Veni, Vidi, Vinotok

Summer marks its end this weekend with the autumnal equinox — when the sun lies directly above the equator and, for all practical purposes, the day is the same length as the night. After this, the days become shorter, the air gets a chill, and we begin our preparations for another winter.

For the town of Crested Butte, this weekend marks a tradition 21 years in the making: the Vinotok festival. A conglomerate of European harvest traditions, Vinotok is a celebration of fall and a preparation for the winter. The Butte community comes together to tell stories/tall tales, feast, and burn an effigy full of written complaints — "The Grump" — to encourage a winter free of worries and woes.

Tonight, a pig roast takes place in Crested Butte's town park at 5:30 p.m. Stories will be told, music will be played, and kids can work on their decorative head garb for tomorrow's procession of the Grump. Admission to the feast is $10 for adults — $5 if you bring a dish to share — and $5 for kids ten and under. For more information about Vinotok, call Angela Carroll at 1-970-596-8385.
Sept. 21-23, 2007