Community winds down Snowdown 2026

Snowdown 2026 began winding down Saturday with a range of quirky – and delicious – events, including a kiddie demolition derby, a fly rod casting contest, a “booty shaking” competition, a wine tasting, an iced coffee challenge, a pinball tournament, unique games of pool, fashionable four-legged friends, and more than a few servings of chili and Bloody Marys.

Snowdown attendees soaked up the festival this weekend at these celebratory happenings – and others – as they prepared to bid a fond farewell to this year’s theme, Uniquely Colorado – Then and Wow!

At 11th Street Station, the Crash Course Derby gave children younger than 10 the chance to hop into electric cars and participate in a Mario Kart-esque faceoff, with the goal of popping as many balloons on other cars as possible.

“I flipped over and popped a wheelie, and then I popped one balloon, and then another, and then one of Amara’s!” 6-year-old derby driver Wylin Willis said after leaving the hay-bale-enclosed track. Amara was one of Wylin’s competitors in his round of the derby.

Durango resident Stephanie Fleming’s two children, Maggie, 7, and Brooks, 5, also took to the track Saturday.

Fleming, born and raised in Durango, has attended Snowdown for as long as she can remember.

“It’s fun, it’s community, it’s silliness,” she said of the festival. “Everyone needs a little silliness. Everything about Snowdown just makes you smile.”

At The Garage, good-natured pool players took on the brand-new Anything But a Cue Scotch Doubles Challenge, and their unconventional cue choices did not disappoint.

Durango resident Travis Jensen handmade three fake rifles to use as pool cues for himself and his group. He said he had been working on them since Monday.

Other participants used household items and sports equipment – including a golf club and a fishing rod – as their cue of choice.

Bragging rights for the most creative substitute cue went to Robert Davin, who used his prosthetic leg to shoot pool balls.

At the La Plata County Fairgrounds, community members showed up in droves to taste, judge and enter chili in this year’s chili cook-off.

Twenty-nine chili entries and seven salsa entries filled the floor at the competition, with several seasoned participants returning in hopes of adding to their award collections.

Matthew Lodowski, Jan Hogstrom and Josh Jones won second place last year for their red chili and third for their green chili in the people’s choice category. They returned this year hoping for a repeat of their 2025 success.

Marie Paul and Lori Lundquist, who have racked up awards at the competition in the past – including first place for their green chili last year – also returned with high hopes for this year’s entry.

“I think it brings people together, with the food, and the music,” Paul said of the competition, where attendees chatted, danced and ate throughout the day Saturday.

Jeff Zimmerman, a chili judge of more than 20 years, said judging entries is always a challenge, but that the official judges creed – which acknowledges the hard work participants put in and prioritizes impartiality – helps ensure fairness.

Jubilance and revelry saturated all corners of Snowdown 2026, as brand-new happenings mingled with longtime favorites such as the Friday Light Parade, the Red Ball Express and Snowdown Follies. The festival offered Durango a much-needed opportunity to let loose and celebrate the history and uniqueness of Colorado.

As this year’s Snowdown came to a close, the community was already buzzing about next year’s theme – Villains – with speculation abounding over which famous scoundrels might take to the streets of Durango in 2027.

epond@durangoherald.com