Dust off your cowboy hats and bonnets, because it’s time for the community’s annual celebration of its heritage!
Mancos Days events will kick off on Friday at 10 a.m. with the children’s parade down Grand Avenue. Kids’ games will follow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Boyle Park, with a fishing derby on the Mancos River at 1 p.m., weather permitting.
2013 Mancos Days Queen Shirley Whipple will be feted at the Queens Tea at Bauer House 15 1 p.m. Past queens will join her.
Saturday will start early, with the Boy Scout Troop 518 Pancake Breakfast at the school at 6:30 p.m.
At 11:30, the Four Corners Band will play at Boyle Park while everyone joins the queen for lunch. Activities will continue in the park all afternoon, including a greased-pole contest, gunnysack races, a tug of war, a mustache contest and arm wrestling. Parade winners will be announced at 2:30 in Boyle Park. The duck race will begin at 3 p.m. on the river.
All afternoon, curmudgeonly folks who have neglected to wear the requisite western headcoverings may find themselves in jail. Their friends and family can bail them out, with proceeds going to the Mancos Senior Center and the Mancos Arts Council.
The queens’ quilt raffle winner will be announced at 1 p.m. Until then, tickets are available at Mancos Valley Bank or by calling Bev Humiston, 759-1332, or Queenie Barz, 749-9329. The VFW Ladies Auxiliary raffles off the handmade quilt — which is, appropriately, queen-sized and made from material matching the gowns of Mancos Days queens — to help fund youth-oriented projects, including the Just Say No drug awareness art contest.
A spaghetti dinner will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and the street dance and barbecue will begin at 7 in front of Town Hall, with barbecue provided by P&D Grocery.
On Sunday afternoon, there will be water fights on Main Street, weather permitting.
PARADES!
Bring lawn chairs to watch the Mancos Days parades along Grand Avenue.
Lineup for the children’s parade will begin at 9:30 a.m. Friday at Grand and Beech, and the parade will begin at 10.
Registration and lineup for the Saturday Parade will be at 9 a.m., at Grand and Spruce, and the parade will begin at 10.
LIBRARY BOOK SALE
Starting on Friday, July 26, the Mancos Friends of the Library book sale will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and again on Saturday, July 27, from 11 a.m. (after the parade) to 3 p.m.
VENDORS IN
BOYLE PARK
Vendors will be setting up booths in the park starting at 3 p.m. Thursday.
They will be open after the parades, if not before, on Friday and Saturday, and throughout the day on Sunday.
SPORTS
Kicking off the weekend’s athletic festivities, the Mancos Days Softball Tournament will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, July 26. Open to the first 14 teams that enter, the tournament allows coed players 14 years old or older.
A 3-on-3 coed volleyball tournament will begin Saturday at 8 a.m. in the Mancos town park,; the event will include pool play and possibly a double elimination tournament.
Mancos High School volleyball players play free while all other participants must pay a $5 entry fee. Proceeds from the tournament will be donated to both the Mancos High School Volleyball Team and various memorial funds.
In addition to the volleyball and softball tournaments, a fishing derby, an arm-wrestling tournament and a fun run will be available to those who hope to get some blood flowing.
The fishing derby will take place on the Mancos River at 1 p.m. on July 26 and is open to anyone holding a Colorado fishing license. Children 15 and younger do not need a license.
The fun run will take place on Saturday July 27 at 7:30 a.m. Pre-registration for the event will begin at 6:45 a.m. There will be a walking component for those who don’t want to run.
There will be a horseshoe competition in the park beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The arm-wrestling tournament will begin at 3:30 p.m. and is open to both children and adults.
GRAND SUMMER NIGHTS
The art galleries of Mancos will be open from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday evening to welcome Mancos Days visitors strolling through downtown.
There will be live music and refreshments.
ALL-SCHOOL REUNION
SPAGHETTI DINNER
The Mancos Alumni Association all-school reunion spaghetti dinner and silent auction will be held on Saturday from 5:30 to 7:30 in the school cafeteria. All proceeds will go toward the Mancos Centennial Scholarship that is awarded each May to two MHS graduating seniors.
For reunion reservations or information, contact Dolores Martinez, (970) 533-7860, d_martinez@msn.com, or Margie Russell, (970) 533-7169, merkls@msncom.
FIREWORKS SATURDAY NIGHT
In tribute to the 19 fallen firefighters of the Granite Mountain Hot Shots team from Prescott, Ariz., the Mancos Fire Department will be shooting off fireworks on Saturday, July 27, after the softball tournament.