Fall is a great time to get back downtown.
Now that the summer tourists have gone home, the Durango Business Improvement District has several things planned over the next month for the locals to enjoy.
First up is BID’s downtown shopping event, the Fabulous Fall Red Balloon Event, to be held on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Join us downtown for sales, discounts, games, activities, fun and prizes at 40 merchants.
Start at the Main Mall at 835 Main Ave. to pick up your passport and activity guide. The guide shows you everything that is happening, and look for the red balloons at participating stores. Complete an activity or shop at a sale, then get a stamp in your passport. Once you have at least 10 stamps, return your passport to the Main Mall to be entered in drawings for several prize packages. Get a bonus entry by participating at 20 stores.
Turn in your passport with at least 10 stamps by 2:45 p.m. at the Main Mall. Multiple drawings will be held starting at 3 p.m. You must be present to win! After the drawings, hundreds of red balloons will be dropped from the ceiling inside the Main Mall. One of every four balloons will have a prize in it. In total, there are $3,000 in prizes to be given away! Help support and celebrate our downtown businesses.
Three weekends later, BID hosts the fourth Downtown Hot Air Balloon Glow on Oct. 18. The Downtown Balloon Glow is one part of the Animas Valley Balloon Rally, and will be held in front of the railroad depot. Arrive around 6 p.m. to watch the balloons inflate, and at 6:30 p.m., all balloons will be up and glowing. Balloons will come down at about 7:30 p.m. The schedule is weather dependent, so hope for good weather and no wind. This is a unique opportunity to see hot-air balloons glowing in historic downtown Durango. Bring the kids, enjoy a bite to eat before or after the glow then stroll around to visit our shops.
That same weekend, BID welcomes back the Colorado High School Mountain Bike State Championships. Held in Durango for the second year, the championships are at Durango Mesa Park (formerly known as Ewing Mesa) on Oct. 19 and 20.
Over 600 riders who qualified for the championships, plus their coaches and families, will be in town. Come out and watch some of the races and enjoy the amazing views from Durango Mesa Park, and say hi to our out-of-town guests when you see them around that weekend.
October wraps up with BID’s Children’s Halloween event. Children’s Halloween is always held on Halloween, which this year is a Thursday. Children’s Halloween is for kids 10 and under, in costume, accompanied by an adult, and is from 4 to 6 p.m. One hundred downtown businesses will be handing out treats, and several will have non-candy items to hand out for kids with food allergies.
To learn more, visit downtowndurango.org. See you in downtown this fall!
Tim Walsworth is the executive director of the Durango Business Improvement District. Contact him at timw@downtowndurango.org.
