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Steam from floats, rain from sky

Bryan Dear and the Durango Freestyle Wheelbarrow Team wowed the crowd with their precision stunts Friday evening during the 2015 Snowdown Light Parade on Main Avenue.

A little bit of snow mixed with rain, or sleet, or whatever you want to call it, didn’t stop the Snowdown Light Parade from being the big draw that it annually is on Snowdown Friday along Main Avenue.

Thousands packed Durango’s main drag from Fifth to 12th streets. Things blowing fire and smoke were again the favorites in this wintertime event, which brought residents two-deep against the barriers along the route.

This year, things with lots of gears and metal were the norm. Some serious welding obviously happened in the Durango area during the last month.

Mark Thompson of Phoenix Recycling said more than 100 hours went into his steampunk-themed float with flames shooting out of pipes and a brand new metalwork logo.

The city limits the field to 60 floats, and parade coordinator Chip Lile said he had 59 entrants late Friday afternoon.

There are no official attendance numbers, Lile said, but police ask organizers to be ready for 10,000 people along the parade route.

– John Peel

Jan 30, 2015
Pole dancing reels in the crowds
Jan 30, 2015
Twisting the night away


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