Savor a taste of Steamboat Springs every Saturday morning this summer at the downtown Farmers Market. Now in its 14^th year, the homegrown bazaar has become a platform for local farmers and artisan producers to showcase the flavors of the ‘Boat.

From June 9 to September 15, shoppers can pick up weekly groceries in the vibrant open-air setting on Yampa Street. Fresh Palisade peaches; grass-fed beef and bison, homemade cheeses and artisan breads are only some of the vast array of goodies on offer.

Saunter from stall to stall to find handmade goats milk soaps, custom jewelry and artwork, accessories, clothing and furnishings. Refuel at several food trucks, which serve up everything from crepes to curry.

Keep small shoppers happy at activity stations with hula-hoops, corn hole and crafts. Teens love the temporary henna tattoo stall. The wait is typically long, but you can give your name and reduce the time for standing in line.

Live music kicks off at 11 a.m. followed by entertainment from a collection of local performers. Expect anything from an impromptu display of belly dancing to off Broadway musical renditions.

The market runs from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. every Saturday on Yampa Street. Parking is limited downtown, so expect to walk or consider riding the free City bus and get off near 5^th Street. Vendors do not tend to offer shopping bags, so plan to come prepared.

Look out for weekly happenings at www.mainstreetsteamboat.com

Happy St Paddy’s Day from us all at Condos in Steamboat. Here’s our take on spending the quintessential March 17 in the ‘Boat.

1. Festoon your being in green and avoid a pinch from the visiting leprechauns. Beads or bandanas are the preferred choice for skiers.

2. Have fellow gondola riders in stitches sharing your vast array of jokes, preferably those ones hailing from the Emerald Isle.

3. Ski St Patrick’s bowl

4. Grab a bowl of Irish stew washed down with hearty pint of guinness listening to live music at McKnight’s Irish Pub in Wildhorse Plaza

5. Don an itsy bitsy teeny weeny green polka dot bikini and soak away the hours at the hot springs.

6. Push yourself through a free work out at Anytime Fitness in Central Park Plaza and reward your efforts with a green power ice.

7. Experience the Yampa Valley’s Celtic heritage with a dancing and costume display at Casey’s Pond (4pm)

8. Join locals for dinner at Holy Name Catholic Church for their annual corn beef and cabbage feast.

9. Watch the skies turn green at the Torchlight parade and fireworks.

10. Finish the day with an Irish coffee by the fireside.

1. Getting here is easy; Direct Flights daily from Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis/St Paul, with select days coming in and out from Houston, Ft Worth, Los Angeles, Newark and Seattle.

2. Steamboat’s mountain is a huge playground for all. Ski, snowboard, telemark, freestyle, ski bike, adaptive ski with Steamboat Stars, snowshoe, whatever your preference Steamboat Ski Area awaits everyone from the novice to the expert.

• Permitted Acres: 2,965 acres/1,200 hectares
• Trails: 165 named trails
• Trail Classification: 14% Beginner 42% Intermediate 44% Advanced
• Freeriders have Mavericks Superpipe and Terrain Park plus smaller version Mini-mav to play in all day long.

3. Your epic ski day doesn’t need to end when the sun goes down, try out Steamboat’s Night Skiing. Little ones in tow? No worries, the mountain based Kids Vacation Center (KVC) opens late so you are free to carve your way all evening, knowing junior is in great hands.

4. Try something new with Wednesday jump nights at Howelsen Hill. Open to all from the novice to the Olympian, it’s a local tradition complete with free pizza and cookies served in the old time ski lodge for participants. www.sswsc.org

5.  Miles upon miles of varied terrain awaits the backcountry enthusiast. Enjoy gliding through the forest or make your own lines careering down tree lined slopes on Rabbit Ears or Buffalo Passes.

6. Spend a day in your own snowcat exploring untouched terrain with Steamboat Powdercats. Let knowledgeable guides navigate fresh powder stashes all day long, warming up with a home cooked lunch served in a private cabin in the woods.

7. Take to Steamboat’s national parks, and explore vast snow covered lands on a snowmobile. Rev up your engines and zip all over North Routt or the east side of Rabbit Ears, just two of the Condos in Steamboat team’s personal favorites.

Condo’s own Jake Filler taking his tube for a spin.

8. Whizz down hillsides at either of the Valley’s two tubing hills. Howelsen Hill or Saddleback Ranch both make for an afternoon or evening of hoop hollering happiness.

9. Feel your inner cowboy and take to the saddle at Vista Verde Ranch or Del’s Triangle.  Cross sparkling snow covered fields on horseback, listening to tales of days gone from your ranch guide. Prefer to stay out of the saddle? Step into a horse drawn sled for an afternoon or evening sleigh ride then warm up for hot chocolate or a full homesteader dinner at Saddleback Ranch or Hahns Peak Roadhouse.

10. Kick back after a day on the snow and submerge aching limbs into a pool of warm mineral water. Downtown’s Hot Springs complete with climbing wall or Strawberry Park’s secluded natural pools never fail to leave one rejuvenated ready to take on another day of snow fun, Steamboat style.

Typically it’s the time of year in Steamboat Springs, when locals take to betting. Hedge your best guess on the first snowfall of the coming ski season?  Well, snooze you lose, it’s already been. By the morning of September 30, Steamboat Ski Area had been given its’ first dusting.  Discontent to admire from a far, several die hard skiers and boarders unearthed their gear and headed for the highest elevations on Rabbit Ears Pass and Buffalo pass to bump or glide over what they could find.

The rest of us prefer to wait for that Champagne Powder, and it won’t be long. November 26, the mountain officially opens but will Mother Nature go on to bless us with early snowfall? It’s hard to predict, especially as this year is a La Nina year.

Taking a glance at seasons gone by, 2007 started with a whopping 17 inches in October, laying the foundation for a record of 489 inches. The second snowiest season to date was 1996/97 with 26.5 inches in October.

Keeping a watchful eye on the weather channel, it looks like September’s little dusting was merely a false alarm for a freezing Fall. White flakes are not set to return until the end of the month. In Steamboat speak that means one thing; choose a warm Halloween costume. We’ve been lucky the last few years to enjoy balmy temps for the downtown stroll, looks like our luck has run out.  Trick or treaters, you’ve been warned.

Skiers, the wait is almost over. So hurry up and snag this year’s ski trip deal with Condos in Steamboat.

Yampa Valley Farms’ Josh Kilbane is feeling a little last minute pressure. Today he will deliver 600lbs of his pasture raised pork shoulder to Steamboat’s base area, the main ingredient for the town’s first ever Savor Steamboat chefs’ cook off.

A new venture, Yampa Valley Farms is the partnership between a land owner and a visionary with a passion for sustainable farming. Raised on a ranch in Montrose Kilbane spent his 20’s back packing around the US, Canada and Mexico working on farms in exchange for lodging and knowledge.

In 2010 Josh, English born wife Kristy and daughter Esme found themselves in Steamboat and decided to stay. Fast forward to December 2012 and Yampa Valley Farms began, on a diversely vegetated ranch at the foot of Sleeping Giant.

Timing is everything for any business, and for the Kilbane’s theirs’ is perfect. Around the country consumers are far more conscious about the source of the food they buy. Steamboat is no exception, with a surge of local producers popping up all over the valley. Farming at altitude with a growing season of 59 days is no easy task.

Luckily there are a handful of hardy souls on a mission to fill our fridges with locally grown delights. If you are here visiting sourcing such delectable bounty is relatively simple. Every Saturday through summer, the courthouse lawn (off Lincoln Ave), houses the Farmers Market where you can find everything from fresh bread to jerky and homemade BBQ sauce. Sweet Pea on Yampa carries a great selection of local meats and veggies open 7 days a week. Bamboo Market and Natural Grocers, both downtown boast a wide selection of Colorado products. Visit Bamboo Market on certain Monday mornings (every alternate), and you may be lucky enough to pick up fresh eggs and raw milk brought in from Fort Collins.

If you’d rather skip cooking, head to Creekside Café for breakfast and order the Local Yokel – everything from the bread to the sausage came to the plate within 15 miles. At the end of the day spend an evening by the river sampling local fare at Sweet Pea, where everything you eat comes with an address, (literally).

This weekend has a little something extra. Kicking off the summer for the first time on the culinary calendar is Savor Steamboat. Nine local chefs will work their magic using Josh’s pork in a cook off. Kids have the chance to pet everything from a Llama to a lamb, grown-ups get a vodka bar, and everyone can boogie to the live music. Saturday June 15, 3-6pm. Free to visit, $20 for BBQ pork tasting and $40 for vodka and BBQ.