Member Support is Essential for Our Success!

We are busy at Festival Headquarters planning our 2023 Wildflower Festival (July 7-16) – so mark your calendars! We are happy to invite you back (or for the first time!) to Crested Butte and share the magic of our wildflowers with you.

As a nonprofit organization, we owe much of our success to our Members! Your Membership allows us to continuously improve the Festival experience, this includes but is not limited to offering new and exciting events each Festival, implementing preservation campaigns that allow us to further our mission, and even improving our online systems. None of this would be possible without the incredible support of our Members. We thank each and every Member for their support in 2022. We cannot exist without YOU – the reason we’ve been able to host the Wildflower Festival since 1986!

Our 2023 Membership packages are here!!! Check them out below and be sure to read carefully as we have changed up our registration process this year. Please reach out to us with any questions. Thank you as always for your generous support. We hope to see you this summer!

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This Year's Members Only Events:

Psst... roll your mouse over the images to read more!

Below are the dates registration opens for each Membership level:

  • March 20- Garden Level, Fairy Slipper, Mariposa Lily, and Scarlet Gilia level Members can start registering for events
  • March 24- Columbine level Members can start registering
  • March 27- Lupine Members can start registering
  • March 30- Blue Flax Members can start registering
  • April 3- General registration opens

Alpine Wildflowers of Mt. Crested Butte

Level: Intermediate

Length: 2+ miles with rocky, steep and uneven terrain

Our Mariposa Lily Members and above are invited to join a wonderful opportunity to see alpine and sub-alpine wildflowers without having to hike up! You’ll ride up the Silver Queen lift and do some hiking on Mt. Crested Butte to around 11,500 ft. Leanne will show you the significant features of gorgeous alpine wildflowers while you enjoy the spectacular views of the valley, especially on the lift ride down. 

Alpine Wildflowers of Mt. Crested Butte

Level: Beginner

Length: 2 miles of level, paved walking

Is Crested Butte haunted? Perhaps, but the ghosts of this town are of the Casper variety – friendly, harmless, and playful. On this tour, Scarlet Gilia Members and above are invited to stroll the alleys and gardens of Crested Butte while listening to stories about the antics of old timers whose spirits remain.

Splendor on Snodgrass

Level: Intermediate

Length: 3+ miles with rocky, steep terrain

Snodgrass Mountain is what makes us the “Wildflower Capital of Colorado!” This hike will take you through fields of flowers in bloom, groves of quaking aspen, stands of spruce and fir trees, with views of Crested Butte Mountain. This lower-elevation wildland and its wetlands also provide habitat for many species, even the elusive Canada lynx. We welcome Scarlet Gilia level Members and above to join on this Festival favorite hike!

Evening of Wildflower Photography

Level: Beginner-Advanced    Need: Digital camera, tripod    

4WD/high-clearance vehicle recommended. 

Scarlet Gilia level Members and above are invited to join in building an understanding of digital camera settings, how to control exposure, sharpness, and speed, as well as point-and-shoot options and limitations. Understand the difference between beautiful and photogenic! You’ll learn to make the most of low, medium, and high contrast, and how to work with the direction and intensity of light.  

Historic Garden Tour

Level: Beginner

Length: 2 miles of level, paved walking

Scarlet Gilia level Members and above are invited to stroll the streets, alleys, and gardens of historic Crested Butte with staff from the Crested Butte Museum. This leisurely tour will provide you with interesting and humorous knowledge of Crested Butte’s heritage while we explore the wild and tame flowers growing in our local gardens. We’ll be walking up to 1.5 miles around town.

Wildflower Watercolor & Wine

Join a local watercolor artist for a step-by-step watercolor painting class with wildflowers as the subject. Denise will guide the group through a watercolor painting from start to finish, giving instruction on setting up to paint, wash and watercolor painting techniques, composition, and more. Wine and wine spritzers are provided to participants 21 and older, so you can relax and create! All watercolor supplies and your wine or wine spritzer are included. Absolutely no watercolor experience is necessary!

Exclusive Fairy Slipper Event

Our Fairy Slipper Members ($1,000) and their guests are invited to join on an exclusive hike to an undisclosed, remote location not included in our regular event line-up.  As you explore, leaders will share the area’s history, relevance to Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, and wildflower expertise (of course!).  This hike is categorized as Intermediate-Advanced. Expect an adventure, with 4-5 miles of hiking on a trail with some steep and rocky terrain.

Member Appreciation Party

Tuesday, 7/11

Lupine Members and above, come mingle with Festival leaders, staff, and Board of Directors, and enjoy appetizers and cocktails. You won’t want to miss this fun-filled event, which includes a drawing for great door prizes!

Wildflower ID Walk

Level: Beg.

Length: 2-3 miles on well-packed, rolling terrain

Scarlet Gilia Members and above will join a wildflower identification walk at a leisurely pace, with time for questions and photographing the beautiful blooms! We’ll take you where the flowers are at their best!

Tour of Crested Butte Gardens

Level: Beginner

Length: 2 miles of level, paved walking

Scarlet Gilia Members and above, enjoy a guided tour of our local gardens while you admire and identify both wild and tame flowers. Our stroll will move at a leisurely pace; however, plan to walk up to 2 miles.

Membership FAQ:

I am a Member, how do I register early for events?

Members will receive an email with special instructions at 10am on the day their Member wave’s registration opens.

How do I register for Members Only Events?

Our 2023 Program Guide will provide descriptions on this year’s Members Only Events. Members will be emailed directly by Festival staff to RSVP to these events.

How do I RSVP for the Member and Sponsor Appreciation Party?

We will send out official RSVPs for our July 11 Member and Sponsor Appreciation Party during the early summer via email.

Can My Partner and I Share a Membership?

Yes, two people can share a Membership.

Can I Register Others in My Party Early for Events Too?

Membership with the Wildflower Festival at any level will allow for the Membership holder and their participants to register early for events, so long as the Member and the participants are both attending the same events that are being registered early for.  If you have others in your party that would like to register early for events separately than the ones the Member is attending, they can wait until general registration opens to register for those events or they can purchase a Membership for themselves and secure their spots early.

Do Memberships Rollover Year to Year?

Memberships with the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival do not rollover year to year.

How Do I Get My Poster?

Columbine level Members and above can pick up their free 2023 poster at the Festival by checking in with a staff member! Members unable to do so will have theirs shipped to their address on file after the Festival.

Member Highlights

Leslie Eidem

Scarlet Gilia Member

Meet Leslie Eidem, one of our 2021 Festival’s Scarlet Gilia Members! Leslie has been a member of the Wildflower Festival for several years now, but her roots in our Festival’s history date even further back.

Read More