Looking back at 2007 brings to mind a prolific year in arts and events steeped in history, global issues, inaugural events and groundbreaking community celebrations. Although there were many seasonal and yearly celebrations of art, music, theater and events, a few happenings stand out.
Mother Nature was the great arbiter of 2007, from the below-freezing temperatures of the first Ski Tour to the dramatic effect and outcome of the Castle Rock Fire. When Kipp Nelson created The Honda Ski Tour, he had a vision to bring back the spirit of mountain town living to Sun Valley. Nelson's efforts were embraced by both residents and visitors, who enjoyed three days of live music, street parties and watching the world's best skiercross and halfpipe freestyle skiers compete for big prize money. The success of The Honda Ski Tour has brought back the event for another round in Sun Valley in 2008 as the Jeep King of the Mountain Series on March 14-16.
In March, the Sun Valley Center for the Arts made a decision to bring a six-day multidisciplinary exhibition "Darfur: A Call for Compassion," to the Wood River Valley. The event was enabled by the generosity of The Center, the Wood River Jewish Community and Wood River Valley residents Edgar Bronfman Jr., Larry and Rebekah Helzel, Alan and Wendy Pesky, Judith and Richard Smooke and Kiril Sokoloff. Gretchen Steidle Wallace, 32, and her brother, former U.S. Marine Capt. Brian Steidle, 30, discussed and signed their book, "The Devil Came on Horseback," and screened a film of the same name on Steidle's time in Darfur as one of three U.S. military observers for the African Union. The exhibition educated and solicited the Wood River Valley community in helping to end the region's genocide and the use of rape as a weapon of war.
The inaugural Sun Valley Food & Wine Festival took place June 8-10, with a full weekend of wine tasting, food demonstrations by celebrity chefs and celebrated Wood River Valley chefs, and food and wine pairings, as well as vintner dinners throughout Ketchum area restaurants. The festival featured award-winning writer Jim Harrison, the Food Network's "Iron Chef" star Cat Corea and the notable Cory Schreiber from Portland's Wildwood Restaurant, to name a few. The festival will take place again June 6-8 with more cuisine extravaganzas.
Throughout the summer, the Wood River Valley hosted a number of summer concerts, including an extremely successful and well-attended Ketch'em Alive series. The Sun Valley Center for the Arts Wine Auction met its goal to continue providing the region with quality exhibitions, performances and speakers. In addition, the Sun Valley Opera's "Three Tenors" performance brought down the house with exciting performances by Dennis McNeil, Jorge Lopez-Yanez and Jose Medina.
On Wednesday, July 11, the Sun Valley Summer Symphony and the Sun Valley Co. broke ground for a new Sun Valley Music Pavilion, a $10 million project featuring 1,500 seats as well as a surrounding elevated park for an additional 3,000 spectators. The pavilion will house a 6,000-square-foot stage under a proscenium arch that will support the permanent horn-like acoustical shell covering roughly half the enclosed area. The pavilion is set to open Aug. 3 for the Sun Valley Summer Symphony season.
As the infrastructure of Sun Valley continues to grow, The Sun Valley Center for the Arts will grow, too, having announced this summer the construction of a 22,500-square-foot headquarters at the corner of Second Avenue and Fourth Street in Ketchum. The new multi-use facility, to be completed in 2009, is not only cutting edge in design but will be a certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building.
As the summer ended, the Castle Rock Fire caused cancellation of all the valley's Labor Day celebrations, including Wagon Days, the Coors Light BaseCamp Music Experience and Atkinsons' Market Ketchum Criterium. However, it did not take away from the success of the third annual Ernest Hemingway Festival. Celebrating Hemingway in Paris, the festival celebrated and studied the importance of Hemingway and his legacy.
In response to the incredible fortitude of the firefighters and community, the Kick Ash Bash, Sept. 28-30, celebrated the success of 1,600 firefighters in containing the Castle Rock Fire. The economic burnout of the fire was a huge hit to the area, and many businesses had to look for loans to survive. Breathing life into Ketchum, the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau and the city of Ketchum hosted the Kick Ash Bash, with the highlight being the Castle Rock Firefighters Benefit Concert featuring the Bruce Willis Blues Band, Carole King and the Steve Miller Band. The memorable concert with stunning performances invited all the Castle Rock Fire firefighters as special guests of honor. The proceeds from the concert went to the nonprofit Sun Valley/Ketchum Volunteer Firefighters Association, which covers all the Wood River Valley departments, as well as the nonprofit national Wildland Firefighters Foundation, based in Boise.
Among all the grand events, exhibitions and film screenings, the valley still harbors its love for the Sun Valley Gallery Association's gallery walks and the theater talent from Company of Fools and nexStage Theatre productions, as well as all the arts- and humanities-education elements, from the Community Library to the Community Campus. They all keep the region rich with arts, artists and mind-expanding events.
Steve Miller jams at the Kick Ash Bash. Photo by Willy Cook
