Ira Riklis Blog

If you didn’t have a chance to visit Tel Aviv, Israel in 2009, you missed a long, grand centennial celebration. There were concerts and fireworks, parties and special events that went on for months. And the city has a lot to celebrate. Over the course of its first 100 years, it’s become a bustling center of Israeli arts, education, finance and culture. You can catch the feeling of the celebrations on this YouTube video. (Look closely at the photo of an old pharmacy which appears briefly in the middle of the clip. Ira Riklis thinks that the man in the scene could be his Great Grandfather, Zelig Krinkin, who opened the first pharmacy in Tel Aviv.)

But while there is plenty to celebrate, there are also reasons to be concerned about the city and its people. Beyond the bright and beautiful areas are many poverty stricken neighborhoods. According to some estimates, as many as 40 percent of the population live in poverty. That’s why Ira Riklis is steadfast and continuing supporter of the American Friends of Tel Aviv Foundation. The group engages donors in working on neighborhood projects in areas ranging from education, culture, the arts and sports to environment and social services.

It was in the summer of 1975 when Ira Riklis and his wife Diana first visited Vail and fell in love with the little mountain town. Since then they’ve been back there too many times to count. Most of those visits were during the winter ski season and rightfully so—Vail is one of the best ski resorts in the world. But sometimes they visit in other seasons as well, and encourage others looking for an enjoyable time in spectacular surroundings to consider doing the same.

Such a visit could be planned in summer. The weather is great, pleasantly warm and sunny by day and cool and refreshing at night. But for those looking for a getaway after the summer vacationers are back at work and their children in school, Ira Riklis might suggest you plan a trip in September or early October. The weather can be a little nippy at times (winter can come early to the high country!), but is usually still great for hiking, mountain biking, ATV trips, golf and tennis. And while the summer wildflowers will have largely faded away, breathtaking mountain panoramas painted with the golden hues of aspen leaves more than make up for them!