Live, Love, Eat Mountain
Aspen, CO— On December 12, 2010, the Aspen International Mountain Foundation and the City of Aspen teamed up to present a celebration of sustainable mountain living in honor of United Nations’ Mountain Day. "Live, Love, Eat Mountain," held at Aspen’s historic Wheeler Opera House, was a multi-media program with a pre-program reception. The event was free and open to all ages.
"The mission of AIMF is to further world peace and cultural understanding by creating opportunities for people to promote sustainable development in mountain communities around the world," said Karinjo DeVore, AIMF president. "So, it is in that spirit that Aspen celebrates this day with mountain people internationally."
After Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland welcomed the packed house, Chris Davenport, famed big-mountain skier and filmmaker, hosted the interactive evening. The event featured the short film “Growing Home,” starring world champion big-mountain telemark skier and Aspen native, Nick DeVore. The film highlights Morocco’s skiing in the Atlas Mountains, surfing, and sustainable alpine horticulture. Images from National Geographic photographer Pete McBride also were shown, with live music by Paul MacFarlane.
The event concluded with a sustainability roundtable discussion moderated by Nathan Ratledge, Director of Aspen’s Community Office for Resource Efficiency. Roundtable participants featured Randy Udall, leading energy sustainability activist; Casey Sheahan, CEO of Patagonia; Jerome Ostenkowski, founder of the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute in Basalt, CO; and Lauren McDonell, Director of the City of Aspen Canary Initiative.
Throughout the evening, free prizes from Marmot, PolarTec, Patagonia, the Aspen Club and Spa, Backbone Media and more were given away to some lucky attendees. The evening was a great success and AIMF hopes to make it an annual event. The program was filmed by Grassroots TV, Aspen’s local TV station, and was aired multiple times a day for several months.