Ski Utah Press Release

DEER VALLEY RESORT; PARK CITY, UTAH (November 9, 2015) – Deer Valley Resort is pleased to announce the 24th annual Deer Valley® Celebrity Skifest that serves as the resort's launch of ski season. Held Saturday, December 5 to Sunday, December 6, 2015, the invitational ski event pairs former Olympic ski legends with television and film celebrities for an exciting weekend of skiing, live music and fundraising for Waterkeeper Alliance, the fastest-growing grassroots environmental movement in the world. With more than 266 Waterkeeper Organizations around the world, Waterkeeper Alliance helps to defend communities against anyone who threatens their right to clean water—from law-breaking polluters to unresponsive government agencies.

“We look forward to welcoming our guests back for the 2015-16 ski season and what better way to do that than with an exciting, crowd-pleasing event?” said Bob Wheaton, Deer Valley Resort president and general manager. “This long-standing tradition also affords us the opportunity to rally behind a valuable global cause. We are proud of our connection with Waterkeeper Alliance and the changes they create.”

The Deer Valley Celebrity Skifest event includes a Celebrity Poker Night at Montage Deer Valley on Friday, December 4, giant slalom races on both Saturday, December 5 and Sunday, December 6 on Deer Valley's Birdseye ski run, a Waterkeeper Alliance gala dinner and benefit auction on Saturday, December 5 and a concert with Multi-Platinum Entertainer, Dierks Bently on Saturday, December 5. The races are free to the public and can be viewed from the Silver Lake area at mid-mountain. All proceeds from the evening events throughout the weekend benefit Waterkeeper Alliance. Skifest has helped raise more than $5 million for Waterkeeper Alliance since the partnership began in 2006. The weekend's races will be broadcast the following Sunday, December 13 on CBS at 5 pm EST (please check local listings).

Some of the best-known legends of U.S. skiing are scheduled to compete in this year's event, including Steve Mahre, Phil Mahre, Tommy Moe and Deer Valley’s own Ambassador of Skiing, Heidi Voelker. This year's group of celebrity Skifest supporters include Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Cheryl Hines, Rachel Harris, Mark Feuerstein, Rob Morrow, Maria Bello and Alicia Silverstone. Previous celebrity guests have included Academy Award-winning actors Glenn Close and Marcia Gay Harden; Emmy Award-winning actors Larry David and Neil Patrick Harris; Paul Mitchell Systems President John Paul DeJoria; Grammy Award-winning artists Miranda Lambert, Mary J. Blige, Lady Antebellum, Train, Melissa Etheridge, and musical stars Natasha Bedingfield, Gavin DeGraw, Gavin Rossdale and James Blunt.

The Deer Valley Celebrity Skifest is presented by JUMA Entertainment. For more information on the event and the opening of Deer Valley's 2015-16 ski season, please call Deer Valley Resort Communications Manager Emily Summers at 435-645-6522; or view the event website at dvskifest.com. To follow the event on social media, search #dvskifest. Photos of the 2014 Celebrity Skifest can be found at dropbox.com.

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Deer Valley Resort revolutionized the ski industry by providing the first-class service one would receive at a five-star hotel. The resort offers 21 chairlifts, 101 ski runs, six bowls, 12 restaurants, 300 annual inches of powder, three elegant day lodges, 2,026 acres of alpine skiing, hundreds of luxury accommodations and a renowned Ski School and Children’s Center