Bal Harbour

insider's guide NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND Gilded-Age Glory Newport became a playground for the wealthiest in the Gilded Age, as the Vanderbilts, the Astors, and more built summer cottages along Bellevue Avenue, and began throwing the splashiest bashes to celebrate the season. Summer here is still punctuated by a series of can't-miss parties, says Trudy Coxe, who oversees The Preservation Society of Newport County, the nonprofit that manages 11 of the historic houses usually known as Newport Mansions. The season starts earlier than ever, she says, driven in part by the younger summer visitors. "A lot of the older people like to stay in Florida until the latter part of June," she says. The America 250 celebrations this year will turbocharge the calendar, she notes, including a repertory play season at Hunter House, the oldest home she oversees, which dates to 1748. Newport Divided, the play series that considers the American Revolution through the lens of several locals, including a Crown loyalist, will run from June 30 through August 29. Here, a few more of Coxe's top recommendations. 1 Newport Mansions Annual Ball For the first time in more than a decade, the nonprofit's annual August ball will be at Rosecliff, built by scoundrel-ish starchitect Stanford White and modeled after the Grand Trianon in Versailles. This year it's a black-tie masquerade ball that will draw multiple generations to party together. Stick around until evening's end, says Coxe, when the late Bob Hardwick's namesake orchestra will pivot from big-band standards to pop. 2 Newport Mansions Chairman's Dinner "People sometimes give us $25,000 just to be invited to that party," Coxe says of their highest-profile, most exclusive fundraiser, held each year in July. "It's the crème de la crème." 3 Lobster Bake, Bailey's Beach The private members' club officially known as Spouting Rock Beach Association holds the unofficial end-of-summer party over Labor Day weekend. "Many families stay around to try to attend if they can," says Coxe. It's members-only, of course—but we know you'll have the connections to score a ticket. ASPEN, COLOR ADO Fresh-Air Adrenaline "Summer has always been busier than winter," says Australian Ramona Bruland, who moved here in 2009 to be a host on local station Plum TV. She fell in love with the place and made it her permanent home with her now-husband. Today Bruland focuses mostly on philanthropy and is proud to have raised over $1 million for the Aspen Community Foundation, an umbrella organization aimed at offsetting some of the issues caused by the area's wealth disparity. She explains that the big difference between snow season and summertime is the vibe. "The ski crowd? It's late-night, more EDM, see-and-be-seen. In summers? They're in their Kemo Sabe hats outdoors at the markets, their workout clothes in the morning, and then they switch gears for a nice long boozy lunch." Bruland is an extreme sports enthusiast and reminds us that the dry, warm weather makes Aspen ideal for every outdoor hobby; the mercury will rarely hit higher than the mid-80s. Paraglide off the mountaintops, for example, or take an al fresco yoga class, according to your own adrenaline level. There's mountain biking, e-biking, road biking, and even dirt biking in mid-Valley, while avid hikers should tackle the challenging Buckskin Pass, which offers superb views across the Elk Mountains. When you've worked up a sweat, idle away a summer afternoon with one of those lingering lunches somewhere that's buzzy whatever the day of the week. Cache Cache is a perennial favorite for outdoor eating, as is Sant Ambroeus, but Bruland is especially excited about the newly opened Yuki, which has a well-placed terrace to make sure you're in the center of the action. Bruland says that the Food & Wine Classic is a crowd-pleasing long weekend (June 19 through 21 this year), as is the Aspen Ideas Classic (June 25 through July 1). But July is when the season truly swings into action. "There are so many fundraisers, annual galas, and garden parties—it's nonstop." Buy a ticket for Connected on July 23, which Bruland is helping to organize, and don't miss the Aspen Music Festival. "It's an eight-week program, FROM ABOVE Designed by Richard Morris Hunt and inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles, Marble House is one of Newport's most well-known mansions; summer hiking in the mountains; a scene from the annual Aspen Music Festival P H OTO BY AU B R E Y O D O M , C O U R T E S Y U N S P L A S H ; C O U R T E S Y AU B E R G E C O L L EC T I O N . O P P O S I T E : C O U R T E S Y D I S C OV E R N E W P O R T; A S P E N C H A M B E R R E S O R T A S S O C I AT I O N ; P H OTO BY C A R L I N M A ( I N S E T )

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