even with all the new people and changing landscape, I think there is something that is forever about this place, and it maybe lives in the cool breeze off the river in the morning, or those dark skies at night. But there’s a comfort here, and I think that is tied to my sense of place and my sense of belonging here.”

Check out how Peter spends his perfect 24hrs in Sun Valley for the month of August.

How does your perfect morning start?

Peter: I wake up very early, especially in the summer—I like the mornings because they’re quiet and cool and no one’s awake yet. I meditate and do yoga on my back deck, which is lovely. I tend to go for some kind of exercise, whether that’s a local hike like Aspen Loop, Fox Creek, or Taylor Canyon, or going to Zenergy to use the gym upstairs.

Do you eat something after your morning activity? Or grab coffee?

Peter: I’m not a huge breakfast person, but I tend to stop at Lizzy’s or Maude’s for an oat milk latte after the gym.

What’s after that?

Peter: My ideal day, I would go up north with my husband, Daniel. We prefer Alturas Lake because it’s a little bit quieter, and that’s where we got engaged. We’ll take the paddleboards, magazines, and books. We also like to hike. Always and forever, we have to stop at Smiley Creek Lodge for a huckleberry milkshake.

What do you do for lunch?

Peter: For lunch we would probably pack a picnic. If I brought it, it would be something like cheese and fruit and maybe some trout. Daniel cooks a lot, so maybe he’d come up with something.

Then we’d come back mid-afternoon and take a nap to rest up before getting ready to go out in Ketchum or Sun Valley, whether that’s a play at The Spot, a gallery show in town, a concert at the Pavilion or at River Run, Ketch’em Alive—there’s so many fun music, arts, and culture things to do in town in the summer. I love to support local restaurants, so maybe we’d grab a bite at The Covey or Rickshaw or La Cabanita, which is the best restaurant in town.

Do you like to do anything after dinner?

Peter: I love to pull out the telescope and look at the stars—we’re in the Dark Sky Reserve after all.

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