StraightOut Media & Marketing,
 the Matthew Shepard Foundation
and Crested Butte Mountain Resort

announced today the launch of “Butte 11: Matthew Shepard Foundation Gay Ski Week.”  The event will take place at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (“CBMR”) from March 19 – 26, 2011 with additional activities in the towns of Mt. Crested Butte and Crested Butte, Colo.

 “This new event provides the perfect vehicle for communicating the education, advocacy and awareness work of the Foundation,” said Jason Marsden, executive director of the Mathew Shepard Foundation. “This was a large scale opportunity to bring attention to our mission.”

Production of the event will be led by StraightOut Media (“SOMM”), well known for producing the top-ranked Telluride Gay Ski Week, and is being co-developed with CBMR and the Matthew Shepard Foundation (“MSF”), one of the leading GLBT education, advocacy and awareness organizations in the United States.

 “We are honored to be the home of the new Matthew Shepard Gay Ski Week,” said Ken Stone, chief operating officer of CBMR. “Crested Butte has so much to offer in terms of recreation, celebration and discovery – we know participants will be dazzled. And for us, Butte 11 will most certainly be a highlight of this year’s ski season.”

“We look forward to creating a signature event for the Matthew Shepard Foundation that raises not only awareness but also contributions to the organization,” said Scott Barretto, co-founder of SOMM. “Crested Butte is known for its superb spring skiing so the sun and the snow will make for a unique gay ski week experience like no other”.

Butte 11: Matthew Shepard Foundation Gay Ski Week will boast a full schedule of events in addition to renowned skiing. Planning activities are now underway and additional information will soon be available along with the launch of the official website.

        Event pricing, lodging and travel information to be announced.

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