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 …
24 Hours with a Local: Fit Me SV’s Kathryn Caminiti
A Ketchum local, Kathryn Caminiti (aka Kat) moved back to the Valley three years ago from Newport Beach, California, looking to get back to her small-town roots in the town she grew up in and where her parents and many of her friends still live. She began dabbling in pilates, eventually becoming certified and teaching classes at Zenergy before opening her own pilates studio, Fit Me SV, in March 2024. Kat envisioned not only having a dedicated pilates studio in Sun Valley, but one that taught classes that blended all the elements of her favorite workout classes into one: pilates, yoga, barre, spin, and Lagree. Already, in the short time the studio has been open, it’s been a hit, with her hiring on new instructors and herself teaching fifteen classes a week. Kat, who lives in west Ketchum with her boyfriend, Griffin, is just as active in her free time, spending it hiking, playing tennis, riding her bike, and rock climbing. Of course, she enjoys her downtime as well, whether that’s going to the symphony and dining on a charcuterie board, laying by the river or pool, or just chilling with friends. Check out Kat’s perfect July day in Sun …
What We’re Made Of: Sun Valley Pride
For several years now, Sun Valley Pride has joined the ranks of other meaningful Sun Valley events produced by and for locals, all in the name of providing community. In this case, that community is the LGBTQIA+ community, for which Sun Valley Pride provides a multi-day event full of performers, music, and fun. From what was once a modest singular event to now a full week of both paid and free activities, Sun Valley Pride draws attendees and performers from across the nation. How It Started What is now an entire week of Pride events started as just one: Pride in the Garden, at the nonprofit Sawtooth Botanical Garden (SBG). Executive Director Jen Smith had only been in her role for a few years when she suggested the Garden do a Pride event as a way to raise funds. As she says, they didn’t need to do another golf tournament or poker run like other organizations in the area had done as fundraisers. The board went wild, and the first Pride in the Garden event was held in 2021, which Jen describes as “a social justice event trying to bring awareness to the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies and to …
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 …
24 hours with a Local: Powder Magazine Founder Jake Moe
The skiing in Sun Valley has been influential on many people and brands over the years, including Jake Moe, who was working as a Sun Valley ski patroller in 1968 when he came up with the idea for Powder magazine. At just 20 years old, Jake Moe lived like so many ski bums still do in Sun Valley: balancing his love of riding fresh pow with working an assortment of jobs, from dishwasher, waiter, and cook to roof shoveler, cannery worker, and painter. In 1972, the first issue of Powder came out, and Jake continued producing the magazine from Sun Valley until 1975, when he opened the magazine’s office in Boulder. Over the years, Jake has been in and out of Sun Valley, but it was when he finally retired seven years ago that he and his wife, Susan, decided to leave Seattle and come back to the town where they met 50 years ago (Susan worked for Sun Valley back in the ’70s as well). Now living in Warm Springs, Jake maintains a busy life for someone who’s “retired”: coaching tennis three days a week, volunteering, mountain biking, golfing, fly fishing, hiking, catching summer concerts, traveling in his van, …
24 hours with a Local: Wendy Jaquet
You may know the name Wendy Jaquet from her eighteen years in the state legislature (she’s a former Democratic representative, minority leader, and budget committee member), but Wendy has played many roles in the Wood River Valley, and beyond. She and her husband, Jim, moved to Ketchum from San Francisco in 1977, as Jim had been hired as city administrator for the City of Ketchum. Soon Wendy found herself dabbling in a variety of roles, from president of her two sons’ school PTA to managing an art gallery, to managing the Wagon Days parade (which she did for twenty-five years, and still announces for), to being executive director of the Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber of Commerce for thirteen years. In 1994 she decided to run for the state legislature, which she did full time until 2012, when she began teaching foundational studies and intro to public administration at Boise State University. Tired of the commute to Boise, she quit teaching but has remained busy ever since, serving on the board of Visit Sun Valley and the advisory council of the Trailing of the Sheep, giving historical tours of downtown Ketchum, coordinating the Resort Cities Coalition for the City of Ketchum, participating …
What We’re Made Of: Swiftsure Ranch Therapeutic Equestrian Center
South of Bellevue lies a beautiful, sprawling property, home to Swiftsure Ranch, a nonprofit organization founded in 1991 to help those with physical, mental, and emotional needs through equine-assisted activities. The ranch helps many individuals, including veterans, children, the elderly, and others, throughout the Wood River Valley through its many programs. Currently, the organization employees eight staff (six full time, two part time), is assisted by roughly 150 volunteers, and helps about 385 clients a year with its 21 horses. Using these unique therapeutic equine connections, Swiftsure helps empower individuals of all abilities to gain strength and freedom. The Ranch Swiftsure Ranch moved to its current location on 191 acres just south of Bellevue in 2011, allowing for more facilities and more expansive grounds. The ranch is joined on the west by BLM lands and mountain and water views; one mile of the Big Wood River passes through the property. The centerpiece of the equine programs is the 32,000-square-foot, indoor, heated arena, which allows the organization to operate year-round. A 20-stall barn accommodates up to 40 horses, and there’s also outdoor paddocks, pastures, and a smaller 12-stall barn. Inside the main arena is a tack room, complete with adaptive saddles, …
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! StART Summer in Sun Valley The summer season is kicking off with a week of festivities from Sun Valley Culinary Institute, Sun Valley Museum of Art, and Ballet Sun Valley. Learn more about this week of celebrating the arts in various forms through these organizations and events that support the community arts all year long. The Welcome Party Celebrity Chef Art Smith and Food Network insider Bruce Seidel will be preparing cuisine for the evening and dance the night away with DJ SID3S! This kicks off the week on Saturday June 22nd, you can find more information …
24 Hours with a Local: Idarado’s Cory Smith
Though originally from Silverton, Colorado, Cory Smith has been living in the Wood River Valley for more than two decades, since he relocated to the area to work for Smith Optics. Prior to that, he was a sponsored snowboarder for K2 and working on Mt. Hood’s skate and snowboard camp Windell’s, which he helped start back in the early ’90s. After blowing out his knee and dashing any hopes of continuing a pro career, he moved to Ketchum, where the scene at the time was “full of skiers, and I was a punk rock snowboarder.” Luckily, he learned to love the town and its people, and when Smith (the company) packed up to move to Portland in 2015, he decided to stay behind and start his digital marketing company, Idarado. Now almost ten years in, Idarado has five full-time employees and works with clients like Traeger, First Lite, Decked, Dickies, and more. Cory lives in Ketchum in a live/work setup with his two teenage daughters and their dog. When he’s not on the clock, he’s a man of many hobbies, including snowboarding (obviously), mountain biking, running, dirt biking, yoga, skiing (which he dabbles in now), going up to his cabin …
What We’re Made Of: Sawtooth Mountain Guides and Sun Valley Mountain Huts
All manner of people have explored the Idaho wilderness, for as long as it’s been there, but two companies, Sawtooth Mountain Guides and Sun Valley Mountain Huts, are two of the longest-running backcountry businesses in the Wood River Valley. An accredited mountain guide service, Sawtooth Mountain Guides (SMG) has been around for over 30 years, providing summer and winter backcountry guiding services. Sun Valley Mountain Huts (SVMH), formerly known as Sun Valley Trekking, owns some of the country’s oldest and most diverse backcountry hut system, with six huts in five Idaho mountain ranges. Sawtooth Mountain Guides The History Founded in 1985, Sawtooth Mountain Guides is the brainchild of outdoor enthusiast Kirk Bachman, who began exploring local ski and climbing terrain in the area in the early ’70s. When Kirk started SMG in the mid-’80s, it was primarily as a climbing guide service, though he soon added ski guiding on to the company and also built and established some of the first North American yurts as backcountry ski huts in the Sawtooths. This included the Williams Peak Hut, which the company established in 1988 as a winter base for local at-risk youth programs and continues to operate today for both guided …
24 Hours with a Local: Hailey Councilman Juan Martinez
You may know Juan Martinez from his position on Hailey city council, but Juan wears many hats in the community, from his job coaching varsity basketball for Wood River High School to working as a ticket-checker for Sun Valley to working summers at the Valley Club. A lifelong local, Juan moved back to the area in 2013 initially just to help his dad recover from a surgery but found himself loving being involved in his community in so many ways. He immediately started coaching at his former alma mater (WRHS class of 2010) and from there began adding the many positions he holds throughout the Valley, all of which give him the opportunity to do what he likes best: interact with his community. Now in his second term on city council (he ran unopposed), Juan is in a position to continue to help the community he has always called home. He and his girlfriend (who he met in the soup line at River Run Lodge) live in Hailey through Valley Club employee housing, and when he’s not at one of his many jobs, Juan is skiing, golfing, or mentoring people. “I really enjoy being involved in a lot of things …