YOUR AD HERE »

SnowBall moves to Denver in 2014

Reid Tulley
rtulley@skyhidailynews.com
A concert goer dances with glow sticks during the SnowBall music festival last March in Fraser. The controversial festival will not be returning to the Fraser Valley this year after organizers decided to move it to Denver.
Byron Hetzler file photo/bhetzler@skyhidailynews.com | Sky-Hi News

SnowBall Music Festival will not return to the Fraser Valley this year as the organizers of the festival seek to provide festival-goers with more options for lodging and transportation by moving the show to Denver.

Chad Donnelly, the founder of the festival, said that he didn’t want to see the concert moved from the mountain communities of Colorado. Although, he added, “We wanted to do what was best for the overall fan experience.”

The show will be held at The Park at Sports Authority Field at Mile High this year as the show has become increasingly more attended and popular after selling out tickets for the past three years.



The move will provide festival-goers with more options for affordable lodging as well as different modes of public transportation and parking, according to Donnelly.

While Donnelly commented he believed the Fraser Valley did an excellent job organizing and providing late-night transportation options for last year’s festival attendees, lodging in the Fraser Valley nearly sold out only an hour after tickets for the show went on sale.



“The last thing we want to do is turn those folks away who want to share in this experience,” he said.

Donnelly also commented that bringing the show into the Denver metro area allows for attendees to seek out more affordable options for lodging.

“The accessibility, in terms of public transportation and parking and affordability, is a huge thing,” he said.

The big selling point for the SnowBall festival in the past was festival-goers being able to ski while attending the festival, something Donnelly believes Denver still affords the festival’s fans.

“Denver still gives people a chance to go up and ski during the day for people who want to experience that,” he said.

Ticket-holders will be able to purchase packages that include charter bus transportation and lift tickets to some of the ski areas so they will still have the opportunity to ski during the concert weekend.

Another consideration Donnelly said came into play when deciding to move the show to the Denver area was fan safety.

Donnelly said the Winter Park-Fraser Chamber said it wanted have the show in February, one of the coldest months in the Fraser Valley.

“Fan safety is paramount,” he said.

This year’s show will be held April 4 through 6, when the temperatures are more moderate, though will still have some of the festival’s stand-by exhibitions like a big-air ski and snowboard jump and nightly firework displays.

Catherine Ross, executive director of the Fraser Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber was open to the show returning to the Fraser Valley, they never received a proposal from the show’s organizers.

Ross said the Chamber had not made any final decisions regarding the festival, as they were waiting for a proposal from the festival’s organizers to begin the planning process.

Ross said she has seen a number of comments on social media websites that viewed the Fraser Valley in a positive light concerning last year’s concert. She wished them well following organizers’ decision to move the show to Denver.

Tickets for this year’s show will go on sale the last week of January and will be about $130 for general admission tickets and about $300 for VIP tickets.

More information as well as the lineup for the show can be found at the festival’s website at snowballmusicfestival.com.

Reid Tulley can be reached at 970-887-3334


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

The Sky-Hi News strives to deliver powerful stories that spark emotion and focus on the place we live.

Over the past year, contributions from readers like you helped to fund some of our most important reporting, including coverage of the East Troublesome Fire.

If you value local journalism, consider making a contribution to our newsroom in support of the work we do.