If you’re new to the area, you may not know how many fun things there are to do the San Juan Mountains. On top of all the outdoor activities you can enjoy on your own, southwestern Colorado is home to public festivals in every season, celebrating the art, culture, and natural beauty of our mountain home. Here are two you can plan to enjoy this spring: 

Balloons N Varooms, Ridgeway, May 6-8, 2012

Ridgway hosts this hot air balloon and classic car festival every spring. This is the ninth annual Balloons N Varooms festival, featuring plenty of family-friendly activities. “Ooh” and “ah” at colorful hot air balloons and classic cars and trucks from all over the Western Slope region. Enjoy a community barbecue in Ridgway’s Town Park, listen to live music, and buy a ticket to ride in any of the balloons. The day ends with the gorgeous “Glow In the Park” event, when balloonists will light their propane burners after sunset, making the balloons glow in glorious colors.

Mountainfilm Festival, Telluride, May 25-28, 2012

One of America’s longest-running film festivals, Mountainfilm encourages filmmakers to create “movies that matter,” addressing important cultural and environmental issues. This Memorial Day Weekend, the Mountainfilm Festival will include screenings of documentary films from around the world, art exhibits, a day-long symposium on the problem of overpopulation, and book signings. The special guests for this year’s festival will include documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, producer Thom Beers, photographers Phil Borges and Joe Riis, rock climber Chris Sharma, NPR reporter Alex Chadwick, environmental researcher Roz Naylor, activist Sandra Steingraber, and Earth First! founder Dave Foreman. You’ll also hear from writers Dan Buettner, Paul Ehrlich, Eliza Griswold, and Bernadette McDonald.

The Staff at San Juan Realty, Inc.