David and Danny Goldberg, co-owners of the Belly Up, are currently ironing out final details for their upcoming “Up in the Sky Festival,” slated for Aug. 8 and 9 at Buttermilk Ski Area.

The Goldbergs, who co-own the Belly up with their father Michael, on Tuesday mainly presented transportation logistics to the Pitkin County Commission. 

The festival, which is hosted by the Belly Up, was unanimously approved by commissioners in September 2024. After approval, there was some concern that the event had the potential to cannibalize other music festivals in the Roaring Fork Valley. Since then, the event has been pared down slightly from two weekends in July and August to one weekend in July. 

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The event will have a large focus on using bicycles to attend, and as a result, much of Tuesday’s discussion centered on how the event will ensure that bikers and walkers are able to get to Buttermilk safely. 

Beyond bikes, the Up in the Sky Festival will use buses for transportation to and from the event grounds. Attendees will not be able to leave their cars in the Buttermilk parking lots. 

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Belly Up is also coordinating with Colorado State Patrol, Pitkin County Public Works, Aspen Ski Company, and others in order to execute the event. 

While the event organizers have said that they could safely host up to 16,000 at the festival, according to their presentation to the Pitkin County commissioners, they do not expect or want that many attendees in the first year. 

“So while we know that we can safely and successfully pull off 16,000 people in that area from square footage, bathrooms, and from a public safety perspective,” said David Goldberg, “that’s not where we intend to start.”

This is the last time the Goldbergs will be giving the board updates prior to the event itself in August. After the event, the Belly Up co-owners will debrief the board on how the event went. They have already put in their application for next year’s Up in the Sky Festival.