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Golden loves a good party, and we have
several every year!
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!
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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. |
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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. |
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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 the Golden City Brewery (which is
right across the street from the Park!)
This benefit for CCHP and the Astor House takes
place on the Saturday closest to the summer
solstice (June 21st).
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
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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
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This tour of the Golden cemetery
allows you to meet some of our town's
luminaries of the past--at their
graves.
This benefit for the Golden Pioneer
Museum occurs in late October,
and features volunteers dressed as
people from Golden's history.
You're likely to recognize names that
you now see on streets and parks around
town! |
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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. |
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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.
Held on a Sunday afternoon in
December, this event is a fund-raiser for
the Golden Pioneer Museum and the Golden
Landmarks Association. I've attended this
event many times over the years, and it has
given me a chance to see the inside of some
really interesting old houses in
Golden--Victorians on 12th Street, Craftsman
homes in the East Street neighbor, and a couple
of old ranches North of Golden. 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
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