{"id":795569,"date":"2019-05-07T17:20:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-07T23:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/breckenridges-ullr-fest-moves-from-january-to-december\/"},"modified":"2019-05-07T17:20:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-07T23:20:00","slug":"breckenridges-ullr-fest-moves-from-january-to-december","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/breckenridges-ullr-fest-moves-from-january-to-december\/","title":{"rendered":"Breckenridge\u2019s Ullr Fest moves from January to December"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery\" readability=\"6.6255144032922\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-365554-363\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/UllrFest-SDN-050819-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/UllrFest-SDN-050819-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Hugh Carey \/ hcarey@summitdaily.com | Snow worshippers celebrate the 56th Ullr Fest on Jan. 10, on Main Street in Breckenridge. The annual festival paying tribute to the Norse god of snow has been moved from January to December.\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"7.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/UllrFest-SDN-050819-1.jpg\" alt=\"Snow worshippers celebrate the 56th Ullr Fest on Jan. 10, on Main Street in Breckenridge. The annual festival paying tribute to the Norse god of snow has been moved from January to December.\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Snow worshippers celebrate the 56th Ullr Fest on Jan. 10, on Main Street in Breckenridge. The annual festival paying tribute to the Norse god of snow has been moved from January to December.<\/strong><br \/>Hugh Carey \/ hcarey@summitdaily.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/UllrFest-SDN-050819-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/UllrFest-SDN-050819-1-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Elaine Collins \/ Summit Daily reader | Flames from the Ullr Fest bonfire raged high into the sky during the last Ullr Fest celebration in January. The annual festival paying tribute to the Norse god of snow has been moved to December.\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"7\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/UllrFest-SDN-050819-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Flames from the Ullr Fest bonfire raged high into the sky during the last Ullr Fest celebration in January. The annual festival paying tribute to the Norse god of snow has been moved to December.\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>Flames from the Ullr Fest bonfire raged high into the sky during the last Ullr Fest celebration in January. The annual festival paying tribute to the Norse god of snow has been moved to December.<\/strong><br \/>Elaine Collins \/ Summit Daily reader<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/local\/breckenridges-ullr-fest-moves-from-january-to-december\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/local\/breckenridges-ullr-fest-moves-from-january-to-december\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The annual invasion of Viking helmets across Breckenridge will show up a month earlier next winter, as the town\u2019s Ullr Fest celebration has been moved from January to December.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Announced on Tuesday, the switch was made by the Breckenridge Tourism Office, with the Breckenridge Events Committee in agreement. However, there\u2019s been talk among town leaders and tourism officials about moving the multi-day festival up in the calendar for months now, if not longer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The festival\u2019s shifting dates were precipitated, at least in part, by the <a id=\"N0x12ddca0N0x12f81b0:N0x12ddca0N0x126be30\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/dew-tour-wont-likely-return-to-breckenridge-ski-resort-in-2019\/\">anticipated loss of the Dew Tour<\/a> in Breckenridge. The Dew Tour ran Dec. 13-16 last winter but isn\u2019t expected to return for next season. However, those close to the decision say that isn\u2019t the only reason for Ullr\u2019s new do.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cMoving Ullr Fest to December better aligns with roots of the event and ultimately what the Breckenridge community is looking for \u2014 earlier Ullr, earlier snow in the winter,\u201d said Austyn Dineen, public relations director for the BTO.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">With that, the next rendition of the annual festival \u2014 and the prayers for a good winter that come with it \u2014 will be Dec. 11\u201315, opposed to mid-January, when the festival has typically been scheduled in recent years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Proclaimed as a kickoff to the busy winter ski season in Breckenridge, Ullr Fest has brought thousands upon thousands of visitors from across the country and world to town. Many of them are unmistakable, as they don the historically inaccurate but incredibly fun horned Viking helmets in an effort to appease Ullr, the Norse god of winter and patron saint of skiers, and thus ensure abundant snowfall for the season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In previous discussions, town leaders and officials from the BTO have expressed a desire to better spread out the town\u2019s wealth of wintertime events, especially with expectations that the Dew Tour will be leaving its mid-December slot open.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Officials from the BTO and Breckenridge Town Council have previously spoken about the Dew Tour like they\u2019re sure it won\u2019t be back next winter, but the BTO referred questions about the tour\u2019s future in Breckenridge on Tuesday to Breckenridge Ski Resort.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019re excited about the decision to move Ullr Fest closer to the beginning of the resort\u2019s winter season,\u201d a resort spokeswoman said via email. \u201cWhile the new Ullr Fest event dates overlap with the historic timing of Dew Tour, we are currently still in discussions with PepsiCo on plans for future event activations at Breck.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Given that Ullr Fest serves as one of the town\u2019s kickoffs to winter, bumping the festivities up a month might not be such a bad idea, regardless of what happens with the Dew Tour.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cUllr Fest is Breckenridge\u2019s wacky way of showing a little love to Ullr, all in the hopes that he will bring more snow,\u201d said Lucy Kay, president and CEO of the Breckenridge Tourism Office, in a news release. \u201cIt only seems fitting, that the modern day Ullr Fest would align with the beginning of the winter season for snow-praising purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">According to the BTO, Breckenridge has been honoring Ullr for over five decades with Trygve Berge and Sigurd Rockne \u2014 the pair that founded what would become Breckenridge Ski Resort \u2014 starting the festival in March 1963.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cOver the event\u2019s 56 year run, Ullr Fest has occupied many different time periods, so it wasn\u2019t married to January,\u201d Dineen explained, adding that the BTO and Breckenridge Event\u2019s Committee felt like January didn\u2019t need \u201cthe extra animation\u201d with such strong holiday tourism and another hugely popular event, the International Snow Sculpture Championships, filling out the end of the month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While Ullr Fest has become synonymous with January\u2019s happenings in Breckenridge, some of the people at local businesses that rely on winter tourism either weren\u2019t in the know or were completely indifferent about the change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Reached over the phone, a man working at a Breckenridge T-shirt shop said he hadn\u2019t yet heard of the move and had no reaction. Another worker at a local hat store, which sells buckets of Viking helmets every year, said the same, though the Summit Chamber of Commerce applauded the decision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI do think shifting Ullr is a great idea,\u201d said Judi LaPoint, executive director of the chamber.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Without any inside information about the town\u2019s scheduling, LaPoint said that, with the anticipated loss of the Dew Tour in Breckenridge, December would be a great time to bring people into Breckenridge while town isn\u2019t busy with other events.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">LaPoint noted that Ullr Fest is a fun happening that \u201ccenters everything downtown.\u201d While she\u2019s not exactly sure how it all might affect local merchants, she\u2019s guessing local restaurants see an uptick in business with the Ullr Fest traffic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI also think (the change in dates) will help to even out visitor traffic \u2014 which is important to many in our community,\u201d LaPoint continued, as she said there\u2019s a fine line between bringing people to town for an event and getting them to support local merchants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWhen too much is going on, visitors can get frustrated,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The schedule for next winter\u2019s Ullr Fest has not yet be released, but festival-goers have enjoyed a series of festival events over the years, including Breck\u2019s Got Talent, a record-breaking attempt at the largest ski shot in the world, the Main Street parade, the Ullr Ice Plunge, a bonfire and more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The worker at the hat store openly wondered what would become of the Ullr Fest bonfire, given that discarded Christmas trees collected after the holidays have fed the flames in the past. For the worker, he thought it would be \u201ca bummer\u201d trying to pay tribute to Ullr without such a blaze.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Well, he can rest assured that\u2019s not gone under the BTO\u2019s radar, as Dineen said the source of fuel for the annual Ullr Fest bonfire is still being determined for next season\u2019s festival because, as she put it, \u201cthe Ullr Bonfire plays an essential role in paying homage to Ullr.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For more about travel opportunities and upcoming events in Breckenridge, to go <a id=\"N0x12ddca0N0x12f8210:N0x12ddca0N0x126ca90\" href=\"http:\/\/GoBreck.com\">GoBreck.com<\/a>. People can also stay connected at @GoBreck on <a id=\"N0x12ddca0N0x12f8270:N0x12ddca0N0x126cb20\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GoBreck\/\">Facebook<\/a>, <a id=\"N0x12ddca0N0x12f82d0:N0x12ddca0N0x126cbb0\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GoBreck\">Twitter<\/a> and <a id=\"N0x12ddca0N0x12f8330:N0x12ddca0N0x126cc40\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gobreck\/\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/local\/breckenridges-ullr-fest-moves-from-january-to-december\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Snow worshippers celebrate the 56th Ullr Fest on Jan. 10, on Main Street in Breckenridge. The annual festival paying tribute to the Norse god of snow has been moved from January to December.Hugh Carey \/ hcarey@summitdaily.com Flames from the Ullr Fest bonfire raged high into the sky during the last Ullr Fest celebration in January. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-795569","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-15 07:44:32","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=795569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795569\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=795569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=795569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=795569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}