Black Ski Weekend Events Have Become The New Growing Travel Niche During The Last 10 Years

10 years ago, you very seldom heard about African Americans making plans to go skiing. There have always been one or two events that would cater towards a certain group of hard core skier. In 1973 a group of 13 African American ski clubs came together and named it the National Brotherhood of Black Skiers or NBS for short. The Historic first gathering took place in Aspen, Colorado in 1973. Today, the organization has grown to 60 clubs representing 43 cities and a membership of 3,000. The NBS is recognized by the ski industry as one of the largest ski organizations and its Summit as the largest gathering of skiers and riders, more than any other ski convention in the United States. In the last decade, there has been a growing network of ski events that are not apart of serious ski clubs and are somewhat different. The new type of African American ski event is a mixture of different activities that involve party bus transportation, shopping excursions, dating games, nationally known artists, dance club events, comedy shows, indoor and outdoor pool parties, all night pajama parties, Karaoke contests, all you can eat buffets along with the activity of skiing. The interesting fact is that the actual activity of skiing might take up only 10% of the activities for the 3 day weekends. You generally find that participants who come to the new ski events have rarely if ever been to a ski resort let alone actually skiing. You find many first time or second time skiers who brave their first efforts in putting on their first pairs of skis and learning something that culturally has always been a foreign activity. While the serious ski clubs from the 80's and 90's have attracted a wide range of ages, the demographics have usually been more towards the 35 and up. In the last decade the ages have moved younger as social networking sites, online video and word of mouth has spread to younger hip hop generation. The new skier can range anywhere from 21 and over and come from many different social backgrounds. The locations have spread from the Colorado mountains to established ski resort areas in Tennessee, Nevada and Michigan. Here is a fun fact: There are more African American ski events that occur on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday weekend each year then any other weekend. Some events are known to bring in 1,000-5,000 participants in one weekend. Today, there are at least 15-20 ski events ( not including serious ski club events) that are taking place during the winter season and the numbers expand each year. If you are looking for a new type of activity during the winter season that does not involve becoming a couch potato, then you should think about going on your first ski trip. You will not be disappointed. It is always nice to see other faces when you tell them that you just came back from skiing down the dangerous mountain (just don't tell them it is the beginners bunny slope that the 5 year old children are learning from too.) Terrance Smith is a 13 year specialist in African American Travel events for young adults http://www.blackbeachweek.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Terrance_Sh_Smith