Every major city has events. Dallas Texas is no exception, hosting many events. There areDallas corporate events, Dallas team building events, Dallas social events and many more. Any city is host to a multitude of gatherings, some to inform, some to entertain and some to market goods. Some cities and towns build local business around events, others see a good thing and want to keep it going. Some locations have seasonal economies and struggle to find ways to get through the rest of the year.
Telluride Colorado has a distinct advantage over summer destination towns. Telluride is a remote ski town that boasts a great mountain and a quaint town. During the ski season, the town is crowded with the many skiers. People travel there to enjoy the winter recreation and spend money throughout the town on meals, clothes, food, massages and entertainment. Skiing attracts a more affluent crowd so luxury and non-essential businesses do well. But Telluride has a problem; it doesn’t snow all year. Telluride’s advantage was that it’s busy season was during the coldest seasons. Unlike resort towns in the North East, the off season in Telluride offers some of the best weather. This was a perfect situation to create a four season resort town.
Telluride located in the far reaches of Colorado which is not far from Durango in the southwest corner of the state. It is a small town in a box canyon a great distance from any major urban population center. Telluride began as a mining town but now offered little industry outside of being a winter resort destination. The town planners began bringing in summer festivals including music festivals, a mushroom festival, a film festival and art events. There are many outdoor adventures and tours for visitors who come to Telluride. It built a city campsite that bordered the wilderness and was also close enough to walk into the town, though shuttles ran on a regular schedule. The Telluride Bluegrass Festival turned into a major event. The film festival has developed a strong reputation and a loyal following. The films were shown in old historic theaters. There was also an attempt to make the celebrity event more accessible to the public, with outdoor seminars and theater in the park in the shadows of the mountain.
The town was also challenged by real estate limitations. The town is located between three steep mountain ridges. There was no real property to develop and many of the buildings held historic significance and charm. Expanding the town to meet the demand would require destroying the charm that helped draw the crowd. Once again Telluride had an additional advantage. The majority of the ski area was on the slopes dropping into a valley on the other side of the town. By road it was nearly a 15 mile trip, but the Gondola was able to function as the umbilical chord between the two areas. One area could retain the old fashion charm, the other could offer all the modern amenities of resort living.
Telluride has managed to become a four season destination by utilizing its natural resources, protecting its heritage, and creatively expanding both the town and the town’s attractions.