The 113th National Western Stock Show Parade in Denver

On Thursday, January 10th, the 113th National Western Stock Show, held its kick-off parade in Denver, Colorado. This annual event takes place on 17th Street from Union Station to 17th Ave and Tremont Place in Denver.  My husband and I have enjoyed attending this parade almost every year since we moved to Colorado, six years ago.  It is a quintessential western experience and so much fun to see!

We usually drive to Denver a couple hours before parade time to get a parking space and to have lunch. Having some extra time this year we dropped into the exquisite and historic Brown Palace Hotel and Spa.   It is a Denver icon, established in 1892.

Click on the collage above to view it larger, and read about the history of the Brown Palace that was on two framed photos I saw near the reservations desk.

The Brown Palace's Christmas decorations were still on display in the lobby.   Formal tea was being served, complete with a piano player playing soft music.  I stayed in the Brown Place to celebrate my 60th birthday the year we moved to Colorado, and we also had tea there, which you can see in this post.  It was an enchanting experience!

The Brown Palace is truly a beautiful place to visit to admire its unique architecture and design and old-world elegance.

Although there are wonderful restaurants inside the Brown Palace, we have a tradition of attending the National Western Stock Show Barbecue lunch, held in the Wells Fargo building lobby, that benefits the 4H Club. It is a buffet serving delicious and filling selections of pulled pork on a bun, potato salad, coleslaw, and baked beans, with the choice of either ice tea or lemonade and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

We then line up curbside on 17th Street to wait for the beginning of the parade.

The parade always begins with a procession of long-horned cattle accompanied by cowboys and cowgirls, keeping them in line.  The sight never ceases to amaze me!

One of the long-horns was a bit ornery!

Seeing cowboys riding down a usually busy car trafficked Denver street harkens back to the city's olden days.

There were many cowboys and cowgirls in the parade...

...in fact, I think cowgirls may have outnumbered cowboys this year!

One of the cutest riders was this little guy!

Denver urban developer and preservationist, Dana Crawford, who was behind the designation of LoDo, the creation of Larimer Square, and revamping Union Station, was the grand marshal of the 2019 parade.

I love seeing all the draft horse teams in the parade.

They are such magnificent horses!  A few years ago we attended an exciting Draft Horse Show at the National Western Stock Show Arena. You can see that post here.

There were other animals in the parade including service dogs in training, alpacas, donkeys and the Colorado State University mascot Ram.

This pretty Senorita was dancing in her traditional Mexican dress for the Mexican Rodeo float.




The video above, on my Mille Fiori Favoriti facebook page,  show her twirling her dress so beautifully.

The National Western Stock Show Parade had a marching band, rodeo stars. stagecoaches, covered wagons, a wild west show, vintage firetruck, and miniature horses.  What was missing this year were the John Deere and other tractors that paraded in the past...

...but a pink stretch limousine was a new addition!

Of course, the parade ends with the much-needed sanitation street sweepers cleaning up after all the animals that proceeded them in the parade. They usually get a big cheer from the crowd!   
The National Western Stock Show and Rodeo began on Saturday and runs with many different events until Jan. 27 at the National Western Center near Interstate 70 and Brighton Boulevard.  The exciting news is that this center is in the process of being renovated and expanded in stages--you can read more about that on this link. It will ensure the stock show tradition will remain in Denver for another hundred years!

PS:
Thank you, everyone, for your good wishes on my last post regarding my foot surgery that will take place this week. I know I'll be sidelined for a few weeks of recovery but will continue to blog. My husband is also feeling well and appreciates your kind thoughts. I think we both have many adventures ahead, God willing, and we will continue to enjoy each and every day.

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Crested Butte--Part One--Vinotok Autumn Festival

I was away last weekend visiting Crested Butte, Colorado, with my husband, for an early anniversary getaway. Since moving to Colorado six years ago we have been trying to take trips to all its four corners and in-betweens of this beautiful state. Crested Butte has been on our list to visit and we felt that the autumn season would be a good time to visit the town as well as see some beautiful fall foliage along the way. We were not disappointed! (All photos will enlarge if clicked on)

Crested Butte has been fondly referred to as "The Gateway to the Elk Mountains," "Colorado's Last Great Ski Town. " and "The Wildflower Capital of Colorado." It sits at an elevation of 8,885 feet (2708 meters) and is located 28 miles north of the city of Gunnison, and a 228-mile distance from Denver, which was a 4-hour car trip for us.

We were impressed by the size of the 12,162-foot (3,707 m) Mt Crested Butte summit that is the site of the Crested Butte Mountian Ski Resort.

We stayed on Mount Crested Butte in the Elevation Hotel and Spa.

We could see the ski resort chairlifts close to our hotel.  Vail Resorts has recently bought the family-owned Crested Butte Mountain Resort and locals hope this won't change the ambiance of the town.

It was late afternoon by the time we checked into our hotel room and we heard from the front desk that the town was going to have a Fall Harvest Festival that evening that they called "Vinotok," which is a storytelling and fall harvest festival with ancient roots, and is a long-standing annual event in Crested Butte, that takes place on the autumnal equinox. You can read an interesting story about how this festival originated on this Colorado Public Radio link.

We had noticed some of the streets in town were closed off when we drove by and now we knew the reason. We had dinner reservations so instead of driving to town we took the free shuttle bus service that the town provides from the mountain into the historic district.

When we exited the bus the sun was on the horizon, soon to set. We heard the beat of a drum and people wearing costumes and aspen leaves in their hair walking towards the center of town. We followed the crowd and soon saw free-form dancing in the street.

All of the costumes and dancing were very colorful! We watched for quite a while as we waited for our dinner reservations.

As you can see by the video above--make sure to turn on the sound--or watch the video on this link on my Mille Fiori Favoriti Facebook page, Vinotek is a fun and happy celebration for all ages!

Around 8 pm, the Vinotok Tribe presents the "Trial of the Grump." The community puts The Grump on trial with harvest maidens dancing and a play of the Harvest Mother, Dragon, Knight, and Green Man. The performance is amplified and lit so the community can hear and see the tale take place on the stage.

The Vinotok Fall Harvest celebration then ends with the "Burning of the Gump" bonfire. You can also watch this video on my Mille Fiori Facebook page on this link.

We dined at Marchitelli's Gourmet Noodle where we had the specials--Osso Bucco for my husband and Rainbow Trout over risotto for me, and since it was an anniversary celebration we indulged in desserts--spumoni with cannoli and tiramisu. Everything was very delicious!

The National Historic town of Crested Butte is so pretty.

Many of its buildings date back to its early history as a coal mining town from the 1880s.  We went back to explore more of the town on another day and that will be on my next blog post.

After dinner, we returned on the shuttle bus back to Mt Crested Butte and our hotel. 

We had driven part of the beautiful West Elk Loop Scenic Byway over Kebler pass earlier in the day to see the autumn colors--more on that in a future post-- and we were tired from our long and festive day.

We were happy to spend this full moon and the first day of the autumn night in Crested Butte!  Come back soon to see more!

See my Part Two blog post about the Historic Town of Crested Butte here.

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Colorado Renaissance Festival

My husband and I, along with friends, attended the Colorado Renaissance Festival in Larkspur this weekend.  The festival was in its 42nd year and runs eight weekends, from June through the first weekend in August.  Every weekend the festival takes on a different theme, influencing many of the performances, costumes, food, drink, art, shops, contests, and games throughout the festival grounds. We had attended the New York Renaissance Faire ten years ago, held in upstate Tuxedo, New York--click here-- to read that blog post--and we were curious to see how they would compare. (All photos and photo collage in this post will enlarge if clicked on)

The permanent buildings of the festival are based on a 16th-century Tudor village and the grounds are fairly extensive. 
Click here to see the festival grounds map.

There were a multitude of costumed performers at the festival which really added to the festivity and made one feel as if you were really transported back in time!



A parade of performers passed through the grounds--photos above, and in this video from my Mille Fiori Favoriti facebook page.  Click here to go directly to the video on my facebook page if you can not see the video here.

There were many opportunities to rent or buy a period costume and we were impressed with the variety and the authentic intricacy of many of them!

 In fact, I enjoyed seeing the creative costumes of the performers and festival guests...

...most of all!

In addition to costumes, there were over 200 craft vendors selling many different period products both practical. decorative and fun. Click here to see this year's artisan's marketplace list.

There were plenty of different rides for children to enjoy at the festival...

..as well as games of skill to play,,,

...and lots of good food!

 These two gents were enjoying the delicious large turkey legs. Click here to see the extensive menu of foods available at the festival.

The entertainment was top notch and lots of fun! From jousting matches, juggling, acrobats, comedy skits, fire eaters, dancing, and so on.  Click here to see a full list of entertainment performances.

All in all, we had a wonderful time at the Colorado Renaissance Festival and we're looking forward to going again next summer!

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