Gunnison Weekend

The National Weather Service is predicting a sunny and warming weekend ahead. As always -there's lots to do in Gunnison!
There should be great spring skiing at the local ski areas or backcountry skiiing, snowshoeing, or snowmobiling at higher elevations. There is still ice fishing at Blue Mesa Reservoir. Be sure and take your sunglasses and sunscreen! It will be bright out on the ice. There's ice skating at the indoor Jorgensen Ice Rink and the covered outdoor rink (if it doesn't get too warm), climbing on the indoor climbing wall and of course swimming in the leisure and lap pools at the Gunnison Community Center. With the sunny weather, take a hike, jog, or bike ride on the City trails and bike lanes, or hit the basketball courts at Legion or the Meadows Parks. In the evening, the Gunnison Arts Center is presenting their annual "SonofaGunn" play, Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week and next week. This year's production is entitled "The Producers - Way, Way, Off Broadway". Go the Gunnison Art Center's website for more information.
Saturday afternoon at 2pm, the 60th Annual Firemen's Concert Series continues at WSC's Taylor Auditorium with the Western Slope Choral Festival. Admission is by donation and supports the Gunnison Volunteer Fire Department.
After enjoying your favorite recreational pastime, visit the local shops for unique clothes, gifts, sporting goods or home decor, and inviting restaurants to round out your day. Several of the local hot spots will be featuring live music this weekend. And, you can always catch the movie at the Ruby Cinema in the WSC College Center on campus. Check our their website. (Google "Ruby Cinema Gunnison" for details.)
Don't forget...spring ahead your clocks late Saturday night before going to bed. Daylight Savings Time starts at 2:00 A.M. early Sunday morning. It'll be hard getting out of bed on Monday morning, but it will stay lighter in the evening. Have a great weekend.

Pac Man Pond Closed

Due to warmer temperatures and sunshine, PacMan Pond at Jorgensen Park is closed for ice skating for the season. The indoor ice rink and the outdoor covered ice rink are still open for skating. The outdoor covered rink is temperature- dependent whether skating is allowed.
Skating at both the outdoor rink and the indoor Jorgensen ice rink will close for the season on Monday, March 26th.

Sure Sign of Spring

Even though the weather service is calling for possible snow this evening and tomorrow, there was a sure sign of impending spring this afternoon. A flock of sandhill cranes was circling the center of town just after 1pm.

The Gunnison Valley lies under the annual flight path of the cranes. They winter along the Rio Grande River at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuse near Socorro, New Mexico. Each spring they migrate north along their ancestral flight path to the Grays Lake area of Southeastern Idaho. In the fall they reverse the process and fly south over Gunnison in mid-September. You can see them in local fields in early evening. The wildlife refuge/bird viewing area west of town on McCabe Lane by the Waterwater Treatment Plant is a great place to observe these graceful creatures.

The cranes have a very distinctive sound - so get off your cellphone, turn off the iPad, get out of your diesel truck and hop on your bike or take a walk - to hear these harbingers of spring. You'll probably notice a lot of local folks stopping and staring skyward in the next month.

Caucus Yes - Council No

The Gunnison City Council Work Session meeting scheduled for this evening, Tuesday, March 6th, has been cancelled due to lack of a quorum. Several of the Councilors will be attending the Democratic Caucus scheduled for this evening.

The Council meeting was rescheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, March 7th, in the City Council Chambers of City Hall. The Councilors will meet with the Gunnison Planning & Zoning Commissioners and will discuss the VanTuyl Ranch Annexation and the City Sign Code. The Planning Commission has been hard at work examining, discussing and rewriting the City's Land Development Code, of which the Sign Code is just one component.

As always, the public is welcome and encouraged to attend all City Council meetings.

Spring Programs

It's a beautiful spring-like day out there and it turns our attention to spring recreation programs! Registration is taking place NOW for the spring programs. See the "Thinking of Spring" blog entry below from Friday, February 24th, for where you can find information on these fun and active programs. We have everything from swimming to soccer to pickleball to rock climbing, for toddlers to adults! There's something for everyone. Sign up now to reserve your spot.

Friday Night

We've made it to the weekend (well almost)! Tonight, Friday, March 2nd, is the monthly First Friday Gallery Crawl in Gunnison. From 5 to 7pm, local artists will be featuring their creative and thought-provoking works at a variety of locations in town. Many of the galleries have appetizers and refreshments to help set the relaxing mood of viewing art and meeting with the artists and friends.
Start at the Gunnison Arts Center, 102 S. Main St. and view "The Gunnison Open". The theme is "Green" and showcases the work of local artists in different mediums.
Head north across Tomichi Avenue to the Gunnison Gallery at 124 N. Main and enjoy the vivid landscape photography of Rob Fillmore. Rob, a local geologist, has taken stunning photographs of the redrock country of the Colorado Plateau. There's an added bonus, listen to the wonderful music of local vocal artist Kevin Walters. The Gallery also features the works of 45 local artisans.
Again heading north, stop by Rocky Mountain Frames at 228 N. Main Street. View a new series of "En Plein Air" oil paintings by local artist Bill Folowell. Most of his paintings are of the Gunnison high country.
Your next stop is Mocha's Coffeehouse at 701 N. Main Street. Katy Able's mixed media paintings "Meet Me At Dawn" are on display. View the art work while enjoying the vocal folk music stylings by Katherine Taylor while you sample Mocha's free drip coffee.
Finish your evening with dinner and libations at one of Gunnison's fine restaurants, bistros, tavern, or brewpub. There's something to suit everyone's tastes.
Enjoy the weekend!

Check Us Out

You can keep up with what's happening in Gunnison in many ways! You can head down to one of the local coffee shops, grab some espresso and shoot the breeze with the locals!
You can also...
Check our our website at http://www.cityofgunnison-co.gov/
Keep reading this blog for updates...
go to our new Facebook pages at https://facebook.com/City-of-Gunnison
or do all of the above!