The following is the transcript from my HeidiTown weekly segment on KRFC 88.9 FM. If you prefer, you can listen to the audio HERE.
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Hi, my name is Heidi and I’m the Mayor of HeidiTown.com, a blog about events, festivals and travel around Colorado. Here’s what’s happening the weekend of March 2nd through the 4th, 2012.
First, Great Plates has started here in Fort Collins. This dining tradition encourages people to try out restaurants around downtown Fort Collins during this two week event running from March 1 through the 14th. Thirty downtown restaurants are participating this year. From gourmet dining experiences to burgers and pizza, this is the time to experience all the amazing restaurants this town has to offer. New this year, are the breakfast and lunch specials that will be available at restaurants like the Silver Grill and Mugs. Learn more about Great Plates of Downtown at DowntownFortCollins.com.
There are two great winter festivals happening this weekend.
In Leadville it’s the Annual Ski Joring Competition and Crystal Carnival. This is one of my favorite Colorado towns because the wild west really comes alive in Leadville. The town is also home to one of the best museums in the State, the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum. I actually had no desire to go to a mining museum, because it sounded boring, but I was so glad that my husband insisted. It’s amazing and absolutely worth touring on your next trip to Leadville. Visit MiningHallofFame.org for hours and directions.
The Crystal Carnival commemorates the original winter sports festival that was held in Leadville in 1896. The town has been hosting ski joring competitions since 1949, and the event entails a horse-and-rider team pulling a skier down a snow-packed road over jumps while spearing rings and being timed. The competition draws teams from all over the country.
If you are thinking about making a winter trip to Leadville, this is the weekend to do it. Other Crystal Carnival events include Nordic Springs on Harrison Avenue, a Mt. Massive Mush sled dog race, the Mineral Belt Mayhem, a paintball biathlon, a kids’ parade and lots more. Go to VisitLeadvilleColorado.com for all the details.
One of Colorado’s most famous festivals occurs this weekend. It’s Frozen Dead Guy Days in Nederland, and despite being just over a decade old, it has received national and international attention. With an actual frozen dead guy at the center of it all, this event fits the rather wacky personality of the Town of Nederland. If coffin racing, frozen t-shirt competitions and polar plunging is your thing, you won’t want to miss this festival. Go to FrozenDeadGuyDays.org for more.
Here’s an interesting show happening now through April 30th at the Forney Museum of Transportation in Denver. For lovers of classic cars, you might want to check out the over two dozen Classic Chevy Corvettes on display now. Spanning the years of 1953 to present, you can see one of only 300 hand built Corvette convertibles, a 1962 race car, and more. Visit this museum online at ForneyMuseum.org.
Remember, HeidiTown is not a calendar of event, but stuff the Mayor likes, and as many of you now know, I really, really like trains, and there’s yet another train show scheduled for this weekend. The Rocky Mountain Toy Train Show runs Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 5 at the Denver Merchandise Mart. This is a 120,000 square foot toy train extravaganza. They have everything from how-to clinics to door prizes. Kids of all ages, including my age, will enjoy this event. Alll aboard at RockyMountainToyTrainShow.com.
Lastly, here’s another fact about the Mayor that I haven’t revealed yet on the radio. I’m a crazy soccer fan. We’ve had season tickets to the Colorado Rapids for a number of years now and I’ve become more and more involved with one of the fan associations. If you’re a soccer fan, we’ve put together viewing parties in Fort Collins for the Rapids away games and I will be sharing this information on HeidiTown’s Facebook page.
If you haven’t yet joined the town’s block party on Facebook, you can find us Facebook.com/HeidiTown.comonFB. I’m also on Twitter @HeidiTown and on Google Plus.
That’s all for this week! Thanks for listening and until next time, I will see you online.