Founders’ Day: Activities to make history fun for kids

       Founders' Day celebrates the old, but will have a decided focus on the young during festivities Saturday, Feb. 13.
       Going from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., most of the events and activities are scheduled in Bancroft Park. The event, which commemorates the 1859 founding of Colorado City, is organized by the Old Colorado City Historical Society (OCCHS), with sponsorship assistance by the Old Colorado City Library and Pikes Peak National Bank.
       Featured are a contest for kids to design a miniature of the park's Garvin Cabin, a Broomstick Rodeo with old-time Western games and a rodeo “clown,” and live music by a band that uses a bubble machine and invites youthful participation.
       Other family-oriented activities using historical themes will be a portrayal of late-1800s Western personality Calamity Jane, a presentation about early mountain men by Adelino Valentin and a show by a local Western-history group called the Old West Reinactors.
       According to OCCHS volunteer Joanne Karlson, who helped organize the event, one of the goals of this year's Founders' Day is to spark more historical interest in young people.
       The cabin-design contest is for ages 4 to 13. The deadline for entries is 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Garvin Cabin. Cash prizes will go to the winners in each of three age categories (4-6, 7-10 and 11-13). First place gets $25, second $15, third $10 and honorable mention (three) $5.
       Entry forms are available from the History Center, 1 S. 24th St. Winning entries will be displayed at the center for the following week.
       Continuing through the day (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) will be an arts and craft show in Bancroft Park, including watercolor, leather, imported goods, honey and natural soaps, Karlson said. Prepared food (baked goods, coffee and other beverages) will be available inside the History Center, across the street from the park, from 8 to 11:30 a.m.
       The center will remain open until 4 p.m., and the cabin until 3, she said.
       Also, the every-Saturday Farmers' Market will be operating on 24th Street from 7 a.m. until about 1 p.m.
       “The market just adds to the whole feeling of Founders' Day,” Karlson said. “We're asking people to bring a picnic lunch and just hang out.”
       Here is the event schedule for Founders' Day (all in Bancroft Park, except where noted):
  • 8 a.m.-4 p.m., craft sales.
  • 8-11 a.m., Bake Sale at History Center.
  • 10 a.m.-noon, music by Serendipity Peak Dulcimers and the Beedles on fiddle and guitar
  • 10:30 a.m., deadline to submit cabin replicas at the park's Garvin Cabin.
  • 11 a.m., Mountain man presentation by Adelino Valentin.
  • Noon, announcement of winners in Kids' Model Contest at Garvin Cabin, led by long-time OCCHS volunteer Dave Hughes.
  • Noon-12:45 p.m., skits and presentation by the Old West Reinactors group.
  • 12:45-2 p.m, Broom-stick Rodeo, including rodeo-inspired kids' games and rodeo “clown” Annie Bell.
  • 1-3:30 p.m., Skyy-High Music (family entertainment).
  • 2 p.m., “Calamity Jane” portrayal by nationally known historical impersonator Glenda Bell at Old Colorado City Carnegie Library.

    Westside Pioneer from a press release