<\/p>\n
For over five decades, for one summer weekend, the town of Mancos has let loose to celebrate small-town living by way of Mancos Days.<\/p>\n
The three-day extravaganza is jam-packed with events that, in Mancos, have become synonymous with summer \u2013 parades, live music, pie-eating contests, duck races, water fights with the Mancos Valley Fire Department, and much more.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s event is also bringing in new additions like a classic car show and ghost tours, sponsored by the Mancos Historic Society.<\/p>\n
Leslie Hopkins, parks and recreation director with the Town of Mancos, has helped coordinate the event for 17 years. She says attendees can expect the good old-fashioned, family-friendly time that has kept Mancos Days alive for over 50 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big family thing,\u201d said Hopkins.<\/p>\n
The fun begins Friday at 10 a.m. with the Kids Parade. Events run on the hour and include the Queen\u2019s Tea with the 2015 Mancos Days Queen Ellen Paquin. Another staple of Mancos Days is the Queen\u2019s Lunch, which is slated for Saturday.<\/p>\n
Every year, the Ladies Auxiliary of Montezuma County VFW Post 5231 elects a Mancos Days Pioneer Queen, a 50-year tradition.<\/p>\n
Paquin, a lifelong Mancos Valley resident, is a second-generation Mancos Days Pioneer Queen. In 1966, her mother, Myrtle, held the title, and Paquin plans to wear her mother\u2019s Pioneer Queen dress to celebrate.<\/p>\n
Aside from the three-day softball tournaments, and kids and adult games, another tradition is the teen dance, which is held this year at Grand Avenue and South Mesa Street on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Mancos Days) is a cherished event with a lot of people, and high school graduates kind of use it as a way to reconnect as a way to with class grads,\u201d said Marie Chiarizia, director of the Mancos Valley Chamber of Commerce. \u201cIt\u2019s great for the economy, and great for hotels and motels here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mancos resident Barbara Zeutzius says has strong family ties to Mancos Days, as her father and sister were planners back in early days.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt started out after some of the merchants in town wanted to do something to bring people in. They wanted to celebrate it on Colorado\u2019s birthday by doing it the last full weekend in July,\u201d said Zeutzius. Colorado\u2019s birthday is Aug. 1. \u201cIt started out smaller and grew. It\u2019s not quite as big as it used to be. As the town grew, the land they were having some of the events on filled.\u201d<\/p>\n
One event from yesteryear she remembers is \u201canimal catching,\u201d which would put kids in a circle filled with puppies, kittens, ducks and more.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many people were allowed to be in a circle, and you had to get permission, and then they went in to get a critter they wanted,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Aside from the events, Mancos Days has always been centered around bringing current and former residents together. Zeutizius\u2019 Mancos High School graduating class will be gathering for their 41st reunion at this weekend\u2019s event.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember people who would plan their vacation for Mancos days,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Mancos Days kicks off at 10 a.m. on July 24, and has events all weekend beginning as early as 6:30 a.m.<\/p>\n
Schedules will be posted on the town\u2019s new wayfinder kiosks at Main Street and Grand Avenue, and at the back side of Boyle Park.<\/p>\n
The 56th Annual Mancos Days starts this weekend. All events take place in Boyle Park or Downtown Mancos unless otherwise noted.
\n Friday July 24
\n 10 a.m.: Kids\u2019 Parade
\n 11 a.m.- 1 p.m.: Kids\u2019 Games
\n 1 p.m. \u2013 4 p.m.: Fishing Derby (Mancos River)
\n 1 p.m.: Queens Tea (Bauer House)
\n 3 p.m. \u2013 4 p.m.: Suzanne\u2019s School of Dance
\n 4 p.m.: Flag Ceremony
\n 4:30 P.M.: Live music: Not Quite Dry
\n 5 p.m.: Softball tournament begins
\n 5 p.m. \u2013 8 p.m.: Grand Summer Nights: Grand Avenue Art Galleries open late
\n Live music: Sweetwater Station
\n 8 p.m. \u2013 11 p.m.: Teen Street Dance with DJ Aaron Lemay (S. Mesa and Grand Ave.)
\n Saturday July 25:
\n 6:30 A.M.: Boy Scout Pancake Breakfast (Mancos School)
\n 7:30 A.M.: Fun Run starts
\n 7:30 A.M.: Softball tournament
\n 8:30 A.M.: Fun Run awards and prizes
\n 9 a.m.: Parade registration and line up (Spruce St. and Grand Ave.)
\n 9 a.m. \u2013 6 p.m.: Volleyball tournament
\n 10 \u2013 11:30 A.M.: Parade starts
\n 11:30 A.M.- 3 P.M.: Classic car show
\n 11:30 A.M. \u2013 1 P.M.: Queens lunch
\n 12 p.m.: National Day of the Cowboy Read \u2018Em Cowboy Event
\n 12:30 P.M.: Queens Quilt Winner announced
\n 1 p.m. \u2013 4 p.m.: Adult and Kids games: Tug of War, Pie Eating Contest, Arm Wrestling
\n 1 p.m. \u2013 6 p.m.: Horseshoe tournament begins
\n 1:30 \u2013 6:30 P.M.: Four Corners Square Dancers
\n 3 p.m.: Parade winners announced
\n 3 p.m. \u2013 4 p.m.: Duck Race (Mancos River)
\n 3:30 \u2013 5:30 p.m.: Live music: Big Money and The Corporate Citizen
\n 5:30 \u2013 7:30 p.m.: Spaghetti Dinner for the Mancos Scholarship Association (Mancos School)
\n 6 p.m. \u2013 9 p.m.: Live music: C and D Productions
\n Sunday July 26
\n 7:30 A.M.: Softball tournament
\n 11 a.m. \u2013 1 p.m.: Live music: Still Waking Up
\n 1 p.m. \u2013 4 p.m.: Live music: Secondhand Strings
\n 1 p.m. \u2013 4 p.m.: Water Fights (Mancos Fire Department), weather permitting<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The theme for the 56th annual Mancos Days event is \u201cOnly in Mancos.\u201d The 3-day extravaganza is organized months in advance by a group of volunteers and the Town of Mancos, and is made financially possible by the town, vendor fees, funds from softball tournament registrations, and local sponsors. This year\u2019s sponsors include:
\n Gold Sponsors
\n Empire Electric
\n Mancos Valley Chamber of Commerce
\n Silver Sponsors
\n Absolute Bakery and Cafe
\n Columbine Bar
\n CD Investments (Ancient Cedars)
\n Deer Hill Expeditions
\n Essence of Healing
\n The Jean Bader Family (Kelly-Bader Ranch)
\n Mancos Brewing Electric Company
\n Mancos Electric
\n Mancos Valley Bank
\n Mancos Valley Resources
\n Mesa Verde Motel
\n Simbeck and Associates
\n Souder, Miller and Associates
\n Bronze Sponsors
\n Bar D Chuckwagon
\n Durango to Silverton Narrow Gauge Railrod
\n Mancos Friends of the Library
\n National Day of the Cowboy
\n Premier Weed
\n Up the Creek Antiques
\n Wagner Enterprises<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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