|
 |
|
Golden loves
a good party, and we have
several every year. Click
on the picture to the right
to see a
quick slideshow,
covering several of them!
Every
February the non-profit
organizations in town put on
a special series of cultural
events. This generally
includes a symphony concert,
special exhibits and
speakers at the museums, a
tea at the Astor House, a
book sale at the library, a
film series at the
Mountaineering Center--the
list goes on. It's a good
way to make it through a
normally dull month! |
|
 |
|
| |
|
The Downtown Merchants Association
and the Kiwanis Club work together to
make the Saturday before Easter a
fun community event. The day starts
with a brief and very intense Easter Egg
Hunt in Parfet Park. The crowd then
strolls up and down Washington Avenue,
meeting the Easter Bunny and various
other characters (Mother Goose sometimes
makes an appearance). The stores,
hotels, and restaurants often feature
special events. Free carriage rides
through downtown are generally
available, and cart rides drawn by
Newfoundland Dogs are popular with
little children. |
 |
Just a few years old, this mid-June
event has already established a
following. Car lovers from all over
bring their antique cars, muscle cars,
street rods, antique motorcycles,
trucks, and various other toys to show
off in downtown Golden. People wander
around enjoying the cars. Live music is
provided, as well as kids games, door
prizes, and street performers. |
|
Photo courtesy of Sharon Wheatley |
Each June the Clear Creek History
Park hosts an afternoon-to-evening celebration
featuring live music, food, crafts, and great beer
provided by Coors. This benefit for the Golden
History Museums takes place on the Saturday
closest to the summer solstice.
The Golden Farmers Market has been
running for several years now, and has been a huge
success. It's another one of those
go-there-and-see-everyone-you-know events, a good
place for Saturday breakfast from late spring
through mid-fall. Vendors sell produce, flowers,
plants, and prepared food. The market is held in
the empty lot next to the library. Since it's right
next to the Creek, many people include a creek walk
as part of their experience.
Photos courtesy of Sharon Wheatley
| For the past few years,
a large group of classic car owners have
converged on Golden the first
Saturday of every month, May through
October. They meet at dinner time
in the South Golden Road area. Many
gather near the Sonic Drive-In, an
appropriate place for classic cars, but
there are far too many to fit in that
one space, so you'll find them all up
and down Golden Road. At 7:30, they
form a parade and cruise to downtown
Golden. The cars are incredible, and
people really enjoy walking around,
looking at them, and talking with the
owners. Learn more and see this year's
schedule at their
web site. |
Photo courtesy of Michael Mason |
The Golden Lions Club puts on a
great community party every 4th of July in
Lions Park. The event includes free rides for
children and free live music. People come with
picnics or buy food from the vendors. The Golden
Civic Foundation contributes financially to this big
do, and the Lions sell raffle tickets so people can
win prizes contributed by local merchants. The day
culminates in a great fireworks display.
Learn more at the Lions Club web site.
This is the biggest event of the
year in Golden. Scheduled every year for the
last weekend in July, it starts on Friday night
with rides and vendors in Parfet Park. On Saturday
morning, the Volunteer Fire Department provides a
fund-raising pancake breakfast. A big parade
through the downtown area follows, with many Golden
businesses and non-profit organizations
participating, plus a few organizations from the
surrounding metro area. A big stage in Parfet Park
hosts live music all weekend. Learn more about it
at the
Buffalo Bill Days web site!
During July and August, the
City of Golden and GREAT put on a series of free
concerts and movie showings in Parfet Park in
downtown Golden. It's a wonderful community event,
so plan now to bring lawns chairs and enjoy the
party. The summer's listings will appear on
GREAT's web
site in mid- to late-spring.
The Golden Fine Arts Festival, an
August event, has grown in both size and
prestige every year. The event is based on 11th
Street, next to the Clear Creek History Park.
Admission is free, and includes live music and a
kids art center. Food vendors are available, and
free horse-drawn carriage rides. Many area
organizations offer special events to tie in with
the festival, such as the arts and crafts exhibit at
the Clear Creek History Park.
See
their web site to learn more!
Photo courtesy of Sharon Wheatley
|
Halloween in downtown Golden
is great. The Downtown Merchants
Association give away candy, and the
street is packed with hundreds of
children (and sometimes adults) in
costume. It runs from about 3 till 6,
or until the merchants run out of candy. |
 |
 |
Golden is a small enough town that
we see many of the same people at all of the events,
but this is our annual chance to see each other
dressed up! The Civic Foundation Action, held in
early November at the Denver West Marriott, is their
big annual fund-raiser. Local businesses and
individuals contribute things to be auctioned and
the participants bid on them. Sometimes people get
great deals, and sometimes they pay more than they
should, just to contribute to the cause. The Civic
Foundation uses the money to support nearly every
non-profit in town, and the auction often includes
an overview of how the previous year's money was
distributed. Please consider contributing auction
items to this year's event, then plan to attend and
bid! See their
web
site to contact them about a donation or to buy
tickets to the auction.
This event started many years ago
when a hundred or so locals gathered near the
Foothills Art Center to walk down Washington Avenue
carrying candles and singing Christmas songs. Word
has spread throughout town, and now thousands show
up, still carrying candles and still singing, and
still walking downhill from Foothills to the Creek.
When the group reaches the Creek, the Mayor flips a
switch and all of the holiday lights along Clear
Creek go on, eliciting gasps of admiration and much
applause. Many groups participate in this event:
there are crafts and campfires at the Clear Creek
History Park, roasted chestnuts and music at the
Pioneer Museum, musical performances at the Rotary
Amphitheater (on the Creek, behind the fire
station), reindeer to be petted at the Visitors
Center. All in all, it's kind of a short (2 or 3
hour long) winter carnival. This event occurs on a
Friday night--generally the last in November or
the first in December. The date is published in
the
Golden Informer.
Every Saturday between
Thanksgiving and Christmas the Chamber of
Commerce hosts special Christmas events all day in
the downtown area. Each Saturday starts with a
parade. The parades last about half an hour and
include Santa Claus, local bands, local businesses,
local scout troops, etc. The Saturdays go on to
include strolling musicians along Washington Avenue,
free horse-drawn carriage rides, and tasty treats
provided by the stores. It's fun, and it really
does make Christmas shopping in downtown Golden even
more appealing!
Photos courtesy of Sharon Wheatley
Check the City's official tourism
website to learn still more about special events!
www.2hourvacation.com
|
