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Homegoods/Gifts/Jewelry

Retail Therapy

Welcome to Retail Therapy! The gift shop at St. Luke’s Wood River specializes in baby items, plush toys, lotions, candles and spa items. See’s candy is always in stock for that special someone. We have a large selection of scarves, jewelry, purses and gift items for every occasion.  Retail Therapy is 100% volunteer run with all proceeds benefiting the hospital. New selections arrive weekly, so come in and see what’s new today.

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Skiing & Snowboarding, Spring, Winter

Rain or Shine Closing Weekend Will Always Go Off

If there are two truths to be said about Sun Valley over the years, one is never trust what the weather man tells you. The second: if you give any local a reason to dress up, they most definitely will. The weather report rolling through the weekend was anything but favorable for dressing up. Yet from most everyone I talked to, that was not going to deter them from hitting the Goldmine, pulling out their vintage gear, busting out the margarita machine, or breaking out the fire pit and camper for a blowout of a last weekend on the hill.

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Skiing & Snowboarding, Spring, Winter

Orage Masters, This Really Did Happen In Sun Valley

The Orage Masters mascot for 2013. Surreal entry to a surreal event. photo: G Randolph   They call it the anti-comp.  “They” being more specifically the French Canadians and their international brand of irreverent entertainment, vices, and ski apparel bearing the name “Orage”.  A battle royale for the ages.  Visually disorienting; competitively uncompetitive.  And yes, “It” really happened in Sun Valley. Back flipping Pizza? Check. Or is it pizza you’ll flip for?   Thought not an entirely novel concept–get crazy and party your brains out at the end of the year– the Orage Masters returned after a two year hiatus from the anti-competition circuit bringing a flare of end-of-the-year revelry that caught the Sun Valley locals a little off guard.  Accompanying their traveling gong-show was some heavy local talent with Collin Collins, Banks Gilberti, and Karl Fostvedt back on home turf to represent. I was stoked to bring my young, impressionable pre-teens to see them rip and they did not disappoint. Visual chaos might be the most appropriate way to describe the Orage weekend. photo: G Randolph   The notion is fairly simple:  get together all of your best buds after a season of traveling, competing and filming where the …

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Non Profits

The Advocates

Teaching people of all ages to build safe lives! At The Advocates, we envision a compassionate community, free from emotional and physical abuse. We see this as a basic human right of every member of our community.  To reach our goal, we teach people of all ages how to build and maintain healthy, positive relationships. We accomplish this through three program areas serving women, men, and children: education, shelter and support services. Last year, 2,000 students participated in our education programs; another 2,000 community members joined our awareness events, such as Carbonate Hill climb; and more than 500 women, men, and children received shelter, healing, support, and transition services. You might be surprised to learn about our extensive partnerships with other organizations in the valley. We all accomplish more, together. Our partners include Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley, St. Luke’s Hospital, The Hunger Coalition, CSI, and Public and Private Schools throughout our four county area. Our programs give a child the tools to effectively stop a bully, and a newly dating teen the skills to establish safe and respectful boundaries in their relationship.  We help women, men, and children achieve healing and dignity after violence or abuse, and …

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Government

Blaine County

Blaine County is a tourist destination that offers a variety of outdoor adventures, and hosts flourishing communities with a high quality of life. Blaine County strives to be a strong customer-service based organization offering an open and transparent government. For the most current County information you can visit the Blaine County website and Facebook page. The County Offices are located in the City of Hailey. The Annex Building, located at 219 S. 1St Ave, houses the DMV, Treasurer, Assessor, Prosecuting Attorney, Probation, GIS Mapping Services, Human Resources, and Land Use & Building Services Department. The Old County Courthouse is located across the street and houses the Commissioner’s offices, Administrative Services, Noxious Weeds,  Clerk/Recorder/Auditors, and Veteran’s Services. The Courts are located in the parking lot of the Old County Courthouse at 201 South 2nd Ave, and the Blaine County Sheriff’s Department is located in the Public Safety building at 1650 Aviation Drive in Hailey. Blaine County also manages the Recycle Center located at 110 Ohio Gulch Road. For information on recycling in the Wood River Valley visit the Blaine County Recycle Center website.    

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Arts & Culture, Spring, Winter

Film, Parties, Food, and Fun – Taking in The Sun Valley Film Festival

It’s the budding of spring and you can feel Sun Valley kickstarting back to life, switching gears, and you can almost hear the creative juices flowing.  It’s not just the longer days and warmer temps, though. Within the heart of the valley a new bud is sprouting–the Sun Valley Film Festival: an extra long weekend of film, live music, seminars, and workshops which welcomes attendees in our customary fashion.

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Searching the Skies

One way to get a spectacular view of Sun Valley and the surrounding mountains is to hike or ride the lifts to the top of Baldy. But an even better way, as we found out, is to run off the top of the mountain with another person strapped to your back as a big beautiful glider rises over your head and takes you soaring out over the valley. Click here for the rest of the story on our blog, Searching for Sun Valley.

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Bucket List, Winter

The Pioneers of the Air – A Day With Fly Sun Valley

One way to get a spectacular view of Sun Valley and the surrounding mountains is to hike or ride the lifts to the top of Baldy. But an even better way, as we found out, is to run off the top of the mountain with another person strapped to your back as a big beautiful glider rises over your head and takes you soaring out over the valley.

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Skiing & Snowboarding, Winter

The Future Strikes Back. Again! Sun Valley’s Kinder Cup Ski Race

Since most people still kicking today in Sun Valley can recall, the Kindercup has played a vital role in the ski and snowboard community.  Each March every little grom who has been ripping around the hill all winter gets geared up for the “Big Race”.  The valley comes out to enjoy a warm spring day and see what their little future Olympians are made of.  It’s that one time each season that the dads actually take a few minutes to sharpen the edges and smear some wax on the skis which have bounced around in the back of the truck like cordwood all winter. Moms nervously skitter about trying to talk their kid into putting on the race bib, hoping little Jonny has brought his A-game.

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Innovation

A Tale of Two Seasons: Club Ride and Mountain Approach: The Next Generation of Sun Valley Innovators

  The MTN Approach set up Club Ride, Sun Valley' latest rec tech   Necessity is the mother of invention.  Throughout the history of Sun Valley, the offspring of necessity has been a game changing innovation.  It's a brainchild that keeps the creator up at night, hanging it out both financially and emotionally striving to make it work, banking on the belief that their idea will catch on.  Driven by the fear of returning to the dish-line at a local restaurant or other menial job needed to fund life in the mountains, the innovator drives harder.  For a small town, Sun Valley has spawned more cool ideas per capita than most large cities. The latest emerging players in this story found inspiration out on the trails and in the mountains wishing the tools of their trade were better.   Hunkered down at the kitchen table each conceived, developed, and produced over a few short years problem solving niche products which may be as commonplace in the near future as their predecessors' ski goggles and poles. Cory feeds an early prototype into the band saw. Fortunately he was already missing three fingers when this project began.   One of these brands …