The 43rd annual Aspen Gay Ski Week kicks off Sunday. Over the decades, it’s evolved, and this year, that means an increased push to welcome families. Kevin McManamon, AspenOUT executive director, says 25 families will attend Gay Ski Week this year. He stressed the importance of creating a space where LGBTQ people with kids can come to connect.
“Perhaps you're in a small town,” McManamon said. “You're the only ones, and it's really nice to meet people that are going through the same thing.”
This year’s Gay Ski Week features seven days of dinners, parties and other events around Aspen and Snowmass. McManamon thinks Aspen’s role as a welcoming place for LGBTQ people could extend beyond just one week in January.
“With as gay-friendly and as good a reputation as Aspen has,” McManamon said. “It only makes sense that we try and create an LGBTQ-friendly mountain town, not just winter and not just Gay Ski Week, but all the time, and in the summer.”
McManamon highlighted a number of LGBTQ-friendly beach towns, and said Aspen could become a mountain equivalent.
This year’s Aspen Gay Ski Week is expected to draw about 3,000 attendees. A schedule of the week's events can be found here.
