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!
February: Heart and
Soul Month
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!
February:
Colorado Environmental Film Festival
02/23/12 -
02/25/12
The
Colorado Environmental Film Festival
(CEFF) offers world-class
environmental films with representatives
from local and national organizations
and companies, topical forums and
discussions, and films for youth.
March or April:
Golden Family Easter 04/07/12
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.
June: Summer Solstice
06/16/12
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
before the summer solstice.
June - early October:
Farmers Market
06/02/12 - 10/06/12, except July 28th
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.
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
4th of July in Lions
Park
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.
July: Buffalo Bill
Days
7/28/12 - 7/29/12
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!
August: Movies and
Music in the Park
During August, the
City of Golden puts 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
the City's web site in mid- to late-spring.
August: Fine Arts
Festival
8/18/12 - 8/19/12
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
October:
Knock Your Boots Off Beer Tasting/Chili
Cookoff
10/20/12
A single admission ticket
entitles you to taste unlimited chilis
and beers in this popular annual event.
October:
Halloween Crazy Days
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.
November: Golden Civic
Foundation Auction
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.
November: Candlelight
Walk
11/30/12
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.
Produced by the City of Golden
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 first in December. The date is published in
the
Golden Informer.
December: Olde Golden
Christmas 12/1,
12/8, 12/15, 12/22 2012
Every Saturday in December 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
Learn more!
Check the City's official tourism
website to learn still more about special events! www.2hourvacation.com
