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VAIL, Colorado — The Vail Cascade Resort hosted the American Airlines Celebrity Ski event to benefit

cystic fibrosis research this past week. The event celebrated 25 years of bringing sponsors, celebrities,

entertainment, and skiing together at venerable mountain ski resorts.

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For the past 10 years, the event has been held at Vail’s Golden Peak and The Vail Cascade Resort,

gathering luminaries from the sport, business and entertainment worlds to provide much needed

funding in search of a cure. The event has raised over $25 million throughout the course of the annual

fundraiser and has been the pivotal point of support in the search for better medicines, an

understanding of the disease, and ultimately, a cure.

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Transformed with red, white, and blue balloons, a kid’s entertainment room, a temporary ski shop, and

signs throughout the hotel, The Vail Cascade Resort became the festive center of activity for the

evenings of celebration. On Friday night, two of the events spokeswomen, Samantha and Libby

Pelican were present at the Vail Cascade gala that began with videos featuring each sister’s

experience living with cystic fibrosis, and what the program has done to extend and better their lives.

They shared the stage after their videos with Bernie Willett, director of cause marketing for American

Airlines, who accepted his recognition with a display book containing multiple thank you letters.

Including testimonies ranging from recipients of care, celebrities who had been moved to action from

the awareness his program has built, and a letter of introduction and gratitude from former President

Bush, the presentation of the book commanded a standing ovation.

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The evening then kicked into high gear with the introduction of the evening’s musical

entertainment — American Idol winner Kris Allen, accompanied by five other stellar

musicians. Allen encouraged the crowd to sing along and enticed chuckles with his stories

of snowboarding in Vail and earning “battle wounds” of bruises in the process.

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The energetic conclusion of the concert brought the audience of more than 500 to its feet at

the end, bringing the four guitarists and one drummer back on the stage for a raucous

rendition of the Beatles’ iconic song “Come Together”.

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Saturday’s highlights included the culmination of celebrity racing at Golden Peak and an awards

ceremony held at the event’s hub at The Vail Cascade.

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For more information about American Airlines Celebrity Ski events for the benefit of cystic fibrosis

research, visit

http://www.aaevents.com/celebrityski.html