The 37th annual Snowdown festivities are underway in Durango, meaning scantily clad adults – many several decades past their prime – can be spotted traipsing through town in mysterious garb.
This is typical for the irreverent winter celebration. This year’s theme – steampunk – compounds the spectacle that Snowdown engenders, with many celebrants uncertain as to just what that entails. Goggles, apparently, are required. A sense of humor also is helpful. In return, the next four days will offer a full slate of wacky activities that, combined, provide mid-winter community merriment unique to Durango.
The Steampunk Snowdown website offers helpful hints to those wondering where to begin with the theme: “Think Victorian-era clothing with a big dose of steam technology. Think H.G. Wells. Think gadgets and gears.” With that vague but intriguing image as the common denominator, the events otherwise are widely divergent. From drinking games to parlor games to family fun to feats of physical might and prowess, with comedy, dancing, music and silliness in spades, Snowdown packs a chock-full activities agenda.
Thursday’s list includes the 21st annual Snowdown benefactor wine tasting, a philanthropic tradition to benefit the La Plata Open Space Conservancy. The event, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the DoubleTree, will offer first-rate schmoozing, regional drink and food, and a piece of original artwork – for $50. To work up an appetite, head first to the inaugural Snowup Treadmill Challenge at 6 p.m. at the Lost Dog Bar & Lounge, where participants will compete to climb the most vertical feet in seven minutes. For those less aerobically inclined, another new event may be of interest. At 5 p.m., Beads and Beyond will host the first Sbeadpunk Race Against Time in which teams of two will compete to string the longest succession of beads while navigating various obstacles – including handcuffs.
On Friday, things tick up a notch, with crowd-pleasing favorites peppering the day. The annual waiter-waitress race at 2 p.m. in the alley behind Steamworks, followed there at 3 p.m. by the bed rally race are too much fun to be missed – either as an observer or a participant. Four-square tournament play will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Durango Welcome Center. And who doesn’t love a parade? The famous Snowdown Light Parade will begin at dusk, wherein Durango’s creativity will shine brightly, if history is an indication. Challenging as it may be, the steampunk theme is no match for the inventive minds that produce clever floats year after year, drawing crowds downtown in the year’s coldest and darkest days.
The fun continues over the weekend with a range of family friendly and 21-and-older events. Beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday with the balloon rally in the Animas Valley, a 10 a.m. preschool dance party at the library, broomball at 10 a.m. at Chapman Hill Ice Rink, outhouse stuffing at 1 p.m. at Gazpacho’s, feline and canine fashion shows at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively, in the McDonald’s parking lot, Lady F’s Lunacy at 7 p.m. at Lady Falconburgh’s, and Snowdown Follies performances at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., the day can overflow quickly. On Sunday, Snowdown scales down slowly. From 7 a.m. to noon, the La Plata County Search & Rescue breakfast at the fairgrounds offers coffee, ham, juice and pancakes, plus a chance to gather with friends. Basketball, karaoke, poker and pool will round out the day and put Snowdown to bed until next year.
It seems the only thing Snowdown lacks is snow – and perhaps sufficient levels of decorum.
