LEADVILLE’S 61st ANNUAL BOOM DAYS CELEBRATES MINING HERITAGE
Another Colorado Summer Festival brings you sunshine and blue skies.
Three-day event includes mining competitions, pack burro races, craft and food fair, rod and gun show, motorcycle games, live music, kids’ activities and a 5K
Mining has always played an important role in Leadville, Colorado, which was home to 30,000 people during the gold and silver heydays of the 1880s. With the state’s two highest Fourteeners as a majestic backdrop, this historic Victorian mountain town celebrates its mining and colorful Old West heritage each year with the Boom Days festival. This year’s celebration, which will take place Aug. 5-7, will offer entertainment and activities that range from mining competitions, a 5K and a rod and gun show, to live music, a craft fair and the 21-mile Leadville Boom Days International Pack Burro Race, the second leg of Pack Burro Racing’s Triple Crown.
The 2011 Leadville Boom Days will kick off on Friday, Aug. 5
- 7:00 p.m. Opening ceremony and the Cloud City Riders’ motorcycle games
- 7:30 p.m. Keir Royale and Anikka Magic Show at The Tabor Opera House (www.TaborOperaHouse.net)
- 8:00 p.m. A dance and live music will follow at the Elks Lodge on West 5th Street
Saturday’s events will begin at 7 a.m. with a pancake breakfast on the Lake County Courthouse Lawn. New this year, the Vonnie’s Voice 5K Walk/Run will begin at Pitts Elementary School at 8 a.m. (www.vonniesvoice5k.com) The festive Boom Days parade will start at 10 a.m. and will travel down Harrison Avenue, alongside the Lions’ Club beer garden, which will feature live music throughout the day, and a food and craft fair with more than 100 vendors. The Leadville Colorado & Southern Railroad will provide a chance to see the alpine flowers at their peak with a Wildflower Special train ride at 10 a.m., followed by lunch and a stroll through the heritage gardens at the Healy House Museum. (www.leadville-train.com)
Other highlights on Saturday will include the 7th annual Boomin’ Auto Show, the Leadville Rod and Gun Club’s annual rod and gun show, and the Eagles Softball Tournament. The mining competitions, including jack leg drilling, spike driving, hand mucking and hand steeling, will be held behind the Elks Lodge starting at 9:30 a.m. There will be plenty of fun for kids as well, including a bouncy house, obstacle course, sack races, water balloon tosses, a sand pile money grab and three-legged races, beginning at 1:30 at the Lake County High School Football Field on West 4th. There will be a spaghetti dinner at the Eagles Lodge at 812 Hemlock starting at 5 p.m.,k a Spanish dance and musical performance by Con Fuego at The Tabor Opera House at 7:30 p.m., and a dance and live music at 9 p.m. at the Elks Lodge.
The fun will continue on Sunday with a pancake breakfast beginning at 8 a.m., the food and craft fair, the softball tournament, team and kids’ mining competitions, and the rod and gun show. At 11 a.m., the Open Burro Race will begin, followed by the Short-course Race at 11:15. The Main Street Events will kick off next, including an 1880s costume mosey and costume contests. The burro racers will start to return around 1:30.
Boom Days is a dog-free event. Doggie day care and overnight boarding are available from Cold Nose Warm Heart; call 719-486-2014 for details. For more information about the schedule of events, visit www.leadvilleboomdays.com or call 888-532-3845.
Located in the geographic center of Colorado, Leadville is just 103 miles west of Denver and 129 miles northwest of Colorado Springs, on US Highway 24, part of the Top of the Rockies Scenic and Historic Byway. Known for its authentic mountain-town hospitality, Leadville is the highest incorporated city in North America. With average high temperatures in the mid-70s this time of year, it’s the perfect place to escape the summer heat and explore one of Colorado’s most historic towns. Go to http://www.VisitLeadvilleColorado.com for more information.
