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Telluride Gay Ski Week Announces 2018 Lineup

Categories: Community, Event, Recreation

Telluride Gay Ski Week returns in 2018 with a schedule jam-packed with parties, events, dancing, entertainment and, of course, lots of skiing. The event takes place from February 24 to March 3, with events every day in Telluride, Mountain Village and on the Telluride Ski Resort. Director Rosie Cusack, who took over production of Gay Ski Week three years ago, says the 15th Annual event is shaping up to be one for the books.

“It’s going to be the best one ever,” says Cusack.

That’s because the event has lined up heavy-hitting celebrities, such as 2017 Miss Gay America Suzy Wong, cabaret performer Frankie Grande and comedian Leslie Jordan, to entertain this years crowd. Shows will be sprinkled into a week that also features daily skiing excursions, après ski gatherings, dance parties, all-day spa and pool parties at the Peaks Resort & Spa, live music and the annual White Party. As always, Telluride Gay Ski Week takes place in the run-up to the Telluride AIDS Benefit (TAB), overlapping with several TAB events. Cusack describes Gay Ski Week as an open and accepting celebration of diversity, expression and skiing in one of the most magical settings in America.

“The event,” she says, “is for anyone who enjoys celebrating community, meeting new people and participating in sports-centric events. You don’t even have to ski to have a good time,” she says. “There is something at Gay Ski Week for everyone.” Telluride Gay Ski Week’s profile is on the rise.“Telluride has become known in the last couple years across the board as the best gay ski week in America,” Cusack says. “One of the things I keep hearing from attendees is ‘It isn’t about quantity, it’s about the quality of the experience,” says Cusack.

The following is a rundown of Gay Ski Week highlights:

Kick off Gay Ski Week with a rousing and ribald evening of song, dance and humor. Featuring Miss Gay America 2017 Suzy Wong, along with former Miss Continental, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Former Miss Gay America, Aurora Sexton and Raja Gemini, winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race Season Three.” With a 21 and over dance party to follow.

“These drag queens have huge star power in the community,” says Cusack.

This evening will kick off with Drag Bingo featuring Suzy Wong in the Show Bar, and the action will move to the main theatre for a cabaret-style show featuring Frankie Grande. Grande is a singer, dancer, actor and social media mogul whose work on Broadway and television has earned worldwide fame.

Austin, Texas-based Middlespoon is the gender-bending love child of DJ Jinx McGee and vocalist Alexander Beatz, who are steering pop music away from hetero-normative traditions. Middlespoon takes on issues like polyamory, patriarchy and transphobia, layering them over whimsical beats that’ll be sure to get bodies onto the dance floor.

This longtime tradition, which follows the Telluride AIDS Benefit’s Sneak Peek Fashion Show, has a reputation as the best dance party of the year in Telluride - the kind that will literally bring the house down.

Jordan, whose television appearances include NBC’s “Will and Grace” and the new television project “Cool Kids,” will present his one-man show “Leslie Jordan: EXPOSED.” The show features an intimate peek into Jordan’s life, flamboyant youth, behind the scenes stories and hilarious anecdotes. For a full schedule, ticket information, special offers and more, visit: Telluride Gay Ski Week Join Telluride Gay Ski Week Event on Facebook!

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