Flamenco, piano and magic lead entertainment at the table at Beaver Creek

When we talk about “culinary experience”, we refer to the delicious knowledge of eating, drinking, atmosphere, etc. But sometimes we are ready to stimulate beyond our sense of taste, something that takes an excellent dinner at a whole new level of multisensory entertainment. Here are three unique options around Beaver Creek that do that exactly, where dinner East The show.

Friday flamenco in Aritza

Although this is already a special treat to find an authentic Basque tapas restaurant in the village of Beaver Creek, nothing seals the Spanish authenticity of Aritza as its flamenco world trio.

“It brings incredible energy to the restaurant,” said Doris Schoenfelder, who, with her husband, Dan, is a long -standing local restaurateur and opened Aritza last winter. “It’s not just dinner, but a total entertainment experience.”

Allows Friday from 6.30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the dancer / singer Jessica Pinto, the guitarist Diego Espinoza and the percussionist Santiago Doglione became a sensation, reserving the place every week.

“It is a traditional Spanish spectacle, very interactive,” said Pinto, from Venezuela but studied flamenco for 20 years in Spain. “There are excellent comments and energy. As we play, we explain a little what flamenco is, what are the styles. We encourage people to join their “¡Olé! They are really excited about this. We always spend time chatting with people afterwards. I recognize the same people who return, bring family and friends or new visitors to see us again. It’s so fun. We love it.

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The word of the talent of the trio has traveled and they now occur throughout the valley. Pinto has aspirations to open a flamenco dance academy, but will need a space with a robust floor, because it has already broken its wood dancing tablao with its traditional flamenco shoes (equipped with metal nails on the soles) While performing in Aritza.

“When I refer, I trample with everything I have,” she said, laughing. “Flamenco is a type of passionate and energetic dance.”

Pinto says that one of the most rewarding aspects of Flamenco Fridays is when young girls approach her and ask for selfies and if she teaches lessons somewhere. However, one of the most memorable moments to date was when an older member of the public has launched to dance.

“There was this 92 -year -old woman who came with her son and daughter. She started dancing and applauding. She seemed so happy, ”recalls Pinto. “Her son came to me almost tearful eyes saying:” I haven’t seen my mother dance in the past 30 years. They had Cuban roots. She felt the connection. She was all about. “”

Magic at Beaver Creek Chophouse

Playing the magic of the table at the Chophouse of Beaver Creek for over 17 years, Dan Fleshman has built a base of fans.

At the idea of ​​a magician, your imagination could evoke visuals of a joker carrying a hat to come to your table and whisk a handful of plastic flowers. But Fleshman’s tips manage a wide range of wonders and amusements that go far beyond Kiddie entertainment – although children love them.

Walk in the restaurant in a costume jacket, customers often confuse it with the manager. He could start things by discreetly placing a wallet under a table full of male customers. He will pass and look at the ground as if he had just noticed.

“I will say, gentlemen, I found this wallet on the ground. They will start to tap, “said Fleshman.

When no one seems to miss a wallet, a server can look and assert that the wallet is his. Fleshman will open it and the flames will collapse. Everyone will laugh. Some jokes on their wallets taking fire on vacation.

“Each table is a scene. It’s like Broadway, “said Fleshman. “Even if it’s five or 10 minutes, the reaction will always be different. You encourage a lot of excitement. I couldn’t do it without the servers, all the staff. I don’t like to do it on me. It’s about working together in a team. »»

Although Fleshman has what he calls “a game of choice for beginners”, he constantly changes the bit and works on new materials.

“The real work once you have learned it is to put it in the act, to enter the restaurant and to present it. Nothing beats the part of the presentation, “he said.

Having grown up in Missouri, Fleshman one day pulled baskets at 15 when a younger child came and asked if he would like to see magic. He was impressed. Then hung. He started working in a magic store, then performing and carrying out seminars for magicians.

In its 17^th Year at The Chophouse, Fleshman has become an institution. People come back repeatedly specifically to see it. A group of return customers is the staff of Clemson Tigers coaches, who invited him to perform in a two -day football camp this summer.

One of the most rewarding moments in Chophouse was what he calls “the greatest advice” he has ever received.

“I was playing at a table. From the corner of my eye, I see this little girl standing next to me. She is 5 or 6 years old. She opened her little bag and released a dollar and said, “It’s for you”. »»

After 51 years as a professional magician, Fleshman said he “never aged”.

“It is the gain for me, the human connection,” he said. “People could be in a bit sour mood, but what I do their kidnapping during this little time. I bring a little joy. It is not a question of magic. This is the connection.

Find Fleshman at the Beaver Creek Chophouse during the season, from Wednesday to Sunday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The Vista at Arrowhead Piano Man

The namesake of Micky’s, a small piano show that attracted a solid crowd at the end of the evening throughout its 35 -year existence inside the Lodge in Vail, Micky Poage displayed his talent to hit keys to keys Vista in Arrowhead in the past 13 years.

A large part of its longtime customers followed it to the Gastronomic Hlow Downvalley, where it began to perform at the bar. But when the restaurant was renovated in 2021, they moved its elegant tail piano in the middle of the restaurant.

“It’s an element in the dining room,” said Vista owner Daryl Deyoung. “It is not as intimately as it has done in the past, with three or four people around him. Now he’s the centerpiece.

Starting to perform in the Broadmoor of Colorado Springs when he was a teenager, the poetory of poing developed considerably over the decades. He could just as well fall into an elaborate interpretation of “Phantom of the Opera” as to make a classic from Billy Joel or “Let It Go” from “Frozen” from Disney. Its unshakable local monitoring is now multi-generational.

“I noticed during the time that it was here that it was now the children who come to listen to him – the people who were children when their parents came to listen to him in Vail,” said Deyoung. “There are still a lot of original listeners. These are the grandparents. Their children now have families and lead their children to listen to. The grandchildren stay around him and dance.

Closed from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Poage ends up responding to many requests.

“He can play almost anything. It’s incredible, ”said Deyoung. “There is a completely different side of the restaurant reserved for members. They will come to listen to it all the time. Overall, he has a good audience, but there are many visitors and people who come to dinner and are pleasantly surprised to find him play. »»

Although he does not sing as part of his performance, his piano certainly does it.

“You can see that people who are dinner are really moved by his game,” said Deyoung. “Based on the criticisms that I constantly see, people love it. No one says it’s too strong. For the most part, the criticisms mention it and say that food and service were great, but the piano was fantastic. »»