Vail

An Enlightening Winter

Phil and Susan Ershler

Phil and Susan Ershler, the first couple in history to climb the Seven Summits together, will speak as part of Vail Symposium's Unlimited Adventures series February 21 at Donovan Pavilion.

The Vail Symposium returns for its 37th year to educate and entertain visitors and locals alike. The Vail Symposium winter schedule will consist of 35 programs throughout the season from January to May. The programs have been divided into eight distinct series: Hot Topics, Unlimited Adventures, Arts and Culture, Documentary Film Series, Active Minds, Know Your Valley, Slow Food and Live From NY’s 92nd St Y. Organizers felt the separation of programs into distinct series better illustrated the wide range of topics covered by the Symposium and hope that the division will make the selection process easier for attendees. Still, you’re bound to find something rewarding in each of the eight series and trying (at least) one of each is strongly encouraged. Variety is, after all, the spice of life.

Hot Topics will feature renowned experts addressing issues of national and international import. The Symposium kicks off its winter season Thursday January 3 with one of these “hot topics” as Dr. Jordan Metzl, a sports medicine practitioner, addresses, among other things, the drug culture in American sports. Lingering questions about the Mitchell Report? Stop by Sonnenalp and ask Dr. Metzl. Unlimited Adventures, one of the Symposium’s free series, invites courageous individuals that have pushed their bodies and minds to the limits to share their amazing accomplishments. Arts and Culture features tours of some of the finest individual art collections in the Valley as well as workshops covering everything from the classics like painting and poetry to the exquisite art of bonsai pruning. The Documentary Film Series, also known as the Beaver Creek Film Series, will feature three outstanding films at VPAC followed by discussions with acclaimed critic Walter Chaw. In both the summer and the winter, the Film Series has consistently been our favorite program. The Vail Symposium has a real knack for picking terrific, oftentimes unheard of films and Walter Chaw’s discussions are always rewarding.

Active Minds, another of the Symposium’s free programs, offers an impartial introduction to on a variety of historical, social, political and religious subjects, and while this series is geared toward seniors all are welcome to attend. Know Your Valley may be the most self-explanatory, yet most adventurous of the Symposium series. Enjoy a behind the scenes look at Vail and Beaver Creek mountains or a guided tour of Camp Hale with a 10th Mountain Division veteran. Slow Food focuses history and revolutionaries in the fields of livestock and produce. Hear cattle industry maverick Mel Coleman Jr. speak about lobbying for reforms in the ‘70s or attend an heirloom vegetable workshop with master gardener Susan Mackin Dolan. You’ll be thinking differently about what’s for dinner. Live From NY’s 92nd St Y features some of the world’s finest minds, from Dr. Madeline Albright to Richard Sonnenfeldt, at Vail Interfaith Chapel, live via satellite.

Wherever your interests lie, there really is no wrong choice as the Vail Symposium has assembled another formidable line-up for the 2008 winter season.

For a complete schedule, check www.vailsymposium.org. For inquiries or to sign up for a program, call 970-476-0954.

Fond memories of the Vail Symposium’s past programs? Share them here, and please enjoy Plum’s coverage of the 2007 Symposium’s Unlimited Adventures series featuring Pasquale Scaturro.

Video

a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer" target="_blank">
Unlimited Adventures: Pasquale Scaturro

Filmmaker, geophysicist, and true adventurer Pasquale Scaturro has been everywhere from the Nile to Everest with an IMAX camera in tow.
Scaturro spoke at Donovan Pavilion as part of the 2007 Vail Symposium
Unlimited Adventures series.

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