The snow is disappearing quickly, the rivers are running high, people are out on their bicycles, yard work has started and the tourists are showing up!  Many people are canceling their beach vacations in Florida and are heading to the mountains.  Breckenridge is loaded up with activities for the summer months.   The next big event is Kingdom Days.  Kingdom Days celebrates the history of Breckenridge and this year is year 151!   Below is a synopsis of events the weekend of June 19th and 20th.   For a full list of activities, visit the Breckenridge Visitors Center on Main Street.

Kingdom Days weekend provides your family with an abundance of things to do throughout the weekend. Enjoy the town party on Friday night, take a historic hike, tour our museums and galleries, enjoy in some live music, try your hand at gold panning and watch your favorite character during a Wild West gun fight on Main Street.

Kingdom Days Schedule of Events

Saturday, June 19, 2010 & Sunday  June 20, 2010

Free Free Free: Historic sites and Tours. All historic sites and tours will be free of charge during Kingdom Days. Reservations are not required. Visit breckheritage.com for a description of Breckenridge’s historic sites. For more information on the summer schedule, please call the Breckenridge Heritage Alliance at 970.453.9767

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Iowa Hill: 10 am-12 pm Free interpretive hike to teach you about the flora and fauna of our forest. This easy / moderate difficulty will entice your senses and teach you all you ever wanted to know about our high alpine ecosystem and history. Please meet at the trail head. Wear sturdy shoes, dress for the weather and bring water. No dogs allowed. For more information, call 970.453.1734.

Gun Fights Location Near Main and Lincoln – 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m. & 4 p.m.

11a.m. – 3 p.m. Historic Breckenridge Films at the Breckenridge Theatre,
including Peaks on the Past, which was produced in 2009 to celebrate Breckenridge’s 150th anniversary. For More information, please call 970.453.9767

11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Kids’ Activities on the lawn at the Barney Ford House Museum,
located at 111 E. Washington Avenue. Projects and interactive activities for all ages.

11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Old Time Photos
at the Robert Whyte House 127 S. Ridge Street. Dress up in historic costumes and have a professional photographer create your very own “Old Time Photo” 0f your family.

11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Country Boy Mine Demonstrations
in the Blue River Plaza on Main Street11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Gold Panning in the Blue River Plaza
on Main Street. Get expert instruction and see demonstrations by the Gold Prospectors of Colorado.

1 p.m. Historic Home Tour
Visit a collection of Breckenridge’s historic homes in different stages of historic preservation. Step inside some of Breckenridge’s historic residences and learn about the Town’s preservation efforts thought the years. Please meet Colorado Mountain College at 103 S. Harris Street.

11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Arts Alive!
Gallery “History: Through the Artists’ Eyes” La Cima Mall,  500 S. Main Street. Enjoy this special exhibit featuring original artwork by local artists influenced by historical sites, paintings and photography.

7:30 p.m. National Repertory Orchestra Opening Night
Riverwalk Center, 150 West Adams. Celebrate the opening night of National Repertory Orchestra with special guest Colorado Children’s Chorale. For tickets call 970.547.3110.

Breckenridge Exclusive!

477 Westerman Road

This beautiful home in the Highlands Neighborhood is sited on a gorgeous view lot that overlooks the Ten Mile Range and the Continental Divide.   The floor plan is designed for 2 levels of living.   The first floor has an expansive great room with a beamed and vaulted ceiling, dining room, huge kitchen with an island, stainless steel appliances, granite and big picture window.  There is a half bath, deck and a two car garage.   The master suite is also located on the main floor.  This wing of the home features a generous sized bedroom with fireplace and a private deck, a large bath with a jetted tub and separate shower.

The lower level of this home has a great den with a fireplace, wetbar, a second master suite, lots of closets and 2 additional bedrooms and 3 baths.  There is a walkout to a stone patio and hiking trails start in the back yard.   Call to get a link to the virtual tour.  Offered for $1,449,000 or a 1/4 share for $450,000.

The competition is over and Breckenridge had close to 100,000 people here over the last 2 weeks to see it!   Here are a couple of my favorites.    From a 20 ton block of snow to this:

January 26-31, 2010

It’s back!  The annual event that the Town of Breckenridge hosts returns for the last week in January.   This is quite an amazing event as artists from all over the world bring their talents to Breckenridge.   This is what they start with:

These blocks of snow are huge!  Check out the people at the base of the blocks.

These blocks are turned into this:

This is a photo from a past competition.  Please come to Breckenridge to enjoy and view this amazing event.

Schedule:

1/26/10 11 am Starbuck’s Shotgun Start

1/26-1/30/10  Competitors sculpt their block into a beautiful work of art in just 65 hours!

1/30/10  At ten AM the sculpting is completed. Judging at noon

Choice Award and Kids’ Award Voting

1/31/10 At 3:30 PM the awards Ceremony on the main Stage.

1/31-2/7  Sculptures remain on display weather and safety permitting.

For more info visit: snowsculpt.com

Hello!   I wanted to post these pictures of me hiking with the “polar poodle” Claude.   He loves the snow, sun and mountain living.    It’s funny that your pets are unaware of what is happening in the world but are so aware of their immediate environment.

It’s been an interesting winter this year to say the least.  We have had sub zero temperatures in November and December and in January the temps have reached 40 degrees on some days.  It tries to snow every day and we may get a couple of inches at a time.  We call this a ‘dusting.’  Regardless of mother natures whims, the ski resorts have made a ton of snow and people are skiing and riding everyday and having a blast.

Tourism is up from last year, real estate is up from last year, and interest rates are near historical lows.   Financing is available for primary and second home properties.

Hello, my name is Chuck Daily and I’m also known as Mr Breckenridge Real Estate. This is the first posting I am making on my blog. I will be updating my visitors about Breckenridge and Summit County real estate and activities in the county.

The real estate market in Summit County has been down about 45% in sales volume. The market is trying to balance itself. This hasn’t occurred yet as we have far more properties for sale than buyers ready to buy. This Fall we are seeing a rash of cash buyers coming into the market and getting great deals in the $1M and up price range. I feel these buyers think the bottom of the market is here or almost here.

Lending institutions are freeing up and starting to lend again. Low interest rates are bringing buyers and second homeowners into the market for the first time in several months. Buying resort real estate still has some major hurdles to overcome. Most lenders are not doing condo hotel loans and many lenders don’t know how to lend on condos that are mainly used as investment properties.Read the full post here

If a lender googles a condo complex or subdivision name and a short term rental comes up the loan is declined. You might be able to see what kind of obstacles Summit County Realtors are facing. We recommend you choose a local lender that knows the local market and the challenges that exist here.

Overall, I feel the future of real estate in Breckenridge and Summit county is promising. We live in and sell in an area of the country that is beautiful and very special. Many of the families that buy real estate here never sell their properties! Their properties are passed on to their kids and grand kids. With a variety of outdoor activities year around, Summit county will continue to draw active seniors, youth, and everyone in between.

I will blog about what is hot and what is not. Stay tuned in to the Mr. Breckenridge Real Estate blog.