Within a day’s drive of trend-setting Portland, and with the help of nonstop flights into Hailey’s SUN airport, big-town hipster culture has permeated the west. The influence of well-read, big-rimmed glasses-wearing and flannel-loving thirty-something’s has even infiltrated the small resort town of Sun Valley. Here, microbreweries, handcrafted cocktails, great coffee and beard-trimming locations abound, making the trend-adverse hipster, feel at home. Take a walk in a pair of Birkenstocks, and try out Sun Valley, “hipster-style”.
Not to Miss Arts & Culture Events This Summer
When we travel, we all have our tried-and-true activities, but why not spice things up with a one-of-a-kind experience? Get ready for a Sun Valley summer like no other because we’ve got a whole lineup of arts & culture events that you won’t find anywhere else! From our signature summer extravaganzas to offbeat and extraordinary experiences, it’s time to create your ultimate Sun Valley summer bucket list. So, throw caution to the wind, embrace the unexpected, and let the adventure begin. Don’t miss out on the chance to make memories that will last a lifetime – start planning your Sun Valley summer today! Sun Valley Wine Auction The 44th Sun Valley begins Tuesday, June 24th and concludes on Thursday the 26th. This event includes gastronomic adventures, Magnum Pig Roast, Vintner Dinners, River Ranch Wine Walk, and the Gala and Live Auction. Learn more at Sunvalleywineauction.org Ballet Sun Valley Saturday June 28th and Sunday June 29th will have The National Ballet of Canada debut in the valley at the Sun Valley Pavilion. Don’t miss this chance to catch a magical night of world-class dance, visit balletsunvalley.org. Sawtooth Valley Gathering The 10th annual Sawtooth Valley Gathering comes to Stanley June 19–22 for a weekend …
Oktoberfest in Sun Valley: Raising a Stein in Honor of History
The Sawtooth Brewery presents the annual Oktoberfest celebration in the Ketchum Town Square every September.
Free Summer Music in the Wood River Valley
words and photos by Hayden Seder While there are always big-name concerts at some of Sun Valley’s larger venues—River Run Plaza, The Argyros, Sun Valley Pavilion—there are also numerous, free weekly concerts put on by some of the area’s favorite establishments with local musicians of all genres. Below are where to catch free tunes in the summer! Ketch’em Alive Arguably Ketchum’s best and best-attended free summer music event, Ketch’em Alive brings musical acts to Forest Service Park for an evening of lively tunes, dancing, and seeing friends every Tuesday from 6:30–8:30pm, June 17 through August 5. Pack a picnic or enjoy a variety of food and beverage options available for purchase from local onsite vendors. August 5: Andrew Sheppard Wylde Beet Tiny Deck Summer Concert Series Vegan restaurant The Wylde Beet on Main Street in Hailey is celebrating summer with their monthly Tiny Deck Summer Concert Series, where local musicians play free concerts on the restaurant’s patio. Plant-based food and beverages are available for purchase while you listen to tunes form 4pm to 8pm. Check their calendar listings for the most up-to-date info. August 8: Wildwoods (4–6pm) and Canyon Kids (6–8pm) Hailey Rocks Started as a similar event to Ketch’em …
Sun Valley: A Spiritual Vortex
There’s a certain magnetism to Sun Valley, a pull that draws in people from all walks of life. People come to vacation here for a few days and decide to move here. Celebrities, athletes, chefs, artists, and all manner of passionate people are drawn to this special place. The reason, according to Life Purpose Shaman, the owner of the Shaman’s Healing Sanctuary aka Crystal Healing Room in Ketchum, is a positive energy vortex at the center of Sun Valley which she discovered 25 years ago. Shaman has had 30-plus years of experience healing, including receiving mentoring from Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, and the Dalai Lama. Shaman explains how and why she came to Sun Valley and the impact of the vortex on the energy of our town and its inhabitants. What originally brought you to Sun Valley? Shaman: Over 25 years ago, I actually saw a vision of the energy and vibration that’s in Sun Valley. I am an intuitive, spiritual healer who connects with the vibration or frequency of the earth’s vortexes. Since I was very young, I’ve studied with many different shamans and healers and spiritual leaders because of my abilities. When I had this vision, …
What We’re Made of: Liberty Theater
Written by Hayden Seder Standing proudly on Hailey’s Main Street is the iconic Liberty Theater, a landmark in the area since it was built in 1938. In its almost 100 years of history, it has had many owners, seen a variety of performances come through, and been an entertainment mainstay to the residents of the Wood River Valley. History The original Liberty Theater was built in the early 1900s across the street from the present-day theater, which was built on the site of an old outdoor skating rink in 1938. It sold to new owners in the ’70s, and again, in 1994, to new locals Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. It was Willis who convinced his friend Denise Simone of the then two-year-old theater company Company of Fools (CoF), then located in Richmond, Virginia, to relocate to Hailey, Idaho, and use the theater as her company’s new home. Despite having never been to the area, Simone and her CoF cofounders were convinced, and promptly relocated to their new town and the theater they would call home for the next few decades. The company debuted with a performance of Nikolai Gogol’s Diary of a Madman, which performed to thirty people …
Local KDPI DJs Weigh In on Sun Valley’s Summer Music Lineup
Live music abounds in Sun Valley in the summer, from big-ticket shows at River Run to smaller ticketed shows at the Liberty Theater and Whiskeys to the lengthy slate of free weekly music, like Wicked Wednesdays at the Wicked Spud, Ketch’em Alive at Forest Service Park, and Hailey Rocks at Hop Porter Park. This summer is no different, with an excellent lineup of concerts from the Sun Valley Museum of Art (SVMOA), the Arygros, Sun Valley, and more. To give you the inside scoop, Visit Sun Valley chatted with some radio DJs from local station KDPI—trust us, these guys know music. Joining us were Sheila Moriarty, Brett Macubre, and Logan Frederickson from Mountain Music Menagerie (a weekly themed show curated by a group of friends on Thursdays from 7–9pm) and Caleb Horowitz (aka DJ Klondike) of The Good Show, described as “good music for good and bad people” (Wednesdays from 8–10pm). Sun Valley Museum of Art: Old Crow Medicine Show and Lake Street Dive The SVMOA summer concert series is always a season highlight, with past performances by artists like Wilco, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, and more. Playing at the Sun Valley Pavilion on June 19 is folk band Old …
6 Reasons the Sun Valley Film Festival is Better than Sundance
Sun Valley has been attracting Hollywood darlings since the 1930’s, when Averill Harriman invited his A-list Rolodex to hang out on the slopes of Dollar Mountain. On any given day you might run into Tom Hanks at the Elephant’s Perch or Jodie Foster at Java, but every March filmmakers and actors will descend en masse for the Sun Valley Film Festival. The Sun Valley Film Festival has attracted major sponsors and lauded film insiders. So does Sundance, you say? Yeah, we know. But we think we have a few things to set us apart. Come see if we’re right. Photo Courtesy of SVFF // Amanda Nagy Come as Yourself Filmmakers and movie lovers alike are welcome at the Sun Valley Film Festival. Whether you’re writing your first script, just wrapped a blockbuster movie, or simply like to binge watch Netflix, you’ll feel at home. Insiders and newbies mingle in theaters and lobbies throughout town. Red tape? We don’t really do that around here. But leave your selfie stick at home. Photo Courtesy of SVFF // Mark Davis – Getty Images Intimate and Laid Back The Sun Valley Film Festival is often described as intimate and laid back, …
The Greatest Golf Tourney On Earth – The Ketchum Wide Open
The official score card of destiny Harley’s for hangovers, Banks Gilberti must still be looking for his passport. It began nearly a quarter century ago as a way to pass time during spring slack season at a time of year when the tourists are not on tour and the locals are getting a little restless. It’s a basic yet brilliant concept: the bars and restaurants in town rally together and each creates a mini-golf hole to try and befuddle even the savviest golfer. Athletes congregate in teams of two and play a round of ultimate mini golf. Bonuses are awarded for various actions and everyone tries to make it all the way around town before the closing bell rings. Costumes are taken seriously in Sun Valley and the KWO as it is affectionately known brings out the best of the best. The Vikings and the Americans battle for the title in a previous year’s KWO. It’s no joke and if there was ever a winter of preparation to get ready for this event Sun Valley has got it. Spend hours upon hours at après and you are the finely tuned machine who will come and represent. Registration starts promptly at …
What We’re Made of: Merlin’s Magic Lantern
Ketchum’s only movie theater, Merlin’s Magic Lantern, has been a presence in this town for fifty years, seeing countless movies appear on its screens and just as many patrons, both local and out-of-towners, come through its doors. New owner Bob Peterson has taken over the historic theater, breathing new life into the business born of former owner Rick Kessler’s passion for movies. The History It’s hard to believe there was a time in Ketchum’s history when the Magic Lantern wasn’t in operation, but until owner Rick Kessler moved here in 1972 and opened the theater three years later, in 1975, that was indeed the case. The theater, named for the 17th-century image projector, originally opened in the Odd Fellows Hall, on Washington Avenue, until the size of the growing community demanded a bigger space, and Kessler moved into the theater’s current space across the street, on Second Street. Just 25 years old when he opened the Magic Lantern, Kessler envisioned providing something he saw as essential to a community: not just a space to see movies, but a place to meet friends, a place for kids to go on a summer afternoon, a place for tourists to go in the …