Anyone interested in hosting TDIFest 2014 in Denver?

[TDI Stevestr]

WT!, Really?? Such hostility towords Denver metro area?????
The weather in the area is some of the best in the country, best in the world for that matter where winter pays regular a visit. Spring time shows up any time of year, warm days are common year round.....
A foot of snow then 60s-70s the next day is not uncommon here on the front range. upper 60s today, we are expecting 75 *F in the metro area tomorrow, it has been warm all week. Snow possible on Monday then back to mid to upper 60s later in the week.
The Denver metro area is Minutes from the mountains, Red Rocks outdoor theater is only minutes west of Denver, Bandimere Speedway is here just outside of Golden, Lookout Mountain overlooks the metro area, Coors for beer tours, Bud is an hour north for beer tours, Garden of the Gods is one hour away in Co Springs, ~not far from (1 hour drive to Rocky Mountain National Park) trail ridge road a drive that anyone that ever takes it never forgets, 1 hour from Pikes Peak, 2 hours from the sand dune national monument, minutes from gambling outside of town if you are into that thing, All sorts of things are just minutes from the metro area. Hot springs in the mountains just west of town.
There really isn't anything that isn't offered in the Denver metro area, front range of Colorado region. Sorry you hated it so much here, but my guess that hate is unrelated to the actual area....

I agree. Yes, parts of Denver are not desirable but to call the whole area a dump is kinda offensive to those of us who live here.

The Adams County fairgrounds in Henderson have a lot of surface parking areas and a few buildings that can be rented out - the only problem is that lodging is not nearby or connected to the facility.

Anyway, I'm a loco to the Denver area so I guess you can count me in too.

 

[TDI Stevestr]

I have been pushing for this for a long time but I can never seem to get the core supporters willing to do the leg work to come together. My health is a problem today but I am more than willing to help in putting this together if we can come up with the required ~dozen of so people required make this work.

Also the last time it looked like I might be able to get this off the ground I polled the leaders at the time of a couple of front range VW clubs in the region to see if they would be willing to support our bid with help, I got a positive response. But it is a must that we have that core of 12 or so willing to make and support the bid here to make this work.

LOL the last time I even thought about a proposal a total of 2 people showed interest. Hopefully this project can get off the ground. I think, if all the commitment shown so far holds up, we can actually have a decent plan. If they want to announce this by this year's fest though there may be some challenges. The beginning of Sept. is right around the corner!

 

[TDI Stevestr]

Also, just to clear up a few minor things:

The toll road here is E-470 - it is not free, but Pena to 70 to 25 is free. The toll road is not the only option.

DIA is about 14 - 16 miles from downtown - not in the middle of nowhere. I live 10 minutes from DIA and can make it downtown in 30.

Boulder is ok but at the beginning of September you will be competing with back to school traffic and I'm sure the lodging rates will probably jump accordingly. In addition, the majority of US 36 is being reconstructed from Denver to Boulder.

One last thing - I think beer tours can be mentioned in a program or something but I'm not sure how heavy they should be promoted re drinking and driving and liability.

Most tourist attractions are going to be in Denver. However, the more interesting roads are in the mountains and there are the mountain casinos. So there is a lot of variety to the area.

I think if the proposal is a serious step forward we probably need to get together on something like a Google hangout or at least an email list.

Hopefully it all works out.

 

[toastyjosh]

I am down for whatever, but I think that colorado springs, or keystone would be good.
http://www.keystoneresort.com

Keystone is right off of I-70, but is busy in the summer. Great temps in the summer.
Co springs is lower in elevation and hotter. However is less busy in the summer.

 

[Bugwithaltitude]

***! Most of your information is just off-the-wall and incorrect or outdated! Do you realize that a small condo or loft in downtown area of Denver will run you over $500K these days. People aren't paying that to live in a dump. Denver is almost always ranked in the top 10 cities to both visit and live in.

Aug-sept is some of our best weather months as we start to cool down and the hotels will be at their cheapest as it between seasons. Boulder will be the most expensive out of the group as the average hotel is in the $175-300 per night area and all the college rats will be back. There are a ton of TDI's registered there but not many are club members. Fort Collins is a great city but mountain access is limited to the poudre canyon which just experienced one of the largest forest fires in our States history so its not the beauty it once was. Fort Collins also doesn't have that many hotels in the City, they are mostly on the eastern side towards I-25. I love the downtown area night life and my pick of the cities to live in. Loveland is pretty boring and generic IMO but it does have great access to Estes Park, i prefer the Longmont access to avoid monster campers and air-cooled VW's buses clogging traffic.

Golden is a good idea as you can access several mountain pass's from I-70 not to mention lookout mountain is a great short drive and crazy narrow and steep. Downtown Denver is about a 30 min drive (not in rush hour) so lots of options as its centrally located. The downtown area is still pretty old school and unique to the gold mining era and history of Colorado. Just watch out for the hotels off I-70 South of Golden that is a pretty shady area at night in places.

I also wouldn't forget about the Colorado Springs which has tons of stuff to do like Garden of the Gods, Cave of the winds, AF academy, Cheyenne Mountain, Pikes Peak, Pikes Peak raceway, and for the gamblers Cripple Creek is a short fantastic drive. Hotels are more reasonable then most places also.

Ft Collins actually has a good number of decent hotels, especially along Harmony Road (west of I-25) Have you driven in the mountains this summer? Yes the fires did a lot of damage but the undergrowth has grown back. Lots of green and it will be even better next year. A drive along the Horsetooth dams/Masonville/Bellvue area would be fun. Plenty of photo ops. A drive to Estes Park is about an hour and we could drive Trail Ridge Road (highest paved road in North America - about 12,000 feet).

 

[TDI Stevestr]

Just for the heck of it I found a site that submits your info to area hotels and they bid back what they can offer. I put in requests for Denver, Ft Collins, Aurora, and Colorado Springs.

I haven't seen the original leader here in a while and we may be too late to try to get something turned in by the end of August but I think it would be fun to have one back here in Denver.

I'll let you know what I hear back.

 

[TDI Stevestr]

I'd love to get some local feedback on the venues listed above to see what you all think about them. The venue that really catches my eye right now is the Millennium in Boulder... http://www.millenniumhotels.com/millenniumboulder/ ... has anyone been there?

The only issue I see is with parking - especially on a holiday. From Google Earth the parking doesn't look to have a whole lot extra and we'd need some outside space for a Show and Shine event.

 

[TDI Stevestr]

Uh oh, looks like we may be too late.

This year I would like to announce the location of TDIFest 2014 at TDIFest 2013 so I'm getting this process started early. I am asking that these expressions of interest be submitted by May 30th, 2013.

After that the next step will be to put together an official proposal and send it to me by July 15th, 2013. I will then select the next group and location from the submitted proposals. For details on what is required for the proposals, please check out a previous years thread on putting together a proposal..

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Don't worry, it isn't too late. I also replied to your PM regarding Denver.

I'll get some more details together when I get back home from this cross-country road trip.

 

[BadMonKey]

Ft Collins actually has a good number of decent hotels, especially along Harmony Road (west of I-25) Have you driven in the mountains this summer? Yes the fires did a lot of damage but the undergrowth has grown back. Lots of green and it will be even better next year. A drive along the Horsetooth dams/Masonville/Bellvue area would be fun. Plenty of photo ops. A drive to Estes Park is about an hour and we could drive Trail Ridge Road (highest paved road in North America - about 12,000 feet).

Oh; i love Fort Collins and the family farms are just north of it (laporte). I also have property on the west side of Cameron Pass so I drive it far more often then I-70. My concern is the road with a bunch of fwd cars, they have closed it several times due to mud slides and other times i only got through due to being in a 4wd. This wont improve much by next year and while the risks are very slight its still there.

Its just my opinion that Golden, Denver, Colorado Springs has more attractions for the tourist type of visitors. I'm aware of the hotels on Harmony but its so far from the downtown area where the life of the town is.

 

[BadMonKey]

The toll road here is E-470 - it is not free, but Pena to 70 to 25 is free. The toll road is not the only option.

DIA is about 14 - 16 miles from downtown - not in the middle of nowhere. I live 10 minutes from DIA and can make it downtown in 30.

Boulder is ok but at the beginning of September you will be competing with back to school traffic and I'm sure the lodging rates will probably jump accordingly. In addition, the majority of US 36 is being reconstructed from Denver to Boulder.

One last thing - I think beer tours can be mentioned in a program or something but I'm not sure how heavy they should be promoted re drinking and driving and liability.

Hopefully it all works out.

The DIA light rail system is supposed to be completed by Aug. next year so you could easily organize bar hopping events using the light rail system to avoid drinking & driving. IMO it would be a shame not to include our cities great micro brewers and new micro distilleries as part of the event as its part of what makes Colorado great. I know its a car event but taking the light rail into downtown is really the best way and it keeps hotel/parking costs down.

 

[toastyjosh]

Any updates on this???

 

[TDI Stevestr]

Any updates on this???

I think everyone is preoccupied with the current fest going on in a month or so.

Planning for this will pick up after labor day or so I have been told.

Stay tuned!

 

[VeeDubTDI]

I think everyone is preoccupied with the current fest going on in a month or so.
Planning for this will pick up after labor day or so I have been told.
Stay tuned!

Bingo!!