Crested Butte, CO – StraightOut Media & Marketing, the Matthew Shepard Foundation and Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) have announced the launch of Butte 11: Matthew Shepard Foundation Gay Ski Week. The event will take place at the Colorado ski and snowboard resort from March 19–26, 2011 with additional activities in the towns of Mt. Crested Butte and Crested Butte.n“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, created in memory of the 21-year-old who was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in Wyoming in October 1998. “This was a large scale opportunity to bring attention to our mission,” which is carried out through educational, outreach and advocacy programs.

Production of the event will be led by StraightOut Media & Marketing, producers of the Telluride Gay Ski Week.

“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.”

Butte 11: Matthew Shepard Foundation Gay Ski Week will hold a full schedule of events in addition to skiing. Planning activities are now underway. Event pricing, lodging and travel information have yet to be announced.