Scenes from the Colorado Springs 150th celebration and the ‘Parade Through Time’.
Despite fears that overcast skies would rain on everyone’s parade, the sesquicentennial ‘Parade Through Time’ proceeded unfettered through downtown Colorado Springs, kicking off a daylong birthday party for the city’s 150th.
But even if rain had squalled the celebration, the message of the day would have remained the same.
“We’re doing two things: number one, we’re celebrating our past — the people, the events. But we’re also formulating our vision for the future,” Major John Suthers said. “I think people are thinking about that.”
Over sixty floats, all packing years of tradition that have shaped the fabric of Colorado Springs and the larger Pikes Peak community, paraded down Tejon Street just before noon on Saturday for hundreds of spectators.
Those spectators turned out despite overcast skies and Friday forecasts predicting a 50% chance of rain before 1 p.m. and that expected those chances to increase to 90% throughout the afternoon threatened to dampen outdoor activities.
Luckily, rain was nowhere to be seen in downtown Colorado Springs until around 4:15 p.m., well after the parade ended.
Among the sixty floats were Colorado Springs firefighters, who brought out a fire wagon from 1890, the Pikes Peak Range Riders and Rangerettes, and Ballet Folklórico de la Raza.
The parade was also accompanied by a “parade in the sky,” which included a jump by the U.S. Air Force Academy Wings of Blue, and several flyovers from an Apache attack helicopter.
For some, the event was a welcomed return, as well as an opportunity to learn.
“They haven’t been to a parade in a while, so they’re really excited,” parade-goer Marissa Ruben said of her children, Allisan and Joshua, as they delightedly watched a plane fly over the parade. “We’ve been talking about William Jackson Palmer a lot so they’re excited about the history too. It’s really fun.”
Others were more overwhelmed by the extravagance of a city 150 years after it was founded.
“That we’re still here thriving 150 year later and thriving is well beyond my expectations,” Gen. William Jackson Palmer, played by Bob Stovall, said. “There’s some things I’d like to see different, but you can’t make your kids what you want them to be and you can’t make your city what you want it to be.”
The parade, which ran from 11 a.m. to noon, concluded at the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, where Suthers kicked off a family-friendly, four block wide-festival between the Pioneers Museum and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic museum.
Festival-goers then had 25 food trucks and six local brewers and distilleries to mill about at the festival. Live music began at 12:15, with around ten bands and performing groups slated to put on shows for Colorado Springs. Around 75 booths were set up at the festival, continuing the day’s history lessons for curious residents.
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Dancers twirl behind the “Viva” Colorado Springs float during the Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial “Parade Through Time” on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving to more than 60 floats representing key moments in Colorado Springs. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers and his wife Janet Suthers listen to the crowd sing Happy Birthday during the opening ceremony at the Pioneers Museum in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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Penelope Howard, 3, reacts during the Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial “Parade Through Time” on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving to more than 60 floats representing key moments in Colorado Springs. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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The Historic Manitou Springs float during the Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial “Parade Through Time” on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving to more than 60 floats representing key moments in Colorado Springs. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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The Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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“America the Beautiful” float during the Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial “Parade Through Time” on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving to more than 60 floats representing key moments in Colorado Springs. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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The Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial “Parade Through Time” on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving to more than 60 floats representing key moments in Colorado Springs. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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The Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial “Parade Through Time” on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving to more than 60 floats representing key moments in Colorado Springs. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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Miss Colorado Springs Ashley Main gives a burro a kiss outside the Pioneers Museum in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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The Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial “Parade Through Time” on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving to more than 60 floats representing key moments in Colorado Springs. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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The United States Air Force Academy during the Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial “Parade Through Time” on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving to more than 60 floats representing key moments in Colorado Springs. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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The Flying Ace All-Stars, from Utah, perform tricks on a trampoline outside the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers and his wife Janet Suthers during the Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial “Parade Through Time” on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving to more than 60 floats representing key moments in Colorado Springs. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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The Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial “Parade Through Time” on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving to more than 60 floats representing key moments in Colorado Springs. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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The Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial “Parade Through Time” on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving to more than 60 floats representing key moments in Colorado Springs. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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A llama outside the Pioneers Museum in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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“America the Beautiful” float during the Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial “Parade Through Time” on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving to more than 60 floats representing key moments in Colorado Springs. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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Dancers twirl behind the “Viva” Colorado Springs float during the Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial “Parade Through Time” on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving to more than 60 floats representing key moments in Colorado Springs. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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The Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial “Parade Through Time” on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving to more than 60 floats representing key moments in Colorado Springs. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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The Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial “Parade Through Time” on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving to more than 60 floats representing key moments in Colorado Springs. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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The Flying Ace All-Stars, from Utah, perform tricks on a trampoline outside the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum, in celebration of Colorado Springs 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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The Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021.(Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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People grab cupcakes provided by The Cupcake Doctor at the Pioneers Museum in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers speaks during the opening ceremony at the Pioneers Museum in downtown Colorado Springs, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
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The Flying Ace All-Stars, from Utah, perform tricks on a trampoline outside the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum, in celebration of Colorado Springs’ 150th year, on Saturday, July 31, 2021. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
Other activities included a bass fishing trailer from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, antique vehicles, carriages and firetrucks, as well as historic vehicles from the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on display for visitors, and slacklining with CityRock.
The fan fest for the Tokyo Olympic Games, which began on Thursday outside the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum, was also a part of the festival on Saturday. The fan fest featured a 50-foot screen to watch the competitions, as well as demonstrations and simulations for several Olympic sports.
A crowd of protesters associated with Colorado Springs’ Housing for All group also made their case at the festivities. The protest had been planned in advance, and police said they spoke with protesters before the parade about what they can lawfully do during their demonstration.
Ultimately, however, police said they arrested four of the protestors after the demonstration moved into the street, forcing officers to temporarily block part of Nevada Avenue.
According to protester Alex Archuleta, the arrests happened abruptly, and while the demonstration was crossing the street to avoid police as they had previously agreed.
“At one point we were in the street because we had to cross the street to get to the other side to avoid the police officers,” he said. “They used that as justification to arrest people.”
Archuleta added that the four people who were arrested were eventually released, but the Colorado Springs Police Department couldn’t be reached for confirmation.
When rain eventually came, it came with force, dousing some unprepared festival-goers. Still, many held out hope, but the event was eventually closed at around 5 p.m. due to the inclement weather.
The festivities, some said, helped to bring business to downtown staples, including those that weren’t selling food or drinks. For example, a volunteer with the Pioneers Museum said the museum had seen over 2,500 visitors as of around 4:30 p.m., which was eleven times the amount they typically see on Saturdays.
Still, that wasn’t the final good thing to come of the day.
Suthers said Saturday would also mark the end of his beard, which he’s been growing and trimming since the spring in anticipation of Colorado Springs’ sesquicentennial birthday. Throughout the city’s yearlong celebration of the anniversary, Suthers has been seen at several sesquicentennial-related events sporting the beard and the vestments of 1800s pioneer life.
But midnight of the 31st, Suthers said, would bring about the end of his fashion experimentation.
“The wife wants to see the dimple on the chin again,” Suthers said.
This content was originally published here.
