{"id":13704,"date":"2026-01-31T04:46:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T11:46:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/snowdown-light-parade-offers-a-journey-back-in-time\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:40:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:40:03","slug":"snowdown-light-parade-offers-a-journey-back-in-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/snowdown-light-parade-offers-a-journey-back-in-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Snowdown Light Parade offers a journey back in time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=ad92710e-b4e6-5607-af23-d2bfd7db4e8b&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1349\" alt=\"Sidewalks were filled Friday in downtown Durango with spectators watching the Snowdown Light Parade 2026. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Sidewalks were filled Friday in downtown Durango with spectators watching the Snowdown Light Parade 2026. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>Main Avenue was transformed Friday into a menagerie of whimsy during this year\u2019s Snowdown Light Parade.<\/p>\n<p>Dinosaurs, prospectors, yards of flannel, covered wagons, a yeti, humanoid trees, a healthy dose of Victorian garb, Jazzercise cowboys, chain saws, bubbles, bears, horses, rams, chickens and motorcycles all helped paradegoers get into a party mood and go back in time for this year\u2019s Snowdown theme: Uniquely Colorado \u2013 Then and Wow!<\/p>\n<p>The parade, hosted once again by Purgatory Resort, gave participants the opportunity to time travel to celebrate Colorado\u2019s 150th anniversary and all that makes the state special.<\/p>\n<p>Some floats leaned heavily into the theme of celebrating Colorado\u2019s history and quirks \u2013 one with an intricately decorated Victorian room, another featuring a mega-sized miner working a steaming rock pile, and one sporting the infamous Denver International Airport mustang, Blucifer, among others.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video wp-block-embed-youtube naviga-video-embed\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rZC0hV5mPlY\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Others \u2013 like a mobile boxing ring and pickleball court, a drivable airport luggage cart filled with suitcases and a vintage Barbie car \u2013 gained attention through their eye-catching presentations and quirky energy.<\/p>\n<p>Though many themed floats leaned into 19th and 20th century Durango and Colorado history, some \u2013 including the La Plata Electric Association float \u2013 brought paradegoers back millions of years to the age of the dinosaurs.<\/p>\n<p>Purgatory has hosted the light parade for more than eight years, said company spokesperson James Graven.<\/p>\n<p>Purgatory Marketing Director Matt Ericksen told <em id=\"emphasis-f51848788b2ce80e33d121cea1b00b8b\">The Durango Herald<\/em> that hosting Snowdown is a way for the company to show its support for the festival and the community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHosting the Snowdown parade is a way for us to support a long-standing Durango tradition and the community that has supported Purgatory for so many years,\u201d Ericksen said. \u201cEspecially as we mark our 60th season, it feels important to stay connected to the events that make this place special.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=18b5b431-cf8c-54f7-a06b-9a7d370f9711&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1478\" alt=\"Sidewalks were filled with people in downtown Durango to watch the Snowdown Light Parade 2026 Friday on Main Avenue. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Sidewalks were filled with people in downtown Durango to watch the Snowdown Light Parade 2026 Friday on Main Avenue. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>Durango resident Emma Tomlinson has attended the parade for more than 30 years. Her 4-year-old son, Axel, has been coming to the parade since he was born.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople just love it \u2013 it\u2019s a tradition,\u201d Tomlinson said. \u201cI think during the winter, we\u2019re all at our low, you know? It\u2019s a great pick-me-up. You get out and you see your friends and you invite your family, and people are just happy. It\u2019s a great time to just celebrate and be with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=b835052e-953f-5d84-8360-b74541ec702a&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" alt=\"Sidewalks were filled with people in downtown Durango to watch the Snowdown Light Parade 2026 on Friday on Main Avenue. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Sidewalks were filled with people in downtown Durango to watch the Snowdown Light Parade 2026 on Friday on Main Avenue. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>Axel said his favorite part of the parade was the fire-breathing propane tanks released from hot air balloon baskets ferried on trucks.<\/p>\n<p>The parade concluded with a drone show depicting images from Colorado\u2019s history \u2013 a new addition this year \u2013 and an impromptu appearance from anti-ICE protesters.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=d317255d-c609-5cae-8065-5c3b98a8d6e1&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1941\" alt=\"At the end of the Snowdown Light Parade 2026 on Friday, a drone show appeared above Main Avenue in downtown Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">At the end of the Snowdown Light Parade 2026 on Friday, a drone show appeared above Main Avenue in downtown Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>The protesters, a smaller cohort than one that filled Main Avenue only hours earlier, filed into the parade route just as the procession was coming to a close with homemade signs in tow, chanting, \u201cstop deportation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em id=\"emphasis-8f050cb45621e647290e14bfb87cb2ce\"><a href=\"mailto:epond@durangoherald.com\">epond@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dinosaurs, prospectors and chain saws, oh my!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1409,510,28,1408,1402,994,316],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-13704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-demonstration","tag-festive-event-including-carnival","tag-headlines","tag-parade","tag-snowdown","tag-trueanthem","tag-video"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13704"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19450,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13704\/revisions\/19450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13704"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=13704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}