Planet Bluegrass’ FirstGrass concert kicks off summer festival season in Mountain Village

The 46th annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival kicks off in picturesque Mountain Village with the annual Firstgrass, a free outdoor concert in Sunset Plaza on Wednesday, June 19. The genre-defying Jon Stickley Trio plays at 5 p.m. followed by the only-in-Telluride jamgrass supergroup of Ben Kaufmann & Adam Aijala (of Yonder Mountain String Band), Andy Thorn (of Leftover Salmon), and Stephen “Mojo” Mougin (of the Sam Bush Band)! This free show runs from 5 to 8 p.m. and is made possible by the Town of Mountain Village and Planet Bluegrass. After the show, stick around to dine in Mountain Village and for those lucky enough to have a ticket for Planet Bluegrass’ evening celebration with Leftover Salmon, head to the Telluride Conference Center as they play to a sold-out crowd. Doors open at 8 p.m. with the show beginning at 9 p.m. For more information on the festival, visit bluegrass.com/telluride. FESTIVAL TRANSPORTATION Mountain Village and Telluride are connected by a three-stage gondola system starting at Market Plaza (formerly Town Hall Plaza) in Mountain Village to Village Center, and ending in Telluride at Oak Street Plaza. It takes about 12 minutes to get from one town to the other via Mountain Village Center. During the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, gondola operating hours are from 6:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday, June 19 through Sunday, June 23. Expect long lines during peak times. Additionally, the Meadows bus loop will run until 3 a.m. these nights with the last departure from Market Plaza to the Meadows at 2:35 a.m. In addition, Dial-A-Ride will remain open until 2:30 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday. PARKING INFORMATION Overnight parking at the Gondola Parking Garage will be free beginning Wednesday, June 19, 2019. Starting at 8 a.m. Thursday parking will be allowed along Mountain Village Boulevard for festivarians. For visitors needing a ride to their vehicle parked on town roadways, the Planet Bluegrass bus there will be a free circulator bus delivering people to their cars or to the closest gondola station. The bus will run Thursday through Sunday to assist with locating one’s vehicle, signs denoting specific parking zones – A through G – will be erected. Vehicles left on Mountain Village roadways after 12 p.m. Monday, June 24 will be towed at the owner’s expense. Mountain Village’s Gondola Parking Garage located at 455 Mountain Village Blvd., behind Town Hall and the Mountain Village Market and northwest of the gondola terminal is free to park. Individuals and festivarians without parking permits must park their vehicles where directed by parking staff once the Gondola Parking Garage is full. The North Village Center pay-to-park surface lot is another parking option though overnight parking is not allowed. Short-term parking will be available for those doing business in Mountain Village; times will be enforced. Alternatively, for those parking, shopping, dining or recreating in Mountain Village, we encourage the utilization of Heritage Parking Garage, located off Mountain Village Boulevard across from Hotel Madeline. Parking is $2 for each hour and $35 maximum in a 24-hour period. COMMON CONSUMPTION AREA As of June 15, the Common Consumption Area in Sunset and Heritage plazas is in effect from 12-4 p.m. daily. The Common Consumption Area will allow people to purchase alcoholic beverages from participating licensed establishments attached to the Common Consumption Area and move freely with beverages within the defined boundary of the concert area. Only alcohol from the participating establishments is permitted in the Common Consumption area. For a map of the area, please visit the town’s website.