Vail thrills with its understated yet upscale chicness, its gorgeous back bowls that flow like a sea of snow, and its Bavarian spirit. But this April, two festivals -- held on the same weekend for the first time ever -- give us two more reasons to head for the hills. -- Becca Hensley

TASTE OF VAIL

Join guest chefs from 35 restaurants and sommeliers from more than 50 wineries for an elegantly paced feeding frenzy. Foodies participating in Taste of Vail can flock to any of a plethora of events hosted by cuisine luminaries such as Tony Aiazzi of Aureole in New York, Joseph Manzare of San Francisco’s Zuppa, and homeboy Curtis Lincoln of the legendary Brown Palace in Denver. Highlights include:

The Kickoff

Touted as the “coming of the lamb,” the fourth annual Lamb Cook-off invites Vail Valley chefs to step up to the grill with their lamb creations. You can taste their creative interpretations, which will be complemented by wines selected by winery owners from around the world.

The Picnic

Get thee to Eagle’s Nest atop Vail Mountain to watch chefs compete in a picnic-off that takes place in a hand-built snow arena. That’s right -- this daylong event pits chef against chef in order to determine the finest picnic fare. Don’t miss the igloo martini bar.

The Finale

This Big Daddy spread, hosted by the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort & Spa, features samples from all the restaurants and wineries participating in the fest. Stick around after dinner and dance away all those calories to the tunes of the Harry Baxter Band.

VAIL FILM FESTIVAL

After enjoying sustenance of the edible kind, go for some intellectual stimulation of the film-reel sort. This festival provides a forum for independent filmmakers of every mode to present their latest productions of shorts, student films, features, sports, and more. (Expect 75 screenings in four days.) Also scheduled are classes, brunches, live music, winter-film-themed activities, and panel discussions. Among those honored last year: Harold Ramis, who received the 2007 Gold Summit Award for Contribution to Film, and Hayden Panettiere, for Breakthrough Actor of the Year.

Past Film Premieres and Winners

Rent (and watch) these movies before going to this year’s fest -- after all, you want people to think you’re in the loop, right?

My Date with Drew (2004 Best Documentary, stars Brian Herzlinger and Drew Barrymore)

Before Sunset (2004, stars Ethan Hawke

and Julie Delpy)

House of D (2004, stars David Duchovny, Téa Leoni, and Robin Williams)

The Wendell Baker Story (2005 Best Feature, stars Andrew Wilson and Owen Wilson)

Two Tickets to Paradise (2007 Audience Choice Award, stars D.B. Sweeney, John McGinley, and Paul Hipp)

Knocked Up (2007, stars Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen)

New This Year: (RED) Vision Short Film Category Bono (front man of U2) and Bobby Shriver are continuing their quest to save Africa through their (RED) organization. As such, they’ve partnered with the Vail Film Festival and created a category for which filmmakers are asked to explore the core values of (RED) through a three-to-10- minute film that uses one of these two (RED) themes: “We are the people we’ve been waiting for” and “Be a good-looking Samaritan.” The films are also supposed to be optimistic, smart, irreverent, and authentic -- not elitist, violent, overtly political, and angry. Guess that means Michael Moore is out.

A Nice Touch: Activities are scheduled for the late afternoon and the evening, so you’ll be able to take advantage of the deeply discounted ski tickets available and enjoy the snow during the day.

Vail Film
Festival
April 3 through 6
Tickets: $50 to $1,000
www.vailfilmfestival.org